My Corbin

When Chris and I first got married we knew right away that we wanted kids. So after the honeymoon we began trying. A few months went by and Chris and I decided that we weren't going to try anymore after January because we didn't want to have a baby at Christmas time. Well on Chris's birthday I woke up, took a pregnancy test, and went back to bed. Chris woke me up minutes later and said "good morning mommy" NO WAY! I was pregnant and we found out on Chris's birthday. The next 9 months were not the best. Chris got laid off one week after we found out I was pregnant. I had a few problems along the way. I had a scare that thank god turned out to be nothing to serious. I was sick from the day I found out. I hated food, well everything but hot wings and choco tacos and french fries. From May until I had Corbin I couldn't wear my wedding rings because of swelling. The last few months of pregnancy were awful! Everyday my feet would swell so bad I couldn't feel them. Closer to the end of pregnancy the swelling was all day. I developed carpal tunnel while I was pregnant. Pregnancy was not fun at all. When I went to doctor on this day last year my blood pressure was very high so I was taken right then to the hospital. I only had a few minutes to read up on Preclampsia, which is what I had. I was admitted into the hospital and put on pictocin. The next morning Chris had an interview with the prison so he left me with my parents at the hospital. I just knew soon as he left I would have the baby...no luck. I had horrible contractions with no meds. They were on top of each other, but yet the doctor wouldn't do anything for me. When my blood pressure went up to 199/100 they decided then it was time for a C-section. At 6:44 pm Corbin Wilson Tweedell was born. I do not remember seeing him. The next thing I knew Chris was telling me to breathe. Then he was gone too. I remember being wheeled back into my room and them finally bringing the baby. I was so exhausted that I asked them to take him to nursery. The next few days were awful. They couldn't control my blood pressure. I didn't get to hold Corbin much and we had a lot of company. I know that no labor is perfect but I think I went through hell to have this baby. I would do it again for him, but not for another one. When we finally got to go home on October 4 I was so excited! We've had a crazy year. Chris got a new job, Corbin has grown into a little man, and I've grown so much. Watching him grow and learn new stuff everyday keeps me amazed! I wouldn't trade my life for anything. So Happy Birthday Corbin...your daddy and I love you very much!

Our Work in Progress

Yippie! Show Us Your Life is Back. This is something really fun to do with your blog. This girl started this last year and she is back and it's better. This time it's show us where you live. Every Friday for a while she will post a new room and you take pictures of your room post it and blog about it. It's a fun way to be nosy in someone else's home and to get lots of new ideas! This week it's Show us your Living Room. So here goes.

Our Living Room is currently not the way I want it. Our TV went out about 3 months ago. Since we still had the old style tv (huge back and bulky) I decided to give it away to someone that was willing to have it fixed. In the mean time we are saving up for a flat panel that we can simply hang on the wall.

This is the view as you walk through our front door. Please excuse the fan in the window...we haven't had air in quiet a while (although we are supposed to have it by tonight!) Our Living Room and Kitchen is open so you do see barstools at the counter. I'm trying not to get the kitchen in the pictures because I know we will blog about that later :)

Ok so this is the view from our couch. Since Corbin has started crawling I don't spend much time in the here because of the glass table. And it's not because I don't want to clean finger prints all day, it's just easier to stay in the toy room. For Christmas I am getting a new coffee table and a new sofa table! So hopefully this will help the look of the living room.

This is my view from my rocking chair looking down our hall. Hopefully once I get my sofa table I will pull the couch away from the wall and place the table against the wall to kind of make a hall way behind the couch. And I would love three big pictures of us on the wall that you see.

This is our view from the kitchen. Love love love my mirror on the wall. Not sure it really goes with the room but I won't take it down. My daddy bought it for me before Chris even closed on this house!
And last but not least this is our fireplace. It's electric. I knew it would be smarter with a baby not to have a real fireplace (plus it's less mess!) We are as decorated for Halloween as we get. Each of these silly things make noise and spin around or move to some extent. Corbin loves them (he's not afraid of anything!)

