Disbelief -It hasn't been that long!

Oy! Firstly, I can't believe it's been so long since I had something to say here. I mean, honestly, anyone who knows me knows that I typically have at least five things to say about any single item or incident in my life. Not to mention the fact that I have a child who is quickly turning into a tiny person more and more.

So...
A) Terrible FAIL on keeping up to date on her growth. I have TONS of pictures of her at home on our external hard drive, but never seem to find time to upload them all. Between her running around like a ball of tiny energy, feeding her dinner, getting her ready for bed, and breathing in anticipation of doing it ALL again the next day. Well, documenting it all has suffered. -Not to mention that as soon as you sit down with any kind of gadget she is all up in it. (Yes, my daughter already knows how to unlock my iphone.)

B) I decided I was/am fluffy. Sorry, it's true and I accept it. I LOVE food, especially delicious food. I also recognize that when it comes to being active in the fitness sense, I've epically failed if not written it off completely in the last...oh, seven years. I was just too tired to work out after work. I was just too poor to pay for a membership. I was just too busy to prep meals for work.
Honestly, I know all of this is true. And yes, I know the excuses are excuses, even if I still feel like they can be VERY valid at times.
I also realized that I didn't want to keep feeling fluffy. I've considered any number of quick fix options (because let's face it, it's just easier). I also recognize that I have a daughter I have to take care of, bills to pay, and I wasn't sure where I could afford the time and/or money. (Do you realize how difficult it can be to get out of the house to do stuff when you have kid(s) and your spouse is at work? Crazy difficult. You can pay for a sitter to attend something you're already paying to attend. It kind of sucks to think about paying double. I'm convinced it's the very reason why going on a date with your spouse after kid(s) can seem so tricky. Not to mention that most parents don't want just any random person watching their kid(s). So now you see one example of the slippery slide effect.)
I've also been avoiding working out because I like it. I like any number of excercise activities -weights, bikes, swimming, classes. (I think one of the only things I hate are lunges. They are terrible.)
One of my friends has been touting Xtend Barre. She offered to have me come to a free class in Orem. Umm..yeah, I'm not really a fan of driving long distances. Also, not a fan of getting up early on the weekends. The worst part though was that I was afraid I would actually like it and I had NO clue how I would be able to maintain a monthly payment. *sigh*
-Okay so this is kind of turning in to it's own post and I can't cut it to a seperate one so...sorry. And now I feel guily so I might just shorten it anyhow.
Anyhow, I took my free class in SLC (luckily), got my  first month pass on discount, figured out a schedule with Fielding, and convinced myself to do the 4x4 so I could win Second Place. (How often does someone WANT to win second place? I did. It was an unlimited month long pass.) I went to class 4 times each week. It was madness, but also fabulous. It was time for myself to focus on myself. Not to mention that I always left feeling like I'd accomplished something. (It's amazing how sweating profusely makes you feel like you did something.)
I've been off for two weeks now since my initial pass expired...But I WON! I won second place and can't wait to get back to class and feeling more awesome again too. (See the ending was WAY more rushed than a seperate post would have been.)
I guess on this I'd say. Eat, excercise, be healthy, and be happy.

C) My little brother got married. It went surprisingly well. -Wow, that sounds horrible. Not because I anticipated the wedding falling apart, but because Serenity was a flower girl. 18 months...yeah, I wasn't so sure she had it in her, skills or personality. She and Ella, her cousin, got matching outfits -well, because that's what you do. She also got a cute little basket with petals in it. She was REALLY possesive about that basket and would get mad if you took it from her. The wedding started...bridesmaid/groomsman, then flower girls. I was sure she'd get shy, or throw down a tantrum right in the middle of the aisle. Nope, she simple held on to her basket and walked down the aisle smiling at everyone as she went. Hooray! Ella (who is 3) on the other hand REFUSED to go down the aisle without holding her mom's hand and tossing flowers at her prompting. I couldn't believe Serenity did it. It was also fun to see my little brother get married and see Serenity breaking out dance moves.

I guess, I'll just have to save the rest of the catch up until I have five minutes to myself. After all, I turned thirty and had another wedding to attend. Oh, not to mention the FIVE months of my daughters life I've totally bypassed. -No wonder people go by years after they turn two. It's madness keeping up with months.

