Things of Lately.

Life has seemed to settle into a pretty predictable pattern around here (which usually means it’s all about to go up in smoke one way or another. ).

- I celebrated my birthday hanging out with my favorite homeslice all day, since Mike ended up having to work late (I don’t really know why I keep referring to it as ‘ended up having to work late’ since working late is the norm), and we had a great time. Dinner consisted of take out Chinese and Skype with Nana! All the Facebook love and phone calls were great! Thanks everybody!

- I’m over halfway through pregnancy #2 and I can honestly say that this one is kicking my butt. Mike has been awesome about picking up all the slack when he’s home, and not complaining about coming home to a messy house all the time. I think that our couch has a permanent indent of my body and any friends I thought that I’ve made around here think that I’ve dropped off the face of the earth. I can say that I will honestly be beyond happy when this little duffer gets here, and I know that I won’t ever have to handle another pregnancy. Some women seem to really love it, me… not so much. The hardest part is not being able to play with Shannon as much as I would love too. Most days it’s all I can do to get her food, a cup of milk, water, or juice and sit on the floor while she wanders around me. I jump on the energy while I have it, then pay for it the next two days.

I blame the humidity… now… enough whining !

- Shannon continues to be an active, curious little tornado. She’s into EVERYTHING and I think that that’s great! I can’t wait to start looking for her very own first pony (Mike disagrees with me.

) because she loves her time at the barn and playing with all her animals at home. She’s a little rough with the kittens, but she’s learning. Hopefully they will hit the point of “being to big to pick up by the head” soon. Since we moved, and having to deal with all the military paperwork that comes with enrolling her at the hospital she’s a little bit behind on her well baby (well toddler?) appointments, but my massive guns can attest to the fact that she’s quickly gaining weight! *knock wood* She’s a healthy kid, full of energy and a serious sense of humor. She LOVES to play in the sprinkler in the back yard and hang out at the waterpark with her Dad.

We usually go outside everyday after lunch and she makes a beeline for the back door as soon as I lift her down from her high chair. Sitting and watching a movie is still nowhere near her radar, even if I put food in front of her.

She’s a pretty good eater, and her favorite foods are okra (?!), brussel sprouts, and chicken nuggets. Quite the combo, and honestly… I have no idea where the okra love has come from. Apparently I’m raising a Southern Belle and had no clue. Maybe we’ll give Grits a try next!

- Mike is still kicking ass and taking names at work. That’s pretty much his life right now, and he’s amazing at what has been dropped into his lap. We recently had a work barbecue to attend and while he spent the entire time on the phone (there were kids on the floor!), everybody that I talked to had nothing but amazing things to say about him and what he’s done. It was great to meet the people that he works with and to hear them speak so well about him. He still has the energy to come home and play with Shannon, so really, what more could a girl ask for?!

- The four legged members of our family are doing well. Jaxson is still overly obsessed with ‘his’ kittens, and chases them around any chance that he gets. Our yard currently looks like a plastics factory exploded because he is such an enthusiastic chewer, I’m hoping he’s teething but it’s been a pretty consistent problem since we brought him home. He’s almost a year old, so who knows. It’s the worst when we leave. Last time we made sure that everything was picked up, he pulled the child safe outlet plugs right out of the sockets. Now I toss him a few envelops of junk mail from the ‘shred’ pile and make him work. If you can’t beat ‘em…join ‘em! He’s (and Dixie) amazing with Shannon though, so it makes it pretty easy to overlook the whole “must shred EVERYTHING” mentality.

- Willow and Sadie are doing  just as well. After Mike gets home from work, he usually takes charge of whatever is left of Shannon’s bedtime routine while I hoof it out to the barn to feed the ladies. Willow has started to recognize that Mom = FOOD and I love the overly enthusiastic greetings I get whenever I pull in. That horse has come such a long way from when we started, it makes my heart happy. I’m not riding at any sort of capacity right now that’s more than walking around the arena or up and down the driveway bareback, but I enjoy every moment I spend with her! I’m thinking about doing some in-hand showing with her this summer, and am excited to see what 2014 will bring for us as a pair.

Sadie is improving more and more everyday, and I’m excited to see her going to her new home with Shelby. Congrats ladies… you are going to do explosive things!

Willow is going to miss her new ‘sister’!

So overall we’re doing great! Every time I publish a blog post I always say, “I really need to start posting more” but really, we don’t do anything of great excitement (that will change in July… *hint hint*) and I’m sure nobody wants to hear, “Shannon woke up at 9, hand breakfast, pooped her pants, had a nap, had lunch, played outside, had a snack, chased the dogs, had dinner, went to bed” every week… so there you have it. A day in the life.

I AM thinking about picking up this whole kaboodle and moving it back to blogger, so that I can start posting videos/clickable links again, but we’ll see if that ACTUALLY happens. We all know how well Willow’s blog is going (read: 2 entries then her ground covering trot put me in L&D and they told me not to do that anymore….poo on them) so no promises! I don’t want to lose any entries, so hopefully I can figure out how to pick the whole thing up and move it. I’ve tried a few times, but it was less than successful…

Have a great day!