Long Time, No Post

Hello world of blogging! I know I disappeared for awhile, but life has been very eventful, especially since Leah started walking. We are always running around, and yes, I mean running. When she gets going, it is hard to stop her. I cannot believe her first birthday is coming up. She is doing everything already, walking; drinking milk; and eating "real" food. Ever since we started the milk, she seems to be sleeping a little longer at night. She usually still wakes up once, but most of the time, she heads right back to sleep. She also has a "big" girl bed. No more cradle for Miss Leah. She has made so many milestones in the past couple months. It is amazing to think where Aaron and I where a year ago.
So I have been trying to do the job thing, and I have had a couple bites. Employers tell me how amazing my resume and cover letter are, but when they get into the hours I can work and hear I have to rely on daycare hours, it is over. It angers me so much that mothers are discriminated against. Anyways, I decided that maybe I should make it harder for them to turn me down; so I am going back to school starting this Wednesday. It is online through Kaplan, so this way I don't have to take out another loan for daycare. I can be at home with her and doing my schooling. It should only take me until March to complete, and I will have my paralegal certification. I decided teacher was a no go since it would take me twice as long to complete. I would also have to wait until Leah starts preschool because I am not willing to take out that extra loan. So, I am excited and nervous; but I am definitely ready.
Another note, I have a new part-time gig with Examiner.com. I write for them as an independent contractor in the New Orleans Family Entertainment section. It does not pay a whole lot, but it gets me published. Exposure is a necessity if you ever want to write. Anyways, that is all the new going on right now. Hopefully, you will hear from me sooner than two months. Take care everyone and keep safe.

We have a walker

So Leah is now walking as much as she crawls. I cannot believe she has grown so fast. I am so proud of her, and she smiles at me every time she walks without falling. My little girl is trying to be ahead of the class. She is walking before some of her older friends, but I know if she is doing it now, they will catch up soon.
I am already starting to plan her birthday. I know what I am going to do, and I plan on doing everything pretty much homemade. It is going to be a Mickey birthday since every time he comes on the TV she goes crazy. I got everything from the Playhouse Disney site. It should help to save a little money too which is great. I am so excited.
Anyways, I just wanted to give an update. Also, I have lost about 12 pounds now. Yay!

A New Me

So I put on a decent amount of weight when I got pregnant thanks to swelling and just normal pregnancy weight...lets say about sixty pounds pounds. Everyone who knew me prepregnancy know that I was a tiny person most of my life. I gained a little weight during college, but I needed to.
Right after Leah was born, I instantly dropped about thirty. I have been stuck since with the extra thirty. I was never really dedicated to losing it until recently with all the heart stuff and just feeling run down all the time.
When I got back from Ohio, I decided to start walking. I noticed that I was losing a little but not a lot. I then started watching the show Cooking Yourself Thin. I became inspired to cook good, low calorie food. I took their advice and multiplied the weight I wanted to be times ten, and that is how many calories I allow myself a day. According to them, if you do this equation, you can lose all the weight in six weeks.
Since I started the cooking healthy with the walking, I have now lost ten pounds. I am losing the weight quickly for now, and I know it is about to get harder. I am just happy to be seeing my figure again and seeing myself fit into old clothes comfortably. I am beginning to feel energized and want to walk that extra lap and do the extra exercise at night.
Once you get started, it is not that hard to keep going. I thought I would never be able to count calories, but I am. Anyways, I just wanted to share some excitement.

In other news, Leah now has eight teeth and is beginning to take steps. You has quite the little personality on her, and it gets easier as she gets older. I know people say it gets hard when they begin to walk, but I love her independence and sense of adventure...plus, it keeps me going. It is so hard to believe in July, she will be 1. My little girl is growing so fast.

Random beach day

So Aaron and I decided to do something completely random yesterday and go to the beach. We are pretty boring people, so when we decide to just up and do something, it becomes a big deal for us. We had a blast at Biloxi. Leah loved the sand and water, but she did not appreciate the roaring from the waves. I am pretty sure we will be going back more often. It was nice to break up the routine a bit.

