Oh, to be home again.

This is how I feel, sitting here at the keyboard, ready to pick up one of my favorite pastimes again that I never have time for. There are so many friends that I have to thank for kicking my rear into gear and saying "HELLLLOOOOOO! Start doing it again because we need a laugh!" So this is for you.

This is also for my munchkins. My boogers. My reasons number 3 and 4 for living, respectively (1 and 2 are Savior and Husband). There is so much craziness, absolute insanity, laughing till you want to pee, tearing my hair out, bill stress, and everything else that goes on in this house that I figure it must be documented. It will be my therapy (I cannot afford it, so this will HAVE to suffice). It will also, someday, be my form of payback on paper. When my children come to me at 30 and say they have not had a vacation since their honeymoon, they got pooped on all day, their favorite pillowcase got eaten by the dog, and they realized that they can't remember the day they last showered, let alone had adult contact with any one, I will just giggle.

And when they ask how I did it, I will silently hand them three books. One will be the Bible. Two, a copy of The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstien. Thirdly, a printed form of this blog.

So tonight, a smattering of what has happened in the last 6 months (sheesh! pathetic!) since I sat here and vented last....get your popcorn, people.

I completed one of my New Years Resolutions. This was probably the most meaningful resolution I have ever made.And I make resolutions every year, but never keep them- so this was big for me. If I was a 15 year old boy, I would dare say it's EPIC.  I breastfed Levi until 6 months, not a drop of formula. This was a huge success for me! After such a horrible experience with Micah, I knew I was going to this time around. I was prepared, educated, and determined. And boy did it pay off. Levi's 6 month well check was today, and he is 27 inches long and 20 pounds even. I think I deserve a pat on the back for that one :)

I am growing out my hair. I have not cut it since the first week of January in an attempt to grow it out. Micah told me all the beautiful princesses have long hair, and I caved. How can you not, when phrased like that by a 4 year old?! Honestly, it's starting to make me itch because I have not had hair this long in 2 years, when I chopped it off to donate it and haven't let it grow since.

I am starting the 4 Hour Body diet with Jose on Sunday.  And I am serious about this. I made up a chart today to put on the fridge, complete with start weight, arm/thigh/waist/hip measurements, body fat percentages, and goal weights. Since I am being frank, I will tell you what I want out of this: to get back into my size 16 Ann Taylor jeans. I have had them since I was 17, and the are the most amazing pair of jeans ever. Think Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants worthy. I know what you are thinking- a size 16? What is she now? Well, the previous title of this blog was "A Day in the Life of a Pregnant Heifer." Figure it out yourself. I looked DANG good in those jeans, and dangit, I am going to wear them again.

I became a stay at home mom. Quite possibly the most risky move I have EVER made in life, seeing as how I like to have my proverbial ducks in their rows. I went back to work after Levi was 9 weeks old. That lasted for 2 months. I would come home from a 12 (or 13 or 14) hour shift at the hospital, missing my babies the whole time, boobs ginormous because I hadn't pumped in 6 or 8 hours (no help meant no breaks), and utterly exhausted....only to find that my poor husband was drowning. I was barely keeping up my milk supply to pump and go to work, he could never manage to keep the cats fed, the dog happy, the kid happy, the baby satisfied, and the house in somewhat decent shape all at once. I came home one night crying after a horrible day at the hospital, it was 8pm and Jose had not fed Micah dinner yet or given him a bath, and he said something magical... "Baby, I never realized how hard this was. I can't do it. If you want to stay home, I will gladly pick up an extra shift." And the next shift I worked, I have my notice. I had been praying for a way out, and the door swung wide open.

Not only am I staying at home with 2 kids, I decided to get a puppy when Levi was 2 months old. I know, I know, call me crazy... but, yeah, call me crazy. We got Charlie, a black Lab, when Levi teeny tiny. She was 12 weeks old, he was 8 weeks old, it would all be gravy! They could grow up together! Micah wanted a dog! And now, we are still loving her...just doing lots of obedience training with our 60 pound dog. I wouldn't ever have changed a thing. I always said our life was kind of like Cheaper by the Dozen, and this move just facilitated making it a little more like that.

I am hooked on cloth diapering.  It is the most easy, cheap, cute, bum saving thing I have ever done. Levi is 6 months old and has never had a real diaper rash. There are not nasty chemicals all over his skin. In 6 months, we have had ONE blowout diaper. With Micah, his diaper rash was so bad his skin would peel off and bleed, and he probably had a blow out a day. This is just fantastic. I wish that Jose and I had more money to get fancy schmancy diapers, because there are some awesome ones out there, but the truth is I think I am getting a little obsessed with how amazing they are. We have 26 diapers that are one sized, will last him from birth until potty training, and we have even taken them on trips with us. I will never buy disposables again if I have to!

I am considering going back to school. This is going to have to wait a while due to fundage, but I have two goals in sight: Becoming an MSN/CNM (Nurse Midwife) and an IBCLC (International Board Certified Lactation Consultant). Eventually, I want to do home births. I can't wait! For now, research alone has to sate my craving...

So hang on, gang. It's going to be a wild one. Now that there is a bed time routine and I can actually have a grown up life again after 9pm, the blog is on.