Hobby Hunt

With me being off all summer I thought I would have so much going on and would have so much to do.... Well, I was totally wrong. I wake up so early that I get all my chores accomplished (that MUST be completed) by 11:00 AM, usually. I have been talking to friends about what I could do with Suzy and begging them for suggestions on things to do. I have done as many of the suggestions as I can, but we are still ending up with idle time. Well, I guess I should say that I am idle. Suzy is never idle. She is a busy body. I think she is bored with sitting at home all the time too. We have gone to see the grandparents, visited friends, gone to lunch, been to Happy Hour at Sonic almost everyday, grocery shopped, rode the golf cart, played out side, etc. etc. etc. All these things are great and I am thankful that we can get out and about. But, since it seems like all those things are wrapped up around 5 o'clock every day. Then we have two more hours of "sit and stare at Suzy" time. There are only so many circles I can make strolling her and riding her on the golf cart.

 I decided that I needed to find a hobby. I had some limitations though because I need a hobby that Suzy can partake in with me. I would love to learn to play tennis, get better at golf, go to the gym, take Zumba, etc, but all that will have to wait until she gets a little older I think. The main problem with those activities is that I would have to pay to go the acitivity as well as pay for a sitter to watch Suzy while I went. That doesn't seem to budget friendly to me??

On the way to the beach Thursday Lauren talked me into trying running for my hobby. Lucky me has a great friend, Kalon, that lives nearby and was very excited of the news and wanted to start training with me. We decided that Thursday that we would sign up for The Color Run in Memphis. This run is October 13. We have plenty of time to train before that race. We downloaded "Couch to 5K" to our iPhones and iPods, borrowed a jogging stroller from another friend, filled water bottles, and we were ready to start our new plan to stay busy. I am so thankful that Kalon is doing this with me. Lauren and Taylor are doing it as well, but they are in Batesville so it is hard to be able to run with them. As of today, all of us have started the training. The training program calls for 3 runs per week for 8 weeks total.

Week 1 Day 1

We pulled out of the driveway and headed out on our adventure with all our stuff strapped to the stroller and Suzy strapped in. We got about 1/4 mile down the road and the front wheel of the jogging stroller started jiggling like it was about to fall off. We didn't have it locked. We got that taken care of and went on our way. It was 98 degrees Monday at 5:30 PM. We stuck it out, stayed hydrated, and pushed through. We were so excited when the little man came on the speaker and said, "you have completed the first half of training. Twenty five minutes from start time we were finished with Week 1 Day 1 of the program and were beaming from ear to ear because we thought we did great for our first day. We thought, "heck  yeah!! we aren't as out of shape as we thought we were".....

Kalon and I after the first day!

Suzy fell asleep. She worked so hard.

I think it is safe to say that Suzy likes Tucker's stroller.

We did it!!

 Week 1 Day 2

Casey, Ricky, Memaw, and Mom came to the house to pick up some furniture right around 5:00 so they were there when we got ready to head out for Day 2. They told us to be careful because of the heat, but we didn't think too much of it. Well, we should have. It was 100 degrees and the air was completely still. There was no breeze what so ever. And, what makes it even worse is that we were dumb enough to torture ourselves, but we also had Suzy with us. Suzy had her 6 month shots that day as well. I never even thought about it...... We didn't make it throught the first run session before we were about to collapse. We had 8 runs for Day 2. We were almost dead when we turned the corner at the half way mark. That day was one of those days that if Kalon were not with me we definitely wouldn't have made it. It helps to have someone push you along the way and keep encouraging you to push through it. I am glad I was there for Kalon too. She was struggling just as bad as I was. We made it back home and collapsed on the couch. I handed Suzy to Scott and fought to catch my breath. It was the hardest thing I have ever done! Suzy was treated to a popsicle for enduring the heat along with us. She definitely punished me for my stupid behavior at bedtime, though. I will never make that mistake again. You live and you learn, right?

