My son, the pretty boy

This weekend (after a few glasses of vino) my good friend dropped this bomb on me "If I have a boy, please don't hand me down Parker's clothes." ha ha. I'm pretty sure I was supposed to be offended but knowing her, this was in some round about way a compliment. I'm sure of it (maybe.. ha ha) Apparently Parker is... a pretty boy. It has come to my attention, that Parker owns 2 "play clothes." I think he is perfectly capable of playing in a collared shirt and madras short but apparently, boys are supposed to play in "swooshy pants" and character tees. If you've ever seen Parker's closet, the closest thing he has to a "character tee" is a tee shirt with a plaid crab on it. I'm not sure why boys have to wear Buzz Lightyear or Car's everyday... but apparently... as to not be labeled a "pretty boy" I've got to stock up on "play clothes."

Yesterday I went to Old Navy, Target and Marshalls and I didn't find ANYTHING I would take Parker in public in that would be considered "play clothes." I almost bought 2 outfits (had them in my hand and everything) because I felt like I had to buy them so he'd fit in but then I realized, that would just be compromising my taste for someone elses. At the end of the day... he's 14 months old.... I've decided his play clothes ARE his plaid Jon Jons, madras shorts and collared shirts. He'll grow out of them in a few months anyways so why not let him play in them. I've already been chatting with God about a girl next so all of Parker's clothes are going to be given away anyways... might as well look good while playing, right? I bought him a pair of crocs, though (which I said I'd NEVER do)... this must count for something!

Bottom line: When he's old enough to tell me what he wants to wear, as long as it's not tasteless, he can express himself through outfits of his choice. For now... I'll express me... in little boy clothes.

In efforts to aid in the masculinity of my son, my friend picked up this jewel from Walmart... Any baby redneck costume parties coming up soon? My son has an outfit! ha ha. I love you, anonymous friend! Thanks for all the laughs!

Me, God and the Keebler Elf Truck

Don't you love when God puts you at the right place at the right time? Yesterday, it was behind a Keebler Elf truck. It was glorious. A warm, beautifully crafted rainbow chip cookie was coming out of the little golden oven and the creepy little elves were all around the hollowed out tree kitchen making fudge stripes.... hmmm.... I can taste them. After almost rear ending the Keebler Elf truck (wouldn't that have been awesome! I wonder if they would have given me the damaged cookies?) I started paying more attention to my surroundings. It was then I heard a familiar tune on 91.9 (christian radio). HEALER......

The song Healer has special meaning for me. While battling cancer there were songs that I would play over and over and over using the lyrics of the songs as my prayers to God for healing. The more I would sing the lyrics, the more I believed in the power of the words I was speaking. Unfortunately, the song Healer (originally done by Mike Guglielmucci of Hillsongs) was tainted when Mike faked having cancer but other artist such as Kari Jobe have rerecorded it, restoring the power of this song. The song Healer and Praise You in this Storm by Casting Crowns reminded me on a daily basis that God could and WOULD heal me of cancer. He proved faithful and healed me.... TWICE!

My favorite line in the song is "Nothing is impossible for You. You hold my world in Your hands." I can't tell you how many times God has revealed that to me.... most lately in the eyes of my child I was told I wouldn't be able to have. Cancer robbed me of my hair, fertility and 1st year of marriage but God restored all of that and has proved to be infinitely more faithful to me than I deserve.

One would think I would be on my knees daily praising God for my blessings. Healing, my child, health, Parker's health, my husband etc.... but for some reason.... I stray like a lost puppy. Usually not for long... God kinda loves me a lot and doesn't let me go too far but I love how He meets me where I am to remind me of my need for Him... yesterday, it just happened to be the Keebler Elf truck. :)

Here is the Kari Jobe version for your listening and praising pleasure
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvIEJ_PmqJ8&feature=related

And the simple but powerful lyrics:
Verse:
You hold my every moment
You calm my raging seas
You walk with me through fire
And heal all my disease

Pre-Chorus:
I trust in You
I trust in You

Chorus:
I believe You're my Healer
I believe You are all I need
I believe You're my Portion
I believe You're more than enough for me
Jesus You're all I need

Bridge:
Nothing is impossible for You
Nothing is impossible for You
Nothing is impossible for You
You hold my world in Your hands

Check out my little miracle "then" and "now"... for NOTHING is impossible for Him.

I made my son less masculine because I have a plastic shower curtain liner?

