Happy Birthday Mom!

Happy Birthday to my one and only mom! I love you so much! You have been there for me through everything and the way you love Hudson makes my heart happy! Wish we could be with you today and give you lots of hugs!

iPhone Picture Dump

I've got a whole lot of nothing today! Did any of you watch Revenge last night? If they kill off Nolan I'm gonna be mad! I don't think I'm going to watch the Grey's finale because I don't want to wait 2 hours to find out who dies. Anyhow here are some pics! Of course my blogger app has put them out of order!

Papa came to visit!

Hugs for Daddy

We had a surprise lunch guest today :)

Hudson and his bff Graham at the Jazz Festival

So excited to drive his Gator!

Watering the flowers for Mommy

Watching the ducks with Lucy and Graham

Planting a potato at Mom & Tots

Hudson after church

Petting the police horse

Mr. Cool in his wayfarers

ready to go

Friendship Series Part II

The second question about friendship that the sermon brought up was "What Is Friendship?"

I am going to try and answer/define this question...

A true friend is always lets you in and never lets you down. You are able to reveal yourself and share secrets to a true friend. True friends make sacrifices for each other.  A friend loves you at all times, even when it is hard.

This is how I define friendship. I have a core group of girls that I trust and that I feel comfortable enough to share secrets with. Those girls have been there for me in good times and in the tough times and for that I will always be grateful for them!

As I've gotten older I've realized how important it is to have friends around you. When we moved to Florida I didn't know a soul, I didn't have a job, and M was off in Thailand. To say I was lonely would be an understatement. Eventually I met an amazing group of women through a mom's group. While there was a ton of drama...in the end I came out of it with some truly great friends. Some have already made plans to visit!

When we moved to Tennessee I was again nervous about meeting people, I mean it had taken me over a year to make friends in FL! One of my FL moms suggested joining a MOPS group to meet people. Within 2 weeks of moving to a new city I was welcomed into this group of amazing women and immediately made friends.

I'm so glad that I've found wonderful friends to surround myself with. While I wish I had kept up with a lot of my friends from high school and college I can't go back and change that. All I can do now is foster the relationships I have and be open to new ones!

Hope this series hasn't been too boring! Only 1 more day of my ramblings!

A Series On Friendship

So I've been thinking about doing a series on friendship.  I wasn't sure how to start it or even if I was brave enough to write it, however at church on Sunday the Sermon was about friendship which just confirmed that I needed to write this.

In our minister's sermon he talked about how there are 3 important questions about friendship:
   1. Why do we need friends?
   2. What is friendship?
   3. Where do you find the need for friendship?
I will attempt to answer these questions in the next 3 posts, remember that these are my feelings on the subject and are not meant to be taken as anything but that.

Why Do We Need Friends?

This question hit me like a ton of bricks.  If I relate this question to my relationship with God it is answered by the fact that friendship/love exists in God/The Trinity. The less you need friends the less you need God.

Now if I relate this question to my everyday life I find it much harder to answer. I need friends for so many different reasons:

• support
• sense of community
• laughter
• sounding boards
• to vent
• to feel loved and understood

While there are probably a million other reasons I need friends these are the most important reasons. My friends offer me support in both good times and bad, meeting friends in a new city (twice now) help to foster a sense of community and home, girl time always comes with laughter which everyone needs! Friends are sounding boards for my parenting, ideas, and all sorts of other things. I vent to my friends about bad days, bad hair, and toddler tantrums. I also need friends that love me and understand me and support me no matter what.

Stay tuned for the next post!

Menu Monday And Mother's Day Weekend

I'm linking up with Rachel over at In No Simple Language for another week of yummy meals!

I hope everyone had a great mother's day yesterday! We had an amazing weekend together as a family!  Friday we met M for lunch and then he came home early so we went for a walk and ice cream adventure!

 On Saturday we went out on the lake with some of our friends, Hudson had a blast! While it wasn't the most beautiful of days we had so much fun.

The main reason we went was to watch the Smyrna Air Show from the water. Seeing the Blue Angels up close and personal was one of the coolest things I have ever seen! Hudson went tubing for the first time and loved it...until he fell off, we got him in the boat and that was the end of that!

I'm Mom Enough

I had this whole post ready about how all I really want for Mother's Day is a great day with my boys with a couple hours to myself (although I do love my new Iphone from M). However after Time Magazine asked "are you mom enough" in their new cover article my post changed.

While I cannot read the article online without paying $4.99, I was able to get a synopsis of the article. While I understand that there will always be mothers who choose to attachment parent, and more power to them, I find the title of the article very harsh and I am going to attempt to answer the question raised.

Am I Mom Enough If.....

• I had an emergency c-section and then had my baby taken to the step-down NICU unable to see him for over 16 hours
• If I was discharged without being able to take my baby home 
• I pumped and tried to nurse every time I was able to
• After 18 days in the hospital we went to the lactation consultant everyday for weeks with no luck in the nursing department
• I had to buy my child $10 liquid gold formula that we went through daily
• I ONLY pumped for 6 months
• I let my child cry it out and still do
• I left my child overnight at 6 months old

I could go on and on about how this attachment parenting question cuts me to the core. I have not harmed my child by not letting him sleep in the bed with me or breastfeed until 4. Again I have nothing against parents who choose to do this, I do have a problem with a very well respected magazine questioning whether or not I Am Mom Enough! 

Who are you to judge me? If you want to ask someone how I'm doing as a mother, ask him.....

He doesn't seem too bad off...

Little Gator Boy

A few years ago I scored a little John Deere power wheel for Hudson, fast forward to this past weekend and we finally bought a battery for it! Hudson was so shocked! He just started squeeling every time he would push the peddle. Although if you see him on the road please drive in the opposite direction because H likes to drive with no hands!