Wardrobe Woes

For those of you who really know me, you know that it is a constant struggle for me to find clothes that I like.  I can never find anything that fits properly.  On those rare occasions that I do find something that fits, I am clueless when it comes to actually putting a complete outfit together.  I end up with random pieces, none of which actually go together.  My closet is a source of anxiety for me.  Stress.  Depression.  I like this shirt, but what pants or skirt do I wear it with?  Oh, this might work.  Wait, now what shoes?  I often feel like a hobo.  A frump.  Someone who doesn't care.  The thing is....I DO care.  I am just not skilled in the fashion department.

Apparently, Kris was tired of hearing my constant complaints and pleas for help.  So, for Christmas, Sadie gave me a wonderful gift.  A personal fashion consultant/shopper.  Though exciting, I've been quite nervous about what happened this morning.  The consultant came to my house to go through my closet.  YIKES!  I was literally sweating.  The anxiety of the situation was about to get the best of me.  Everything she looked at I was trying to justify.  It got to the point where I was just grabbing things before she could get to it and putting it in a "discard pile".  This is one of those piles:

And this is another:

It's a good thing I liked this lady, because I kept hearing phrases such as 'what is this?', 'oh, this is awful', 'hate this color', 'is this maternity'?  We had many laughs, but my heart was racing the entire time.

Thankfully, we are going shopping tomorrow.  It's a very good thing, because this is about all I have left:

From the looks of this, we are starting from scratch.  I hope I enjoy my day of shopping and don't get too frustrated.  However, I'm actually a bit nervous right now thinking about what to wear to go shopping!  Oh dear.  The cycle continues.  Hopefully it will be broken tomorrow.  Wish me luck!

Watch Out, World!

I have been anxiously awaiting this day, but now that it's here.....I'm not so sure.

What's next?  Kindergarten?!

Really, Who Does That?!

A few questions....
1.  Who still writes checks?
2.  Who drives 45 mph on 610 in Houston?
3.  Who has the cashier find a pair of scissors and cut the tags off everything purchased?
4.  Who can't make up their mind on what they want to order at a fast food restaurant?
Oh, I know who.....the people in front of me on a day when I'm trying to get as much done as possible in a short amount of time!  ha!  It's a good thing today is such a beautiful day.....nothing could make me too mad.  Maybe a bit annoyed, but the sun sure had a way of making everything ok today!

Then Again.....

Then again, if I just stay home, I will miss out on super fun things like this:

I am fortunate to have a very talented friend who made these cute plates for me today using Sadie's footprint!  I can't wait to see them after they've been glazed and fired.  Thanks, Elizabeth!  I'm sure glad I didn't stay home today!

Just Stay Home

I don't want to live life as a hermit, but I am quickly learning that staying home is often the best choice.  Examples from the past two days......rather than go to the grocery store on a rainy Monday at 5:00, just stay home.  Rather than go to the grocery store with a hungry baby, just stay home.  Don't run errands right before nap time when your baby is getting sleepy, just stay home.  When it's a beautiful day outside, don't think of all the places you need to go, just stay home and enjoy the sunshine.  However, when your baby is screaming and refuses to nap, get out of your house as fast as you can - find anything you possibly can to make the crying stop!  (is it obvious that it's one of those days at the Westbrook home?  aaahhhhh!!!!)

Decisions, Desicions

Who knew that finding a Sunday School class could be so difficult?  Well, I know that.  Anyone else with me on this one?

When Kris and I started dating, we went to a church that we really enjoyed.  However, we never found a class that we "fit" into.  We didn't want to go to a singles class because we didn't consider ourselves single. Also, we were older than the average single.  After our engagement, we tried a nearly/newly wed class.  That wasn't a good fit either.  I was well into my "career" and Kris was in law school with a couple of other degrees already under his belt.  Most of the other couples in the class were just beginning college.  We even attempted young couples classes before we were married, and I guess in those cases we were just being picky.  We are not a couple who like big groups, we prefer consistent teaching, we appreciate in depth learning, and it would be nice to have something in common with the people we are interacting with.  Yes, our faith is a common factor, but we'd also like a little more.

Then it happened.....we found a class!  It was the perfect fit for us.  Having twelve in attendance was a good Sunday.  Everyone was our age.  Couples either had young children or at least wanted them.  The teacher was there every Sunday.  The teacher was very intelligent and taught verse by verse.  The class even met at a time that allowed us to go to a traditional church service, complete with hymns!  (Side note:  Kris and I might have grown up in different "worlds", but we both grew up singing hymns.  We like the fact that one of us can start singing a hymn from our childhood and the other one be able to chime in.  This is something we want for Sadie....growing up singing the old songs of faith!)

I guess the class was too good to be true.  Our church eventually switched things up - adding class times.  Classes were split, combined, rearranged, time changes..... The teacher we enjoyed and had become friends with moved to a class meeting at 8:00.  We followed.  Unfortunately, not many other couples followed to the earlier time.  Another teacher joined the class to teach every other week.  It just wasn't working for us.  Once again, we didn't fit.  So here we go again.....

