I wanna be a billionaire...

For those who don't know...

the mega-millions lottery jackpot is up to $400 million something.

Cary is beside himself with excitement.

He's decided lottery tickets are worthwhile if the pot is over 100 million, and he's pretty much already won in his mind.




For the past two days, all he talks about are what he will do with his winnings.

For example...

he's worried my mom and dad will judge him for gambling, so he's gonna fly them to the bahamas for a fancy dinner and tell them we won while allowing them the option to vacation as long as they want.

He's decided when our child(perhaps children someday) ask how we got rich, he's just gonna tell them he made smart investments (and then he starts laughing and says "REAL SMART--ha just a $2 ticket).

He's decided we should move next door to Mitt Romney, since we'll know what it's like to be in his tax bracket and we can discuss investment options.

Of course, he wants to finish his schooling first, so in the meantime he will also pay to have a Zupas, Cook Out, and Sweet Tooth Fairy franchise put in on Franklin Street.

When asked what he will do first when he discovers he won:

"I'm going to whole foods and buying the GOOD milk... you know, the kind that comes in the glass jars"

Ohhh Cary... he even got me excited for a minute thinking, even if we just got 4 numbers we'd get $10,000 and I could get a new pair of rainbows and fly to my friends, Erik and Aubrey's, wedding.

Then he told me there's a 1 in 176 MILLION chance of winning.

BAHAHAHAHA SAY WHAT!!!!

Well, at least the $2 ticket has made him giddy all week... arguably money well spent.

tonight we are young

Sleep Deprivation is back with a vengenance.

Zoey was sleeping through the night (10pm-6am), and is now back to a up every 2 hours schedule.

It's killing me.

Cary has decided she has an extreme case of FOMO (fear of missing out), as she will only fall back asleep if I let her lay next to me in bed.

That, or he thinks she's suffering from sugar withdrawals.

Either way... I miss my sleep.

**Obviously not my child... mine doesn't sleep or have hair in abundance**

I'm missing you like candy

Hello my name is Carla, and I'm a sugar-aholic.

Why am I telling you this?

Because I need to be held accountable. I am 4 months postpartum and I still need to lose about 15lbs! I'm still a small person, but I only have a handful of clothes that fit, and a closet FULL of cute clothes I want to fit back into.

I have been exercising since December, and even ramped it up to 45 min Insanity workouts about a month ago... which is great and all. Now I have muscle under my extra skin and chub :) But it's not good enough (I'm blaming nursing--lies that it melts the pounds away, at least for me). So I'm ready to go to drastic measures.

NO SWEETS.
e.g. soda, cupcakes, cake, pie, ice cream, smoothies with ice cream, cookies, candy, fruit drinks (anything not 100% juice), pastries, donuts... and probably other deliciousness. (Although, I already told cary I'm allowed to have nutella with fruit--because it's a nut spread with only a touch of cocoa, and it's a good source of protein, as well as a healthy breakfast (it says so on the jar (HEY, this is my challenge!))).

Anyhow, I started Wednesday, and it's going well.
I've already lost 1/2 pound!
(The most I've budged in 3 months) and I plan on going for a month, then reassessing.

I only mention this because I appreciate encouragement, compadres, big brother types. So if you see me, don't offer me sweets. Don't call to go out for ice cream. Go ahead and ask me how it's going, and if you want to join the struggle, PLEASE do.
We can avoid pinterest and it's scrumptious recipes together!

And when the going gets tough, and the ice cream looks refreshing, the cinnamon rolls smell good, and the cupcakes scream my name...

I'll be telling myself no,
because I like feeling healthy and fit more
than the fifteen minutes of happiness a sweet can give me!

look at that body, I work out

My friend Shelli posted this on our friend Alaina's wall...

and as Cary and I have been working out and trying to lose weight, I just keep laughing and thinking of the line... "alright i had one cookie!... ok i had 3 boxes of cookies, but they're so good, they're girl scouts and they keep coming, they're my neighbors." Haha so funny, cause it's so true.



**Warning: some bad language**

I'm looking at the man in the mirror

Chouse is dead.

And we're moving!

I am a little over this apartment since we've had snakes, spiders, worms, and now a mouse. The complex won't let us switch to another 2 bedroom apartment, we're only allowed to switch if we upgrade to a 3 bedroom.

