Christmas Time!

It's that time of year again.....the time for Christmas shopping stress, fighting people for parking places, and trying to calm down your screaming kid while waiting in a 30 minute check-out line. I actually started my Christmas shopping early in hopes of finishing well before the 'deadline' of Christmas Eve, but this pregnancy is starting out similar to my last one....full of nausea and fatigue.

I wake up feeling sick, I go to sleep feeling sick....and that's basically how everyday goes. I feel so tired all the time, but I don't know if that's from being pregnant or if I've just gotten used to laying around more since I'm always at home. Reguardless, I can't seem to get out of this "rut." I used to love going out shopping, but now I get exhausted after taking a shower, getting ready, getting Ryan ready, hauling everything into the car, and finally arriving at our destination. Whew! Maybe it'll be over soon....we'll just keep hoping...

As for Ryan, she is growing like a weed! I can't believe just a year ago she was a little infant that did nothing but eat and sleep. She wakes up everyday so happy. She's becoming a little bit of a daddy's girl, but being a daddy's girl myself I don't mind. I love watching them together. Jarrod is such a good dad and I'm so thankful to be one of the lucky ones to have found such a great man :)

I just finished up another class and now have a 3 week break....which I plan to throughly enjoy! I want to start some holiday traditions with Ryan.....maybe some holiday baking and going to church on Christmas Eve (I've actually never done that). We're planning on taking her to see Santa on Saturday and I hope she doesn't cry. She's pretty good about going to other people, but a big grey bearded man dressed in red may seem a bit creepy.

We have a busy schedule for the holiday's but we're excited about it. First up is Christmas with Jarrod's dad and family on the 23rd, then Christmas with my dad and step-family Christmas Eve, next is Christmas morning with my mom, sister, and brother, followed by Christmas evening with Jarrod's other family. The weekend of January 2nd and 3rd we'll head up to Rome, Ga. and have Christmas with all of my extended family! Whew! Are you as tired as I am from reading that??

A Thanksgiving Rant

Thanksgiving. I always look forward to it and yet it never plays out like I have in my head. I visualize lots of hugs, laughter, playing games, and enjoying time with family. Well, every year seems to surprise me and disappoint me a little. Family drama. Enough said.

Probably every aspect of Jarrod and my family has drama. Both of our parents are divorced so we have 4 families and not just 2....like normal people. There's always one family member who has to act out and be disrespectful. There's always one who seems like they don't care. Someone always seems to be in a bad mood. Ugh! Come on people!

I'll be honest, I've had some past friendships that I've had to 'let go of' and move on from, but when it comes to family I think that everyone should work to dissolve whatever kind of conflict there is and not just let it continue on because of their own precious pride. Nobody ever wants to take responsibility for their actions. Everyone always puts the blame on someone else and how it's "their fault." I'm so sick of all of this. When a few family members have conflict it affects EVERYONE! My Thanksgivings will never be the same due to other people's pettiness. My daughter will never know what it feels like to spend Thanksgiving with all of her family at one time and it breaks my heart. Growing up everything seemed so wonderful. My sister, brother, and I always looked forward to the holidays and seeing all of our family. Everyone used to hug each other and just sincerely love spending time with one another. What's happened to that? Why are things so different? How can people change so drastically?

If this blog hurts anyones feelings then I'm sorry but this is how I feel and I think everyone should try and make amends for THEIR actions. There's not just one person at fault. Let's move on and try to get back to how we were as a family before.

Oerman's 1st Camping Trip....plus a little surprise!

We finally went on our first family camping trip in our brand new camper. I didn't realize how much actually went in to organizing and packing everything. I was exhausted before we even got to the camp site.

It was dark by the time our friends got to the camp site (they took their own camper) and we ate some yummy chicken noodle soup that they made. Roman built a fire and we all got busy making the much anticipated s'mores!

Ryan was starting to look tired, so I went and laid her down in her bed. I guess I'm used to letting her fall asleep on her own at home, so once I laid her in there I just went ahead and went back outside and turned on the monitor. Wow, was that a mistake! I don't know if it was because she was in a different environment or what, but she screamed for hours! Jarrod and I were up all night with her, which was rough. I had not anticipated her acting like that. At about 5 a.m. we finally decided to just get up and make breakfast.

