A Couple of Things

Tonight in the bath, my kid changed her name.  She said, "My name is Moon Pie!"  So there we go...Moon Pie Womack.  Nice.

I've been really grateful that Chisum has been able to work from home some this week.  It is so great having him around when I'm not used to it.  He is the most wonderful gift from God I have been given, and I am blessed beyond belief.

We are going a-visiting this weekend.  We will be heading to Eustace on Saturday to celebrate Granddaddy's birthday.  There will be lots of family, food, and fun, and we are really looking forward to seeing everyone and having the kids all together again!

My kid is awesome.

I have been too tired/busy/crazy/etc. to write lately, so I am finally sitting down to do one huge laundry list of funnies.  Here it is.

1.  During prayers the other night, Rivers said at the beginning of her turn, "Dear God, thank you for Jesus and the Aggies."

2.  While in her crib, avoiding the dreaded afternoon nap, Rivers sometimes screams.  I ignore the screaming; she just doesn't want to take a nap.  She must have figured out I was ignoring her because ever so softly, over the monitor, I hear, "Momma, I have a cake for you..."  Does my kid know me or what?

3.  The other day, while visiting Aunt Rachel and Uncle Crockett's house, Rivers had handed a toy microphone to Chisum.  It plays a song when the button is pressed.  Using Chisum's finger, she presses the button and begins to walk away.  Chisum turns it off, and IMMEDIATELY, Rivers about-faced and marched back to turn it on again, telling him in a fairly self-important voice, "I'll turn this back on."  This happened 4 or 5 times, and each time, the same result using Chisum's finger to press the button.

4.  Chisum and I were talking at the dinner table the other night, and I said, "Well, that's one way to skin a cat."  To which Rivers replied, "Where's Tubby?"

5.  Chisum and Rivers watched Elf on Saturday while I was grocery shopping, and Chisum, being the great daddy that he is, explained to Rivers once more about Santa Claus and how he travels around the world all in one night to bring presents to good little boys and girls.  Rivers told him, "That's so nice of him to do that for me!"

6.  Rivers told me yesterday that her tiny stuffed penguin was tired and needed to take a nap.  I didn't think anything of it until I went into her room, the door of which she had closed, to find the penguin, covered gently with a blanket from Riv's bed, laying in the floor with the lights off.  If only she would view her own naps that way.

7.  Rivers likes music.  If you are unaware of this, you don't know my kid very well.  She has a framed Nirvana poster on the wall in her room, as well as a t-shirt.  She identifies anything from them whenever it's on.  In my car she always requests Justin Townes Earle, Foo Fighters, The Gaslight Anthem, or Horrible Crowes.  She sings along too.  "Momma, is this the sha-la-la song?" Chisum has just introduced her to Tom Waits.  She's a fan.  So, anyway, she'll pick up her guitar every now and then and play and sing.  The most recent is "They killed John Henry, they killed John Henry but they won't kill me."  It's that over and over again with a strum here and there.  I've got to find this kid a piano.

8.  On Saturday night, as I was making dinner, Rivers came into the kitchen (barely) carrying Tubby and telling him he should "NEVER get in cars with people he doesn't know."  Good advice.

9. Tonight, before prayers, I told Rivers, "Go to your room and get ONE book, and we can read it after prayers."  She ran halfway down the hall, stopped, came back a few feet and asked, "One book or TWO?" in her best "I know how I can make this even better" voice.

10.  Also, lately, she has been enamored with the slogan, "SC Johnson, a family company."  I hear this numerous times each day.  If the TV is on, and one of those commercials comes on, she cracks up laughing. I have no idea why this is so funny.

11.  Rivers seems to be fascinated with our pockets.  I found a ruler in mine the other day.  She had stuck one of those clear, flimsy ones into my back pocket while I was unloading the dishwasher.  She also always gets into our pockets and pulls out "cheese" or some other ridiculous item.  (Please understand we do not actually have cheese in our pockets.  It is imaginary cheese she finds.)

Just a few things I actually remembered and could share.  Chisum and I are as fine as we can be seeing each other only 4 days a week.  He's working hard and we're missing each other.  It's a good thing we have all of this technology.  I don't think I could go all that long and not know how he's doing.  I'm going to substitute orientation training on Wednesday, so I can work a little here and there to make some extra cash and get out of the house for a bit.  Probably only a couple of days or so a month, depending on the situation. I hope next time to keep up the blogging a bit better.  We'll see...

From time to time...

