A little bit "cooler"

(So, my new year's resolutions are not quite being fulfilled. With this post I am trying to knock out two things: "blog more" and "blog about something other than Harper." Hope you enjoy it!)


I'm a nerd, plain and simple. And I realize that with that remark I'm pretty much stating the obvious.

I love to read. In fact, I've read the entire Harry Potter series three times. I was in marching band in 9th and 10th grade. I majored in music. I wear glasses. I can't dance. (Unless we're at a wedding with an open bar.) I really really like musicals. REALLY. I'm pale. I know way too many useless (yet fun!) facts. I enjoy classical music and listen to NPR.

There are definitely more nerdy facts about me. A LOT more. My husband never hesitates to point them out.

But. BUT! There's one thing I had always wanted to do but was too shy because, well, I'm a nerd. And subsequently thought I wasn't "cool" enough to pull it off.

I ALWAYS wanted a tattoo. A big, colorful, bold, artistic tattoo. And I finally got one on August 30, 2009 at Sacred Heart in Little Five Points. No, not a big, bold, artistic one. It's just a small neon pink heart on my right hip. No one really even knows it's there because my bathing suit completely covers it up. No big deal, really. 
Except it was.  To me it was A HUGE DEAL. Because when I got it I became a little less nerdy, you guys! Unfortunately, the pink has faded over the past few years, but I still love it.

So, I decided I wanted another one. A bigger one. One with even more color.

I decided on a henna style lotus flower, something I had desired from the moment I realized I even wanted a tattoo. Taylor and I went to Inksomnia in Alpharetta for a consultation the week before Valentine's Day. Mike, the owner, did my tattoo on Valentine's Day. (The inking was followed up with Mexican food and margaritas. Awesome date, y'all!) 
IT HURT. And I had to sit in an extremely awkward position for an hour with my butt crack slightly exposed. But I love it. LOVE IT. And if you don't love it then I don't care. 

Right after it was completed. 

A week afterward.

There you have it. You know a little bit more about me now. And I feel pretty gosh darn cool. 

(Update: While Taylor was having his tattoo enhanced two weeks ago he mentioned that my first tattoo needed some extra love. At one point a while later we all got to talking about moonshine. Not exactly sure how, but when you're sitting in a tattoo parlor for a few hours with the same three people the conversation certainly wanders in unexpected directions. The artist mentioned his love for good moonshine and we told him we were actually in possession of quite a bit, so we struck a deal. 
"If you fix Sally's heart we'll give you two gallons," Taylor bribed. 
"DONE!" was the response, without a hint of hesitation. 
And that was that! My former little faded heart is even brighter and pinker than ever! All in exchange for some good moonshine, too.)

One year old

(I won't make this post too long since I have so many photos to add.)

Harper Adelle Roberts was born at 12:15 PM on January 14, 2013. She was a tiny, crying, sleeping, breastfeeding little thing a year ago. Now she's a babbling, walking, feed-herself, smiling, HAPPY little girl! And I couldn't be more pleased.
My little bear is quite possibly the most beautiful, sweetest, silliest girl I've ever met. She's completely captured my heart and I feel so lucky to get to be her mother. I honestly can't remember if I've shared this before, but she and I share a middle name - a name that goes back seven generations on my mom's side of the family. To me, it means we have a special bond.
On Saturday, the 11th, we threw her a birthday party. So many people came to celebrate! And yeah, I totally ate my words. I've always laughed at parents who throw a big first birthday party because its not as though they're going to remember it. But hey. I became one of those parents and I'm not sorry. Her birthday theme was rainbows and unicorns. My employers were sweet enough to allow us to use the spacious cafeteria downstairs for her party. It was perfect!

Unfortunately, she developed a high fever (104.1!) and ended up with a viral upper respiratory infection plus a double ear infection the day after her party. She was sick on her birthday, poor thing, but she was totally better by the 15th.

Here is her invitation. I designed it through a seller on Etsy.

And here are some photos of her party. :)

(I made these! Unicorn poop cookies.)

Smash cake on the plate everyone signed at my baby shower.

If you made it this far, please enjoy this short clip all the way from the newest princesses at Disney World. I'm sure Harper will love seeing this when she's older!

I just want to say THANK YOU again to everyone who was able to come and celebrate! Thank you cards still have not been written, but they will be. . . soon. . . maybe. Ha.

