my people on the web

i've got some pretty talented, smart, hard-working, fascinating, driven and entertaining folks in my life.

being surrounded by people with those qualities will keep you motivated.

daily, i am challenged to get up and do something by those that surround me- my family and my friends.

whether it be creative, academic or physical in nature, i am motivated to do something.

here are two of my people that are doing something:

My brother is getting his doctorate in Psychology at UT Southwestern in Dallas.

He has his MBA from Ole Miss and masters in Psychology from Pepperdine.

He's pretty smart, i suppose.

Recently, he wrote a blog post about taming fear and doubt, something we all can relate to.

oh, you don't have doubts or fears?  i'm calling your bluff.

give it a read and be encouraged

i sure was

and take away some great, practical tips

my friend, Buzz, was recently featured on Our Style Stories

a wonderful space created by Hilary Walker, of Dallas, who "writes stories about people with unique style, distinct points of view and creative pursuits". 

that's Laura, for sure.

killer style, incredibly creative and not afraid to try new things.

and super awesome to boot.

if you'll follow the arrow...

so,  i'm kind of famous, too

i guess i'm off to try and make something of myself.

the story of Townes birthday

I bring you the edited and shrunk-wrapped version of Townes birth.

edited because, well, sharing the details of labor and delivery on the world wide web just ain't my jam.

and i'm sharing because what kind of mom-blogger (i've resorted to the title) would i be if i didn't share a birth story?!?

I never did share about Judson's birth because it was not pretty and i don't really care to relive it in writing. 

Of course, of course, of course I am incredibly thankful for the ability to have and delivery my babies. Most definitely I am grateful that everyone was and is healthy! but, that doesn't mean I want to remember all of the details.

moving on.

Townes birth was much better and the recovery has been a dream (relatively. it is post-partum, after all). I was ready to go home that night!

But, for some reason, my labor and delivery did not go as smoothly as desired...again.

in (not very) brief:

we went in to the hospital on Tuesday morning, i was 40 weeks and 1 day.

I had already dilated 4-5cm (already too much detail for some i do realize, i'll try to refrain going forward) and was having contractions but nothing consistent and no other labor signs.

We arrived at 630, check in, gown on, IV started, antibiotic began, hook up to monitors, etc, etc.

by 745 I was having a reaction to the antibiotic- Red Man Syndrome. not fun.

so, we get that taken care of and move on. I receive some IV Benadryl and am out-like a light.

Doctor comes in a breaks my water to get the party rolling.

Epidural please.

So by 10am something or the other, I am in and out thanks to the lovely Benadryl, have received my epidural (thank you modern medicine!) and am progressing in the dilation department.

for a couple of hours all is well, family come and go.

we hang out, do some chit-chatting

GT's mom brings Judson in and he is not such a fan of me laying in the bed

oh! did I mention that Townes (who was unnamed at this point) was sunny side up.

not optimal.

So they turn me to my side to help him flip.

for some reason, i start to feel the contractions again. a little pressure at first, then yeah-that hurts.

I've dilated to an 8 and am reeeeeaaaaallllllyyyyy feeling the contractions.

promptly ask GT to kick everyone out of my room. I was over social hour.

then begins the crazy, tv-labor Kate.

GT called the nurses station twice on the call bell to let them know that someone needed to hurry because I needed to push and told them to hurry, to which they responded. "ok, she'll be in there in a minute".

being the smart man that he is, he marched himself out to the hall and put a pep in their step.

prompt arrival of nursing staff. they took one look at me and got busy.

p.s. my doctor was at a meeting.
 outside of the hospital.

I'm not sure the time frame or sequence of events, but baby flew down my birth canal (sorry, details) and I was asking politely for someone to catch. ha!

GT could probably give you a better run-down of the events and my choice of words.

what i do know is that I was demanding that my nurse deliver the baby and that I, in fact, did NOT know how to and could NOT "just don't push" and "relax" and "breathe".

let me tell you one thing, when you need to push a baby out- you need to push a baby out.

ESPECIALLY when your epidural does not work!

so, like i said. i was trying not to push and breathe and relax and ALL that mumbo jumbo I was not prepared to do without an epidural. 

If I had been prepared for a natural delivery, maybe I would've had better control of myself, but I had gone into this gig prepared to enjoy an epidural'd (word?) delivery. 

Call me a sissy, if you will, but that's where I was at. 

At this point, i told them that i was not responsible for the words coming out of my mouth.

where was i?

ok, back on track. (brief? you say. yep)

Dr. Wilson arrived and as he walked in the door, he said "what happened with the epidural?" 

to which i replied, "i'm not paying for that!"... classy, huh?

then i told him to get a move on, because he needed to deliver a baby, like 5 minutes ago.

chop chop.

then came pushing

holy painful pushes

i yelled out numerous times that i could't do it and i meant it.

that was, seriously, the hardest thing i can EVER remember doing.

i really thought that i might never see my baby and was ok with him staying put.

i tried to quit, but my amazing coaches- GT, Dr.Wilson, nurses Cynthia and Debbie- were so encouraging
and demanding, i might add, that I knew I could and would do it.
I pushed for about 15-20 minutes, which might as well have been 16 hours

then, i heard him cry.

and i can guarantee you that i have never known such a sense of relief, joy or accomplishment.

never have i ever been so happy to meet someone (double chin and all)

after an hour or so of just me, GT and Townes, our family got to meet him

due to his sunny side up status, little brother entered this world looking like a prize fighter.

swollen eyes and tad bit of brusing

after a few days, the swelling went down and we realized that he had eyelashes

and the prettiest, deep blue, big eyes!

i am so thankful that GT's parents were able to be there!