...when I get done doing the dishes, I say, "Dishes are done, man," as if I am Kenny in the movie Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead.  I did so tonight.  I got the girl into bed by 8 (which is funny because I can hear her playing her musical giraffe as I type this, so I know full well she has been sitting in there for almost an hour awake), then I put away the laundry, picked up toys from the living room floor, and did the dishes.  This is a pretty typical evening routine for me, but today, MY HEAD HURTS.  I've had a really horrible headache for most of today.  I had coffee this morning (caffeine usually helps), went to Aerofit for about an hour to "workout" (getting back into the habit again, so I can't really call it an actual workout yet), took Riv to the "park" (the tiny little playground in our neighborhood), went to both animal shelters and looked at the cats and dogs, ate lunch, did some laundry, had a cup of tea, worked outside for a bit, watered the yard, had dinner, and began the nightly routine of putting Rivers to bed.  I suppose I thought that if I kept busy, it would go away.  At no point has this headache diminished EXCEPT for when Rivers made me laugh.  Here are a few of the funny/interesting/incredibly silly/charming things she did today:

When Rivers wakes up, either in the morning or from a nap, she is usually pretty chill.  She lies there talking and singing, just waiting for someone to come get her.  Today after her nap, when I opened her door, she pointed to the poster on her wall and said, "That's Nirvana.  I like Nirvana.  There's Kurt Cobain.  I like Kurt Cobain.  And there's Dave Grohl.  I like Dave Grohl.  And there's Mommy.  I like you too, Mommy."  So I laughed and said, "Thanks, Rivers, I like you too."

There is a large framed portrait of John Wayne in my garage.  It used to hang in Chisum's room, but I have yet to re-hang it, so it is sitting in the garage.  Today, on our way to the gym, Rivers says, "That's John Wayne; I like The Duke."   So apparently, Chisum has taught her that. 

During dinner, Rivers was playing on her Leaptop and pushing the music buttons.  She danced and danced for me and then, since of course we were watching Elf, the song "You Make Me Feel So Young" came on, and Rivers gave me a serenade.  She also narrated everything Buddy was doing for me:  "Buddy's spinning and yelling!  Buddy's running!  Buddy's dancing!"  I guess you get the picture.  Chisum thinks it will be funny for us to encourage this activity so that she will do it until she is like 16 or so.  It would be pretty funny...

When the bath was over tonight, she was not ready to get out.  I got her out anyway, so she started a "temper tantrum."  Her tantrums are pretty funny because she doesn't really cry....BUT she always tells me she is.  So she was hollering, "I don't wanna get out yet!  I'm crying!"  I laughed at her and said, "No, you're not crying."  Then she looked at me like she thought I must be onto her and gave it up.  That's the general extent of her tantrums.  I guess I'm pretty lucky for that.  At least for now.  She's not technically two yet.

Those have been my highlights from today.  Those and talking to Chisum on the phone.  Now, it's time to rest my eyes and my brain and perhaps have a glass of wine...or two.  And at least I can go to bed knowing the dishes are done, man.

Back in Aggieland!

It's been a crazy couple of months in the Womack household.  We have moved back to Bryan, and we are finally (mostly) settled back into our house.  It feels wonderful to be HOME.

Rivers seems to have handled the move well.  Before we moved here, I kept telling her we were going to live in the "big house."  Luckily, she has no frame of reference for that other than a house that is large. Otherwise, she might have been hesitant... I know our house isn't huge, but it's sure is bigger than either of the apartments we lived in most recently.  If you ask her how she likes her room, she'll tell you "Cousin Lindsey painted it!" She also LOVES playing outside.  We go out every day to check on our plants and to play on the deck.  I bought an outdoor rug for the deck, and it's green, so if I'm in the backyard, Rivers sits on it and hollers to me every now and then that she is still on the "green rug."

Chisum and I are really glad to be back here too.  It's nice to be able to paint our walls and hang up all of our pictures and really live somewhere again.  Also, I have missed my kitchen SO much.  Both of our apartments had the tiniest galley kitchens I have ever seen, and I'm pretty sure that I had to leave at least 10 boxes of kitchen stuff in storage.  I don't know how I managed to actually cook for us, but I know that often, the kitchen table was employed in the task.  Unpacking here was like opening gifts on Christmas morning.  I found things I had forgotten I ever had.  Now I can COOK again too!  (So if you ever want to come for dinner, just let me know.  I'll be happy to accommodate!)

