Tornado Warning

Posted on September 8, 2010 by Lindsey

I’ve always loved the rain and I kind of get excited about Thunderstorms. Growing up my Dad was a volunteer spotter/storm chaser in Rusk County and I remember as a little girl hopping in the truck whenever a thunderstorm was in the area and there might be a tornado. He would drive around chasing the wall cloud or the tornado and talk on the CB radio with other spotters in the area helping to update the National Weather Service. Dad’s house was in the country, where the closest tornado siren was at least 20 miles away so there was no chance of hearing it. In the country you couldn’t get cable tv so you had to have a satellite dish… which would go out anytime it started raining. And you can only rely on rabbit ears so much. Electricity? Seemed to go out predictably with the first strike of lightning. Telephone? If I remember correctly it was long distance to call across town so the likelihood of someone calling us to tell us a storm was on the way would be wishful thinking.

Hopefully you all know what a CB radio and rabbit ears are. Makes me thankful for the advances in technology.

Back to the story, I remember asking my Dad as a little girl how I would know if a tornado was coming and he said, “You’ll know… it will sound like a freight train.” Looking back on it now, I’m not sure as a little girl that I knew what a freight train sounded like. But, I do remember one night when a thunderstorm was in the area and hearing the wind whip around so strong that it seemed to scream, but it wasn’t a tornado so it didn’t sound like a freight train. So in the event of a thunderstorm in the country in the 1980′s and 1990′s, the only chance of survival during a storm was to sit and listen to the weather radio or hop in the truck and proactively find the wall cloud and be the person helping the people on the weather radio notify residents.

In hindsight, I’m not quite sure how safe the idea of Dad driving around with 2 children in the truck chasing a tornado would have been if we ever got caught up in it. And as a Mom now, I’m sure it probably scared my Mom everytime I would come home from the weekend at Dads with these adventure stories. But, thankfully we never got caught in a tornado. We did see a few tornado’s, plenty of wall clouds and hail, and lots of rain. As a child I learned to respect the weather – I knew what to expect if a tornado ever came. It would start raining, possible hail & lightning, wall cloud, funnel, debris and then a tornado would be born. I think knowing what to expect might have helped me feel prepared. Unlike me, Gary is incredibly scared of thunderstorms…. our house is split down the middle – Gary, Daisy and Pookie (scared) – Me, Deucy, and Kiki (calm) – Lillian’s too little to have a side yet.

Somethings you need to know before I continue: my brother has an emergency pack that would keep him and his wife alive for 3 months in the event of a natural disaster, Gary was not home at the time of the storm and our “storm shelter” is in a closet that is also home to all of my photography equipment, crafting crap and gifting supplies

So, here’s how the story goes: Tonight I was watching the 5:00 news and found myself watching a live view of a tornado touching down in Seagoville and Kaufman County. I quickly grab my laptop and pull up the radars to see where the storm is heading. Great. It’s heading right for our house. Suddenly, my fearless attitude turns to panic as I realize that I have a 3 month old, 2 dogs, 2 cats, myself and a small “storm shelter” closet. Then I realize that I don’t have a storm preparedness emergency kit ready…. I don’t even have a few bottles of water packed away in the closet. And my weather radio hasn’t had working batteries in a year or so. My brother would be ashamed. He has a weather radio that can probably last a year on one hand-crank… it doesn’t even need batteries. Then I start thinking about what all I need in my storm kit — it’s not just snacks for me, dog food, cat food, and water anymore.  Now I have to think about bottles, water, formula, diapers, and wipes.  I was on the phone with Mom when I first saw the radar and told her I needed to go to get things ready but that if she can’t get in touch with me later to know that something was wrong. What Mother would like to hear that? Geez.