So that's my little living room. It's nothing fancy but it's us. It's our home and I love every inch of it (even the dirty ones!)

Next week is Master Bedrooms!

When it rains...it pours

What a crazy few weeks it's been! Corbin has started crawling...no wait he's speed crawling. And pulling up. Which has led to at least three bumps on his head, a red nose, and a busted lip, yeah no mother of the year award for me. And sad part is I've been in the room at arms length every time one of these has happened. Oh well. He's a boy he's supposed to be bruised and banged up right? On top of chasing after him all the time our air went out about three weeks ago. This wouldn't be quiet so bad if it weren't still in the 90's here. So Corbin and I have been staying with my mom most of the time. Then on top of all that...I've managed to chip a tooth and break a toe. Our luck is gone. I think we should just crawl back in the bed and wait for next year and hope it's better :) Wait I left out one thing...our microwave shorted out on me. We had to replace it, but on the plus side I got a new shiny red one :) So that's whats been going on here. All that plus trying to plan Corbin's 1st birthday party. Ok I can't talk about it, I'll cry. I think I'm going to get up from the computer now and try to clean...it's been so hard to clean this house when I'm usually at my mom's trying to stay cool :) Hope everyone is having better luck that us right now.

-If God leads to you to he will bring you through it-

2 Years and Going Strong

Two years ago yesterday I married the man of my dreams. I married the person that is perfect for me. I married the person I WILL spend the rest of my life with. These past two years have been crazy to say the least. I could have never imagine the first two years of marriage would be like this. It's brought us closer together though. We've been through some rough times but we've made it through and we are stronger than ever. We spent yesterday together with our beautiful baby boy. We all went out for pizza for lunch. Corbin was a cutie eating pizza. Then Chris surprised me by taking Corbin to have his pictures done. He's never had them done professionally before. Check Corbin's blog for those pictures coming up. I love my pictures they are the best gift ever! Thought I would just share a few from our wedding day. These are just a few that I found on the closest disc to the computer...

Me before the wedding

I love this one...probably because it's purple :)

The big moment...

Mr. and Mrs. Christopher Tweedell

8/8/8 @ 8:08 pm

Oh so yummy cake :)

Two years...and we are still so very much in love...in fact I think I love him more ;)

Just a Thought

My parents got a phone call the other day to invite them to an anniversary party. My dad met this man a few years back, and he has done a lot of work for my parents. He is a great carpenter and he basically single handily remodeled my parents entire house. A few months ago he found out he had cancer. I don't recall what kind of cancer he has, but it's spreading fast. They have stopped chemo because it's no longer working. So anyway their anniversary is tomorrow. They will have been married 47 years. I know most people don't celebrate anniversaries other than their 25th and their 50th but why not? I know their neighbor is throwing them this party but it's kinda sad. I know they are doing a party this year because they are almost sure he won't make it much longer. So why do we only celebrate being married with a party twice? Chris and I will have been married 2 years this August. Why not throw a party then? Finding your soul mate should be reason enough to celebrate each year, heck these days you should probably celebrate every day. I never dated anyone besides Chris and when I met him I knew he was the one. 6 1/2 years after dating he proposed, and now this November we will have been together 10 years. I'm lucky to have found Chris. He is a terrific husband and the best dad I've ever met. He lets me decide everything, from what we eat to what we do. He never complains when I drag him shopping for something as simple as sunglasses. He will go yard-saling with me, he will wait patiently while I try on a million dresses only to leave the store empty handed. He's pretty much as close to perfect as you will find. So I think I think each anniversary I will celebrate a little more. You never know when it might be your last one. That's just my thought of the day.

Oh and one more thing, just because...I really hate it when someone tells me Corbin is spoiled. Ok maybe it was the way the lady said it, but whatever. Corbin is going to be spoiled and I know it, but I don't need anyone pointing it out. Ok I feel better now.

