Martha Metzler.com

We were walking down the aisles at Target just looking at all the baby craziness and these were the three things Sam said:

1. Sam: “Why is all the baby food ground up veggies and fruit?! Where is the meat?!
Me: “I don’t know, maybe it’s something to do with that meat will be hard on their stomach.”
Sam: “That’s dumb, that’s because we don’t give it to them early enough. We’re going to throw steaks in the blender and give it to our baby,”
Me: “Oh ok.”

2. Sam: “Holy crap baby food is expensive!”
Me: “Yeah I know, luckily we’ll save money with breastfeeding.”
Sam: “Or we could just chew up our food and give it to them.”
Me: “Are you seriously talking about baby-birding our kids their food?!”
Sam: “Yeah.”
Me: “Oh ok.”

3. Me: “It’s really hard to find masculine nursery designs if I don’t want my kid’s room to look like a zoo or a cream puff’s room.”
Sam: “I think we should have a MMA theme in the nursery.”
Me: “Like MMA fighting? Oh ok.”

God help me I love this man.

Monkey,
   You will quickly learn that some of the happiest times that your father and I have are sitting in the living room making music together. Your father can play the guitar in ways that make me swoon… save the barf noises for when you’re a tween. We could play and sing for hours.

We can’t wait to make music with you little one.

Whether you know it or not, we love to play to you now and I hope you embrace music in your own way as we have and experience the way it can stir your soul.

Here is a sweet song that I came across through my friend Meredith. 

So I’ve officially entered into the “no sleep” zone. I cannot get comfortable to save my life. I’ve always been a side sleeper but now I have to keep rotating like a rotisserie chicken because my back keeps aching when I’m on one side too long. Then naturally, I’ve NEVER been a back sleeper but of course I’ll wake up on my back and it feels like Rosie O`Donnell is sitting on my stomach so I  jump out of bed to 1. shower because Rosie O`Donnell was on my stomach and 2. Pee because that crazy lady was pressing on my bladder.

So last night, I was having a dream that I was meeting with a birth guru and he was telling me the secret to sleeping well. He started telling me that “Sam needed to put his knee into my back, I needed to put a wedged memory foam pillow under my belly, and now, the key secret to sleeping well is…”

MOTHER LICKER THE ALARM CLOCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That’s right, as soon as he was about to tell me the secret to sleeping, NPR comes blaring from my alarm clock.

I’ve never liked you alarm clock, but now it’s war.

I kid I kid… nope, I’m not kidding. I’ve grown. I’m in my 19th week and have officially popped out. I feel like Buddha as people rub my belly for good luck… sometimes I think it’d be funny to hide a remote control robot under my shirt and have it reach out when people rub my belly like the Poltergeist. But then I remember that I always invade people’s personal space and this is part of the drill. 

So I’ve attached a bump picture, it’s not the best but you get the idea.

And to answer your question, no I did not get oddly-placed bangs cut. Those are new hairs that have decided to grow since I got pregnant. So… I’ve got that going for me.

Love yall and thanks for joining me in this. Stay tuned for my new segment of life, “The Adventures of the Disappearing Waistline.”

Before you think I got this because I’m stylish… my bulging pants fastened by a rubber band because I’m too cheap to buy maternity pants will show you otherwise. My friend Kate passed this along and the rules are if I tag you in it, you have to list 7 interesting things about yourself. You gotta do it or impending doom will strike your…err…. oh whatever, just do it ok?

1. I wish I was a rockstar in a little duo much like the Civil Wars but I don’t like staying up late sooo that’s always put a ripple in my dream.

2. I have been sky diving and bungee jumping but only loved sky diving.

3. My favorite thing to do is sit on the back porch when it’s warm outside with the hubby and eat supper with a giant Blue Moon with an orange slice of course.

4. I’m petrified of my kid hating me so I’m going to make he/she watch the Gilmore Girls and prove that kids and parents can be friends… which I realize is ridiculous since I wish I could ground Roy half the time he does anything stupid.

5. I’d love to have an old house that I fix up into a resting place for women to escape and come for counseling. I’d be there when people needed me to for counseling but otherwise, I’ll be on the back porch on a rocking chair to just rock with them as they decompress.

6. If there was such a thing as Candy Anonymous, I’d go. Hi my name is Martha and I’m a candyholic.

7. I think and will always think my hubby is the hottest man on the planet. He’s alll mine ladies 🙂

Now it’s your turn SUCKAAAAAS!

