Christmas Break

How hard is it to get back into your routine after a nice two week vacation? Pretty rough actually. But here I am at my desk doing it anyway. (Not that I really have that much of an option when it really comes down to it).

Christmas break was fab. We spent Christmas in Atlanta with Matt's family this year, but since I had 2 weeks off from work, me and the Bug snuck in a little trip to Utah to see my family before we headed to the dirty dirrrty. I was so nervous to fly with him by myself but he did great! When I was boarding everyone gave me the "oh great... a baby" look but he didn't let out so much as a squeak - a real Christmas miracle.

Spending time with my family was great as usual. Utah was colder than a penguin's ass. I got to see a lot of friends in SL and Logan who I haven't seen in forever and I even went to dinner with my friends for my birthday "baby free". Grown up dinners are very rare. Between my mom and sister, it was like I didn't even have a baby (except in the middle of the night... they were no where to be found... Weird.) We did a lot of shopping, grocery shopping, running errands, grocery shopping, birthday celebrations, grocery shopping, hanging out and more grocery shopping.

Yikes! Bedhead...

We did Christmas early (on the 23rd) and the Bug got super spoiled... shocking. Curt got him camo, Nana and Grandpa got him an activity center, and Auntie got him a Johnny Jump Up. Unfortunately the baby seemed to care more about the wrapping paper than any thing else. Next year I'm giving him an empty box, but I'll wrap it up real nice.

And it was off to ATL we went where we met Matt. It was only 5 days, but it was hard to be away from him that long. We spent Christmas morning at Matt's sister's house and Christmas dinner with Matt's extended family. I met a lot of family members that I had never met before including Matt's brother Michael. Everyone was so excited to see us. We definitely need to try and go to Atlanta more often. But not too often. I gained 6 pounds in the week we were there eating as much golden delicious fried food as my heart desired. I don't know how people do it in the South. I would be at least double my weight if I lived there. Georgia is definitely a lot different from the West Coast. Matt kept telling me how much I stood out there with my poofy hair, makeup, and that I talked too "proper". Well excuse me for paying attention in English class lol.

Nieces and nephews.

At the Bounce House.

Trevor and mini-Trevor.

His first time swimming. He loved it!

Getting "gangsta" in a sweatervest in GA lol.


We barely made it home after a little mishap in the Phoenix airport. We had a two hour layover and barely made our connecting flight. Who knew we would have to completely leave the airport, catch a bus outside to another terminal, and go through security again for them to tell us we cannot board because we don't have a boarding pass for the baby. Really??? This is our 6th flight in 2 weeks and we have not had anyone ask us for one yet. After pleading with the security guy we finally got to our gate as the plane was getting ready to leave. Lately airports stress me out!

Want to know the best feeling in the world? Laying down in your own bed after 2 weeks and a stressful day. It's good to be home. I miss everyone that we live so far away from, but there is nothing like your own space. Now if only I could get back into my routine of waking up and going to work... That seems to be the hardest part.

Learning From Others' Mistakes...

I drove to work this morning and my office looked like this...

Um... Hello!?!? Have any of you ever seen a horror film before? They always start with a scene like this! Where the poor, unsuspeting white girl goes skipping off into the dark foggy wilderness checking things out by herself... the music that sounds like a heartbeat starts... and a serial killer who was behind her the whole time jumps out of the fog and slashes her into tiny bits.

Well that's not happening to this white girl. I headed straight for the door, locked it right behind me, and it has been locked ever since. My apologies to anyone who may or may not have been waiting in the bushes for me. ;)

4 Months

You guessed it. Another post about the Bambino. Bet you never saw that one coming huh? He is 4 months old already. We (well Matt) took him to get his 4 month shots on Thursday. I always "happen" to schedule these appointments when Matt has the day off and I have to work. It just "works out" that way. What a "coinsidence". Poor little bug - how many more of these do we have to do??? He weighed in at a whopping 16 lbs 4 oz... our little chunka-chunka!

The other day I was lifting him up and down in the air (one of his favorite things) and I said "I have something sooooo important to tell you. I loooooo-" and he puked right in my mouth. Guess I should have cut the "I love you" part short. Matt was watching and just stood there frozen and wide-eyed until I screamed "TAKE HIM!!!" At which point he started laughing so hard I wondered if he was going to pass out. Being a mama has peaks and valleys I suppose.

TC has had eczema on his cheeks for months now. We are constantly putting stuff on his face and neck but he scratches up his face it drives me crazy! I sometimes call him Edward Sissor Hands Face. I cut his nails every-other day and I can't keep them short enough. Finally the doctor prescribed us with some stuff that will hopefully clear it up. Bah!

He is getting so smart. He's figured out how to use his hands and he concentrates really hard when he has something in front of him. Everyone in my family sticks out our tongue when we are concentrating and guess who has picked up the trait? (Hint: it's not Matt)

He hates laying down. He always wants to be sitting or standing so he can see. He will grab onto the sides of his carseat/bathtub/anything else he can get his hands on and try and pull himself up. Daddy has been helping him do "ab workouts". (Notice the tongue once again)

In other Mann news... Matt got invited to the combine in Atlanta in June! So it's official... he is going to tryout to play professional football. Now comes the hard part... 6 months of intense training. But we're pretty excited!

I got contacts! I finally made an appointment and got them... I guess I didn't realize how bad my eyes have gotten. No more guessing street signs for me! (doesn't that scare you a little?) I can see again - it's a Christmas miracle!

Dear Santa...

So I'm at work on Friday, and I get a picture message that says this....