Baby Book

Corbin has a beautiful baby book. I picked it out when I first found out I was pregnant because it matched his room. Every month I get it out and fill in everything for that month, weight, height, eating habits, etc. But in the back of the book it says "Why you are special" well it only gave me two pages to write things down. How am I supposed to fit Why he's so special in two pages? I try to write down things I'm sure I will forget one day. Since I've run out of room in the book (I'm trying to find a new place to write all this silly stuff) I thought I would share some of the "little things" he's doing now.

The boy has a temper. (He gets it honest though). He loves keys, just the metal part and when you take them away from him, he will ball his fists up and shake them at you. (To start with it was very cute, now not so much)
When he eats mashed potatoes, his favorite food, he makes the cutest noise. It's like ummmm, ummmm, nummm! Precious!
He loves dogs! He will stop dead in his tracks no matter what he's doing if you mention a dog. And don't bother asking, no he's not getting a dog any time soon. A baby is expensive enough.
He will holler da da all day long, but when he gets hungry he calls ma ma. Sweet I know :)
I asked him one day where da da was a he said "home" Hasn't said Home since then but he said it once.
He loves to try to talk, so far he's said Ma ma Da Da JJ (my little cousin), dollar (which he's said twice, and my parents are giving him one every time he says it, and no it didn't work when I said it), and we think he's said Uncle once. Oh and he said DOG very clearly at Sharon and Duane's house. I think that covers all the words he's said so far...I think.

Those are just a few of the things I find so precious, now off to write those in his baby book. :)

More Questions than Answers

So being a first time mommy, even though I've taken care of kids before, is becoming a challenge for me. I have a million questions and no right answers. Dilemma #1-Corbin doesn't sleep. Ok so he gets this natural. My mom says I didn't sleep through the night until I was 4. Boy payback stinks. Corbin has sleep 6 hours one time, ahhh I remember it all to well. It was Christmas Eve and I woke up at 6 in the morning thinking he had quit breathing. Nope he was sleeping. Best Christmas gift EVER! Since then I'm thankful he he sleeps 3 hours without waking up. I'm exhausted most mornings. I called the lactation specialists at the hospital today to ask her about it, and she made me feel a lot better. She said Corbin is so big and healthy that he just needs more food, that's why he wakes up. She is NOT a fan of "let him cry it out" and neither am I. And some people look at my crazy when I tell them Corbin sleeps with us. Some nights I do put him in the toddler bed in our room, but I move him in our bed eventually. He's only little once right? I know I'm spoiling him, so sue me. Maybe I'm not looking for answers just a little nod that I'm doing ok. Corbin is healthy and happy so what if he's not sleepy.
Ok Dilemma #2, Corbin has a birthday coming up fast. He will be 1 on October 1st. So I've been trying to develop a guest list and all the other fun stuff that goes along with birthday parties. So here is the problem. Who do I invite? Chris and I both have lots of family. Does everyone see Corbin regularly? No. My theory is...if they have never seen him why invite them? I don't want people coming just to bring a gift. I want people there that have seen Corbin and that love Corbin. To come and celebrate his birth not to just meet him for the 1st time. No one in our family has kids close to Corbin's age so where do I draw a cut off limit to people. I do want to invite Corbin's friends from Baby-time and our friends but I'm at a loss for family. I have about 2 and half months but I love to plan ahead of time. So how big do you do the 1st birthday? He won't remember this so I have a hard time planning some elaborate party. I'll save those for when he might actually remember them.
Anyways those are my thoughts for the day. They probably seem petty to you but that's what's going on here anyways. Hope this Monday is good for everyone :) Blog ya later :0)