So, we're moving to a nicer, newer apartment!

I fell in love immediately. It's top floor (read: no mice/snakes), sunny, bigger kitchen, garden tub and plenty of absurdly nice amenities... with the pool right outside my building.

This brings up an interesting discussion that Cary and I have been having spurred by several news stories recently.

The economy still sucks, and more people than we'd like are unemployed, and apparently my generation is entitled. "We" think that just because we went to college we deserve a job. "We" think that because we're used to a certain lifestyle our parents have afforded us we deserve to keep on keeping on in the same fashion even though our parents put in their years of being poor and struggling.

Am I part of the "We"?

I'm moving into a nicer neighborhood than I can afford.

I have never gone into debt. I drive a 13 year old car. I gave up designer jeans when I got married and started supporting a family (ok, maybe because I got pregnant and still can't fit into them). I plan my meals around sale items. I have never had the pleasure of using my college degree as it was intended because I gratefully (well at least at first ;) take the jobs that will pay the bills.

BUT, now I'm gonna live in an apartment that is out of my means. Because I don't want to worry about my child dying of a disease from a rodent. Because I want to see the sun, even if I'm laying in bed with a sick baby. Because the apartments I can afford are in sketchy neighborhoods. Because spiders give me a heart attack, and Cary sings songs to Zoey about how she has to be brave and kill the spiders to save her mom.

I am defensive, and so obviously feeling guilty... maybe I do feel entitled. My husband is going to a great college, in an expensive town and all the housing except the scary neighborhoods are more than our budget.

So if I'm going back to work to make ends meet--I might as well live in a pretty apartment, with sweet amenities, where my daughter can play with good friends a few houses away... No?

Had a bad day again

We have a mouse!

Cary walked in on him as the chunky critter scooted and slipped as he slowly attempted to scurry back to his hole. So we've (uncreatively) named him Chouse (chubby mouse).

(Yes... somehow naming pilfering, disease-riden, abhorrent rodents makes it slightly easier to sleep at night)

We actually found the mouse last week. I was mortified. So we cleaned and set out traps and Cary, my mom, and Jo successfully laughed it off and calmed me down.

Well, we left for the weekend and came home to not a dead mouse (which would have been wretched because of the smell and general unpleasantry of the situation)...

but, worse, a hole in the top of the pantry and evidence of a late night mouse binge.

Chouse, apparently was destined for our house as he also craves Krusteaz pancake mix (my 5 lb bag... I may have shed a tear) and Cary's chocolate stash. No wonder he's such a chunk.

Well, thanks to Cary (I am completely worthless when it comes to critters and spiders) the house has been chloroxed enough to fool anyone into thinking our kitchen is also a pool, and we have laid a death ring for little Chouse.

Now, a hundred dollars later... I am looking for a new apartment and trying not to despair over what it'll cost me to replace everything Chouse ruined.

Yeah... good night in the tippets residence :(

One more chance to hold you close

HAPPY 4 month BIRTHDAY Zoey!

(Well, yesterday.... I got a little busy)

Sometimes, I think you are growing up so fast, but most the time I think you're only 4 months??? You are such an alert little girl, constantly looking around observing everything. Not much gets past our little girl, you definitely catch every look I shoot your dad, and everytime my ipod beeps with a words with friends request.

We regularly remind ourselves that we only get to enjoy you everyday for a few short years before you're off conquering the world. You are beautiful and smart and you already have a keen sense of humor that catches your dad and I off guard, it's no doubt you'll be successful at whatever you set out to do.

Over the last month, you have gotten so much more smiley, and you laugh (mostly during conversations--making us worry you know exactly what we are talking about). You still don't really like the carseat or stroller (making your first trip not so successful), and I foresee lots of telling you to slow down as soon as you can walk. You love chewing your hands, which I'm constantly trying to keep dry, and you've even found your feet--despite my protests they aren't for eating. You love chatting it up with the other babies at church, so much they get a little alarmed at how vocal you are!

Everyone stops to tell you how cute you are, and it only increases because you then pause and flash your biggest smile.

We love you more everyday, and are totally convinced you are the perfect addition to our twosome.

Eating your feet :/

Our sick day spent in bed... you kept making funny faces for the camera

Hands in the mouth... that captures about 90% of the photos we take

I love your deep blue eyes.

