Cooking, Cleaning, Working, and...Blogging?!

Hold on to your ipads ladies and gentlemen, this is going to be a long one.

Let me start by saying I never thought I would join the blogging world. Facebook, twitter, even :gasp: myspace, sure I've done them all. But keeping up with a blog every few days?! Not my idea of a good time. Until that is, I had a child. They have this way of changing everything, including your idea of a good social media outlet. I could care less if I have any followers or if anybody even reads this thing except me. I just want a way to brag, vent, share, mostly just remember this time in my life where it seems everything is flying by at the speed of light. 
A few side notes before we move on: 1. I do realize my daughter is 8 months old and I should have started this a few months ago, but free time is far and few between when you are a momma. 2. This blog will most likely have a bunch of random thoughts and incorrect grammar due to the reason listed above. If that's not your cup of tea you may not want to proceed any further. 3. My husband wanted me to call this blog Swamp Donkey Stamper.

If that doesn't give you a good idea of everyday life around here I don't know what will. Okay, here we go.

The birth of my daughter was probably the best day of my life. Well no, not probably, it was. There are no words to describe how much I love that little girl. I mean come on, look at her. And for the most part I love everything about being a mother. I love watching Raelynn grow and develop. I love the little spitfire personality that she already has. I love that when she is upset she wants me to calm her down. I could go on and on about everything I love about being a mom. 

But, there are a few things I can not stand. The competitiveness for one. I've noticed ever since I had Raelynn I get questions like "Is she crawling yet," "Can she talk," "Is she walking," "How much does she weigh," etc, etc. Followed by "Oh my kid did that so long ago," "Oh my gosh she is huge," "Oh my child can say 10 whole words!!!" Don't get me wrong, I'm all about bragging about my kid. Its the look these mom's get in their eyes. That "I'm going to get my kid to throw some bow's and take a leg out so you don't surpass my kid on the development scale" look. I wish I was kidding about this, its sickening. I actually heard a mom complaining about another mom repinning her 1st birthday pins on pinterest because it would mean her child's party wouldn't be original and as special if everyone else was doing it! Um, hello? ISN'T THAT THE WHOLE POINT OF PINTEREST?! And where exactly did this mom find these ideas...what's that, you repinned them from someone else's 1st birthday party board?! I mean, come on.  I prefer to just let Raelynn be Raelynn, go at her own pace, be her own person and not worry about what everyone else is doing. Okay, end rant here.

I normally don't like to be a Debbie Downer but I told myself I would use this opportunity to get whatever I want to talk about out, so here goes. The past couple of months have been crazy for me, and not a good crazy. I'm not really going to go into detail here because its a bit too much even for you hard core bloggers. It's literally been one thing after another. To say the least I've been struggling. My saving grace has been my faith in God of course. Also, my husband and daughter have been my rock. They have really kept me going, made me smile, kept me laughing. I'm so thankful for them. They have instilled a strength in me I never knew was there. I know God doesn't give you anything you can not handle, so this too shall pass. 

One of the things I have been struggling with is the death of our pup. Unless you have a dog, you probably think I'm crazy. Little Kobi was my first baby. He taught me how to care for another living creature. He was such a good dog, and brought us so much joy. I really haven't been able to look at pictures of him since he passed without breaking down, but I want to share a few here.

 Rest in Peace sweet pup. I know you're probably curled in in God's lap loving every minute. 

And on that depressing note I must run. Raelynn is doing that uhhh uhhh uhhh thing she does when she wants dinner, Brett is banging around some pots and pans, Looney Tunes is blasting from the TV, and bathtime is approaching. 

Knowing me, it will be another month before you hear from me. I promise not to be so whiny next go round!