Cheap Date: Link up Reveal

These 3 lovely girls, Danielle, Casey, and Alysia hosted a 2012 New Year blogging party gift exchange which of course I was excited to jump on board since I am so new to the blogworld.

Sidenote: I was a little worried that whoever I was matched with would be a little disappointed that I am so new to blogging I don't have very many followers, but not this girl. She is sooo sweet and real about her life and parenting.

Source

I couldn't have been happier with who I was matched with. Holly and her sweet family remind me a lot of mine besides the fact that they have 2 kiddos. Haven and Olive are precious and Olive reminds me so much of Crewe when he was a newborn with a full head of blonde hair. That's a rarity. I just LOVE a toeheaded baby.

From one Momma to another, Holly knew exactly what I needed in the craziness of life right now.

A) Cheap Date

B) Child entertainment

 (how she knew candybars entertain my child for hours I will never know)

I mean seriously, how cute and creative is that! You can check out what I got her here.

Happy Tuesday!

Hippie at Heart

The way I parent on a daily basis is in no way the parent I thought I would be before I had a baby or even when I was pregnant.

 I was the mom whose kid was:

going to be on a eating/sleeping schedule by 4 months

who would never sleep in our bed

no way was I going to nurse past 6 months (I mean that is practically a 5 year old)

a baby has to learn how to self soothe

he will eventually have to cry it out so he learns how to sleep all night

 you can spoil a baby so, "Please don't hold my baby too long"

we will promptly move him into his crib by 6 weeks old

I will not be THAT mom who is overprotective and runs to snatch her baby out of someone else's loving embrace the minute second he wimpers

If anything is wrong we will only go to the doctor. None of this hocuspocus stuff.

Then THIS happened to me

And everything that seemed "right" prior to him being here, flew out the window and fast.

We might ease into a schedule for a few days and then it will switch up and look completely different.

Sleeping on the couch and in our bed is the ONLY way I survived the early days and still when he is sick

14 months later we are still nursing, nuff said.

Crewe has had a handful of times that he has had to cry longer than a few minutes becuase a) momma was in the bathroom b) momma was in the shower or c) momma was at her wits end and just needed a few minutes to gather herself.

Cry it out = ripped my heart out. None of those books warned of that side effect. I tried it once and I vowed I would NEVER do it again. I will take the "rod in my own back" or whatever that phrase is, just to not have to ever experience that again.

I quit listening to everyone else's advice on what worked for THEIR baby, because last time I checked Crewe was MY baby (and John'stoo  of course)

I still don't believe a 14 month old understands what spoiling is so therefore I don't think they can be spoiled.

Crewe slept in a pack n play in our room until he was 9 months old and he probably still would be if I hadn't had a gentle shove from the hubs that is was time to move him to his crib.

And OH MY WORD I had eagle ears and eyes when it came to him being upset and in loving embrace somebody else's arms.

Oh and we see a chiropractor once a week for his ears to get adjusted to try and avoid tubes.

The list could go on and on about how much of a hippie I think I am about parenting, but you get the idea.

Last thing to add to the list of hippieness (pretty sure that is not a word or spelled correctly even if it was)! If you have a teething baby you have GOT to give these a try.

As you can tell, Crewe is a little unsure of having a necklace on, but I assured him it was a manly necklace and nothing to be ashamed of. He quickly agreed.

In all seriousness thougth, it is an amber necklace that can be purchased for teething discomfort and inflammation. If you are uncomfortable, like I was, about giving them tylenol everytime they are close to cutting a tooth these are priceless. You can read more about them and if interested here.

I am even considering getting one for myself due to all the benefits of amber.

So there you have it. I should have been a parent in the 70's.

Hope everyone had a great weekend.

Little Man Lately

Little man you are growing up a little too quickly for Momma's liking these days. It seems like everyday you are doing something new. I think it is official that you now walk more than you crawl. I have not seen you crawl at all in a couple weeks *tear, sniff*. You are still a man of few words, but lots of squeals of delight. I would consider that your main form of communtication. You are a pretty good signer too. Some people, ahem.. your Grandpa, think that signs like -touchdown- are more important than -all done- so, some of your sign are getting mixed up.

