"Messy"

I celebrated my 31st birthday last Friday, and I had a great dinner with the family, complete with mexican food, cheesecake & some great gifts. Oh, and the weather that day was gorgeous too. I am a lucky lady in the fact that I always seem to have great birthday celebrations, and not that I come to expect them, but they just seem to turn out well. What I did not expect this year was to wake up about an hour after I had gone to bed and suddenly feel sick...I had eaten at least 3 hours earlier, and for some reason I then woke up to feeling too full & green around the gills...I will spare you the details, but...I vomited...again, and again (that's 3 times if you're counting). I guess baby #2 does not like mexican...I had to work the next morning at 3:30am, and this cleaning up situation was not going to be an easy process. I had made it to the bathroom, and that was the best I could do. It was gross. No, really. Gross. I called downstairs to Nick who was watching TV with Tina & Scott who stayed to hang after the festivities, and he came right up & saw the damage I had inflicted on our poor helpless bathroom. It was gross. Gross.

Where I go from here is the reason I'm writing this post. Nick told me to go back to bed & he would clean up. This was not just any clean-up, this was the clean-up of all clean-ups. The motherload of clean-ups if you will...and without hesitation, he started to work. I was really tired & a little out of it, so I got back into bed & only really remember opening my eyes once to see him on the floor with his t-shirt covering his nose. And that was it. To me, this is why Nick, Grady and I are who we are-"messy".

In case you didn't know, "messy" isn't just a word anymore, it's a phrase. It comes from a talk show we now watch & has oddly become a household favorite (even for Grady), called "The Wendy Williams Show". I listened to Wendy on the radio when we lived in Memphis, and when I saw she was getting a syndicated tv show, I knew I would watch, but I did not expect Nick to like it, and by no means expected Grady to even look at it. But the music, set & over-the-top look of Wendy herself made Grady take notice, and Nick can appreciate anyone who says it like it is, (wendy said on her show last week Lindsey Lohan is the oldest looking young person she has ever seen...LOL), so every night after bath, we are watching Wendy Williams. One of things she constantly calls herself & her show is "messy". But, she describes "messy" as a wonderful compliment...She said, "It means there’s always something askew or there’s always a hair or 10 out of place. It’s fabulous, but there’s always that one thing that makes you say, “What the heck?” Like a beautiful outfit with a visible panty line. That makes us human. We’re all messy in our own way."

I'm not sure if it's the lack of female influence in my household growing up (as my dad would say), or just the way God made me, but I am rare to get too emotional, gushy, etc. in a public kind of way. I have all the emotions, more now with having babies, but I still have this little fence I like to keep which allows me to reserve the real emotions to my private time. The fence is not a 6 ft. privacy fence, more like a 4 ft. fence that you can see through, but there is still a boundry clearly marked for visitors. I often don't gush over much. There may be gushing in my mind, or thoughts that I wish I would say, but I don't. I'm sure there's a therapist out there willing to take my money to explain that to me, but I think I'll just stick with that's just who I am, thank you very much. I would call this "messy".

But, you know, I will take the "messy"...I think Nick and I have both inherited the "messy" from our families, and it IS wonderful. When Grady has an absolute meltdown everytime he goes into the church nursery, or when Nick eats things he knows are totally NOT from the suggested list from Dr. Tyznik's food suggestions, it's just the "messy" kind of people we are. But, you know what, not to gush, but I have a husband who will put his shirt over his nose & clean up my vomit. And not that I hope to return the favor...but if I had to, I would clean up his vomit in a heartbeat too. And I know that Nick will get this, even if no one else does. I hope we are able to teach both our boys that words are always nice, but our family will get down on their knees & clean up your mess. We will embrace your "messiness" & make no judgements.

Happy Halloween!!!

We started off Halloween by going to the church Halloween party on the 28th...Grady was a clown, and was none too happy about the hat....The church was FULL of kids, so Grady was pretty intimidated by the experience (he wouldn't even go to Uncle Scott!), so I had a boy in my lap all night...Still good to get out & enjoy the festivities though...my oldest friend Tami & I passed out candy, and there were at least 500 kids from the community there for all the fun.

