fears

I am doing the Beth Moore bible study on Esther with some girls from my small group. If you have never read anything by Beth Moore, you need to drive to your nearest bookstore and pick out one of her books. I love her. I love the way she makes things so easy to relate to & she seems so down to earth. Oh, and she cracks me up. Big bonus points for that.

Anyway, this week focused a lot on fear. She said something in our video last night that really rang true to me...she basically said that it's hard to really understand fear until you become a parent. Fear takes on a whole new meaning when you are responsible for another life.  When you love another person so much that you feel like your heart may burst.

I have so many new fears now. Irrational fears. When Grayson was a newborn, I was so paranoid about him suffocating while sleeping. I would check on him while he was sleeping. I would get Ben to check on him while he was sleeping. I would get that anxious feeling before bed & truly felt that if I didn't go peak on him before I went to sleep, that something terrible would happen. Although that fear has subsided there are new fears that come with him getting older. What if he falls and hits his head on the ground? What if we get in a car accident and he gets seriously hurt?  What if he chokes on something when I'm not looking? What if someone takes him? What if I fail him as a parent?

Those types of fears can be paralyzing, if you let them. Those are the types of fears that Satan uses against us. I know that it is completely normal as a parent to have these fears sometimes...but I certainly do not want to live my life always thinking "what if??"

I am so guilty of doing this. I know that some of those fears could possibly become a reality--but I am not going to live in fear. If one of my "what if" fears happens, then guess what? I have a loving God to get me through it. God was good yesterday & He will be good tomorrow.


"For I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you." - Isaiah 41:13

So What! Wednesday

It's Wednesday again! Y'all know what that means...I'm linking up with Shannon at Life after I Dew for a little So What! Wednesday fun. This week I am saying SO WHAT if...

• my child has a bad case of separation anxiety right now. He's 1. It happens. I'm sure he won't head off to college kicking and screaming for mama.
• I am really excited about upgrading this week to the new iPhone but don't really know much about it. This girl? Not that tech savvy.
• I drove to Krispy Kreme last night at 8:00 to get Ben & I some donuts. I had enough calories left in my day to spend on a chocolate iced custard filled donut! 
• I miss one night on tv & get stressed out by my DVR. There are simply too many shows, not enough time! Don't even get me started on Thursdays! The Office, Project Runway, AND Jersey Shore? Stop it. 
• my child has sips of my yummy almond joy creamer filled coffee in the morning. He pitches a royal fit if he doesn't get a sip. I'm learning to pick my battles. 
• I am completely overwhelmed with the sewing machine sitting on my bedroom floor. I want to learn how to use it, but I don't even know where to start! 
• I'm REALLY looking forward to a yummy breakfast this morning at MOPS. I could eat breakfast food all.day.long. 

What are you saying SO WHAT to this week?? 

If we were real life friends..

I started this blog almost 3 years ago & am amazed at how much I have grown to love the blogging community. I was just telling Ben last night that I consider my blogging friends to be my real friends...even though I have not met them in real life. He thought that was weird...whatever:) 

I love the raw honesty in many of my favorite blogger's posts. That's why I read them. I love knowing that there are a lot of other ladies/mamas that go through the same things as me every.single.day. I love the feeling of reading a post & feeling like I've gotten to know someone even better. And feeling like we could be real life friends!

If you were my real life friend there are several things you would already know about me. For instance, you would know that many people call me Loma. My nickname since 8th grade has been Lomo. However, when my last name changed to May, everyone changed it to LoMA. See? Learn something new every day. 

You would also know that I love to dance. Like, the second my Lil' Wayne Pandora station comes on, I'm tearing up the dance floor living room floor. Now, I'm a white girl (duh), but I can drop it down low.

I also quote rap songs on a pretty regular basis. oh, and I own candy grillz.

You would also know that I am completely obsessed with celebrities. My main news source used to be Perez Hilton. Then I had a baby. I don't have as much time to look at Perez Hilton anymore. You would know that I have found Brad Paisley, Miley Cyrus, Leann Rimes, George Jones, and Jason Aldean's houses. I assure you I am not a crazy stalker. Well, at least not the crazy part. 