I often have moments where I wish I could just capture everything you are in a jar and open it when I am 50 to be able to experience Crewe again at 14 months. The way you smell, smile, babble aka: spit, your bed head when you wake up, how much you love nursing (even though I think it is coming to an end, again *tear, sniff*), how you hike your knees so high when you walk. The way you will be naughty just to have your Daddy or I come chase you. I love that if you are not supposed to be doing something instead of telling you No all. the. time. I can just phrase it into helping me and you are more than happy to listen.

You are such a good sweeper

You are ever so slowly starting to be interested in utensils and Momma is having to accept the fact that more lands on the floor than in your mouth.

 I think you will definitley be a little monkey as you get older because you become VERY determined when it comes to getting on the couch but.......

 you have learned that accepting a boost every now and then isn't so bad.

 Momma cannot turn around for 5 seconds if food is anywhere in your reach. You love to eat.

 Bathtime still remains the highlight of your day. Momma loves how you like to cuddle right when you get out.

Mickey Mania still happens everyday in this house. You lean over and kiss your mickey shirt all day when you have it on.

This is the result of us taking your beloved Mickey shirt off.

You will kiss any picture you see of Mommy and Daddy, which of course melts my heart into a puddle on the floor.

You are such a joy. Tonight as I rocked you to sleep it was one of those nights that you fell in a deep sleep in my arms and I could kiss all over you without waking you up. I just eat those times up. I love kissing those little eye lids and how you purse you lips when I kiss them. There are nights where I have contemplated crawling in your crib just because you looked so cuddly.

I had no idea I had the capability to love so unconditionally. Every night I lay you in your crib I tell you how much I love you, to sleep well, have sweet dreams and that I will see you when you wake up no matter what time it is. And I mean that.

Love,

Momma

A Bowl, A Spoon, and Daddy

Make this boy VERY happy!

                                            In true Crewe fashion, food on the forehead

This next sequence is my favorite!

Hope everyone had a great Tuesday!

Pajama Day, Every Day!!!!

As I sit here at 11:29 on Monday morning still in my pajamas, because Crewe decided 5:45 was a good time to wake up this morning and not go back to sleep, so Momma decided when he went down for a nap she should too and not wake up until 5 minutes ago (how's that for a run-on). Although if I am really being honest there has to be somewhere for us to be before noon for me to get out of my pajamas on any given day before lunchtime i.e. church, dr. appt, or the weekend so the hubby doesn't think I am a complete slob and do that every day ; )


I mean I give some serious kudos to you working momma's out there. It is not like when you have a rough night with your little one you can do the laziness I mentioned above.


As I have mentioned in an earlier post, I function heavily refer occasionally to my do list and feel somewhat like a failure when I could not get everything marked off my list that day or when I felt Crewe spent 30 minutes too long watching Baby Einstein to allow me a chance to wash my hair.

And usually on days when I do get ready it consist of me changing from fleece pajama bottoms and a tank top to yoga pants and a t-shirt (sexy I know). What gets me is how much I LOVE to go shopping for hip and trendy clothes, which were usually hip and trendy 2 years ago because I am ALWAYS 2 years behind on what’s in style, and then I get them home and never wear them because I always fall back to my trusty old yoga pants.

                                 and this is on a good day because my hair is actually washed,

notice Crewe still in his p.js at 2pm

and again still in p.js at around 3:30

Anyway, you get my point.

If I am REALLY being honest about 30 minutes before everyone comes home is when I throw all the toys into bins, brush my teeth, throw a hat on, touch up my make up, and get Crewe out of his pajamas, like it has been that way since we woke up.

So my secret is out. I feel like a complete bum when it comes to tending to myself most days, but do get to spend a ton of time playing with this little guy, since I totally neglect myself. : )

Happy Monday!

