Who are you people???

A little over a month ago I added a tool to my blog that tells how many views there have been. I thought it would be fun to see how many people actually looked at this thing- I have sent the link to a few people here and there but for the most part I was pretty sure it was my mom, sister in law and maybe a few other random visitors...

Well in the time of around 5 weeks, the counter shows 224 views! Who the heck are you people?! Not that it bothers me, I am posting publicly and it is open to anyone- I am just curious as to who on earth is reading all my ramblings! It is actually very funny to me!

In other Williams News- Becca started basketball camp this morning. I can't wait to hear how it went! I hope she is doing a better job of staying awake today than I am. We went to Gruene this weekend and played in the river for two days. We didn't get in until sort of late last night. It probably isn't near as big of a deal to her as it is to me. At 16 I could stay up until 3am and still be up for school, church, work or whatever else was going on the next morning with no problem. These days I have to have my eight hours or I will end up with the imprint of a keyboard on the side of face.

The Mom Club

Lots of things happened pretty soon after finding out I was pregnant with Hailey- but one thing I did not expect was that I was suddenly part of a huge network of other moms. This network can have it's advantages and disadvantages, but once you figure out how to recognize the toxic members it is a huge blessing!

When I began to tell people I was pregnant I noticed something almost immediately- When I told a mom, the reactions and questions were completely different than when I told someone that did not yet have children. The moms (for the most part) would offer their complete support to you. I had women that I rarely spoke with before offering me their phone numbers to call them at all hours of the night if needed. Friends and family that I had always talked to before, just not that often began to call me on a weekly basis to see how I was feeling. Of course you do have the "toxic" ones I referred to above- the ones that only wanted to tell you how horrible their pregnancy and labor was and that they don't envy me for what I will have to deal with once the baby is actually here... The ones that would tell me "OH! Well you better get all the sleep you can now because you will never sleep again!" THOSE are the toxic ones, and those are the ones that I learned to just block out. For some reason these moms think they deserve a medal for doing what others have done for thousands of years. Instead of enjoying motherhood and appreciating this gift from God, all they want to do is complain. I want no part of these kinds of Mothers, and fortunately, they are not the norm.

Once I did actually have Hailey, it was clear to me why all those mothers were so excited for me and were so willing to help. From then on, anytime a woman has told me she was pregnant I can hardly contain my excitement for her! I immediately begin thinking of all the things she needs as gifts and the things she will need to know- I have to stop myself from emailing once a day with a little tid-bit of advice! Then once the baby gets here I feel mixed emotions for them. I am excited for them that their little one has finally arrived, but at the same time I worry about them. I wonder if their hormones are overwhelming them and making it so that they can't enjoy this time- I wonder if their little one is sleeping a few hours at a time for them. I want to hug them and tell them it is normal to feel overwhelmed and that things get better everyday- that this will be the most fun, rewarding experience of their lives they just have to get through the first few hard months! This is about the time I begin to offer up my phone number with an "any hour of the day or night" promise because I just feel compelled to!

This Mom Club is, in my opinion, the single most helpful thing a mom could ever ask for! The best advice I have ever gotten has not been from doctors, it has been from moms! When your baby is colicky and won't stop crying, you don't call your doctor or even your husband- you call any member of the Mom Club you can think of to learn what worked for them. The Mom Club helped me find childcare, a pediatrician, ways to calm Hailey, affordable clothes... the list could go on and on. They have provided me with gifts, hand-me-downs and invaluable support when I have been at my wits end. They actually ask for, and genuinely want to see pictures of Hailey; as I genuinely want to see pictures of their little ones!

Membership doesn't just have it's perks your baby's first year, it is something that I think you will use forever. When I run out the door in a rush and forget sunscreen, I don't panic. I know that there will be a mom, a total stranger wherever I am going that will be more than happy to give me a handful of sunscreen for Hailey, and the rest of the family if needed. I do not feel bad about asking because I know that I will return the favor. Mothers have asked me for wet wipes, a diaper, medicine, teething cookies, etc. You name it, I will ask for it or offer it up. There is no room for embarrassment once you have a little life to care for.

There is only one downfall that I have noticed, (other than the toxic moms, but those have been weeded out by now.) Along with the bond you feel with other mothers, comes be heartbreaking empathy you also feel for them. I have two friends that are desperately trying to get pregnant and cannot, I literally, physically hurt for them. One mom, her daughter is mentioned on this blog, had twins and one was injured at birth causing Cerebral Palsy. I cannot imagine. Even TV shows are hard to watch. I know that they are actors, but if it involves losing a child I just can't watch it now.

I'm not sure why I spouted off with this today- I guess I just want other mothers to remember that this awesome network is behind them. Always ask for help and advice if you need it. It doesn't show weakness, it shows that you will do whatever it takes to care for your child.

