Spilling the beans. Are you ready?

All right, I'm going to share our name pick...

I've had plenty of time since all the baby naming drama, so I'm ready to spill the beans.

Here it is ... drum roll please...

Devland (or Devlend) Cruz Gammon

I like Devlen better but Chad is insisting on having the "d" on the end. So I'm warming to it. It means "fierce courage" and is very Irish, which is one of the reasons why I love it. We really like it and feel like it is sophisticated and different but not crazy different.

It fits us :)

Dirty Hippie Is BACK!

I hung out with a long time friend today and it got my wheels turning about a lot of different subjects. I've been having some writer's block lately but I got some fuel to my fire today and am going to jump into some really interesting conversations.

The first one I love, because it validates my skepticism and who doesn't like to be validated? :) As I've talked about many times before... the more I learn, the more skeptical I am about my food, what I put in and on my body etc.

Which brings me to my next point... Jet fuel in my baby's formula. Don't know if any of you have heard about this but, to be honest, it didn't surprise me a ton. Here is the link to an article about it http://www.yourlawyer.com/articles/read/16363 and you might have seen it on the news etc.

The rocket fuel component, perchlorate, has been found in baby formulas. The EPA knew it was there but didn't think it was at a level high enough that would harm infants. Well guess what? They forgot to think about the fact that formula... gets mixed with water which has also been found to have percholorate in it. So the combination can make it to toxic levels. OOPS! Oops and my infant aren't two words I want in the same sentence.

I have been repeatedly shown that natural, in most every area of life, is the way to go... You can't rely on other people to make sure that what you eat and use is of good quality and safe. It's been proven time and time again that the FDA isn't really doing much for us. It's time for society to be more RESPONSIBLE. I know that is a dirty word and most everyone just wants to do what's easy and convenient for them so that they don't have to use their brains. But we are reaping the consequences because of that line of thinking ... or not thinking :).

So call me a dirty hippie if you want... but it's not looking quite so dirty anymore.

Have you made someone's day lately?

It's amazing how someone can bless you so much within just a few short minutes of knowing them. Corben and I stopped by a yard sale on our way home this morning and while I was sorting through clothes Corben made friends with the woman having the yard sale's little boy. He was a little older than Corben but so sweet and couldn't wait to show Corben how things worked and what to play with next. I talked with the mom while sorting through clothes and she commented on how beautiful Corben is. What mom doesn't love that? Her daughter even held him in her lap and played with him a few minutes. He was having so much fun. I hated to have to leave.

I noticed on the way in that there was a box of A Beka curriculum for kindergarten that didn't have a price on it. So I asked her about it and she took me over and told me about it and asked if I wanted to homeschool and my response is that I want too :). Same response I gave to breastfeeding and having natural childbirth... I want to. I've never experienced it or tried it... but I want to. She told me I could have it! Really? I thanked her many times over and payed her for the baby clothes I picked up. Then I had to sadly pick Corben up and take him to the car. He was so heartbroken and cried the whole way to the car. He was enjoying himself so much and they were such a sweet family. It was only a few minutes of interaction but it made my day. I was blessed.

I did feel bad for Corben though. It just reiterates the fact that Corben does not get enough socialization. He loves being around other kids. He'll mostly just watch them, but he loves it. I feel so awful every time I think about it. It's hard for me to really play with him these days, now that I am getting bigger. Keeping a boy occupied requires a lot of roughhousing, flips and chasing :). And I just don't have it in me much. Poor guy. So later today I took him to a park with a special toddler playground to make it up to him. And of course I over did it. My back hurts from putting Corben on top of the slide over and over and I am exhausted... but Corben had a good time and got to watch other kids run and play and even go up and stare at a few toddler aged friends :). And I got to see some other moms too.


It was a good day... I'm going to go lie down now! :)

I may be messy but I'm not lazy

I love this mug over at perpetualkid.com

And my husband can vouch for all the type A people - what is says is totally true.