So, I get off the phone and start running arond the house grabbing things that I think we would need to survive. I call Gary in the middle of all of this to let him know what’s going on in case something happens to us, luckily he remained calm. I get the cats (who live outside) and bring them in, start putting things in a bag and clearing room in our storm closet. In the meantime I keep refreshing the internet on my laptop to see exactly where the tornado is. Finally I think I have everything we will need – so I grab Lillian who is sound asleep in her bouncer and put her in the closet. I offer Daisy and Deucey a treat and put them in the closet then Pookie rounds the corner so I throw her in there as well… Kiki was hiding under the bed so I couldn’t reach her. About that time the rain starts really pouring down and the DirecTV goes out so I get in the closet too. So, there I sit — with Lillian, Daisy, Deucey, Pookie (who doesn’t like Daisy), my laptop, 2 house phones, my cell phone, and a pitiful storm kit that I threw into a large pink gift bag. Daisy keeps barking at Pookie, Lillian begins to cry because Daisy is loud and Deuce is just looking at me like I have lost my mind. All of us are sitting in a small closet with gift bags, wrapping paper, spools of ribbon, backdrops, photo props, hot glue guns, assorted fabrics, glass plates, frames, and tons of paint pens. I can’t help but look around and think what a brilliant idea it was to combine our storm closet with all of my crafting supplies… because I can bet if we were to get stuck in that closet that crafting would be the first thing on my mind.

Anyway – to make this incredibly long story shorter – the storm passes, the electricity never goes out, the tornado does not touch down at our house and we are all ok. Lillian is sound asleep now dreaming about rainbows.

To give you a good laugh, here is a list of the articles in my pitiful storm kit that I threw together in about 5 minutes:

  1. 4 clean bottles, formula, 4 full ozarka water bottles
  2. A package of 36 diapers and 150 wipes
  3. Lillian’s diaper bag
  4. My planner, laptop, phone charger, cell phone, camera,  video camera and 2 cordless house phones (wasn’t sure which one was charged)
  5. An un-opened bag of baked Barbeque lays (figured this would last me a week)
  6. A snack pack of Oreo’s (figured this would last me 5 minutes)
  7. 4 dog food cans & a bag of cat food
  8. A radio that doesn’t work because the batteries are dead
  9. 3 flashlights (so that I could possibly use the batteries for the dead radio)
  10. Box of matches
  11. A candle (scented Leather & Lace)
  12. A planter pot bucket and 1 roll of toilet paper (for…. you know… business… just incase)
  13. A bottle of Germ-x
  14. Chapstick

As you can tell, I packed the necessities.

This event made me realize that:

  1. Being a Mom makes me a lot more cautious (and worried about natural disasters)
  2. I need to have a ready made storm kit in the closet
  3. Tornado’s are not near as exciting as they were when I was a fearless kid

 

I hope you all survived the storm with a little bit more grace than I did — next time I will be more prepared. :) Now, it’s time to get in the closet and clean out the mess I made.

If you live in Rockwall County – feel free to visit the Rockwall County Emergcency Website and register for Nixle – where they will call, text or email you with emergency alerts.

Register for Nixle

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Jumping on the Diet bandwagon…

Posted on September 8, 2010 by Lindsey

Well, it’s time to really focus and shed these last 10 pounds to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight.  I’ve been putting it off and since cooler temperaturs are approaching I can’t keep wearing these loose summer dresses so I have to do something because I’m a blue jean baby and I REALLY want to fit into them again.

During pregnancy I really tried to not go overboard eating crazy things but I gained 33 pounds and I really thought that once she was here the pounds would just fall off. And some of them did. But not all of it.

I can do it. I know I can. I just have to FOCUS, make exercise/diet a PRIORITY and make TIME to do the work that has to be done. The good news about Lillian being in daycare is that it gives me an extra hour during lunch to focus on my workout.

Why am I putting this on the blog? Because I feel like putting it on the blog makes me accountable. I’d like to be this size again — this was 2 years ago at Christmas… last Christmas doesn’t count because I was pregnant… I still have these jeans so I’m going to hang them up as motivation.

So… here we go! If you have any tips, tricks or know of any good workouts or classes – let me know! I really like dance classes, pilates and aerobics. In Carrollton there was a jazzercise class that I loved – dancing is so much fun to me, but I can’t seem to find a jazzercise class in the area. I’d like to do zumba but I think it’s only available at the local fitness clubs and I don’t want to pay member fees for an entire club, I just want to take a few group classes. Right now, I’m using my DVD’s and exercising around the block. Any help is appreciated!

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Back to work!

Posted on September 7, 2010 by Lindsey

First – thank you to everyone that thought about us today, called, sent a text, left a comment on here or facebook – you all mean so much to us! It was an emotional day but every little “ping” from someone made me feel loved and thought of and made it a little easier.