Ashley Merritt

My real life Pioneer Woman, Jude

Buffy

Meredith McDaniel

“If you want to be important—wonderful. If you want to be recognized—wonderful. If you want to be great—wonderful. But recognize that he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. That’s a new definition of greatness…it means that everybody can be great (Everybody) because everybody can serve.”
– Martin Luther King, Jr. (from The Drum Major Instinct Speech, 1968)

I promised myself I wouldn’t fly through January. This is the last month that the hubby will be in the house we live in now. Hold please, I need to breathe.

Ok, I’m back. So I promised myself I’d really soak in January but it is already the second week?! Are you kidding me? I keep thinking that it’ll slow down enough for me to accomplish the things that I need to accomplish but I just don’t think that happens in real life. So, I’m just taking it a day at a time. I realized that whether or not I have my “to do list” done by February 5, that day is still going to come.

We have some amazing things coming up to savor Sam’s last days in NC. We’re headed to the snowy mountains this weekend with some great friends, next weekend we are going quail hunting with my dad, and our last weekend we are going on a romantic trip to Chapel Hill to do all of things we used to do when we dated. (And yes, I even pondered trying to break into the house I used to live in college and make out on the couch… but I won’t. Or will I…MUAHAHA)

But in the midst of all of this, I think the biggest thing I’m grateful for is that I’m not on sinking sand. A lot of things are changing in my life… including the size of my rear… but I worship a God who is so constant and unchanging that when I dwell on Him, life slows down a bit. I was given an image this morning. I got swept up in the details of the move and the baby to the point that the room felt like it was spinning. But I pushed my chair back, put my head in my hands and asked for the Lord’s presence. The image that I got was that the room kept spinning, but I was being held still, in Peace’s arms, I was being held.

I hope that you feel held today. I hope you feel peace today. Sometimes it rushes over us but most of the time, we have to seek it.

 The hubby and I seeking peace. This makes my heart happy. I’m so blessed to have a partner who stirs up an
adventurous spirit in me but also joins me in times of peace.

So, 2011 will be a big year for our family. We know this and trust the Lord that all of the details will be worked out, our hearts will remain connected to Him and to each other, and we won’t be consumed with stress.

That being said, today was the Monday of all Mondays. I decided to make a list of things that needed to be done in the next few months. Please don’t laugh at me when you see me and there is a giant welt on my forehead from where I slammed my head on my desk. Or if you pass me on the highway with a sign that says, “Will work for massage and hot bubble bath.”  

I trust that the Lord is my Provider and don’t mistake my planning for trying to control things. He designed me to organize what needs to get done.  He gave us brains people, let use them shall we? I don’t want to be caught unprepared in a way that makes things really hard on my family. I do that enough when I think it’s hilarious to wrap a rubberband around the nozzle on the sink and wait to see my husband get covered in water. MUAHA… yeah it’s still funny.

We will be moving across the country to Fort Lewis in Washington in the Spring. Sam leaves February 5th for basic training with the Army JAG Corps.  He gets finished June 17 with training and will join me in Washington… a week before my due date. That’s right folks, this mother hen is growing a little chick. I’ll head out to Washington in May by plane or car with the dog to move us into a new house, meet a new doctor, and oh yeah… cross my legs until my hubby gets out there. Crossing your legs works right?  

So you can see how a list is helpful to me eh? (I’m practicing my Canadian in case I want to drive up to Vancouver while I’m the big traveler). I’m keeping a sense of humor through it all and can just laugh at how every time I go to visit sweet hubby at training I will be bigger… and bigger… and bigger.

I will need you my sweet bloggin’ pals to make me laugh, remind me that God is in control, and that you’ll come to visit in good ole Washington!

I hope you find yourself happy and full of peace this holiday season. I’m going to enjoy my brothers being in town and I’ll be back in blog style after Christmas.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from Sam, Roy, and me.

As some of you may know, my hottie hubby will be leaving in February for around 4 months for basic training with the Army JAG. We want to go on a weekend romantic getaway since we’ll be moving as soon as he gets back and he’ll start work.

SO we want some input! Here are some of the limitations:

– we have my christmas bonus to use but we don’t have a whole lot of dough to spend

– somewhere we can travel for the weekend, so nowhere super far away

– did i mention romantic? so leave your Dollywood suggestions at home

– it will be January, keep weather in mind

So where are some of the places you have gone and loved? Or read about or wanted to try? Bring on the suggestions!