.hunky.

  Before I get started, let me just say that I call Brian "my hunky"; I don't care if it makes you gag, it's just the way of it... soooooooo yeah.  Deal. : )

Anyway,  he just left for work... again.  I guess that's the brutal trade-off of getting to be stay-at-home "house-mommy": Brian works his butt off and picks up all the extra time he's even allowed to pick up.  I try to tell him often, but I don't think he'll ever quite get exactly how much I appreciate his devotion - not to work, but to us, our son, our family.  Granted, it would be impossible for me to work as a reserve flight attendant with a child (not to mention an infant!).  But, it's still a lot of days and nights he spends away just to make sure our little family stays afloat. 

I'm not writing this morning (holy moly, almost afternoon!!) to mope about our "financial situation."  Actually, quite the opposite.  I just got the urge to brag on my hunky.  He reminded me, as he left for work, that this was the 1st of the last 3 times he was going to be leaving us for work as an FO (first officer, for those of you who don't know airline lingo!).  Next week he begins training for his upgrade, not only to a captain (!!!!!) but also for a new airplane (the Canadair CRJ-700).  Can I just say, "Wow!"  We thought this would happen, you know, a couple of years from now was the hope.  Before Thanksgiving last year, while in South Carolina, he got the call... our prayers were answered and it would be happening this year.  There really could not have been a better time... well, maybe a couple of years ago would've been nice, but, hey, beggars cannot be choosers, right??  I am so proud of him - his hardwork and determination.  It's all about to pay off (literally!).

I think a lot of people wondered if, with the way our marriage came to be, maybe we were jumping head first into something without being in the right "place."  For some reason, it just occured to me to write this out.  Maybe because, with every new day, I fall more in love with my husband, my son, my life.  I had so many bad experiences, bad choices, mistakes, and things didn't always happen the way I envisioned (I know I'm not the only one in the world who can say that).  But, I have to make this very clear to you: I cannot bring myself to regret any of it.  Not a thing.  Because anytime I reflect on the life before Chicago, before Brian and Jackson, I think, "Man, one tiny change... one single thing happening different... I would not be here."  It's not an exaggeration.  Things happened in a very specific pattern to push me into the airlines, into moving to Chicago, and what did I get?  I met my husband.  A wonderful, loving, caring, handsome man who makes me laugh everyday.  He's one of only a couple of men who have shown me what uncondtional love is (I'm including family here, folks, don't get carried away!).  I never thought I'd find that outside of my family.  I searched for it everywhere... not always in the best places, people, or activities.  That love that envelopes you for exactly what you are and nothing else. 

There are still things I want to accomplish.  I really want to get into nursing, and I want to finish a degree at Clemson, and I want to get back into the theatre.  And this is the first in my life where I feel all of that is completely within reach, because I have completed my circle of inspiration and support - from it's foundation in South Carolina (my mama is the reason I have had strength to fight through the bad and see the good, my grandmother gives me wings, and my aunt has always been someone I looked up to) to my new family here in Illinois.  It's a great feeling.  A warmth and comfort and satisfaction that is brand new. 

I don't think I'll have a lot of sloppy, mushy entries like this.  I just had a moment of reflection after Brian left for work that I wanted to get "onto paper."  I hear someone waking up from his morning nap, so I had better go for now. 

So, until next time, remind someone you love how much you appreciate them!

My hunky! <3

.reflection.

  So, last night I realized that unconsciously I added an extra little step to our (Jackson and my) bed time routine.  Every night, while he drinks his bottle I read a book to him - a side note, this is such a cute time to me because he actually pays attention to the book.  I SWEAR!  He can be closing his eyes or flailing his arms and looking everywhere, but when I start reading he stops and watches the pictures, and I would swear he is actually listening to every word intently!  Then it's time to "rock rock."  Which is another part that I really love because he's so darn cuddly.  It doesn't take long before he's a sack of potatoes and I enjoy another minute or two of snuggles before I take him to bed.  Here's where it happens: the guest bathroom is on the way to his room (right beside it, in fact) and I realize now that it has become habit that I stop in the bathroom and look at us in the mirror.  He always falls asleep with his face looking away from mine when we rock rock, and so at some point I started looking at him laying on me in the mirror because it makes me smile.  Well, I don't remember the time that I started doing this, but last night I realized that it something I do EVERYtime I rock him to sleep.  I just love seeing his sweet little face sound asleep.  I know how fast time flies and how much he changes just day-to-day; I think I do this to keep the memory of his sweet baby face fresh in my mind for the long run.  Because there will come a day when he no longer wants to "rock rock" or be held at all, and so every moment he spends in my arms is a moment I hold onto dearly!  I don't look forward to the end of our new routine, and so, until then, I soak in every moment!

Night Night, Sweet Angel

.catch-up.