This morning went great – we woke up and Gary fed her at 7am while I got ready. Gary and I decided we would both go to drop her off at her first day so we left here a little later than expected and got to the daycare around 8:30. Lillian was alert and looking around the room like “whoa – how cool! Look at all these colors Mom!” She just looked so curious and excited. We talked with the wonderful ladies in the infant room for a little while and explained Lillian’s routine and then kissed her goodbye. I took Gary home and then started the commute to the office. I couldn’t help but shed tears in the car…  it’s tough leaving your baby in daycare. I have a huge appreciation and better understanding of the stay at home mom and I can also appreciate the working moms now too.  We all work toward the same goal which is to be the best mommy possible.  

I found comfort talking to all of my (work) friends that I have missed the past few months – it was nice to talk about everything and get caught up on the news at work. Even though I normally work from home now I used to always work in the office and I must admit it was comforting to smell the corporate building, hear the click-clack of heels on the granite floor and the hum of office phones ringing, see familiar faces, and talk to other women who have put their babies in daycare and hear their advice.

I called the daycare around 11 to check on Lillian and  they said that she was great! She had catnapped and was taking her bottle. I left work around 1:30 and got to grab a quick bite to eat with Gary before we went to pick her up. She’ll normally stay longer but since it was her first day I was anxious to pick her up and see her! We went in and she was doing just fine, just sleeping like a little baby! They had just finished the 3:00 feeding and her medicine and she was full and happy! The ladies said she was wonderful, a very happy baby! She only fussed a little bit when she was tired (and that’s usual).  They said that the first week or so will be a tough transition as she gets used to sleeping with the noise and figuring things out. I hated to wake her up but we went ahead and put her in her car seat — it took her a second to open her eyes but she finally looked at us, realized who we were and gave us a big smile before drifting back into dreamland! That smile made the whole day worth it!

All in all it was a good day – a transitional day – but a good day! It’s raining now (which I love) and she’s sleeping again so I better get in a quick nap in this amazing rainy weather!

Here’s a photo to make you smile….

Photo taken by my amazing friend – Amy Barry

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Labor Day…. laboring

Posted on September 6, 2010 by Lindsey

We spent labor day… laboring. I had a LONG list of things that we needed to get done around the house and so we used our time off together to get caught up:

  • Garage cleaned out and organized so we can park both cars inside, Gary’s autograph room cleaned and organized, Closet organized and purged – I FINALLY got rid of some clothes that have been haunting me since college – it was time to move on, all laundry done and put up, kitchen totally organized, shed organized, Lillian’s daycare bag packed, my work bag packed, all photos on the computers backed up and saved, and a few other random things.
  • Next on my list of things to do around the house: install an outside light on the backside of the house (I bought everything we needed at Lowe’s and almost did it today but need to do a little more research so that I don’t get electrocuted), install a garden hose reel in the backyard, clean all the house windows outside so that we are ready when it’s time for Christmas lights!, and a few other things that are on my wish list for the house :)

It’s now 5:00 and I’m going to spend the rest of the evening loving on Lillian because tomorrow will be her first day in daycare and my first day back at work. Tomorrow is  going to be a BIG day.  I have had a wonderful maternity leave at home with her and thank God for my company and their very generous 3 month’s of time off. I have enjoyed every single second!

As any Mom would be, I’m obviously nervous about Lillian in daycare… I could name a million reasons why but I think the best way to sum it up is that I don’t think anybody can “mommy” my baby like me. I read a quote a while back that really stuck with me – it was something like ”having a child is like having your heart walking outside your body all the time.”  This is so true – she is our most important asset, our entire world! I can distinguish her cry in a room full of babies, I usually know exactly what she needs to calm down and I think about her every second. She is our baby girl and even though I’ve only known her about a year (3 months outside my body) I couldn’t imagine our life without her now.

Even with a million reasons to be nervous about her in daycare I’m going to try and not worry and know that she is in God’s hands and that He loves her more than I could ever know, which is incredible because I love her with everything I have…. Every single, itty bitty tiny cell and breath in my body.

