My Pet Peeves - TADBJ

There are so many!  I'll just list a few.

1. When people don't swap partners at a dance lesson when everyone else in the room is swapping.  Are you really that jealous of your significant other or just that insecure with your dancing? If you tried it I bet you'd like it (after the initial awkwardness wears off)!

2. When people apologize profusely for everything all the time.  I get tired of telling them "It's okay" all the time when they didn't need to apologize in the first place.

3. When people become Bible scholars and then think that they, and other Bible scholars are the only ones qualified to talk about GOD or have any valid ideas or opinions about GOD, the Bible, Christianity, Theology, or Religion in general.  I've met some Bible Scholars who are great people, great friends, and great Christians.  I've also met some who just seem snooty.  It's the snooty ones who annoy me.

4. When people text and drive, drink and drive, apply makeup and drive, speed while driving, try to "weave" through traffic, or basically anything that endangers the lives of everyone else on the road not to mention themselves.  How selfish can you be?

5. When there is a backup on the highway and people feel like they are privileged and should be allowed to drive on the shoulder.  Or, when a car is turning left on a two lane road and the cars behind said car illegally pass the turning car on the right shoulder.  Or, when cars in a parking lot are illegally driving through empty parking spots and nearly hit my car while I'm on the legal driving path and then look at me as if I'm the idiot.Emergency personnel excluded on all of the above, of course.

6. Cats that wake up sleeping babies.  Enough said. :-)

Good night all!

My Worst Habit - TADBJ

Oh my!  Hubby would have all kinds of answers for this one!  Funny that I would have answers for HIM to.  ;-) I guess that's what happens when you've been married for seven years.

But to spare you all the drama I'll tell you what I think my number one worst habit is.  Watching TV.  Now granted, there is nothing inherently wrong with watching television, but when you seem to do it all day, to the point that it consumes your day and you get nothing (or very little) else accomplished, well... "you might be an addict if..."

As a matter of fact I was just thinking the other day about doing a TV fast.  I'm going to try to do a TV fast one day this week.  I haven't decided what day yet, but I'll let you know how it goes.  If it's very successful I may try a longer fast next.  If it isn't very successful, I'll try again soon.

My Bucket List - TADBJ

The top five items on my bucket list excluding things like seeing my children become Christians, graduate, marry, and have children are:

1. Own my own home - Free and clear with no mortgage.

2. Have a daughter.  Seriously.  I'll adopt if I have to although I'd really prefer have one biologically.

3. Get completely out of debt and never go back.

4. Have enough money to give generously.

5. Visit NYC.  I've always wanted to go.

My Ideal Age - TADBJ

What do I think is the ideal age to be?  This one is also a toughie. For one I'm pretty happy with the age I am now (27).  However, I also look forward to being in my 40's and 50's.  Kids grown (more or less) and things (I hope) start to settle down.  But then there were the awesome teenage years - just innocent enough to have little responsibility and just grown up enough to get some of those perks too (think: driving).  I think two must be pretty awful considering how most two year olds behave.  I guess 5 would be my ideal age.  Young, innocent and not usually in too much of a hurry to grow up.  5 year olds get to have fun and play most of the time and even school is fun at that age.  So there you have it.  5 is my ideal age. :-)

If I could change one thing... TADBJ

I know, I know.  I'm a little late on this one.  All I can say is that life happens and I wouldn't have it any other way.  Now, on to the meat of this post...

The question for today (or yesterday actually) is "If you could change one thing about how you have lived your life thus far, what would it be?"

This is a tough question.  It's easier to tell you what I wouldn't change.  I wouldn't change getting married.  I wouldn't change having my children.  I wouldn't change going to college, although I might change quitting and not going back.  Truth be told though, I really didn't have a clue what I wanted to do or who I wanted to be back then and had I finished school then it probably wouldn't be helping me much now.

So what would I change?  Spending my husband's inheritance-that he got after his grandmothers death-on groceries.  That's really not all we spent it on.  We bought a computer that Hubby really needed, and a car that he really needed.  And we "nickeled and dimed" the rest of it away.  Money was scarce except for that inheritance money, but neither of us had much of a job, nor the motivation to go get one.  So the convenient money to buy groceries with was the money Hubby's grandma left him.  It didn't take very long for it to be whittled all away.  It wasn't a ton of money, but it would have been a nice down payment on a house.