Now add Sadie.  What to do?  Another issue we'd had was finding a group of people who lived in our area.  We wanted to be able to meet friends who were close to us.  With such a large church, people were driving in from all over.  I want Sadie to have church friends, but I don't want to have to drive 30+ minutes to get to them for play dates.

We have sort of uprooted from the church we had enjoyed for several years and have been visiting a local church.  Trying new classes makes me uncomfortable.  The first Sunday we visited (several months ago), we told someone in the class that we were looking for a more local group of people.  The response?  Oh, nobody in this class lives around here.  aaaahhhhhh!!!  Thankfully, though, that proved to be wrong.  We have met one couple who actually live a few houses down from us!  But then, as our luck would have it, after visiting a few weeks, they announced that they were adding a new Sunday School hour....which meant that classes again would be split, combined, rearranged, etc.  My goodness!  What is it going to take for us to find a place?

So here we go again.  The search continues.  Where should we go?  What should we do?  Keep searching?  Visit a new class each week until we find a fit?  Do we just pick a class and settle with it whether we truly enjoy it or not?  I've been looking today at different class options.  Perhaps we should start our own class!  I want going to church to be enjoyable again....not that I don't enjoy worship, but it would be nice not to dread the hassle of finding a new class each week.  I wish there was a simple solution.  But I guess all we can do is continue the search.

P.S.

Sadie,
Let's extend those hours I mentioned in my previous letter to you.  I would like more sleep between 12:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m.  I know you can do it.  I pray you can do it.  I beg that you do it!
Love,
Momma

Dear Sadie....

Sadie,

My love for you is immeasurable.  And I am thankful that you love me too.  You make that apparent by your need to be in my presence most of the time.  However, I have a request.  Between the hours of 1:30 a.m. and 6:30 a.m., I would appreciate more of this:

and less of this:

Love, 

Momma

My Joy

She fills my days with laughter.  I love this little girl!

A couple of short clips from her watching Sesame Street today.  Yes, I let my seven month old watch television.  (please excuse the messy background)

50 Cents, Please

Warning:  there really is no point to this post....

I am a sucker for a bargain.  Even if it is something I don't really need, if it's a good deal I have a difficult time passing it up.  That's one reason I end up with so much stuff (aka junk) I don't need.  I admit, I enjoy garage sales.  However, rarely do I "shop" at them or have them.  But today was different.  We felt the need to reclaim our garage and closet.  Things had been stacking up for too long, so we decided to go for it.

Our plan was to start early - I wanted to have things ready to go by 7:30.  That was quite ambitious, considering I had nothing organized or priced or.....  Of course there was not much sleep going on for me starting around 3:00 this morning.  I won't go into the details.  I ended up dozing back off to sleep at about the time I wanted to be out of bed.  Oh well.  I started dragging things out of the garage, and a couple of people stopped by before I had everything ready.  Not a big deal.  But then a huge mob of people came.  Kris had just brought out a huge stack of clothes, and I thought we were going to be attacked.  Oh my goodness - they kept coming closer and closer to me, reaching over each other, stepping over things, arms everywhere holding out things to me - how much?  how much?  I was so overwhelmed (and a bit scared), that I kept finding myself saying, "fifty cents, please.  Fifty cents, please."  Seldom did I go over that amount for anything.  You can get rid of a lot of stuff selling everything for just 50 cents!  There were times I was even like - just take it, you can have it!

There was a young girl, probably twelve years old, who had three items in her hand.  I told her she could have them each for a quarter.  When she went to pay me, she held out her hand, and under the sleeve of her jacket I could see one of my bracelets!  The bracelet was not one of the three items she was purchasing.  I kept staring at it - a bit confused at first and then mad.  You little thief!  I didn't say anything, and all afternoon I've been kicking myself for not calling her out on it.  I could have simply said - will you be purchasing the bracelet also?  Most likely I wouldn't have charged her more than 50 cents (of course).  I got over being mad and just became sad.  How sad that she is already taking what isn't hers.  And shame on me for not trying to teach her a lesson!  I pray that Sadie will not become a sneaky little thief - even if it is a 50 cent bracelet!  And I pray that the little girl's conscience will bother her about it.

By 11:30 we were ready to close up shop.  We still had lots left.  Packing it all up and putting it back into the garage was not an option.  So we packed it up, and Kris took it to Goodwill.  Oh, get this....the first Goodwill he went to would not accept it.  They said they were full.  I would think that such an organization would make room for any donations offered!

Anyway.....It's a good feeling having all that behind us.....we now have a clean garage and a HUGE stack of quarters!

Blessed Birthday

I choose to be happy today.  As we get older, we always say that birthdays are just another day.  We say that, yet we want them to feel special.  I could easily allow myself to feel down today, but I refuse.

