Author Archives: yeagerturner

Doing It Derby

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Doin’ It Derby
My friends and I were talking about the fact that our best Derby days may be behind us.  You know those days where you kicked it until wee hours of the morning.  Your night didn’t consist of one parties, but trying to fit in as many parties as possible.  If you were connected enough, you didn’t have to pay to get into any of those parties.  During my prime time I was single and ready to mingle so I always had an outfit for every night and would buy them months in advance so I would have less of a chance of someone else having the same outfit. Those were the nights when you’d dance so much that you didn’t even realize your feet hurt or that your hair no longer looked fly.  Those were the days.  The days of my Derby past.  Enter Derby 2013 –

Confessions from my Derby 2013!

You know you’re getting old(er) when the highlight of your Derby Thursday night is seeing if Bailey is going to come back to work, Olivia and the president are going to hook up and if Cyrus is really the mole (Grey’s Anatomy and Scandal).

You know you’re a new mother when your “song” that you look forwarding to getting down and dirty to is Mickey Mouse Club House. “It’s the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, come inside it’s fun inside!….”

You know you’re a housewife when your Derby Day outfit is a pair of comfortable sweat pants a t-shirt and two socks that may or may not match!

You know you have an infant son when instead of coming home at 5:00am, you’re waking up because your child doesn’t know what it means to sleep in for the weekend.

You know you’re a homebody when you think about all the money you saved by not going to all the Derby parties.

You know you’re a proud parent when the best race of the weekend was the Diaper Derby at Daycare that your son won. Go baby go!

And you know when you’re in love when you’re husband is right next to you doing all the same things!

Will I probably attend a Derby party or event again in the future? Most likely so.  But, it also felt good to spend my Derby as a wife and mother at home.  Maybe I’ve saved up enough Derby points to go and kick it again next year…. or maybe we’ll work on popping out another entry for the Diaper Derby, lol!

Diaper Derby Champ
Diaper Derby Champ

One Small Step

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There is nothing more precious than a cute, snuggly baby.  You know, the kind that just loves to be held. The kind that if you leave him in one spot, you leave, come back to that spot and he is still there.  Aren’t those just the most special times?

There is something else equally as special.  I’ll give you a hint: the word starts with a “s”.  No, it’s not shopping or sex or sippy cups or sports.  It’s SLEEP!  You know that thing that most single people without kids do without thought?! I think I’ve forgotten how it feels to sleep through the entire night.

Well, three weeks ago, both of those glorious things (sleep and stationary) disappeared forever.  It was 5:30am on a Saturday morning.  I was dreaming of sleeping and I heard the sound that interrupts all of my dreams.  It starts out as an innocent whimper and turns into a loud shriek.  My sweet son Maximus was up and ready to roll. He didn’t care or know that it was Saturday.  Or that it was 5:30am. Since it was the weekend, I had no problem nudging Milton to wake up and go get him.  So now the entire family was up bright and early (scratch that, it wasn’t bright – only early).   We set Maximus on the ground and for the first time he started crawling across the room.   Like a bull heading toward a target, he was on the move. And he hasn’t stopped.

Our house is a whole new world for him.  Suddenly Maximus has access to things he never knew existed.  The phone chord now calls his name.  Drawers are the most fantastic inventions.  And don’t get us started on the blinds!  All the toys spread out in the family room are now invisible.  Anything that makes mom raise an eyebrow becomes his newest obsession.  He loves life and want to see any and everything in it.

And then last week happened.  We were all playing on the floor in our bathroom and once again Maximus acted like it was showtime.  He was standing up holding onto his daddy when he decided to take a couple of steps toward mom before diving head first the rest of the way.  Milton and I jumped up and down as if we hit a game winning shot. Maximus just looked at us wondering what all the hype and hoopla was about.

So, if you notice more grey hairs on my head, not only am I getting older, but I’m chasing around a curiously inquisitive boy. He’s just 10 months old and is already growing so fast.  With two bottom teeth and two top teeth, he knows how to gnaw on one of the most sensitive parts of my body (yes, still breastfeeding). But, I wouldn’t exchange him for anything!  When those bright eyes light up as you walk into the room – you know the love is unconditional!

A Few Words Mean Everything

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     A Few Words Mean Everything

You never think of how powerful words can be.  You never stop to ponder how meaningful or hurtful a couple of words can be to someone.  You never know when you will make a difference in someone’s life.

