Expert Mom!

I've got this whole parenting thing down y'all. I'm pretty much an expert. And if you buy that I'll throw the Golden Gate in free ;)

Six months have passed and the only thing I've mastered is faking that we have our sh*t together. Sleeping through the night? Nope! Getting out the door without forgetting something really important? Never happened. Introducing solids without an severe allergic reaction? Negative.

5 Simple tips on how to fake like you have your life in order with a 6 month old! 

Fake it til you make it mama.

Put on red lipstick. This might sound odd but bright lips distract from dark circles under your eyes. And for some reason people think you are dressed up if you have red lips. Try it, I swear it works! 

Wear clean clothes. This seems like a no brainer but nothing says "hot mess" more than walking around town in dirty clothes. Staying on top of the laundry is a full time job in itself. I use the washer like a hamper. Keep your shout spray out all the time and spray "goo" thoroughly. When the washer is full start it. Wash on cold and hope for the best. Also, be ok with throwing away poop filled jammies at 2am. Also, if you have a puker, bibs will cut your laundry in half. Last month as I walked into work I realized not only was I wearing a sweater I had already worn that week but it was covered in throw up. Luckily no one noticed OR if they did they were too polite to say anything.

Pack for the apocalypse. Be ready for anything. My diaper bag is my everyday survival kit. Don't just think of the baby. Pack that sucker with granola bars, an extra shirt, and water!! (This is of course when you remember the diaper bag.)

This is the face we see all day!

Smile and ask for help. Husband, parents, stranger in the grocery store parking lot. You will kill yourself trying to do everything on your own. I find that a genuine smile gets you a lot further than hysterical tears....but those work too.

Shop when you can! When Rals was about 8 weeks old I started doing these manic postpartum Walmart runs at 5am on Saturday morning. This made Mr. R very nervous and confused because I would just whisper goodbye and walk out the front door. When you need dog food, diapers, tires, and a Snuggie when the rest of the world is sleeping where do you go? WALMART! And no, I have never bought a Snuggie. It's not usually my store of choice but at 5am nothing else is open. And I 'll tell you what, it's not bad when no one is there. I wear my sneakers and literally run through the aisles with my list. If I can make it out of the store by 6am I reward myself with a Starbucks and buy coffee for the person behind me in line. Maybe they are a new mom too.

I'm going to crawl any minute.

Sitting up all by myself.

We may have not mastered parenting but what we have mastered is covered in throw-up, sleep deprived, "is this really our life", unconditional, wouldn't trade it for anything, LOVE. Baby Raleigh is growing every day! Where did the last 6 months go?  I will go on record saying he is the worlds happiest baby! Worlds best sleeper not so much. But I'll take a happy baby even if I'm sleep deprived.

Can they stay this little forever? Please!!!

Rals is sitting up and scooting all over the place. He chews on anything and everything. He has two big ol' teeth and uses them! Baby boy loves to watch his cousins play and I just know as soon as he can crawl he will be right in the mix. He loves his excersaucer and when he is in it we say he is "working" because he is so focused on all of those little gadgets. Baby R is finally realizing he has two puppy brothers. He spends a large part of his day laughing at them and trying to get away from their very slobbery kisses. We have introduced rice cereal, apple sauce, sweet potatoes, pears, bananas, green beans, baby food basics, and dunn dunn duuuunnnn avocado. *Important* If the mama is allergic chances are baby is allergic. No one told me this and the second time I gave baby R avocado he broke out into full blown, Will Smith in the movie Hitch, hives. Mother.Of.The.Year! Baby R's favorite dinner activity is sucking/chewing on a big ol' chunk of bread. I am fairly confident he could take down an entire piece of pizza if we let him.

The past 6 months have been the happiest and most challenging months of my life. Challenging in a good way of course! Everyday we are learning something new and watching Raleigh boy literally grow right before our eyes. Some times after a long nap I swear he is bigger.

He is the best part of my day!

Goodbye to a great year!

I'm sitting here holding/rocking Raleigh to sleep thinking about 2013. How do I even start to sum up the most memorable year of my life....

Let's start with the many blessings.

