WELCOME WEDNESDAY BLOG HOP

Happy Hump Day! I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday! Tis the season to make new bloggy friends! I am in serious need for some fun after all that wrapping and unwrapping so I hope you join in on the hop! What better way to get over the midweek hump then to kick off your heels, put down those Christmas lights and do a little blog hopping!








<center><a href="http://kelleyhautemom.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src="http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f301/csulbdelta/welcomewednesday2.jpg"/></a></center>

Blog Hop Rules: This is a low key hop. After all...it is Welcome Wednesday, here to get the inspirational juices flowing and find other blogs we can stalk! Put those feet up, relax, and join the bloggy fun.

There are a few rules though:

1. Follow the hostess, Haute Mom and the guest hostesses. Be sure to leave a comment so that I can follow you back.

2. Follow the guest hostess.

3. Link up your blog for all of us to love.

4. Make an attempt to check out at least two new blogs. Don't know where to start? How about the two blogs above you? If you love the blog, become a follower and leave them a comment letting them know.

So link up! You don't have to post about the hop...but you know how we ladies work, the more the merrier. We would love it if you would help us spread the word and help Welcome Wednesday grow! One of you could be next week's spotlight guest hostess!

I've Got the Bah Humbugs

There has always been some pressure when it comes to the holidays. The pressure to decorate, find a perfect tree, send out Christmas cards, and buy the right gifts. I used to LIVE for this time of year; the holiday music, the lights, the endless shopping bags and crowded malls. Not so much anymore.

Being that this is my second Christmas as a mom, I'm feeling a different kind of pressure. The pressure to have lights up, photos with Santa taken, starting some of our own Christmas traditions. To be honest, between work, more work, training for my half marathon and just being tired, I have failed miserably. With just 5 days until Christmas, I am nowhere to being close to that partridge in a pear tree. And I am not so sure I care.

I keep telling myself that,looking back, Stella will not remember whether or not we had a tree, or what she got for Christmas this year. I can start building the memories of being loved, having family around, and being an overall exciting time without all the Christmas bells and whistles, can't I?

I read the story about all the "secret Santas" going to the Kmarts and paying off other peoples' layaways the other day. I was sobbing. Sobbing. The hubby came home and asked what had happened and I could barely choke out the story. This is what Christmas is. It is a time of giving, helping those less fortunate, being with loved ones, and spreading joy whenever possible. When did we lose sight of this? Can I bring the spirit of Christmas to my own family and teach Stella that Christmas is more than what Santa has brought her for Christmas? Or am I the true Grinch this year?

May the Christmas spirit visit me tonight...

WELCOME WEDNESDAY BLOG HOP

Happy Hump Day! Tis the season to make new bloggy friends! I am in serious need for some fun so I hope you join in on the hop! What better way to get over the midweek hump then to kick off your heels, put down those Christmas lights and do a little blog hopping!




<center><a href="http://kelleyhautemom.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src="http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f301/csulbdelta/welcomewednesday2.jpg"/></a></center>

This week our gurst hostess is Momto8blog. Ever wonder what it would be like to have 8 kids?  Visit her and find out!

Blog Hop Rules: This is a low key hop. After all...it is Welcome Wednesday, here to get the inspirational juices flowing and find other blogs we can stalk! Put those feet up, relax, and join the bloggy fun.

There are a few rules though:

1. Follow the hostess, Haute Mom and the guest hostesses. Be sure to leave a comment so that I can follow you back.

2. Follow the guest hostess.

3. Link up your blog for all of us to love.

4. Make an attempt to check out at least two new blogs. Don't know where to start? How about the two blogs above you? If you love the blog, become a follower and leave them a comment letting them know.

So link up! You don't have to post about the hop...but you know how we ladies work, the more the merrier. We would love it if you would help us spread the word and help Welcome Wednesday grow! One of you could be next week's spotlight guest hostess!

Published with Blogger-droid v1.7.4

WELCOME WEDNESDAY BLOG HOP

Happy Hump Day! Tis the season to make new bloggy friends! I am in serious need for some fun so I hope you join in on the hop! What better way to get over the midweek hump then to kick off your heels, put down those Christmas lights and do a little blog hopping!








<center><a href="http://kelleyhautemom.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src="http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f301/csulbdelta/welcomewednesday2.jpg"/></a></center>

This week our gurst hostess is Momto8blog. Ever wonder what it would be like to have 8 kids?  Visit her and find out!

