Monday, January 30, 2012

Finally-an excuse free Monday!

  Okay, so for the past few weeks I have spent most days inside of this house doing nothing but playing with my sweet boy and thinking about all of the things I should be doing, not doing them, but wishing they were done. Let me tell you something, its a deep dark spiral when you choose to do nothing productive and not even step foot outside of your house. I was getting the Winter doldrums and it doesn't even feel like winter outside. You see, Brody was a little congested last week and was running a fever for a few days. So I took that as my cue to quarantine us. I was taking naps while Brody was napping and staying up late reading then I started a vicious cycle and even slept through my Bible study that I was very much looking forward to last week.

  Even though we are home bodies and we love our home and I love playing with Brody so even when I've done nothing..it has been a special day because I got to spend time with my precious family..I realized that interaction with people and getting out and doing things are a MUST for us. Exercise is great for the mood and if you're doing group exercises or walking with a friend...bonus, kill two birds with one stone. (Does anyone have a phrase that means the same thing but isn't so harsh..like can we say bake two cakes with one oven or something instead?)

So-this morning, Brody and I finally went to stroller strides on a Monday at Lipscomb at 8:30!! We are going to the store later and I slept 8 hours the past 2 nights.

  RECAP-Mommy lesson # 189-television and book characters do not count as friends. Watching people exercise or repinning other people's work out tips on Pinterest does not count either. Stepping one foot outside to put food in a dog bowl doesn't equal outdoor time. If you haven't put shoes on in 3 days, there is something wrong. The mommy naps aren't as necessary when your child is finally sleeping through the night. Opening the blinds is an immediate mood booster. Get a calendar to write things down, repeating things out loud to your husband doesn't mean you will remember to do them. :)

Friday, January 6, 2012

Thankful for the moms who work....outside the home

So, it is no secret that I am blessed to be a stay at home mommy and I LOVE it! Actually, I wouldn't always say I am a "Stay at Home" mom, because I love to take Brody places, so we don't always stay at home! I can't say enough how grateful I am to my husband for making it possible for me to be with Brody all the time and to choose this as my job!

While I wish for every mommy that she had the opportunity/ability to not work outside the home, I am thankful for many moms who are working other jobs. There are a lot of people who are in my life, or who will one day be a part of it, that I am grateful for the job they do. There are people who do these jobs who are not moms and they are great at it..But I think that with most jobs,especially ones that deal with people, being a mom only makes you better at it.

My OB-I LOVE her, and she's a mom. She delivered my baby and took care of me while I was pregnant. She assured me that all was well, gave me the advice I needed on caring for myself, and closely monitored my baby and me while I was in labor for like a week (okay not really) and made it possible for me to have the experience I had hoped for and  end result (Brody) that I couldn't even dream about. Sure there are other great doctors who aren't moms. But I am thankful that God placed some moms in hospitals and Dr's offices, because they are some of the best.

Nurses-Let's face it, moms are just good at taking care of people. I can think of so many nurses, in hospitals, Dr.'s offices, clinics, wherever, who made my experience better and many of them are mommies. One special nurse, our good friend Katie, was Brody's nurse at his first pediatrician visit when we had to take him to the ER. Having her there made it easier because she was so sweet to us! And she's a great mommy.

TEACHERS-Maybe the biggest one. How many of the teachers in your life were moms? Some of my very best and most influential teachers were moms and if they had been at home with their kids, my life may have been different. Teachers inspire, encourage, nurture, and guide children. I will feel so good one day knowing that Brody's teachers will love on him, because they are hoping someone will love on their kids.

Fitness Instructors-There are some awesome mamas who teach our Stroller Strides classes and if they weren't there, I would be in much worse shape!

Entrepreneurs-There are some amazing products for kids out there that are only in existence because a MOM saw a need for something or wanted to make something better and VOILA, she started a business and is selling a rocking product, or at least making an old one a billion times better.

Any other job out there that may bring me in contact with you-Moms (I hope) might have a little more compassion and understanding for children. Today I was at the zoo and this little girl almost ran straight into me because she wasn't watching where she was going. But..because I thought..that may be my kid pretty soon...and because she was trying to follow the "Efelant" tracks I couldn't be mad..I was in her way, I was walking all over those efelant tracks and she was trying to step on every one.

So...like I said..I am very PRO stay at home mommy, but for some people who may hate on the working mom..think about the women you know and how they are impacting your family by doing the job they are doing. Thank you and I applaud you working mothers!

Monday, January 2, 2012

Goodbye 2011, Hello 2012

I can't believe it's 2012. I remember when that seemed like 100 years from now and boom..here it is. The Hysmiths have about 600 resolutions between us and we are pretty excited about them. We made sure they were S.M.A.R.T. goals...Specific, measurable, attainable, reasonable, timely. Some of the things we resolve to do are.
 (Abby's)
  • Read 25 books this year-at least 5 must be non-fiction
  • Exercise 3 days a week 
  • Cook dinner 5 times a week
  • Use my Bible app on my new iPhone and use the reading plan everyday
  • Sew 6 things with my new sewing machine
  • Get Brody to sleep through the night
  • Only worry about my marriage, my finances, my parenting, etc...and don't even comment on other people's (sometimes I kind of think I do things best..which is SO not true)
I absolutely love countdowns, "best of" lists, best/worst lists , top ten most blah blah..all those things they do ti fill time on New Year's shows or take up space in a magazine, things like that..so I have a few bests and worsts of 2011...