Chisum is working pretty hard at his job these days.  He spends 3-4 days a week on the road.  Rivers and I get to read, play, watch movies, go for walks, have tea parties, and run around town together, and it is a blessing for me to get to spend so much time with her.  But we really do miss Chisum so much when he is away.  One of my favorite sights is watching Rivers run out of the garage into the driveway to greet him when we hear him pull up after having been gone all week.

Right now, we are just continuing to settle back into things.  Rivers and I are going to get a schedule down for activities.  We are going to have a park/playground day, a walking day, a library day, swimming when we can, and once we join a gym again, we'll have some of that too.  If you have any suggestions of things to add to our list, please send them my way.

I'm hoping to get back into listing my good stuff from each day here, so I'm sure I'll be posting more often.  But for now, it's off to bed to fall asleep to the sound of all of this wonderful rain.  Our lives are really and truly blessed right now, and we could ask for nothing more.

This one might be long, and it might have to last for a while...

As many of you know, we are moving back to Bryan this weekend.  Friday or Saturday, we are not yet sure which.  At any rate, the unloading will take place on Saturday.  (Feel free to stop by if you are so inclined...)  I'm so excited to move back home.  Not just to Bryan, but to OUR house.  I have lived the past 2 years in apartments, and it's kind of hard to do after living in a house, especially when we still own said house.  Anyway, I'm sure it will take me a while to realize that I don't have to be quiet because of neighbors and that I can do whatever I want to my house.  (We painted pretty much every room last weekend, so it looks pretty amazing right now.  All but the yard, but that's not my fault, and that's another story anyhow.)  So, whatever.  I've been keeping a list of fun things Riv has done, so that I could actually write them down, and now that I'm packing like a madwoman, I felt it was time to write them for real just so I could throw out this index card.  Here goes.

I don't know if you know this or not, but Chisum was in the Corps of Cadets.  His Senior Boots have long been an installment of decor in our home, and they have been present here too.  Rivers likes to point at them and say, "Daddy's boots."  She also, lately, has been intent on getting her feet in every pair of shoes we own.  I guess it's just a thing kids do.  So, I walked into the living room a couple of weeks ago, to find Rivers trying her darndest to get into those boots.  There was, however, a problem with the physics of this situation.  The length of Riv's legs from her heel to her hip is about 15 inches.  The length of Chisum's boots from heel to top is roughly 18 inches.  So, as Riv has one foot in one boot, and is leaning over slightly, her trying to get the other foot into the other boot was flat out comical.  She never did get both legs in both boots simultaneously, but she didn't give up trying for a long time.

If we ever lack sufficient funds for anything, Rivers will be an amazing pickpocket.  Dickens would be proud to write her into Oliver Twist, whom I kind of picture her to look like anyway.  Last week, when Chisum came home from his trip, Rivers was so happy to see him.  While he and I were hugging, she was trying to get his phone out of his pocket.  She got it; he noticed; he put it back, and that was it....so we thought.  About one minute later, there she was walking around, pushing buttons on his phone.

The last few times we have gotten in the car to go anywhere, just Riv and me, she has told me that when driving, I'm sitting in "Daddy's chair."  So I ask her, "If I'm in Daddy's chair, where is my chair?"  She points to the passenger seat and says, "Mommy's chair."  So I shrug and say, "OK."

Recently, Chisum has been on a Star Trek kick.  He's been watching the movies and some of the series, and Riv has been watching with him.  It really is amazing how, no matter what is on, if she's in Daddy's lap, it must be worth watching.  I, on the other hand, have introduced her to the Shrek movies.  A week or two ago, Rivers told Chisum she wanted to watch "Star Shrek."  I'm not sure which she meant, but I think she's onto something.  Star Shrek would make a great film indeed.

Rivers is currently fascinated with cameras.  My actual camera, my phone, Chisum's phone, my mom's tablet thingy.  Everything that has a camera is fair game.  Rivers will pick up one of these devices, bring it to me (or whomever), and say, "Take your picture."  What she really wants is for us to take her picture, but whatever, she's 22 months old, and she already understands plurals and most possessives.  So, we are currently doing a ton of picture-taking.  It's so cool how I can take her picture and immediately show it to her.  But I also feel bad that she's going to miss out on the delayed gratification, that anticipation of seeing whether or not a picture came out well or didn't after you took your film to the store, waited a week, and raced back to see how good (or not good) the pictures were.  And if you were in a hurry, paid a little extra for one-hour service.  I bet this is how that whole immediate gratification thing got started...

Ok, so that's my list for now.  I've got tons of packing to do, and I think we are losing our internet tomorrow, so I guess next time I remember to blog, I'll be back HOME!