But, you know... you live and learn.  If we ever get a sizable amount of money like that again, we will for sure be trying to spend it more wisely.  Speaking of which, I think PCH.com is calling my name. :-P

Where I Live - TADBJ

We live in a cozy two bedroom, one bathroom apartment in Nashville, TN.  We have a ton of friends living in our complex which works out great when we need a babysitter, or just someone to talk to or "chill" with.  There is a school next door.  I can see it from my window.  Baby one likes to watch out the window while the children are playing on the playground.  It really is a nice apartment, even if it is small.  I could see us living in this complex, if not this apartment until we're ready to buy a house.  I'm so looking forward to that day.

Unfortunately I don't have any pictures to put up.  My camera died.  It's very sad.

Meanwhile, I'm very excited about tomorrow's TADBJ project!  The question is "if you could change something about how you have lived your life so far, what would it be?"  This will take some thought, but I'm psyched!  Visit Toddler Awesome if you are interested in joining the fun!

What I Am Afraid Of - TADBJ

A few of the things I'm afraid of:

1. Bugs (including spiders)
2. Animals or people that are dying.
3. One of the boys getting hurt.
4. People not liking me
5. People who speed
6. Car accidents (see number 5)
7. Getting in trouble (Yes, I'm kind of a goody two-shoes... what does that even mean?)
8. Diseases
9. House fires and floods.
10. Robbers

I actually had a really hard time coming up with this list.  I thought about stopping at three, then at seven.  I finally came up with ten.  It's funny - I could have written ten things Hubby is afraid of very quickly.  For example:

1. Spiders
2. Bathtubs
3. Losing control
4. A family member getting hurt
5. Getting hurt
6. Death
7. Someone not liking him
8. Hurting someone
9. Being a push-over
10. Being a jerk

See? That was much easier.  ;-)

My Wedding - TADBJ

Writing this makes me a little sad.  No, my wedding wasn't sad, and yes, I'm still happily married.  I'm sad because all of my wedding pictures got lost in a move a few years back.  The only one I have left is a picture I took of one of the pictures on my cell phone.  The quality is horrible because it's a picture of a picture (and because it's a cell phone picture).  I've included that lonely picture at the end of this post.

Our wedding was beautiful.  Our colors were purple and pink (no, not at all "Barbie-ish").  My grandfather performed the ceremony.  We each had three attendants.  Mine were my sister, my best friend, and Hubby's sister.  Hubby's were his college roommate, a friend from church, and my brother.  He had a lot more people that he wanted to be in the wedding, so we made them all ushers.  We had a TON of ushers.

Neither one of us were very nervous before, during, or after the ceremony.  I had a bet going with one of my guy friends that Ryan would cry during the ceremony.  He didn't.  Right after the ceremony when we walked out we went into my changing room and he shut the door, put his head down on my shoulder and started bawling.

At our reception, I had my youth minister MC as the attendants and parents came in.  Each person came out to their own song.  We did this in lieu of a receiving line.  I don't remember what everyone walked out to.  I remember that my mom walked out to, "Pretty Woman."  Hubby's dad came out to a song called, "Tightwad" that was written by a friend of ours.  Later we found out he was a little hurt by it.  One of Ryan's groomsmen walked out to the song "Kokomo."  Ryan's old college roommate walked out to the James Bond theme and my sister was introduced to the same song.  They did a quick dance before he "dropped" her and walked off as if he was hoping no one noticed.  We had great food and a TON of cake!

After the reception we changed.  I don't remember what Hubby wore, but I wore the same going away dress my mom wore after her wedding.  It is pale blue and covered with white eyelet lace.  I was so proud that I fit in it.  I'm not sure that I still could.

What Romance Means to Me - TADBJ

This, dear friends, is a great question and one that I'm glad my friend at Toddler Awesome thought to ask.

What does romance mean to me?  The answer is worth pondering and possibly revising regularly.

From my perspective romance is:

• Loving my husband and supporting him.  
• It is providing a restful, safe place for him as a confidant, comforter and lover so that no matter where we are he knows that he is home.    
• It is fighting for him when he needs me, but also letting him fight for me.  
• It is respecting his leadership by helping with the decision making and helping him lead effectively and appropriately.  
• It is helping him find balance when life gets crazy.  
• It is helping him accomplish what he wants to accomplish. 
• It is letting our children believe that their daddy "hung the moon," while also teaching them that he's human and fallible, but worth loving and respecting anyway.  
• It is taking time out from my busyness to give him a hug and kiss and tell him that I love him - showing him that he is a priority.  
• It is not letting him get away with less than his best and making sure he knows that I think he's incredible.  

