This post brought to you by Tampax

My son likes to play with feminine products. It's true. He discovered the Tampax box under the sink one day and is obsessed with pulling them all out, putting them back in and pulling the wrapper off. The husband despises it, but he showers alone every morning. In peace. At 5:00am when the little one is fast asleep.

I, however, have to fit a shower in wherever I possibly can. I keep telling myself to get up with the husband, but the truth is that if I shower in the morning, ain't no way I am getting any exercise in, so I usually throw on gym clothes when Thatcher gets up in hopes that we'll get to the park for a walk or run later that afternoon. Most days that doesn't happen either but it's the idea that counts.

This is the scene in our bathroom while I try to get ready. Yes, it's 5:00pm. Yes, I just got ready for the day. Most days I never get ready since I work from home, but on the days when I have somewhere to be then I am usually left showering with a wild toddler banging on the shower door. Unless I get out the Tampax box, in which case he plays happily.

This kind of reminds me of Allie's post yesterday on where her son chooses to do #2. As a mom, sometimes you just have to do what you have to do.

So what if my son plays with tampons? He doesn't know what they are, it keeps him entertained and mom gets to shower in peace. It's a win win.

Linking up with Shannon for my so what moment of the week.

The Thatcher Gator's 1st birthday: recap

Even though Thatcher was under the weather for his 1st birthday and we had to move it to my parents' house, it was still a huge success. I was really happy with how everything came together, and everyone had a great time!

I had settled on his alligator theme a while ago and knew I'd need to get invites and paper custom made (there isn't a lot out there with tasteful alligators on it!) I googled everything and just did not find a lot of ideas for an alligator theme even on Pinterest. I love how all of the paper items turned out and really set the tone. I have talked about Sweet Birdie's Nest before, but they were so wonderful to work with. They went through countless revisions with me and ensured that I was happy with the final product. I ordered invitations, return address labels, favor tags, thank you notes and a high chair banner, all of which I loved and really pulled the theme together.

Once I had the colors and theme, everything else was pretty easy. I ordered paper products to match and asked my favorite cookie lady to take care of the cookies and smash cake. Based on a recommendation from another blogger, I ordered Thatcher an adorable outfit online and was pretty much done!

I really didn't get too complicated with the food because we were supposed to be at a playground (read: no cute table tents or food labels or cupcake toppers). We basically had "playground food," which was fruit, finger sandwiches and a few dips. I also had a mimosa and bloody mary bar for the big gators. In the end I think it was better that I was planning an outdoor party because I didn't get too carried away (which I may or may not be known to do!)

Even with the change of location and a sick baby, it was a fabulous party overall!

*Resources:
Invitations and matching paper items: Sweet Birdie's Nest
Cookies and smash cake: JCB Creations
Cookie cake: Great American Cookie
Personalized alligator t-shirt: Personalized Creations
Gingham pants: NOLA Tots
Paper plates, cups, napkins and party favors: Celebrate Express

*I purchased all of these items, and all opinions are my own. I'd recommend all of these vendors for their quality and customer service.

2 minute Valentines

It's no secret that we have more than a lot going on right now. As much as I would have loved to have made some Pinterest-worthy baked goods with a cute label, it just wasn't going to happen. I thought seriously about making these cookies but our Sunday got derailed by a visit to the ER. Out the window went my vision of adorable cookies with printed tags. It's the intention that counts, right?

Instead I bought 2 bags of Hershey's kisses and used cellophane bags and ribbon that I had easily accessible in my wrapping paper room had to dig out of the fourth cardboard box I checked (dare to dream, right?) and called it a day. I think they came out pretty cute!

That's my version of crafting - what you can make in 10 minutes for under $10! In the end it doesn't really matter because Thatcher's teachers will just be happy that we thought of them. But man does Pinterest add a whole new layer of pressure to this mom gig!

Baby's first cupcake

Thatcher had a pretty rough birthday weekend, but we tried to make the most of it! On Friday, which was his actual birthday, we gave him a cupcake after dinner and he LOVED it. It was so fun to watch him taste his first dessert and get all messy!

On Friday night, Thatcher woke up at 1:30am with 103.5 fever. We called the pediatrician, and she advised us to give him infant Advil and come in the next morning. As in the day of his birthday party. We brought Thatcher to bed with us because I knew I'd barely sleep anyway. That was actually the first time we had ever done that, and I don't think anyone slept very well! Thatcher got up pretty early, so we all got ready and the husband headed to pick up the food for the party while Thatcher and I headed to the pediatrician. Oh, I should also add that we had decided to move the party from the playground to my parents' house because the weather was supposed to be extremely chilly and windy. In hindsight that was a total blessing because there is no way the playground party would have been pulled off with me at the pediatrician. Thatcher was tested for strep (negative), his ears looked clear and the pediatrician thought that the fever was most likely related to his surgeries. Thatcher ended up napping for the first half of his party and was pretty much a clingy little boy for the rest. He wouldn't let me put him down, and he really just did not feel well. The party was still wonderful, but it was sad that he didn't enjoy it more! 

