It's Been A While

Wow. I didn't realize how long it has really been since I blogged. It has been a LONG time. For my avid readers, I am still a "silent observer" on your blogs and haven't missed a thing! Let me take the time to catch you up.

I am in a period of discovery. Discovering being a wife, a mom, a friend and worker and me. I am also starting to discover faith again (we found this awesome church that we love, Salford Mennonite Church) which helps.

Lately, Scott and I have been going for mini hikes with June on the Perkeominville Trail. There is something about being with nature that is calming. We have never gone for a hike and come home stressed. Normally, we stop at the Double Dipper Deli for some Leiby's ice cream. It is AMAZING!! My favorite flavors are Almond Joy and Milky Way. I would post of picture of how cute June looks when Scott carries her in her thing, but I don't have any. Next time we go, I'll take a pic.

I'm trying to enjoy life more and not be so stressed out. Some things I'm doing to enjoy life are taking time to journal, getting more sleep, going in the hot tub more, taking time for myself throughout the week, not doing something if I don't feel like it (i.e. the dishes), having a no list day, identifying with the positive things about myself instead of the negative, exercising, going for walks, eating ice cream, being honest with my emotions and admitting I'm not perfect. I'm liking the progress so far! I really feel like I'm getting to enjoy life more.

June is almost crawling. I can't believe it. She is 8 months. Her is a pic for your enjoyment.



That is all for now. I don't want to bore you with too many updates. I will try to be better about writing.

June Updates

Okay, here is your typical mom post, but I had to do it. Here are the top ten things that make me smile when I think of June.

1. If you stick your tongue at her and make a noise, she will do it back.

2. She sometimes chokes while I'm feeding her breast milk and when she coughs, she farts at the same time.

3. She constantly eats her hand like it is the best tasting thing in the world.



4. She likes to be naked. Whenever she has her clothes off she laughs and smiles and absolutely LOVES it. As soon as you go to put her clothes back on, she starts to cry.

5. One of her many nick names is "Bam Bam" because she raises her legs and smacks them against the ground over and over and over again.

6. When she looked at Spike and finally discovered he was "different" and started laughing at him.

7. When she knows Scott is home, but he hasn't come over to her yet, it doesn't matter what she is doing, she stops and stares at him until he looks over at her and then she just smiles.



8. When I go to pick her up from her crib in the morning, she gives me this great big smile... there is nothing like it.

9. Right before she goes to bed at night, she gets really giddy. I tickle under her chin or her stomach and she lets out this deep belly laugh that just makes me laugh.

10. Whenever she is next to Tov (my friend Sarah's baby), they hold hands and poke at each other. It is SOOOOOOO cute!

In Scott's Absence

Some of you know, some of you may not know, that my husband has been in India since January 21st. It has been a week from today since he left and I'm looking forward to his return on Sunday morning. When you are alone in your house, you are left to think more than normal (or am I the only one that feels this way?). Here is what I discovered so far during Scott's absence...

• I miss him when he's gone
• It sucks not having someone to share your deep thoughts with
• I have awesome friends (someone has brought me meals every night while he has been away AND my friend Jess and my friend Bekah stayed overnight to help with June)
• I discovered more about myself... that I like to journal and exercise
• I feel guilty about taking time for myself (one of the things I discovered while journaling)
• I got A LOT done, like finally taking the air conditioner out of our bedroom window
• Being a "single parent" is exhausting!
• I love my new job at Lacher & Associates
• I uploaded pictures and videos of June on facebook
  

• Texting is not a substantial way to have a conversation
• June grows up everyday
• I'm grateful for my mom and Lois
• Even when it is just you, your house gets messy really quick!

My other obsession

So, while I'm confessing things, I will confess that I LOVE the "Ellen" show. I DVR it everyday and then watch it sometime when June needs to eat (sorry, I don't know if that is too much information for you or not). She literally makes me laugh every day. I wish I had that sort of humor. My humor is always sarcastic, which can be super funny at times and not so much at other times. I need to craft using my sarcastic humor at the appropriate time.

But, Ellen, she can just look at you and make you laugh. Here are things I like about the Ellen show (in no particular order).