3/7/12

So, Rivers likes my Tension Tamer hot tea.  (Don't worry; it's caffeine free, and I used Splenda.)  This afternoon, after her nap, I was having a cup of tea while we were on the balcony blowing bubbles and playing with her "bike."  Rivers kept demanding a "sip" of my tea.  Before she took a huge gulp, I told her it was warm, but it wasn't hot.  She said, "Warm?", and I nodded.  So she got a big gulp, and then looked at me and loudly said, "HOT!"  I asked if she thought it was too hot, and her reply was, "Yes, hot."  So as I was putting the cup on top of the shelf and out of the way, she said, "More!"  I said, "You thought that was too hot, but you want more?"  She said, "Yes," and that "yes" was loaded with an incredible amount of "duh."  I guess I should have known.

Rivers got in trouble this afternoon.  There were stubborn cries and screams and a couple of tiny swats on her rear and more stubborn screams.  It was absolutely ridiculous.  In hindsight, the whole thing was stupid, but I had already passed the point of backing down and clearly, she wasn't going to either.  After all was said and done, I had a sweet, clingy, little girl with a tear-stained face sitting in my lap.  I was explaining to her why she had gotten in trouble.  As I was talking to her, I think I was saying something like, "It really breaks my heart when you choose not to mind me.  When I ask you to do something..."  And I never finished the sentence.  Because just then, Rivers reached up with both of her hands, pulled my head down and kissed my forehead.  She knew I loved her and had already forgiven her behavior...either that or she knew I'd quit talking.  I have my doubts which.  She's that smart.

3/6/12

Today in the car, Rivers asked me for "'Vana."  I told her that I didn't think I had any Nirvana in the car, but that she would also like what was on.  Then, she listened for a second and said, "Foo Fighters?" like it was a question.  (Yep, that girl is awesome.)  Anyway, I told her that it was, in fact, Foo Fighters.  A couple of minutes went by, and I heard her making sounds in the backseat which was nothing new, so I didn't say anything.  I guess I should have acknowledged it because about a minute later she very impatiently shouted, "SINGING!  Hear me?"

We had a new game at bedtime tonight.  Rivers has learned how to make a kiss sound when she kisses someone or something.  So, during Bible stories and prayers, she kept turning my head with both of her hands so she could kiss my cheek and make the sound.  I guess it helped her that every time she did that, I laughed uncontrollably and then, of course, so did she.  We played that game for at least 15 minutes.  I think we'll have to teach that one to Chisum when he gets back.

Another fun thing about Rivers is her incredible ability to name her stuffed animals.  All of them reside in her crib except for two:  a very large penguin and a very large black bear.  Rivers started off with Monkey.  I received it as a gift at a shower for her, and it was the first stuffed animal she ever had.  We called it Monkey because, well, what else were we going to call it?  We also determined Monkey was male for who knows what reason.  Anyway, I tried to push that thing on her for a long time, and she just wasn't having it.  So, when she was having such a hard time sleeping through the night, I took her to the store to let her pick out her own stuffed animal in the hopes that it would be a special bedtime friend she could keep around and love on.  She chose a little gray goofy-looking cat, and I named her KitKat.  And KitKat worked.  And, of course, KitKat was a girl.  Why not?  So then there were other animals collected--some from garage sales, some as gifts, some we just got her because they were cute.  Now, Rivers has the following collection of animals with names of her own choosing:
1. a gray cat she picked up at a garage sale that she would not let go of until we got back home and only then to let it be washed (She named her Mabel.  I have NO IDEA where she heard that or where it came from.) 2. a brown dog also from a garage sale (His name used to be Red, but she randomly changed it to Blackie.) 3. a teddy bear from when I was a little younger (She named him Money Bear...by this time, I stopped questioning her logic.)
4.  her ladybug pillowpet, which she calls Lagabug
5. Gobo Fraggle (She just calls him Gobo.)
6. the black bear whose name is Alex and is a girl (I found out when I asked her earlier today.), and
7. a 3 foot upright penguin she calls Eric (though for a couple of days his name was Alec, and I'm not even kidding.)
Rivers chose those names all by herself, and I'm already anticipating the day when she is grown and asks me why I gave her animals such crazy names.

P.S.  A few days ago, I was informed by Rivers that Monkey is a girl, not a boy...Who knew?

Literal Baby

So...we have known for a while that Rivers is a pretty literal kid.  Today, I learned more about that.