I wanted a birthday pic in your cute dress... you wanted to play peek a boo, it always makes you smile--even if I think you're still pretty young to totally understand.

You know it's gonna make it that much better

It's springbreak, YAY!!!!!

Cary is thoroughly enjoying his first (and last) ever college springbreak!

And I'm loving having him around to help with Zoey, but mostly because he makes me laugh all day...

Yesterday, he walks out of the room wearing brown pants and a black tee shirt, and gets this attitude like Tim Gunn "I know this is a total fashion faux pas, brown and black, but I don't even care."

Later I'm flipping through channels and stop on an Insanity infomercial (we're slightly (maybe a little more than slightly) obsessed with the insanity workout program) and look at Cary, hey that could be us in a few more weeks! Then they show a testimonial and this guy has a 6 pack, but they're all out of line, and Cary says "umm yeah, I hope my abs aren't messed up like that, if they are I'll just always keep my shirt on at the beach and just shrug "yeah, I'm fit'"

My personal fav... I was telling Cary a story and realize I was sometimes a horrible sister, and say "wow, I'm kinda suprised my sisters still like me." Cary gets really sarcastic "seriously though... next time I see your sisters I'm gonna ask them 'How can you even stand Carla?'" Haha, only he can make me laugh about my many flaws. But, I told him that makes it sound like our marriage is falling apart, so we decided to save that one for our house only...

oh, and the blog...

It's gonna be alright

saw this the other day after a really hard night... there may have been a glisten in my eye. sometimes commercials just get it right. wow, i just said that... yeah, well...

beautiful girls all over the world

Most of the time Zoey is busy sucking her thumb and making goofy faces at me, but sometimes she catches me off guard and I see a gorgeous little girl instead of my curious, silly babe.





Thanks to my friend, Amanda Swafford for taking some cute photos of Zoey--we really appreciate it! Check out her other work at http://www.amandaswafford.co/blog or book a session, she does families, kids, engagements, and weddings.

my milkshake brings...

Zoey and I are having a sick day.

We're lying in bed watching Grey's Anatomy. (Don't judge me)

Wishing there was a cook-out across the street. Really any decent milkshake joint would suffice. I need to remember this next time we move... must live near fast food with good shakes for when I'm sick.

Anyhow, I plan on being here most of the day... any good shows I should watch? Revenge is rumored to be entertaining... thoughts? I've also heard Once Upon a Time, Alcatraz, and Downtown Abbey...

Let me know

oh oh sometimes...

This week in the Tippets Residence:

-Zoey decided she likes dancing. She tries to mimic my moves=very funny.

-Zoey got her first swim lesson (in the bathtub (we wanted to try out our swimsuits)). She hates the bathtub... so we ended up taking a shower instead, which she loved.

-Zoey had spit up come out her nose... impressive? yes. painful? i imagine.

-Zoey had her first night where I tried just laying her in the crib and she fell asleep on her own without a single cry

-Also, she had her first 11 hour stretch of sleep (Ah-mazing)

Busy week.

Sunglasses make walks better

Ok, she doesn't like the swimsuit YET

Cary teaching Zoey how to plank

She has funny sleeping positions...

As for me, Cary has had a lot of 12 hour days this week....

which means I get to do whatever I want with the baby without getting told to leave her alone, AND I have to do all these things by myself (which is a lot harder).

AND since my little person can't say "thank you" or "dang, you're awesome mom"...

I sometimes feel underappreciated.

I mean, I typically think it's a feat to just keep baby alive, healthy and happy, but today I took baby girl for a walk, read a million books, tummy time, got her cleaned and dressed, did all my visiting teaching, did the grocery shopping, unloaded, cleaned the house, entertained baby girl and got the laundry done.

Where's my gold star? (do I sound whiny enough yet ;) Ok, really gold stars were always lame and overrated.

Actually, I'm just tired from my already full day, and would love a guilt free nap... but I gotta go whip up dinner for the missionaries.