Did anyone else see tonight's episode of 60 minutes? Probably not... I'm sure most of you were "Lost" or had more interesting things to do but for those of us who enjoy the antics of Andy Rooney, 60 minutes is a Sunday night treat (until football season and then it gets booted off the DVR!). Tonight's 1st story was about how a substance called phthalates which is found in most plastics has been linked to boys being less masculine. In particular, studies show boys who are exposed to this while in the womb are more likely have a condition called hypospadias and undescended testicles! Parker had both as an infant! AHHH!!!!

(Parker, mommy's sorry for talking about your weinis on the internet) Does this mean Parker is more likely to be a girly-man? Should I remove all pink from his wardrobe? Bain Barbies? Buy him excessive amounts of transformers, toy soldiers and squirt guns? (wait... they're all plastic and contain phthalates). What do I do? The hernia and undescended testicle have been fixed surgically and we're waiting for the weinis to grow before making a decision about that surgery but should I be worried about this? The story said phthalates are in basically everything.... car dashboards, a lot of toys, shower curtain liners, steering wheels, even the feeding tubes used in the NICU ..... how do I keep him away from all of that... or do I? I swear I'd be content with Parker living in a bubble.... oh wait... I bet it contains phthalates.

Parker, I'll shelter you from a lot of things.... but it seems phthalates just won't be one of them.... enjoy your transformers, son just do me a solid and stop licking the shower curtain liner. Love ya, bud.... mom.

Why are commercials so loud?

So... random life updates/thoughts:

1. I'm totally annoyed right now with the volume of commercials. Have you ever noticed some are crazy loud? I think I'm going to start boycotting any product/services that are advertised by insanely loud and obnoxious commercials. Join me in my fight against loud commercials. ha ha

2. I've been in a slump this week. Daniel has the opportunity to work in Knoxville TN for the large majority of the next 3 months. I know this is a great for his career and I'm totally playing the supportive wife role but I'm not so sure I actually mean all the words I'm saying. Is that terrible? Selfishly, I really enjoy him coming home every night. I like cooking (well.. microwaving) for 2. I LOVE that he takes out the trash (it's just not my thing). I don't know how to even turn on a lawn mower or the grill. Basically, I don't do alone well and I've never had Parker and the 2 dogs by myself for longer than 2 days (and I'm pretty sure I forgot the feed the dogs that 2nd day I felt so overwhelmed). This may be another one of those months where the mail piles up on the counter and I just sweep it all in the trash. ha ha Daniel leaves Sunday (PS- creepies.... don't get any ideas... I am a lioness and I WILL protect my cub and my house with my very large, high powered, shot gun... no questions asked)... anyways... I'm bummed and am compensating with play dates daily!

3. I'm slightly addicted to all things vampires. My butt has been glued to the couch the last 4 days watching every episode of The Vampire Diaries. (Team Stefan.) I've got to stop watching/reading stuff about vampires... I'm starting to believe they exist. (maybe?) I thought I grew out of my gullible days. Darn. I wonder if Daniel would let me name our next child Cullen... oh Edward.

4. I'm sure you're all dying to see pictures of Parker. He is basically the cutest 14 month old ever (I'm sure I can scientifically prove it... like a Rasmussen pole or something). If you're my facebook friend, you've probably already seen them but here they are again anyways for your viewing pleasure.

5. Be ready for totally pathetic blog posts next week! I don't do "alone" well but I swear I'm going to try to be positive about it. If I'm being a Debbie downer, someone call me out on it! Better yet... just call me and check on my sanity! ha ha

I wish my mind came with an on/off button

I learned quickly that the first thing you look for in a toy is an on/off button....preferably one in an inconspicuous place as not to be easy found by your toddler. This is closely followed by a volume control button and if the toy doesn't pass these 2 criteria, it is NOT purchased! I wish my mind came with an on/off button or at the very least a volume control button so I could turn it really really low and as long as I was truly tired, I could sleep through the noise. You must be thinking "poor girl... it's 4:23 in the morning and she hasn't slept a wink. She must be really upset or anxious about something." Nope! I'm actually quite chipper and the only thing on my mind is making a good impression tomorrow morning hosting my 1st coffee play date.

