The Great Southern Snow of 2014

This week it has snowed across the southeastern portion of the United States. Apparently that is not a good thing.  We were sorely unprepared, and the evidence of that has made national news.  Personally, I was one of the fortunate ones.  I left work after being dismissed at 12:30 pm, and arrived home at roughly 4:00 pm on Tuesday.  My commute is typically between an hour to an hour and a half.  I prayed the entire way home as I gripped my steering wheel with a death grip. "Lord, please let me make it to my kids and then home safely. Lord please." That was my prayer on repeat for three and half hours.  Sometimes I could talk to Mikey or my mom or coworkers who were struggling to get home just like me. But the phone service was spotty, because everyone was calling loved ones to be sure they were safe.  Others weren't as lucky as I was on Tuesday. 

There are reports of children being trapped on buses on the roads, children having to spend the night at schools because they couldn't safely be transported home, and people spending the night in their cars or in businesses.  Some people simply ran out of gas in the gridlocks or gave up and abandoned their vehicles. It was bad.

The snow has allowed a much needed break for our little family. We have gotten to spend some uninterrupted time together, even if Mikey is having to work from home.  Micah and Corring have gotten  their first experience with snow, and Micah has certainly loved that. So here are some shots from the Giles experience of the Great Southern Snow of 2014.

It's Been Too Long

In case you couldn't tell, I took a break from blogging.  I found that my commute plus my work schedule, and spending time with Micah and Corrin had pretty much taken everything out of me by the time bed time rolled around in the evenings.  Also take a look back through the blog.  The posts that were up were the bare minimum.  I was tired of just getting by, and decided it was better to post nothing than to post mediocre posts. 

So now my goal is to post at least once a week, and not beat myself up if I'm not able to do that.  I think that is a manageable goal, because I've found, that with a better schedule and both kids sleeping through the night, I tend to have a little time to myself in the night. Some of that time will be used to work on Growing Up Giles.

Yes! We Did!

I hate politics.  I hate the campaign commercials that take over the television and radio.  I hate the way the candidates and their followers bad mouth one another.  I hate the lies that they tell hoping to gather more followers.  I am so happy that the politics are over.  I am also very grateful that President Obama has been reelected.  I appreciate that I am here to witness history with the election of the first black president.  I appreciate that my son and daughter live in a world where that possibility is a reality.  I am grateful that when my son tells me he wants to be president, I can say with confidence that he can.

Congratulations Mr. President!

Rock The Vote 2012

Surprise!

My new favorite lunch spot.

I went to lunch today, and walked into an ambush on my return: a surprise work shower.  I'm still waiting on pictures from the shower, but here are the beautiful flowers that my office gifted us.

We are truly blessed.  And then I left work early, because I wasn't feeling well.

Getting Ready For Baby

There is always so much to do {or so much you want to do} to prepare for a new little person joining your family.  It dawned on me recently that I haven't really done much to prepare for Corrin's imminent arrival.  Then, of course, I made a list of things that I would like to have done before she gets here, or soon after.  Here's our list.

• Purchase a coming home outfit
• Pack hospital bag
• Borrow/Purchase a bassinet
• Exchange diapers
• Install Carseat
• Wash and put away baby clothes
• Find out price of childcare for two babies
• Prepare Micah's big boy room
• Prepare nursery

Where Have You Been? Again?

Hello all!  I'm sure you must think I fell off the face of the earth.  The last time that I posted an actual post was February 14, then there were a couple throwback Fridays.  But I'm still here, and we're still kicking.  Our little world has just changed a bit, and our adjustment period was longer than I anticipated.  First, I got a job.  It is not in the field that I went to school for, but I find that I like it.  I like the people that I work with, and I think I've finally adjusted to waking up early in the morning again, and not being able to take a nap during the day. The commute is taking a little longer to adjust to, but I'm working on that.  Micah is now going to daycare.  He's adjusted quite well.  At first, he wouldn't nap at daycare. He's finally learning to sleep with other children around, and I think he likes playing with/around the other children.  I certainly like that he is getting to interact with other children.

Lots has happened since my last post, and I am dedicating this week to catching up.  I'm finally getting a little of my energy back that baby #2 has been sucking out of me, so hopefully I'll be able to blog more consistently.  I won't promise that I will blog nearly everyday like I did while I was home with Micah, but I will try to at least be consistent.  So look out for the following posts in the next week...

• Week 12 Vlog
• Cam's Birthday Party
• Micah's 15 Month Appointment 
• A Random Post of Pictures
• Meeting New Cousins
• Micah's @ 16 Months Old

Micah's Happenings

Micah has been doing Micah things.  Here he is last night playing in the curtains.  A favorite thing to do around here.

Today he played with his tennis balls.

*****

So remember this post where I talked about working on a project for myself.  I mentioned that this would probably change and grow.  Well it's changed and grown.  My Birthday Bucket List has become Talking in Color, a blog for me and my interests.  {Not mommy related.}  Growing Up Giles will continue to focus on the Giles family and our home, but mostly Micah.  Check it out.

Click the button

Review of 2011

Here you go.  The Giles family's year in review.

JANUARY

Micah met his Auntie Angel for the first time.

Micah had his first play-date.

FEBRUARY

We dedicated Micah.

MARCH

Micah got a new toy.

He also had his first solids.

APRIL

We purchased our first home.

And celebrated Micah's first Easter.

MAY

Micah turned six months old.

JUNE

Micah got his first teeth.

JULY

Micah went swimming, and learned to crawl.

We went to the Giles Family Reunion.

Micah celebrated his first 4th of July!

AUGUST

We worked on finishing Micah's room.

Micah learned to climb the stairs.

SEPTEMBER

Micah went on his first boat ride.

OCTOBER

We climbed Stone Mountain.

Micah had surgery to clear clogged tear ducts.

Micah celebrated his first Halloween.

NOVEMBER

We went on our first family cruise.

Micah got his first hair cut.

And celebrated his first birthday!

DECEMBER

Attempted to do 25 Christmas activities.  We failed.

Decorated for Christmas.

Took lots of pictures.

We celebrated Christmas.

Happy New Year Eve!

Chilling

Micah gets quite comfortable in this little red chair.  It's not even his, but I love it.  I will be sad when it's returned to it's rightful owners.  Here is the little man chilling like he's the king of the castle.

And one more of Mikey and Micah napping.  Just because I think it's cute the way Micah made Mikey his pillow.