And then this morning we ended up at Children's Hospital because he still had fever and I was just too worried. Turns out he has an ear infection. Yes, 5 days after receiving tubes. This week has probably been one of the longest weeks in my life, but I am really hoping and praying that this antibiotic will do the trick once and for all. He has been so fussy and upset all weekend, and it just breaks my heart.

I am hoping to do a birthday party recap tomorrow but just do not have that in me tonight! Needless to say, the visit to the ER this morning totally threw off our plans to relax and do nothing today.

On Thatcher's 1st birthday...

Dear Thatcher,

It is so hard to believe that it has been a year since you were born! You will probably hear us say this a lot as you grow up, but time really flies. So many people gave us the advice to enjoy every second, but what I really want is for someone to give me advice on how to freeze time. There have been so many moments over the last year where I remembered to stop and just be. To be present with you, our precious son, in the moment of whatever was happening. This happened a lot, for which I am grateful, but it didn't stop the clock from moving forward. I will never forget the countless morning naps with you on my chest or the moments that I would just stare at you and wonder how we were lucky enough to have been chosen as your parents.

From the moment they placed you on my chest, my heart has been bursting with love, hope and prayers for you. I don't think it's possible for anyone to love you more than your dad and I do, but I hope and pray that you will always know just how loved you are. Like most parents, we think you're amazing. We love you for being you. You are independent, brave, sweet and funny. We love how your eyes light up when you smile. We love your deep belly laughs. We love that you climb on boxes and stairs and explore the world without fear. We love that you are opinionated. You may still be eating pureed foods, but we love that you let us know what you think. You are gifted in so many ways, and we can't wait to see these gifts unfold as you grow older.

I was reading one of my favorite books last night, and I came across two verses that feel so relevant to this day, your birthday, the day we celebrate you. Even though you're only 1, we feel as though we've known you forever, and we cannot imagine life without you. At the same time, we can't wait to see your personality and gifts emerge in the years to come.

"Show Thatcher how to use his gifts and talents wisely, being faithful with the abilities you have given him." Matthew 25:21

"Give Thatcher a sense of destiny, and show him that you set him apart and appointed him with gifts and talents even before he was born." Jeremiah 1:5

We are your biggest fans and will be here to support and guide you every step of the way. I pray that we will know how to help you develop your unique gifts and talents so that you are always fulfilled and happy. This has been the most wonderful year of our lives, and we feel lucky to know you. But we feel even luckier to be your parents.

Happy, happy birthday, sweet boy!

BT: Before Thatcher

On the eve of Thatcher's first birthday, I decided it'd be fun to participate in the viral love story link-up. Because without the husband, there would be no Thatcher. Between the house renovations our quickly draining bank account and utter craziness of life lately, I am pretty sure we will be parked on the couch for Valentine's Day. But in its honor, I present you our love story. Sorry, I just can't bring myself to call it a love story - so not me!

1. How long have you and your significant other been together? Well, we have known each other since 6th grade. We didn't go to the same school, but New Orleans is small and you generally know everyone in your class across the city. The husband and his friends thought they were incredibly good looking and too cool for school, and they used to ride around on these awful trick bikes (true story). They were really mean and gave us all nicknames. Yours truly was "ghost woman." For real. They once also left hair bleach on a girl's porch. Like I said, they really were not nice. It's a good thing I am forgiving because we became reacquainted in 2000 when we were headed off to college together. We started dating in January 2001, so we've been together for 11 years.

2. How did you meet? {What's your "love" story?} Oh whoops. I started to answer this above. Basically we were friends and then we were more than friends. Our friendship transformed to more than friendship in a bar. Classy, I know.

3. If married, how long have you been married? It will be 5 years in March! I am lobbying for diamond earrings, but I think I got a bathroom instead. Such is life! 

 4. If you are married, where did you get married? Big or small wedding? We got married in New Orleans. We were engaged in December 2005, right after Hurricane Katrina, and it felt right to support the city at that time. We otherwise would have likely chosen a vineyard wedding in Virginia (where we went to college), but instead we had a blow out in NOLA. We had a pretty big wedding, and it was amazing. We were living in Tampa at the time, so my mom planned most of it. I am forever indebted to my parents for hosting such a wonderful party. They did an incredible job and people still tell us to this day how much fun they had, which makes me so happy. All I wanted was for people to have fun. I didn't care about anything else other than a fabulous band, incredible food and fun. I had a few other opinions along the way, but fun was the main objective - mission accomplished!

5. Do you have any nick-names that you call one another? Do share! Babe. That's about it. Sorry, we aren't the lovey dovey types.

6. Name 3 things you love most about your honey. First, I don't call him honey. Now that we have that settled, he is an AMAZING dad. He has probably changed as many diapers as I have, and he's always excited to see his buddy when he gets home. He is really intentional in building a relationship with Thatcher, and I love that. Apparently he had to do his own laundry when he was growing up (this was totally foreign to me - my mom still washes our clothes if she's in our presence. I know, it's pathetic, but it makes her happy and I am not turning down laundry service. Please tell me I am not the only one?). Anyway, point being that he knows how to work the washing machine which I totally appreciate. He is also extremely hard working and really feels responsible for taking care of our family. I choose to work, but he always says he wants me to have the option not to, and I really admire that. He's motivated to do well and not lazy whatsoever, all traits I find extremely endearing.