That afternoon the guys went fishing while Celeste and I did what we do best....scrapbooking! That's right, we scrapbooked while camping! I put Ryan in her pack n play outside beside me and she finally fell asleep. Poor thing had been up almost 24 hours with no rest.

Ryan finally gave in to exhaustion.

That night we grilled chicken and salmon and had a nice little feast outside on the picnic tables. We sat around the campfire and I taught Ryan all about s'mores and how they are a staple item on camping trips. I was able to get Ryan to sleep that night in the camper, which was a huge relief. I didn't think I would be able to handle another night like that last.

We set up a tv outside by the campfire and watched Will Ferrell's 'The Land of the Lost.' All I can say is that was the wierdest most obnoxious movie I've ever seen. The beginning was okay, but then it was as if all the characters were high on something and kept going to different "rooms" in dinosaur land. Very strange.

1st family camping photo

The next morning we packed up and headed out.....I'm making sound a lot easier than it was. I stayed cooped up with fussy Ryan in the camper while Jarrod packed up the outside.

Once we got home I ran inside to use the restroom and decided to take a pregnancy test (I had been feeling very emotional and tired). I didn't even watch it because I just knew I wasn't. I went back out to finish unloading boxes and then remembered the test. I went back to check it and was shocked to find a little "+" sign...not a "-". I just stood there staring at it with my mouth wide open. I don't know how long I stood there but it felt like forever. All I could think of was double strollers, having to get a minivan, and how I was going to handle a new baby and a one year old.

I walked outside and told Jarrod to 'come here.' I looked at him, showed him the test, and simply said "I think I'm pregnant." I thought he would have had a similar reaction to mine, but nope....he kissed me and said, "that's awesome! I really want a boy!"

They Grow Up So Fast

I can't believe my little girl is going to be one years old in 10 short days. I can remember every single detail about the day she was born, it was such a wonderful experience. Jarrod and I have definitely been blessed with a happy baby. Ryan is always full of smiles and laughter! She is now starting to dance everytime she hears music (which is hilarious to watch I might add). Poor girl has probably inherited her mommy and daddy's lack of coordination.

We are going to be having her birthday party on Halloween, which should be a lot of fun. I'm planning a huge bash so as long as we have nice weather it should go off without a hitch! I can't wait to see her dig into that cake, poor thing has never really tasted sugar except for a couple of short licks off Aunt Amy's icecream cone. This should be good!

I've had a lot of people asking me what to get Ryan for her birthday, but I honestly have no clue. Most everything she "plays" with just ends up going straight into her mouth. She loves everything she can't have.....boxes, remotes, phones, plugs, etc. So I guess any kind of household appliance would be just perfect for a present ;)

Holiday's can't come soon enough!

I love holidays! I mean, I LOVE them! Any of them....all of them, but especially the ones at the end of the year. In addition to the upcoming holidays, we will be having Ryan's first birthday party on Halloween, so that will be a very hectic, but exciting day!

I have already bought pretty much everything for her birthday and I also ordered her Halloween costume yesterday. I have a list of things to do when we get back from the beach telling me exactly what to put out 'decoration-wise' for autumn (yes, I put mine out in September even if it is still extremely hot outside). I decorate everything....inside and outside. It usually takes an entire day to do it all, but it's worth it :)

I'm excited about Christmas this year. Growing up my mom always did a ton of Christmas baking with all of us kids and I definitely want to keep that tradition going with Ryan. Jarrod and I have already started discussing "gifts from Santa" for Ryan and I can't wait to see her on Christmas morning. I think this year will really feel like a 'family' Christmas for us 3 and it just can't get here soon enough :)

Stress.....lots of stress!

I've never done well handling stress. Ever. I get very emotional and overwhelmed. I have become a lot more patient ever since having Ryan, so that has helped me somewhat deal with stress better, but I still have a long way to go!

The past few days have been extremely stressful. Ryan is going through a really wierd phase. All of a sudden she hates to be alone. You can't put her down, walk out of a room, or even take a few steps away from her before she starts screaming. And I'm not talking about just a little whining, I'm talking full on blood curdling screaming! Since she was about 3 months old she has always slept about 12 at night. Now I can't even start to put her down in her crib before she goes nuts. I know it's just separation anxiety (her doctor said this may start), but how do you deal with it? They say not to pick them up every time they cry (mainly at night), but Ryan screamed for almost 2 hours straight the other night and finally I just had to put her in the bed with me. I don't want her to make herself sick.

