I've been a terrible blogger here lately... I'm sorry, y'all.

Big news, though! Husband-pants quit his job today! He's got a new job with Bear Transportation Services, located in our hometown of Fayetteville (which is about 45 minutes away from where we live now) so we'll be moving back! (Yay!)

I'm nervous, stressed, and a little overwhelmed, but I'm absolutely THRILLED that he got this job. It not only means we're going back to Fayetteville, its also a substantial pay increase + paid health insurance (Yay!) He'll be doing transportation sales, and while I can't really tell you what that means, I assure you its great work that pays well. He's been doing a similar job at the Sam's Club corporate office, but for much less pay, so he's been looking for a new position for a few months now. I really couldn't be more proud.

I am stressing bigtime about our upcoming move though... we moved to our current house around the same time last year. I was big and pregnant and it was the move from hell because I couldn't help much, I overworked myself in a big way, and I had to spend quite a few days in bed recovering from everything. This year I'm doing it without husband's help and with a baby... yikes! It'll be good, though. His family is all signed up to help with everything, and ts all worth it for the great job and being back in town! It couldn't have come at a worse time, though... Bean has officially reached her "let's unpack things" phase, so while she'll be super-helpful when we actually get moved in, she's not the best packing partner right now.

I just have to pack up all of our junk, sell/give away all of the stuff we don't need, oh, and find a new house, of course... Whee!!

Bean is walking... in a serious way. She took those monumental first steps on January 3rd, and husband pants totally missed out. He went to see a movie with a friend, and bean girl and I had just finished dinner. She's been walking around the couch for months now, but I positioned myself just out of arms reach and asked her to come see me. She toddled on over, and when she reached me looked up like "oh wow... that was cool." She's been alternating between crawling and walking since then, and is just fascinated with this whole walking thing. She's doing it all the time now. The dogs aren't nearly as excited about it, of course, but they don't have much of a say in these matters...

Also, check out those mad dancing skills! The kid loves sad old country songs, what can I say- its mostly husband's fault. She's a sucker for a good beat- TV, radio, catchy cell phone ringtone... she'll be dancing for sure.

She's pretty darn fantastic, I know...

As a parent, I'm bad about putting my child's needs before anything else in the world. That's definitely not a bad thing, I realize, but it makes for some unintentionally hilarious moments sometimes. I just jump to do whatever it is that she needs and don't stop to think about what I did until after its done. Such was the case last night...

I'm a youth director at a medium sized Methodist church. I have about 15 kids in my group on an average night, and I am so very lucky to have a family involved with my group that is just incredibly helpful. If there's anything that needs to be done, its done. They are supportive and kind, the kind of people you just really enjoy being around. A few months ago, they started taking Bean over to their house on Sunday nights for me. That way, I could lead youth uninterrupted by baby squeals and they could get some Bean-time. Its really a win-win. Well last night as I was packing up all of Bean's snacks we realized her sippy cup was looking a little empty. I remembered that earlier I'd seen juice in the church fridge, so I just ran in there to pour her some. I sent her on her way, and as the youth kids were sitting down to dinner I realized I'd totally poured Bean a big cup of communion juice. Regardless of whether or not it was pre-blessed, I was so embarrassed. I couldn't believe I hadn't realized there was, in fact, a purpose for that big jug of grape juice... in the church refrigerator.

Not one of my brightest moments for sure, though bean girl is being especially cute today... giggling and singing since she woke up this morning! Maybe she's feeling a bit more spirited today. (har har)

I've never been big on new years resolutions, but this year I made a huge one. I've always said that resolutions are made to be broken, so who knows how long I'll stick with it, but this year, I'm going to have sex with my husband every day.

Every... day.

I read this article in Glamour and was inspired... and while I really hope our ultimate outcome isn't another pregnancy (yikes!) I do hope we rediscover each other and grow close again.

Its January 4th and I've already questioned my resolve, but we've gotten into a rut I'm determined to get us out of. Every night we do the whole "sleep or sex?" thing... and honestly, sleep usually wins. We're parents... and even though Bean sleeps like a champ for the most part, its still nice to get a good 8 hours in!

Sex is important, though. In fact, I just don't think we've put enough emphasis on it so far. We went from being newlyweds to having Bean and we're putting all of our energy into taking care of her, instead of ourselves. Its a mistake all parents make, I'd like to think.

So I've resolved to have sex with my husband every day... to put away whatever arguments or frustrations we dealt with throughout the day, to give up my worries about the house, the bills, and the baby for just a little while. Honestly, I've slept better in the past four days than I have in months! And even more interesting is that my house is cleaner, and he's spending more time playing with Bean and hanging out with me.

I know it may sound crazy, but having sex with my husband may be improving my marriage. Who would've thought!?