As Long as I'm Living, My Mommy You'll Be

When I found out I was pregnant, I was so excited that I was finally going to be a mother. I had watched my mom be such a wonderful a mother to me, my sister, and even some of my friends who didn't have good motherly role models. I read article after article on how to be a good parent. I spent hours pouring over various website on which products had best reviews, advice on how to breastfeed, best kinds of diapers and so on. I talked to my mom for hours on end, talking to her and sharing my dreams on how awesome it was, that I was going to be a mom, and that I would make my mom a Nana for the third time.

However, I only saw her twice while I was pregnant. Living almost 1000 miles away, my mom and I never had the chance to be in each others company on a daily basis. She got to see pictures of my growing belly, but not see me in person until I was 28 weeks. It's hard not seeing my mom as it is, but being pregnant made it that much harder for me. But of course, I tried to be strong and not show how much I really missed my mommy. There were times when I would just get overwhelmed and call mom to just cry. Being the great mom she is, would cry right along there with me. I knew she cried for two reasons: she was upset that her child was having such a hard time, but she was upset that she couldn't be there for me physically. She couldn't just reach over and give me a big hug. 

I thought it was hard being away from family while being pregnant, but actually having a baby and being away from family is so much worse. The moment I had Eleanor, the first person I wanted to call and tell was my mom. Literally 5 minutes after I had her, I called my mom and just cried and told her that Eleanor was here. She couldn't be there with me or there directly afterwards because she was in Florida, and I was in Virginia. I know she wanted to be there. She wanted to be there so bad. She just literally could not get there in time. My labor was less than 5 hours and even if she hopped on a plane the minute I went into labor, she still probably would not have made it. 

My mom did finally get to come and visit with us for about a week, but the minute we had to say goodbye, we were crying like babies (and if you know me, you know I don't cry). Since then, there have been quite a few occasions that I have called my mom because I didn't know what to do. "I don't know whats wrong. She cries all the time." "I hurt my back again, mom. I don't know what to do. I hurt so bad." "shes always hungry. Every hour shes hungry. I don't know if I can do this." Each time this happens, she quietly waits for me to finish, she cries with me if I am in tears, and gently reminds me that everything will be alright. She offers her advice and tells me that I can do it. 

I said all of that to say this: I love my mom so so so much. I hate it everyday that I cant see her, and that she cant see Eleanor growing up. But I do want others to realize just how lucky they have it. So many others take their mothers for granted. So many people have their moms live just minutes up the street. They can go over to their mom's house any time and eat a sandwich while Nana plays with the baby. New mama's can have their moms come over to take care of the baby for a little while, or clean up the house just a little while. They can go to doctors appointments for moral support when their child gets their shots. They ALWAYS have a willing babysitter to take the baby for a few hours so you can go out with your hubby to eat. Or go grocery shopping. LOL Not everyone has a support system. 

I do have a wonderful Mother-in-law, whom I love very much. She is a great woman, who raised the man that I married. But she raised my hubby, not me. And I am so grateful that she only likes about 45 minutes away and keeps Eleanor when she can, but she has health issues sometimes and can't always come when I have a bad day. But my Mom. My mom was one who stayed up with me all night long when I broke my wrist. And taught me how to sew. My mom is the one who taught me how to be a great Sunday School teacher, she taught me to care for children, she taught me how to care for others, taught me to be a gracious person. She taught me to not rely on others to get he job done. She taught me to volunteer. She taught me to pray. She taught me to be the best mother that I can possibly be. 

I love my Mom. =) 

Christmas Party for the Win Part 2

A Few days ago I posted about our experience at my husbands Command Christmas Party. I only did the fella's on the first post, so today I want to get this out of the way and finish off with the ladies.

Disclaimer:
None of these Photos show faces.
This was Hubby's Christmas party for his ship. Although he technically works with these people, his ship has over 800 people on the ship and only works with a handful of people closely so posting some pictures isn't doing any harm. This is all fun and games, right?
I support our troops in all ways, but me blogging about this is just my opinion. Not intended to hurt anyone's feelings.
On with the show!
Let's start with the classy. This is classy with a C. Meaning these ladies know how to dress properly to a holiday party. They know how to dress for a party for a work function.

