The Best Birthday Ever!

I don't mean to brag but....I may be the BEST damn birthday surpriser EVER! So yesterday was Aaron's 24th birthday (youngin', huh?!). I knew I didn't have TONS of money to spend, but I also knew I wanted this to be a VERY special birthday as he typically has to work on his birthday! I knew the BEST way to surprise him would be to somehow incorporate Lilly into the plans.
SO, Saturday night, my sister and I worked into the wee hours of the night trying to compile a second scrapbook of pictures of Lilly and Aaron. I had made him one last year for Christmas and he LOVED it, so I knew this would be a FABULOUS idea...and a way to keep up on all of Lilly's milestones thus far!
ALSO on Saturday, I had an ultrasound done to find out the sex of the baby. Aaron had NO idea I was going to get an ultrasound, and I KNEW it would be freakin' HARD for me to keep it from him! I found out that we're having a BOY!!! Aaron would be on complete emotional overload, between the scrapbook and the news we were having a BOY!
Tuesday night was finally here. We took Lilly to Mandi's house around 6:30 and were on our way to dinner....SUSHI! I HATE sushi, but Aaron LOVES it and he hadn't had it for a LOOONG time since I hate it! He was super excited to eat at one of his old favorite sushi bars. During dinner, I gave him the scrapbook, which, of course, he LOVED.
As dinner finished, Aaron mentioned that he'd like to go to Jag's (his old job) for a quick birthday drink. I knew I couldn't keep the next surprise a secret much longer, so I asked if we could go back to Mandi's first to check up on Lilly. I called Mandi and told her we were on our way so that she could "prepare" Lilly for our arrival!!!!!!
When we walked into Mandi's there were about eight other people there all waiting for the next event....Out walks Lilly from Mandi's room, wearing a blue t-shirt that read "It's a BOY!" and carrying a balloon bouquet of five blue and green balloons! Aaron looked at Lilly, looked at me, looked back at Lilly....SOOOO CONFUSED! "WHAT? HUH?!" I told him that I went Saturday to have an ultrasound and found that we're having a BOY! Aaron seriously smiled bigger than I'd ever seen! He even let out a little scream of excitement! Lilly was PERFECT, smiling, happy... She knew she was doing SOMETHING that was making Daddy so happy...even though she had NO idea why! (Later in life she'll look back and regret all the hoop-la that she participated in welcoming her little brother to the world!)
Overall, the night, although exhausting to plan and keep a secret, was a HUGE success! Aaron keeps commenting on how fabulous his birthday was! Gosh, am I good or am I good?!?!!?!?!?!?!?!?!!!!!!!!!!

Letting go....

We all have a past. I know this. There are a LOT of things from my past that I'd just rather forget...few things I'd take back, but MANY that I'd like to forget. Our pasts make us who we are. I know that I'm a better person than I was in the past, and I'd like to think that I've LEARNED from the past....but that's ME. What about other people? What if the people we love keep reliving the past? What if they always WISH to relive the past? Is that something to be concerned about?
Recently, I've learned a lot about myself, and myself in a relationship. I've found insecurities that I never knew existed. I've also learned that no matter someone's past, you HAVE to look towards the future or you'll kill yourself worrying about what MIGHT happen. People can always GO BACK, but there's nothing you can do to stop them.
I guess at some point in life, we just have to grow up and realize that the past is the past. The only thing we can do is look forward to the future and hope that it all works out how it's supposed to.

So happy in love..

As any woman, I have many complaints about the man in my life...the way he eats, swallows, snores, etc! Those minor annoyances aside though, I have to say that I'm a pretty lucky gal. Aaron and I have been through a LOT. We've seen the good, the bad, and the ugly...times twelve! Being that we're still both very young and unsettled in our lives (career-wise, financially, etc...) I'd have to say that we've come a long way in the past year, since Lilly was born. I have absolutely no regrets in our life together. I'm so excited that we're pregnant and that we're going to add to our precious little family!

It's just that sometimes I really take Aaron for granted. He does anything and everything for me...for us. He takes care of us financially, emotionally, physically, etc. He puts up with my often-bratty-moments and can look back and laugh at how crazy I am (a lot!)!!! He works late every night, and still has the energy to wake up the next morning to make me breakfast or to go to the park with Lilly and I. He's the type of guy who understands that sometimes I just need to be alone. Aaron's the type of person to wake up every morning with the thought that it's a new day and thinks about how he can make today even better than yesterday...and usually succeeds in doing so.

I guess I just never really take the time to think about how wonderful I have it with Aaron. I don't acknowledge the wonderful things he does, all he puts up with, the time he has for us, and how much he helps me with EVERYTHING. I'm so lucky and I'm so grateful to have someone like Aaron in my life!
So, what I'm trying to say is that I just MAY be the luckiest girl in the world to have someone like Aaron....no matter our past, no matter how much I bitch about him...he's pretty fabulous and I'm SOOO happy to have him in my life!



******WARNING: The mushy-ness of this blog may be hormone-induced, but nonetheless, honest and real!********

Limited Options

Today is a day that I could classify as one of the most frustrating and disappointing days of my life! Today I realized that the downfalls (or perhaps landslides) of our government are now DIRECTLY affecting my life. Being as I work from home, and Aaron and I aren't married yet (yes, that's right Mom, there's still hope!), I don't have insurance that will cover my pregnancy costs.

Lilly and I are on a short-term plan until the end of July, when again we will have to pay nearly $700 to insure ourselves for another six months. I know the importance of being covered, but our short-term plan covers only major medical, so as of now, it's done nothing to necessarily benefit us, other than giving us the peace of mind that we ARE insured. It doesn't cover the cost of Lilly's $95 wellness checks or anything preventative of mine. This hasn't been an issue though, until I realized that pregnancy could not be covered by nearly ANY insurance company in this glorious country in which we reside. However, every insurance agent that I spoke with, during my four hour online and phone search, suggested that I look into state aid...a.k.a Medicaid.