Do all babies go through this? I mean it literally came out of nowhere! Saturday she was fine and Sunday she woke up an entirely different baby. I hope this is a short phase because I really want my happy baby back.

On top of Ryan spazzing out, I started a new class....math. Ugh! I am terrible at math and this class is not making any sense to me whatsoever! Last night while I was trying to do my chapter quiz, I had to deal with Ryan screaming every 30 minutes and that just about sent me over the edge. I literally just wanted to throw my hands up, quit school, and cry.....but I didn't. (Partly because my husband would kill me and there's no way I'm ever going to be an x-ray tech again).

Will school ever end? Will Ryan ever stop crying? Will the laundry ever just wash itself? (Okay that last one is a little far fetched). Stress seems to pile up and finally just take its toll on me. Hopefully I will be able to handle it better this time than in the past. I went to the gym this morning and that did help a little so we'll see. Just pray for my sanity....

Disciplining is harder than I thought....

So, Ryan is getting to the age where she wants pretty much everything she can't have....picture frames, dog food, plugs, moss from the palm tree plant, you name it! I'm trying to start disciplining her so that she knows right from wrong, but it's emotionally harder than I thought it would be, but I'm doing pretty good so far. Time out obviously doesn't work on a 9 month old because they don't understand it, so I have started telling her 'no' and popping her hand. When she's getting into something she's not suppose to, I tell her 'no' and pry the object from her hand. When she reaches for it again I pop her hand and tell her 'no.' I repeat this process until she finally crawls away from it. By that time she's crying hysterically and has a red hand, but I haven't seen her mess with any of those objects since.

Ryan loves remote controls and I usually can't fix on the tv whatever button she's hit.

About to eat mommy's coupons and sale ads.

I know some people will probably not agree with this tactic, but I want my child to know right from wrong and respect authority, and I believe this should start at an early age. I see so many kids now-a-days that run wild and don't listen to their parents or any other adults for that matter and I refuse to let Ryan be one of those. When she's older Jarrod and I will find what kind of discipline works best for her, whether it be spankings, time out, or taking away toys. I'm determined to stick to what we have decided even though it can be emotionally tough. No parent wants to watch their child cry, but I have to keep telling myself it will be worth it in the end.

Ryan heading over to the palm tree to eat some moss!

Ryan broke through my pillow barrier and found a plug....go figure.

Our Oerman Clan

Our daughter, Ryan, is currently 9 months old now. Where have the months gone?? I feel like I just had her yesterday. I already find myself looking back at her newborn pictures and videos and can't believe how much she has changed in this short amount of time. Last week she started crawling for the first time and now she's so fast! She has started pulling up to stand now and since she can't 'stay' standing up she has been taking quite a few tumbles. Today she took a pretty hard fall and her little forehead must have taken most of the impact. She's probably going to grow up being just like me....plain clumsy!

On another note....school is going okay. I did a year of college at a local University and then did 2 years of x-ray school. After deciding that x-ray was just not the right fit for me, I decided to go back and pursue something else. I started at the University of Phoenix Online in February of 2007 and finished my Associate degree in December 2008. I started my Bachelor's program for elementary education in January of 2009 and won't finish until the fall of 2011. Needless to say, I'm pretty burnt out! I just want to be finished and I feel like it's so far away. The good news is that since I'm still in school I get to stay home with Ryan. I love being able to spend all day everyday with her. She truely is a miracle baby :)

Lately Jarrod and I have been going back and forth on whether or not to have another child. I flip flopped on the subject numerous times. For one, Ryan is such an easy baby. She's always so happy. I worried that if we had another baby that we might not get as lucky as we did with Ryan. On the flip side, I wanted Ryan to grow up with a sibling. I have a brother and sister, not to mention 3 step-sisters, and I love it. I can't imagine being an only child.

We discussed it for a while and have finally come to the conclusion to try for another one. We're going to give it one year and if it doesn't happen then we're just going to be a happy family of 3. I do not want a big age gap between Ryan and another baby, so that's why we have set a deadline. I guess we'll see what happens...