You would know that I am the type of person who never forgets a face. e v e r. I graduated high school with like 900 people and I swear to you I know probably 90% of their names. Even if we never spoke, if I saw them in the yearbook, I knew their name. Don't be alarmed if I see you in public and talk to you...I just probably read your blog and know who you are:) 

You would know that I would rather take a funny picture than a serious picture. 

It's just more fun that way, right? 

You would know that I once sang in a rodeo. Wearing a zebra cowboy hat. Oh, and that I wanted to be a pop star like Britney. Closest I ever got was that darn rodeo.

You would know that I lurve bright colors and my house shows it. Bright yellows, lime green, aqua blue. The spanish boys that did the painting loved it, too!

You would know that I absolutely hate confrontation. It makes my stomach hurt. I hate that feeling more than just about anything. I would much rather ignore a problem than have to talk about it & risk an argument.

You would know that I am a really sensitive person...especially when it comes to kids and animals. When I did my student teaching in Mississippi I worked in schools where kids had really bad home situations. It broke my heart. I told Ben on numerous occasions that year (we were engaged) that I would adopt all 18 of those 1st graders if I could. I loved those kids so hard and cried when I had to leave. I still think about them! 

 

I'm the same way with animals. Hello, that's why we have Hudson & Ellie! I would rescue every abused/stray dog if I could. I can't watch Animal Cops anymore on tv because I become a sobbing mess.

You would know that I hate pedicures because my feet are THAT ticklish. If you want to torture me, give me a pedi. Last one I had was the day before my wedding...THREE years ago. 

You would know that one of the highlights of my wedding was crankin' it to Soulja Boy. 

Wouldn't it be fun if we could have a huge bloggy get together and be real life friends? What would I know about you if I really knew you?!

happenings

 I feel like we've had a lot going on lately. Grayson has been sick with the dreaded hand, foot, & mouth disease...again. Thankfully, it was not nearly as bad as when he had it in June. Only one day of fever & about 5 days of Screamy McScreamerson. Yeah, sounds like fun, right? notsomuch. He seems to be 100% better today and woke up in a cheerful/normal G mood...thank the Lord!

Grayson got this sweet ride from his Mimi and Pops for his birthday. I'm pretty sure he thinks he's hot stuff when he is riding on it. He has 3 vehicles now...the push car, a Cozy Truck with jacked up wheels-thank his daddy for that one, AND a mini Kawasaki 4 wheeler. Ridiculous. He loves to ride!

 

 I made no-sew drop cloth curtains for our big kitchen window a few weeks ago and LOVE them. We finally have privacy in our kitchen and family room...just in time for them to start building directly behind us! They were super easy to make but a little time consuming.

 This is how Jack feels about the curtains. Ticked. How dare I block his daily sunlight?! How will he get his tan on?? His solution is to hide behind the curtains now. Demanding little fella.

 Since G is all big & bad now, we decided he should be allowed to sit at the table with us. We Ben packed up the highchair and Grayson has been sitting like a big boy in his booster seat! His friend, Ruby, gave him that cute PBK placemat that he eats off of/tries to throw to the floor. I am so happy that we have more room in our kitchen minus the big highchair!

Someone *cough GRAYSON cough* has been extremely attached to his mama lately. As in, pitches a royal terrible 2's fit if I don't hold him the second he wants me. This makes cooking dinner especially difficult. This was our solution last night. I am not a babywearing mama so this thing hasn't been used in like 8 months. I'm sure you can tell that Grayson was not so amused at being strapped on like a backpack. 

 We had a lot of slider buns left over from G's party so I wanted to find recipes to use them. I found this Buffalo Chicken Sliders recipe on pinterest and they were SO good. The buffalo sauce was so easy to make and it wasn't too hot.

It even got a thumbs up from the buffalo-loving husband! That is hard to do!

Source: the-girl-who-ate-everything.com via Laura on Pinterest

I also made these hot ham and cheese sliders. delish. My mom makes something very similar for Georgia tailgates and I have always loved them...glad to have this recipe now! 