Best Friend

Friend in the dictionary is defined as: someone emotionally close: somebody who trusts and is fond of another. Well Mister Webster you apparently don't have friends like me. My friends are way more than that. I've got the best friends hands down that girl could ask for. My friends may not live next door, or right down the street. But I know I can pick up my phone and call them and they are here for me. You call your friends and you talk about things, your life, your spouse, your kids, and you gossip (if you are anything like me and my best friend), then you say good-bye. You most likely don't tell your friend what they mean to you. I know I don't nearly enough. If it weren't for my best friend I'm sure I would have had a mental breakdown by now. And I'm sure Chris is thankful for her because I don't tell him all the useless gossip I get off of facebook. Mrs. Brandi Romick is the kind of friend I can tell anything to. I can ask her anything and know I will get a straight answer, not the answer she thinks I want to hear. She and I can talk on the phone for hours about nothing at all. She is the one I call when I'm sad and the first one when I call when I'm happy. I told her I was expecting Corbin before I told my own mom. Heck I didn't even ask Chris how he felt (which I didn't have to really he smiled from the moment he woke me up to tell me I was pregnant) before I picked up the phone to call Brandi. I called her from the room the night I had Corbin because I was lonely (Chris was snoozing) She is the one I can't wait to share my stories with, and I can't wait to hear what's going on where she is. I love hearing about her kids and I can't wait to see them again! I hope she knows what all she means to me! Heck without her I wouldn't know Chris, I wouldn't be married to Chris, and if it weren't for Chris I wouldn't have Corbin. I feel like I owe her everything! I love you Brandi Romick! You are the greatest friend a girl could ask for! Mwah!

*Just to explain the picture...this was made the last night Brandi and Caleb came over to our house. And if you know anything about me...I'm not sun burnt in the picture, the moment I start drinking I break out and turn bright red and it lasts until the alcohol is out of my system...lovely huh?*

Day 6 of the Challenge

And the winner so far...Chris. I swear he cheats. It's not fair he can say he's gonna lose weight, he will go to sleep and wake up 2 pounds lighter. Anyway he has lost 5 pounds since the 1st and I've lost 4. Is he working out? No. I am walking at least a mile everyday, then holding a baby all day, and cleaning and cooking. And only 4 pounds lighter? Are you kidding me? Oh well. When the other person is ahead what are you supposed to do? Trick them. I found a delicious recipe for blueberry pound cake (knowing cake and blueberries are his weakness). So I made one. He's eating it right out of the palm of my hand. Waaa haaa haa haaaa (that's my evil laugh). Problem is, it is pretty tasty and I've found myself eating a nibble here and there. And I'm a slacker today I didn't walk. I'll pick back up tomorrow and maybe do a little more. Anyway that's about all going on here. I am refusing to buy anymore workout DVDs. I've just gotta stay motivated and away from that devilish blueberry pound cake!

Nothing Ever Stays the Same

It's fourth of July and what am I doing? Am I swimming? No. Am I soaking up the sun? No. Am I spending the day at the beach? No. I'm thanking God Corbin is taking a nap so I can get stuff ready for tonight. A few years ago July 4th meant waking up going to the pool, eating all day, and enjoying family. Today? We went to eat breakfast with Mom, Dad, and Robert. Then we came home. Corbin didn't sleep well last night thanks to our very inconsiderate neighbors who decided they would celebrate last night with fireworks starting at midnight :) So he's napping and I got a few things done for tonight. Things are constantly changing and sometimes I think they change for the better. Christmas and Easter were so sad for me. I remember as a kid going to Maw-Maw's for Christmas then going to Herman's for Christmas Dinner, then going back to my mom's to open gifts. This year? We had Christmas at my sister's and that was it. Maw Maw is in a nursing home and we don't get together with the rest of the family. I told Chris it didn't even seem like Christmas. He reminded me that what I remember is spending time with my grandparents, and that is exactly what Corbin will remember too. My parents are his grandparents, life is moving on. I know he's right but it's still hard to move on. Easter we did things at mom's but it was different. So anyway this 4 of the July is different but it's our 1st 4th of July and I'm completely smitten with this little boy and everything is good :) Happy 4th!

Happy 4th of July

Corbin and I have plans for tomorrow so I figured I would wish everyone a happy 4th of July today. We are going to spend the morning with my parents (hopefully by the pool), then we will come home and spend a few hours with Chris, then (the best part) we are going to Jen and Abby's. Abby is Corbin's 1st friend. It's kind of sad I have to have Corbin make friends for me :(
Oh well I'll take what I can get. I'm a little disappointed Chris has to work. He's worked on Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, his birthday, and Father's Day this year, but thank goodness he has my birthday, Corbin's birthday, and Christmas off this year! And I'm thankful he has a job this year so I won't complain. Anyway Happy 4th of you all and be safe!