"Mama I want these for Christmas"

and another one that says "Mama I want the same ones he wants"

Bah! How can I say no???

One Long Drive and a Thanksgiving Surprise!

So about two weeks before Thanksgiving, Matt woke up and asked me if I wanted to go to my parents for the holiday. Um yes... yes I do. Me and the bug were so excited! This is his face when I told him we were going to Utah. I asked Matt if he was excited too and he said "yeah of course... I mean, at least we are gonna get some good food on Thanksgiving". I tried not to be offended. My name might not be Betty Crocker, but obviously neither of us are starving.

So we planned the trip and left Monday night after we both got off work. We thought it would be best to drive through the night so the baby would sleep most of the way. I thought this was a brilliant idea of mine until about 4 am when my eyes started burning out of my skull due to lack of sleep. I used to "pull all-nighters" all of the time, but oh how times have changed. I love my precious sleep. We stopped in Nephi for the final gas-up before SLC only to find out it had dropped 50 degrees since we had left California. So we got back in the car ready to turn around and drive straight back to the sunny state of CA, but since it was 11 1/2 hours in the opposite direction, we decided to continue on to Utah. This surprise had better be worth it.

And it was! Everyone was so surprised. First we woke up Curt (who decided at that point he needed to take the day off) and then we drove to my mom's work who started crying and said "I'll shut down my computer". Sister was the only one who knew we were coming. Turns out she is a pretty good secret keeper. They were shocked! By the time we got home, my mom had called pretty much everyone she had ever met, so we had a lot of visitors while we were there.





My friend Steph and I had our babies 3 days apart and while we were pregnant we just knew they were gonna be boyfriend and girlfriend and get married and have babies and live happily ever after. Turns out they both had boy parts, so we changed it to being best friends forever. We planned their first playdate and we knew it would be great. Wrong. For some reason Xay hates TC. He screamed everytime he saw him - it was hilarious. TC just talked and talked to him. So much for planning our son's lives.


TC didn't understand what the problem was.


The Bug loves Grandpa and Nana's house. They have way better toys than we do. Remember when Grandpa bought him a pony? Well we finally got to meet Mr. Shorty and go for a little ride. His face might not show it... but he LOVED it lol.



Now I love Thanksgiving for 2 reasons. Stuffing and an unlimited amount of stuffing. It is my favorite food. I have shed tears of joy for this dish. The Wardle's did not disappoint this year. We had quite a spread. Let the feast begin! I think Jess has the right idea lol.


Then we packed up and headed back home. Have I mentioned that I hate the drive? By the time we got to Primm, I decided we should stop and stay the night because the burning sensation had returned to my eyes and I couldn't make it another 5 hours. We slept in a classy little joint called Whiskey Pete's for a couple hours before driving the rest of the way. Luckily when we got home we found out that our fridge had "shit the bed" while we were gone and all our food had gone bad. Kind of a sour ending to a sweet trip. So instead of dealing with it, me and the bug ventured to the mall and got a little shopping (for myself) done. I felt better.

Now things are back to normal, and I have already started the countdown to Christmas Break. Off to Utah and Georgia on our next adventure!

A New Perspective

Is it just me or is time going by at warp speed? (is that even what it's called???) I feel like I barely have time to breathe and as we come into the holiday season and I don't see it letting up anytime soon. Bah!

First thing's first... Some pictures of the bug. (I am turning into one of those moms who constantly talk about their babies, but too bad so sad. He is too cute.) Everyday is something new with him.

He loves going for walks and looking at the ducks.

Taking baths... Grrrr!

And staring at the Christmas Tree we/I just put up.

When I was young(er) and single I kept thinking life could not get any better. I loved my life. I could do whatever I wanted whenever I wanted. Then I met Matt and I changed my mind. I thought surely it can't get any better than this. I get an unlimited supply of kisses and I never have to sleep alone again. But I have to say, this little guy has stolen my heart. I wake up every morning between 5 and 6 and I look forward to seeing him because I miss him when I sleep. It's funny how life gets better and better as you go. I love being a mama... everyday I soak it all in.

As some of you may know Matt is going to try out to play professional football in the spring. He has been working really hard trying to get back into shape and training. I blessed to have the kind of job that I love going to everyday, and I want the same for him. I am so proud of him. It is going to be a lot of work, but I know it will pay off in the end. (Especially after I watched E!'s THS on Football Wives) If it all works out I'm going to have to get some bigger sunglasses, a boob job, and tummy tuck (damn baby ;)!

Matt running some drills

Me and the bug watching daddy training

We are so blessed to have good jobs, and we have enough money to pay our bills. But money is tight, and sometimes we can't afford everything we would like to have. There are a lot of people who are in worse situations than we are in right now. Lately I have found myself getting caught up on little things that in the big scheme of life don't really matter. So yeah, maybe Matt watches Sports Center a little more often than I would like, and maybe he leaves the cupboard open after he gets a glass out, and maybe he buys stuff that I don't think we desperately need (okay this is no longer going the direction I want it to)... but he is a great husband and a great daddy. WHY am I so focused on the negative things??? I have to remind myself that in the end none of that other stuff really matters.

I am making a commitment to myself to have a new perspective on things. I am head over heels in love with my husband. He is romantic, smart, funny, smooookin hot (see photo below) and he loves me more than anything in the world (even more than Sports Center) Matt gave up a lot of things that are important to him to make me happy. Sometimes I get caught up in the sacrifices I have to make and forget that he makes sacrifices too. I'm so grateful that we came into each other's lives.

We have each other. We have TC. Not much else matters.

Family Pictures

We just got our family pictures done... Here are some of my favorites!