Monday Rant

So today wasn't a great day. At. All. Here's why today sucked ~

1. a coworker had a baby last week. All of our other coworkers have made a HUGE deal out of it, and have all called her like 100 times in the last week to congratulate her. However, when I had my kid last year, not one of them called me to congratulate me. It made me feel like a huge pile of poo basically

2. it's raining out (which I will say we NEED the rain), but it's really really cold. I went to Starbucks to get a White Chocolate Mocha with raspberry (one of my favorite drinks there even though I hate raspberry... makes sense I know). Anywho... as I'm getting ready to pay, the kid charges me $4.35 for the drink THEN charges me another $.55 for the raspberry meaning that my drink cost me almost $5.00. Now, I'm a frequent visitor of Startucks, and this is not my first time getting this drink. Never once have I been charged for the drink AND the raspberry flavoring. When I voiced this to the kid, he told me that usually the barista's don't charge for the extra "shot" because, "they're too lazy to punch in another $.55." How much sense does that make? And... I will never be going to the Starbucks in this town again... or at least not ordering that drink again. I was astonished that I paid nearly $5.00 for a COFFEE!!

3. I love my daughter dearly, I really do. But, this whole "I'm going to test Mommy to see how much I can get away with" thing is getting old. QUICK. I was trying to play with her and show her the Pooh Leap Frog that my in-laws got her. She decided that SHE wanted to rip the pages out of the book, and when I told her "no", she hit me then tried to bite me. Now, I know that she is only 1, but my word. I was so angry and frustrated with her, I didn't know what to do. I don't want to spank her, but she got like 3 spankings in the matter of 15 minutes. I've tried telling her "no hitting Mommy", and pushing her hand away, but it doesn't work. I get to the point that I'm at my wits end because I don't want her to think that I'm going to hit her all the time, but I don't know how else to convey to her that she's NOT allowed to hit and bite. Nothing else works because she's so stubborn and hard headed like her father. I try to do it a stern, but non-spanking way, and she continues to do it. I spank her, and she stops.

4. I have 8 weeks of school left, and I want to be done. Like done this second done. I'm just burnt out.

5. I'm sick of dealing with home ownership. We should have had the roofing situation taken care of. Nobody is willing to help us, and we need the whole roof done. It's not going to happen. Then, we put the insurance check in the savings account because we didn't want to have a $2,000 check sitting around the house (we thought it was a smart thing to do), but we receive a letter from the insurance company saying that since we deposited the check we now have 30 days to get a new roof, AND we have to provide them with the proof that we got the roof done.. On top of the roof, we need a new dishwasher because ours stopped working about a month ago. I'm too lazy to do dishes by hand (yes, I actually admit that I'm too lazy to do it), and it's getting on my nerves. It would be so nice to go back to renting, and have the landlord responsible for ALL of the problems that occur; and not have to ask my in-laws for more money because we have no savings account, and can't afford to fix our own house.


Ohhhhhhhh heaven help me. I need to go to bed and not wake up for a very VERY long time!

end. rant.

New Love

I am not your typical hip, fashionable, tasteful 28 year old. I am very much a homey, plain, simple person; I am definitely my mother's daughter. My house is done in 100% complete country decor.... I'm talking quilts and barn stars everywhere. It's what I'm comfortable with, and it makes my house feel like a home to me. Anyway.... I am also not a real big fanatic about purses. I like the Vera Bradley purses because they're more my style, but even they're starting to get old to me. Well.... we were in Pennsylvania almost this entire last week for our school's spring break. On our way home, we drove through downtown Gettysburg 1) because I like the town and 2) my husband is an insane history buff, so he wanted to drive through the battlefield. Anyway.... while driving through the town, there was a store called Artworks that had EVERYTHING made of quilts. They had jackets, tablecloths, anything you could imagine (within a reasonable imagination) was a quilt. Of course, I LOVED it. Well... I have found my new brand of purses. They are Donna Sharp purses. The picture shows her new design called Grape Patch, which will be mine in May when I go back. I have never really been one to carry a purse, but now that I have found a brand that is completely and totally me, I will be adding to this collection, and will actually enjoy carrying something that shows a little glimpse of who I am. I love it when I find things that are totally who I am as a person, and I can kind of show myself in little bits and pieces. I will forever be a lover of quilts, and now I get to carry one with me whenever I go out! To me, that is wonderful :)

Cutie Patooty

Our little one is starting to repeat everything we say. EVERY. SINGLE. THING. My wonderful grandmother sent us an Easter package with adorable clothes, amazingly delicious hand made nut roll, and sugar cookies. The kiddo was standing at our table that sits beside the chair in the living room, and I decided to give her some pieces of cookie to gobble up. As I was putting the pieces on the table for her to grab, I said, "Morgan, Mommy's giving you some cookie". Don't you know, she looks at me and says "cookie". This week alone, she has learned cookie, quack quack, whoa, has used a comb to comb her HAIR (her own hair), said sock, and tried to put her sock back on her foot. She JUST turned 1 at the end of February. She amazes me!

You Little....