Kem came to Louisville a couple of weeks ago.  OnyxLouisville gave away several pair of tickets. One of the promotions was through Facebook and it was to vote for your favorite single female.  There were about 18 people that entered.  Each lady was on FB asking her FB friends to vote for her so she could win tickets. But, I noticed something unique about the contest. One of the entrants, Kimberly, went on each of the other entrants page and wrote comments like “Looking good, God bless you”, “Way to go. Win, win, win!”, “Pretty smile, best wishes on winning”…. These were women she is competing against and she voted for each of them while encouraging them to win.  I was in awe of her and I didn’t even know her.  I had an extra pair of tickets, so I called her on Valentine’s Day and offered them to her.  Someone so giving, deserves to be blessed.

Go into the future three days.  Milton and I attend the Kem concert, which was amazing as always.  I sat next to a female that was attending the show solo.  I started small talk with her.  Eventually I asked if she’s take a photo of Milton and I. She asked about iphones, which for some reason lead me to ask if she had grandkids. She told me that she was widowed and that her husband was killed 20 years ago by a drunk driver. He was the love of her life.  She shared many details about the pain she’s felt since his death and what all has happened with the drunk driver.  Then the show started.

Milton gave me sweet kisses on the cheek and we swayed in our seats.  We watched two couples get engaged. Then Kem started signing “I Can’t Get Over You”.  A classic.  As he ooh’d the audience with his vocals, I heard crying.  My new friend sitting next to me was now bawling. I instantly knew that she was thinking about her husband.  I wrapped my arms around her and just let her cry for the rest of the song.  At the end she said, “Thank you so much.” I told her there was a reason we were supposed to sit next to each other and I’m glad I could have been there for her.

The next day while perusing FB, I came across this post from Kimberly.  “Well Daddy, thank you for lifting me up from my depression. I feel like going on. Onyx Louisville gifted me with tickets to Kem and that started the fire. Got my hair did… My brows beat and had a superb weekend. Played hard with my Bunco partners Saturday got a little retail therapy in. Released loads of stress this afternoon at yoga east for meditation and cleansed my soul. Started feeling tuckered out by afternoon but I arrived almost on time and enjoyed unlimited show band the best kept band in the city and Kem just showed out and ministered his way to the people. I’m done. I just want to say “let the church say amen… God has spoken let the church say amen. Thank you Daddy. I’m on purpose and I love you MORE. Bless all my friends and I saw a plenty at the concert. AMEN”

The Kem concert introduced me to two amazing women that deserve nothing but the best.  Kimberly’s kind gestures and simple words to others, helped her get a girls night out with an amazing vocalist.  The lady that sat next to me at the concert was able to converse with me just enough to help me be a shoulder to cry on at just the right time.  As often as you feel like you know everyone in Louisville, there’s always someone else with a story you need to hear.  When’s the last time you said hello or struck up small talk with someone new? Someone probably tried to reach out to you today – but did you open yourself to listen?!

How’s that Cute Baby?!

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 How’s that cute baby?

That is the number one question I am asked these days.  Nobody really cares how I am or how my husband is (although we are both doing well).  But, everyone wants to know how Maximus is doing.  And the answer is: he is a baby, a bundle of boy!

Can you believe that Maximus is already 8 months old?! You all were correct when you said that they grow up really fast.  It’s been about two weeks since our first two teeth appeared.  After drooling like a teenage boy on the beach, those suckers finally surfaced.  At first I was so excited to see them – that is until it was time to breastfeed.  Biting + breastfeeding are not a good combination.  (YES, I’m still breastfeeding after 8 months!)

Maximus can roll over in both direction and sit up on his own for an extended period of time.  However, he has little to no interest in crawling.  If you lay him on his stomach in a crawling position, he will quickly roll over on his back. If you roll him back on his stomach and get on all fours to demonstrate how to crawl, he’ll just look at you like you’re crazy and still roll back over on his back.

However, he loves to stand up! He can pull himself up to a standing position.  We have a walker that looks like a baby sized plastic lawn mower and he can push it in a room and walk with it. He is very observant and upon walking into new surroundings he will stare and take everything in before feeling comfortable.

He loves to talk, blow raspberries and mumble – especially in church.  We haven’t said mama or dada yet, but it often sounds like he says “I love you”.  His face lights up at the opening words to The Mickey Mouse Club (“Hey everybody, it’s me. Mickey Mouse…) His face also lights up whenever my husband walks in the room after a day at work or talks with him on Facetime through the Iphone (thank you Steve Jobs).

Maximus went on a bottle strike for at least a month and a half and recently went to a daycare that he hated.  Plus, he had the flu. Even with the flu shot. It’s hard to be a parent of a sick kid, especially one that is too young to know what’s going on.  I still don’t fully know what it means to sleep through the night and did not get the sleep model baby that takes extensive naps during the day.

He’s a mama’s boy that always knows where I am in a room.  His favorite spot is in my arms and his big brown eyes will melt anyone’s heart!  Maximus can care less about battery operated stuffed animals that sing and move, instead he likes objects that he can bang and throw around the room. In my husband’s words – he is our miracle baby and we are so blessed to be called his parents!