Inspired

I have been feeling this sort of flame stirring lately, and I have been curious of what it is. Today, the flame turned into a fire; and I realized my passion for expression is yearning to come back out and play.
Since I graduated from LSU, I have neglected simple enjoyments that I had. I stopped writing and painting. I loved doing both, and they helped to free up trapped emotion. Today, I sat down and wrote a poem. After revising it several times, I submitted it to a journal. I need to start doing that more often. I need exposure.
I also decided that I am going to venture into handmade goods. I am inspired by a local artisan to do so, and I am going to make children's clothing, burp clothes, diaper bags, etc. First, I need to buy a sewing machine and other supplies like fabric and thread. I am so excited, and if it does not work out, I will know how to make my own things.
Anyways, I thought I would share my new discovery because it is important to me. I hope you all have a good night, and I hope you never give up on what makes you happy. Night Night

Doctor Appt

So I told you all that Leah and I were passing something back and forth. Well, I am over it except a cough, but poor Leah has a double ear infection... :-(. Doctor gave us meds, but he said that he believes hers may be allergies and not a cold. I now have to give her claritin everyday for two weeks, and if that works, he will be putting her on allergy meds for awhile. I feel so bad. I keep my house clean, but I feel like I am not catching something. Hopefully between the prescription and the claritin this will all disappear fast.

Good news is, is that she is seeming to be well on her way. She is only nineteen pounds at nine months, but she is 28 and a half inches tall. She is going to be tall like the men on both sides. Well, I am off. Catch you guys later.

What are you afraid of?

Last night my father and I had an interesting conversation, and at one point, he claimed that he had me pin pointed. I chuckled and asked him how so. He claimed that I was not afraid of anything but fear itself. I was confused by this until he proceeded to explain, "If someone broke in your house right now, you would not hesitate to attack them. You are a strong person, but if someone, broke in her house and walked out before returning you would crumble into a million pieces."
I thought awhile about this, and I realized that fear is a lack of control. My fear is fear, lacking control. If you really think about it, everyone (well, most people) has this in common. We are not really afraid of spiders or heights. We are afraid of not being able to control what happens if the spider bites us or we fall off that building.
I know some of you probably think this is just a random "common sense" type of rambling, but I really do believe it is one of the wisest things I have heard thus far. Anyways, I must go before the little one wakes up. Have a wonderful day.

Change is here

So I believe the trip to Ohio did some good. I have the almost awkward sense of calmness. Usually, I am stressing over stuff I cannot change; but I just do not care anymore. I do not believe this lack of care is a bad thing, but I have grown so accustom to caring about menial things that it just feels awkward.
Right now, I feel my main focus is making my family happy. They are the reason I get up in the morning and work so very hard to help make there dreams come true. I have also realized they have done the same for me.
If it was not for Aaron, I would not be able to stay home and play with my little angel or have the beautiful home we have. He works day in and day out to make sure we never have to go without. He is the man I prayed to marry, and I thank God everyday for bringing such a loving and giving man into my life.
If is was not for our beautiful gift Leah, I do not feel my heart would be a complete piece. It sounds corny, but man! I do love waking up to those big blue eyes peeping over that crib. She is the reason I strive so hard to help make our happy little life together.
God has blessed me so incredibly much, and I believe if I just let him handle all the petty stuff, I will be okay. No one and nothing but God and my family can have my happiness anymore. I have one life, and it is about time I truly start enjoying it.

Back from Ohio

So long time no see. I am happy to be back home with the hubby, but I cannot say that I don't miss my family or the cold weather. We had a wonderful trip, and Leah grew so much during that time. She now has six teeth and is standing at times without holding onto anything. She is also taking steps with help of course. The last thing she started doing is saying "dada", so that was a nice treat for Aaron when we got back.
I really miss being able to see my family whenever, and I miss not sweating my butt off during the summer. I am, however, happy that my family is not going through the economic crisis that is occurring up there. Every time the news came on, it would talk about how this or that city is laying off more policemen or firefighters. It also talked about all the plants that were getting shut down.
It makes me sad to know so many people are losing there homes because both the mother and father lost their jobs, and people are even having a hard time finding part time jobs up there. They in high demand.
The trip to Ohio was bitter sweet. If the economy was not in the shit hole it is, I would not mind moving up there. I love the weather, and it is so beautiful where my parents live. I hope you all took care of yourselves. Have a good one.