 This lady had on a gorgeous gown by: I have no clue, but its purty! She was sporting a beautiful gold necklace, pearl bracelet, and black clutch with gold clasps. So classy!

This glowing mama  wore such a cute cocktail dress in a dark purple color. it had some beautiful lace on top. I'm always a fan of lace. And she had the cutest bump ever! AAHH! on her wrist was a matching coach purple wristlet. Perfect for holding some lipstick, some cash for tips, and a candy bar. In case she gets hungry =).

Alright everyone! On with the Klassy. That's right, we already covered the good, now its on to the bad and the ugly. Yes, there is both!

Up first we have some ugly. 

This girl look like she came straight from her high school prom. Honestly, she probably could have. Poor girl had some poofy, tulle skirt underneath, and a 1950's table cloth on top. Yikes.

Next we have the double trouble twins.

These ladies walked in the scene looking like they owned the place! Look at the strut on those ladies. Oh boy. Now lets look at their outfits. If I didn't know any better, I would have thought the mama of that girl in blue, took scissors to her dress in hopes she wouldn't wear it anymore. Has anyone ever done that? I totally did to a pair of Johns pants once. He was also half tempted to wear them again.

At some point in the evening we found a fun little photo booth at this festive gathering. I convinced John that we should go in and give it a try!!! Here are the results of our photo booth fun! =)

(In the bottom left picture, we tried the duck face, but moved too soon. So we just look a little sickly)

While we were standing in line to get our turn in the photo booth, I came across this girl. From the front (which I didn't capture) she looked really nice. Her neckline wasn't bad, her dress was pretty, long and it fit her great. Or so I thought. Then she passed us and I saw the back. Now I am not one to talk about back fat. I have some myself. But since I have back fat and back rolls, I would never wear a dress that let it all hang out like this girl did.

Criss-cross! From the Cha-Cha slide. Get it? Hehe. 

Across from our table, a certain young lady happened to pass by. Quite a few times actually. This girl wasn't so much as fat, or ugly, but unfortunately the dress she wore just didn't fit her body at all. In the midst of trying to get this girls picture, the waitress walked by to take some empty plates from our table. I didn't notice this until she was right next to me in the middle of me trying to creep-shot a picture. Then she whispers "I saw that" OMG, I died laughing! I was kind of embarrassed, but she said she has seen much worse things in her days of waiting tables at this place.

The dress was a little short, yes. But on another person with a different body type, it would have looked so much better. I think if this lady had chosen a different style dress, she would have made it on the Classy list, not Klassy.

Now on to the best part! EEKKK!

This next person officially wins skank of the evening. When I saw her my jaw dropped a little lot. If I didn't know any better, I would have thought she was going to the club! This dress would be more appropriate there. Not a work function! Honestly, I couldn't imagine showing up ANYWHERE wearing a dress this short.

As the night progressed, and the drunker she got, the shorter the dress got. She "lit up" the dance floor after a few drinks. She thought she was so cool. She was poppin' and droppin' and at one point, I may have saw her lady business (or at least her undies) because it rode up so far. Klassy. Real Klassy.

I just don't even know how to describe this dress any more. UGH. I will say that at the end of our night, we walked out of the venue as she was walking back in (she was probably out for a smoke. Also, real klassy.), and as she was shaking those hips, she looked me right in the eye and gave me the stink eye. It could have been for two reasons. One: She was jealous I was leaving with the hottest guy at the party, or two: she saw me take a creeper-shot of her. Either way, I gave the stink eye right back to her. I even curled my lip a little at her. #winning.

On the way back to the car, I am sure a few people thought I was a little inebriated because I was terrible at walking in my super high red shoes. I love those red shoes so much, but if I wear them for too long, they turn me into "that drunk girl" even when I am completely sober! LOL

And there you go. That was my night. I am officially counting down the days until the 2015 Command Christmas party!