Long time, no see

It has definitely been a long time since I last sat down to blog about anything. I could easily blame the hectic natures of motherhood, nursing school, work and life in general, but that would be a load of bull. I'm pretty good at multitasking, so I don't have a good reason for my disappearance. Luckily, I'm back, so we don't have to talk about the past -- much.

First, because I know so many of you are wondering, I am still definitely rocking my natural.

That's me on wash day a couple weeks ago. The kinks and curls are still fully intact, but my regimen has changed a little. We'll talk about that much later, because I'm braiding my hair up for the summer right now. Look for bits about my new take on products when I post about how I will maintain what I am currently calling my "diva braids."

Next, my natural hair inspiration -- the one who got this whole ball rollin' -- has had his curls cut off. That's right. My baby is a big boy now. He'll be sitting in a barber's chair every other week for the rest of his little life -- or at least as long as I am paying for the cuts he will.

Ain't he a cutie? Since I twist, curl, braid and do everything else with my own hair, I had no idea where to find a good barber, so I just took him to my brother's old barber. His name is Philly, and he did a phenomenal job. My little boy is definitely a wiggler, but he sat still for the most part. And no, that is not a nick in his cut. It is a cowlick. He's had it all his little life, and I love it to pieces. He will not let me kiss it.

With the little man growing up right before my very eyes, and my brother leaving his brilliant barber behind to run off and serve his country (more on THAT later), I finished up my first year of nursing school with a bang. After rotations in labor & delivery and peds, I've come to the strong conclusion that the mother/baby department is the area for me. I'm excited about what's to come -- so much so that I am academically bored out of my mind on summer break! I'm doing NCLEX review stuff with my classmates though. Can't let the mind turn to mush.

Summertime has really been lovely so far. I'm spending more time with the little one, who surely must have missed me all those mornings I was hustling us both out of bed and into the bathroom then out the front door in what felt like 10 minutes.

We're doing more painting and reading and counting and whatever else you're supposed to do with a three-year-old to keep yourself sane. Or he's running around like a wild animal demanding to listen to "All of the Lights" and "Hey Baby" while insisting he is a big boy who likes hugs but not kisses, and "Mommy, are these boobs?!" Wonderful.

The munchkin's antics help keep my mind somewhat soothed despite the few very serious things lingering on my brain. Earlier I mentioned one of my brothers has gone off into the world with the desire to serve his country. I commend him. He is brave. He is Army strong. He is loved and missed by us all. Of course I worry, but at my core I know he can take good care of himself. I have another brother who has gone off into the world, and I really need to have him back. He is also brave. He is also strong. He is also loved and missed by us all. There will be more on his story in another post, but it bears mentioning here that looking past things and circumstances to truly see people is a difficult thing to do, and one day I will thank the proper parties for affording me that ability.

Another thing I am going to mention here briefly then brush off for a later post (I'm sure you love it when I do that) is the fact that I am totally single right now and mingling my behind off. I will tell you what happened, link a couple related news stories (yes, there are news stories that validate my love life -- ask about me) then offer some silly commentary to round it all out. Be there or be square.

To wrap up this probably already too long post, I'll drop a couple of the hobbies I've been keeping up with mostly when my son is having nap time:

As you may or may not know, I picked up the hobby of sewing while painstakingly waiting for acceptance or rejection letters from prospective nursing programs. I bought a sewing machine and some zippers and buttons, and an awesome lady on Craigslist gave me TONS of free fabric to get myself going and the rest is history! Well, I've gotten pretty good and now I plan to sew myself an outfit every week. I stole that challenging idea from a post I read over at xoJane. I was getting pretty good at it until I got the "We have a seat for you in the Fall semester" phone call, then I jumped ship and my life became wildly complicated in the chase to make all my dreams come true!

I had to abandon this project in order to get my BLS card and take a physical and do a bunch of other things weeks before the semester started. As the year progressed, I didn't get back to it, but I have since finished it (yay!) and moved on to other things...

That's a maxi dress that I cannot WAIT to wear to the beach. I'm too excited. Happy times!!!!

Well, this is what I've been up to these days. Now that we're all caught up and old friends again, I'll be back with more soon soon soon. See you then!