Week 1 Day 3

Kalon and I got smart and didn't do Day 3's run until later in the day. We didn't even start our run until about 8:15 or so. We breezed through it. We did awesome. We now know that Day 2 was so hard because of the heat. It had to have been. We were so proud of ourselves.  I think we could have done Day 3 twice!! I feel like a big ole baby for complaining about Day 2 so much to friends, because it was our fault that it was so hard. I made sure that I told them how easy Day 3 was!! :)


Now that we have a hobby I hope to goodness that we stick with it!! Our final goal is to be able to run an entire 5K by September!! We will see how it goes. Wish us luck.

Beach Bliss

About three weeks ago my mom called me to see if I wanted to go to the beach for Memaw's birthday. Usually I would jump on this idea and never think twice about it. The beach is my happy place for sure. But, this time I had a lot of restraints. Number one, Suzy. Number two, money. Those two were the main problems. After Suzy's battle with RSV we shelled out around 1,200 unexpected dollars. My nice little money cushion was deflated a bit, to say the least. Then, I didn't think I could leave Suzy for 4 days. I then didn't know who could keep her; everyone I know works during the week..... My mom had all that figured out for me. We got a deal on the condo and she had went behind my back and asked Gigi if she would keep Suzy. This is the conversation that took place with Mom and I.

Mom- Do you want to go to the beach next weekend for Memaw's birthday?
Me- I don't really know??? I don't really have the extra money right now and I don't know who I could get to watch Suzy.
Mom- I already asked Linda and she said she would keep her. It won't cost you much money. Quit worrying about it, Amy.
Me- I don't know mom.... can I talk to Scott and call you back later and let you know something.
Mom- Yeah, call me back.

TENS MINUTES LATER (before I even mentioned it to Scott)

Me- Hello.
Mom- I booked the condo. We will be there June 21-24.
Me- Ummmm, you didn't even give me time to think about it....

That's my story and I am sticking to it. Mom says that is "not exactly how it went", but you get the idea!!

Needless to say, I took Gigi up on the offer to keep Suzy and Memaw, Mom, Lauren, and I celebrated Memaw's 68th birthday at Gulf Shores. I had a hard time giving her to Gigi that Thursday morning. I stayed strong until she pulled out of the driveway...... then the tears started pouring. It is crazy how much you can love someone and worry so much about them.

I left my good camera in the condo the night mom decided to take photos.... The iPhone didn't do so great! Oh well..

It was a much needed break, but I was more tired when I got home than I was when I left. I don't sleep well when I travel... Especially not in a condo that has the lightest curtains on the face of the planet. By 6 o'clock AM the sun was beaming in the sliding glass doors. It was extremely nice to get away. We did NOTHING but lay on the beach and read, eat, and sleep. It was just what the doctor ordered. Suzy had a blast with Gigi while we were gone. Nanny stayed the whole weekend with her too!! I am so thankful to have such great family. I missed Suzy like crazy, but Gigi sent me plenty of photos of her throughout the day which helped tremendously.

Lauren and I at Live Bait.

Cheesy beach photo.

I am still trying to catch up from being on "vacation". I don't think I will ever catch up, though?

Summer Break Begins

Since Suzy was sick the first couple weeks of Summer Break we didn't get to start enjoying my time off until last week. We have had a pretty busy "break" since we have become able to get out and about. Alison and Kendal keep Suzy on Tuesdays and Thursdays so I can have time to do housework, go to Wal Mart, run errands, etc. They keep her from 10-3. I secretly love having someone to keep Suzy. I look forward to these days. I don't mean that in a negative way, but goodness gracious some alone time is nice. I do enjoy going to Wal Mart without having to cart Suzy with me. It is just such a hassle to take her places right now. I never know if she will be in a good mood or not and I just don't want to be that lady in the store with the "screaming kid".... You all know what I am talking about!