With all the nervousness I can’t help but be a little excited too…. going back to work is something that I knew I would always do. I really enjoy working, I picked a career where I could do what I love. This summer I’ve missed viewing/editing spreadsheets and collaborating with my work peeps about big projects and the happenings in the HR and mortgage industry. I’ve worked since I was 14 and this is my first summer “off” since high school. Even though I worked during the summers I still had fun! I had plenty of time to go swimming and enjoy lazy days at the lake. I worked full time during most of my college and still had plenty of time to have some fun then too (maybe a little too much!). I’ve always just enjoyed working and feeling personal satisfaction of being an asset. To have this entire summer off has been such a blessing because I got to enjoy every single moment of her first 3 months of life… and as I’m winding down today and getting prepared for tomorrow I can’t help but feel like it’s the first day of school or something. I’m packing my bag, her bag, getting my weekly plans in order and getting a little excited about having a set routine again. Don’t get me wrong – I am going to miss her every second! It is NOT going to be easy to leave her tomorrow and I’m sure I will be a nervous wreck with my cell phone in my hand all day long but in the long run I think it will make me a better mother. I love what I do – 1) being a wife and mom, 2) my corporate career and 3) my photography career.

So, if you get a chance, think of Gary and I and say a little prayer for peace for us on Tuesday as we experience our first day of daycare. We are so thankful for all of our friends and family and love you all very much!

Posted in Baby, Lindsey | 2 Comments

Weekend Fun

Posted on September 6, 2010 by Lindsey

We got to enjoy a little date this weekend! Both of our Moms helped us out and watched Lillian a little bit so that we could enjoy some together time!

Gary’s Mom came over Saturday morning to watch Lillian while we went out to spend the day shopping, we had originally planned to take her with us but we welcomed a little help and I’m sure Lillian loved her time with Grandmommy! When we got back Lillian was just “talking” away and having so much fun! We got back about mid-afternoon and had a date planned with some of our friends on Saturday night… so we spent a few hours with Lillian and got ready. My Mom came over at about 6 to watch her while we went to dinner and out for a little fun. When we were leaving to go to dinner we had said our goodbyes and gotten half way around the block when I realized that I forgot my lipstick, so Gary turned around and we went back so that I could run in. When I got in the house my Mom had Lillian in her arms just talking and smiling away. I picked up my lipstick, walked over and kissed Lillian on the cheek and said goodbye again… I walked about 5 feet away, turned around and said “Bye Lillian I love you!” and she gave me the biggest smile! I just loved it. She’s been smiling more and more everyday but it’s usually when we’re pretty close (like 2 feet or so) and so for her to smile that big when I was a few feet away just made me melt!  

While we were out I only texted Mom once (although I thought about them a hundred times!). Mom sent me a picture text of Lillian after they finished her bath time. We didn’t stay out very late and when we got home Lillan was sleeping so peacefully and Mom was just glowing with excitement from the time they got to spend together. :) I know Gary and I both love our Moms and we’re so thankful for them and everything they did to raise us and will do to help raise our baby! 

We had gone out before without Lillian but we were never too far that we couldn’t get back home within 15 minutes. This was the first day that we had gone out without her and went further than a a few minustes away. This is a big step (I know you Mommy’s out there understand). Both places we went Saturday were far enough away for now… I still want to be close enough to get home quickly if we need to.

I thank God everyday for the marriage that Gary and I have and the love we have for each other. It was nice to get out and reconnect as a couple. We enjoyed ourselves and had a blast seeing our friends!  It’s always great to go out, relax and come home feeling refreshed!

Thank you again Sharon and Deanna for watching our baby girl while we got to enjoy some alone time! It means so much to us to have supportive Moms that understand!  We love y’all!

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New blog design

Posted on September 3, 2010 by Lindsey

Check out the new blog design :)

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2 and a half months

Posted on August 26, 2010 by Lindsey

Lillian Milestones:

- smiling at familiar faces everyday

- making more sounds — oo’s and coo’s

 - using her hands to grab (my hair, blanket, pacifier out of her mouth)

- sleeping through the night consistently (for the most part)

- she still fights going to sleep — she is a busy girl and doesn’t want to miss a thing!

