Changes

Alot can change from one post to another...

My last post was on June 20th, I was going on and on about how much we loved our new home and how Kinsey was trying to walk and talk, I posted about how Tom was working all the time but that we were doing ok, little did I know that when I went home that night we would decided to seperate, I moved back in with my parents on June 25th, on August 9th I found out that my husband of 3 1/2 years was having an affair, I found out from his girlfriend on Facebook none the less, there were pictures of him and her in our new home together, it was very devasting.  Then on August 12th, my grandmother passed away, I really needed my husband during that time but he wasn't there for me, he hasn't been the father to Kinsey that he needs to be and he puts her last all of the time, I was ready to do everything by myself, I had pretty much accepted the fact that my marriage was over and that despite that I still had someone that depended on me, I sucked it up and started making a life for Kinsey and I, but the thing about life is that it throws us some BIG curveballs, not good things all the time but not bad things all the time either.

I received a message from a guy I had gone to school and graduated with, he told me that he knew exactly what I was going through, his ex-wife had done the same thing to him and if I ever needed to talk to someone, he was more than happy to listen.  We messaged each other over the next few weeks, he was even there for me when my grandmother passed, he was in Texas, but he checked on me all day the day my grandmother died and he told me he wished he could have been in town for the visitation and all the other things, we had my grandmother's memorial service on a Monday and the next day he asked if I would like to have lunch with him, just as friends and I said yes, I figured it couldn't hurt anything and might do me some good to get out of the house for a few hours.  Well, we had lunch and it was just history from there, Tommy and I have been dating for 2 months and it has been the best two months of my life! He treats me the way a woman is suppose to be treated, and yes he LOVES LOVES LOVES Kinsey and she loves him too! He has been there for me through my WORST days and he can always make them so much better, he is a very amazing man, I think God brought Tom into my life for one reason, Kinsey.  The rest was a learning experience, did I get my heart broke? Oh yes, big time...Do I still love Tom? Yes, because he is the father of my child, am I still IN love with him? No...Tom commited the ultimate sin in a marriage, he went outside our marriage, disrespected our vows and slept with another woman, that I will NEVER forgive him for...EVER!

But Tom did me a favor, he made me realize that I deserve better and I have found better, Tommy loves me and I am so in love with him, Kinsey is being raised by two people that love her and want to spend time with her and that is what she needs.

Speaking of Kinsey, guess who is walking? Or should I say trying to run now? She is into everything! But, I am glad she is walking, she has a little bit of independence now, she loves playing with Rayden and Serephina (Tommy's kids) and can almost keep up with them, she is still such a happy baby, I think somedays she is happier than she was when her father and I were together.  She sleeps all night now, hardly ever cries for me to hold her, and she just goes non stop 24/7!

Things change, sometimes not for the best but sometimes we think it's the worst just to find out it is for the best, I am happy with the way my life has turned out...I still have my days where I cry and wonder if I could've done anything differently but then I realize that I wouldn't change a thing, because this is where I am supposed to be.

I am SO behind!

I know, I KNOW! I have fallen behind on my blogging, I have been so busy with moving, working, taking care of Kinsey, I barely have time to eat, shower, and sleep, more or less blog! But it's a slow day at the office, so thought I would take a few minutes and catch everyone up on our CRAZY CRAZY lives!


We are loving our new place! It's so nice to be on our own again, it's good for us and Kinsey, slowly but surely we are getting settled, still have to go clean out our storage space though, not looking forward to that, but it has to be done, and a bunch of stuff is going in the garbage! That's the one good thing about moving, you can really get rid of some stuff that you know you are never going to use! I am loving all the room we have, we don't feel like we are right on top of one another, and I don't feel like I have all this stuff stuffed into a small space, Kinsey loves that she can just crawl all over the place, momma doesn't so much because I have to vaccum and sweep EVERYDAY, I do mean everyday.  With the dogs, dirt from outside, and the usual debris, I just can't stand the fact of her crawling around on a dirty floor. So, that is just one more thing on my list of a million other things to do everyday.

It's usually just Kinsey and I at the house, Tom is working like a mad man! He's only home Monday and Tuesday nights, as long as he doesn't have to go to his shop and paint a forklift or anything, he's home those two nights, then he works Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights on top of working at his regular job Monday thru Friday.  I never see my husband, Kinsey and I have our own little schedule during the week when Tom is working, and then on Monday and Tuesday night we have to make adjustments because Daddy is home, I usually let her get a bath 30 minutes later and let her stay up 30 minutes later so she can play with daddy, I can't remember the last time Tom and I spent time together, it's been THAT long!