We were looking at her Wonder Woman book, and at the end is a picture of lots of DC superheroes including Batman, Superman, and of course, Wonder Woman (Rivers calls her Woman.)  Anyway, she pointed at WW and said, "panties."  Then she did the same to Superman, Batman, and everyone else on the page who looked like they were in their undies.

Rivers is also very fond of being told "secrets."  If I say to Rivers that I want to tell her a secret, she runs over immediately, climbs up on me, and puts her ear to my mouth.  Usually I tell her I love her or to go tickle Daddy, but it's always something that's not really a secret.  After I told her the secret today, I said, "Rivers, now it's your turn to tell me one."  She looked me square in the face, then put her mouth to my ear and said, "Secret."  Having done what I asked of her, she climbed down and went to play.  Nice, huh?

Another instance is when I need to fix her hair or get to her back for something, I tell her to "come here and turn around."  She walks over in front of me and does a complete 360.  Then she looks at me like, "What?  You said turn around."

I love this kid.  I hope this literal thing is a phase because if you know me, you know that I'm NOT so much literal.  My favorite jokes all involve puns.

2/28/12

Today had some real highlights.

1.  Rivers and I went to the park to meet our friends, Katy and her daughter Sara.  The whole way there, Rivers sat in her chair in the backseat and said, "My friend Sara," over and over.  I said, "Rivers, we are also going to see Sara's momma.  Do you remember her name?"  She said, "Katy," in such a manner that I instantly felt ridiculous for having asked.  Once at the park, Rivers played on the slides and swing, and she had so much fun.  It really is amazing to me what she is able (and willing) to do on her own.

2.  A couple of weeks ago, we went to Grand Prairie for my Aunt LeAnn's birthday party.  (I'm pretty sure there's a video of Rivers with some balloons on Chisum's fb page.)  Anyway, I think Rivers has developed a little crush on my cousin JP.  All the way home and for days after the party, she asked about him.  This Saturday is a party for my Mammaw's 82nd birthday.  I told Rivers we were going and who we would see there, including my Aunt LeAnn and Uncle Jeff.  Rivers immediately looked me right in the face and asked, "And JP?"  I told her I don't know if he will be there, but I sure hope he is able to make it because I think my little girl will be disappointed if he isn't.

3.  We Skyped with Daddy tonight.  Not just me this time.  Rivers said she wanted to "call Daddy, call Chisum," so I told her we could call him AND see him.  I sat her in my lap at the desk, and once he was in front of her, she said "Kiss!" and went for the screen.  (Here's where I have to tell you that my computer is kind of ghetto.  I broke the screen on our laptop, so it is on the desk but hooked up to a different monitor.  So, when Skyping, I am actually not looking at the camera because it is on the laptop and the monitor is about a foot to the left.)  Once I showed the camera lens to Rivers, she proceeded to climb up on the desk and kiss the lens for Daddy at least 10 times.  It was adorable.

4.  I have been trying some new recipes for Chisum and me so that we can eat a little healthier.  He bought me a low GI cookbook for my birthday or Christmas, and I skimmed through it and thought the recipes would all be gross and not taste good.  So far I have only tried two of them, but they are, without a doubt, two of the best things I have ever cooked for myself.  If all the rest are comparable, I think I can handle this low GI stuff.

5.  Our tax refund is here!  That means painting and new carpet for the house!  Yay!  (Chisum is not as thrilled about this as I am, but I hope that he likes it when it's done.)

Anyway, that's all for today, but I am indeed looking forward to Chisum getting home tomorrow and our visit to Grandmother and Granddaddy's on Friday.  That should give me some happy things to write about.

2/27/12

Tonight, I was reading some friends' blogs, and I remembered I have my own.  I know I haven't posted in a LONG time, but I thought, hey, why not?  So, what I think I'm going to do is try to write the positive things from my days so that I (and others, hopefully) will get a little joy or encouragement or whatever from my posts.  Here are some great things from today:

1. I Skyped for the first time.  I know this is old hat for many of you.  But I had never tried it, and I talked with Chisum all the way from his hotel room in Lubbock.  It was amazing to be able to see him right here in front of me and catch up with each other about our day.  It's not the same as being on the phone either; you MUST be paying attention the whole time because your partner can SEE you!  (This, as Chisum will tell you, is important because I tend to get distracted very easily on the telephone.  That's why I don't call people often...)  But it's also wonderful because you can see reactions instead of just hearing them, and I love to see my husband smile.  So Skyping was a success!

