It's been a while.

I haven't blogged in a long time....
Well FOREVER. I have totally dropped the ball.  My last post was from 2013.

A lot has happened since we last met.

I had a little girl.

This is Palmer McCall Tallent.  She is almost TWO now.  She's the most awesome little girl on the planet.  She loves to read books.  She's SASSY.  She's sweet. She's HILARIOUS.  I call her a little pixie cause she's so tiny.  She's just wonderful.  She has my heart.

And this is Cray.  Ya'll haven't seen him in a while.  He is three now! He is such a SWEETHEART! He is the most kind child you will ever meet.  He loves everybody, and everybody is his friend.  He has my heart too.

And here's Adam. still doing his thing.  Coaching.  Being an awesome dad.  and still melting my heart every single day.

We sold our house.  Rented for a whole year.  and built a brand new house.  On my great grandmother's old property.  In the "holler" where I grew up as a child.  My kids love it as much as I did. 

 

I am back at it and promise to do better this time.  Looking forward to starting to blog again! Stay tuned.

You wouldn't think you'd need this.... but you will... for all my moms to be.

 

Two of my best friends have been expecting baby boys!  My friend Sarah was due February 5th so her little bundle has just arrived.... weighing in at 9lbs 8oz. 21 inches long! YOWZA!  We went and visited Mr. Brentley Knox Holbrooks and he is such a doll!

So anyway... my other friend Annie is due March 9! and she emailed me the other day asking what all I had taken to the hospital, what I wish I would have taken, and what she should have on hand at home.... So, after looking back on the horror film that was giving birth... I came up with this response to her (take heed to my warnings moms to be... take heed).

So for the hospital I took:
Clothes for me for two days (sweat pants, tshirts, loose fitting,) you will be wearing those whale diapers after labor for about 4-6 days so you want something that is not only going to be comfortable, but you kinda want to hide that giant pad you'll be toting around :) You also want to make sure to pick shirts that are easy to maneuver in for breast feeding (make sure to pack nursing cami's and nursing bras.  Better get you some BIG comfy underwear or those boxer briefs for girls (i'm telling you those pads they make you wear are HUGE).  Or you can just steal a few pairs of those big mesh panty/short things they give you.... your choice.
Slippers!
Boppy (i didn't take this but wish I would have).
Your own shampoo, body wash, wash cloth, towels, toothbrush, deodarant, hairbrush, hairbows etc.  (I forgot shampoo and wash and had to use the hospitals and it SUCKS! it's like hotel stuff but worse!... more like sandpaper).
For Baby I packed, clothes, diapers, burp cloths, receiving blankets, and a cute take home outfit.  They bathe baby by sponge there so you wont' have to worry about bathing stuff for him until you get home. 

Somethings you will want on hand at home, that you may already not have.  I had none of this and constantly had people running stuff over to me.  Antiseptic spray and a water bottle.  They sent one home with me thank God, you'll see why, and they will explain all that to you.  But the antiseptic they send you home with isn't enough, trust me! And you need to get the kind that looks like it's in an aerosol can, this shit is AMAZING that cooling sensation just can't be beat :)
You'll need thinner but still what we would consider HUGE pads... the whale pads can go after a few days at home but you'll still be scary down there, and need some of those on hand.
Tylenol
And Vaseline (you'll need this for little man's circumcision spot, if you're doing that, if not disregard this note). And QTIPS.

That's kind of all I can think of for now.... If I come up with anything else I'll let you know.  Or if you just need anyone to terrify you any more just see me... :)

Music Problems...

So for the most part I'm a country girl... growing up in the mountains of Western North Carolina your whole life, how can you not love country music?  Who doesn't love them some Tim McGraw and Luke Bryan (in the words of Brett Michaels... HI-YOOOO)?.... Now, hold up a second before you get all "what a redneck on me".... I LOVE all kinds of music... you should see my pandora lineup! 