Baby Cohen

Since I've become a mom I'm a sucker for pregnancy stories and babies. When I started reading Megan and Brent's blog I became interested to see how things would go for them. They were expecting a baby that had a heart defect. They didn't know exactly what to expect but they were hopeful. Cohen arrived here and fought hard to stay alive. He didn't stay here long, but the time they spent with him had to have been great. He was a beautiful little boy and I feel like I know them personally. The night that I saw that he had passed I was having an awful day. Nothing was going my way. I was so glad Corbin had gone to sleep and I was looking forward to just sitting down. Corbin is/was teething at the time and I thought I needed a break. Well I got on blogger and saw that he had died, and I began crying and didn't stop until I fell asleep that night. I thought about how I was wishing Corbin would just go to sleep so I could rest. How selfish is that? After I read their blog I wanted to run and wake my baby up just to hold him and tell him how much I love him. I thank God every day that Corbin is healthy and happy (99.9% of the time). You never know how lucky you are until you read some else's story. It can make you re-evaluate whats important. Now when Corbin gets fussy I'm glad he's fussy, it means he's growing and he's healthy. Anyway the point of me blogging was to say that in honor of Cohen tomorrow is his memorial service and their friends are vowing for a day of silence, no blogging no new status on Facebook.com simply Cohen. So now blog for tomorrow. I'm sure I will have lots of catching up to do on Friday. So tonight be sure to hold your babies a little closer and give them lots of loving :)

Here is their story if you are interested

www.inthiswonderfullife.com (Brent and Megan's story)

www.sendlovetocohen.blogspot.com

I Love A Challenge

So starting July 1st Chris and I are racing to lose 20 pounds! If I lose 20 pounds I will be back to almost what I weighed when Chris and I started dating. I don't want to lose the weight because of my looks at this point in life, it's honestly so I'm just a little bit healthier. We have lots of heart problems in our family and I don't want to have to worry about it. My little scare of high blood pressure after Corbin was born was enough for me. So I'm pigging out until the 1st. I think Chris is really determined and so am I. It's easier for me to workout because I'm at home all day. But for Chris he will really have to make time for it. Working 6 pm to 6 am then coming home and sleeping...well it doesn't leave much time for us and especially not a lot of time for a workout. I'm sure we will both do fine. I think if I just step up my walking a bit and cut out my late night snacks that should help. I've done the strip-arobics dvds (not fun), I've done the wii-fit (got bored with that), and I'm not joining a gym (i hate working out in front of people) so I think I will stick to walking with the baby and a few sit ups. Oh and lots of swimming. Ok so what's a challenge without a prize at the end? This challenge has the best prize of all! A healthier body? Heck no that's just a plus. The prize is...(drum roll please) Who ever loses 20 pounds first gets to sleep in...not one day but two days...back to back! Yes that would be heaven!!!! I've gotten to sleep in (count them) three days since I've had Corbin. Yes he sleeps with us (well ok he sleeps with me, Chris is usually at work or watching movies) and I would so love to have the bed to myself for a few hours! I'm secretly contemplating weighing down my pockets so I will weigh more at the weigh-in. Ok I'm kidding. Gotta play fair I guess. So that's what's going on in the Tweedell household. That and dealing with a fussy, very hot tempered, little boy who is teething, and thinking he's turning 2. That's life though, and I wouldn't have it any other way!