2.  Rivers told me today that she "fell down" "earlier" in the "parking lot."  There were some questions in that conversation from me, as I was trying to get clarification from her mainly because we were not in a parking lot today in which she fell down.  This is what I can gather from her comments.  Last Wednesday after Mass, we went to the post office.  On the way back to the car, she did fall down and skin her knees.  I put Spiderman band-aids on both of her knees.  (You can actually see them in the Hulk Smash video on my facebook.)  Anyway, for a couple of days after that, she had been asking for band-aids.  (We have Marvel Heroes in the medicine cabinet.)  I thought she was done asking for them, but apparently she was just taking a different tack.  Instead of just telling me she wanted Hulk or Spiderman as she had previously done, she concocted a story to get me to remember how her little knees were hurt so I would let her have her band-aids.  Smart kid.  Weird, but smart.

3.  Tonight, after our Bible story and prayers, I was sitting with Rivers in my lap in the rocking chair.  She came up with a game.  It went like this:  Rivers took a drink of milk and then offered me some.  I said, "No, thank you, I don't want any."  Rivers laughed hysterically.  And we did this for at least 5 minutes.  She was so tickled about me saying no that her laughing made me laugh, and by the end, we were both giggling uncontrollably.

I don't often enough remember these parts of my day, and I would be good to start doing so.  That's why I'm writing.  I hope I can do more.

If I Had a Picture Collage

Of Texas A&M University, it would include:

• The MSC Flag Room from back in the day, where I watched some of the football games I left early when I was about to pass out from the heat, and yes, I'm a 2 %er.  But at least I still got to see the ends of those games on campus on a big screen.
• O&M because I had quite a few classes in there when I was a geology major, and the view from that observatory is absolutely breathtaking. ( BTW, so is the hike up the stairs to get to it.)
• Halbouty for many reasons.  1)  I got lost in that building more times than I can count.  For some reason, the stairs of the addition do not meet up with the same floors of the old building.  It's crazy.  2)  I fell down the stairs in there on my 19th birthday while carrying a plate and a cup, and I didn't spill anything.  3)  I remember having to do a scavenger hunt during my geology lab.  And 4) Its name has always made me laugh.
• Blocker because that's where I worked for 3 and a half years of my college life.  The College of Science Dean's Office is (used to be?) located on the 5th floor, and I spent more hours than I can possibly count there.  Incidentally, that is where I gained my incredible empathy for many of the characters on "The Office."
• FHK.  When I was a sophomore I spent a year in the dorms after living in an apartment with some high school friends.  They all ended up moving away, so I figured, hey, I'll just go potluck in a dorm.  It was fine.  My roommate was fine, just a little young.  (There's a huge difference in maturity between college sophomores and college freshmen.)  Anyway, I ended up meeting one of my dearest friends because after a literature class we had together, we always headed out in the same direction.  We chatted and discovered we lived in the same dorm and were both from East Texas.  Many years later, we ended up being roommates in a house, and she is still one of the best friends I have ever made.
• Finally, Sbisa.  I have had many excellent meals in that cafeteria.  They were renovating it for the first half of the year I lived in the dorm, but once it opened, it was amazing.  I would stop in for breakfast after church on Sunday mornings, and I would eat there with Anna when we would need to catch up.  I also had a standing once-a-semester lunch with a friend from freshman year.  Sbisa was awesome.

That's it.  And thanks, Tiffany, what a great writing activity!  Anyone else want to post your A&M collage?

You know, it's funny...

I should be tired.  I should be really tired.  I should be insanely tired.  But I'm not.  It's 11:27 pm, and I'm not close to tired.

Today, Rivers decided to let us sleep a little later than usual; she woke up sometime before 6.  Chis and I both heard her at about 6 in her crib, just talking away.  She wasn't crying or yelling or screaming; she was just making noise because she could.  She is such a happy baby in the mornings.  (She's really such a happy baby most of the time, but she's teething right now, so the happy baby comes and goes.)  She got up, and I fed her while Chisum ate breakfast and we drank our coffee.

When Chisum left for work, Riv went back down for her morning nap...only she didn't.  I thought it would be good to nap with her today since I was really tired from staying up last night, so I set my alarm and we got in the bed.  Everything was great until...Daisy decided to join us.  Only Daisy didn't want to join "us;" Daisy wanted to join me.  She jumped up on the bed and before I could even push her away, she was trying to lay down on the baby!  But I did push her away quickly, and Rivers didn't even wake up...that time.  Very soon, Daisy was back again and again and again.  Finally, all of the rustling about was too much for Riv to take, and she opened her eyes, looked at me, and grinned the biggest grin.  I guess she thought it was funny that Daisy wanted to smother her, and I succumbed to the idea that there would be no nap this morning.