Mother's Day isn't for me

This is the second year I've had a child. The second year that I got any number of texts saying Happy Mother's Day, but for me it's just another day. That isn't to say I don't appreciate it or that I don't recognize that I'm a mom. Instead it's an opportunity for me to recognize all of the wonderful things my husband does for me all year long.

Yes, my husband gets me a gift on Mother's Day. Last year was an embarrassing display of beautiful roses. I'll readily admit that flowers are not my favorite gift, but I do love recieving them occassionally (even if they are only going to die within a week or so). He also included the perfect lines on the included card. It was fabulous and I loved it.
This year he got me my favorite body wash (Orange Ginger). He didn't just get me one of them. He got me three of them, and a fourth that is a new scent he thought I would like. And while he may have gotten four of them because he may end up using some of it, it's perfect.

Both of these gestures are great and I love both of them, but honestly those are just perks to me. The greatest gifts I recieve occur at random times. Sometimes it's Fielding doing the dishes, folding laundry, cleaning the bathroom, or bringing me things he knows I like. It honestly doesn't get better than that for me. I know he loves and appreciates me because of the little things he does for me.

So yeah, I don't know that I feel like a mom, but I do know that I'm loved and appreciated. I think that is the important thing for me.

11 month -Countdown to 1

This past year has been happy, sad, frustrating, exciting, difficult, eventful, and every variation of emotion I can think of. I have probably felt it over the last year. And yes, as the year mark truly does get closer, I feel like I'm running through each emotion at varying parts of the day.

I am now the parent of a child who (at least for this post) is almost one.

Sadly, I am one of those people who far too often is bogged down by the social expectations of what I should be doing instead of being able to enjoy life's moments. My joys are often encompassed in the simple things that happen every day. I love waking up to hear Serenity talking to herself in the morning. (So glad she doesn't wake up screaming.) I love coming home from work to see her smiling and SO excited to see me. And it doesn't get better than hearing her laugh or watching her crawl around as quickly as she can move to get to something she wants.

I am not the mom who thrives on themes or accessories for parties. But that doesn't stop myself from measuring myself against the mom that does. It also doesn't stop my from trying to meet everyone else's unspoken expectations. (Don't you worry. They may be unspoken, but I try really hard to fill in the silence.) And this in turn, makes almost every celebration something I dread. So as Serenity's one year mark approaches. I'm trying to A) do some of the things I wanted to do -photos and simple parties B) abide by some social expectations -throwing a party.

At the end of the day, I just want to look back and be happy. All the fluff in the world isn't going to do me any good if I can't look back at the everyday without smiling too.

Fielding and I love to go in to see her in the morning or after a nap.

She is always so happy and excited to see us.

Dad gave her rice for the first time. She wasn't too sure about it until he showed her he could eat it too.

She wore mom's glasses for a second, but wasn't so happy when I wouldn't let her play with them.

She is a fan of food and already wants to feed herself.

Her smiles are infectious. She's such a goof!

She's practicing her maneuvers using a fork...and her fingers. She was more proficient with her fingers.

I can't decide if she's going to be right handed, left handed or ambidextrous.

She will pick up food with her right hand. Hold a fork in her left hand and sucks her left thumb.

She's so peaceful and nice when she's sleeping.

BUT

She's good at being a monster and standing up too.

She's still sucking her thumb

AND

She still thinks she's hysterical.

Found another tooth hiding on the bottom.

She's got 7 in total now.

She makes some of the strangest faces.

Normally because she's grinding her teeth together, sticking her tongue out, or trying to talk.

We started with peas and then added raviolis.

She was clean one second and the next...

Tiny person Smash! and made a mess.

Smile! It's bath time.

Happy Holidays!

Still working

Popped out a kid

Surviving so far

Anything else worthy of note?

Curses

For the past couple of weeks any time someone asked how things were going, I'd shrug and tell them it's normal. Nothing exciting one way or the other. And now that I've thrown statements like that out into the universe it's come back to get me.

So just an FYI, if you ever think that your life is too boring just find the happiness in it. There's so much more for us to love about a boring life. A boring life means you don't have anything in your life causing you stress. No stress about money and how you're going to pay your bills. No stress about doing things just right. No misunderstandings, arguments, or frustrations with your spouse.

Overall, I guess I'm saying that we should be happy with the simple every day joys in our lives. If we don't remember to notice those things we're likely to find ourselves being reminded.