My sweet friend Jill Lamar had her second baby last Wednesday. Larry Coleman, Dana Tiner, and I went to see her and "Chevy" Thursday while Alison had Suzy. While seeing him I realized how quickly Suzy has grown up. He is just the sweetest little baby boy. He weighed 8 pounds and some odd ounces. Suzy weighted 6 lb 4 oz.... I thought he was TINY, but goodness gracious Suzy was way smaller than him. I guess I never realized just how small she was. He wanted to be all snuggled up with me and wanted me to keep him held tight. She wants to be moving constantly and does not want to be held close. She is too busy moving, pulling hair, scratching, etc. His little cry is so mild. Her BIG cry sounds like fire alarms. He was only awake about an hour and a half yesterday, Suzy was only asleep an hour and a half yesterday.... It is crazy how quickly they grow up and change.

Sweet Chevy also likes pacifiers and Suzy will have nothing to do with them. While he was in the nursery he scratched his poor little face. The scratches were completely gone the next day. Quick healer!

Tiner with sweet Chevy.

I just love little baby footsies. I had to take a photo of his little toes!

There is another bundle of joy that I am dying to meet. Monica and Walker had sweet Mason a couple Wednesdays ago, too. I have been waiting on Scott to go visit with me, but it looks like I am going to have to go alone. His work schedule is too unpredictable, we cannot make plans to get up there. I am guess it will just be a sparatic trip for Suzy and I one day next week. I cannot wait to love on him.

Suzy and I also went to eat lunch with Sally one day. We went to Kyoto. Sally and I passed SZ back and forth the whole entire lunch to keep her entertained. We didn't get to do much catching up, but it was just so nice to see her. I miss my friends so much. While we were trying to catch up Sally decided that Suzy needed to have some lemon. We just knew that Suzy was going to hate it and think it was disgusting.... We were WRONG. Suzy absolutely loved that lemon.

Suzy was excited to go see Sally, too!

When she took the lemon away from her she threw a fit! She could have eaten 5 of them I think. She was only allowed 2.

Later that afternon we went to the golf course and saw KK and Justin. KK is so kind to me and helps me keep SZ entertained.

We have been going to the golf course in the afternoons a good bit. Suzy likes to be outside and Scott likes to go play a few holes, so it just works out that we can do both things as a family a couple days a week. We really enjoy it. It is so nice to have all 3 of us happy at one time.

She is out of dress code, but I don't think anyone cared :) She usually does follow the rules of having a collar. It is just a good excuse for her to wear one of her cute little Polo outfits.

Last Saturday Gigi kept Suzy for me so that Scott and I could go do some things. Scott went to play golf with Justin and Kalon and I laid out ALL DAY LONG. We left the pool around 4:30 or so and called the boys. They still weren't finished playing and didn't like the idea of coming to get us so we could ride with them for a little bit. About 7:00 they met up with us and we went to the Oyster Bar (still wearing our bathing suits and cover ups) to have an appetizer and a few beverages..... We didn't have any plans to stay out or anything. Of course, when you look inappropriate you end up staying out all night and see everyone you know. We got home around 12:30 AM and I paid for the excursion the whole next day. I now remember why I cannot go out anymore!

Cranky Baby = Naptime

Suzy is doing much, much, much better since her battle with RSV. You cannot even tell that she was ever even sick. I am so glad that she battled through that illness like a champ. It was absolute torture on her and us.

Even though Suzy was feeling better, this outfit made me a little sick. Of course, Gigi and Pops put this little number on her while she was at their house (per Scott's request). He knows that we don't allow such at "my house". Even though she does have on an ugly little outfit she is still so super cute.

Suzy spent Saturday and half a day Sunday with her Gigi and Pops. They have tended to get her every Saturday so I can get some stuff done around the house, go to the pool, catch up with friends, etc. They give me this day to have some "Amy Time". I am so thankful for it. They just don't know what it means to me. They are awesome to Scott and I. I don't know what we would do without our families. Gigi found Suzy some golf clubs so that they could start teaching her early. Lord knows she will not be getting any good pointers in the golf area from me!

Pops was pretty excited about this little purchase. I honestly think that he is more in love with her than he ever thought he could be. He comes by most every Friday to "bring something by" or "pick something up", but I really do think that he is just making excuses to see Sweet Sue.