It all started out with Sadie not having a good night.  She has gotten into the bad habit of waking up twice each night, and last night was no different.  Apparently she didn't get the memo that today is my birthday and she should treat me to uninterrupted sleep beginning at 12:00 a.m..  That didn't happen.  I was out of bed three times.  However, I am beyond blessed to have a baby to wake up with in the night.

I thought that I'd spend the day having a mother/daughter shopping trip to the galleria.  Getting us dressed and out the door was not that easy today.  Usually she is more cooperative.  And then there was the jar of baby food that fell out of the pantry and shattered all over the floor making a huge mess after I'd already strapped Sadie into her car seat.  The plan was to be at the galleria at 10:00.  ha ha ha!  We did eventually make it, but the trip only lasted about thirty minutes.  Thanks to an off schedule last night/this morning, I had one sleepy baby on my hands.  She wasn't being bad, but the whimpering and droopy eyes were more than my heart could take - I decided to head home after making two small purchases (neither of them for myself).

Thanks to the caloric number counting that Kris is doing these days, I'd told myself that I'd let Sadie take me to Chuy's for lunch since we won't be going to dinner tonight.  I couldn't ask him to take me to Chuy's and have him order an unseasoned chicken breast and a cup of lettuce while I feasted on creamy j and a Chuychanga - I'm not that cruel.  Obviously, Chuy's didn't happen either.  I didn't need it anyway.  So, in a way, I guess I'm blessed to have avoided those unnecessary calories!

Then there's me being all alone on my birthday.  Well, with the exception of my sweet baby, of course.  Twelve hours a day having a one-sided conversation....at least when I was working I had 18-20 children wishing me well on my special day.  But I wouldn't give up staying at home having a one-sided conversation for anything.  I am BLESSED!  Thank you, Lord, for allowing me to be a stay-at-home mom!  I can do without a classroom full of hyper kids just wanting a piece of my birthday cake.

I never thought I'd say this, but today I'm especially thankful for Facebook.  I've had many birthday greetings, none of which I would have received if it weren't for Facebook telling people that today is my birthday.  Thank you, Facebook friends!

As the afternoon of my birthday quickly passes by, I will sit back and count my blessings.  I might not have a real conversation until 7:00 this evening, I might not get a birthday dinner, and all my birthday greetings might be via Facebook, but that's ok.  I have a precious baby girl, a wonderful husband, a roof over my head, more food than I need, a family who loves each other.....it is truly a very blessed birthday!

Oh, but I mentioned cake earlier.....there is a tasty little bakery within walking distance from my house.  I think that there just might be a treat there that's calling my name.  I mean, it is my special day!!

The Trouble With Numbers

Numbers....they can be good, or they can be bad.  It all depends on the context.  In sports, the higher the score, the better.  Except in golf.  When it comes to money, you usually want a higher number.  Unless it has to do with debt or the cost of something.  Age....I guess it has to do with your perspective.  And the same goes with clothes sizes.  Yuk.  I was stressing in a dressing room recently when the sales lady told me - it's just a number, it's just a number.  Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's just a number, but I don't like the number I'm seeing!  I don't even know what the number would be if I were to step on a scale, and I really don't want to know.  Kris, however, knows his number and doesn't like it.  I hate that those "calculators" online tell you that you're overweight.  Kris is NOT fat.  But since the calculator numbers tell him that he's not where he should be.....it's diet time.  I don't like the word 'diet'.  It is a word that is a part of our lives now - well, since yesterday.  So here come those numbers again.....calories, number of glasses of water, food scales, number of pounds dropped (hopefully).....  I just don't like some numbers!  It's a wonder I liked math in school so much.

A New Year!

2011 is here. Wow. 2010 was such an incredible year - how in the world can 2011 top it? I know that there are many great things coming our way this year. Kris and I are anxious to watch Sadie begin to crawl, listen to her begin to talk, and see all the other fun things that go along with a developing baby. But then again, I'd be happy if we could freeze her as she is. She truly made 2010 a year we will always cherish.

Enough of the sappy baby thoughts. 2011.....it's weird to think that I was born in the 1900s. When my future grandkids learn that I was born in 19??, they are going to think I am so old. My birthday is in a few days, and just this afternoon I asked Kris - how old am I going to be? Oh dear, I already feel old. I don't need grandkids to make me feel that way. Sometimes I get this weird ache in my lower back/hip area. Old. Going to bed before 10:30 (which is very rare) makes me happy. Old. I already worry about how old I'll be when Sadie is in high school, college, gets married, etc. Old. I am getting a few wrinkles around my eyes. Old. Then I think about how many years I still have ahead of me - hooray! Young!!

2011....I need to get in shape this year. I say that every year. Maybe this will finally be that year.

2011....I want to see my family more often. I wish it was easier. I wish we lived closer.

2011....I need to get organized. And stay that way. Not just get organized the first week of January.

2011....I want to become a photographer. ha ha! Or at least learn how to correctly use my new camera.

2011....I would like to be able to post a blog that doesn't put the reader to sleep.

2011....I would like to have at least one person read my blog.

Happy 2011 everyone! I wish you a wonderful year!