Drama & Smiles

Just when I think things are going smoothly somebody goes and acts like an idiot. Why? Why can't things just flow smoothly? Wouldn't that be interesting if God gave us some "no idiot" dust that we could sprinkle on people when they need a good turn around? Okay I know we couldn't do that all the time... but maybe just a few sprinkles that we could use at strategic times in our lifetime. Unfortunately we can't live peoples lives for them... even when we really, really, really want too.

One can dream I guess...

Life will never be perfect or stress free so we just have to focus on those little things that make us smile. That's why I love the verse Job 8:21 - God promises that he will give us something to smile about everyday. What an awesome promise. Some days I see those loud and clear and some days I feel like I need to remind God "Okay God you said you will give me something to smile about, I really need that right now." It never fails...

My something to smile about today was playing on the floor with Corben and he decided he wanted to lay beside mommy and rest too. He kicked his little feet in front of me and looked up at the TV. I couldn't help but smile at those little toes and feet... that used to be so tiny and now are growing strong and keeping mommy chasing after them everyday. I'm so blessed to be a mom... who couldn't smile at that?

Okay now I'm ready to have this baby!

Woohoo!

We have a name! It's a miracle!

I think we have finally figured out our process. So if we decide to have more kids we'll know what to do. Chad ended up sitting down with the baby name book for hours, yes hours, pouring over every name and making a list that he was comfortable with. It was nice to see him put so much effort into it. Since it's mostly been me pouring over websites and books every free second I get for months now. I think just spouting out names doesn't really let him get a real sense of the name so he just tends to say no to most of them.

Which of course makes me feel like he just shoots down everything I like. The funny thing is, some of the ones he chose were ones I had mentioned before. He just needed his own time to sit down and process them.

Men are so odd and I'm sure I'll spend the rest of my life trying to figure them out. But that's okay, I think we get each other once we really take the time to understand how the other person works.

I'm so glad this is over. It was really affecting how I felt about the new baby. All I was getting was negative responses from everyone - at least it felt that way. So it doesn't make you too happy especially when you are hormonal anyway.

So with that said, I am going to pray about whether or not I want to share the name we picked out. I'm really excited to share, but more than anything I want to be excited about my baby and not let anything get in the way of that.

I don't think most people quite understand how much naming means to me. I have loved names all of my life. Even when I was younger I had a baby name book (which freaked my parents out a little bit) but I was always fascinated by name meanings and origins. It was just fun. Names are so important, its one of the first gifts you will give your child and you want it to be perfect, from your heart and a reflection of both parents.

So for right now we are still telling people we are naming him Beauregard (ha ha).

Pregnancy, work, and letting go

Well the warm weather seems like it is finally here to stay and summer is right around the bend. The pool in our community just opened up and I can't wait for the whole fam to go and enjoy the water. I found a really cute maternity swimsuit. It's strange that I am more comfortable in my pregnant body than I am in my "regular" body. I feel pretty and that's a nice feeling. Even though some days I'm sure I'm not (you know those - I don't have time to shower, baby woke up way earlier than usual, I didn't get a nap, and baby is cranky - kind of exhausting days) but there's just something beautiful about being pregnant that tends to overflow to the outside. Not to mention that God helps us out by making our hair fuller and shinier and our skin glow.

I'm still transitioning out of my "regular" job and God is providing lots of freelance opportunities, which is what I want to focus on from now on. I'm excited to not feel as stressed and to take more time for my son and my pregnant body. I can tell a difference already in Corben's behavior and I'm sure it has a lot to do with me having more patience with him. I want to give Corben more opportunities to socialize and for me to socialize too! It's not only great for him but a life saver for me, it's not just a "want" anymore, it's a necessity. Remember a few posts back I talked about slowing down and focusing on my family etc. Well this is the start. I didn't know if it would feel right not having a "regular" job and wondered if I could let that go. But it does and I'm still going to get to do some design stuff as I designate that I have time for it. That's what I need right now and that's what my family needs right now.

I keep promising that I will post a photo and I keep forgetting! I'll try to do that asap!

Have a great day!