The Green-Eyed Monster.

It's always the same.. neighbors, friends, strangers.. a random parent at a playground. "OH! He's adorable!"- She says, "How old?" This is when my heart sinks in my chest, because I know exactly where this conversation is going.. "Seventeen Months" I say.. as Liam slaps his way across the floor. Her eyebrows raise, "Hmm..Still not walking?".
 "Nope, not yet." I reply as I think to myself a thousand different scenarios for a polite exit. I can see the astonishment sweep across her face  "wow, betty sue started at just 9 months!.. " I already knew this would turn into a contest. "Have you taken him to the doctor? Have you tried to bribe him? Have you tried different shoes?(that was a good one) Have you tried walking him everywhere? Have you tried Early Intervention? Do you think something could be wrong?!"

If I have to answer any of these questions for you, I obviously do not know you.. and you certainly don't know my child.You haven't seen him long enough to know that yes, he does walk. He took his first steps at 13 months. He will stand in the middle of the room and walk across like nothing. Will he walk everywhere? No. He doesn't. Why? How the hell should I know?.. You can ask him but he'll probably just start babbling about his piggy because he's just a baby and that's what babies do. I know Liam is fine and will walk independently when HE wants to but all it takes is that one raised eyebrow and turned up nose to send me spiraling.

Don't get me confused, I love hearing about your childrens achievements.. I like getting advice from other parents.. I LOVE watching my friends childrens grow and play..but do not gloat, do not boast and do not envy, because Liam may be fine, but what if he wasn't? Would you gloat to a mom of a baby with down syndrome, autism, aspergers or any other underlying condition? If this makes you feel good inside, I feel very sad and sorry for you.. because there are much more important issues in this world then gossiping about other babies developmental milestones. Now im going to end this rant, because the sooner I do the sooner I can go chase around my SEVENTEEN month old baby.. even if it is on all fours.

"But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice." James 3:14-16

Life as an Oilfield wife

Since we first started dating Eric works two weeks on the rig, two weeks off. This means for two weeks I'm on my own with Liam and the household. As always, cleaning around the house is much lighter but I always miss him when he's gone. I have eerie nighmares everytime he leaves that someone is in the house wanting to kill me. The worst nightmares are when said "someone" takes liam out of his crib in the middle of the night. It's inevitable for me to cry the day he leaves because I know I'm gonna spend the next two weeks longing for them to elapse. This is not the way you should live your life, counting down the days but I do and I know a lot of women out there who do the same. Even though I get lonely and all I want to do is have a conversation with MY husband, I realize how much harder it is on him. Working 90 hours a week on a rig with 50 men he misses out on holidays, get togethers and time with his son and wife. It's ineludible for him to miss important milestones in Liams life. So I can't complain about how lonely it can get or that I get a little scared because Its tenfold on his end. The upside, I probably see my husband more then the average household. Most guys work 12 hour days 5-7 days a week. So as hard as it can be waiting around ..Eric is deffinately worth the wait. A lot of girls always say to me "I wish my husband/boyfriend would go offshore" I don't know if its the money or the time away from their significant other that makes them want to go offshore but it's hard, atleast for me, to be away from my best friend for an extended period of time. This is why I went from having a full time job, to a part-time position. I just asked myself "is it really worth it to spend more time away from eric?"  and to me, HELL NO!

                                                     My hardworking man, 3 more days!

One year old

This number is so small, yet soounds so very old to me right now. Today is the day I gave life to my wild child Liam Gage Slaydon. It's mind blowing thinking back a year ago today, literally brings tears to my eyes what happend. One might say it was the overwhelming pain of labor, even the sheer thought of that could bring a girl to her knees. But I know its because time is ticking, and time is love according to Josh Turner. Time is a funny thing, it sneaks up on you when you least expect it and before you know it, you're married with a one year old. ONE year old. It's hard to believe how much a boy can learn in just one year, how much he can grow and imitate the things you do. Thinking back, its hard to even remember that TINY little baby we brought home from the hospital. The transition from zero children, to one.. is hard. A baby changes you, they change your whole perspective on life. Things you thought were so essential, seem insignificant. One of the best parts of becoming a mom was seeing Eric be a dad. Liam is ONE lucky boy, and we are some lucky parents to have such a healthy handsome little man.. even though he can drive us nuts.. sometimes all I need is one big smile from him.. and it changes my whole mood for the day, in a good way. of course !

Enjoy these moments..

