Decision Dilemma....

For the turn of the year, many people are making resolutions: getting healthy, losing weight, getting organized.
For me.......I need to face the decision to have another child or not.

A HUGE decision!

So many thoughts about it have gone through my head. I will try to categorize them, including the pros and cons of each.

1. Time: I am a full-time working mother (which is much different from the typical blogger as far as I have gathered!). So AFTER I'm a mother to about 60-70 other high school kids, I come home to be a mother to my son, a wife, a cook, and a housekeeper. Now I'm not complaining because my husband does help out a great deal. But, I'm also usually exhausted. I want to make sure that I give Cy enough of my time. How does that happen with a newborn? Especially if the 2nd is a wild one like most are if your first is quiet.(which he is!) I want to make sure that Cy gets the attention from me he needs and deserves. And of course the baby needs and deserves time as well.

Also, I'm approaching 30. This year is now or never, because as far as I'm concerned, 30 is my cut-off age of conception.

2. Siblings: I love both my sisters. One is 4 years younger; the other 19 years younger. Me and my sister right under me were also best of friends growing up. We played together all the time. We fought some, but we are sisters after all! We still enjoy doing many things today. I want Cy to have that. I want him to know what it's like to have that person to lean on and to hang out with. But on the down side, what if Cy and his sibling fight constantly? Then I guess I will be over 30 and bald! LOL!

3. The "Only-Child" Stigma: I have a cousin who was the only child. He lived right behind us. He came play at our house EVERYDAY. At least he had us, but he was bored and lonely without a sibling. But then when I hear a student talk about being an only child (which happens because in Child Development, I have a lesson on birth order), I usually question the pros and cons of their life. I'm sure they think I'm some weird psycho, but I've had quite a few who have said they love being the only child. But then I have my parents who swear it is "unfair" for a child to be the only........but is it?

4. The Perfect Number: Of course since I dreamt of becoming a mother since I was a little girl, the magic number of children for me was 2. For Jeremie, it was 1. We've had some conversations about it, however lately they've been rather spontaneous and ending up with the discussion not being done fully due to where we are at or what we are doing at the time. But I've always wanted 2.....until now.

5. Finances: Kids are expensive! I don't produce milk, so formula would be like $150 a month ( I had WIC for Cy, so $100 was free). And diapers! And wipes!

6. Space: I seriously wouldn't know where to put the poor child!

7. Sleep!: I honestly don't know how I survived when Cy was a baby and I began working. Cy woke up every 2 hours on the dot until he was 3-4 months old to eat. Some days my day started at about 3:30/4:00 in the morning.

But aside from the mentioned above, a baby is a miraculous thing! The tiny clothes, the coos, the love, the miracle of pregnancy and creating a child......it is truly a blessing!

I just don't know what to do, how do I make my decision? How will I know my decision is the right one?

I want what is best for my family, but do I really know what is best at this point?

For now I'm praying for God to help answer these questions.....I just hope I don't miss His message!

Flashback Friday!

I am flashing-back to almost 2 years ago. My son was 2 soon to be 3, and decided to take a bath with bath gel while still fully clothed and not in the bath tub! I don't remember what I was doing when this took place, but it sure was funny!

There was no way I could be mad! Look how cute he was (and still is)!



What did we get ourselves into? Flashback!

So I figured I would participate in a Flashback Friday! I always read Tia's wonderful blogs, but never participated.

Well, I am flashbacking (is that a word?) about one of my dogs, Mater. He is named after the Mater off of Cars because that is my son's favorite movie. He is a boxer. He weighs over 70lbs. He will be 2 years old on March 1st; and it will be 2 years that we've had him in April.

He likes to hog bones and toys. Sounds like Chewbacca. Dryer sheets and peanut butter are irresistable to him.

I came across the pictures of when we first got him, and can barely remember him being so small. More than likely that is due to the crap I had to put up with him. At 4 months old, he started with dominance issues. I NEVER saw a puppy act the way he did. We had no idea what to do. The Dog Whisperer became an everyday name in the household. I read the books, watched the shows.....it seemed endless. Needless to say, the entire summer of 2009, I fought (physically, lol) with that dog everyday. I even thought of giving him up. But, I just couldn't. So through neutering, training, positive, and negative reinforcement (yep, a shock collar, but what else can you do to stop a then 50-60 lb dog from charging you?), we pulled through. But as he has matured, he has become the dog that I wanted to love. He is our family. He is a clown. And he makes me smile.