Guess I'll just log these moments in my mind for the next day we don't do much of anything and I need to remind myself some days I have it together.

tonight is the night is the night...

i just have to say...

spending all day with zoey is probably 10 bajillion times better than spending all day at Verizon (no offense, they were a good company to work for)

I just enjoy teaching her about books and games and songs soooo much more than attempting to teach some people how to save contacts in their cell phone...(actually i bet i could teach zoey how to save a contact pretty quickly--well, as soon as she masters the use of her thumbs and quits jamming them in her mouth every other second)

And when zoey yells... it's kind of funny. She doesn't get mad very often, it's more of a yell-pause-is mom paying attention to me yet-yell-(*pause, I'm serious here*)-oh, big smile there's mom!

It's a tough job, not for the weak of stomach, with terrible pay and no vacation days accruing, but we have fun entertaining ourselves.


(she is focusing really hard on wiggling out of her chair... then how will i get a lunch break?)

Just wait, come summer when I post pics of us lounging by the pool, you'll all be jealous :)

And I will always love you....

Oh, Valentine's Day...

Everyone has an opinion about it.

There are the friend's who hail it as "Singles Awareness Day" and boycott anything lovey-dovey, the friend's who mock the commercialism and deny the need for a day to profess their love,

and those who dress up as cupid and pass out valentine's in hopes of spreading "the love" or holiday cheer.

No matter what category you fall into,

I think everyone wants a little love.

Are you seriously going to tell me when the candy grams and singing valentine's got delivered in high school you didn't secretly hope you might get one (although that would be horribly embarassing at the same time)?

Or even if you've squashed out all excitement for the day you wouldn't smile inside if someone gave you a chocolate and said something thoughtful and nice?

I don't deny I've always wanted these things on Valentine's Day.

When I was younger, every year my dad would give me a box of chocolates and it would make my day. When I was 4 years old my brother saved his allowance and bought me a rose at school and brought it home for me on valentine's day. I felt SO special. One year in provo after slaving all day at the restaurant I came home to a valentine from all my north carolina guy friends (and I might still have it).

And, although I don't recall many horrible valentine's days, I never managed to have a boyfriend on valentine's day until Cary. Our first year was spent 6,000 miles apart. He mailed me a package with a love letter I'll save forever and valentine's peeps (if that isn't love, I don't know what is). Last year, I had to work all night at Verizon. It wasn't the best work day but I came home to shrimp linguine, spinach arugula salad, and we went to a fancy dinner the next night.

But, this year was my best valentine's day yet!

I know that Cary loves me everyday, and he is good about reminding me, and suprising me throughout the year, but with a newborn (especially), cheesy romance takes a back burner to massive spit ups and lack of sleep.

Cary bought me roses (yes, I'm usually the cynic that says they will just die--but come on, they're gorgeous), and wrote me a love note, and took me to my favorite restaurant... and on top of it all, Zoey laughed at all the funny things we said tonight! That girl has great comedic timing and I laughed so hard my face hurt.

Today,

I'm grateful for a cheesy commercialized holiday to celebrate how lucky i am to have Cary in my life. I wouldn't pick anyone else, and I look forward to many wonderful Valentine's Days to come...

***title: rip whitney houston, i loved some of your music***

Falling slowly sing your melody

Happy 3 month birthday Zoey!!!

People ask us all the time, if we can't remember life without you?

Well, I can, vaguely, remember what it feels like to be well-rested, have a flat stomach, and run all my errands in one trip... but life is definitely more entertaining with you around.

You are such a bubbly, fun little baby. You are easy going and you started really laughing this week! We're not sure if you actually think we're funny, or just crazy, but either way we LOVE your laughs and do everything we can to encourage them.

You are getting soo big (well to us at least). You're 12 lbs, and blazed out of your newborn clothes about 3 weeks ago, right past 0-3 mo, and even your 3 mo clothes are almost too short. You are definitely a tall, slender little girl.

Your favorite book is Dr. Seuss's ABC, you always try to mimic whatever exercise your mom is doing, and you especially love getting out and seeing the world (as well as all the attention everyone gives you--quite the social butterfly already).

Baby girl, we love you, and are so glad you came to our family. We truly couldn't have designed a better baby. You are the perfect addition and we are excited for you to continue growing and keep us on our toes.

Love,
Mom and Dad



So spoiled... hanging out in bed.



Hanging with dad



Getting dressed






All dressed up



Love those cheeks.



Ok, she's giving me the finger... I think she's done with photos

In my mind I'm going to carolina

Superbowl, schmuperbowl.

TODAY is game day.

UNC v DUKE 9 pm EST.