The Adventures of Grandma and Grandpa

Email from my Grandma today-

“We love the pictures and your Blog is outstanding.

Since I never learned to swim and have a fear of water, I'm so glad Hailey is taking swimming lessons. In fact, I'm glad our whole family knows how to swim. When I took your Mom and Kathy to swimming lessons, at the first session I was encouraging (demanding?????) them to do what the teacher was telling them. I was just so fearful they'd end up like me. Well, the teacher "encouraged" ("demanded") that I be quiet and let her take care of things. : ) And I did, and they learned to swim.”

I laughed out loud, and am still laughing about this email! Grandma is one of the funniest people I know, but what’s better, she has no idea how funny she is! I don’t think I ever really appreciated it until the last few years or so…

David and I went to visit them in Roswell for the day a while back when Lennox happened to have a flight there. We were all sitting in their living room together visiting when I noticed a paper-weight sitting right in the middle of the living room floor. It just seemed so odd sitting there all by itself. I looked over and noticed David was also looking at it, we exchanged a confused look… Finally I thought, what the heck, I’ll ask… “Umm, what is with the little decoration there in floor, Grandma?” Without missing a beat she said “Oh, that was to remind me that I had a doctor’s appointment today. It didn’t work though, I still didn’t get there at the right time.”

This little exchange caused me to start looking around to see if there were more little “reminders” around the house… Sure enough- David found one a few minutes later! We were on our way out the front door to go get lunch somewhere when he noticed a toy car sitting on the ledge alongside my Grandparents’ car keys. This time there was no hesitation in asking, we were excited to know- “So what is this for?” Well, I can’t remember their exact words, but basically there is a car that is always parked in the street across from their house. The toy car is to remind them of that so that they won’t hit it. I almost fell over! David casually grabbed the keys and offered to drive. J

I love my grandparents- I have laughed the entire time I typed this!

Today I am having a really hard time. Reality came crashing down on me when I got up this morning, and the weeks of being busy non stop are catching up.

Poor David made the time on Father's Day to tile our bedroom- (for those of you keeping up, we went so long without flooring because the airplane has been broken for months now and David has been gone non-stop ever since.) Anyway, the tile is put down, but grout and sealant are still needed. So, everything that should be in our bedroom is spread out all over the house. It is a wreck.

Then there are all the things that need to be done that have nothing to do with the tile- the laundry is piling up, we are completely out of things like milk which means a trip to the grocery store is mandatory, and we have used almost all the clean dishes out of the dishwasher without ever unloading and loading it.

We found out at work yesterday that we are merging with another company. This will leave us with "duplicates" in workforce. They let us know that, basically, it is not IF layoffs will occur, but rather how many and who that they are not sure of yet.

Hailey has swim lessons this week and next at 6pm- so it is a mad dash from work to get her a snack and get us changed, then straight to the pool to begin. After that is a mad dash to get dinner together for her and she is almost immediately ready to sit with me for our cuddling before bedtime.

David leaves again today and should be home Thursday evening with Becca, (yay!) He is going to Wichita to again check on the airplane- hopefully they are to a point where some decisions have to be made about next steps... it has been down way too long. From Wichita he flies to Rochester, where he and Becca will then drive her car to Dallas. Then Friday, Becca, Hailey and I will drive to Dougherty. David will get there on Saturday.

The thought of getting through the next few weeks, and the idea of David being gone again, have left me completely stressed out and in a horrible mood. I have to snap out of it for anything at all to get done.

So, I taking a minute to list the things that I am thankful for. I know that there are people who would love the have the problems we are having as opposed to the ones that they have. I need to focus on that.

I AM THANKFUL BECAUSE:

- My immediate, and even extended family is healthy.

- I have a husband that works hard to provide for me and our two awesome girls.

- I have a job today.

- David has a job today- actually several jobs.

- We have money in the account to buy the groceries I am complaining about shopping for.

- We have a home

- I miss my husband when he is gone. Some people seem to be relieved when their spouses are out of town. Mine is my best friend, and when he is gone I am sad.

- I have a 17 month old that hugs us, kisses us, and tells us she loves us.

- I have a 16 year old that hugs us, kisses us, and tells us she loves us.

We are a blessed family.... busy, but blessed. I have to remember that.

Wait... what?

David is doing some work to our bedroom- the kind of work where you end up with bedroom furniture in bathrooms and a mattress in the hallway... So, we decided to sleep in Becca's room last night. She has that awesome memory foam bed so we weren't even dreading spending a night away from our own room.

