A day to remember... Happy Memorial Day

Happy Memorial Day!

To all of the brave men and women who have paid the ultimate price... and to the ones who still fight for our country, our freedom...

Today, I salute you and say Thank you!

We cherish too, the Poppy red
That grows on fields where valor led,
It seems to signal to the skies
That blood of heroes never dies.

- Moina Michael

Thank you for stopping by...

Peace and Love

XOXO,

Renae

it's hard to believe it's almost been a year

Happy {rainy} Sunday!

So we had bbq plans today, however mother nature had other plans for us.

 I don't remember this much rain last year. As a matter of fact, last year was HOT and HUMID.

I was miserable. I was cranky. I was annoyed with everyone and everything.

Was it because it was so hot or was it that I was almost 40 week pregnant?

Either way, I wasn't happy.

As I sit hear wishing I was having fun in the sun, I am reflecting on my life

It's hard to believe that in 4 short days my little Booges is going  to be ONE.

Where has this year gone?

The first year has a mama has been challenging but so rewarding.

I love my little guy more and more every day!

I went to bed the night before he was born with this thought,

"tomorrow is my due date, and I don't feel any different. I can't go another day being this huge."

I woke up in the morning, still feeling no different. I waddled my way to the bathroom to pee, wash my face, and brush my teeth. My mom had flown in and was still sleeping.

Feeling a little on edge, I went and laid down next to her. I woke her up and to tell her I felt nervous.

During our talk, I must of had a strange look on my face. She asked what was the matter and I replied,

"I think I just peed the bed"

I managed to get up and go back to the bathroom... this is when I realized my water had broke.

OMG!

I calmly walked back in the room to tell her what was going on.

She was so excited, laughing, crying, and clapping.

 I then woke Shawn up to tell him, he was in disbelief.

Really, how many times do you hear of someone going into labor on they actual due date?

After all, we were told that it was a high possibility that my water wouldn't even brake.

I took a shower then called my Dr, he said to come on in.

After the looong drive to the hospital, getting check in, and settled in the most uncomfortable bed ever...

I still hadn't had one contraction.

I was checked and was only dilated to a whopping ONE!

Pitocin was started to 'speed' things up.

A couple of hours went by, and I was still in good spirits... laughing and joking.

Yes, I felt light contractions, but nothing to major.

I was checked again,

WOW, I went from being dilated to a one to being dilated to a ONE.

Nothing changed.... besides the pitocin drip being increased.

Contractions came on a little harder, and closer together...

but I was still able to manage the (somewhat) pain.

I had decided that I was going to try to go as long as I could without an epidural.

Several more hours past... I was check again... same song and dance...

I was still a one and the pitocin was increased again.

OUCH!

I was no longer Miss Happy Pants.

 I didn't want anyone to touch or talk to me.

Nothing was funny anymore and I felt like I was going to die.

But I still wanted nothing to do with an epidural.

It was the same story ALL.DAY.LONG.

My pitocin drip had been increased more then the maximum they normally have to give,

and my contractions were so close together that I didn't even get a change to breath.

But I just wasn't dilating.

After 15 hours, the Dr's decided it would be best to prepare me for a c-section.

I was so disappointed, a c-section wasn't in MY plan.

But wanted what was best for me and my baby.

The pitocin was stopped, and the contractions also stopped.

I was being prepared for surgery... and was scared.

After being rolled into the very cold operating room,

the anesthesiologist came in and gave me the dreaded epidural.

Everything seemed to be happening so fast,

yet I felt like I was in a dream where everything was in slow motion.

It took about a half hour... then I heard it... the cry that changed my life forever.

I saw my perfect little 7lb 5oz boy and fall in love instantly.

Oliver Joel Alexander McGee

06.02.10

To be continued...

Thanks for stopping by...

Peace and Love

XOXO,

Renae

High On Life... YAY!

I am so excited for this new weekly linky party hosted by 2 VERY sweet ladies,

Heather of Some Kind of Wonderful

and

Christina of My Silly Life

Through blogging, I can honestly say that I have gotten to know both of these lovelies and am happy to say they are my friends..... I would LOVE to one day meet them in person.

Go check out their blogs........now.

And link up to their fun Party.

High On Life Thursday is all about telling everyone what inspires you

What gives you the daily warm and fuzzy feelings inside

What makes you happy, what brings you joy

What are you thankful for.

For today's High On Life... I want to tell you about my Grandmother... my Memaw.