BEST
moment-holding Brody for the first time, Ryan-watching Brody be born
meal-Courtney Gurthrie's birthday meal at Maggiano's, we did the family style and ate a ton of great food
trip-Gatlinburg with Ryan's family
party-Chelsea and Austin Albright's wedding
movie- War Horse
book-all 3 Hunger Games books
date-birthday date to see Wicked
holiday-Christmas or Halloween (I loved dressing Brody up)
tv show-Once Upon a Time (Ryan's is Falling Skies, actually wait..he say's its a toss up between those 2)
item purchased-Keurig or Kindle Fire-Ryan says his watch or his brief case
new hobby-Stroller Strides!

WORST
I can't think of many worsts..it's been a great year, but here were some hard times...
 
Brody had to go to the ER when he was 3 days old, we had NO idea what was wrong with him, he was admitted to the PICU and hooked up to a million things, stayed in the hospital for 3 nights, and we still aren't sure what was wrong other than being dehydrated. :)

I was in labor for a really long time-but I still don't put thing in my worse category, but hoping to birth the next one in less than 24 hours. 

My biggest disappointment, which seems a little crazy to most people probably, is having trouble with breastfeeding. But now, my formula baby is pretty happy so it's okay. 

The biggest lesson I've learned since becoming a parent would be that we are not in control. There are so many things that are out my hands even if I really want to do something about it. I just have to trust God with everything and when I can be proactive I will, but the hardest times, are when all you can do is pray.

I am sure we spent some money on things we immediately regretted, people disappointed us, we haven't been perfect parents, spouses, or children. But..overall, we are VERY very blessed and this year couldn't have been much better. My heart goes out to those who have had the worst year of their lives, and I pray that you may all experience another great one this year. 





Brody's first Christmas

Well, needless to say, we have been extremely busy and things have been CRAZY for the past few weeks, or really since Thanksgiving. We had an excellent Christmas and once again I learned that everything with a baby takes more time, thought, packing, and happens to be way more fun!

Brody has pretty much become a brand new baby in the past few weeks. He finally upgraded from army crawl to hands and knees crawl when we were at Seth and Abigail's on Saturday, December 17th. That night we got home and Ryan stuck him in his crib and went to get something and I looked back in Brody's room and he was on his knees pulled up on the side of the crib. :) So we moved the mattress down to the very bottom. THEN on Wednesday night when I was feeding Brody dinner before church I looked in his mouth and thought I saw some teeth. I called Ryan and he felt around and looked and YEP two bottom teeth. He also started pulling up on everything he could reach over the next few days. 

We went to Henderson to have Christmas with Ryan's family on Thursday. This is when Brody decided he didn't need naps or to sleep at night. He woke up at 11:00 when we went to bed and went back to sleep at 3:00! It was miserable, Brody NEVER does that. But thankfully, when he woke up in the morning Ryan just went and dumped him in bed with his Papa and I slept till like 10! We had a great time, despite the sleepless nights and Santa did a GREAT job in Henderson!
About to open presents in our PJs from "Rudolph" (Bibi)

 Uncle Ross got Brody a Mickey and he LOVES it! Brody loves his uncle!

Pluto and Mickey!
Brody and Papa had matching jammies. 

Wearing  part of one of his new toys.

This sums up my baby's attitude that night. 

We actually got this horsie LAST Christmas from Bibi and Papa when Brody was still in my tummy. He really likes it!


On Christmas Eve we came home and had our first Christmas morning as a family of 3 in our home. We were excited to let Santa know where to find us. Brody was so excited about hearing some reindeer on the roof that he woke up at about 1:00 and couldn't go back to sleep until 4:00. We went to church and then came home and opened presents (we put our pjs back on for this) and at breakfast. 
Brody got a telephone to call his grandparents. We don't want to spoil him by giving him a cell phone so young but we thought a rotary phone was okay.

Brody wants to be like his daddy so Santa brought him a golf game.

Stella and Dot!

Ryan is very excited about this new long sleeve golf shirt, which he used the next day.


After opening presents and repacking, we went to Chattanooga to see my family. Brody slept the whole way there and we listened to Mockingjay on audio book. Once again we had lots of fun seeing family and opening presents and watching Brody's new tricks. The best present was Brody's wagon, he and his fire bear had so much fun riding in it. 




Brody slept much better after his few nights of craziness. We came home on Tuesday morning and when I put Brody down for a nap and Ryan had to go do a few things I pretty much immediately ripped down my Christmas decorations and threw them in the guest room. I LOVE Christmas decorations, but on December 26th I am done with it and don't really wanna see them until November. 

We are so blessed to have such sweet families and so glad we live close enough to spend time with everyone at Christmas. Now, we just need a really big toy box...