It’s one of those days.

The baby is feeling under the weather and super clingy. It appears that I won’t get much blogging done, but that’s okay because I get to hold this little sweetie in my arms all day.

In other news…

I’m planning to post the recipe for my world famous (well, at least my world) garlic grilled cheese sandwiches this weekend. It’s a great addition to soup or on its own. Be sure to come back and check it out!

And finally…

I’ve got some exciting news! Last week, I was contacted by Southwest Parenting in hopes of running one of my breastfeeding articles in the April 2010 edition of their magazine. Of course I jumped at the chance! Their digital magazine reaches over 9,000 subscribers and would be a great way for me to reach out to breastfeeding mothers outside of my circle.

Southwest Parenting Magazine is dedicated to “strengthening the bond between mother, father and child” and is running my article “Twelve Steps to Breastfeeding Success” right now! Click here to head on over and check it out.

Have a great day folks. It’s about time for me to get back to the business of cuddling with my little girl.

 My 7-year old Maya has a thing for creepy crawly things. Don’t you just love the expression on her face?

Welcome to the first edition of “OH NO HE DIDN’T!” TUESDAY! From time to time my husband will say or do things that leave me absolutely baffled. “OH NO HE DIDN’T!” TUESDAY was born out of my need to share my husband’s hilarious shenanigans with the world. It’s my way of giving back, so to speak - spreading joy and laughter throughout the blogosphere. Oh and believe it or not, my hubby is totally on board with this! Let’s get this started…

This gorgeous azalea was growing on one of the many bushes outside of our home and was photographed on the morning of The Azalea Bush Butchery Incident.

Unfortunately, its days in front of the camera are no more.

A couple weeks ago, my husband was in a bit of a grumpy mood. Okay truth be told, he was really upset with me. I can’t remember why. I’m pretty sure it was something he made up in his head since I’m a super awesome, undeniably perfect wife and mother. Nevertheless, he was steaming mad.

Now girls, do me a favor: Remind me to never leave my husband alone outside with butcher’s knives gardening tools when he’s mad. Why? See for yourself!

OH NO HE DIDN’T! (Oh yes girl, he did!)

My Knight-In-Shining Armor is really an Azalea Bush Butcher!

The man annihilated each and every lush azalea bush outside our home! Nine bushes in all. His weapon of choice?

As if killing – nay – murdering nine azalea bushes wasn’t enough, he felt the need to douse each bush with gasoline.

OH NO HE DIDN’T! (Oh yes girl, he did!)

What makes it worse is the poor little stumps left behind in the Azalea Bush Butcher’s wake appear to be weeping. I know how they feel.

If only he could harness his need to annihilate pretty flowers into something positive…like giving his wife foot massages!

I survived yet another crazy, dirty-diaper filled weekend in one piece! This week’s edition of Not Me! Monday is dedicated to awesome moms everywhere. Moms like me…

I did NOT bribe my picky little 7-year old into eating her vegetables during dinner with the promise of chocolate. I mean seriously, what kind of mom offers chocolate in exchange for vegetables? Awesome moms like me…that’s who!

My oldest daughter Alyssa went to a boy/girl birthday party this weekend. I did NOT beg my husband to threaten every single boy at the party with bodily harm if they even looked at my pretty little girl the wrong way. What kind of mother condones violence? Awesome moms like me…that’s who!

I did NOT spend hours working on my new blog carnival this weekend. I would NEVER neglect my family, stay up late at night to work on blog stuff or fuss over stupid blog button codes. I’m a loving, dedicated and selfless wife and mother. Oh, and I’m awesome!

I’m a happily married mother of four. I have a wonderful husband who loves me more than I probably deserve, but five years ago it was a different story.

In 2005, I was blind-sided by the discovery of being cheated on by my spouse at the time. A painful divorce followed and I found myself scared and alone; a single mother living in Kentucky with my three children – thousands of miles from the island I called home.

You know, the funny thing is when you go through something as painful as divorce and actually live through it - it doesn’t kill you by the way, trust me – you become someone else. At least I did. I had no choice, really. Becoming someone else meant that I could make it through each uncertain day unscathed.

The problem with becoming someone else - changing who you are and how you live and love in order to survive – is that falling in love again will turn your world upside down.

Learning to Let Love in: I Needed to Change

Eventually I learned that in order to let love in again, I needed to change. I couldn’t continue living the way I had – in fear and completely guarded. Because you know what? The same set of rules you live by when you’re just trying to make it from one day to the next without coming undone, work against you when you’re trying to move on and let love in. I had to un-learn the crazy set of rules that I lived by and it wasn’t easy.

• I carried the weight of the world on my own for so long that it became second nature. Learning to let my husband carry part of the load was difficult for me to do. I’d gotten so used to carrying the burden on my own that the concept of leaning on someone was foreign to me.
• As a single parent, I grew accustomed to discipline/parenting on my own. I set the boundaries and limitations. I was in charge - until my husband came into our lives, that is. Learning to step down and move aside, allowing him to parent along with me was a huge adjustment to make. Truth be told, I still struggle with this at times.
• For years my heart remained guarded, shielded from feeling anything close to love. Sure I’d dated and maybe even felt something for a few of the men I’d gone out with but the fact of the matter is, I’d closed my heart to anyone worthy of being loved. Enter George, my knight in shining armour. Opening up and letting love in is a scary thing, but allowing it to grow and take hold of every part of me was worth it. My heart is in my husband’s hands and there it’ll forever be.

George and I have been married for over two years now. We have three children from my previous marriage and last April we had a beautiful little girl. I’ve finally learned to let love in once more and I continue to be reminded of its blessings each and every day.