Kinsey will be a year old a month from Tuesday! This year has just FLOWN by! I can't believe it! It's like I just brought her home, or at least that is the way I feel about it, it's crazy to think that this time last year I was pregnant! She's talking somewhat, she can say mama, dada, and bye bye, only 3 words but they are words.  She can wave bye bye and sometimes she'll say bye bye at the same time, but that's rare.  She isn't walking just yet, but it won't be long, she's trying really hard! She can stand for a few seconds by herself, but she won't take that intial first step just yet, I think she's still unsure of her balance and footing and she's scared, but when she takes that first step I will be beyond excited! I can't believe my baby is fixing to be 1! She's basically off baby food now, she eats whatever we do, she LOVES chicken nuggets, wonder where she gets that from? (points at self) She still eats her baby oatmeal and fruit, purely because I can't really get her to eat grown up oatmeal, I think it's the texture, this kid is big on textures! She still eats her baby snacks, because she loves them and they teach her to chew so who am I to take those away, I am amazed at what all she does eat! She is certainly part of the Welch crew (Tom's mother's side of the family), because that kid loves to eat! So she'll fit in really well.

I am totally and uttterly disgusted with my job, I hate it! I am in the process of trying to find a new job and that's a job in itself, I have benefits and that's about the only thing I like, I don't like the work I have to do and I don't make crap! Every two weeks, after they take insurance out, I pay the sitter, buy groceries and put gas in my truck, I rocking on the edge of being broke all over again, and I hate to ask Tom for money, I am working I have my own money, I shouldn't have to ask for money! The whole situation just frustrates me! And I hate getting paid every two weeks, I got so used to getting paid every week that now I REALLY have to watch my money and I hate trying to figure out what can be put off and what has to be paid ASAP, I just love being an adult!

But that's pretty much the latest on the Swifts! I'll try not to get so behind, but I make no promises!

A Day At The Park/Brock's 16th Birthday Party (April 17th, 2011)

After the storms and tornadoes on Thursday night and Friday morning, this weekend turned out to be really nice, unfornately we are in for more severe weather this week :(, but we will manage.

Sunday we celebrated Brock's 16th birthday with a family cookout at the park in Sherwood, it's hard to believe he's 16! Poor Marcy is going to need a nerve pill when he starts driving! It was a nice day to be outside, Jill, Adam, Laila, Blaine and little Parker were able to come down and Hayley was too! Of course Kinsey and Parker were glad to see each other and played so good together, Hayley was so happy to see her little sister, I think she was more excited to see her than Tom and me! We always enjoy getting together with the family, we always have a good time, and we enjoying the memories!

She was so excited!

Watching sister



She loved the swing!



Hayley and Kinsey









Our Trip To The Zoo (April 10, 2011)

The weather in Arkansas has been absolutely GORGEOUS lately! So on Sunday, Tom and I (mostyly me) decided to take Kinsey to the zoo for the first time.  So, I planned out our whole afternoon, and on Saturday went and bought Kinsey a new pair of sandals, a new hat and bought me some shorts and flip-flops, on Sunday afternoon I put Kinsey in her sundress, new sandals, sunhat, and slathered her up with sunblock and we were off to the zoo!

Ready to go to the zoo!

As we were pulling up to the zoo, Kinsey started fussing in her seat, I thought to myself "Oh well, she's just ready to get out, once she gets in her stroller she'll be fine", so I got her out of her carseat, put in her the stroller, gave her some juice and she was fine.  We went to the penguin exhibit first, all the penguins were all out waddling around and Kinsey was watching them, so then I noticed we were close to the monkey exhibit, I just knew she would be interested in the monkeys.  So we walk over to the monkey exhibit, and we are watching them, I thought Kinsey was watching them too, until I looked down and she was fast asleep! She slept the rest of the time we were there and didn't see any of the animals, I couldn't believe it! But, Tom and I got some good pictures and even though he won't admit it, we had fun and it was a good chance for us to spend some time together.  But, Daddy and I have decided to wait at least 2 years before going back to the zoo!





Our weekend in Russellville (2/19/2011-2/20/2011)



Playing in the mirror



So me and Kinsey rode up to Russellville with Nana and sister this weekend to see Jill, Adam, Laila and Parker, we had such a good time! Kinsey got to get in the pool for the first time :), she really was enjoying it until an older kid jumped in and splashed her; she totally freaked out and didn't want anymore to do with it after that.  Her and Parker played SO good together! They had such a good time, I just knew they would be good playmates!