I mean, it's only the biggest rivalry in college basketball, and the 2nd biggest sports rivalry ever behind yankee/red sox.

This rivalry dates back to 1920 and has continued with at least 2 games per season often determining the ACC champion.

They have played a total of 232 games with UNC winning 131 of those :) These teams are neck and neck with the most season championships, ACC championships, and UNC is 3rd for all time NCAA championships (5) and Duke is 5th (4).

I mean, in the last 30 years UNC and Duke account for 27% of the NCAA championships, one of these teams has been pre-season ranked #1 at least 50% of the time and ranked at least top three 72% of the time.

This all just boils down to.... a really good game. UNC is currently smoking hot, and Duke well, not so much. Guess we'll see who shows up to play tonight :)

GO HEELS!!!!

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow

Mmmhmm... baby wouldn't go back to sleep at 4 am. So guess who gets put in her snowsuit and then plopped in bed with mom.

Oh yes, we do what we gotta do in the tippets household.

baby come on ooh ooh ooh ooh

I was supposed to wake up baby girl an hour and a half ago... according to the baby books.

The thing is, as much as I try to encourage a schedule, she does what she wants.

She doesn't sleep great at night, some nights she crashes at 8, some nights she's wide awake til midnight. I just don't know.

And I'm exhausted.

And apparently she's exhausted too. So far she's slept through a fire alarm and me taking a picture of her.



The way she sleeps is too funny, right?

The problem is... she was supposed to wake up an hour and a half ago, so I've pretty much wasted the last hour waiting for her to wake up so I can feed her. Oy vey.

Tips? Advice? Comments? Concerns.... actually you can probably just keep those to yourself, this first time mom does a good enough job worrying I'm screwing my kid up :)

You make my dreams come true

Happy Groundhog Day!!!

The first groundhog day I ever celebrated was with good friends, Liz and Jim Pittcavage!

(borrowed photo from liz's fb page)

We watched the movie groundhog day and ate stovetop popcorn thanks to Jim.

I thought the movie was extremely depressing. I felt so bad for the guy and just wanted the day to end.

However, I watched it again while feeding baby and decided it's not so bad. So perhaps you should curl up with some popcorn and enjoy a little cinematic celebration of this fine/ridiculous holiday!

(call me if you need to borrow it)

Oh and the groundhog did see his shadow. 6 more weeks of winter to which I say BRING IT ON!!! With an average temp of 70 degrees, it can be winter til May according to me!

What doesn't kill you makes you stronger

I'm supposed to be working on a talk for church this sunday.

The topic is Christ before his mortal ministry

(basically what can we learn about Christ in the Old Testament and how that has impacted my life).

I'm at a loss. Any tips would be GREATLY appreciated.

So,

rather than reading conference talks and the scriptures,

I'm reading about parenting (hey, at least I'm not reading tabloid websites),

and I came across this great article!

Quirky Discipline Rules That Work

(You should really just read it, she says it better than I could)

But, quick glance for those who don't want to read the whole article:

1. You can't be in the room when I'm working unless you work too.

-Brilliant. They either really want to be with you and will help, or they'll leave you to get things done.

2. I don't work past 8 p.m.

-If they want bedtime stories and what not, no dragging their feet. Ahh I forsee watching Grey's Anatomy in peace...

3. You get what you get and you don't throw a fit

-Basically a more pleasing way to say life's not fair

4. Take that show on the road

-As a mom you really don't have to watch/listen to them perform hours on end or try to talk over them, they can continue playing in another room.

5. We don't argue about money

-Stop begging before it begins. If you say you're not buying something, end of discussion. Two sided though, you have to allow your children to spend their money how they choose.

6. I can't understand you when you speak like that

-Validate feelings, but don't tolerate whining, screaming, rude or otherwise unacceptable language.

7. There's no such thing as boredom

-Encourages kids to entertain themselves, use their imagination, etc.

I represent an entire generation

When you get pregnant the waves of advice never seem to stop.

Everyone's opinion about baby essentials was especially confusing.

I mean, some people were telling me to buy baby wipe warmer's (how ridiculous, as far as I'm concerned a little cold wipe on the tush should be incentive to not wake me up in the middle of the night ;)) to my parents saying all I needed were diapers, onesies, carseat and a crib.