When SZ got back from Gigi and Pops' house she was extremely fussy and cranky. I have deducted that my approach to summer is not working out for her. She was so used to being on her schedule and very structured before I got out for summer. I thought that she was established enough in her schedule that I could relax a little. I WAS WRONG. I should have kept her on her strict schedule. I was just spending every second I could with her. We played, we went to see grandparents, went to lunch, etc.... We should have been scheduling our outings and playdates around when it was good for Suzy. Now, with this being said, we do not avoid leaving the house or cancel plans due to her schedule. But, if there is anyway for me to schedule my outings around her "lifestyle" I most definitely will. Some with argue that this is no way to live. For the people that think I am too firm or take the schedule to a bit of an extreme you are definitely granted your opinion. This schedule fits mine and Scott's lives and we all thrive on it. Different strokes for different folks, eh?!! I envy the mothers that just pick up and go and do as they please. I am not one of these. I am far too high strung and obsessive for such behaviors. I am a very scheduled person, myself, so SZ gets it honestly.

The fussiness poured over into Monday. By Monday night I was at my breaking point. She was only happy if I was holding her or I was sitting right beside her talking to her constantly. Well, all you mamas out there know that it is impossible to keep a household running and sit next to a 5 month old talking all day. She woke up at 7 AM and didn't get an ounce of sleep until 7 PM. She was extremely tired and she was taking her frustrations out on me. She pulled my hair out, scratched my face, clawed my neck, and was just plain out right being ugly to me. Scott sent me a text that day and asked how we were doing... I responded with, "She is beig absolutely terrible today". By this text in response I should have known that I needed a "breather/break". I had lost all patience and was out of ideas on what I should do to get her to sleep. I laid her in her bed several times. She cried, screamed, and basically just pitched an royal fit every time. At night, she just has to work it out herself, but during the day she usually doesn't have a problem napping. I then realized that I had to get back on a schedule and that I was going to do nothing to mess it up again. Her crankiness was all my fault. I am proud to announce that I am on the road to recovery.

I did a lot of research Monday night after she went to bed, reread the naptime section of Babywise, and did some praying. My research concluded that a baby of Suzy's age needs to be asleep 16 hours out of a 24 hour day. That seems like a lot, doesn't it?! Well, everywhere that I read said the exact hours. I kept doing my research on google and baby websites. Everyone suggested that a baby needs to go to sleep for at least 30 minutes at a time to actually get any "rest". They also say that from the time she wakes up she has 2 hours to "play" or have "wake time", then it is naptime. So, if she wakes up at 7 AM she will go back to sleep at 9 AM. I have decided that the Ferber Method is the only thing that we can do get her in a routine. The Ferber Method is also known as the "Cry It Out Method". She has been using this method for 2 days and she has figured it out already!! She is not even crying it out!! And, the point of this story.... SHE IS BACK TO MY HAPPY GIRL!!! Yay for technology and Dr. Ferber :)

This is how I found her today when I walked in her room. She really does not like clothes when she sleeps anymore. My hot natured baby is just like her mama.

Sick Sue

Suzy has been pretty sick the past few weeks. Two weekends ago we loaded up and went to the lake house thinking that she just had a cold. I had gotten a little "summer cold" and I thought I had just passed it along to her.... The weekend at the lake house was far from relaxing and normal. As you know, she has been sleeping all night since she was 5 weeks old. That weekend she didn't. She cried a lot. She was not napping well. She was just not a happy camper. When we got back to Senatobia the following Monday (Memorial Day) she had had enough of traveling, being away from home, and was just plain out right sick. She sounded like she had a smokers cough. When she started coughing she would end up throwing up from gagging. It was beginning to seem apparent to me that she had more than just a little cold. I called her pediatrician Tuesday morning hoping they would see her that day. But, of course, they didn't call me back until 4:00 that afternoon. They scheduled us an appointment for 9:00 the next morning. Memaw and I headed to Oxford with Sick Sue that morning. The doctor informed us that Suzy sounded like she could have RSV, but that she would need to do a test to be positive. Well, lo and behold.... the test came back positive. She had RSV and an ear infection. They hooked her up to a breathing treatment of albuterol. If the albuterol didn't make her sound better they were going to have to admit her into the hospital. Thank goodness she didn't have fever and still had an appetite. Those things kept us out of the hospital. I promised to follow all the doctors orders and she sent us home with a prescription for a breathing machine and 2 prescriptions. We have been doing the albuterol breathing treatments and taking amoxicillan religiously and I am pleased to say that my sweet Ella Sue is doing much better. She is back to sleeping all night and she is so much more pleasant. Although she was pretty sick, she didn't stop smiling and cooing at Scott and I. She was a trooper and a fighter.