My husband. He wakes up to change diapers. He cooks dinner. He mops the floor. He tells me I'm pretty when I am covered in baby throw up and God knows what else. He is the funniest person I have ever met AND the best dad to baby R.

My family, oh how they amaze me everyday. My parents and siblings are more than my blood relatives, they are my people. They are the friends I want to spend my vacations with, my weekends with, they are my biggest supporters and I honestly could not be luckier.

My job. This sounds wacky I'm sure, but I work with some of my best buds. Transitioning back to work after baby boy could have been horrible and traumatic but my job allows me to have him 100 yards away. It might be closer I've never measured. It also doesn't hurt that one of my dearest friends is now my boss and threw me a huge bone and a very easy fall semester. And have I mentioned my students? When I tell people I teach high school they always make this "I'm sorry" face. I have to inform them that my students rock. They are so creative and witty and yes, obviously they are teenagers, but they are so sweet!

My home. I have been neglecting it but I love it. 2014 has big projects in store for you little house!

My friends. They are pretty great! And funny and gorgeous, generous, loving, smart, and on and on and on....making me a better gal just by knowing them.

My crazy ass dogs. Oh dear Lord! Sometimes I lay in bed thinking how easy life would be without them. Clean house, clean floor, clean couch, no poop, no walks, no barking, no diaper eating....I could go on. And then I think about our family walks, the living room wrestling matches, Nelson snoozing on every coach his stubby little legs can crawl up on, George's handsome face, the constant licking of the baby. They are a mess......but they are our mess and we love them. When we adopted W. Nelson this fall everyone said we were crazy getting another dog with a new baby. But it has been the easiest transition. The boys love playing with each other and baby R loves watching them.

And lastly my boy. I could talk all day and night about every tiny detail I love about this baby. He is the best thing I have ever done. He is the best part of my day....everyday! His smile literally makes my heart leap. After 32 years on this earth I now know what my job is....to be this kids mama.

Highlights of 2013....
Obviously the arrival of baby R was the biggest!
My art students won 3rd in state! Whoo hoo!
Some very fun weddings; Robbie and Eddie, Chris and Katy, Amber and Jake, and Katy and Daniel
Family vacation to Hot Springs Arkansas!
Cousin Camp, Fourth of July, and many more awesome farm memories!
Mr. R went back to school and we, yes we, survived it!!
The arrival of W. Nelson!
Holidays with all of our family.
Baby cousin Ily, one week after Rals.
New second cousins; Juliette, Edie, and Hendrix
Lots of pregnant friends! 2014 will be busy busy!!
We saved A LOT of money not renovating the house....and I plan on spending that money in 2014.

When I asked Mr. R for some of his highlights he of course said the above. Then he went on to say how boring we sound. What's fun to us isn't very exciting to anyone else. Yes, the last 6 months we have been hybernating with our little guy. We haven't traveled, we've hardly gone out or even seen a movie but we have made so many great memories with our sweet boy and two wild ass dogs....enough to last a lifetime. 

Now, this year has not all been unicorns a rainbows. There have definitly been some downs. The stress of a new baby, going back to work, breastfeeding, and trying to be a good partner almost did me in. At one point I'm pretty sure I was doing a horrible job all around. But, just like with any life obstacle I/we took it a day at a time. An acquantaince at work told me I made it look easy. My exact words after I stopped laughing...

"Don't let the lipgloss fool you, I am a mess!"

And now the resolutions. I always try to make my new years resolutions incredibly easy because I don't really like failing AND I don't want to do anything that will cause me to be more tired than we already are. This year is no different. My resolutions will be manageable and enjoyable! Here we go....

Be a good friend. I am going to really reach out to those friends that I don't see often.
Travel with the boy (we already have one trip planned to CO....whoo hoo).
Try new restaurants.
Drink more water.

Do whatever it takes to breast feed until little man is 12 months old. If he looses interest thats fine but I will do my part.
Get back into shape *Disclaimer* by the power of breastfeeding I am back to my pre baby weight. This does not mean I look good naked yet....and this is my goal!
Try for baby #2. Yes, I'm putting it out there now, we want another one soon. If I took a pregnancy test today and it was positive I would be over the moon. And no, I am not pregnant. 