And, though there is a lot of truth to my parents opinion, there have been a few other items that have been fabulous with zoey and made my life so much easier.


Como tomo bottles- absurdly expensive, but they make switching between nursing and bottle seamless, which according to friends is amazing, and according to me worth the money.


















Bouncy Chair, or anything really that will hold the baby that they will sit in, because sometimes you need your hands free and they don't want to be on the floor.





















SwaddleMe- Straightjacket for babies. It keeps babies from waking themselves up during their more active dreams. For a baby who moves a ton--it really does make a big difference in how long she will stay asleep.





















Snowsuit- Ok, this one is probably purely a Zoey thing... but the kid will not stay swaddled in a blanket. She hates to be confined. So a suit covers all her limbs, getting her toasty warm and she falls right asleep. Don't judge me--but we have nights where I'm desperate and put her to bed in her snowsuit because it worked.















Nursing cover- I just sewed one (from this pattern), but it's so much easier than fumbling with a blanket.

Oh and of course the boppy (or as Cary likes to say, my breast friend)... baby is conditioned so when I grab the pillow she calms down because she knows she's getting fed. Also, I'm able to write these oh-so-informative blogs because the pillow frees up a hand!

Anyhow, I'm not saying any of these items are neccesities, simply that to this tired mama these are worth every penny, buy again in a heartbeat items.

What are your baby essentials?

Lala how the life goes on

Stories of Nary

Wow, life got the better of me and killed my blogging momentum, but what better way to get back to business than with a Nary story.

One night during Christmas break, I am up feeding Zoey and my nose starts to run. Generally trying to be considerate of Cary sleeping (why do we both need to be sleep deprived?), I try to get through the feeding, but eventually decide I desperately need a tissue. So I nudge Cary and ask him to hand me a tissue (he was sleeping next to the tissues).

This is where Nary enters.

I ask for a tissue, and Cary hands me March of the Penguins on dvd. Then rolls over and goes back to sleep.

I stare quizzically at Cary and attempt to finish feeding Zoey, but within 5 minutes the snot is about to drip down my face and I am forced to again wake up Cary.

I say "Cary, I really need that tissue."

NARY responds "What the crap! I already gave you a tissue."

Me: "Ummm no, you handed me March of the Penguins"

Nary: "Why would I hand you March of the Penguins?"

Me: "That's a great question. No idea, but I need a tissue. NOW"

Nary: exasperated tone "Oh my gosh. Geez, here's your tissue"

Again... the hilarity factor definitely increases once my nose is wiped and morning comes when I can tell Cary about his late night alter ego.

Oh Nary...

Children behave, that's what they say when we're together

Baby is going through another growspurt, which means she eats every 2 hours, which means I'm not sleeping.

Yay.

I find it slightly less miserable if I pass the hours by reading random blogs (material that generally doesn't require much thought).

Anyhow,

Cary is trying to be supportive, and since Nary is no help, he goes ahead and takes the baby after the 7-9ish feeding and lets me get a nap before she eats next.

So this morning after I finish feeding the baby,

Cary offers to take the baby and I keep reading the blogs on my ipod.

He then tells me "put the ipod away you're supposed to be sleeping!"

I slide the ipod under my pillow.

Cary: "Just like a kid (scolding look), you're just gonna pull it right out when I leave"

Me: "No, I'm not"

Cary: "Yeah you are, give it to me"

Cary then lunges for the ipod, me: "NO I won't" as I throw it across the room

Yeah...

Mmmhmmm...

We're totally ready to be parents.

All the other kids with the...

Sometimes a laugh can fix a rough morning...



Thank You Ellen!

Don't you blink you might miss it

tidbits about zoey

3. Zoey is 2 months old today! Happy 2 months baby girl. She is almost out of newborn clothes, starting to vocalize more, sleeping better, getting cuter by the day, and... a pretty advanced baby ;)

yeah, yeah, yeah every new parent thinks their kid is advanced, but let's check out the milestone chart at babycenter.com

Advanced Skills for 2 months
Holds head steady-check
Can bear weight on legs- check
lifts head and shoulders during tummy time- check

Emerging skills for 3 months
Squeals, gurgles, coos- check
Recognizes your voice- (well mine, cary, and grandma) check

Advanced Skills for 3 months
Turns toward loud sound- check
Can bring hands together and bat at toys- check

Holding her own bottle!