Blog Hop Rules: This is a low key hop. After all...it is Welcome Wednesday, here to get the inspirational juices flowing and find other blogs we can stalk! Put those feet up, relax, and join the bloggy fun.

There are a few rules though:

1. Follow the hostess, Haute Mom and the guest hostesses. Be sure to leave a comment so that I can follow you back.

2. Follow the guest hostess.

3. Link up your blog for all of us to love.

4. Make an attempt to check out at least two new blogs. Don't know where to start? How about the two blogs above you? If you love the blog, become a follower and leave them a comment letting them know.

So link up! You don't have to post about the hop...but you know how we ladies work, the more the merrier. We would love it if you would help us spread the word and help Welcome Wednesday grow! One of you could be next week's spotlight guest hostess!

Haute Mom Dilemma #58 - It's Flu Season

I know that with the holiday season comes flu season. I also know that having your little one in day care brings lots of icky germs around. I am not fond of either concept.

Yesterday Stella had her third high fever within a month or two. When I say "high fever", I'm talking about over 104. The nurses that answer the after-hours call-in line at my pediatrician's office know my whole family. Especially the nurse that is on duty between midnight and 3 a.m. Even though I have learned that 104 is apparently "nothing to worry about," I still worry. A lot.

There is something so heartbreaking about a sick, helpless baby who only wants to be held by mommy. Heartbreaking and difficult. Sometimes I wonder if I am the only mom that feels twinges of frustration when I need to pee and have to hold my child or go without her and hear scream at the top of her lungs.

Things like this force my normal multi-tasking brain to stop and focus on what is most important, my sick daughter. I have to push my natural urge to grocery shop, clean the house, do the dishes, and even shower, out of my head and just give my day up to comforting and caring for my precious little patient. It's probably as good for me as it is for her but that sure doesn't make it any easier.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.7.4

WELCOME WEDNESDAY BLOG HOP

Happy Hump Day! Tis the season to make new bloggy friends! I am in serious need for some fun so I hope you join in on the hop! What better way to get over the midweek hump then to kick off your heels, put down those Christmas lights and do a little blog hopping!









<center><a href="http://kelleyhautemom.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src="http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f301/csulbdelta/welcomewednesday2.jpg"/></a></center>

Blog Hop Rules: This is a low key hop. After all...it is Welcome Wednesday, here to get the inspirational juices flowing and find other blogs we can stalk! Put those feet up, relax, and join the bloggy fun.

There are a few rules though:

1. Follow the hostess, Haute Mom and the guest hostesses. Be sure to leave a comment so that I can follow you back.

2. Follow the guest hostess.

3. Link up your blog for all of us to love.

4. Make an attempt to check out at least two new blogs. Don't know where to start? How about the two blogs above you? If you love the blog, become a follower and leave them a comment letting them know.

So link up! You don't have to post about the hop...but you know how we ladies work, the more the merrier. We would love it if you would help us spread the word and help Welcome Wednesday grow! One of you could be next week's spotlight guest hostess!

Published with Blogger-droid v1.7.4

Tis the Season

Four weeks ago I made the decision to raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society by running the Tinker Bell Half Marathon with Team in Training.  The decision was not an easy one but was prompted when a close friend, Adam, of our was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma at the early ago of 29.

Originally, I had planned on running the 5K event on the last weekend in January.  When I received news of the diagnosis, it immediately hit home, not only did I think of Adam as a brother, but having a very close relationship to my own brother, I could only imagine the impact it was having on his family.  Adam has just completed his second of six to eight chemo treatments this past week and remains in great spirits.

I am a mom, I work two jobs, and lately, I have had the majoirty of my days not end until 7 p.m. at night.  Was I crazy for trying to take on fundraising and training for a marathon in addition to all of this? After a long discussion with the hubby, we knew it was the right thing to do.  I showed up to sign-up on the very first day of training, almost a month after the rest of the participants.

The support that I have received in the past month has been amazing. People have been overly generous, and some that have supported me were a delightful surprise.  It has made me proud to be surrounded by so many caring people that are willing to step in for a wonderful cause. As I make small sacrifices to fit in my training (getting up before 5 a.m., being away from Stella even more than I already am) I know that this is truly a part of giving back and others would do the same for me.  This year, the holiday sprirt is in full force.

For more information and progress on my training and Adam's condition, please click here.



Me, Adam, and his sister Heather at an ugly Xmas sweater party
over the weekend.