H...iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii

"Hi," that was Leah's first word. She has always mumbled out ma and da, but usually only when she is fussing. Yesterday, however, I said hi to her; and she responded with a, "H....iiiiiiii." I was so incredibly tickled. She is still doing it too; of course, she says it better sometimes than others. I am proud of her either way. I am so happy in four hours my parents will be here to meet her for the very first time!
It has been over a year since I have seen them, and I believe one year is long enough. I just hope it does not rain the entire time they are here. It looks nasty today, but no plans today but to let them rest. Well, I am off. If you don't hear from me for a bit, you know why. Take care and see ya later.

Sunday cannot come quick enough

I wish it were Sunday already. I wish my parents were here with me, but I have some last minute cleaning to do before they get here. I got a lot done, but I do not want to dust or "really" clean the floors until it is closer. I sweep every day, but I want to wait to do the whole nine yards because the dogs will just drag in more grime.
Speaking of dogs, their appointments went well. We never realized how protective Kindle is over Leah until the receptionist when to touch Leah, and Kindle let out the massive bark at her. I was impressed. Kindle also went from a 40lb puppy to a 60lb 11 mo. old. I guess seeing her every day, I did not realize how big she is getting. She is not fat by any means. She is just a big dog.
Tomorrow, I will be dusting and cleaning our ferret and rabbit cages. Bah! I really don't want to clean the cages because my allergies are freaking out. Aaron usually does them, but he has been working a lot so he can have a couple days off when my parents are here. Anyways, I am going to run. Have a good night everyone.

What do they think about?

I decided to write a post tonight since I will be running errands in the morning. Leah and I had another productive and fun day. I cleaned bathrooms and windows today while she played in her playroom with her toys. After the bathrooms were cleaned, I planned on going to the mall for a walk; but a nasty storm came through. We ended up cuddled up in the living room with the dogs because everyone was scared of the thunder and lightening. After things calmed down, Leah and I played on the patio; and I ended up getting some decent pictures of her and Austin.
While I was taking pictures of her, I watched and studied her...weird,yes. I was fascinated how everything she touched looked new and she studied every little detail. It made me realize how much we all take for granted, a blade of grass; the smell of air after it rains; the warmth from the sun as it gently caresses our face. I admired her in her innocence, and I became in love with her all over again. She is my angel and reminder from God to stop every now and then and appreciate the little things. I love her so incredibly much and the beauty she brings into my life. I am off until tomorrow night. Good night and take care.

April showers bring May flowers, but man, do I hate those showers.

Leah and I had a great day yesterday. I vacuumed my car while she played near by with a toy and tried to venture away from me every now and then. We also got to play in the garden. Well, she played "pull the petals off flowers" while I played "pull the nasty, horrible weeds". We then took a field trip to Petsmart where she got to look at all the pretty fish. The child loves watching fish, and Aaron and I plan on getting Mrs. Jean's tank one day for her. We will probably do that whenever Leah and I get back from Ohio. Anyways, we were pretty productive yesterday.
I have to try to get the house clean over the next couple days because my parents are coming. It is not horrible, but it could be dusted and the floors gone over. I just hate that it is going to rain yet again. Every time I think about cleaning, it rains. When it rains, the dogs drag the dirt and grime right back into the house. Bah.
Well, I am done for today. By the way, I am going to start adding a picture whenever I can. One of my blog mommies does this, and I think it is a wonderful idea. She is so talented. Mine are definitely not up to par, but I will post them anyway. Have a wonderful day everybody.

OMG! What am I going to do?!

So I have not been feeling good lately, and my hormones have been crazy. I had a light period. This happened when I was pregnant with Leah, so I got really nervous and decided to take a test. OMG! It says I am pregnant! What am I going to do? I am suppose to be going back to school!
















Happy April FOOLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Bwahahahaha!!!!!!!!!!!

My little monster is a big girl.

So I am tickled to death that Leah is now standing for decent amounts of time by herself. She will not do it of course if I am encouraging such behavior, but the moment I turn, she stands there. I cannot believe how quickly she is growing. Soon my little baby will be walking around. It is a good thing I bought her supportive shoes a week ago when she lost one of her old ones in the mall.
My only worry is that she starts walking in Ohio. I hope she waits until she gets back home to daddy. He has gotten to see her do everything, and I really, really do not want him to miss her first steps. I am going to try my hardest while we are there to get her to wait.
Anyways, I wanted to share my joy with you all. I am going to catch some much needed sleep before cleaning tomorrow. Good night.