Since there was no napping, I decided to sit Riv up on the bed propped up with pillows and get ready to go to Walmart.  (Rivers needed diapers and baby food, so I had planned us an adventure.)  Anyway, I only got my face washed before she had tipped over on the bed and wanted me to hold her and cried until I picked her up.  So I had the experience today of putting makeup on mostly one-handed.  And surprise!  I did it.  Once I got Riv fed, cleaned up, and dressed it was time to head to town.

We got to Walmart, and I thought for sure that Rivers would sleep while I pushed her around in her stroller.  Wrong!  She played with her little elephant and her feet the entire time we were there, and was just such a good baby.  As we were leaving, I decided to stop by Sam's Club which is next to Walmart.  Pushing Riv around in there usually gets her to sleep.  Wrong again!  I got a drink and sat down before we left, and just as I was getting up to leave, I looked down to find her asleep in her stroller.  And she slept for the next 20 minutes that it took to get home.  She woke up the second I pulled into our parking spot.

I had a tough time getting her to nap this afternoon too, but she finally did for about an hour.  I did laundry and cleaned the kitchen before Chisum got home.  When he got home, we played with the baby, Chisum practiced his presentation on me, I cooked dinner and made cupcakes (for my birthday cake), and we ate while I fed Rivers.  Then it was baby bathtime, then rocking baby to sleep, then cleaning the kitchen, then this.

Now I'm incredibly tired, but I'm not exactly sleepy.  Perhaps I will go lie down and see if sleep comes.  Funny how I've all of a sudden got Hamlet in my head, and I'm missing my job...and my "kids"...and my friends...and my literature...  Funny how quickly things change when you feel like time is dragging on.  Funny how I'll be 30 on Friday, and I can't figure out where all of that time went.  Funny how all I did was write about my day to come to this conclusion.*

*This conclusion in no way means I'm not totally and completely satisfied with my life.  I am blessed beyond what I ever should have been with my loving husband, amazing daughter, wonderful family, and friends.  I think I'm just having that "I'm about to be 30 freak-out" that I hear some people go through...

Flora or Fauna?

Rivers and I had a wonderful day!  I cleaned both bathrooms while she napped this morning.  That sense of accomplishment allowed me to feel I could play a little bit afterward.  When Rivers woke up, I tried both of her Halloween costumes on her.  She has two because about 98% of her attire has been hand-me-downed (it's a verb) to her.  Rivers is lucky enough to have three older girl cousins all within about two years of her age; therefore, we won the lottery on baby girl clothes which is super-awesome because baby clothes are EXPENSIVE!  Baby shoes are even worse!  I have taken a liking to consignment sales and stores, and soon, I intend to make her some clothes with my rapidly increasing sewing skills and my trusty sewing machine.

But I digress.  We tried on two costumes, one--a purple flowery thing, and two--Tenderheart Bear from the CareBears.  Now, of course I was not attempting to get my almost-five-month-old daughter choose her own costume because, let's face it, that's crazy.  I was, however, trying to see which one made her look the cutest.  But that was also ridiculous because, have you seen my baby?  She looks cute when her hand-me-down-already-been-through-three-children onesie is covered with breastmilk, cereal, and squash!  It's impossible not to love her!  (I'm not biased at all either.)  Anyway, all of this is to say that, when I tried the costumes on her, there was definitely one she preferred.  I'll let you take a look and see if you can determine the winner.

You guessed it--the flower thing wins!

And I have to admit, I was a little disappointed.  Tenderheart Bear, while not my favorite CareBear (it was Cheer Bear), was a blast from my past.  CareBears were something I enjoyed when I was a kid, and it would have been cool to share that liking with my daughter even though she's still a baby.  Seeing her in that little furry brown suit brought back some good memories for me.  I thought of my big pink Cheer Bear and some coloring books I had.  (And did I ever love to color!  I must have had about 100 coloring books.  Talk to my mom sometime if you think I'm kidding.)  I think I might also have had some CareBear paperback books and perhaps a video.  That's right, a VHS cassette tape.

Anyway, I'm not complaining about Rivers' "choice," and I know she's more comfortable in the flower outfit, and that's really all that matters to me.  It was just nice to be able to remember something from when I was a kid.  As I grow older, those reminiscences happen less and less.  So I'll take my daughter out on Halloween dressed as some sort of floral thing, and I'll be happy to do it.  I won't resent in the least her disdain for one of my favorite pieces of my childhood because as I said earlier, have you seen my baby?

