Post of pictures

My sneaky yet amazing husband got me a brand new Mac laptop for Christmas.  We weren't supposed to get each other anything, but that's neither here nor there really.  I am completely Mac illiterate, but I love it. What I love most is Iphoto.  It makes storing, sorting, and using pictures SO manageable.  That is why you are now getting a rush of recent pics that I have been wanting to share and just haven't.  My previous laptop was a POS so I just got lazy and stopped posting pictures as much.  Anyway, follow the picture trail...

Here we have what I consider to be the best of our 6 months pics.  This is the essence of my child in one picture.

Lila meets her best friend Carson for the first time!

I think she looks like Thing One and Thing Two in these pajamas....

My 100 year old great grandmother loves babies!  Lila is so lucky to have her.

My grandfather, John T., having some fun on the floor.

Lila's Christmas Eve mugshot.  Seth's mom took a picture on Halloween that truly looks like a mug shot.  I can't remember if I posted it or not, but if I didn't I will go back and do that because it is hysterical.  Now Seth wants to get a "mug shot" on every holiday.  This one is less of a mug shot and more just a cute picture.

Notice the difference between the above picture and this one.  That was Christmas Eve.  This is Christmas day.  Love the beanie aunt Sara gave her...don't love the head cold that made her miserable.

Playing with all of our new toys!  She gives everything a love pat....especially the singing dog.

And in return she gets love from the real dog!

I just love this picture.  

Last, but not least, is Lila-Wan Kenobi (Seth's nickname and idea).

Here it is folks!

SO, thanks to my friend the redhead riter, you are now seeing the new and improved Burrow/Sophisticated Redneck Mommy blog. They are now mashed together in the way I had always wanted....you still have the random junk I like to write about along with the mommy stuff that is the forefront of my life. While the information in the navigation bar above is still under construction, take a look if you are interested.

If you didn't already know, I try to be as candid as possible. Ready?

Let's start off the mommy portion of this blog with a bang/disclaimer shall we? I LOVE being a mommy. It is my true calling. In my explanations and stories about things it may sound like I am frustrated or overwhelmed. Chances are good that I am. BUT, Lila truly is the most amazing, perfect, and wonderful creation on earth. I would take all the breastfeeding and diaper rashes that could possibly be dished out for five minutes with her. At some point I would like to go back and document other things from the past sixteen months of pregnancy, birth, and life with a newborn. I will add that to the navigation bar once I get it going. Until then, I will just start from where I'm at right now. Please know that not all posts will be about issues in parenting. I still love to write about all sorts of nonsense as well.

Here goes.

Breastfeeding. Who knew the world of such a natural thing was so wrought with controversy and drama? Well, not really, But if you are an avid internet reader like me that is what you would see. It's very similar to religion. There are some who quietly breastfeed in the comfort of their own home. They do it because they love it. They do it because they are told it is best. They do it for the recommended year and then they move on. They do it and they don't care if you do it or not. Then, there are some who are what you would call breastfeeding zealots. They do it a million times a day come hell or high water. They do until their child is headed to kindergarten. They do it on the street, in the park, at the mall, at dinner, and maybe even next to the old guy on the airplane (Yes, I did that. No, I am not a breastfeeding zealot). They also make every attempt to seek out those who don't do it and chastise them. They have no problem telling you your baby will get cancer from formula and you are a horrible mother because you don't do it. Lastly, we have the ones who never do it and never will. Their reasons may vary dramatically. They don't usually want to talk about it (probably because of the zealots). They are just not breast feeders. End of story.

Then, there are those like me. I always knew I would breastfeed, God and baby willing. I told myself to fall into category number one and go the recommended year. I don't care if you do it or not. I believed I would love it. I am what you call a somewhat religious person so of course it would make sense that I am a somewhat committed breast feeder right? Don't get me wrong. I have done it for 7 months solid and thought I would go the whole year. If I wasn't working I would see that as a possibility, but I don't even know if that would be true. Let's just say my cup doesn't runneth over in that department. I have read that some women just dry up one day. I have also read that some babies just give up one day. I'm not sure if those things really happen. What I do know is that breastfeeding is hard. It's work. It's wonderful and healthy and loving and bonding and all of that. BUT, it is for me the strongest love/hate relationship I have ever had. My baby is captain distracted and my boobs weren't totally cooperating due to my lack of time/energy to pump eighteen times a day, and the hate part of the relationship took over. I tried to fight it. One day I was throwing in the towel and the next I was convinced I could make it work. It was a daily battle within myself that I was losing (if that even makes sense). Indecisive is my middle name. I once read that for people like me who struggle so badly with decision making you should use the 10, 10, 10 rule. How will it affect your life in 10 minutes? How will it affect your life in 10 months? How will it affect your life in 10 years? In 10 minutes I was still going to be unsure of what to do. In 10 months I would be DONE for sure. In 10 years would my child be fine if I stopped now or kept going? Yes on both accounts. Therefore, I just made a decision and went on about my business. As of almost two weeks ago weaning ended and I have to say that baby and mommy are less stressed on all around. Of course, days after the last bottle of breast milk was consumed she got sick and I was guilt ridden because that's who I am. BUT, I don't regret it.