Nothing too crazy right?

With an incredibly happy heart we say goodbye to 2013 and with hope and anticipation welcome 2014.

Ringing in the New Year at 4:30pm!

Christmas cheer!

Ho ho ho. Yes it's over. What a whirlwind of a holiday. Baby R had no clue what was going on but we enjoyed his little smiles all the same. We even got a few chuckles out of this kid.

These are just a few Intagram pics from December, follow me at agr2023 if you want all Raleigh all the time!!

Icemageddon 2013 

Oh hey Santa!

Love!

Oh Nelson!

Handmade holiday decor for the living room.

The best shot of all 3 boys....FAIL!

Rals and Ily Belle's first Xmas!

The boy got to take Christmas pictures at school and I love them! He is usually all smiles but on this day he wasn't into it. Zenia Curiel captured such a sweet expression of baby R and cousin Cal! Love love love these!!!

We are so blessed beyond belief at all of the love we received. I hope everyone had a very merry Christmas!

Halloweenie!

It was one to remember!

Sweet Soldier

Happy Fall everyone! Time flies when you're having fun...or you're sleep deprived. Either way, we are so happy to share photos of our sweet boy's baptism.

As For Me And My House We Will Serve the Lord

Joshua 24:15

We obviously knew we wanted to have R boy baptized. BUT...When? Where? Church affiliation? God parents? Who would perform the ceremony? Gown vs. pants? And on and on....

After really thinking and praying about it, the only solution we were both happy with was to have it down in Glen Rose. Right on the spot where Mr. R and I said "I do". And with the help of 20+ people we made it happen the third weekend in October at 11am. Under an oak tree surrounded by family, a few mules, chickens, and dogs, and a very curious barn cat. It could not have been more perfect weekend. Why would we do it anywhere else?

October 20th 2013

 Sunday Morning

The weather was perfect for a Fall baptism. The entire family rallied together for meals and we had a fun and memorable weekend. Add another great memory to the list.

My sweet friend Jim Martin and his family came down Saturday night. Originally I asked him to just take pictures of the ceremony. He took it upon himself to shoot the entire weekend and they are so special to me. Capturing a morning at the Brazos House is priceless. Everyone in their jammies sitting around drinking coffee. So many memories have been made in that kitchen. A huge thank you to our buddy! Jim also came over and shot the nursery hours before Raleigh arrived. He did such a beautiful job and never once called me a crazy pregnant lady:) 


You know, we kept it really simple. Just pressure washed 30 chairs the morning of the ceremony. No biggy. When I say everyone helped, I mean EVERYONE. Look at those sweet boys helping. Warms my heart!

It was a mad dash to the baptism finish line. Lots of scrambling at the last minute. Quiche, ironing, spit up, missing socks, etc. But we all pulled it together. It takes a village to raise a child and to pull off a Christening in our family.

Christening

 Raleigh's God Parents

Godmother Susie

Godmother Mandy

Godfather Drew

These two were born exactly one week apart. I have a feeling this is one of many special events they will be sharing!

Sweet Ily Belle in her Christening gown.

Raleigh Myers Ramirez is officially a soldier in God's army. It's a big job Raleigh Boy!

My cousin Mary came in to perform the ceremony for the babies. It is so special because she is family and that is really what the foundation of the Brazos House is built on.

Sweet Jess came for the weekend too!

A huge thank you to my parents who never hesitate to open their home to everyone. I was literally in tears as we drove away that weekend because this is exactly how I pictured my kids growing up. Running around, swinging, feeding animals, playing with their cousins, eating outside on the picnic table, getting dirty. Just the way I did. I would not trade that for the world. I know my grandparents and aunties were there with us just smiling away all weekend. I would also like to thank my in-laws and sister-in-laws who are always willing to go above and beyond helping with long weekends like this. To be able to share memories with both sides of our families and watching everyone form friendships is so amazing. And the love everyone has for our little man is overwhelming. What a lucky kid!!

Papa and Mimi

Lady and Poppie

There were so many great pictures from the weekend. I wish I could share them all. I am selfishly hiding them so I can use them for Christmas presents...they're so cute!

Oh Happy Day!