His mom took care of Judson all day and that eased my mind so much, knowing he was taken care of and having a blast!

He surprised us all by his reaction when seeing Townes for the first time!

he walked in and said "bay-bay" with a big grin, giving him a sweet little lean-hug.

we are insanely blessed by family!

having my family close has so many benefits, one of which is watching them love on our kids.

even though the labor and delivery did not go as we would have liked, we still met our sweet Townes.

and yes, i would do it again tomorrow and the next day and the day after that.

us moms are crazy like that.

a trip to Texas home

i love going to GT's Texas home

and knew that Townesy would love it just as much!

this being his maiden voyage to the state

spending a few days at his parents house, where he grew up, is one of my favorite things to do

Judson LOVES being with his Grammy and Pawpaw and can not stop talking about going to their house. 

Our weekend (a few weeks ago) was full of playing, playing and more playing

we ate, relaxed and soaked up the time being with one another.

Kimmy came in to meet Townes!

It was made so much sweeter by having good friends come over

GT's best friends since childhood came in town with their families 

we spent an afternoon and evening together, catching up and letting the kids (and adults) play

i am so thankful for this crew

the guys grew up together and have been best friends for 20+ years, but us wives have become great friends over the past few years

and i just love being with them any chance we get .which is not often enough

the dudes

Judson is a year younger than these two

(can you say ginormo?)

i'm ready to go back

and i'm sure the boys are just as eager

heaven for this boy 

i do not take it for granted that I married into a wonderful family

and can feel like i'm home every time we visit them

my motherly tips, tricks, ramblings, lessons and non-lessons

1. does anyone know how to teach a toddler how to whisper?

no?

ok, i'll just keep on this futile effort train

2. here's a little trick i have up my sleeve

if i feel like things are getting a bit too rowdy

judson is being loud, toys everywhere, baby is requiring bouncing/walking, we need food, etc, etc, etc

i turn on praise baby "God of Wonders" and the mood changes instantly

things aren't instantly clean, JR isn't instantly quiet, we aren't fed, but it calms me and in turn calms the house.

i do this often and repeat

3. Judson is a climber

he's a mover actually

so if there is something in front of him that is higher than him, his next move is up

without fail, i will say, "Judson, get down or you will fall"

and as the word "fall" rolls off of my tongue, he is-guess what? falling.

every single time.

one of us will learn a lesson some day

but probably not today

luckily he rebounds quickly and is right back to doing other risky things in a heartbeat

4. GT has got the loud snap, point and "Judson Ray" down pat

and it is AMAZING how responsive JR is to this

and thank goodness, he is!

we went family shopping at Sams the other day, because GT wanted to help/keep me from making impulse buys. 

i don't blame him. this is a real thing.

he has successfully kept me from solo trips Target for months for this very reason and i think that's a good thing really. 

my self-control in the $1 aisle is non-existent.

any who.

we were in the check-out line and JR was trying to climb on the display of something. probably the 100 gallon jug of cheese balls.

and i said, "Judson, come here" to which he disregarded without a glance my direction.

quickly, GT snapped, pointed and said "Judson Ray"

the folks in the check-out lines to our right, left and the one we were in all whipped their heads around and stood up a little straighter.

that loud snap that GT has got the attention of 20 adults.

and Judson Ray

it's quite impressive 

and effective, which is most important

i am still working on mine

5. Townes is a pretty great sleeper (fingers crossed, knocking on wood, etc)

but for naps throughout the day, he prefers to sleep on my bed

his cradle is right next to the bed, but he will snooze twice as long if laying on my bed

what that few inches of space differences does? i do not know. but it makes a difference

so, on my bed he will sleep.

because twice as long naps are always better

6. here is my tip of the day for handling a 21 month old and a 6 week old

survive until nap time.

and enjoy them. 

that's important too

i tried to cancel my data plan on my iphone this morning.

why?

because i have no self-control when it comes to Instagram.

i can't stop.

and sometimes JR will say, "mama, pway" and i am soooooo busy checking Instagram or Blogger that i miss that little opportunity to get on the floor and have a tractor race.

but, you can't cancel your data plans

you have to have a data plan with a smart phone

no idea.

so i will start exerting more self control and put my phone away

when i'm with my kids, my husband, eating meals, at a stop light

but not when i'm nursing Townes. i'm keeping that time. 

so, why am i blogging now?

because my mom took JR to the park and T-dubs is sleeping

yes, on my bed

post-script

i adore my boys

Judson is energetic, active and busy, but has the sweetest nature and is a complete joy, making everything incredibly fun!

someone said the other day that i was "in love with Townes".

my response, "duh".

but, sometimes naps are good.