Anyways.... there have been a couple songs come out lately that I just cannot, for the life of me, understand why in the hell anyone would listen to them.... 

take this tune for instance:

 
Here is what they are saying for the most part... just in case you couldn't catch it from the fantastic video....All I can say is WTF, WTF, WTF??

Sam and the Womp - Bom Bom

I'm the cat with the bass and drum, going 'round like Bom Bom Bom!  

What's grooving? I'm moving. 

I like your style of Womping! How charming! 

Just a rapper - load him up and eat that snapper!  

I want 16 pints of rum and then I go Bom Bom!  

Going up in the dark of the night and so I go ooh ah ah ah ah. 

I... I've brought a pie in my pocket, pie in my pocket, an eye in my socket.  

[I've] got life, [I've] got style, [I've] got nothing on my mind. 

I'm so cool, I'm so groovy, when I go Bom Bom Bom!

I just have a few questions and thoughts... 

-what is womping? and why is it charming?

-I hope a snapper isn't what I think it is.....

-why is she toting a pie in her pocket... and i'm glad she left her eye in her socket (that would make her more freaky than she is already)

-And I suppose so long as they've got life and style nothing else matters which is a plus because I'm pretty sure.... if nothing else... they've got issues....  

Any thoughts or input would be fantastic... if you like the song don't bother commenting we can no longer be friends.

 

Take it Back Tuesday...Back to who he used to be.

  

it's tuesday, which means it's time to take it back!

time to link up with jenn for another take it back Tuesday.

all ya gotta do is grab their button, meet new friends, and talk about the good ol' days.

ready, set, go!

 

Today I want to go back to a time... really before my time.... to that of my husband....

Back to when he used to look like this....
Aww... Just look at that little guy!  Riding his plastic horse on bungee chords! Ya'll remember those?  Even I had one of those... It was great until the springs rusted.....Then you'd just be riding along one day and POP you're laying on the ground.... 

 Then we move on to this photo.... Adam and his jorts!  Nothing is sexier than a pair of Jorts....

 Yowzer! Look at those tube socks... or short shorts... or white tennies... there's just too much blast from the past going on here....

 Who doesn't want to go back to the day where it's ok to pee your pants?? I know I'd love to revisit this time... I mean there are days where I'm just like, "do I really feel like getting up and going to the bathroom? (you know when you're in the middle of a great movie, and you don't want to pause it)... but then I have to, because it's not ok to pee your pants once you hit a certain age.... whatev...

 Bless his heart.... yes this is the same kid (my now ever so handsome hubby).... those are cloth shorts.... again, with the tube socks... back when they actually still made you wear a jersey instead of lame t-shirts like they do nowadays  (and yes they were always way way too big for you, clearly no matter how big you were, YIKES!)

 This is one of my fav collages of all time... a glimpse through time... even to the buzz cut....

I just love to reminisce.  

 

Things that Happen When a Babies in the Room...

I was telling this story to my friend Jenn this morning (to which she laughed hysterically)... and I told her, "you know if that wasn't so personal and graphic, I would blog about it today".... but the more I thought about it (considering it was the highlight of my last two days),  I figured what the heck I'll share it anyways.... 

So let me preface by saying our nine month old son, has a crib still set up in our room.... We have a two story home, and only one bedroom (our master) upstairs... and I just haven't been able to move him downstairs ALONE yet.... So, nonetheless he sleeps in our room, and when I'm too tired to mess with putting him in his crib, I still let him sleep with us (I know, I know supermoms, I'm the devil, I get it).  

So anyway.... Last night we got Cray to sleep and into his crib and we fell asleep... Well about 12:45am Cray woke up and in about ten minutes my husband got him back to sleep (in his crib)... and Adam decided he wanted a little BOW CHICKA WOW WOW.... (probably cause of that super sweet blog I wrote about him yesterday, or he was having dreams about that damn Jennifer Aniston again... whatev). 