So she got sick on Christmas Day as I have mentioned before. Well, we almost entirely kicked the cold (for her anyway) and we enter the world of the hated diaper rash. I am now going to tell you why I think Facebook is the best thing ever created. Yes, I said Facebook in relation to a diaper rash. I could have picked up the phone and called the pediatrician. I probably still will. All I did was make my status on Facebook say something to the effect of being overwhelmed by being a parent and the string of "conversation" that followed about diaper rash gave me instant, firsthand suggestions from moms I know and trust. WHAT COULD BE BETTER? I'm telling you. Those FB boys are almost as genius as the Google guys. I am following some of the suggestions and created a list for those who may want/need it for future reference.

SO, for anyone who is a parent or is becoming a parent and reads anything online that makes you feel inadequate about a choice you are trying to make as a parent, please know that I support you no matter what you choose. Because if you are trying your best you are an amazing parent already.

Oh the holidays...

SIDE NOTE*** I am still working on getting this blog to the point where it is exactly what I want. I was struggling with wanting to keep it the way it was or to change it entirely. I have finally decided that making it stay the way it was and incorporating the mommy stuff in some separate way was just too hard to figure out. And why did I want to do that anyway? The randomness of life is now compounded by parenthood right? Therefore, they should become one. So now I give you the beginning of the sophisticated redneck mommy (with views from the daddy mixed in as well).

(actual post)

SO, nothing tells a person they need to slow down like hitting their own spouses car in their own driveway on Christmas Eve. Throw in "rehoming" a dog on Christmas Eve as well and you could say that spending the day crying was how the holidays started for me. New Year's resolution number one: SLOW DOWN. New Year's resolution number two: be confident in my decisions and choices and stop feeling guilty about every little thing. Rehoming Woody was the right decision and he will be much happier in the long run. That's all I can say about that because it's still really bothering me.

Christmas day started with a baby covered in snot. I realize she is mine and I am biased, but I am fairly sure we have created the perfect child. I walked into her room Christmas morning and found her quietly talking to herself as usual. As I got closer to say hello she got the biggest smile on her face, as usual. Unfortunately, upon realizing that she in fact had snot on her face, in her hair, and all over pajamas I must have gotten a very concerned look of horror on my face because her demeanor changed and she began to cry. I have read that at seven or eight months babies begin to recognize emotions more clearly and they respond similarly. I felt so bad for making her upset about the snot when she obviously wasn't too concerned about it to begin with. We got her cleaned up and began to plan out the day of cooking we had in store. Seth volunteered us to be the house where everybody would come Christmas day. In volunteering for this he also wanted us to cook the whole meal. I like to cook. Sometimes, I even think I am an ok cook. I mean, I rock at following a recipe. BUT, making a turkey and stuffing and basically everything else was a little daunting. I am learning that I do not perform well under pressure. I get flustered and irritated and overall grumpy. I want it to be done so perfectly that I lose sight of the spirit of things. This has been happening more and more lately. Resolution number three: just because you may be late, you may feel overwhelmed, or you may not do everything perfectly does not mean you can become a holy terror. Take a deep breath and enjoy yourself. Of course, the food turned out great. Lila slept through the whole meal (I'm assuming because she spent the vast majority of the time leading up to it sneezing and eating wrapping paper). Everyone told me everything was really great. It truly was a wonderful day.

Seth and I now have Lila's illness and she is mostly back to her bouncy little self (not that she really wasn't that way the whole time she was sick too). I promise there are more resolutions to come. I mean, I could mention the losing weight one now but who are we kidding? The new year might as well be any given Monday in my world in regards to weight ;-)

I hope you and yours had a great holiday! Please leave a comment if you have any suggestions or anything you would now like to know more about in the world of being a parent. I certainly don't have it all figured out, but I like to talk about it just the same.

Random assortment of nonsense

As you can see, the blog is undergoing some changes. I am trying really hard to get the mommy portion of the blog going without totally disrupting the vibe of the current blog. I want to send a shout out to the redhead riter (my new friend) who is helping this html illiterate blogger become all that she can be. I have a vision. I just have to figure out how to get that vision going. Stay tuned!