This woman is not only one of my greatest inspirations, but she is one of the most thoughtful people I know.

I just LOVE this picture of my grandmother on her wedding day... so beautiful!

I don't even know where to start, there are so many wonderful things she has done.

(I'm just gonna start writing and hope it all makes sense in the end)

My Memaw is my dad's mother. She and my Grandpa raised him and my 3 uncles... and had no girls. When I was born, her first grand daughter... she treated me like I was her own, and still does.

I would spend EVERY weekend with her, there was no other place I wanted to be.

Getting dressed up in fancy dresses, hats and gloves with her just to go to the grocery store is one of my favorite childhood memories.

Growing up she was Santa, the tooth fairy and the Easter bunny.

She never forgot a birthday a graduation, or a first dance.

She was always there.

Besides my mom, she has to be one of my biggest cheerleaders.

My Memaw has always encouraged me to be me... and to be the best me.

She has instilled in me the importance of family... she is the rocks and glue that holds ours together.

If I ever need to talk to someone, vent, or just need a good laugh, I know she is just a phone call away.

How that I'm a mother, I see what my mom seen in her when I was a child, something greater then love.

She has sent Oliver a card for all of his first... all of his first Holiday's, his first steps, his first tooth, even the first time he slept through the night.

It's this thoughtfulness that means a great deal to me.

She is encouraging him and cheering him on in his life and she doesn't even know it.

He is her Master Oliver... that is what she calls him.

She says ' my sweet great grandson is a Master Man with a big plan'.

My Memaw inspires me to be a better person... she has taught me to treat others the way I want to be treated.. The Golden Rule.

She taught me this, not by telling me, but by showing me in her own actions.

I love this woman dearly!

Thank you for stopping by...

Peace and Love

XOXO,

Renae

Idiosyncrasy = weirdness

Hello Monday!

I only worked half a day which was nice. I got a little me time.

I stopped by one of my favorite bead stores and picked up a few little treasures, I can't wait to see what I make with them.

(Hmm! Maybe a little 'made with love' giveaway)

Then I browsed Ulta for a bit.. I desperately needed a new face powder

It felt good, but I was happy to come home to a smiling little boy who was happy to have his mama home early.

Now, on to the fun stuff....

I saw this fun little link up on Heather's blog and it looked like a lot of fun.

You can link up here and share all things weird about you.

Idiosyncrasy

(I think every time I write or say Idiosyncrasy, I pronounce it different... every time, which is a little weird in itself)

Idiosyncrasy-from Ancient Greek ἰδιοσυγκρασία, idiosynkrasía, "a peculiar temperament", "habit of body" is defined as an individualizing quality or characteristic of a person or group, and is often used to express eccentricity or peculiarity.

Here are little weird and silly facts about me

I like to think of these little imperfections and things that make ME perfect. They make me who I am.

* I have a slight obsession with scrapbook/craft paper! I love all the textures, colors, and patterns. When it's on sale at Hobby Lobby...... I can't control myself. But it just gets put away, I hardly us it.

* Every time I buy a new nail polish, I tend to always just paint my left thumb nail and leave it like that for a day or 2 to see if the color is gonna work for me. If it works then I paint them all. If i don't like it, it comes off and I start over. (btw, my left thumb is painted a greenish blue color, I LOVE IT! so guess what I'm doing today?)

* I love the way bookstores smell. When I buy a book, I will pick up a hard cover over a soft cover because I don't like the way a soft cover curls.

* I hate shaving my legs... honestly I really don't do it all winter. A little gross and weird? Maybe! ok, yes it is. (note to self... buy some Nair) um, don't worry I shave my armpits everyday...... now is that weird?

* I don't like the sound of someone chewing on ice... but LOVE to chew ice myself (it's a little double standard, I know)

* I love pickles, I mean really love pickles!! Open a jar and give me a fork!

* I have 2 cell phones... and no one is not for work. When I moved to Chicago from Denver I wasn't ready to give everything up.. so I kept my Denver number. Well being here for so long, of course I wanted/needed a local number so I just added a line to my plan, so now I have both.

* Speaking of that, I've had the same {Denver} number since I was 18....... that would be 11 years.

* I don't know how to ration my conditioner. When I buy shampoo and conditioner, I have to buy 2 bottles of conditioner to every 1 bottle of shampoo. In the shower, I shampoo once and condition twice, and I mean 2 big heaping handfuls of conditioner. I don't know why I do this.. but I've done it for years, and do see myself stopping.

