The ups and downs of life!

I've been away from my blog a little too long. I had back-to-back cases of the tummy flu and then topped it off with a head cold so I've spent most of my free time laying on the couch trying to get better. I think I finally feel normal again.

Logan is becoming more and more alert and aware of his surroundings. He can sit up with a boppy around him for a few seconds before he gets excited and tips over. He can roll over and pivot around on his tummy pretty easily. If he's on his back he can now push himself with his feet all over the floor. If he gets his eye on something, he'll find a way to get to it! He's still just the happiest baby. He likes to hear the sound of his own voice and coos and babbles all of the time now. I just started him on cereal this week. At first he'd just spit it back out but by the third try he thought getting to eat from a spoon was the coolest thing ever. He wouldn't take his eyes off of the spoon and would just make this "ooooh!" face and kick his feet in anticipation of the next bite. I'm hoping to try some avocado and sweet potato with him this weekend.


"Give me that spoon!"




Brenden is your typical two year old. When he's up, he's really up, and when one little thing doesn't go his way, the whole world comes crashing down. The other day he had a bowl with some cereal in it and one fell on the floor and Sean threw it in the trash and Brenden proceeded to scream and cry by the trash can for 15 minutes afterward! He's learning to talk a lot more now that he's in a 2yr old class at daycare. He says the funniest things. The other day he was taking a bath, stood up and peed and as he was peeing he looked up and said "ooh! Its yeyyow!" Or the other day we had to give him some children's ibuprofen. The little medicine cup looks like a shot glass so we handed it to him and said "here, take your shot of medicine" He tipped it back and when he was done he said "Yay shot!" Maybe we shouldn't call it that from now on? :) He's getting better about saying what he needs. If his nose is running he will say "tissue" to let us know or says "biper" when he needs a diaper. He can count to 10 now and its so cute to hear him going "one, doo, fee, four, fise,sick, seben, eight, nine, den." He gets confused sometimes, especially once he gets past 5 but most of the time he gets it right. We are working on teaching him his ABC's now. He loves to play with balls/balloons, puzzles, crayons, play-doh, and mama & dada! We are his favorite toys :) He also likes for me to go to the Wiggles web site and play some of the interactive games there.

Things have been a little hectic in the Pray home. Sean lost his job a few weeks ago and that has been a little stressful. We continue to hope and pray something will work out for him. He qualified for unemployment so that will at least keep our heads above water until he can find something else. He's had a few prospects, but the application/interview process is long and time-consuming. A week in the business world goes by quickly, but a week of unemployment drags on for an eternity. So keep praying that something will work out for us.

Next weekend we are getting both boys baptized. I can't believe I've waited this long but it seems like something was always coming up and we never got on the list to make the baptism schedule.Then before I knew it Brenden was 2! They will finally be baptized together on March 7th. I am looking forward to getting that done. I'm going to a big consignment sale this weekend in hopes of finding them some cute little baptism outfits.

Even with our run of bad luck, I am still incredibly blessed to have such sweet, adorable little boys. They continue to give me a reason to smile every day!

Tuesday topic - on a Wednesday (again)

I'm a day late on my Tuesday topic! The dreaded tummy virus made an appearance in the Pray household with Logan on Sunday, me on Monday, Sean on Tuesday and finally Brenden got it today.


So this weeks topic is to list some quotes/sayings/lyrics/poems/etc that have been inspirational to you. I found this to be a tough topic. Its not that I haven't been inspired by the sayings of great people, but do I take the time to commit them to memory? Nope. How sad is that! I guess its just made me realize that I probably should take the things that I find inspiring and make an effort to remember them better so I can draw strength from them in tough times.


So I don't have any deeply profound sayings or phrases - most are pretty cliche but still are things that inspire me to live my life better.


1 - "everything happens for a reason" - I do believe this. I have had my fair share of negativity in my life and this phrase is what helps me gain focus. I find if I just try to find the "reason" that something happened, to find the good in a bad situation, that somehow I can make it through. I lost a brother but gained a dear friend that I cannot imagine my life without. I struggled with infertility, but feel like I am an amazing parent because I fought so hard to have my babies. The list goes on and on...


2 -


"Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets." Matthew 7:12, King James Version.
Do I always live my life by this rule - eh, not always. But I DO try to always put myself in someone else's shoes before I make a decision that could impact them. That's not to say that I'm a people pleaser, because what is "best" may not be what makes people happiest. But I always hear the golden rule in my head when I am unsure of a decision to make. I think " how would I want someone to treat me if the roles were reversed"


3 - "Do not stoop to their level" - I say this all day long in rush hour traffic. When I see a car riding up the turn lane eager to find a spot to squeeze into and every feeling in my gut says "get as close to the car in front of you as possible, they will not break rank!" BUT - that makes me just as bad as them. For all I know that person was not from around here (big stretch, but hey, giving the benefit of the doubt) and didn't know the turn lane was about to end and they are just trying to get back into the main flow of traffic to avoid getting lost by being forced to take a turn they weren't aware was coming.


