#BABYSHIT

Today is the perfect day to be sitting at the computer with a hot cup of coffee, working on my blog. Now, if only I could convince my baby that too! Instead, I’m sitting on the couch with him on my lap watching me out of the slits of his eyes and even though my legs are killing me (leg day), I’m afraid to stop bouncing them because I know as soon as I do, those big eyes will pop open and I’ll have to start all over trying to get him to sleep. Not that I don’t love holding him, but I got to PEE!

Let me back pedal to catch everyone up on what’s been going on the last couple of weeks. To start with, breastfeeding went out the window. I tried so hard to make it happen, but just could’t make enough to satisfy this little dude. It doesn’t help that my pump broke about a week ago. He wasn’t happy, I wasn’t happy, it just wasn’t worth it anymore. Now we’ve been on straight formula for about 5 days and everything is hunky dory. Minus a little constipation, but after a good belly massage he seems to get things moving. I do have to say that formula poop is so much worse than breast milk poop. I cannot stress this enough. So. Much. Worse… The color, the texture, and smell…. oh god the smell! I mean I work for a veterinarian and I have assisted with some pretty nasty, smelly procedures and it doesn’t compare to this cute little boy’s poop. Eyes watering, gagging, trying to hold my breath and wipe his ass and close my eyes all at the same time; meanwhile, Mr. Jasper over here thinks moms putting on a pretty good show with a grin from ear to ear. You can’t be mad!

I’ve started working out again. So far, I’ve been able to get in at least 30 minutes a day, which is perfect! I got a new pair of running shoes, now if the weather would allow me to run. It better before long because we’re already signed up for some races! I love to run! Also, after 3 years of marriage, I’ve finally decided to start training Jiu Jitsu with my husband. Mainly for when I tell him am going to kick his ass and his response is too bad you can’t; he’s not wrong right now but maybe after some training (still doubt it). I will tell you it’s not going to be easy having to listen to my husband. Don’t get me wrong, I know he knows what he’s doing (he’s been training for over 10 years) but this is the same man who can’t find his pants in his dresser or his wallet when I tell him EXACTLY where it’s at; how am I supposed to take him serious?! I’m also not the type of person to “leave it on the mat”. If he makes me mad or gets a little too rough, he better not come home expecting a hot meal and a night of romance.

So, I have to add in this story from today. This is kind of going back to the formula poop. Pake is in the bedroom changing Jasper and he yells that he needs help (kind of frantically) so I come to the rescue. There’s poop everywhere… I’m holding up the legs and Pake is wiping. Every time he wipes, he’s getting poop on my hands!! I’m yelling but don’t dare drop the baby legs because the poop will really get everywhere. He is literally just smearing poop on the baby’s butt and legs, on my hands, and using an insane amount of baby wipes to do so! And of course, Jasper just thinks it’s great. How does this man survive the 5 hours a day I’m at work Tuesday and Thursday?!

If you can’t tell, it’s now taking me multiple days to get a blog entry wrote; a little here, a little there. There are just not enough hours in the day.

Two of my best friends came over to visit the other day. We have been friends ever since I can remember. They were out here on the farm all the time growing up. We are now all married with kids…. CRAZY! I still don’t’ feel old enough or mature enough to have a baby; like an actual human being that I am responsible for keeping alive. Both their kids are older than Jasper, so I get to hear about a lot of things to look forward to. I’m so excited…can’t you tell… It is really nice to be able to talk to moms though and know that you’re not alone because being a mom is hard, the hardest job I’ve ever had. That is no lie! So, when he’s losing his mind because the bottle’s not warm yet and I’m dancing around the room with him, singing nonsense to the tune of twinkle twinkle little star (It works). I’m not the only weird one.

Here’s to the almost end of February and hoping spring is near!

