Sunday, April 24, 2011

more of the name game

Boy, oh, Boy are names hard!!

revised list:

My favs:
*Riser (I know it's out there, but I love it with Ruby Belle and Smith)
*Lewis Payton (my mom's maiden name and his mom's maiden/his middle name)
*Kingston (I know, it's Gwen Stephani's kiddo's name, but Justin's dad's name is King...so I'm throwing it out there for sentimental value)
*Rowan
*Tyce (but doesn't work with Smith...runs together)

Justin's favs:
*Cal
*Finn
*Brigg

I'm sure this will be revised 18 more times...

Monday, April 18, 2011

Leaving on a jet plane...

Again...

I don't know how folks who travel regularly with work do it! I'm headed out this afternoon to Atlanta for more training for work. (I should be SO well trained by the end of all of this!) and again, I'm SO sad to leave! Leaving my daughter and husband (and doggie) is hard!! Secretly, I should be excited because I will hopefully have a few low key days in a hotel room & training room to relax without all the other responsibilities that come with everyday life at home/work. And I am secretly a little excited...a teeny, tiny bit excited. Because I'm exhausted!!

We moved into our beautiful new house this weekend!!! It has been a whirlwind of a move (even though I didn't "move" anything since I had to work and am pregnant). My mom was SO much help to me I can't thank her enough! My patience was thin all weekend, hers...it was immense! I don't handle moves well. Mostly because I'm a perfectionist. I want it all moved, everything put in it's proper place and I want it to go smoothly and seamlessly. Yep, I know, that's asking a WHOLE lot for a move! How many moves ever go exactly as planned?!? Needless to say, it's not perfect yet...surprise, surprise, right? ;-)

Really, our move went well. I can't say enough about my husband and his ability to just buckle down and do things. He and a few guys moved all of our stuff in just about 1 day. AND without one ounce of complaint. He's SO patient and laid back it kills me! Really, that's where all my stress comes from. I know, it makes NO sense...but it does to me and I'm not going to waste your reading time explaining! :-)

Anyway, credit to my mom and husband! My mom spent all day with me on Saturday and part of the day on Sunday helping us clean and unpack! She's a work horse! and Justin...he's a patient, hard-working man (when he wants to be, of course! - and he was this weekend!).

We did take a few breaks over the weekend to have some fun...not that a new house isn't fun (cause it IS!!! I LOVE OUR NEW HOUSE!!). We headed to some friends house on Saturday night for a crawfish boil and then to Palm Sunday service Sunday morning. Both were a lot of fun and between the 2 days, I've never seen Ruby Belle have such a blast! I'll post more on these when I return!

Either way, the weekend is over, I'm totally exhausted, we're "kinda" unpacked, I'm packed and ready (with my heels in the ground) to head to Atlanta after work today and will return to more unpacking late, late Thursday night. Hopefully, I'll be recharged on Friday morning to get started!

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

I forgot one...

oh, I forgot to put Rowan on the list...so, it's on the name list.

Sunday, April 3, 2011

Corporate Training lessons

What i've learned over the last week...

1. Professional training is good, but...boring at times, redundant at times, elementary at times, and overwhelming at times. In the end, though, you learned something, right?!

2. Look behind you 8 times before backing out of a parking space.

3. Speak up if you don't think the car accident is your fault! and especially speak up if you KNOW it's not your fault. You'll regret it if you don't. (yes, i got in a car accident...in the company car!!! one of the worst moments ever...as if being away from 2 weeks wasn't bad enough. wasn't my fault, but either way, cop decided we were both at fault. Thank goodness the company was understanding and made me feel better about it!)

4. Eating on the company tab can be fun (even if you are pregnant, can't have an adult beverage, and are dining by yourself...with room service)! Experiment! (within reason, of course!)

5. Always check the amenities at the hotel before traveling (believe it or not, some hotels, still don't have "business centers" or fitness centers.