So, the whole err,err,err,err begins and all of a sudden Adam says, "Tiffani, he's awake, and he's standing up"....

OH MY GOSH! AWKWARD!

 

So, Adam goes over to the crib... and says "hey buddy it's ok" and picks him up...brings him over to our bed and lays him down... at this point I am standing towards our bathroom kind of out of sight... and of course Cray spots me..... And while I know this child has no clue what in the heck is going on.. I am mortified! 

So, to make a long story short.... we finally get him back to sleep, our bed is now occupied, and we have to ummmm... complete our exercise on the FLOOR!

All of my tired, overworked, never get alone time moms know exactly what I'm talking about! 

 So rock on moms! Rock on with floor exercise! Do what you gotta do!

Happy Friday Everybody! 

 

Hard to Love...

It's about to get MUSHY up in herrr.....

There are A LOT of days that I take my husband for granted.... 

Some Common Complaints/Comments I find myself making:

Why does he call me sixty times a day?!

Why does it matter if the bed is made before we are about to sleep in it!?

Yes, ADAM I took my vitamins!

Ok, ADAM I'll pick up my clothes! 

Why doesn't he ask me to iron his clothes?! Does he not think I do it right?!

He doesn't hug me enough, kiss me enough, show me affection, send me flowers, blah blah blah blah!

And then something will happen... like today... when I talk to a friend who is into an argument with their spouse... and I instantly become so thankful for mine......

I'm thankful:

that he text me every morning and says, "good morning I love you, have a good day"

that EVERY single time we hang up the phone he says, "bye I love you"... even if we have just argued....

that even though it seems like he calls me A LOT.....that he calls... and sometimes... it's just to talk....

that he makes sure I take my prenatals and vitamin D before bed.... 

that even though the kiss may not be some long drawn out passionate ordeal... he still kisses me every night before bed... sometimes he even wakes me up to kiss me... (like last night, and I was irritated because I was so sleepy)...

that every Sunday and Wednesday he makes sure my butt is in a church pew.... even when I'd rather sleep in, or go do something else....

that he chooses to iron his own clothes/do his own laundry.... because he knows I'm tired and he doesn't want to bother me.... 

that he works hard and even coaches nine months out of the year to provide for our family...

that I can see the joy in his eyes when our son says "da da".... 

that at night he lays with his hand on my belly, just hoping to be able to feel baby girl move a little....

There is so much more that I am thankful for, when it comes to my husband.... And I'm sure if a lot of us would take the time, we would realize how truly blessed we are... We have had our ups and downs... we have even had to find our way back to eachother... but at the end of the day what matters most... is that....

.your husband is your best friend.

.you have eachother's back.... no matter what.

.you respect one another.

. hold no grudges, it should be about who can say the're sorry the fastest.

.that I look at him the same today as I did seven years ago, with that same passion.

.that I look at him with more LOVE today than I did seven years ago.

And most importantly that he loves me as much as he loves GOD.... and because of that greater Love, everything else will fall in place.

The Weather I hate makes me look forward to the weather I dread...

So, our little town of Franklin, NC has literally flooded today.  I'm talking feet and feet of water!  They shut down the middle of town, literally.  I've never seen flooding this bad.

 

And weather like this really makes me think of weather to come... ahhh SUMMER! And then I remember I'm going to be 30 to 40 pounds overweight, looking like I've swallowed an excercise ball... So which is worse, rain or an ever so fat summer....Oh you skinny bikini wearing "b's"... I loathe you! 

let me just share what I have to look forward to.  

 

I'm sorry... is this a dress or a bathing suit... because back in the day I would have been "up in da club" grooving to my jams in this....

 

Nothing says pregnancy is sexy quite like tassles.... 

 

I just simply refuse to be that girl.... 

  

Or this one for that matter.... I mean what the hell, seriously...

 

And nothing says summer quite like jean shorts, pale legs, and elastic.... Oh the elastic.....So rain on mother nature, rain on....