Trying to be nice

Lately, I have been trying to work on the whole being nice thing because anyone who really knows me knows that I do not come by that easily. I tend to be very opinionated and hurtful when it comes to people in general and how they treat other. It has been so hard these past two weeks, and it seems like everyone is trying their hardest to get me to break. Believe me, these people do not want to see me break. If it does break, the person it breaks on might want to run because there is a lot of built up frustration inside.
This whole being nice thing has made me realize how much I dislike people in general. They always stick their noses where it really does not need to be. I am so tired of people critiquing and pointing at all my flaws when they need to look at themselves for a good long minute. I bet they would not like what they see; in fact, the people that usually critique and point at others flaws are usually not happy in their own lives. Maybe, I just need to keep telling myself that.

Friends...I need a few new ones

I am so aggravated. I am sick of being the friend that is always calling and making plans with everyone else. I am sick of being that friend no one else has to worry about. I am not talking about all my friends just the two I call my best friends...sad I know. I am sick of excuses. You both gave me hell whenever I had shit I had to do, but I would end up putting off school work or staying up later 'cause you would whine and whine. Now what are you doing, since you have the luxury of being miles away, putting me off. I find out one friend was real close a couple weeks ago. She was so close she could have came and just said hi. She, however, decided not to. She told me that she would be busy this whole month...yes this whole month.
I am sick of the "friends" I have...not all of you but quite a few of you. I have another who cancels with me. She just had surgery fine...whatever. You went on a date last night though then call me today to cancel a playdate our daughters had cause you are to sore...you weren't to sore to go out last night or the night before that. Screw both of you. I am done!

Friends and Family

So my family is coming down from Ohio in less than one month, and I could not be more excited. This will be the first time that my mom, stepdad, youngest sister, and brother will meet Leah. She will be eight months the 21st, and she is crawling and holding onto things walking. I am sad they missed the real baby period, but I am so glad they get to see her as a little person. I really miss them and cannot wait to be around them all again.
So our little family is doing much better lately. Aaron and I have learned to cope with Leah's tantrums much better, and she is having much less. Lately, it is getting a little bad because her damn teeth, but at the same time, I am glad to be getting it all over with. Aaron and I won't be having anymore children until I am ceritified and have taught at least a year. We then and only then will decide when to actually start trying, but we have one thing we must do before, take little Leah to Disney World. She loves Mickey. She eyes stayed glued whenever he is on. I love the snot out of her. She looks so much like her daddy which makes her ten times more beautiful. Those two are my world.
Onto friends, I miss and love you guys. I am sorry all of you live far away, but I will make it out to see you all sometime. I really need to take a trip to Baton Rouge and come see you Tia. Kristina good luck with your surgery, and I will try my best to make it up there next week. Melissa if you need help with your wedding or just want to talk about it give me a jingle, and I will call you next time I come to Hammond so we can hang. I love you guys. Thanks for being there for me through thick and then.
Anyways, I am off to check on the little one. It is nap time, and I want to see if she is asleep yet. Talk to some of you soon.

Blah Mood

Sometimes I get in these really funky moods. I cannot explain why, I just do. I want to be left alone, and everyone just to avoid me. I want to hide away in my little shell and think...about nothing in particular. I know weird, but I am weird.
It started off a good day. Hubby and I got the yard straight bright and early. We went and picked up the monster...that is nickname because she use to be, and we went to the mall were we walked around until she woke up. We had lunch, and then we went to hang out at the park. It was a gorgeous day to go sit, but we all started to turn pink. We then went to grocery store, and when we got home is when I just started to blah. Ya.
I do not know. Maybe, I will figure it out. I decide that I needed to start reading since I will be teaching English within the next couple years. I am going to SLU in the fall to start my certification. I will only be taking one English class the whole year and a half that I am there, so I thought it best if I just keep reading on my own and study the authors. I bought The Awakening by Kate Chopin. My counselor at SLU had suggested it, so I said why not. Anyways, I am going to run off now and try to work this mood out.