I just typed the rest of this blog but I am inserting this in because I find it absolutely hysterical to say the least. Seth and I are sitting here watching TV as I type and somehow we are watching some old movie called Kelly's Heroes with Donald Sutherland, Clint Eastwood, and Telly Savalas. I am struck by the view I am seeing of Donald Sutherland in this movie. Mind you, we are talking about a young Donald Sutherland. BUT, the resemblance is uncanny (Ok maybe it's just the facial hair, but I swear it's there). Seth is Sergeant Oddball! Oh my goodness how funny:

Anyway, it's really hard to move past how funny that is to me. Here goes. I have decided my life's career should absolutely be a stay at home mom. I believe I could totally rock just being a mommy. Unfortunately, I also want a nicer house and a newer car. At any rate, I have spent the past three days getting SO much accomplished I don't even know what to do with myself. There's still a lot to go, but I am starting to feel normal again. Why did I feel abnormal you may ask? Well, I am self-diagnosing myself as OCD. No I don't have to touch the doorknob eighteen times before I open the door. No, I don't feel the need to sanitize the bejesus out of my child's toys if they fall on the floor. My personal experience with OCD deals more with the big picture. I can't handle chaos and disorganization. If things aren't where I think they need to be (or really in any certain place at all) I feel like I can't focus or accomplish anything. I get it in my head that the placement of things is vitally important to my life and if I can't place and organize they way I want to things get fuzzy and ultimately frustrating beyond belief. Therefore, I have diligently been working this week on getting my house to a point where I can stand it and not become a grumpy A-hole every day when I come home. Unfortunately, I am doing this while planning the entire meal for Christmas and finishing up some shopping. Hence the feeling that I could rock being a stay at home mom. I am feeling ready, excited, and maybe even a little cocky about how things are going (please pray for me that the Christmas meal is nothing short of amazing). It's not perfect, but just having the time to do something about what I see as chaos has been liberating.

To any one who reads this, thank you for reading and Sergeant Oddball and I both hope you have a wonderful and merry Christmas.

No longer "hip"

I find myself to be incredibly computer savvy. I have no problem tooting that horn. I used to find myself to be somewhat "cool" as well. In college I used to get mad at my friends when they went to bed before me. Unfortunately, those well honed skills are starting to slip. I loved MySpace when it started. I will admit that now I am addicted to Facebook with the best of 'em. I even write this silly little blog. Where have I dropped the proverbial ball? One word...twitter. I can't even count how many times I have started to type www. twi.... in my web address box. I truly get that much typed and change my mind. It happens almost instantaneously. Two birds one blog almost got me to follow through, but not quite. My immediate thought when starting to follow the crowd is, who do I really have time to follow enough to get on Twitter and sort it all out? I mean, I barely get this blog covered and my papers graded before I am ready to curl up in a ball. And furthermore, who would want to follow me on twitter? That's what the blog is for right? However, twitter has for some reason become a guilty pleasure I can't seem to indulge in. I feel like I want to, but I can't justify it enough to take the plunge. My question to you is, if you are on Twitter or you follow someone on Twitter, would you be willing to share how and why you do it? I am intrigued enough to ask, but not enough to sort it out alone.

Is it Christmas yet?

How was your Thanksgiving? Mine was great! It was filled with cotton fields, family, food, and Santa. What more could you ask for out of a holiday? Lila loved her first encounter with Santa. He was a crafty one though. I'm not entirely sure she ever saw his face which may have been why she remained so cozy on his lap instead of having extreme stranger danger like she has had with others recently. At any rate, good times were had by all. Now back to work/reality.

Next, I want to welcome Lila's newest best friend (other than Sara, her aunt) Carson Danielle Bean! We are so excited about the birth of our little neighbor/friend we can't even stand it. Keep your eyes peeled for pictures of our giant baby next to their tiny peanut coming soon. Happy birthday Carson! We can't wait to meet you.

My venture into mommy blogging has not gone well. I am not so pleased with the venue I have chosen to start this blog. The picture/video aspect is perfect but the "blogging" part is not what I want. I will be hashing this out and trying to figure out what I want to do and how I want to do it. It may take me a little bit due to my latest ventures below, but it will happen. I promise.

I have decided to seek out writing opportunities basically wherever I can find them. Writing is something that I just really love to do. Hence the very late hour in which I am doing it right now. In an attempt to find a better home for my small dog Woody (any takers?) I was snooping around on craigslist and came upon a writing section where I then stumbled upon www.trazzler.com. This site is great! If you love to travel this is the place for you. At any rate, you can go in and write a short piece about a "trip" you have been on. In the process of doing this I stumbled upon a contest that my piece fit right into! This is where you come in. If you love me and you want to support my silly little venture, please go to the link below between the dates of December 7th and December 23rd (yes, I will remind you on this blog) and click on "add to wishlist". Well, read my piece first if you have time. You may have to make an account. I'm not sure. But supporting me is worth it right? I think if you are on Facebook you can automatically sign in using your Facebook info. Give that a try. Either way, THANKS. If you do this and I become a famous writer someday I will acknowledge you somewhere. I promise.

http://www.trazzler.com/trips/users/jana-burrow/queens-bath-in-princeville-hi-96722