I hear this all the time, almost everyday. Coincedentally the "Carpe Diem" phrase is usually accompanied by older women/men.  "Enjoy these moments" they say, as your child is whailing in the checkout line. "It's so much fun" they say, but your up at 3 a.m. changing your sons sheets because he decided to take his diaper off and pee.. everywhere. "It goes by sooo fast" they say, when sometimes bedtime can't come fast enough. Sometimes being told, in a million different ways to seize the moment makes me worry that if I'm not in a constant state of gratitude and ecstasy, I'm doing something wrong. I think parenting is a little like climbing Mount Everest. Brave, adventurous souls try it because they've heard there's magic in the climb. They try because they believe that finishing, or even attempting the climb are impressive accomplishments. They try because during the climb, if they allow themselves to pause and lift their eyes and minds from the pain, the views are breathtaking. They try because even though it hurts and it's hard, there are moments that make it worth the hard. These moments are so intense and unique that many people who reach the top start planning, almost immediately, to climb again. Even though any climber will tell you that most of the climb is treacherous, exhausting, killer. That they literally cried most of the way up and so I think that if there were people stationed, say, every thirty feet along Mount Everest yelling to the climbers "ARE YOU ENJOYING YOURSELF!? IF NOT, YOU SHOULD BE! ONE DAY YOU'LL BE SORRY YOU DIDN'T!" TRUST US!! IT'LL BE OVER TOO SOON! CARPE DIEM!" those well meaning, cheerleaders might be physically thrown from the mountain. Some people may call me nostalgic, cynical.. whatever you will but parenting can be hard sometimes and I'm not suggesting that the sweet old ladies who often tell me to enjoy these moments be thrown from a mountain. Sometimes my favorite part of each day is spending quality time with Liam and "enjoying these moments".  I used to worry that not only was I failing to do a good enough job at parenting, but that I wasn't enjoying it enough. I'm not in a constant parental ecstacy, I don't laugh and smile all day everyday like the mamas in the parenting magazines seem to be doing. I feel guilty because I get tired and cranky and ready for the day to be over. But I know that one day I'm going to wake up and Liams going to be gone, and I'll be that old lady in the grocery store with my hand over my heart.

The Invisible Children propaganda.

 After reading so many people outraged on Facebook over the kony 2012 fad, everyone should know what I am about to blog about. I understand Joseph Kony is a horrible person who has done repulsive things. I do believe he should be stopped and I will pray for these children. However, the Invisible Children will NOT be getting my $ for a useless starter kit so I can "paint the town red" Let me tell you why, the activist group Invisible Children are alleged to be a non-profit organization. So far they have released a total of 11 films, most with these bracelets all interchanging colors. This films (KONY 2012) was red. If you look at the finances of this organization (which are public) last year the organization spent $8,676,614. A total of 31% of this actually went to direct services. Can you think of where the rest went? Staff salaries, travel and film production. You paid for this "documentary" so they can make more money.. to make another movie. Charity Navigator rates their accountability 2/4 stars because they lack an audit committee. Therefore, they don't keep up with their finances well enough. It gets better. The group is in favor of direct military intervention, and the $ supports the Ugandan governments army. This army has been reported to rape and loot. None the less, Kony IS a bad guy but he has been around for years! This is why the U.S has already been involved in stopping him since Oct 2011.The issue is this man is using children as his body guards, any effort to capture or kill him will result in the lives of innocent children. Is the awareness efforts good? YES! Unfortunately these problems are highly complex, not one-dimensional and, fankly, aren't of the nature that can be solved by posting, film-making and changing your Facebook profile picture. As hard as that is to swallow ( and it will be for most of you). Giving your money and support to the Invisible Children so they can spend it on supporting ill-advised violent intervention and movie #12 isn't going to help those children. I do not have a better solution but that doesn't mean you should support KONY 2012 just because its something. When the euphoria evaporates and the Facebookers have dried their tears (probably by the end of this week), all that remains will be yet another powerful myth of African corruption.Your hearts are all in the right place but charity starts in your own communities. Families are suffering and you'd be better served giving the $ to your local church, shelter, of food pantry.

Counting my blessings.

Recently, I've been reeling over how much I take my life for granted. Even the little things. I came across a blog about a little boy, his name is Tripp Roth. He was born with a rare skin disease and has suffered his whole life with pain and agony. He opened my eyes to see how amazing my life truly is. That I should get down on my knees everyday and thank god for what I've been given. I hold Liam a little tighter, sing to  him a little longer and count my blessing. Liam IS such a blessing in mine and Erics lives. We strive to be the best parents possible for him. I often wonder how I got so lucky. He is RARELY, if ever fussy. He is totally content with sitting by himself and playing with his toys. I get my laundry done, my house is always clean and I still have time to watch my favorite shows. He sleeps all night from 8pm to 8 am. How did I get so lucky, when there are so many babies and children that suffer. My life is far from perfect but what defines perfect? No amount of money can heal suffering. So many people, including myself are often blinded by materialism. The important things in life are over looked. Life is about family and those closest to us. Be happy for what you have because someone, somewhere wasn't as lucky.  

"EB" 

 

Clicking on the link above will take you to Courtney Roth blog. Such a heartbreaking and touching story to read.

The joys of motherhood

Well well, It sure has been a long time since I've blogged. I actually almost forgot what password I used for this site. Liam really does take up a-lot of my time, but I've mostly neglected the blog out of pure laziness. I know I know, shame on me. moving on..

My poor guy hasn't been feeling well. Snuffles and a cough. He is also teething which intensifies things. I've been hoping vicks vapor would help but no luck so far.  I have also been surprised at how much this kid learns every week and how much he is growing. Any mom can tell you that. I'm never more happy then when this boy looks at me with those big blue eyes and gives me his biggest smile. He completely changed my life and I wouldn't have it any other way. Well, I might add a little sleep into my schedule but its worth it.BTW: Liam is now and has been sleeping in his own crib, in his own room fora while now.

One thing they don't tell you about motherhood is how many different varieties of bodily fluid you are guaranteed to have on you at any given time. I'm currently sporting spit up in my hair right now. I really cannot wait to get home from work so I can take a shower. All day I've been like what the hell is that smell?..oh me. That's just my hair.. awesome. And there's nothing like walking into a store and looking down at your shirt and thinking "holy crud what is that?... what the F is that!?..." 

But then you just inevitably realize, 

oh shit that's pee or 

oh shit, that's snot or 

the worst one, oh shit, that's shit.