The 29th was the neighborhood trick-or-treat night, and Grady was a pumpkin (all costumes provided by Gram...she loves shopping for this stuff!). Well, Grady loved it! I think he mostly loved being able to be outside (his favorite activity, rain or shine is just to be running around our front yard & driveway picking up leaves, etc...not always my favorite activity), but Gram took him down the street, and he returned home with a bucket of candy! I was so proud that he was brave enough to do it....the only house he wouldn't do was one that was really decorated scary & had a moving life size skeleton out front...can't blame him for that! Jeff & Lauren brought cousin Samantha over for pizza & cookies, and Samantha was totally cute dressed in a lobster costume! Nick was in Colorado for work, and was really disappointed he had to miss the holiday. He loves this stuff, so I tried to do my best by calling & texting him about our time. Hopefully next year he will be home for the fun.

Cousins after a BIG night of fun!

Back to the Patch!

(Uncle Nick & our niece Samantha...she loved the Bjorn!)

(Gram & Grady)

(Better weather....better mood! He had a blast!)

(our little group heading out to the patch...Grady was a good baby bump hider...)

We were able to try the pumpkin patch once again since the last trip a couple of weeks ago was a total bust. This day was picture-perfect!! It was 70 degress, and the sun was out! We picked a different place to go this time, and there was more for Grady to do at this place as well...there was a huge pumpkin you can send the littles ones in, and Grady wasn't afraid at all...he was in there running around with all the kids, and I thought he would get scared all alone, but not a bit! They also had corn sandboxes to play in, which Grady played in a very orderly fashion...I don't think he liked the mess (he comes by that trait honestly)...Nick also stocked up on cider & donuts (who's the pregnant one here?), so we had some treats to head home with. Gram came with us once again, and I think she had as much fun as Grady. Cousin Samantha enjoyed being carried around in the Bjorn & was very smiley the whole time...until we gave her a bottle and after that & all the entertainment, she was asleep for at least 2 hours...Overall, a very worth it trip! Love the fall!

(Grady in the corn sandbox)

(running in the inflatable pumpkin)

What A Difference a Year Makes!

Grady- October 2008


Grady- October 2009!!!

I can't believe this time last year we toted around our little baby boy to Circle S Farms, and this year Grady is a toddler who knows what he wants...and on this day, he wanted AWAY from the cage-free roosters running around. We ended up going to Pigeon Roost Farm this time around, and it didn't turn out to be a very successful trip. As we were driving the 18 miles to get there the weather turned from gray & cloudy to raining & cold! So we basically arrived, grabbed 2 pumpkins, walked around for maybe 15 minutes & left. Gram (Tina), and cousin Samantha came too, and I think we were all bummed the day turned out so crummy...I'm thinking a re-do to our fall harvest festivities is in order...

(Cousin Samantha...pretty sure she's wondering when we're leaving...)

GREAT Uncle Jeff & Aunt Kay!

Just had to post some pics of a fabulous visit from my Uncle Jeff and Aunt Kay, also now known as GREAT Uncle Jeff and Aunt Kay...great in so many ways! They flew in from Dallas on Thursday, and stayed with us until Saturday, so we were able to enjoy some quality time with gorgeous weather to boot. We mostly lounged around eating & spending time outside...We went down to Creekside to walk & look at the ducks, and then headed to Easton on Friday to walk again, and had a great time watching Grady discover the jumping water fountain & train track...We stuffed our faces at a BBQ at our house, and took in some Mexican Friday night at Abuelos...delish!

For the last month or so Grady has been going through a little shy stage, so I was worried he would be the boy behind his mom's skirt (or maternity tent in my case), but he made a liar of me! He warmed up very quickly, and by the end of their visit Grady was just barging in their room to see what they were doing whenever he pleased! I was so glad they were able to experience the happy boy we know & love!

Uncle Jeff and Aunt Kay have been staples in my life from the beginning, and alot of my childhood memories involve trips & vacations with them, so I am so happy they are able to still be apart of this chapter my life....

A Much Needed Day...