4 - "two wrongs do not make a right!"
-

This is sort of on the same line as quote number 3. When someone treats you badly the immediate reaction is to find a way to reciprocate the action. I remind myself that this doesn't really gain anything, and only validates the behavior from the other person. Its better to just be the bigger person. I actually find that tends to get the point across better than if I had reciprocated.


5 - "you can attract more bees with honey than vinegar" - I work in a customer service/support role. When people contact me, they are MAD already. I have learned that the nicer I am to someone, the better the customer experience is. I will not let their mood spill over onto me. The meaner they get, the nicer I get! In the end, I always get a heart-felt "thank you" at the end of the call (no matter how much they were sure they were right and I was wrong at the beginning) I remember calling an insurance company about a claim and when I called back later to get an extension on my rental car because the body shop found another problem they had to fix, they connected me to the woman I spoke with before when I first filed the claim (it was the other persons insurance as the accident was not my fault) and her first response was "Hey, I remember you, you were nice to me.. Let me get that taken care of" and got my rental extension approved immediately.


6. "Think before you speak." I simply do NOT buy into the concept of saying something you don't mean just to hurt someone and then expect to be able to take it back later. You may think you can take words back, but you can't. That's not to say I cannot forgive, but I will not forget. I hear the words in my head for years to come. I think people are too quick to speak when they are angry - which is never a good idea. Take time to think about what you are about to say.. do you really mean it?.. does it help the situation to say it?... Are you saying it just to be hurtful? Whenever I am angry about something I always try to let myself have time to calm down before saying something. I'd say a good 70% of the time I realize that it wasn't as big of a deal as I immediately thought and I was just in a bad mood because I was sleep deprived, or stressed from work, or something else. I just really think if more people would take time to think before they speak then there would be less "misunderstanding" and more communicating.


7. "Laughter is the best medicine"

I'll just post a video to prove my point. Brenden was jumping in the living room and Logan thought it was SOOO funny! The video is horrible because I was trying to hold Logan and the video camera at the same time but you can hear the laughter. I dare you to watch/listen to this and not immediately feel the need to laugh/smile right along with my boys!

My boys are growing up so fast!

The boys are growing up too fast. They change so much every day!

Brenden hit a HUGE milestone this past week. He is a big boy sleeping in his toddler bed! Way to go B! He sleeps great and hasn't figured out that he can just get up out of bed any time he wants. Its like there's an invisible force shield holding him in bed. Sean and I agree we will never teach him that he can get up on his own. The less he knows the better.

He's communicating better and better each day. He says the funniest things sometimes. Like when he reads his animal book and tries to say sheep - he says "shit!" instead. Or if he wants ice in his drink he points to his eye and says "eyes!"

He's definitely showing his 2-year old side more and more. Lately the battle has been dinner. He has these massive melt-downs at each meal because we won't let him eat in front of the tv. He is very strong-willed. I think also he is getting his 2 yr molars so that tends to make him a little more fiesty than normal. I told Sean that he has these "ugly" moments because if he was utterly adorable every waking moment of the day the two of us would just explode from all of the oowey goowey feelings he puts in our heart.

Logan is a SWEETHEART! He is cooing and kicking and playing with his feet. He is such a happy baby and a total flirt! Watch out ladies! He is finally out of my bed an sleeping in his pack n play. I love co-sleeping, but we were waking each other up all night long. Neither of us were getting good rest. So now we've put the pack n play in the bedroom with us and he sleeps there pretty well. I'm so proud of both boys for making a great sleep transition. Phase 2 is to put Logan in the bedroom with Brenden, but until I'm sure the two of them won't wake each other up and are completely adjusted to their new beds, I won't rock the boat. Logan just got his first case of pink eye. Blah! He seems perfectly happy still, but its just a pain having to be so careful about making sure he and Brenden do not swap germs. I'm hoping we get this taken care of and Brenden's eyes remain white!

We got a bunch of snow (for NC anyway) last weekend. Unfortunately it was immediately covered with a nasty layer of sleet and freezing rain, but we were able to let B go out and play in it for a little while. He likes the snow, but not the cold, so our adventures didn't last long.

Wordless Wednesday - Remembering Joe

Hot Mama Topic Tuesday

So this was my week to pick the Tuesday topic. I picked : List your top 10 pet peeves

I'm not sure these are my top 10 - but they are just 10 that came to mind at this exact moment. They are in no particular order.


1 - people who back into spaces in the parking deck while a long line of people wait for their turn to park so they can get to their desk on time. Are you planning a fast getaway? and if you INSIST on backing in, can you do it in one try and not make a 15 point turn to back in? And if you pulled to far forward, don't expect ME to back up so you can back into the space. Sorry, you missed your chance.


2 - People who park in handicapped spaces who are not handicapped (this includes people who abuse the use of a family member's handicap 'tag' to use the space when that family member is not with them). Seriously - are you THAT lazy that you would deny someone who NEEDS that space because you don't want to walk an extra 10 feet? I feel this way about the person who is 8 weeks pregnant parking in the 'expectant mom' space. Come on, save the space for the big, waddling, swollen ankle, baby on the bladder, mama-to-be! If you aren't far enough along that you can still wear your 4-inch heels, then I don't think your are pregnant enough to earn that spot.