7. Tell us how he proposed? I wrote about this in December, but it involved picking out a Christmas tree and planning for our future family. Swoon.

8. Is he a flowers and teddy bear kind of guy for v-day, or strawberries, champagne, and rose petals? C. None of the above. He's more into unexpected romance, like putting flowers in the baby's room when we found out Thatcher was Thatcher.

9. Are you a sunset dinner on the beach kind of girl, or pop a movie in and relax on the couch? Before Thatcher we were all about going out to eat and staying out fairly late. Since his arrival, we've spent much more time on the couch. I think we actually love doing both and have found a good balance of staying home and getting out. Both are so critical to our happiness and sanity. We cherish being at home, but we'd both go insane if we didn't go out with friends and each other. We're both incredibly social by nature.

10. Tell us one thing you'd like to do with your significant one day. If you could do anything? Go anywhere? Only one? Wow, that's hard. I think we'd both really love to go to Italy. We both also love the idea of Australia and New Zealand. And, we've discussed the cross-Canada train, though I think that'd be an awesome family vacation.

11. Tell us what you plan on doing on this Valentine's Day. Relaxing.

12. Are you asking for anything this Valentine's day? I am pressing my luck with this house stuff, so absolutely not! I'd LOVE a card from Thatcher and flowers, but neither is totally necessary.

13. Give us one piece of advice of keeping a relationship strong and full of love. Talk, talk and talk some more. This has been way harder for the husband, as he was NOT used to doing this before me. I grew up in a house where open communication was the norm. Not a day passed where my parents weren't doing "temperature checks," and essentially forcing us to verbalize feelings, good or bad. Answering "fine" to "how are you?" was never enough; that was followed by "no, really, how are you?" I think it is critical to talk openly and often about everything. When I think about any major argument or disagreement that we've had, it has always boiled down to a mis-communication. I am so utterly determined to raise a son who is comfortable talking (and yes, I know I have my work cut out for me!) because I think it is such an incredibly important skill to master first individually and then as a couple. I find we argue more when we haven't been talking. And by talking, I don't mean "hey honey (except I don't call him that, remember?) did you pay the bills?" but "what's on your mind today?" I also think it's important to know what's heavy on your spouse's mind and to pray for them and their specific needs.

14. Show us a picture of what love means to you.

grateful

Everything with Thatcher's procedures this morning went smoothly, and we are so, so grateful.  Thank you for all of the prayers and sweet emails; they are appreciated more than you know. Nothing will make you feel more blessed than spending a few hours at a children's hospital and leaving with a healthy baby. The little girl next to us this morning was having spinal surgery, and another little boy was having heart surgery. I can't stopping thinking about either of their families. In the scheme of things, tubes and urology surgery are really nothing. But, surgery is surgery, and anesthesia is anesthesia. And it is so very hard to hand your precious little one over for surgery and anesthesia, no matter how small or big the health issue. Tonight we are incredibly grateful for:

• Access to an incredible children's hospital
• Loving, caring and attentive nurses and staff
• Amazing and talented doctors with good bedside manner
• Great insurance through my company
• Supportive family and friends who have been calling, texting and emailing since last night
• A baby who tolerated anesthesia well

We arrived at the hospital at 6:00am, and Thatcher really did quite well until about 6:30am when he was fully awake and starving. Around 7:00am they gave him the "goofy juice," and I have to say it was a riot. He was laughing at everyone and sticking out his tongue. Handing him over to the nurses for surgery was absolutely the hardest part, but I felt completely comfortable and confident in his care. The procedures took about an hour and a half, and I was able to see him for a quick minute soon after. I have to say, it is incredibly hard to see your baby sedated like that, but we are so grateful that all things considered this was a quick visit for us. Around 10:00am we were moved back to our room where Thatcher gulped down some apple juice and rested like a champ.

Around 11:30am, we were discharged. The moment we stepped into the fresh air outside, I was overcome with gratitude and praise. How lucky we are to have been there for a relatively minor in and out surgery. So many families are battling much more, and it is hard not to think about the children who have to admire the sky from inside. Realizing what a gift it is just to feel fresh air on your face is truly humbling.

When we got home, Thatcher was able to drink his milk (finally!) and then fell asleep for the duration of the afternoon. We woke him up around 5:30pm and he played for an hour or so before he had had enough and wanted his crib again.

We are hoping and praying that the tubes are the relief he needs, and we can't wait to see a happier little guy once the drugs and anesthesia wear off. The post-surgery care for his urology stuff is going to be pretty intense (3 baths a day for 2 weeks, anyone?) but it's nothing we can't handle and we're just grateful to have him home and healthy. We have an intense schedule going on for his various medicines, and it will be like having a newborn again for a few days, but we're happy to have the surgery behind us. 



We're just hoping he feels a little more energized before his party on Saturday - can't believe he will be 1 in only 2 days!