- wearing size 0-3 months clothes, and a size 1 diaper

- sitting in her bumbo all by herself for about 20 minutes at a time

- taking 26 ounces everyday, weight: 11.5 lbs

 

Schedule:

7 am – up and drink 5 ounces, then we have our morning talk time (she just makes all kinds of fun noises and smiles!) and play until about 9 when she goes down for her morning nap

11 am - drink 5 ounces, then we have tummy time and back time, exercises and an afternoon chat until about 1 when she goes down for her afternoon nap

3 pm – drink 5 ounces, more development and talking until about 5 when she goes down for her second afternoon nap

7 pm – drink 5 ounces, play time with mommy and daddy, cuddle time until about 8 when we put her down for her evening nap… sometimes she skips this nap completely if there’s too much excitement

10 pm – bathtime and story time

11pm – drink 6 ounces, cuddletime, lullaby, and rocking until she goes to sleep (she likes to be gently rocked cradled in our arms, held snuggly with her head on the chest so that she can hear a heartbeat, with a pacifier in her mouth). She’ll normally fuss a few times while she’s trying to fall asleep but once she’s tired she will drift to sleep pretty quickly.

She’s sleeping through the night from about 11-7 every night consistently… there are some nights when she’ll start stirring around 5 but she usually just wants her pacifier and then will go back to sleep. We have also found that she really likes sleeping in her boppy — we fastened the 2 “wings” together so that it makes a little donut and she sleeps real good all cuddled up like that as opposed to stretched out on her back in the bassinet.

We are trying to use her bassinet mostly but I co-sleep with her in the bed when hubby is out of town.

 

Next week is my last week of maternity leave so I am going to enjoy every little second of it and do nothing but spend time with our little angel. I’m going to miss her alot during the days when I go back to work but I am also excited to get back to working as well. I thank God everyday for my career and for the generous maternity leave that I had – I enjoyed every precious moment and am so thankful for the time that we got to spend together bonding! It’s amazing how much she’s grown in just these first few quick months!

 

Here is our favorite family portrait from a recent session with one of my best friends Amy Barry Photography – I will cherish this portrait forever!

Thank you Lord for my wonderful husband and our sweet baby girl!

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Birthing Class Baby Playdate

Posted on August 19, 2010 by Lindsey

All the people in our birthing class exchanged email/facebook information so that we could keep up after the class. Everyone had a safe delivery and the youngest baby is about a month old so we decided it was time to have a baby playdate for everyone to catch up. I offered to host it and what a joy it was — I had such a blast seeing the other ladies and all the cute babies!

It sure was nice to hear from other momma’s and to compare stories and tips.

Here are some picture of our little playdate!

 

This is the group – Halayna (another baby girl) was there too but she arrived after we  took this picture.

3 other babies from our class weren’t able to make it but hopefully they can make the next one!

L to R: Carson, Lillian, Skylar, Noah

Me and Lillian

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OK – We’re back…

Posted on August 16, 2010 by Lindsey

….we’re home from our little vacation in Oklahoma City — I’m going to post a longer blog about it later today but here is a sneak peak of some of the fun!

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Nap time

Posted on August 12, 2010 by Lindsey

You know that moment when you’ve been rocking the baby for 30 minutes because you’ve tried everything else (swing, bouncer, white noise, singing) and she finally goes to sleep and you breath a sigh of relief. Well, today I had been rocking her for about 30 minutes with her fighting the sleep every bit of the way. FINALLY, she drifts into dreamland. I waited an extra 5 minutes to be sure. I slowly get up and move to her bassinet and slowly lay her down… ever so cautiously.

She stretches, makes a groan and appears to be asleep… I slowly back up and walk towards the door (holding my breath) hoping that I can finally finish my dinner. I get to the living room, take 2 bites and hear her crying from the bedroom.

I went and got her and brought her into the living room and we are currently trying the bouncer again… I’ve  got the laptop in my lap, the bouncer on the coffee table and I’m rocking it with my foot…. talk about multi-tasking, right?! My foot is almost asleep from the lack of blood flow. I’m only good at rocking her bouncer with my right foot, the left foot is all kinds of awkward. I guess the silver lining is that I should have a very toned calf muscle in my right leg in a few years :) She wants/needs to go to sleep so bad but just won’t close her eyes. I’m sure pretty soon she will be so exhausted that she will drift asleep again.

This ”fight the sleep” scenario has happened to me twice today. Baby girl really wants to be awake, but what she doesn’t realize is that when she misses her nap time she’s awfully fussy… just like me. :)

Anyway — I know I’ve been away from the blog for a while… it just didn’t feel right blogging with all that was going on, but things are finally getting a little bit back to normal so I will be posting more updates soon. Can’t believe sweet Lillian is already 2 months old… time is flying by!

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