Playtime with cousin Parker



All played out



We went and ate lunch at CJ's in Russellville, by far the BEST burgers! They were awesome! And we went to eat supper at Mulan's a chinese restuarant we went and ate there the last time I was in Russellville back in April of last year, AWESOME chinese food! On Sunday morning we got up, had breakfast and Hayley and Laila swam for awhile then we headed back to Little Rock! I was so glad we went, Hayley really interacted with Kinsey, which made me feel so good, and I was so glad to see Parker and them! I hope we can go back soon!

Ready to go swimming

Parker enjoying the pool

Aunt Jill was happy to see Kinsey



2010

Highlights from 2010



My friend Ashley, who is a fellow blogger actually inspired me to do this, she just doesn't know it yet ;), I was reading her blog on her Chicken Pot Pie and started reading some of her other posts and saw she did a blog all about 2010, and I decided I would do the same, I don't have pictures of everything and I can't remember some months but I will try my hardest!

January:

8 weeks and 6 days pregnant

My husband started his security job at the Electric Cowboy, and I stayed home for my New Year's Eve, I was about 2 months pregnant and suffering from horrible morning sickness that seemed to last all day on some occasions, New Year's Day was spent at Marcy's eating black eyed peas and sauerkraut as per tradition for the Swift family.

February:

Our Gram, we sure do miss her!

I started a temp job at APERS (Arkansas Public Employees Retirement System), where I fell in love with everyone I worked with, and the best part? My mother-in-law works at DHS which was just two blocks from my office and we got to have lunch quite often, I really miss that most days. One of the saddest parts about February was we lost Gram (Tom's maternal Grandmother), it was very sad, she had two great grandbabies on they way that she never got to meet, but I know she's watching them from heaven and smiling :)

March:



IT'S A GIRL!



We found out we were having a precious baby girl! We fought over names for weeks even months when we finally settled on Kinsey Ashley Swift, we were so excited for her arrival! We also had Gram's funeral the 2nd of this month, that was very hard on everyone, we miss her so bad!





April:

The newest addition to the family, Parker Lee Boyd!



My truck AKA The Big Red Truck



On April 23rd, my sister-in-law had her second child, a precious little boy named Parker, he is such a sweet baby, and him and Kinsey are 3 months apart, I think they'll be really good playmates, and Laila is one happy big sister!  Also, (and I have to throw this in there) that same day I got my first truck! I LOVE MY TRUCK! I never thought I would own one but when you are married to a country boy you learn to love them, by this point I am six months pregnant and I am starting to become miserable! We also found out this month that Tom's cousin Laura was pregnant! That was a big shock to everyone, it was an epidemic for the girls in our family, we still blame it on Jill since she was the first! ;)



May:

Tom left for Blytheville this month, the first time we were ever apart from each other! He was gone on and off the last three months of my pregnancy, it was so hard with him being so far away, I was so afraid something was going to happen and he wouldn't get here in time, I started spending a lot of time with my mom and dad at this point!

June:





Surprise baby shower at APERS!

Her napkins matched the cake, Community Bakery did an AWESOME job!

I really hated to see June come, because it meant that my temp job at APERS was over! I was so sad to be leaving all those wonderful ladies I worked with, but it was good timing with Kinsey getting so close to coming, I had a few weeks off where I could get done what needed to be done before her arrival! My favorite part about this month, my baby showers! I had two, one was at the Holiday Inn in Bryant and the other one was a surprise one thrown by my co-workers at APERS, I was so surprised! Kinsey got SO much stuff and I had SO much fun going through all of it and getting her nursery all set up, it was precious!

Baby shower at Holiday Inn

July:

We celebrated July 4th, with some friends by having a cook out and swimming, let's just say being almost 9 months pregnant, outside in the middle of summer is no fun! I was so exhausted by the time it was all over with, I fell asleep in the truck on the way home and I was tired for days!

On July 21, 2010 at 12:49pm we welcomed Kinsey Ashley Swift into our family! This was by far the best day of my life (besides me marrying my husband)! I still can't believe I am a mommy, Kinsey is such a good baby, very easy! I think it's safe to say if I have another baby I am in trouble, I will get a hard baby knowing my luck!

Kinsey Ashley Swift
July 21, 2010

6pds. 14oz.

12:49 pm

August:

Kinsey and Aunt Marcy, can't believe Kinsey was ever that tiny!

I celebrated my 25th birthday on August 1st, it really just felt like another day, I just had Kinsey about a week and a half ago and I was still trying to settle into motherhood, but Tom took me to lunch at Olive Garden in North Little Rock and then we went to Marcy and Brock's so she could see her Great Niece, it's hard to believe Kinsey was EVER that small!