I'm beginning to think that maybe my blog will be composed of posts that happen in clumps if I don't start writing when I think to write.  Sorry, folks.  It's funny because I am constantly thinking of things I'd like to post, and then something else comes up and I don't get to it.  I can't really blame it on baby because I follow enough blogs by people who have babies.  So, I think it can really only be blamed on scatter-brained me!  At any rate, let's get things back up to speed:

This month has been a busy one for us.  We went to the Chicago Auto Show the Tuesday after Valentine's Day.  It was a lot of fun (though much more exhausting with a 4-month old!).  It was so funny to think that last year when we were there, Brian and I found so much excitement in the idea that "Next year, we'll have a 4-month old with us."  It was almost surreal to walk around a year later with a stroller and all the provisions an infant requires.  Blessed, we are.  So, of course, here's a picture or two from this year's Auto Show:

Excited, obviously. : )



One of the many pitstops of the day!

    We celebrated Megan's 2nd birthday with the family.  It involved some really good pizza, really good company, and lots of pink sparkly things for sweet little Megan.  It also strengthened my desire for a little girl for our second child... I loved looking for the little girl stuff!  Don't get it twisted, though... I LOVE my boy!!  I always wanted a blonde-headed blue-eyed boy followed by a blonde-headed blue-eyed girl, so I'm well on my way!  But, of course, besides the fact that our second is quite a time away, I'll be happy with whatever we get!  I don't know how it happened that we didn't get ANY pictures of little Megan, but we did get a picture of Jackson with cousin Dante that is just PRECIOUS!  Here it is: (c'mon did you think I'd tease ya and not post the picture??)

Last (for now) but not least we took a little trip to San Antonio.  Literally.  Brian had 4 days off (Sunday thru Wednesday) so we thought, "Okay, let's head somewhere Sunday thru Tuesday."  We chose San Antonio because that's where I was born and, for years, I have been DYING to get back.  The weather forecast was warm, and we got deals on the hotel and car so it set up nicely.  Sunday started out rocky - our first choice of flight was canceled and the chain reaction from that knocked us off the second choice.  So we had lunch at Chili's in the airport and hung out in the non-rev lounge for about 3 hours and finally made the last flight out.  Of course, the fun of flying didn't end there - we actually sat on the runway for another hour and a half before FINALLY taking off on our 3-hour flight.  Jackson was a champ and we finally landed in balmy SA, got the car, drove the short 20-minute drive to the beautiful and historic Emily Morgan Hotel and settled in for the night.  Or so we thought.  An hour after drifting off, Jackson woke up screaming with a stuffy nose.  I felt awful for my little guy.  I walked the room and rocked him and sang to him until finally he went back to sleep.  I propped up on pillows in the bed and held him since he was sleeping more soundly than he was in a crib.  After about 3 hours of sleep he was up again, miserable and moany.  So I remembered that the hotel shampoo in the bathroom was rosemary/mint which is similar to what is in ches rubs  (I had not brought the baby chest rub because I had no intention of needing it... lesson learned).  I stripped him down, rubbed the shampoo on his chest and belly, turned the shower on steam-hot with the head pointed toward the wall and sat down in the huge jacuzzi tub with him in my lap.  It worked like a charm and he perked back up a bit.  After the "shower treatment" I wrapped him in a warm towel and he went right to sleep.  Again, I held him as he slept and tried to catch some zzz's myself before we resumed our morning at about 7.  He was much happier (though still not feeling great) so I handed him to daddy and went to get ready.  When I came out this is what I saw...

PRECIOUS!

I couldn't resist capturing the moment!  After letting them sleep for a couple more hours (I figured, Jackson definitely needed the rest and since he was getting it snuggled with Daddy I'd let Daddy get the extra sleep, too!)  We ended up heading out around 9:30, stopped by the Alamo for a second before heading down to the famed RiverWalk where we ate breakfast and spent most of the morning.  Then, we headed back up to the Alamo to actually do the walk around - Sidenote: it is crazy to think of the things that happened on those grounds and the people who were there... I mean Davy Crockett??!?!  Really??? While we were there the sun popped out and the temperature & humidity headed up and it. was. HEAVEN.  Though it was also naptime for everyone.  After a quick cat nap in the hotel room, we headed back to the RiverWalk for some drinks at an outdoor restaurant (and, of course, Brian enjoyed his first cigar in San Antonio!).  We did more walking around the RiverWalk and had a DELICIOUS dinner at Saltgrass on the RiverWalk.  After a better - not perfect - night's sleep we got packed and ready and headed out again for a walk to Produce Row where we ate at one of THE greatest Mexican restaurants we've ever been to, Mi Tierra.  With full tummies, we walked back to get our car and hit the road.  We decided to fit in a trip to Natural Bridge Caverns just 30 minutes from the airport.  What a COOL (well, actually about 77 degrees with 99% humidity) place! 180 feet below ground with rooms that could fit a football field with room to spare!  The formations are thousands and THOUSANDS of years old, and it's just amazing to stand in awe of such things!  After surfacing, it was back in the car and back to the airport.  Shout out to Luis, a friend an fellow flight attendant, who brought us up to first class for the 3hour flight back to Chicago which was amazing. 
So, here are some pictures from the trip:

So, that's February so far.  I have more to post, but someone is waking up from his nap, so it'll have to wait until later today!  Until then!