* I have a (slight) magazine obsession.. it doesn't matter if it celebrity gossip, the Oprah magazine, or various parenting ones... I love them. I hoard keep them for a long time before getting rid of them. When I buy a new one... I find a comfy place to sit and start reading... from back to front.

Well there you have it.. do you still think I'm cool?

Thanks for stopping by...

Peace and Love,

Renae

Oliver's first blog post

aswzmmmmmmmm.,;.l
;/?_)=][-'p;/; n.-k,=-yyyyyyyyyyyyyfffffhdhdccccdffaaaa a faire''lkkk80ihn;jhhds

So I could only imagine what he was trying to say, but he had fun pushing the buttons.

But since he went to sleep after me letting him 'write' his post, I'm going to translate it as..

"hello mama's friends... I'm going to bed early so she can catch up on her post"

With that being said, I'm off to read all of your recent post, and hopefully get a post in myself.

Thanks for stopping by...

Peace and Love,

Renae

family love

It's Wednesday! I smell Friday, what about you?

During my trip to Denver in March, we took family pictures.

Pictures with my mom and brother... something that was well over due.

I think I was 13 the last time we had a family picture together.

Here are some of my favorites



I have taken Oliver for pictures every 3 months... I'm sure now that he's almost ONE that will change

to twice a year or so... we'll see.

Do you take family pictures? How often?

Thanks for stopping by...

Peace and Love

XOXO,

Renae

meet me on monday

We got through Monday... YAY! and I have zero inspiration today.

Mrs. Sweet Christina joined a Monday link up.. and I'm gonna tag along.

(you can find meet me on monday link up here)

1.  Crunchy or smooth peanut butter?

Hmm... good question. I used to do only smooth peanut butter, but bought crunchy not to long ago by mistake, and let's just say... IT WAS A GOOD MISTAKE! I love it.

2.  What is your favorite color Rose?

I'm not a huge fan of roses, I'm more of a white daisy or wild flower kinda girl.

But if I had to pick a rose, I think white claire austin roses are beautiful

(I like that they don't completely scream 'I'm a rose')

3.  Do you remove your shoes when you walk into your home?

Most of the time, it does depend on what shoe's I'm wearing

4.  What is your favorite season?

Hand down, fall/spring.. I love flip flops and scarves... and I can wear them both during these months... perfect weather

5.  Approximately how many hours a day do you spend blogging?

Some days way to many, other's not enough... on average and hour or 2

I hope everyone had a wonderful Monday

Thanks for stopping by...

Peace and Love

XOXO,

Renae

saturday babbling

HAPPY SATURDAY!

I can't believe it's Saturday already... where did this past week go?

It was a really fast ride! I guess that's what happens when your being a busy bee.

Between working many hours at work, and coming home to a cranky teething boy, and preparing for a

walk-a-thon (that I walked this morning)... it didn't leave every much room for blogging or 'me' time.

But I'm back today... extremely tired and ready for a nap.

However, the dishes are piling up, and the never ending mounds of laundry need to get done.

It doesn't matter that my toes are screaming for a pedicure and my nail look horrible...and let's not mention the dark circles under my eyes that seem to be getting darker, ha.

(the small sacrifices us mama's give up for the sake of our bundles of joy, and life)

Oliver and I did a early morning walk-a-thon for Royal Family Kids Camp.

It's an organization that sends kids that have been taken away from their homes and placed in foster care due to abuse or neglect to a week long camp, in efforts to help them build loving and positive memories.

 We walked (well I walked and Oliver rode comfy in the stroller) for 3 miles and we raised $145.00, which is $45 over my goal. I was pretty pleased. It was a cold and windy morning, but time well spent.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Well, I work the top half of this post around 11:30 this morning and it's now 8pm..

I was going to say I was off to see where the rest of my day would lead me, but stopped mid sentence because Oliver had started his favorite past time activity... going through the trash, GROSS! 

I guess he thought I wasn't paying attention and he would actually get away with it... well he didn't.

It lead to a mini melt down, followed by a 3 hour nap... for the both of us. YAY!

We've been lazy all evening, and it feels good. I guess the dishes and laundry will get done, hmm... tomorrow.

Ok, that's it for now..

I'm going to my remote and blanket that is calling my name on the couch, and gonna snuggle next to that sweet boy that calls me mama. 