Change Your Perspective

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Change Your Perspective

     Raise your hand if you’re glad it’s a new year! Personally, last year was a pretty good year for me as we welcomed our precious son Maximus. My husband Milton often sit and says how blessed he is. In his words, he has a great job, a supportive wife and a mini-me son. The more that I think about, the more I realize his life is far from perfect. He (we) have many of the same problems as others around us. The only difference is his perspective.

      *My husband went a private college and law school. What does that equal – high student loans! We’ll probably be paying on them forever. But, instead of moping on what we can’t control, we enjoy the possessions we’ve been able to purchase and cherish those all the more. (I thought I was doing something big when I paid $2.99 to upgrade on Ruzzle!) He sees his blessing in having a job that he enjoys that will help decrease the debt.

       *I was in the hospital on bed rest for over a month and on bed rest total for 10 weeks. That just sucks, plain and simple. But, instead of being a scrooge for the rest of the year and hating everything around me, I instead find a blessing in the healthy birth of our son. He was able to go from 2.6 pounds to 6.7 during that time. Was it ideal? No. Would I do it again if it helped me have a healthy baby? For sure.

       * My son has decided that sleep is overrated and bottles are for the birds. Maximus will kick, scream and holler at the thought of shutting his eyes for an extended period of time. It took almost six months before I was able to get more than three hours of sleep at any one time. And, now he is on a bottle strike. He wants nothing to do with it. Breast milk straight from the source is great, but anything else (to him) is unacceptable. But do you see me trying to sell my son to the highest bidder? Never. He’s our miracle baby and I love, love, love him.

       So this year, try to change your perspective on life. Nobody wants to be around Negative Nelly. Everyone, has some type of struggle. Even those around you that are happy have hard times. But, you have to look past that. Life doesn’t stop just because you have an attitude. Happiness comes from appreciating your blessings. Find joy in the simple fact that you made it to 2013.

Meet Your Match

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Meet Your Match

I noticed several different people posting on Facebook about a television show called Catfish.  I wasn’t sure what they were talking about, but caught it late one night on MTV.  The show morphed from a movie documentary of the same title.  In the movie, a guy meets a woman online. He falls in love with her.  After emails and phone conversations he eventually wants to meet her.  Once they do, he finds out the person is not the lady in the photo and it was all a lie.  The lady had her own share of issues, and while he had compassion for her, it was not a love connection made in heaven.

Each episode of the television show has a person that wants to have their initial face-to-face meeting with their online crush.  I’ve watched three of the episodes and in each episode the person ended up being a fraud.  Now, I know you’re thinking I’m going to next bash online dating as a way to begin a relationship.  Actually, I feel the very opposite.  Actually, I met my husband online on Match.com.  He ‘winked’ at me.  I didn’t wink back.  I thought he was too young for me (seven years my junior) and I wasn’t interested in playing games.  It wasn’t until a couple of weeks later when I was bored online that I re-ran across his profile and said I had nothing to lose by replying.  One wedding and one baby later, the rest is history.

If you’re single, I encourage you to try online dating.  Why?  Because it’s actual a more indepth way to get to know someone. Think about it – if you’re in the club or grocery store and meet someone, you’re simply going off their looks.  You don’t really get to know too much about them but there’s usually an obligation to exchange numbers.  When you meet someone online, you’re able to read all about the person. You can email them as long as you want before you even exchange numbers.  You can google them before you have a first date. You can check out their FB page before your first kiss.  You determine the speed at which you move without any obligations for a date.

So, what was the difference between them (Catfish crew) and us (Milton and I)?   The real ones and the crazy/deranged?  Research. Here are my top ways to know the person on the other end might be fake:
He/she always calls you and won’t give you his/her phone number
He/she won’t give you a recent,updated photo
When you try to meet him/her, there is always an excuse
He/she has only a nickname, like “Thunda”
His/her profile photo is a model stock photo
He/she seems too good to be true

Once you find an online interest, google and Facebook him/her.  Both give a lot of information.  Don’t be gullible at the chance at love.  If he has six kids in every FB photo, don’t believe him when he says they are his nieces and nephews.  If she says she’s too busy because she’s always traveling, then why can she travel to see you?  If he says he loves you and wants to marry you AND you’ve never met…….. right!

Love can be the most wonderful thing in the world, but love can also lead us to the biggest heartache.  You have to open yourself up to love to experience it.  But, you don’t have to be a fool.  If something doesn’t feel right, it probably isn’t. There are plenty of men/women in the world that would love to make you their mate.  Take the time and effort to allow them to enter your life.  Love might be at your fingertips, just keystroke away!