This is what my kitchen counter looked like for an entire week. She definitely had a lot of stuff to keep up with!

- Suzy couldn't get hot while she was sick or she would end up coughing up, then gagging, then throwing up. So, we didn't get to go anywhere or go outside. I was beginning to get extremely stir crazy to say the least and I think she was too.
- I have to sterilize everything we touch to help kill the germs of the virus.
- The albuterol makes Suzy hyper, so we have to do the treatments during the times of day that will not mess her sleep schedule up.

After she fought me for a minute or two she would end up going to sleep during her treatments.

I am beyond thrilled that Suzy is feeling better. It was a very stressful and tiring two weeks. I couldn't get any rest because I was so worried that her breathing would stop or become labored and I wouldn't know it. I said many, many prayers and begged all our friends and family to pray too.

We go back to the doctor tomorrow for a check up. I am hoping that he gives us great news. She sure is acting like her old self, so I don't know why we wouldn't get great news. But, with our luck... who knows?!

This was taken 3 days after the doctor started her on antibiotics and breathing treatments. She was such a happy girl. Thank the Lord for modern technology and old school antibiotics.

Date Night

Oh what a drab day it has been. We went to sleep last night to the rain and woke up this morning to dreary, cold weather. I am not a fan of being cold, but I am less of a fan of being cold Mid-April. I am ready for the temps to start climbing back up in the 80s. I will be whining in July because I am sweating and begging for fall, but as for right now.... I want to be outside and warm! Anyway, Scott and I woke up when Suzy got up this morning at 8:00 (she went to sleep at 7:30 last night). We fixed her bottle and fruit cereal (bananas were on the menu this morning) then Scott prepared breakfast for the adults. It was delish. The three of us spent the day being lazy together. The weather was the perfect opportunity for us to stay cooped up in the house. It was quite nice though. I did get some of Suzy's pictures organized on Shutterfly and finished her "2 Month" picture book. I will admit, I am a slacker when it comes to pictures. I will take a million of them and then never get them printed out. If I am lucky enough to print them out they stay piled in my car above my visor. It is just not something that I am very good at. Suzy was a pretty happy little lady today. She played, cooed, and watched Scooby Doo with Scott and I. After her 1 o'clock feeding she laid down for a nap..... this nap lasted three and a half hours. It was lovely. While she was asleep I talked to Mimi who agreed to watch the little stinker while Scott and I went to dinner. It was an unplanned "Date Night" at the Smith Residence. Mimi had no objections to the idea since she has not seen her much due to having her little procedure earlier in the week.

While Scott finished getting dressed for our date, I had a photoshoot with SZ. She doesn't look too thrilled does she?

Suzy on her way to see Mimi this afternoon. She doesn't go far without her "baby". Mrs. Jeana Tabor from SMS gave her this sweet little monster at my school shower. She is obsessed with it. She is loving that it is easy to hold onto and that she can get it to her mouth successfully!

After we dropped Suzy off with Mimi we headed to Como to eat the Como Steakhouse. As we were pulling up I said, "Scott we are here just in time to eat with all the old folk". I should really quit referring to the elderly so often. I guess I think that I am 18 or something? We arrived to dinner at 5:30. We, of course, planned to eat at 5:30 so that it didn't interfere with Suzy's 7:30 bath/bedtime. We always like to sit at the bar when we go to Como. Not for the drinks, but because it is always way quicker to sit up there than at a table. We had a sausage and cheese  plate, salads, and I ate a few bites of Scott's steak. We had filled our bellies and were walking to the car at 6:30. For those of you that know about the Como Steakhouse know that getting a table, eating, and paying your ticket within an hour is unheard of! We planned our little journey quite nicely if I do say so myself. We then headed to pick up our sweet Suze. Mom had carried her over to her neighbors' house, Jon and Lakay. When we got out the car Lakay commented on how nice we looked (we werent' dressed up, I guess she is just used to seeing us looking like complete death or something?) and then insisted that they take a family photo of us. We agreed. I am glad that we did. We have no pictures of the three of us. The random iPhone photograph taken was actually pretty decent. Thanks J&L Photography for the lovely photo op. :)