Romance is

• My Hubby loving, supporting and providing for me.  
• It is his willingness to fight for me and let me know that I'm worth fighting for.  
• It is leading me when I need led, but respecting my opinion enough that we can make decisions together.  
• It is helping me improve on myself while also complimenting my good qualities.  
• It is helping me get where I want to get and accomplish what I want to accomplish.  
• It is teaching our children to respect and honor me.  
• It is letting me sleep in sometimes when I'm really tired.  
• It is going above and beyond to let me know that I'm loved and appreciated.  

The Five Senses - TADBJ

What my five senses are experiencing right now:

See:  My computer screen and a slight reflection of the lamp behind me.  Also the clutter on the desk that is threatening to eat my computer monitor.

Hear: Baby Two's Baby Einstein video.  It's almost over.

Taste: Chocolate Ice Cream.  Shhh... don't tell.

Touch: I feel a little warm in an unseasonable long sleeve tee because I need to do laundry, lol.

Smell: NOTHING.  Which is a great thing when you have three cats and two babies living with you.

What are your senses telling you?

My Favorite Foods - TADBJ

It is so hard to pick a favorite food or even a favorite restaurant.  So I'm going to give you a list of my 5 favorite foods.

1. Tomatoes.  I've loved them since I was a little, little (little) girl.
2. Guacamole.  I especially like my homemade variety.
3. Mexican.  Just about any old Mexican restaurant will do.
4. BoJangles cajun chicken biscuit with fries.  Mmmmmm...
5. Roast with all the trimmings.  Potatoes, carrots, green beans, rolls, etc.

Now that my mouth is watering I'm going to go find something to eat...

10 Songs I Think My Readers Should Hear - TADBJ

In no particular order... (drum roll please)...

1. Starfish - Sister Hazel - Somewhere More Familiar

2. How Many Kings - Downhere - How Many Kings

3. All Men Will Know - Acappella - Radiance 

4. Lord Save Me - Acappella - Radiance

5. When You Come Back Down - Nickel Creek - Nickel Creek 

6. Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen - A Night At The Opera

7. The Show Must Go On - Queen - Innuendo

8. Africa - Toto - Toto IV

9A. Dream On - Aerosmith - Aerosmith

9B. Dream On - Kelly Sweet - We Are One 

   

10. What Heavenly Music - The Vocal Union - All Around Me

Now for an honorable mention that probably should be in my original ten but simply didn't fit the format. My good friend Amanda Rickard is an excellent musician.  She wrote a song a while back by the name Go Ahead and Cry.  It is definitely worth a listen.  You can listen to it on her MySpace page here.  Please let me know what you think! 

Our Favorite Vacation - TADBJ

Having taken a long weekend this week I'm a bit behind, so please bear with me while I catch up!

We haven't really taken vacations since the boys were born.  We like to go visit "Mammaw and Pappaw" in Memphis sometimes.  We also like going to Charleston, SC where I lived from ages 7-14.  We just go visit, stay with family or friends and do a couple of the tourist-y things while we 're there.  Mostly we go to spend time with people we love.  I rather enjoy these trips and think that for our family they qualify as a vacation, but for purposes of this Journal I will write about the vacation we hope to be able to take one day.

There are lots of places we'd like to go for a vacation.  Disney World (where we went on our honeymoon), LA (where we both have family), New York (I've never been), Scotland (we've been on mission trips and always said that we'd go back for pleasure), an Alaska cruise (my parents went once and it sounds like a lot of fun), I could go on and on.  We'd like to do a vacation with the boys, without the boys, with extended family and without.

When I asked Hubby where he'd most like to go on vacation he said that Disney World tops his list.  I loved Disney World when we went but I think I'd most like to go to New York.  I mean, I've never been but I've heard so much about it.  I want to see all the big buildings and city bustle.  I want to see good theater on Broadway.  The thing is, I don't really know what all we'd do on a Vacation there because I've never been.  Half the fun would be finding out.

Where do you recommend going for a vacation?

What I'm Most Proud of - TADBJ

This is a hard one for me.  One of my fellow bloggers said about writing her introduction that it was like a job interview when they ask you to tell them about yourself and you blank.  Thats kind of how THIS question is for me.  It's like when they ask you to tell them what your strengths are or to list your top qualities.  Inevitably there is a, "Uuuuuuuuhhhhhhh..." moment in my head.  It must not last as long as it feels like it does, because very often, I get the job.