September:

I went back to work full time on September 27th, it was so hard for me to leave Kinsey all day, but thankfully I have a wonderful babysitter who she just adores and I trust with all my heart, I do not worry about Kinsey when she is with Miss Laverne, I know she is in good hands!

We also got Parker and Kinsey together for the first time since Kinsey was born, boy did Parker look like a giant compared to little Kinsey! I still think they will be good playmates when they get older :)



Kinsey and her cousin Parker



She won her first belt buckle!

We also celebrated Hayley's 11th birthday this month, wow! Can't believe my girl is 11, she was only 7 when me and Tom got together, she has grown up so much since then, she'll almost be a teenager next year! We celebrated by staying at the Hampton Inn & Suites in Bryant, mainly because it has an indoor pool, that child loves to swim! She got all kinds of goodies for her birthday, but her favorites by far were her horse games for her DS and a DVD that she had been wanting, what am I going to do when she becomes a teenager?!? And speaking of Hayley she won her first belt buckle at a horse show! Her daddy couldn't be any prouder! Kinsey discovered her feet and we realized that she was teething, that is a really hard stage of mother hood to go through, many sleepless nights!


Kinsey and her big sister



She was very excited!

October

Lindsey did such a GREAT job on our first family photo session!

Kinsey turned 3 months old this month and celebrated her first Halloween! I was going to dress her up but unfortunately didn't find a costume in time, but thankfully her Nana (my mother in law), got her a onesie and pants set for Halloween, so that was her costume, she went as a baby!

We had our first family portraits done, they turned out so good! Lindsey you did a great job on these! We plan on getting more from you! Also Kinsey rolled over this month, can't believe at this point that she has gotten so big so fast! I'll cry when she turns a year old! Kinsey also got her first round of shots this month, that was absolutely horrible, Tom went with me and they had him to basically hold her down, oh my god it was so upsetting I think I cried more than she did, but after running a fever for a few days and being fussy she survived!

November:

The Titanic Museum

Part of the drive thru light show in Branson

Well, Kinsey took her first road trip, we went to Branson with my mom and my great aunt, we had a blast! And Kinsey did so good on the way up there, she slept the whole time! We went shopping, to a Christmas light show and to the Titanic museum it was so much fun I hated to come home! We also celebrated Thanksgiving, our first without Gram, it was so weird not having her there, and it was Kinsey and Parker's first Thanksgiving, unfortunately we didn't get to see them over the holidays. We went to Tom's moms in Cabot and then we went to his Grandpa's, she had a good first Thanksgiving! She stayed away from home for the first time without mommy, on Thanksgiving night, I had to work the Friday after for a half of a day and my mom was off and of course she jumped at the first opportunity to keep her without me around, it was nice to have a break but I was so glad to see her afterwards!

On November 17th, Tom's cousin Laura gave birth to her son Eli! He's so cute, we haven't got to see him yet due to Laura and Howard living in Chicago, so with round one of babies over with here is how the score stacks up; two boys and one girl, that's right Kinsey is the only girl out of this whole thing! Besides Hayley and Laila of course :)

Baby Eli

Our 1st Thanksgiving with Kinsey

December:

Grandpa and Kinsey

Look at all my presents!

Well with the year almost gone here is how we came out: We got pregnant, along with my sister-in-law who was also pregnant at the same time, I got my first truck, I got a new nephew, we had a beautiful baby girl and I (and Kinsey) got a new cousin, pretty good year so far!

We celebrated Gram's birthday by cooking out and Kinsey went to her first Christmas parade only to sleep through ALL of it! I couldn't believe it with all the music and sirens, but she did; slept through the whole thing. 

Hayley is in the band at school and she had her first Christmas concert on the 13th, we drove all the way to Heber Springs to see her play one song! Tom was so mad, and on top of that I was battling a HORRIBLE cold, I was so freaking sick! I had that crap for about two weeks, it was awful, then Tom ended up getting then the most horrible part, Kinsey got it, but we all survived!

We of course celebrated Kinsey's first Christmas! Christmas Eve is always spent at Tom's grandpa's and Christmas Day is traditionally spent at his mother's; but this year they went to see his stepfather's mother in Minnesota, so we certainly missed them, especially since it was Kinsey and Parker's first Christmas, and we didn't get to see Jill and them on Christmas either :( Kinsey got SO much stuff! Toys and clothes galore! I don't even think she has wore some of the stuff she got, but she has played with just about toy she got though, so I am glad I didn't waste my money on any of it!