I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend. 

Thanks for stopping by... 

Peace and Love

XOXO,

Renae 

 

Before I was Mom...

Before I was a Mom,

I never tripped over toys.
I had never been puked on,
Pooped on,
Chewed on,
Peed on.
I had complete control of my mind and my thoughts.
I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom,
I never held down a screaming child so doctors could give shots.
I never looked into teary eyes and cried.
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.
I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom,
I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put him down.
I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn't stop his hurt.
I never knew that something so small could affect my life... so much.
I never knew that I could love someone... so much.

I never knew I would love being a Mom... so much.

Before I was a Mom,
I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body.
I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby.
I didn't know that bond between a mother and her child.
I didn't know that something so small could make me feel so important and happy. 

Before I was a Mom,
I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay.
I had never known the warmth,
the joy,
the love,
the heartache,
the wonderment
the satisfaction of being a Mom.
I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much,
before I was a Mom.

I wouldn't trade anything to have the life I had before I was a mom...

I love being a mom!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY TO ALL YOU WONDERFUL MAMA'S!

Thanks for stopping by...

Peace and Love

XOXO,

Renae

today I say goodbye to....

I knew this day was coming... and honestly I've been waiting for it.

Today I say goodbye to the all gummy smile

and hello to the first tooth

I am one proud mama!

I do hope this is the beginning of the end of  a slobbery chin and soggy shirts

Thanks for stopping by...

Peace and Love

XOXO,

Renae

a little craft for my mama

It's the 2nd day of the week... I smell Friday, it's right around the corner

So every year for the last several years I have gotten my mama a white carnation corsage for

Mother's Day...

It's said that on Mother's Day, and you are a mother you are supposed to wear a red carnation if your mother is still living and a white one if she's gone to fly with the Angels.

Well my grandmother passed away almost 17 years ago.. since then, on Mother's Day my mama gets a sweet little white carnation. I feel like it not only a way for me to honor my mama, but my Grandma as well.

As simple as it may be... it's always a challenge for me, see she has EVERY single one I've given her.

She has a framed picture of my grandmother on her wall, and after Mother's Day, she tacks the courage on it.

I try to make sure they are a little different each year.

I normal order one for her and have it shipped... I made one a few years ago, and decided to give it a try again this year.

So it came out completely different then the picture in my head.

I wasn't sure about the flower, or the red thingys.... but made it work.

I seen this sweet little fabric flower in the craft store and it looked like a carnation to me (kinda) but it was so plain but didn't know what I wanted to do with it. I was going to add little flowers and ribbon, but couldn't think of a color that I liked, or haven't already done for her. 

So I called my mom and said

 'mom, don't think about it.. what color do you think about when I say Oliver'

she obviously said

 'red'

Why red, I don't know... but it's what she got.

It's being shipped to her tomorrow.. and I hope she loves it.

Thanks for stopping by...

Peace and Love

XOXO,

Renae

11 months today...

It's Monday...

Normally Monday's are hectic, and yes this one was, getting back to reality from the weekend is never fun.

But today we are celebrating Mr Oliver's 11 months, which makes it a Great Monday.

I don't know where they went, but it's been a blast.

I can't believe that this time next month I'll be blowing up balloons and hanging streamers,

my heart is full!

Thanks for stopping by...

Peace and Love

XOXO,

Renae

a busy weekend

It's SUNDAY already!!

Were did my beloved weekend go?

I found a spare moment for a quick post... YAY!

Oliver was invited to his first birthday party, which we attended yesterday. It was so much fun watching him interact with other kids- that's a rarity for him... HE HAD SO MUCH FUN!

(I'll post pictures later today or tomorrow)

Let me tell ya, this little girls mama made the cutest cupcakes- monkey faces.

The things you can do with a little vanilla wafer, they were almost to cute to eat...

but we did, and they were YUMMY.

Today we are off to Wisconsin (about a 3 hour drive) for a friends baby shower. I am so happy for my friend Annie, and her husband Jay... they are expecting a sweet baby girl this summer. They have decided to name her Beatrix. I can't wait to met sweet little Bea!

Well I hope all of you are having a wonderful weekend...

I'm glad the sun came out, it's finally starting to feel like Spring!

Now, I'm off to get ready, and I'm hoping Oliver doesn't have a complete meltdown sitting in his car seat for so long, wish my luck!

Thanks for stopping by...

Peace and Love

XOXO,

Renae