Now, I have NO problem with people getting on "Hoosier Healthwise" if they TRULY need it. I wouldn't say Aaron and I fall into that catagory at all, but apparently, our only two options are to either pay for the entire pregnancy, delivery, and hospital stay out-of-pocket (totalling over $4000), or to get on Medicaid (completely free). Call it pride, call it snobby, call it what you will, but I was NOT raised to take advantage of government assistance...and I feel that's what we'd be doing especially under the circumstances in which we live.

It just SHOCKED me to learn that we LITERALLY have NO other options than the two mentioned above. It's sad that two people who WANT to do the "right" thing cannot do so while being insured by any other "company" other than the government. It's a sad and frustrating day in our house!!!

To wed or not to wed...There is NO question!

So as many of you know by now, Aaron and I are expecting our second child. And we're very excited, I must add! But of course, the first question out of EVERYONE'S mouth is "Sooo when are you getting married?!" and my response is "HUH? Why would we get married?" The stunned, hurt, shocked, judging glare that stares back at me is priceless, and unanimous across the board! Whatever!

Here's my problem. I've NEVER been the type of girl to think I NEED to get married. I've never had dreams of the white flowing dress and thousands of strategically placed putrid flowers. Sure, I've caught myself having delusional thoughts of my FABULOUS engagement ring, going so far as to even email the exact one I want to Aaron! But the ring aside, I can't really imagine my life changing THAT much by changing my last name and making our relationship "official"....

Official to whom? The church? Do you know that stastics show that Christians have been divorced and REMARRIED more than any other group of faith? The same group who has banned same-sex marriages because it's against God's will...rrrright! Let me take my marriage advice from THOSE people. C'mon! (And I agree with Brad Pitt's stand on same-sex marriage... I'll get married when my brother can marry whomever he wants to!)
Official to my family? Sure, my parents and grandparents are from a different era and therefore have different beliefs. However, statistics also show that my parents' age group has a higher divorce rate than any other age group.

And even though a select group of people are waiting to get married until a later age, they are NOT necessarily waiting to have children. And for good reasons....Who has the energy or the aspiration to chase around two small children when you're in your thirties?

I'm not trying to justify my reasons for having another child, that's not necessary. I'm simply announcing that I have NO intentions of getting married just because we're pregnant again. I like the way things operate at our house now! I like that I still have my individuality and he still has his. I like that I still have the same last name as my mom, brother, sister, and dad. Maybe I'll never let go of that! Bottom line people, stop asking us if we're getting married now or assuming that we NEED to get married now! It's not gonna happen!

****By the way, I got my highly informative statistics from http://www.religioustolerance.org/chr_dira.htm****

A day of rest....huh?

It was brought to my attention today at 6am that my "JOB" is to be a stay-at-home mom and that therefore, I don't GET days off. The ONE day I asked to sleep in I was told that it's my JOB to wake up EVERYDAY with my daughter. Now, typically I have NO problem getting up early, feeding my little tyke, and continuing on with the day's events, however today was quite an exception. You see, Aaron has today off (along with at least one other day this week) and he got home from work at 8:30 last night. And not only did he go to bed at the same time I did last night, he also took a nap yesterday afternoon before his four hour shift at work. HHHHMMM? Maybe it's not the fact that I couldn't sleep in, because honestly, my idea of sleeping in these days is waking up at 7:30 instead of 6:30! But the issue I had this morning was that I was TOLD that stay-at-home Moms don't GET a day off! A DAY OFF? HUH!? I was asking for an extra HOUR of sleep! Are you kidding me?

I'm not complaining about my "duties" as a stay-at-home mom. I LOVE that I have the option to stay home. I'd probably DIE if I had to leave my little sugar at a daycare all day! I just have a BIG issue with someone telling me that since he works 30 hours a week that I NEVER get to sleep in an extra hour when he's PERFECTLY capable of getting up. It goes back to my year-long complaint that DADS just AREN'T MOMS! GGGGGGGGGGGGRRRRRRRRR!!!!!

So my question to you faithful readers is: SHOULD stay-at-home Moms have a day of rest?

Weekly Annoyances (3)

Let's just dive right into the maddness of what these past couple weeks have been...
The following are my recent annoyances:

1) People asking me "when are you gonna write a new blog"...WHEN I'm READY, damn it!

2) Girls lying about being knocked up...just admit it, damn...you think you're the ONLY one?

3) The theme to "Cops" being Aaron's ringtone on his cell...fitting yes, but unnecessary and quite disturbing.

4) The Bachelor not starting until 9:31 because of freakin' Dancing With The Stars...ugh! We've already seen Heather Mills fall due to her fake leg...what more do we need to see? Ew, that was mean!

5) Having only ONE vehicle, due to Aaron's recent crash, and having to tote him around EVERYWHERE!!! (Although I'm VERY grateful he's safe!)

6) Gas prices...$3.19...are you KIDDING me?

7) Lilly CONSTANTLY screaming "DUCK" everytime she sees ANYTHING flying in the sky! As cute as it sounds, imagine waking up at 6:45, not only to twelve geese outside your bedroom window, but to your daughter yelping "DUCK MAMA, DUCK. MAMA MAMA MAMA, DUCK!" through the monitor...and then expecting you to take her outside to feed them the last of your loaf of bread!

8) Black coffee table and end tables that need countless hours of dusting frequently throughout the day.

9) Student Loan payments!

10) Iowa....don't ask!

11) Your soon-to-be-year-old daughter only walking in the EVENINGS right before bed....odd, I agree...but it's "her thing".....