So for the record baby girl... you're advanced! (Nevermind that she was 2 weeks late (and yes, I reserve the right to hold that against her for as long as I want))

It doesn't matter as long as we got eachother

Sometimes being in the student phase of life isn't always the greatest...
and then around comes Christmas break.

Cary has been home for a whole month! It has been glorious!

I LOVE having him around. We're definitely not a couple who gets tired of each other or needs our own space. I wish he could stay home all the time. We often ask ourselves why we didn't pull a bieber and make millions in our teens so we could stay home and raise our baby (maybe babies in the future) together, then open an ice cream shop as our retirement from parenting.

All I can say is
he has a pretty flexible schedule and gets to be home more often than most husbands/fathers...
but Zoey and I already miss having him around. Hurry up Spring Break!!!

Just look over your shoulder

tidbits about zoey

2. Zoey is already my little social butterfly. She loves going to crowded places and constantly looking around. She will let anyone hold her. And she's especially happy being held up to your shoulder so she can look over and see what's going on...

And he don't know...

Stories of Nary

Nary is Cary's alter ego, also known as Negative Cary. He only shows up in the middle of the night when awoken from a deep sleep. You would think after being married over a year, I would have encountered Nary before recent events... but I didn't often get up in the middle of the night before recent events.

The discovery of Nary

About 2 weeks after Zoey was born, I was getting up every 2 hours to feed baby girl and one night in the rush to calm the crying kiddo I forgot to grab the extra pillows at the end of the bed to lean against.

So, even though I try to avoid waking Cary up in the middle of the night (I want him to be rested for school, so he can get good grades, graduate and make lots of money), I tap him on the shoulder and ask him to hand me the pillows that are literally 3 feet from his hand.

Cary, turns, stares at me, and then with a voice of exasperation states "I'm too tired," and rolls over and falls back asleep.

Oh, was I steaming at that point. I was so angry--he's tired!?!?!

About an hour later as I'm rocking HIS baby back to sleep, he wakes up a little and asks a question which I answered in a snappy, irritated manor. He then asks why I'm so angry, and I refresh his memory of the previous encounter and he claims he has no recollection.

Hence, the realization that Cary has an uncontrolled, rude, alternate personality between the hours of midnight and 6am.


Stay tuned for more Nary stories... they're funny (once I get over the initial anger)

Play the music low

tidbits about zoey
(for those who aren't close anymore to get to know her yourself)

1. Zoey will not fall asleep on her own. She requires rocking, which the first few weeks of life nearly killed my back (rocking while standing, she knows when you're sitting and screams in protest)... until I discovered her love of music. She will almost always fall asleep within 10 minutes if you rock her and sing her to sleep.

Cary and I have decided she's destined to be a great singer with regular exposure to some of the greats at such a young age. She's also destined to write a novel titled "My life is a bad musical" because Cary and I are the worst singers you've ever heard....

She still gets a look of suprise when we burst into song... someday she'll just hang her head in shame.

December never felt so wrong...

No posts about zoey's first christmas.

I'll confess, december didn't go how I had planned, ok hoped. I was just trying to stay on top of the basics and didn't really touch on christmas celebrations/traditions at all.

C'est la vie.

It's a new year and I am getting a fresh start!

A few years ago I finally discovered a few keys to successfully completing my new years resolutions. First, keep it to 3 or 4 (generally, a spiritual, physical and intellectual for me) this keeps you from getting overwhelmed. Second, the goal has to be measurable (i.e. lose 10 pounds, not just "get in shape"). Third, you have to be accountable--whether to family, friend, cyberspace, whatever works.

My spiritual goal this year is to actually have Family Home Evening every monday. Before Zoey, I was great at dismissing FHE because every night was Cary and I at home... (if you ever need excuses I'm really good at them).

Anyhow, now that I'm a parent I figure there's a few things I should at least try to do ;)

Monday, we discussed our goals for the year, broke them down for the week and will report back next week on our progress. We also discussed President Monson's new years message, specifically attitude--a key to success in any area.

“Attitude, to me, is more important than … the past, … than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness, or skill. It will make or break a company, a church, a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day.” -Charles Swindoll

At least she has grandma's that buy her christmas ornaments and outfits :)