Busy, Busy

So, last weekend Chisum, Rivers, and I went down to Corpus for Forrest and Jenny's wedding. It was a tremendously long drive, but we made it there and back in one piece. (Thank you to my amazing husband for driving the entire way.) The wedding was a great celebration, and I want to welcome my new sister, Jenny, to the Womack family! Back to the trip. I thought that it would be easier if Rivers would take a bottle for the drive, and--voila--she did! I finally found a bottle that worked for her. She does still only like fresh milk, but that's the next thing we'll try to overcome.

After a fairly uneventful weekend at home, we are gearing up for another crazy week. Next week, Chisum is flying Sunday to South Carolina for some training for his work, so rather than stay here by ourselves, Rivers and I are going to make the rounds. On Thursday, I am driving Rivers, Daisybob the cat, and myself to Mt. Pleasant to spend the night with my parents. (Daisybob is coming with us because of fleas that were apparently in our apartment before we moved in, but that's another story.) On Friday, Rivers, Momma, and I are meeting my sister, sis-in-law (s?), cousin, and aunt in Canton to brave the crowds for First Monday. (Oddly enough, First Monday is an entire weekend, beginning on Thursday before the first Monday of the month, hence its name.) Friday after Canton, Rivers and I are going to Eustace to spend the night with my in-laws. Then we will head back to Tyler to pick up my mom and drive back to Mt. Pleasant where we will spend most of the week.

That sounds like only a crazy couple of days, but it all begins today. I have to go to the grocery store, clean this house, bathe the cat, do the laundry, pack for myself, and pack for the baby all before we leave on Thursday, so it must begin today. Packing for myself will take approximately 1/2 of a suitcase and 20 minutes; packing for Rivers will take the other 1/2 of my suitcase, a diaper bag, a travel bag, a pack-n-play, bathtub, stroller, toys, food, etc..........and about 2 days, so again, I have to start today.

I guess I best get to it.

This is my first attempt at a personal blog. I hope it doesn't suck.

In an effort to have a non-sucky blog, I suppose I should introduce us. I'm Erin, my husband is Chisum, and our 4 1/2 month old daughter is Rivers.

Chisum and I had pretty similar upbringings. Our families are both fun, friendly, Christian people who have the best of intentions for themselves and everyone they know. Though Chisum's family is Catholic and my family is Protestant, they have incredibly similar values, and those were instilled in us both when we were brought up. Chisum and I both had some bumpy roads in our pasts, but God saw that we would help each other, and he did all he could to bring us together. (Interestingly enough, I think Chisum and I were fighting God for much of the time. Ask us how we got together sometime; it's an interesting story. Or maybe I'll write about it...) Anyway, Chisum and I did eventually get together, and then we were inseparable. Chisum was the missing part of my soul, and I daresay I was his, and we haven't been apart since.

We got married, and about 4 months ago, had a baby. Rivers is the light of our life. She is so incredibly special! She is smart, funny, amazingly beautiful, and really fun. (Of course I'm not biased at all...) We have been having the best time with her. After a shaky entrance into the world, Rivers has blossomed into such a lovely little lady. She smiles and laughs, plays and learns, and keeps every day interesting for us. Recently she has begun "helping" us change her diapers. This means that as soon as I lay her down, she grabs her feet and puts her toes in her mouth, and thus, her butt in the air. She's probably thinking this is the easiest way for me to get the new diaper under her and get her old one off, which is true. Then, however, it's necessary to actually put the new one on. Not so easy when she won't put her feet and butt down out of the air, but whatever, she thinks it's funny, and so it is. She has also just started to eat cereal in addition to nursing. This is an adventure because all she wants to do is hold the spoon herself and chew on it. Kind of makes it hard to get any cereal into her. All this I don't mind because she is a blessing of immense proportions.

Right now we are living in Irving, Texas. I am not currently teaching but staying at home with Rivers, and I fully realize how blessed I am to have the opportunity to do this. I hope that every mother has the chance to stay home with her child or children. I wouldn't trade anything for the experiences I get to have with Riv every day. Chisum is working for Purvis Industries and is currently in their training program. Around April of next year, we will be moving to Tyler, Texas, so that Chisum can take his job in outside sales. Until then, we're just hanging in and doing what we can to make ends meet.

So that's pretty much it for Chisum, Rivers, and me. We're one happy little family and what we are now is a far, far better thing than what we ever could have imagined for ourselves. Thank you, God, for that.