Resolutions

Ever since I was a kid my dad asked my sister and me to write resolutions and then print them out and tape them to our bathroom mirror. This way we'd have a daily reminder to accomplish our goals. It usually only took about a month for me to forget that I'd taped that document to the upper right hand corner of my mirror. On the rare occasion that I would glance at the list I'd feel a twinge of guilt for not doing a better job of keeping up with what I'd resolved to do, let alone even remembering to look at the list. Then the feeling would quickly pass and I'd think, "Oh well, maybe next year." But guess what. (This next statement shouldn't take anyone by surprise.) I've never ever kept up with resolutions. I love the idea of making lists and goals in order to better yourself. I just have A LOT of trouble sticking to it. Its been quite a while since I've made resolutions. I think I'm going to try again this year. TRY. We haven't made it past the first week of January yet, so I think I'm still in the clear for posting a list, right? RIGHT?

1.) No alcohol for 30 (possibly more) days.
This goal is actually something Taylor has come up with and I've decided to join him. I love margaritas. I love wine. AND I LOVE BEER. We always have a bottle of wine around, or beer growlers in the fridge. And when we frequent Mexican restaurants I always order a margarita or two. It will be great for my health (and weight) and save us a lot of money. I'm actually excited about this one!

2.) Blog more.
Its no secret that having a kid makes you neglect practically everything else in your life for at least the first six months. I vow to write more, and not necessarily about my sweet girl even though she's my favorite topic.

3.) Read more.
Reading is something I have ALWAYS loved to do. Call me a nerd. I don't care. I want Harper to develop a love for books as deep as mine. Sadly, I don't think I've picked up a new book since 2011 when my MIL and I were reading the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon. (Speaking of, I only got to book four.) My dad gave me the complete A Song of Ice and Fire series for Christmas. (SQUEE!) I started reading it two days ago and I'm already 200 pages into book one. A great start!

4.) Be a nicer person.
This is a really broad goal. And it's subjective. I have the tendency to be pretty short-tempered and snap at everyone without thinking. This is something I'll have to put a lot of effort into doing but I know this will make me a better mother, wife, and friend. No one likes a grumpy pants. 

5.) Curse less.
Cursing is a bad habit but it feels so good to do sometimes. Me? I curse like a sailor. Pretty soon Harper will be able to repeat what we say and she doesn't need to learn any foul words, especially from her mother. Will it happen? Eventually, I'm sure. But I will try my damndest hardest to make sure she doesn't learn it from me. Certainly, this is another one that will require a lot of effort. We'll see what happens. 

6.) Make healthier choices.
I have a gym membership already. I know what healthy food is and where to find it and how to cook it. I don't always do these things. Why? Because sometimes, after a long day of chasing kids and changing their diapers and cleaning up their messes, I want nothing more than to eat McDonald's, have a beer, and sit on the couch all night. And then I wonder why I look horrific in a bikini. But now its more than that. I want to be healthy in order to keep up with my baby. I want my husband to be proud to be seen with me in public. I want Harper to grow up learning to make healthy choices too. Luckily, Taylor is an incredible supporter in this resolution. I have him to help keep me accountable. 


HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

(By the way, we had an INCREDIBLE New Year's Eve! Dinner was delicious, the hotel was perfect, the suite at Philip's Arena was AWESOME, we looked SO good, and the trip home after the concert was drama-free and short. And the music? Best show I've seen so far. We only got one blurry photo, though.)

So long, 2013. We're ready for a prosperous 2014!

Here it is, the end of 2013. (I won't make this a long blog post, I promise.)
2013 was a bittersweet year. It was incredible in that my sweet Harper Adelle was born. It was heart wrenching in that there was so much loss. Jobs, loved ones, beloved pets. . .the list goes on.

I was just looking through the photos I've posted throughout 2013, mostly on Facebook. All wonderful moments captured, of course. We took a few trips, fixed up our backyard (which is lush and green; a sight I never thought we'd see!), and had a busy, yet perfect holiday season. I had (have?) the great fortune of not only being raised by two awesome parents but I married into a really cool, fun family. This makes all the difference in holiday and family gatherings. I'm so thankful that Harper will be growing up with a strong sense of family and love.

Tonight we are leaving her at home with my mother-in-law. Taylor and I will be in a private box in Atlanta at the Widespread Panic concert at Philips Arena with some good friends. (That was a lot of prepositions for one sentence.) I can't think of a better way to ring in the new year. We get to dress up, eat delicious food, and party all night long. Okay, that's a bit of a lie. Hanging out with our almost one-year old would be pretty freaking fantastic too. But mama and daddy need alone time sometimes. Its been almost six months since we've spent a night apart from the baby. I know she's in great hands - her own grandmother, who also happens to be a nurse! So we can rest easy (in our swanky hotel room) and relax and enjoy each other and good music. That's not to say I won't miss her. Its only natural.

By the way, Harper turns one in exactly two weeks. Its so odd to think at this time last year she was still in my tummy and we hadn't even met her yet. We really lucked out in the baby department. Yes, the first few months were really hard. REALLY hard. Having a baby is a huge adjustment. After all, this is our first time being parents and her first time being a baby. But she is beautiful. She is healthy. She makes me laugh every day. She is SO HAPPY all of the time. She completes me.