#MOMLIFE

Well I kind of fell off the wagon for a while with my blog. Mom life is keeping me on my toes. Jasper and I have both been fighting a cold and cough the last couple of weeks, but I think we’re on the tail end of it now. It’s way more pain to watch your baby be sick then it is to actually be sick yourself. And at this age there’s just not much you can do for them besides lots of love, which is never in short supply. We just had his two month appointment Monday and he is doing great! He now weighs 12 pounds, 15 ounces and is 24 inches long (he’s getting so big!) He also got his first round of shots and it absolutely broke my heart! But it didn’t last long, and he was ok again.

And yet again…it is now 5 days since I started this entry with the first paragraph. This growing baby boy is keeping me on my toes! As I’m typing this, one handed I might add, he is sitting on my lap staring at me smiling. I’m pretty sure he thinks I have a funny looking face. It’s amazing how easy it becomes to do anything and everything one handed: fixing a bottle, typing a blog, making popcorn, changing over the laundry, I mean the list is a mile long!

The last few weeks have been busy ones. And I’m not including what all’s going on in my head 24/7.

We made a weekend trip down to Stillwater, OK to see Pake’s Aunt and Uncle; it was a fun and relaxing trip, just needed to be longer!
I forgot a burp rag on my shoulder for part of the day; either no one noticed, or no one wanted to break the news to me, not even my husband.
I stuck my son’s toes in my mouth (this may be weird, I don’t know) after my husband changed his diaper and let him get poop on his feet and “forgot” to wipe it off.
We learned the millions of different uses for baby wipes.
We went on our first date night since having Jasper.
Pake’s parents came for the weekend (I have awesome in-laws).
I had a girl’s night with my mom and sister for my mom’s birthday.

I know I’m forgetting things but can only remember so much without writing it down.

The two best friends, Petey and Dobby, 2019

My sister, mom and I out for my mom’s birthday! 2019

I’m going to go in to a little depth on a few of the above events. Let’s start with baby poop and let’s not excluded baby pee. Isn’t it weird that after you become a mother it just doesn’t matter. Like oh the baby peed on my shirt, oh well, it’ll dry (probably not as big of a problem for girl moms but boy moms you know what I’m talking about)! Same with poop! Oops stuck my finger in poop, just wipe it on my pants and then I’m like oh guess I could’ve used a baby wipe. I mean I’ve gone as far as having my baby pee on my pillow right before bed and just flipping my pillow over, which as I’m typing that out, I’m like wow Tayla that’s disgusting. Oh well…

Now let’s talk about baby wipes! I have no idea how I’ve made it through my 26 years without these! I’m pretty sure we only use them for the baby 25%-50% of the time. They are so handy! We seriously use them for everything. Need to take your makeup off, baby wipe. Need to clean the toilet, baby wipe. Need to wipe down the counter, baby wipe. Need to clean the car, baby wipe. I’ve even used them to clean the dog!! We will never not have baby wipes in our house.

Over all, life is going better than I could have ever imagined. Pake’s business is booming, I love my job and the fact they are working with my schedule, and most of all we have the most beautiful baby boy there is (of course I may be partial). I’ve also started on another one of my goals; I’ve started working out in preparation for a couple 5K races mid-year! I’m excited!

Hope everyone has a great first week of February!

2019: A New Year

So the entries are going back in time to the 1st of this year. I started this on OneNote, not really sure I wanted to go public (its very intimitating), but here I am! So here goes nothing…

January 1st, 2019

My Husband and I have been married for 3 years as of December. We live on my small family farm in a 480 square foot house; the house may be tiny, but the land and view make up for it. My husband is self employed, making one of a kind workout maces and clubs. He also runs a small Jiu Jitsu gym and is a Combat Engineer in the Army Reserve. I work as a receptionist/vet assistant at the local veterinary hospital in town (I absolutely love my job). We just recently became parents to the most precious baby boy there is, Jasper Dale. We were never the type of people to really talk about having/wanting kids until recently, and let me tell you it was the best decision I have ever made. I never thought I would love being a mom so much; he is the most perfect thing I have ever seen. Along with our small human family, we also have a circus of animals: 4 dogs Dixie (Lab/German Shephard), Tucker (German Shephard), Renzo (Cane Corso/Pit), and Petey (your guess is as good as mine, he’s white/brown); 2 cats Rooster and Dobby (plus a few barn cats); 5 potbelly pigs Napoleon, Elmer, Chubbles, Maui, and Nobody; and lastly our 3 horses Star, Sugar, and Oakie. We have big plans in the up coming future for our little family and farm and I can’t wait to share it along the way! We’re living the dream on our little slice of heaven!