So here is Mater, like Tow Mater but without the Ta! ;)





Random Facts About ME!

So, I regularly follow Amy at The Idea Room, and she did a link party on random facts about herself, and I figured I would join in.
10 Random Facts about ME!

1. I have 8 pets! I plan on doing a blog all about them in the future, but the countdown is: 2 dogs, 2 rabbits, 1 bird, 1 turtle, and 2 fish!



2. I love Disney movies, and I cry for EVERY ONE OF THEM! Their stories just get to me! And the characters are so endearing. The last one I cried my heart out for was Raymond from Princess and the Frog.



3. I hate deteste rough-textured things! i.e. sand paper, nail files, porcelain without glaze, terracotta pots. They give me the frijons! (shivers for those of you who are not from South Louisiana) To file my nails shivers me to the bone.

4. I am completely undecided if I want more children. I have one son who is 3 1/2. I have completely mixed feelings on the topic, which I planned on discussing later.....

5. My name is Alison, and I am addicted to chocolate! The best part of after Christmas sales is finding the Ghirardelli squares on clearance!



6. I am obsessed with clothes! I need to stop! Really, I am running out of room!

7. My most favorite band ever is Aerosmith! I got to see them once for my 19th birthday. Better yet, STP opened the show! It was awesome!!



8. My all time favorite show is Golden Girls. I love the witty characters, and extreme yet realistic situations. Love me some Golden Girls!



9. Phineas and Ferb! Nuff said! One of the greatest cartoons on TV as of now.

10. I love the smell of laundry detergent. I love going down the aisle at the store and smelling them. I guess this weird obsession started young; I tried to eat some when I was 4!

There you have it! Some facts about me! Please feel free to share facts about yourself! After all, this post probably made you feel better about yourself! Hahaha!

Sorry about my Hiatus!

So sorry for my few followers that I have not been blogging! I've still been following though! Things were just getting too busy for me. And I couldn't find the time to sit and share thoughts and ideas. I was having a really hard time finding balance in my life.

It's hard to be a wife, mother, cook, housekeeper, and teacher all at once.

Some days I don't think I had anytime to just think for myself.

But I am changing that.

And no it is not a resolution; I don't make those.

But I have concluded this:

It doesn't matter if my house is spotless.

It doesn't matter if I don't get to the dishes after supper becsause I wanted to play with my son.

It doesn't matter if dinner is not on the table at exactly 5.

What does matter is that my family is happy and healthy, including myself.

And playing is what will make us happier and healthier, not worrying about missing a daily chore for the day.

But I really needed these 2 weeks off (that is what's absolutely GREAT about being a teacher!) to get back on track to my happiness!

And I did!

Now don't get me wrong!

I'm not letting my house go disarray!

I'm just not going to be OCD about it!

I'm reorganizing my routine so that I can enjoy both a happy family AND a nice house!

Happy Postings!

And: I'm BACK!

Upgrade, Please!

So, I am all giddy inside! Why you may ask?

Because of this beauty!

Home Depot has an awesome sale where this is 1/2 price!

(All other appliances are also on a great sale!)

Then, I get 18 months of no interest!

So we are upgrading from a refrigerator that is probably older than us, to this!

I can't wait! The only down side, they didn't have any in the store so we had to order it. We can't get it until December 7th. But, delivery and hauling away our old one is free!

I just hope our other one doesn't get angry and break before we get it in!

I've been waiting for that one to break at any moment for the past 4 months!



Favorite Things Thursday!

Sorry I've been gone so long.
Lately it seems I haven't had much time for myself.
But, I figured I would have a comeback and join Courtney at LoveLove for My Fav Things Thursday.
Well, in my household I have 2 dogs. And I HATE having the dog smell in my house. I rather you see that I have dogs instead of smelling that I have dogs. So I am constantly looking for the new and improved item that helps me keep it that way. Right now I am loving this:

It is the quality of febreze, with the Gain scent. I have always been a fanatic about laundry detergent scents. At 4 years old I even tried to eat some detergent. (Don't remember that, but my mom says I did it)
The scent lasts after I blow the candle out. And for $5, that pretty darn good if I should say so myself.

So right now, I'm lovin this item!