6. Time flies...sometimes even when you're not having so much fun. Cherish every minute.

7. It's nice to sit outside on a sunny day, eat frozen yogurt, and just watch the world pass by...even if you are by yourself.

8. BUT, nothing's nicer or better than being home. With family and friends.

3 more days...

pictures from home

My parents have been helping Justin out a lot while I've been away. Really, they're just taking advantage of me being gone and have picked Ruby Belle up from day care every day so Justin can have some time to stay at work or just enjoy a few minutes without being a single dad. I think they've even managed to feed him dinner a few nights. I'm thankful that they are eager to pick her up and have some play time, but even more thankful that they've been sending me pics all week!! Just to share a few...


This one said "Making her earn her keep." She LOVES to hang out outside at my parents, and almost always wants to have a broom and dust pan in her hand!! Let's hope this desire to help sweep lasts through her teenage years!

So, after all the hard work, she needed a bath. She LOVES bath time at their house!!


Playing dress up after bath time!


getting into the spirit of the Easter season...

Boy, oh, boy! Name poll #1

Boy names are so hard!!! We're so thrilled to be having a baby boy, but boy, this name thing hard!!! I know we have quite a few more weeks (17 to be exact) to talk about this, but it's so much fun to think of baby names!

So, here's what we've come up with. Nothing is just jumping out at me and I'm reaching to all names (you may think some are way off the wall) to try to find the perfect name for our baby boy. I'm very open (and won't be offended) by your thoughts and want to hear them!

-Briggs
-Nash
-Beck
-Tate (love this one the most so far, but have some friends in Arkansas with a son by the same name...so, struggling)
-Riser
-Cy
-Lewis
-Butler

Middle name to come later, but that one will be a family name probably.

Help!!!

Friday, April 1, 2011

one week down...

one week to go... ugh.

i'm in South Carolina with my new job. they sent me here to train...for 2 whole weeks!!! 2. whole. weeks. double ugh!!

Highlights and Lowlights of the trip so far.
Lowlights:

1 . I miss my baby....TERRIBLY!!

2. I miss my husband...TERRIBLY!

3. The training proctor is SO getting on my nerves. (Don't they all?!) I'm not sure he's cracked much more than a slight smile even twice.

4. I spent the first week without any computer access. (there's not even a computer center/business center in the hotel!) Sad, I know, but we're so connected with the world via internet, that it's been rough!

5. I only have about 4 decent television channels...thank goodness TLC is one of them, but I hate to say it's not as good as HGTV would have been.

6. There's no fitness center in the hotel.

7. We have 1 car to share.

8. I'm pregnant (yes, a blessing) and can't drink at least one cocktail to get me through some of this pain!

9. I'm missing my brother's 30th birthday party :-( it's sure to be a blast!! I moved to Shreveport so I wouldn't miss this kind of fun! ugh

10. I'm stuck at this training 5 days a week with 3 guys and that's it. Just me and 3 guys I didn't know until now. Kinda awkward, but kinda in my favor...

Because the #1 highlight is that we were supposed to share rooms., but I got lucky and don't have to since there are no other girls! No, not your regular hotel room, but a suite. you know, 2 separate bedrooms each with their own bathroom, but a shared living/kitchen space. Still, it's sharing a room with a perfect stranger! SO, lucky me! I have a room all to myself! Sadly, this "room" is larger than the "Smith Suites" my family and I have been living in for the last 3 months! and I'm all alone!

Here's my home away from home.

the "shared living space"

it even has a washer & dryer in the room!!


2. My sweet husband and mom sent me our laptop per my request and it just arrived today!! So, now i'm connected, can blog, and can even catch up on some TV I've missed over the last few months!! Cheap/free entertainment!! Yippee!!


3. We have access to a gym...it's just about 2-3 miles down the road.


4. We just have 1 more week!!!


I cannot WAIT to get back to my family!!! I'm praying this weekend and next week fly by!!