- Ellen
- The way Tony laughs when Ellen shows a photoshopped picture of him (like this one)
- Andy and how he always wears obscenely short shorts
- Bad Paid for Photos
- Showcasing her audiences' talents
- Her various other segments like "Mystery Word" or "Word of Mystery" (Ellen thinks they are the same thing, but Andy insists they are not)
- How she brings out big burly guys to model the pink Breast Cancer awareness tank top
- How she gives things away on every show to her audience members
- How she twitters and makes people do ridiculous things. You can follow her by clicking here
- How she now joined "Birddi", the Spanish version of Twitter
- Jeannie
- How she has her guests do fun things like play games or dance like the following



- The fact that she dances at the beginning of every show and says "I send all my love right back at you"
- The 80's video dating guys



- How she calls people at random to surprises them
- How she gives money away via the cash clunker or the golddigger
- The the music she plays is pretty much always either pop or hip hop and makes me want to dance too
- How she reads the letters from her fans and somehow turns it into something funny
- The Shake Weight (no other explanation is needed if you have seen the show)
- The dunk tank for Breast Cancer awareness month

By now, you are thinking "this girl is crazy"! And, you may be right, but I had to give my other favorite show some props since I gave Glee its props on my last blog.

I would love to one day go to the Ellen Show. My friend, Bekah, is going to go the week of the "New Moon" premier when she will be in LA. She is going to go when Rob Pattinson is on the show. However, I am more jealous that she is going to the Ellen Show than the fact that she will see Rob Pattinson, and that says a lot from someone who loves the Twilight Series.

Moral of this blog, if you haven't watched the Ellen Show, do at least once and I guarantee you will be in a better mood after the show than you were before.

This is my confession

Many of you know me well, but if you don't know that I'm a fan of hip hop, then you don't really know me. I was reminded of this tonight while watching Glee. For those of you who haven't seen the show, it is about some high school peeps who start a glee club. Sounds cheesy, but SUPER entertaining. I absolutely love the show. Anyway, I love it even more because every week they somehow incorporate a hip hop song.

True story, while trying to get June out on "Operation Junebug Night" with a few of my friends, we were watching Glee. They started to sing "Take a Bow" from Rhianna and I of course starting singing along. All at once, my friends looked at me with shock. Not understanding I said, "you mean to tell me you never heard this song?" I knew then I was alone in my love for hip hop (because Jess Stevens wasn't there, if she was, she would have been singing too).

But tonight was the awesomist of them all. They sang what they called "mash ups" where they combine two songs into one. All I know is they somehow combined Ushers' "Confessions" and Beyonce's "Halo" with 80's pop songs.



It tugged on my heart strings because not only do I love hip hop, but also knew the 80's pop songs.

Thanks Glee for making me feel normal for liking hip hop and for making is so darn entertaining to watch.

June's First Outing in Philly

On Saturday, June took her first of many trips to Philly. Scott was doing an event at Greensgrow Farmers Market, so we went to visit him. When we were there, we ran into Ryan and Laura and ended up spending the rest of the day hanging out with them. We got two dozen free oysters from the farmers market and broiled them on the halfshell. Normally, I don't like oysters. But, these were AMAZING! We used champagne vinegar, shallots, parsley and butter. Otherwise known as yummy.

After that, we went to the "fall festival" in Philly. Which, ended up being like a frat, keg party on the streets. So, we just got some gelato an left. I had Thai Soy and Chocolate Banana. I love Capogiro.

It was a great day and June loved it. She slept so well that night, it was amazing. More outings to come!

Neglect

Dear Blog,

I have neglected you. Please accept this as my sincere apology for not paying any attention to you over the past couple of weeks. I mean, it wasn't like I had a baby or anything.



Even if I did, it is still no excuse for putting you off for so long. This is my vow to you and all of my blog readers (prob about 5 people), that I promise to post more and no longer neglect my blog duties. Soon, I will tell you all about June's birth, how tired I am, her first couple of weeks, how tired I am, how she poops all the time, and did I mention how tired I am?

Here is to mommy blogging instead of pregnancy blogging. Be prepared.