2011: Resolutions

This is I want to strive for in 2011-

1. To be a better wife, mom, sister, daughter, & friend. Not necessarily in that order.
- Not to sound conceited, but some may say I'm already good at any of those things, but there are times when I feel as though I have failed in my role, or that I could definitely improve my role. So here's to trying to be better at at least one, if not all of them.

2. To be more carefree and laid back.
- I feel like I'm always fussing about something, mostly Piglet's behavior. I wanna learn to let go of the small, unimportant things. Choose my battles, in order to have a more enjoyable day/life.

3. To be able to speak my mind to those I would normally speak about to someone else.
- Yes, I talk about people. Most people I know do it, though it's not always something so easily admitted. This year, instead of talking about people to others so much, I want to be able to say what I think to that person specifically (when it is appropriate). I tried it once, and it didn't go so well, but I've decided that even if it's something that may damage a relationship, it's time to get it out there. By getting it out there, my goal is to have the issue "fixed" or to weed that person out of my life. Either way, it will improve the quality of my life. And that's what's important to me. (Sounds really harsh when I put it in writing, but I don't mean it to be so harsh.)

4. To be more organized.
- I think EVERYONE makes this resolution. EVERY YEAR. My kitchen table has become the dropping point for EVERYTHING. School artwork, bills, junk mail, hairbows, single socks, pictures that need to be sorted and distributed to family, party favors from last spring's birthday party, etc. It gets dropped there and then buried by everything else. Even if it's the only place I stay organized this year, I'd like to keep my kitchen table clutter free without moving the clutter to another space.

5. Family dinners.
- Self explanatory, but no TV, no eating in shifts. All 4 of us, at the table at the same time, enjoying good food and great conversation.

And that's it. 2011 is all about improving Quality of Life for me and my family. Being happier. And having fun along the way.

Revival - 2010: Year in Review

I've tried a few times to revive this thing with no luck. So here goes another attempt.

I figured I would start out with a Year in Review before I go any further.

January- We prepared to send my big brother, Tony, off to Iraq for his 2nd deployment. New Orleans Saints clenched a spot in SuperBowl XLIV- their 1st SuperBowl trip. Ever.

February- We're pregnant! Saints WON the aforementioned SuperBowl! Made the big pregnancy announcement to family & friends on our last family visit with Tony before his deployment.
The grand announcement:

Deployment party:


March- Piglet, Grammy & I participated in Race for the Cure.


April- Piglet turned 3 with a Dorothy/Wizard of Oz themed party.


May- Grammy graduated from College with a Medical Assisting Degree. We planted a garden.


June- Piglet took to the swimming pools at Mimi's & Grumpy's! We're growing lots of tomatoes & a watermelon in our garden. We found out that Baby Hen is a girl! Piglet & I took a 3 day weekend trip to Baton Rouge & New Orleans with my family. Tony came home from Iraq for a week. Chickee's room is on its way to being completed.



July- It's hotter than hot! By now Piglet is swimming like a fish, going underwater and all and she hasn't had any lessons yet.

August- She's still swimming! Piglet started taking dancing.



September- I had 2 different maternity photo shoots done. Finished preparing Chickee's room.

Shoot1:


Shoot2:


October- My due date comes and goes. 5 days after my due date, we induced and Chickee arrived! 8lbs, 3oz and 20 inches long with a head full of black hair! We took the girls trick-or-treating in my dad's neighborhood.
Introducing Chickee!

Piglet as Dorothy:

Chickee as a Skeleton:


November- We spent this month getting to know our newest family member. And had our 1st family of 5 picture taken on Thanksgiving. I went back to work on Nov 29.


December- Has to have been the busiest month of our year. Lots of holiday gatherings and seasonal things. Piglet had her 1st ice skating experience, though it was on synthetic ice, and Chickee had her 1st parade experience. We welcomed Tony home from Iraq a week before Christmas! Christmas itself was full of toys and our living room was transformed into a disaster area.





And that was our year! Seems like it was way more uneventful than I remembered...

Here are a few comparisons-
Piglet- 3 yrs on left, 2 yrs on right


Piglet on left, Chickee on right- both a few days old



They looked the same at birth, but comparing Piglet now to Chickee, they're completely different!

Right Now, I Don't Like My Husband Very Much....

There comes a point in everyone's life when it's time to grow up and become a responsible, contributing member of society.

My husband has obviously not reached that point yet. He's grown up physically, and he does contribute positively (sometimes) to society, but he's not fully grown up maturity wise and has yet to become a fully responsible adult. He's 35 years old.

He thinks that just because he goes off to work everyday and provides for our family that he's being responsible.

To him, it's ok to go out to bars on Friday nights, get drunk, almost get in fights, and then come home. While his wife thinks he's at the 1 bar he started in and he's at another. While his wife is home taking care of the child(ren), waking after midnight only to realize he hasn't come home yet.

I can't seem to make him understand that part of being responsible is going to your regular pool league on Friday night and then going home. Remembering that you have to provide for your family, so not getting totally wasted and driving home-risking killing yourself or someone else, or ending up in jail- is part of responsibility.

Being courteous and somewhat sympathetic toward your wife and remembering that while she carries your unborn child around in her stomach for 9 months, she can't go out and get stress relief with a 12 pack of beer and a box of cigarettes-that's part of growing up.

Realizing there's more to life than your friends, and looking cool, and fighting people just for the hell of it. That's growing up and being responsible.