3 - people who chew with their mouth open. I cannot STAND to be able to hear someone eat. It absolutely grosses me out to no end! Is it so hard to shut your mouth between bites? This is why I don't go to movies anymore. 30 people crunching popcorn with their mouth open. I might as well go listen to a herd of cattle grazing.


4 - Men who wear their pants below their waist and show the world their underwear. Its called UNDERwear for a reason. It goes UNDER your clothes! I don't want to see it!


5 - People who stand in the middle of the aisle at the grocery store and talk on their cell phone. I'm not talking about those who make a quick call to say "honey, there is a sale on milk, do we need more?" I'm talking about people who have a long casual phone conversation while blocking passage down the aisle and access to food on the shelves. They don't get out of the way, they just stand there talking away and look at you like YOU are rude when you have to reach around them to grab a can of tomato sauce.


6 - People who don't turn their headlights on in inclement weather. If its foggy, and you have a gray/silver/white car - unless you want me to pull out in front of you, turn on your headlights! I honestly think that people do not realize that your headlights not only help you see, they help other people see you. This also goes for pedestrians who wear all black and walk in the road at night. At this point, I will not feel sorry for you if I run you down, and I will be mad that you ruined my day with a needless pedestrian squishing.

7 - People who keep me in their email address book solely for the purpose of having the required 20 people to forward their chain letter onto in attempts to avoid bad luck. If you don't have the time to say "hi" every now and then, delete me from your address book. Don't use me for spam purposes. I find it rude. If you don't want the bad luck "curse" - then why would you forward the same "curse" onto your friends. Not very friendly if you ask me. I'll take a dose of bad luck any day before sending that crap onto MY friends.


8. People who abuse the condiments at our cafeteria at work. I admit I may take an extra spoon or pack of sugar from time to time. However I will give some examples of things that completely irritate me. People who buy a bagel, toast it, open up the packets of cream cheese and spread 2-3 packets on their bagel, throw away the trash, and then go to the cashier and say they have a bagel with 1 cream cheese to avoid paying the extra 70 cents. OR one day I saw a woman fill a large cup with half a container of sugar, about 15 lemon wedges (no joke!) and then put a little water and a lid on top and told the cashier she just had water and paid 10 cents and then proceeded to sit at her table and turn the lemons into free lemonade. Seriously folks - its people like you that make our food costs go up every year. It kills me that I work in a corporation of professional people that STEAL!


9. People being late and not making my time valuable. I'm not hugely impatient. But I can't stand for people to stand me up, or show up 30-40 minutes late with no call, or to have an appointment at 4:00 and get there only to find out they are running an hour and a half behind and didn't have the decency to call me.I LOVE how a dr office will charge you for rescheduling less than 24 hours, but they have no problem calling you and rescheduling same day - after you've already taken the day off from work and its too late to go in and make up the hours. My time IS valuable. I know the unexpected happens - so I'm not complaining about those people. I understand if you are late because you kid had a blow-out diaper just as you latched him/her in the car seat. But if you were 40 minutes late because you are having a bad hair day and refused to just do a ponytail,or because we were just meeting for coffee but you refused to leave the house without curling your eyelashes, or because you fell asleep and didn't set an alarm, or just didn't give yourself enough time to make it on time.. that irritates me. At the same time I cannot stand being late. So if you want to see me stress.. watch me as I'm running late for something. I will totally beat myself up!


and finally
10 -People acting like my success in life is "luck." (warning - this may offend people, but is not meant to!)I can't STAND it when people say "you are so lucky..." or when people try to take advantage of my success while living an irresponsible carefree lifestyle. Yes, I'm so lucky to have paid my way through college. I was lucky to major in computer science and minor in math. I was lucky to give up many parties and nights out with friends to study and keep my GPA up. I started at the bottom of the food chain in my job and have SLOWLY worked my way up by sticking with the same job for the past 10+ years. I luckily work unpaid overtime, I come in on weekends, I put 100+% towards doing my job well and that has helped secure my job through many cuts/displacements. I live a debt-free lifestyle (except my mortgage), not because I'm rolling in money, but because I live within my means. I don't buy everything I want and charge up credit cards to get it. I don't live in a big, fancy, expensive home. I didn't get a mortgage I couldn't afford with the hopes of refinancing later. I make choices, priorities, decisions, etc. So I can't STAND it when people look at me and act like I've had it so easy and success just fell in my lap. I've definitely paid my dues! I know these are tough economic times and I'm not lashing out to the people who have been truly unlucky. This is not to say I don't consider myself blessed either. But just don't assume I'm successful because I'm "lucky" - I'm successful because I didn't take the lazy road. I'm successful because sometimes I say "no" to the fun things in life to be responsible. Maybe I'm just "lucky" to have a good head on my shoulders and we'll leave it at that :)