Happy NYE, everyone. Stay safe and I hope you all have a happy, joyous new year!

8, 9, 10 months + holidays

Hi, world. Or, well, all three of you (possibly fewer) who really read my updates.

Harper and I have embarked on a new adventure. I am now the lead teacher for ages 12-18 months at Stepping Stones Academy. Harper is in the baby class right around the corner. She has been doing incredibly well in her new environment which makes me so happy! She has a fantastic group of teachers who love her almost as much as I do. She's so CUTE when interacting with other babies. She's sleeping much longer at night since there's so much stimulation during the day. Plus, with daylight saving time having happened in November, she's going to bed around 7:30 every night now. What a difference for mom and dad! Sometimes she still wakes up just once, but luckily that's few and far between.

Baby girl has been learning to feed herself over the past few months. She's done a superb job with picking up food and aiming it straight in her mouth, and she eats pretty much anything given to her. For about two months now she's been able to hold her own bottle and drink all of it without mama's help. It's really helpful adorable.

And she has EIGHT teeth! Two came in the last week of September, and then two weeks later three came in almost within the same week. It was rough, but we made it. As of last weekend her eighth tooth started coming in. (I'm pretty sure I should own stock in infant Tylenol and ibuprofen, baby Orajel, and teething tablets.)

My mom came back in town for a quick visit. We miss her!

Harper has also experienced her first major holiday: Halloween! First, we went to Kinsey Family Farms up in Dawsonville. It is SUCH a pretty piece of property. They've got farm animals to feed and a hayride in addition to the mass quantities of pumpkins, gourds, and canned goods. 

 I had decided that I wanted to buy her a little pink monster suit weeks in advance. But real life happened and I totally forgot. Then we found out Taylor was going to be in Dallas that entire week and we were both pretty bummed. I know she's not going to remember, but still. It was a big "first" for her. Anyway, I went to Party City only to find that it was a MADHOUSE and they didn't even have half of the baby costumes that were advertised online. We headed over to Babies-R-Us and I bought shoes, tights, and a tutu all for about $20. I spent another $15 at Hobby Lobby on a headband, a onesie, googly eyes, fabric glue, and pipe cleaners. I glued the googly eyes to the shoes and all over her onesie. I looped the pipe cleaners into the headband and turned them into monster horns. She was SO STINKIN' ADORABLE!! Best costume ever. We went to my dad's house and had pizza before I took her trick-or-treating. Aaaaaaand then we made it to about five houses before she threw up all over her costume. Ha. Such is life.

I went as a redneck mom, or as my dad likes to say, "one of the neighbors." Ha.

We went to cousin Nolan's 5th birthday party at Catch Air last weekend. Its basically a big room with blow up bouncy castles, slides, and toys. Harper LOVED it. So many bright colors and things to do!

Thanksgiving happened! Second major holiday, and yes, Taylor was here.
Because I love food so much, I'm going to post our menu.

Jealous? You should be. It was excellent. I cooked for TWO DAYS.

Look.

And look at all the fun we had.

And lastly, Harper met Santa Claus! She loved him, but that's no surprise since she loves meeting new people anyway. :)

Congrats to all of the new mamas, by the way!! I feel as thought my Facebook newsfeed is full of photos of newborns and it makes me so happy!

. . . Mama's moment . . . 

New moms: I have discovered something that I thought would be really hard to, well, do. Only because of the guilt I thought I'd experience. Its called "alone time." Or "me time." Or "time for margaritas." You understand what I mean. Time away from the baby to do what you want. It doesn't have to be a trip. It doesn't even have to be a whole day. (Oh, and the guilt? It never happened. When I get time alone I cherish it and I'm not sorry about that!)

It can be as simple as a trip to the store alone.

Or it can be a fun run, like this:

It can be getting dressed up and fancy with one of your BFFs to see one of your other best friends say "I do" to the man of her dreams.

It can be time to yourself to just SHOWER IN PEACE.

It can be time to enjoy a whole bottle of wine to yourself.

It can be time to go shopping on Black Friday ALONE.

Or, it can be time to see your FAVORITE BOY BAND FROM THE 90'S AND THEN GET DRUNK AND MEET THEM AFTER THE SHOW.

I must say, alone time is pretty great. I love my sweet girl so much I can't even express it in words, but sometimes mama needs a short break. To do something other than listen to Disney Jr., shower in 5 minutes, or eatasfastaspossible.

So, new moms, DO IT. Don't feel guilty. There's no need. Your baby will be waiting for you when you get back. After all, babies need "daddy time" too!

Just have fun. Relax. Sip that giant margarita and order another.