Goodwill Finds, Picture Dump, and Sewing!

My first sewing project!!  A messenger bag complete with pockets using ugly material that I don't care about! :)

Second project - Bibs complete with snaps!

Sigh...James needs an iron...or maybe just a momma who will actually put forth effort in taking care of clothes

I've found some GEMS at Goodwill lately...

What: Braves Onesie, size 9 months

Retail Price: $20.00

Purchased for: $1.00

What: John Deere Onesie/Romper, size 9 months

Retail Price: Who knows?

Purchased for: $2.00

 Don't you love that tiny smile? (Ignore the mess in the background)

What: Gray and Black plaid Dress Coat for Grey's Admin Days

Retail Price: $70.00+

Purchased for: $5.00

What: Shirts including a Ralph Lauren polo, a Tommy Hilfiger Polo, a scarf, a maternity shirt that can and will be worn not pregnant, a talbots tunic, an apt 9 shirt, and some other stuff!

Retail Price: Who knows...tons of money though for the polos alone

Purchased for: $15.00

Hope you guys had a fantastic Memorial Day!!  Thank you to all the service men who have paid the ultimate price fighting for my freedom!

Where does my joy come from?

This is a hard time. Don't get me wrong. I love having a son and I love staying at home with him. But it's hard.
James won't take a bottle. This means that the two of us are forever attached for the next couple of months. Have we tried bottles multiple times? Yes. Have we tried different kinds? Yes. Have we tried different nipples and different flows? Yes.
I try to not complain but I think Grey would tell you that I haven't done the best job of succeeding.
This weekend is Memorial day weekend. Grey got to go shooting on Saturday. He's going fishing with some buddies tomorrow morning. We both went to a cookout tonight and I ended up leaving without dinner because it was James's bedtime and the food wasn't ready. Grey got to stay and hang out.
I literally feel like my life has completely stopped and I'm the only one living in this crazy bubble. So...the blog title?
This week, I want to focus on being thankful that I get to sacrifice my time for a tiny little man.  Where does my joy come from? Christ.
Jesus is all I need. He died for me, paying the ultimate sacrifice so that I may live in true freedom.  James is a blessing and in my troubles, Jesus will give me peace.

Makeup Mugshot Monday

I'm hoping to really get into some sewing this summer once Grey is home to watch James so I'll try and keep you updated on all my projects.  Just to give you a heads up, I've bought a pattern for bermuda shorts...oh la la! :)

MMM

Makeup Mugshot Monday!
First of all, Happy Mother's Day!!!
Second, James is 4 months old!!

He's completely in 6 month clothes with some of those being too short.  He's still exclusively breastfed...go me!!!  He nurses anywhere from 10-20 minutes total for each session which is drastically different from those awful 1 hr sessions in the beginning.  He refuses to take a bottle still.  He has one tooth on the side and 3-4 coming in on the bottom front.  
We have drastically back tracked with the sleeping this month. Apparently kiddos go through a sleep regression around the 3-4 month mark where they're not sleeping like newborns anymore.  Combining this with the WAY EARLY teething thing, we've gotten up 8-10 times (sometimes every hour if not every 30 minutes)  for the past couple of weeks.  We get a good day in there maybe once a week where he sleeps for a 3 hour stretch.  It's been hard!  He was eating at 8 and then sleeping till 2 or 3 in the morning and now we're back to going to bed at 7:30, waking up at 8:15, 8:45, 9:30, 10, 11, 11:30...esh.
Needless to say, Grey and I have been in bed before 9:00 every night for the past 2-3 weeks.  It wears on you!

James is starting to grow up!  He has found 1 of his feet, he's holding his head up like a champ, he can sit up great in the bumbo, he has REALLY strong legs, he's rolling from side to side, he's grabbing anything and everything including your face, and he can laugh!  He has started NOT liking to be held like a baby.  He'd much rather be sitting upright or standing and he wants to look out.  He also has started not liking to be held by people that he doesn't see very often.  He's a BIG fan of Mommy (which I love but I think Grey is jealous). :)
He's got his 4 month appointment coming up next week where he'll get his next round of shots.  He still has NOT mastered rolling front to back or vice versa and he will not do tummy time long enough to push up on his arms.

1 year ago....

(My sister did a blog post like this with her first and I thought it was the coolest thing ever...so here you go!)
1 year ago this week, Grey was told that if his job in Greenville ended up croaking, he could have his current one back.
1 year ago today, I realized I was late.
1 year ago today, I told both the school book keeper and my mom that I was late and they BOTH tried to convince me that it was merely due to the stress with Grey's job.  Psh.
1 year ago today, I randomly stopped at a gas station to buy a test purely for peace of mind.
1 year ago today, I took the test when Grey wasn't home and prayed for peace whichever way.
1 year ago today, I got the SHOCK of my life when I saw two lines.
1 year ago today, Grey came home and I gently tried to explain what the pregnancy test meant.  He didn't believe me.
1 year ago today, Grey made me go out and buy 3 more tests.
1 year ago today, I took two more tests at night and both were positive. Grey still didn't believe me.
1 year ago TOMORROW, I took 1 more test in the morning and it was as clear as ever.  Grey finally believed me.

1 year ago today, I had NO idea what true sleep deprivation meant. (And once again, we have a great baby).
1 year ago today, I had no idea how hard pregnancy could be (and I had an easy one).
1 year ago today, I had no idea how hard labor could be (and I had a *relatively* easy time).

1 year ago today, I had no idea how I would struggle with motherhood - how I would become bitter at how sore my entire body was, how I would struggle with the awfulness of breast feeding, how I would learn what exhausted really meant.
1 year ago today, I had no idea that my diet would be affected, still to this day.  
1 year ago today, I had no idea how much guilt I would feel when it took a good couple of weeks to really feel connected with my baby.

1 year ago today, I had no idea how exhausting, how exciting, how frustrating, and how worthwhile having a baby would be. 
Is it worth it?  Absolutely yes. Will I do it again? NO! :) 
Is it the hardest thing you've ever done? Yes. Do I constantly doubt my decisions?  Yes.  Do Grey and I argue about the right way to do things?  Yes. 

Once again I ask, is it really worth it?  Yes. Yes. Yes. :)

James is 4 months old today!! I'll try and do a post on that later. :)

Sweet Baby Giggles

Selfie Sunday

We had some more interest in our house today so keep us in your thoughts!!!  We're ready to SELL THIS BAD BOY!!

Ahhhhh.....

I finally got the internet to work. Woo Hoo!

 In. Love. With these blue eyes!!!