Experience is the best teacher...

They say to learn from other's experiences, learn from the past, learn from your mistakes.... well, as Trent and I are finding out, the learning curve may be a little bit steeper than we originally estimated.  Navigating two babies, two jobs, two dogs, one house and a marriage got pretty tenuous in the beginning of 2013.  After I went back to work, we found ourselves "getting through" the days instead of enjoying them, both professionally and at home.  For me, work was a way out, a break.... easier than being home, because work.is.logical. - it makes sense.  For Trent, work had become a jail for his creative process, no longer respected and appreciated, but instead micro-managed to the max.  He was so stressed, as a matter of fact, that coming home to a rather colicky baby (her scream pierces the soul), a toddler, a tired wife, and everyday responsibilities seemed more than he could handle.  Although we saw it happening, we continually fought more, smiled less and couldn't get back to the "happy place" we had always cherished. 

We talked about ways to make it better - giving the dogs up "for adoption", going on dates (just the two of us), bringing work home, etc.... but hitting our knees in prayer was the only thing that even remotely worked.  Praying that we would somehow remember what a blessing our marriage is, how miraculous our kids are... and that "this too shall pass".  It didn't happen right away, but at least we both know what we need to do to get to a better place... and I should be able to report what we came up with in the next month or so - *cliffhanger alert*.

On a lighter note, as February came, Stella cried a little less, Gabriel laughed a little more (if that's even possible) and we started to see the sun through the clouds. 

Stella, Trent and Vickie Spangler had three days of bonding when Gabriel and I went to Florida with my parents for my yearly medical meeting.  Once again, Gabriel was AMAZING on vacation.  He loved swimming and even found shells on the beach.  Grammi and Poppi rented a mini van (which, scarily, I liked and could see myself driving - hey, it was a cool minivan) and  we visited with Great Gramma and Grampa Mac on our way to the conference.  I miss them so much. Hoh, hoh, HOOO Grampa.

 

The funniest thing happened on our trip.... on Valentine's Day, we went to a hole-in-the-wall restaurant that the locals love in Ft Myers, called MacGregors - me, my date (Gabriel), mom and dad.  Well, as per usual, as soon as we were seated, Gabriel looked around for the nearest "audience" he could smile at, blow kisses to... generally entertain.  His attention locked on an older man in his 70s who was dining with *2* older ladies (p.i.m.p).  The three of them immediately began watching Gabriel's antics, smiling and laughing back at him, until the old man got up, came over and pulled two one dollar bills out of his wallet and TIPPED Gabriel for being cute.  #priceless

 

Other things to remember about the trip

- Gabriel watching Seven Brides for Seven Brothers on the ipad while he ate every meal

- Gabriel's first time shelling on the beach

- Gabriel's LOVE for his brand-new, very first Nike sandals (he stared at his toes for literally hours)

- Cleaning lady accidentally throwing away my breast pump "cones" and going through the garbage to find them

- Trent sending wine and strawberries to the room on Valentine's Day (awwww)

- Mom and her "Mariott gold membership" getting us free breakfast every day, free valet parking, and connecting suite rooms with a water view!  (teach me this skill, please)

 

 

 

 

 

When we got back, some pretty monumental, once in a lifetime things happened.  On March 19th, 2013, I pierced my little girl's ears.  While Poppi finds this barbaric, it is cute as a button, and Stella only had to endure 3 needle sticks to get them done.... that's right, three.  No, she doesn't have three ears, but the Claire's ear piercing lady (or should I say 16 year old girl with a piercing gun) accidentally missed the center of her ear on the first shot and caught the very edge.  It was at that point that I ordered Alicia (who was filming) to "put the camera down" and ERASE that video ... it was awful, but we perservered.  I'm pretty sure it was worse for me than Stella, but she healed up completely in about 4 days, and they look SO DARN CUTE.  No regrets. 

So Stella had no idea what was coming with the ear piercing debauchle. Not the case with our onery little toddler. Gabriel forced our hand with his first hair cut when he began ripping it out and eating it instead of food! Just so he could be "in control" of his eating. Well, anyone that knows us is very aware that Gabriel's eating is at the tip top of our priority list, so when his hair started coming out in his poo (think owl pellets), we knew we had to do something QUICK. So I took him into the bathroom, and while he sat in my sink grinning at me, I cut about two inches of his curls. The urge to cry was there, but he is so cute, I just had to laugh.... and creepy as it may be, yes, I kept the "first haircut" hair.