It has been such a beautiful week.
I have been taking Leah to a park everyday, and she has had such a blast. She tries to, of course, eat everything in site. She loves it, and I love when she gets to enjoy herself. Today, because it is Sunday, the parks are probably crazy, so we are going to work in the yard. I am going to work in the yard, anyways, while Leah plays and crawls around.
Leah is growing so fast. She now has four complete teeth. Thank God! They finally all broke skin so if she wakes up in the middle of the night it is only once. I just wish the girls hair would grow. We are so use to seeing her without hair that it is going to look so funny when it finally does come in.
Well, my family will be coming in a month. I am so excited. My mom has been unable to meet Leah, and it is such a shame because she will be eight and a half months when she sees her for the first time. I am happy that Leah will get to meet my mom before she goes through the real bad attachment phase that everyone is telling me about.
Anyways, I just felt like writing. Going to go do some stuff before the little monster wakes up and we start out day.

No more living in the past.

So I decided I will not proceed to write about the past because it is there for a reason. So I have been evaluating my life a lot lately. I do this every now and then as a checks and balance short of thing, and I have realized that I need fix some things.
I have been focused a little too much on myself. I have forgotten about old friends that I loved and still love, and I have been a little selfish when it comes to family matters.
I am turning 24 this year. I am still young, but it is about time to stop with the bullshit. My life isn't about me anymore. It is about my family and the friends who have stuck by me through thick and then.
So why come to this now because I am healing. I am coming out of the big black cloud of depression and "poor pitiful me's". I wanted to say I am sorry to a close friend of mine who I have not seen in four long years. I love you girl, and I am sorry we are just now seeing each other again. Sorry, I never called or driven down before. I hope that we can stay friends for a lifetime. To my family even though Leah you cannot read this and Aaron you are not on enough, sorry I have lost my cool and put you all through hell and back. Thank you for loving me unconditionally and putting up the nasty temper and impatience I have had. Good bye to that nasty temper. Because of you, I have hurt people who mean everything to me. I have let you control my life and my health. I have let you control my actions, but no longer will you do this. Good bye random clubs and drinking. I am no longer single, and I am a mommy. This should not be my scene. When I am free for a night, I should be doing "married" and "mommy" things like going out to eat, movies, shopping, etc. I am out of college, and I do not need to possibly put myself in a situation that could permanently scar my family. Good bye to hate. As much as I have tried to deny you, I have let your ugly head creep in the depths of my mind and control my feelings. I refuse to be sad, depressed, angry, etc. I want to be and will be happy.
I am turning 24 this year, and it is about time I started acting like it.

Explanation and Greetings

Hi, so I guess I will start this blog by introducing my self and my title. My name Elizabeth, and I am twenty three years old. I am a stay at home mommy to a beautiful seven month old girl named Leah, but I do plan to get my certification in secondary education this fall. I have been married to my wonderful hubby Aaron for a little over a year now, and he is the foundation of my sanity.
Life has big one big roller coaster for me. I never planned to stay here in Louisiana. I always planned to runaway to somewhere, where the mountains met the ocean; but life has a funny way of turning things around. It tends to take your plan A and make it, its plan B.
I met my wonderful husband while I was previously engaged...oooo, ya I know. I never once cheated on the guy. I know you are thinking," Ya, right." We got distant. He was more into computers than he was me. We never did anything, and I started to lose who I was. I wanted to travel, do things. He was quite content at home on the computer. He was a good guy, but I didn't get the attention I needed. I needed someone who would encourage me to go out there and spread my wings and kick life in the ass. Aaron did that for me. He loved my independent spirit. He loved that I wanted to be my own person. Needless to say, I noticed our friendship blossoming quickly and broke it off the relationship with my ex.
Aaron and I quickly became more than friends and within two months were engaged. I know crazy right, but sometimes when you meet the one it doesn't matter. Screw what everyone else thinks. Do what makes you happy.
Aaron and I were engaged a year before we got married, and a month before we got married, we found out we were pregnant with Miss Leah. Who by the way is now awake, and I must attend to her. I will hopefully finish within the next couple days. Everyone take care of yourselves and God bless!