I guess what I am MOST proud of is my boys.  I know that seems like a cop-out answer, but it really is true.  I'm very proud of my children, how cute they are (yes, I'm biased, but everyone tells me its true), how well behaved they tend to be (not always, but most of the time), and how much they are learning and growing.  I love my babies and that's just how its supposed to be.

I'm also proud of the fact that I have birthed two babies naturally.  I'm even prouder of the fact that I learned from my mistakes the first time.  I'm also proud that I had such a great experience each time that I actually look forward to doing it again (Thank you, Hypnobabies).

These are the things I'm most proud of.  It's actually good to think about that question and answer it for myself.  It really puts things into perspective and reminds me why I love being a mom and why I want to be a doula.

A Day in the Life... TADBJ

This is the second theme in the Blog-Journal Project - a timeline of my day.  Are you sure your ready for this?  Okay.  A Day in the Life of The Cloth Diaper Adventurer looks something like this:

• 6:30am - Baby One (nearly 2) wakes up and plays in his crib.  Hubby and I roll over and pretend not to hear.
• 6:45am - Baby Two (8 months) wakes up and plays in our bed.  I try desperately to open my eyes and interact with him.  Baby One begins to cry.
• 7:00am - I start to feel guilty for leaving Baby One crying in his crib.  I put pillows all around Baby Two and go get Baby One who immediately says, "Daddy!  See 'em!"  I take him to see Daddy at which point he says, "Bobble" and I go fix a bottle while the boys play with Daddy.
• 7:30am - We all meander out of the bedroom and into the living room.  I change diapers and leave the boys to get into trouble play while I fix breakfast.  The boys watch one of their Your Baby Can Read DVD's while they eat.
• 8:30am - I get myself and the boys dressed while Hubby gets ready for work.
• 9:00am - The boys and I go for a walk.  We get back in time to see Hubby off to work and catch the tail end of Sesame Street.
• 9:30-11:00am - I try to take care of housework, blogging, writing, checking my email, etc.  I just do as much of it as I can.
• 11:00am - LUNCH TIME!!!! Yay!!!  I like food and so do the boys!  Then we kill time until...
• 12:30 or 1:00pm - Naptime!  Baby One naps.  Baby Two and I sometimes nap during this time too.  Otherwise it's more blogging and/or housework.  This is some of my most productive time.
• 3:00pm - Baby One wakes up, takes a bottle, gets his diaper changed, gets a snack and plays.  I put Dr.Oz on the TV.  Again, I bounce between the computer, housework, and playing with the boys.
• 5:00pm - I fix dinner.
• 6:00pm - Baby One and I eat.  At this point I just try to keep the boys occupied and out of trouble until...
• 9:00pm - Daddy comes home and then the boys go to bed.  Hubby and I relax, talk and try to capture the last romantic sparks that haven't been killed off in the day's hustle and bustle before we pass out at 11:00pm or midnight.  

Wow!  You never realize how busy you are until you write it all down!  Good grief!  No wonder I'm so tired all the time!

Introduction - TADBJ

Hello friends!  This is the first post in my month-long, Theme-A-Day Blog Journal!  I'll start by telling you a little about me.  I'm a stay-at-home mom to two precious little boys and I'm looking for ways to make a little income from home.  I toyed with the idea of starting a cloth-diapering business (thus the name of my blog), now I'm trying to get started with some freelance writing projects and I'm also looking into becoming a doula (a non-medical labor assistant).  I'm striving to learn how to have balance in my life and discovering godly JOY in the meantime.  I hope you enjoy learning about me and I hope to learn a little about some of you!

Theme-A-Day Blog-Journal Project

  One of my fellow bloggers is starting the Theme-A-Day Blog-Journal Project this week.  Actually, it started yesterday, and as a busy mother I failed to do yesterday's project.  I will try to keep that from happening again though.  I don't know exactly what the rules are on when you can jump in officially, but if any of my blogging friends are interested in joining the excitement it would probably be fun!  Be on the lookout for my first (and second) post in this project later today.  I will post all with TADBJ at the end so that everyone will know that these posts are for this project.  Enjoy!

myShape - Sponsored Post

myShape - www.myshape.com

A way to shop ONLY clothes that will fit AND flatter? I'm IN!!! Give it a try! It's awesome! I put in the information they requested to tell them about my measurements and style and was able to find clothes that I liked, that would fit without having to surf through a bunch that I didn't care for or didn't come in my size. Perfect! They even ask how long (or short) you like your skirts and how much cleavage you're comfortable showing. I'm in love! Can you tell?

sponsored like

Kayla Smith's profile on MyLikes