This is the week before our spring break, which is ALLLLLLL next week :o). Needless to say, myself and my kiddos are in desperate need of a break. Since they know it's almost time to have a week vacation, they're getting a little testy, and it's really working on my nerves. Today, one of my little lovelies decided that he wasn't going to shut up at all. I gave him warning after warning, and it still didn't work. Finally, he broke me to the point that I looked at him and said, "if you open your mouth one more time, you have no recess tomorrow, silent lunch, AND you don't get to do our special activity that I was planning". So, he looks at me, grins, and then OPENS HIS MOUTH... like wide open, and just sits there... he was being a defiant little brat. I laid in to him so bad that I embarrassed him (usually I don't yell at my kids cuz I hate it when teachers yell at their students), and I called him a smart aleck. I almost slipped and said smart ass, but thank goodness I caught myself. I was so irritated and irate with him THEN when I got back to my room with his referral... guess whose mother had come to get him to take him home??? GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR~! Break definitely can't come soon enough.

Spring Fever

I love the time of year when all of the flowers and trees start blooming. It's awesome going from a drab, colorless winter to a beautiful, vibrant spring. I also love the rain that comes with the spring. It helps replenish the ground, and make all the colors even more bright and beautiful. Even though we still have a few more cold-ish days (down in Virginia, we won't get many more days below 55 now), I'm so ready to see the greens, yellows, pinks, purples, blues, oranges, reds.... all of the gorgeous colors of God's amazing rainbow!

For Tricia Lawrenson

I read the post on Nate's blog about writing a post on my own blog telling brand new Mommy Tricia about what it will be like, and all of the wonderful things she'll experience, when she gets to take baby Gwyneth Rose home. I had my little girl, Morgan, a year ago, and I've never had a more awesome role than "Mommy". I love every second of being her mother, and I am going to bawl my eyes out while I type this. But... here goes (even though some things seem not so great, I wouldn't change any of it for the world)


* having your newborn scream for what seems like 24 hours a day because she's unfamiliar with her surroundings..... then to have her sleep on your chest because your rocking and humming comfort her
* her crying because she needs to be held by her Mommy (I LOVED that)
* watching her discover every new thing, and being able to teach her new things daily
* feeding her for the first time with a spoon (watch out... many bibs, and lots of paper towel)
* having Daddy feed her for the first time (once again... even MORE paper towel... like 3 rolls maybe :o) )
* having her smile at you for the first time because she's happy... not just gassy
* having her recognize you, and reach for you while calling "Mama" (amazing)
* having her say "No, Mommy, No" when you scold her for trying to bite you
* having her tell you "ah, ah... NO NO" when you take something from her because she's learned the "ah, ah... NO NO" from you because she gets in to EVERYTHING
* seeing her Patty Cake for the first time
* watching her do "So Big" a gazillion times over because she loves it
* watching her shake her little butt while she dances to music
* giving her baths in the kitchen sink.... and having water all over the kitchen because she's discovered how to splash, and it's great
* kissing naked baby buns (clean of course)
* hearing her giggle when you give her belly raspberries
* having her blow you a kiss
*watching her snuggle on her Daddy's big chest, and she looks so small... it still melts my heart
* hearing her call her "goggy" because she wants to play with him (Meka will LOVE Gwyneth Rose)
*staying in bed with a baby laying between you snuggling up in between your big pillows
* Sunday morning pancakes that Daddy makes for his girls while they're in bed
* poop that goes clear up her back, and you have to change her outfit, then finding out right after you changed her that she pooped again
* big, wet, slobbery kisses
* her patting your arm while she lays her head on your shoulder because you're patting her bottom
* newborn cries (I actually miss those)
* my favorite moment of every day is giving her a kiss good night, telling her I love her, then thanking God for giving me such a wonderful blessing


My list could go on for days about my little one, and the many joys she has brought to my life. I'm sure your list will go on for days about Gwyneth Rose. I am so happy that you have finally gotten to hold her, and be with her. You are one strong, amazing woman, and you are such an awesome witness for the Lord. I definitely admire you and your family. I have a love for you in my heart, and a love for Nathan and Gwyneth. Your families joys bring me joy, and your families sorrows and setbacks bring me sorrow. I have committed to you, and am praying daily for all of you. God has done amazing work in your lives, and I can't wait to see what else He has in store for you! I hope you enjoy my list, and that you enjoy everyone else's list!


Love,
Brianne

You Got Mad Skillz!

My kiddos were playing volleyball in gym today. Volleyball just happens to be my favorite sport, and I happen to not be too shabby at playing. So... we started out by just catching and throwing the ball over the net for them to get the hang of it. Then the gym teacher said that they could start hitting the ball with the 3 hits needed to send the ball over to the opposing team. When it was my turn to serve, I did a soft over hand serve, and all of their jaws dropped. When we came back to the room some of the boys told me that they could return my serve if they had the chance, and I told them that I was being a little on the nice side and didn't serve as hard as I usually would have. The whole class determined by the end of the day that their cool teacher has "mad skillz" playing volleyball! At least I have mad skillz in something!