Funny How Things Change

Today I opened our mail box and you would have thought Ed McMahon had sent me the winning check from Publishers Clearing House. I got not one but TWO coupons for diapers! Yes diapers. I used to get excited when I got a magazine in the mail, now I'm getting all giddy over coupons, and for diapers at that. Boy having a baby will change you. But I couldn't be any happier. Yes I have my moments when I feel like all moms do. I feel overwhelmed, under appreciated, and looked over, but that just comes with the territory. Chris does a great job being a dad and giving me time to myself (most of the time). The only thing I've ever wanted is to be a mom and now I'm just that. Corbin's mom. And if coupons excite me then so be it :)

Ok think I'll try to get up and clean a little bit, then it's off to bed. Puppet Show in the morning. :)

Show Us Your Life-Activities for Kids

Ok so I've been following Kelly's Korner blog for quiet a while now. Every Friday she does this thing called Show Us Your Life. I've missed some really good topics, but since now I have a blog I'm so excited to participate. Today's topic is Activities for Kids. Now I love artsy fartsy stuff. I love making silly crafts out of toilet paper holders, or Popsicle sticks. There is a great website called www.dltk-teach.com
Since Corbin is just 8 almost 9 months old here's what we do everyday. He has is own dry erase board on the fridge. Every night I change the word of the day. Sometimes it's a color, sometimes it's a shape, or if I'm lucky and I know the theme of baby time that is the word. Every morning when he wakes up we go and look at the board. I tell him what the word is and all through out the day we talk about it. I think he's favorite word so far has been dog. He's gonna be a dog lover I'm afraid. It's exciting for me to come up with new stuff each night and I think right now I'm more excited about this than he is.

Anyway that's my idea. Take it or leave it. It's something simple yet fun. :)

What Will I Do?

I think the ride home from the hospital was the only car ride Corbin didn't scream through. Ever since then he has hated the car seat. At 4 or 5 months we switched to a "normal" car seat and got rid of the infant carrier, thinking maybe that would work. Nope. Now don't get me wrong every once in a while I can go from here to Wal-mart peacefully, if I let Chris drive and I ride in the back with tons of toys and snacks. We don't dare go any further without major backup. I think it's kind of cute that when we are in the car alone and he starts screaming that if I sing the Itsy Bitsy Spider he instantly stops crying. Wouldn't be great if that would always work when things weren't going his way. I can imagine him coming home heart-broken over his girlfriend or something and me just sitting him down and singing Itsy Bitsy Spider to him and then he walks away smiling thinking the world is a better place :) I'm enjoying every moment of motherhood from him starting to babble right down to him crying in the car. He's only gonna be little once right?

What A Day

Phew it's been a busy day. I managed to get a few miles in today walking. And I survived taking Corbin to Walmart all by myself. (patting myself on the back). I even took Corbin to the library for the Reptile Wrangler and I hate reptiles :0) Corbin went to sleep right on time tonight...around 8:15 he was out and he's only woken up once since then. Fingers crossed he actually sleeps tonight. I can't wait til he sleeps through the night again, but I'll probably still wake up in the middle of the night to make sure he is breathing or something silly like that. We've got a very busy weekend ahead. I can't decide which I like best...planning busy weekends or just taking it easy. If we don't have anything planned I tend to get bored. Then again when it's super busy I long to be at home playing in the floor with the baby. I'm a little hard to please. OK it's getting kinda late so I'm going to call it a night and go curl up in the bed with the baby.

Oh and look at this super adorable picture. This is Corbin and his first official play date with Ms. Abby! Isn't she a doll! I was super excited to get to go to the park this week so they could play. OK I was happy I got to talk to a grown-up besides Chris. We had a great time. I'm sure these two little bundles of joy are gonna be life long friends.

Here Goes Nothing...

So I decided that if Corbin could have a blog so could I. I guess honestly I probably won't have anything to blog about but I'll come up with something even if it's just new recipes that we've tried! So this is my first post :) Corbin's napping (not the norm lately) so I thought I would sit at the computer instead of doing one of the million other things that needs to be done. I'm actually going to attempt to go buy groceries today with him in tow. I am thinking at this moment I must be crazy or a gluten for punishment. We've got a busy stay at home weekend coming up so I want to be ready. Fridays when Chris works are always crazy so I'm trying to lessen the craziness by getting groceries out of the way today. Saturday we are throwing my mom a surprise birthday party and Sunday Mom is cooking a big dinner! And somewhere in between all that I plan on relaxing at the pool with my two favorite guys :) Did I mention I was making mom's cake? Fingers crossed it turns out right. OK little guy is waking up. So much for blogging today :)