Right as we laid down David texted Becca to tell her goodnight, and he mentioned that we were sleeping her room. She got all grossed out and didn't want us in there! At first I just laughed, but the more I thought about it I realized that we are the old people now! I have always been grossed out by mom and dad, now someone is grossed out by me! When exactly did I become an adult? I don't think anyone gave me official notification, and I know I wasn't asked if I had any objections to it...

I think Becca has been trying to ease me into this fact for a while. She makes fun of me when I say "groovy," or anything else like that. I asked the other day if I could be friends on Facebook with a guy friend of her's and she told me no! She said, "that would just be weird!" Why is it weird? I am like ten years older than her!

Well either way, if we were ever cool to begin with we aren't anymore. We are old and embarassing; and as far as kids are concerned, our lives began with them- I will probably not correct them on that for at least 20 years. :)

I am not Amish

Thank you mom and dad for that! I love electricity, I love everything about it. I love Microwaves, Refrigerators, TV's, Computers, AIR CONDITIONING, Light... the list could go on forever.

Most of you know that Dallas-Ft. Worth had bad storms on Wednesday night, but they didn't just sweep through and move on to other places- they decided they liked the area and camped out over us for almost 24 hours. We lost power around 430 or 5am. I didn't think much of it, I figured it would only be a few hours and it would be fixed. Then at 630am, I got a call from Hailey's babysitter- her power was out too and they are not allowed to keep kids with no electricity. I was a little happy about that, honestly. I hadn't gotten much sleep that night due to all the storms, so I figured we could sleep in and enjoy the long morning given to us.

6 hours later I was starting to wonder when the thunderstorms would stop long enough for someone to fix our TV! (Whoops, I mean electricity...) STILL no power! We decided to move our mother/daughter day to the car for a little while. I needed to charge my phone, and if I was ever going to get Hailey to take a nap I would have to have her little travel TV charged enough for a few minutes worth of noise. She just can't settle down to sleep when there is no background noise- she even sleeps at night with the radio on. I'm sure some mothers would scold me for that but hey, I feel it is harmless and it helps her relax... ANYWAY, we sat in the car for about half an hour and enjoyed the air-conditioning and radio. We then went inside, turned on her battery operated tv and she got to watch Finding Nemo. The nap part didn't quite work out though...

Another 6 hours pass by at a CRAWL... The storms are long gone, and there is no longer a breeze coming in through the windows. The sun is beginning to set and Hailey is getting anxious in the dark house. I don't know if it was the heat or the darkness that bothered her more, but she was not a happy camper. Then all the sudden, as if the day had just then completely caught up with her, Hailey just began to scream. She is not a crier, but my goodness I could not touch her feet to the ground without a full on melt down. I decided I felt the same way, and burst into tears right along with her! I called David and told him to book a hotel room for us (he had offered to do so with his Holiday Inn points all day, but I thought I would be tough and stick it out,) and I got us packed. While Hailey is still crying, and I am not much better off, I called our "Petmom" and asked if she could please come pick up two of our dogs, and I would just take the other two with us... It was cheaper this way, plus there was already a dog there that 2 of mine had a run-in with a while back so I really wanted to avoid another incident involving stitches...

As soon as we got into the car with the air conditioner running and music playing, Hailey came back to life and was happier than she had been all day. Thank Goodness... It occurs to me that we haven't had anything to eat in a while, but I didn't want to stop somewhere on the way to the hotel- I was going to have trouble enough getting Hailey, our luggage and the two dogs up to the room without adding a food bag and drinks. I decided we deserved to splurge on some room service...

The Holiday Inn doesn't have room service.

Oh well, we could call and order pizza. There was even a Domino's phone number on my key card! I called them, their first words were "we are running on an hour or more wait for deliveries, is that okay?" I said no thank you, and hung up.

Okay, third option... I remembered seeing a little area by the front desk of the hotel that sold some food items. I picked up Hailey and we headed out the door; Gidget and FJ went nuts. They started barking and would not stop. By now it is like 9pm, so I know there have to be some people that have gone to bed. Plus, I have been kicked out of a hotel for Gidget barking before- I could not have that happen... I went right back to our room, never having made it to the first floor. I called Domino's back and said I would wait the hour.

2 hours later, Hailey and I had finally eaten, gotten into bed, and were relaxing. 30 minutes later I get a call from our neighbor... the power is back on. I had to laugh to keep from crying. Oh well. We were fed and in bed, so we stayed there. Today is a new day, and I love electricity.

Good Question

This was the featured headline on http://www.foxnews.com/ a little while ago... Notice the last link in the featured story, "What Causes a Fear of Flying."

Ummm, is that a serious question? By the time you get to it, haven't the preceeding links answered it for you? Not trying to make light of a tragic, sad event- but come on! This has to make you at least smile for a minute.

People amaze me sometimes...