Too bad Suzy wasn't looking at the camera. She is too busy examining my shiny shoes.

We got home just in time to put SZ in the tub and get her bedtime bottle prepared. While she was in the tub Gigi and Pops came by to see her. Gigi usually has SZ on Saturdays, but she played in a golf tournament today. She apparently missed her baby so much that they had to swing by our house on their way home. Suzy got to see them before she went to Sleepytown. Her chunky self sucked down the 6 oz bottle with 2 scoops of oatmeal in it and hasn't made a peep since. Oh I am so blessed to have a baby that likes to sleep as much as I do!! I think I too will take the opportunity of an early bedtime tonight.

The Simple Things

Usually one day per weekend I have some time “away” from my real life duties. On these off days I tend to do a bunch of very off the wall things. I should be inside cleaning house, doing laundry, reorganizing cabinets and such, but I cannot seem to do anything very productive or meaningful. I have come to love the days that I can do things for myself. I never knew how much I actually did for myself until Suzy came along. I used to just hop in the car at the drop of a hat just to go to town for a Diet Coke, but that has all changed….. for the better, of course. Scott and I were talking the other day about money (the root of all evil) and how it seemed like I hoard it these days. Hoarding is not the word for it. Not having time to go do random things like I used to do is the reasoning behind the change in finances I believe? Finances are neither here nor there, the point I am trying to make in a round about way is that I have come to appreciate the smaller things in life. Shopping, Diet Coke runs, pedicures, etc. are all things of the past and I couldn’t be more thrilled about that! Now, don’t get me wrong… I do love all those things listed above, but they just don’t come as often as they used to. Suzy’s Gigi gets her a good bit on the weekends, so that I can have a breather and so that she can spend some extra time spoiling her. Instead of our old weekend habits, we do random things like clean out flower beds?

Scott made my flower beds wider so that they were not so jumbled up! We took every single plant out of the beds and totally started over! It looks 100 times better!

A glimpse from another angle!

Cleaning flower beds is just one of the off the wall projects that we have come up with to do. Scott usually spends his time away doing things like fishing, cooking out, and socializing. Me on the other hand, I pick things to do like clean out the upstairs room to make Suzy and I a place to hang out and recover chairs? Really??..... What has happened to me?! I should be spending this time in Southaven shopping, shouldn’t I? I finally took one of the days off that I was granted and did something that was actually all for me last Saturday. Lauren and I went to Mimi’s house around 12:00 and laid out for three hours. Three hours of uninterrupted time was outstanding and being in the sun with an amazing friend was just a cherry on top! Today, Kendal picked Suzy up from Memaw’s house so I could take care of a few things that I needed to scratch off my “to do” list. I had a hair appointment at 5:00, which is one of my very favorite things to do. Instead of arriving right on time to my hair appointment I ended up showing up 45 minutes early just to catch up with everyone had have some nice “gossip time”. It was fantastic. Scott and I have also signed up to be members of Back Acres Country Club so that he can teach me how to play golf. I am so super excited about this! I have wanted to learn to play for years and he has finally agreed to teach me. When Suzy gets a bit older we will take full advantage of that lovely kiddie pool too! I am so fortunate to have family close by that will gladly ask for Suzy on the weekends. I do not know what I would do without them. I am also extremely thankful that I have (somewhat) realized that I should do simple things with my time instead of trying to things like redo my whole yard in a day. Manual labor days just make you even more tired the next day. My laid back, easy weekend and week have made me a much happier lady.

When Suzy got home Sunday her Daddy had to steal back some loving!!