I want to start keeping track of my years better, not only for myself but for my now 5 week old baby, Jasper. The last 5 weeks have flown by SOOO fast, hopefully by starting this Journal I’ll be able to look back and remember all the good times we had! Eventually Jasper will be able to look back as well and really get a sense of how crazy (and awesome) his parents are/use to be.

And don’t be fooled this isn’t the first journal I’ve started, life just always seems to get in the way and after a few days they start to collect dust. I’m not a “new year, new me” type person, but I do like to set goals for myself and family and what better time to set goals for yourself then the first of the year. One of my goals this year is to keep this journal going!

This first entry, I want to use as a recap of 2018 and also my new goal list for 2018. Let’s start with 2018 (they’re listed in no particular order).

We welcomed our first child into the world on 11/26/2018, Jasper Dale McNally! This was by far the worst pain a have ever went through but it was the best day of my entire live; I can’t get enough of this sweet baby boy!
In March, I had been an employee at Redland Vet for 1 year! This is by far the best job I’ve ever had and my bosses are awesome bosses/people.
Pake was able to quit working for other people the first of July and focus solely on his new business, Become Stronger Industries. Business has been going extremely well, and I don’t see it going anywhere but up! He’s shipped items all over the world and has been able to support our family while I’ve been on maternity leave.
In August, we adopt are fourth and final dog (for awhile…), Petey. He is the mouthiest little dog I’ve ever owned and he fits right in with our crazy gang. I can’t imagine not having him. He’s also very taken with Jasper. I think the two of them will find plenty of mischief to get in to together.
We went on several trips this year.
- I tagged along to Colorado with Pake. He took part in a ruck march while I went to Barnes and Noble. I was already pregnant by then, so it wasn’t as fun as it could have been, not saying I can’t have fun without drinking, but it helps.
- Again, I stowed away on a trip Pake was taking. First stop was Topeka for a Jiu Jitsu tournament, and he also had a booth set up. Then we were off to Emerson, NE to deliver a cemetery sign Pake made for his good friend Eric. It was a long trip with lots of road time but it was fun spending time together. We also had Renzo and Petey with us so it was a full car!
- Then there was the Branson trip….. This time it was my mom, my nephew, and I. The plan was to spent a long weekend with family, go to Silver Dollar City, see the sites, etc. It turned in to the week from hell! Our car broke down on the way to Silver Dollar City. It took us until Tuesday to get our car fixed and get home. I now despise that town…
We had plans to add on to our 480 square foot, one bedroom house but being owned by multiple members of my family, we ran in to some issues so we’ve had to delay the addition.

Now on the my personal and family goals for 2019:

Start a Journal/Blog: I would like to make daily entries, but lets be realistic, I’m going to shoot for weekly entries.
Start running again: I would like to participate in one or two 5k’s this year.
Continue making improvements to our house and land.
Get a chicken/turkey coop made.
Buy chickens/turkeys for said coop.
Be more active in Pake’s business: I would like to start helping more with advertising, invoicing, really anything that’s not making the actually equipment; even though, I do help hold handles occasionally.
Start a garden and learn to can vegetables.
Breastfeed Jasper until he’s at least 6 months old.
Make more of an effort to get together with family and friends.
Start back to work on a part time basis, so we can keep Jasper out of daycare until he’s older.
Be the best possible mother I can be.

I’m sure there will be more to add to both list over the next week, but this is a good start. So, here’s to the new year!