On New Year's Eve I went out; by myself, well not really by myself but without my husband since he worked on New Year's Eve at the Electric Cowboy but thankfully that's where I went so I got my kiss at midnight and Renee was a good sport and went with me!

Ready to go out on New Year's Eve

I can't wait to see what 2011 holds for us, I hope it's an awesome year!

Exciting things for Kinsey/Valentine's Day 2011

Well Miss Kinsey has reached a few major milestones in the past few weeks and mommy was very surprised on Valentine's Day, read more to find out:

We're all in trouble now:
On February 8th, 2011 I got a call from my sitter at about 7:45am, she was calling to let me know that Kinsey did something remarkable; Miss Laverne had just put her on the floor to play after changing her diaper, she turned around to throw the diaper away and turned back around and Kinsey had CRAWLED from the pallet in the floor over to the tv, which is about oh I would say 5 or 6 steps! MY BABY CRAWLED! And I was so upset because I missed it! But I have gotten my chance to see her in action and boy can she move! I firmly believe she will be walking by July! We now have a total of 2 1/2 teeth, I say 2 1/2 because she has two on the bottom and one coming through on top and another one on top that hasn't broke through yet; so you can actually say 4 give or take a tooth :) Also Kinsey is eating baby food quite well, she loves it! It won't be long and we can say bye bye formula, THANK GOD! She has a new favorite food that we can add to the list; green beans, I am glad because I was afraid she wouldn't like anything green since she doesn't like peas.  She now likes to be on the floor playing, which is not so good for me, because I can't turn my back for a second, she comes crawling off her little pallet and then I have to confine her to the Exersaucer or the playpen which she HATES with a passion! All the times I was like "I can't wait till she's crawling and sitting up", well that day has come and now I am like "I wish she was tiny again where all she did was just lay there", because I don't get much done around the house these days. She has realized if she drops a toy on the floor and cries SOMEONE will get it, just so she can do it all over again; again and again, lord! So the biggest thing is she's mobile, and we're all in trouble now!

Valentine's Day 2011:
Usually on Valentine's Day I get flowers or chocolate from the hubster, but this year I really wasn't expecting anything, with us living with my folks and everything in such a mess I would have been happy with getting Kinsey to bed early and going to bed before 11:00pm.  I had originally planned to get Tom a CD and a DVD he had been wanting, well I couldn't find the CD anywhere and then when I went to go pick up the DVD I couldn't find it either! So with that plan ruined I didn't know what to do, but when one door closes a window opens, right? I had racked and racked my brain on what I was going to get him for V-Day, finally it came to me. He has been bugging me to get him a picture of Kinsey for his desk at work, so I went to Wal-Mart on Friday, bought a nice frame and card and planned to go to Walgreen's (since they have cheaper rates on digital prints than Wal-Mart) on Saturday, print the picture out, put it in the frame and have it waiting for him on Monday morning when he got up, yea didn't happen. Kinsey is cutting teeth, again, so this weekend was needless to say not fun, I didn't have a chance to get to Walgreens to print the picture out, which means on Valentine's Day I had a empty picture frame and a card, I was so upset, but Tom didn't seem to mind but I was really kicking myself. I didn't even know if he had gotten me anything or not and I was hoping he hadn't at this point. After work on Monday, I called Tom to let him know I was off and I was on my way to get Kinsey and I was coming home to change and go to the gym, (he had promised me on Sunday he would watch her on Monday night so I could go work out) he told me he had an errand to run and then he would be home, made no difference to me I was just ready to be home!  I got home and low and behold he had bought me a present, I was so upset I could have cried! He bought me the most beautiful heart shaped pendant necklace, I was shocked! He still refuses to tell me where he got it or how much he paid for it! (but I have an idea ) So, after he reassured me he was totally fine with me not having his gift ready, I went to the gym, I worked out for 20 minutes and then weighed only to find out I had gained my 3 pounds back plus two more, I was bummed once again! But my husband came through again! He went to get dinner, I told him where ever he went to just get me something, I didn't care.  When he came home he had got me Chinese (not the healthiest thing to eat considering I had gained 5 pounds, but it made me feel better)! He said he knew I was bummed about his present and about gaining some weight back, he told me to just let it go and tomorrow was a new day, we dined in on V-Day with our little rugrat and she cooperated and went to bed at 9:00pm which means I got to go to bed early, and Tom even humored me and instead of staying up for awhile like he usually does, he came to bed when I did and we both fell right to sleep! So even though my Valentine's wasn't all glitter and glamour and we didn't dine out at the finest restuarant it's still one for the books!