Nick was out of town this past week, and we planned an overnight trip to Amish Country with Tina and Lauren while he was gone...Who would have known that a boy who is normally pretty easy would wake up from an afternoon nap miserable...and it would last for the next 24 hours we were in Amish Country. I consider Grady to be pretty advanced in most areas, but 2 areas he is NOT advanced in are growing hair, and growing teeth...while his first 4 front teeth have been in for a while, the rest are just taking their sweet time...BUT, 3 more teeth decide to start cutting through at the same time, and this poor guy was in baby hell...He had a fever, and when that happens all he wants is his mom & dad...but guess what, Dad wasn't there, and his 7 months pregnant mom has a hard time holding him for long periods of time, so you can imagine the day that transpired from there. Not even the Amish, or their country, could make this boy smile. Luckily we were with Gram & Aunt Lauren, who love him even on a day that would make a grown man curl up in a corner & cry, and we got through it, and hopefully next time things will be better. Despite all that, I really think Amish Country is a beautiful place, and boy, can those folks cook! And although Grady was not himself, Tina did seem to enjoy the fact that he would curl up on her in a rocking chair, and completely pass out in her arms...

So, of course, in the never-ending world of things I learn in parenthood, I only had to travel a mere 3 miles from our house down to Creekside to enjoy an afternoon with my boy...He was all recovered from those mean, no-good, nasty teeth growing in on him (how dare they!), so we went down to Olde Gahanna to feed the ducks. It was a gorgeous day, and we did a little mother-son bonding while feeding the ducks my old bread (recycle!)...I snapped the pics above with my phone, and I think they are the best pics I've gotten of Grady in a while...

My Book Worm

I walked into the living room to see what Grady was doing after I let him loose from his high chair after breakfast and I had just finished rinsing the dishes...this is how I found him...sitting on the couch, looking at his favorite book, "Hop On Pop"...this amazed me because up to this point I didn't know he could climb onto the couch by himself, and he was smart enough to toss his book up there before hand...our "little gentleman" is becoming a boy!

What A Doll!!

Just had to share this picture of my neice Samantha...That smile literally made me laugh out loud when Lauren (sis-in-law) sent this out...It is truly infectious! She is a sweet girl who has grown up sooo much in the last couple of weeks...She looks at you like she wants to say somthing so badly...I can't wait to hear what she has to say!

Sorry For The Delay...

The blog is back! Well, technically the blog never left, but somehow Nick and I both managed to find a million other things to do in the last 11 months that we apparently thought were more important than blogging...Mainly, keeping up with this little guy in the pic! Grady is in full-blown toddler mode, and I just can't believe how much this boy has changed in the last few months...He's using more & more words everyday...so far we have "hi", "bye", "ball", "more", "book", "lola", "no", "daddy", "mama", and a few more that I've forgotten I'm sure...I think more amazing than that is his understanding of things...If I say, "go sit down & we'll put on your shoes", he knows to run to the front door, sit on the rug & wait for me to put on his shoes...it seems so silly, but I can't believe what he "gets", and how helpful it can be. He has become my little helper b/c he loves throwing things in the trash for me, pulling clothes from the dryer, and even putting away toys...I'm pretty sure this makes Nick the messiest person in the house...

Our latest news is finding out that we're having another little boy in December! I literally started to laugh when I found out it was a boy b/c it's just so fitting of a lifetime of being surrounded by Dad, Davey & Scott, to now as an adult being surrounded by Dad, Davey, Scott, Nick, Grady & baby boy...too funny! Needless to say, our house is going to be full of life! Nick is still working & traveling, which neither one of us enjoys, but we know how lucky we are that he has a solid career, which is alot considering the economy...I'm still doing the TV thing, but we're leaning toward me staying home after #2 comes along...I like my job, but I often find myself dreading the first day back to work after being home with my family, and counting the minutes till I get to go home & see them again....I have a running Word document going whenever something happens that I miss at home (such as missing a 4th of July parade, church, weddings, etc. b/c I'm at work), or when work gets on my last nerve (another day of hearing about murders, animal abuse, abductions, etc), I write down what I missed or what happened, so someday if I ever regret quitting, I can read all the things that will remind me how much I shouldn't miss it at all...

I will stop here for now, but am commiting to the world of blogging again, and hope you will keep checking in on us Hague's!!