In other news, I was supposed to be doing a 30 Day Shred Challenge with some blog/twitter friends and I sucked at it. Like, quit-after-3-days sucked. Sorry Laura & Lynsey! BUT, I found something else I'm doing. Thanks to DirecTV, we now have onDemand workouts! Holla! I was so excited about this. I get bored easily and don't like doing the same work out videos every day. So far, I have done pilates, kickboxing, and a hip hop dance cardio. I really need to post a video of me doing all 3--I look ridiculous. I love to dance & if you put me in da club, this white girl thinks she can dance. In my bonus room without an adult bev? I learned real quick that I can't. sad face. But, it was fun. I've been drinking tons of lemon water (thanks Katie!) and hopped on board with My Fitness Pal again. It really is amazing that after 3 days of working out, drinking lots of water, and eating healthier foods, I feel so much better. 

Okay, I feel all caught up now. phew. Happy Monday!

Where does G shop??

I've said before that I am picky when it comes to Grayson's clothes. I want him to look like a little boy instead of a little man. Sweet little girl clothes are everywhere and I would be in big trouble if there was a baby girl in our house! However, if you look in the right places, you can find really cute boy clothes! Seriously, I promise...you can:) 

I like boutique brands for Grayson's clothes but I have only paid boutique prices for 2 items in his closet...and that is ranging from his newborn clothes all the way up to 18 month clothes! Not to toot my own horn, but I think that is pretty impressive. I love jon jons, longalls, and bubbles but I am just not willing to pay $40+ for an outfit I know my kid will grow out of in just a few months...I mean, I rarely spend $40 on my own clothes! 

Probably 75% of Grayson's closet is from eBay. I have an addiction to eBay. My husband just made fun of me for all the Pay Pal charges he sees on our credit card statement. He doesn't get that I'm actually saving him hundreds of dollars! ;) These are my favorite brands of clothes for G:

• Bailey Boys
• Kelly's Kids
• Rags Land
• Funtasia Too
• Rosalina
• Castles and Crowns
• Chez Ami
• Vive le Fete

I search these brands on eBay every few days to see what they have listed in Grayson's size. I always set a limit in my head of what I am willing to spend with shipping combined. I have gotten SO many great deals on eBay and have had nothing but great experiences. There are also a lot of monogrammed items that you can get dirt cheap...I bought a monogrammed bubble from Kelly's Kids-brand new with tags-for $15. Great deal! 

I also love Zulily! They have great deals on clothes, shoes, & toys. The only problem with with Zulily is you have to be fast because some of their stuff sells out SO fast. The sale begins at 8am every morning so be sure you check early! 

Consignment sales/shops are also my go-to places for his clothes. I have a harder time finding his jon jons and longalls at consignments but that is where almost all of his "play clothes" (turning into my mom when I say that) come from. Right now they have tons of Halloween costumes, too!

Okay...that's all I've got. One thing I have realized in the past year is that it is so much more fun to buy baby/kid clothes than my clothes! Where do you buy kid clothes? Go link up with Kelly to see where everyone shops!

Grayson's party {the SMASH cake}

It's no secret that Grayson has always been a messy eater. I had a feeling how the smash cake would turn out & after we had a test run on his actual birthday...

...I knew he would dig in. Don't worry...G didn't disappoint the crowd!

 This one is my favorite. Cracks me up!

Sugar shocked.

A party is not a party without a sink bath!

So What! Wednesday

As always, I am linking up with Shannon at Life After I Dew for a little So What! Wednesday! 

This week I am saying SO WHAT if...

• I am kind of glad I had to stay home this morning with a feverish boy so that I could get stuff done while he napped. Note: not happy about a sick baby but happy about a cleanish house!
• I have already purchased 3 pumpkins, have plans to purchase more, and it is still only September.
• I am still annoyed by the new "rear-facing until 2" recommendation for carseats. I will do it. BUT, I will not be happy about it. (and neither will G)
• I am watching The New Girl even though I don't find it very funny. I really want it to be awesome just because I love Zooey Deschanel. I'll keep trying.
• I tuck my 2 big dogs into {their} bed every night. Yep. I'm that fur mama.
• I have a sewing machine & can't sew. 
• it drives me CRAZY that our neighbors park their cars in front of our house all day/all night. I know I don't own the street but in the words on Bon Qui Qui...RUDE! oh, btw? Their driveway is empty. 
• I'm afraid to get G a haircut even though he needs one bad. I know those baby curls will be gone forever when they get chopped!

What are you saying "so what" to this week??