That is what we got into a HUGE fight about during lunch today.

Then he has nerve to ask me if I even walked into the back of the shop to tell his brother "Happy Birthday." Umm, did you see me walk back there? No. Did you tell me his birthday was today? No. Did I tell you it was his birthday? No. Then chances are I had no idea. The only way you know when it's my family's birthday is when I tell you it's their birthday. You didn't remind me it was your brother's birthday, that's a FAIL on your part.

And while I'm on my soapbox about this man I married, let me go on to say that I absolutely LOVE it when he accuses me of knowing everything, especially when it comes to parenting. It never fails, every time I tell him he should try going about something different with Piglet, he gets upset b.c he forgot that I know everything. I tell him I think we should try this to combat that, or other people say this works, etc. And I'm wrong b/c I know everything. Umm, hi, I'm a member of a MOM's WEBSITE where it is perfectly customary to ask for other moms' opinions on parenting issues, and I've actually be known to ask questions a time or 2. This may or may not be where I get my ideas and advice from. I can't guarantee it, but it's a good guess.

UGH! I could kill him!

It's ba-ack!

I've decided to bring back my blog. For the time being it's still private, but I may change that later on. A few things happened a couple of months ago that caused me to make this private, and it's going to take a little more thought before I decide whether I want to go back public. So for now, I'm only sharing this with those of you who have been invited. As long as I know you, I don't mind you reading it, it's the crazy stalker people I don't know that I'm trying to keep out.

Before I go any further, I feel the need to add a disclaimer:

* This is my blog, hence the name, "My Own Little Hiding Spot." This is where I'm free to write what I want about whatever I want. If you think I'm talking about you, you might be right. If you don't like it, go somewhere else. If what I say inspires you to have something you want to say about the subject, feel free to comment. Just do not use my blog as a place to start an argument with me over what I post. Again, it's my blog, if you don't like it, go somewhere else.

Thank you and have a beautiful day!

There's a Baby in Mommy's Belly

By now I'm pretty sure everyone knows I'm pregnant. And in case you didn't already know... here's your sign. In October I quit taking my birth control for other health reasons so we knew pregnancy was possible but we didn't really start trying until last month and it worked.

So now, not only are we still trying to buy a new house, but we've also gotta make room for baby-new house or not.

Piglet seems pretty excited about the new baby. She & I agree, we want a girl! Every couple of days she asks about the baby in my belly, and if it's still there. She says she can't wait for it to come out, but I'm sure she'll change her mind when it actually happens.

Bear's pretty excited, too. He wants a boy. The day after we found out via home test, he was telling everyone. I couldn't call his work without being congratulated before getting put on hold! I, on the other hand, was trying to keep it quiet until I saw my doc and until I had a chance to tell my dad and brothers. My dad was on a job in the Gulf, 2 brothers were in Miami (Go Saints!), and the 3rd was training with the Army before leaving for Iraq. We finally had a chance to tell them this past weekend so now we're telling the world.

This One's for the Girls

You know who you are....

It's crazy how you meet people and then all of the sudden you realize they've become your best friends. You tell them everything and can talk for hours on end without running out of stuff to say. Of course, it helps when you don't talk to them everyday so when you get the chance every few weeks to talk you've got plenty to talk about.

I just want you to know that even though we don't always get to talk everyday or see each other regularly, I still consider you my best friends. I know if I need anything, I can call you, even if we haven't spoken in a month, and you'll be there for me. And I hope that you know I'd do the same for you.

Life just seems to get in the way - A LOT, and it's hard to keep track of work, the house, the family, and everything else going on and it seems that friendships are what gets pushed to the back burner. Not that I don't think about you at all, because I do: right in the middle of rush hour traffic, or while I'm doing my hair, or as I lie down in bed at night. But I know that our friendships do not suffer by being on the back burner, it just means that they're stronger because they can survive sitting back there for a little while.

So just remember I love you, and if you ever feel the need to call me up at 3am, go for it! I might be slightly disoriented when I answer, or you might have to call twice before I answer, but I'll always get up to talk to you.

Apologies & Forgiveness

I've posted before about my inability to always Be the Better Person. I can forgive people if the apology is sincere and they really do their best to make things right, but there are just some things I can't forgive. I'm really working on forgiveness.

At Thanksgiving, Cousin 'B' from Be the Better Person wrote me an apology letter and apologized in person for her disrespectful acts before, during, and even following my wedding. And I forgave her. We've since hung out a few times and had a good time doing it. With that kind of apology I can forgive.

Sometimes it takes a shove for people to actually apologize. My brother, Tony, is being deployed to in February of 2010. He hasn't spoken to our mother in over a year. He finally decided on Thanksgiving to get over it and act like a son. He decided making things right between he & our mother was important before he leaves for war. If leaving for war hadn't shoved him into forgiveness and apology, he probably still wouldn't be talking to her, but it fills my heart to see them acting like they actually know each other again.

It shouldn't take serious illness or future deployment to make you apologize, but people are stubborn. Really, it doesn't matter what makes you apologize as long as your heart is in the right place.

So think about it: is there someone you owe an apology to? Someone you haven't spoken to in months or even years? Don't wait until it's too late. Think of the people who die suddenly without ever getting a chance to make things right. Or the people who live everyday wishing they'd had 1 more day with a loved one, the things they would say and do.

Here's hoping you find forgiveness, or the ability to forgive.

Remember to live each day as if it were your last.