Here's the deal... when you're a stay at home mom, you thrive on play dates! Don't be fooled. Play dates aren't really for the kids. They're for the moms and it just works out that we all have kids to entertain each other. I NEED play dates. You see, I'm a social butterfly and I need adult conversation. I LOVE being a stay at home mom but if I "stay at home" more than 2 days in a row, I start to plot the death of Dora the Explorer, Max and Ruby and Sid the Science Kid... Sid goes first. (side note: as a zoo keeper, shouldn't Ted "the man in the yellow hat" know better than to raise Curious George, a monkey in an apartment?) Anyways, you get the picture... play dates are really important to me. In the last few weeks, I've been "invited" to these coffee play dates where you come in your jammies/yoga pants for coffee and muffins. These ladies are SO fun and the kids get along really well! I love that they all live one street over and the kids are so close in age, I feel like we're "doing life together." Anyways, tomorrow morning (well... in 3 1/2 hours) is my first time hosting coffee play date at my house and I really want it to go well! I'm making chocolate muffins and blueberry muffins. I hope to have them made tomorrow before they come and hide the evidence they they're from a box! The kids are getting the shaft with eggo mini pancakes and bananas. Confession... as a coffee addict, you'd think my coffee maker would have a lot of brews under its belt.... nope... I buy overpriced coffee at the Starbucks at my grocery store everyday so I can get out of my house. I know every one of the employee's names, most of their kid's names and half their life stories... they're my friends and often my only source of adult conversation. SOOO... today I did a test brew with the instructional manual and everything... I hope I did it right. I suppose I'll find out soon enough.

Having people to my house is a big deal because it requires a multi-hour cleaning spree prior the event. I am so proud of myself that I kept my cleaning to under and hour for my coffee play date. I dusted with my hand and I didn't even Windex. This is huge. I want to be able to just invite people over any time and be very laid back (which I am getting much better at!) but the 1st thing I always say when someone walks in the door is "please excuse my house." The truth is, I'm struggling as a homemaker. I even borrowed a book called "The Fly Lady" to try to sort this whole homemaking thing out. The mom thing came naturally but keeping my home in order is a daily struggle. Don't get me wrong, my house doesn't come close to being on an episode of hoarders... quite the opposite. I threw away most of my decorations when I was nesting and the idea of "stuff" that I don't use seems completely wasteful to me. My issue is things like my grout is stained, my baseboards are dirty, the ironing pile is huge, there are marks on the walls... those sorts of things cause me anxiety to invite people over. One week, I really committed to this whole homemaking thing but when it came to dinner time, I'd spent the whole day cleaning and straightening that we ended up eating hot pockets for dinner which pretty much negated any pat on the back for my efforts in homemaking. Basically, it boils down to this.... I have to let it go. Not the house... but my desire to please with perfection. My house is cleaner than most people's I go in and I doubt anyone is judging me for the cleanliness of my baseboards. I have a toddler. His toys are in my living room and I just have to be ok with that for a while. Bri Van de Camp makes it all look so easy.

Hi, my name is Taylor Wise and I am a recovering people pleaser.

I've always been told I should blog

I can't tell you how many times I've been told I should blog. I'm not sure if it's because I'm incredibly opinionated and people enjoy what I have to say OR if they'd rather me write it so they don't have to hear it. hmmm.... Either way, I do think this will be a great outlet for me. I admit, I have a lot to say. I have a story... a really cool life story that I'm excited to share bit by bit, day by day.

I'm a pool rules kinda girl so lets just lay this on the line.... I write like I think. I used to be a grammar fanatic (I kicked the grammar section on the ACT's butt) but that seems quite formal for a blog of my thoughts. I'd love to hear your opinions of my blog but keep them constructive.... no negative Nancy's, please. As Baz Luhrmann once so eloquently said "my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience." (If you haven't heard Baz's Everybody's Free to Wear Sunscreen...you should... much better life advice than I could give you!)

Now that we have the "pool rules" out of the way.... who am I?
I'm a...
Wife to a man who loves me very much
Mommy to a 13 month old son who can't say he loves me yet but shows me everyday in smiles, hugs and gigantic poops
Cancer survivor since January 31, 2008
Dog mom to a cocker spaniel and a pug
Clothes fairy (yes dear, the secret is out... it is I who picks your clothes off the floor, puts them in the washer and folds them!)
Stay at home mom (who doesn't stay at home very much!)
Christian. God has worked some amazing miracles in my life and continues to bless our family abundantly.
Coffee Addict... well Starbucks really. I'm really going to miss 1/2 price frap Happy Hour even though it was with the new CLEARY inferior new fraps.... sigh.....

I'm sure I'm more... which you will discover but what I am right now is sleepy. 12:55am is WAY past my bedtime AND I'm hosting coffee playdate tomorrow! More tomorrow!