What My Days are Full Of

Reading Books

Playing with paint in Mommy's type A personality way

Regaining energy

Eating popsicles

Helping mommy clean ( maybe he watches me do this a little to much)

Walking around for a solid hour with as many markers in your hand as possible

Getting in a workout climbing stairs

Educating yourself on the upcoming election

Helping the environment and bringing in the paper

Melting Momma's heart

Getting mad at Momma because you can't eat pecans.

Exploring your artistic side

And skyping with the cuz before bed

I love that you fill my days little man!

He's Got My Back

Every since I was 5 I wanted to be a momma. My mom would always ask how many kids I wanted to which I responded 60. Now that I have 1 that number might be a little high. Raising babies is hard. Needless to say being a stay at home momma has always been a huge desire of my heart.
I think there is a huge misconception with stay at home momma's as well. It always seems like people assume that becuase you stay at home there must be ample amounts of money falling from trees in your backyard. This in no way discounts the hard work my man puts in and sacrifices on a daily basis to make sure this dream of mine is possible.

sharing a popsicle with Daddy

We are hardcore budgetors (is that a word)? When we found out I was pregnant we immediately started living off of his salary and shoveling ALL of mine into savings and did a quick version of "Financial Peace".

God had a lot in plan for our little family after Crewe was born. We went from Abilene to Fort Worth and finally to Lubbock. Fort Worth to Lubbock was somewhat unexpected and we were lucky to have a place to land. We literally packed our place and moved in 1 week. My Dad and Cindy humbly took us in and we have been living with them for about 5 months. Yes all the pics of the beautiful house is not ours.

Stick with me on this and I will tie it all together with a pretty bow on top. John and I have always been avid tithers. Finances is the only place in the bible that God tells us to test him on. We both have been struggling with this lately, in the fact that we always tithe and we have had some tough financial breaks in 2011.

We are closing on our house March 1st and I have had some serious cold feet. What if this.... what if that.... and I have to remind myself to not live in fear. God has always made sure our needs have been met and I can only imagine he will continue. This post would probably keep anyone from tithing, but I encourage you to start. God has done some AH-MAZING things in our life from tithing. Little things happen hear and there. A random checker at Wal-Mart gives us a $15 discount, the Dr.'s office waives our co-pay. Little things hear and there that reminds me, Gods got my back.

John called me a few days ago because our feet were to the fire about making a decision on the home. We had 1 day left in the option period and I wanted out. He told he had been praying the night before and point blank was frustrated with God that we tithe and things just don't add up sometime, when God gently reminded him of a chapter in "Crazy Love" by Francis Chan. The short of it, Francis talks about never wanting to be so comfortable financially that he does not have to be somewhat dependent on God for how his family is going to make it.

This really spoke to my heart! I don't ever want to be so comfortable that I don't pray multiple times a day for God to work in this or that situation. If he keeps us close through finances right not then I am okay with that.

God has always prevailed in letting me stay at home with this jelly faced baby.

Thanks honey for reminding me that God has a plan for our little family even when I can't always see it.

Love that jelly faced smile

Stay tuned for a "How we make it all work" post.

Look Who's Walking

My little man has definitely taken his time meeting milestones, but I have always been okay with that because he still seems more like a baby that way. He didn't crawl on his hands and knees until he was 11 months. I thought walking was much farther off then it is. He is finally getting the hang of moving forward.

It is somewhat bittersweet for me to see him conquering these milestones; however, moving forward is such a positive perspective on life and babies embrace this the most. They are never scared of change and always excited for the next thing life has to offer.

I am definitely proud of this baby big boy, but still will not refer to him as a toddler ; )

Note to self. Next time video with a real video camera and not a picture camera. Mental note saved!

Sorry for the blurriness :)

Happy Tuesday!

What was that Honey??

It is mind boggling to me some days on how down right comedic our lives can be. None of this happened until I became a momma, but trying to get everyday task done with a 1 year old can get quite hilarious. Just yesterday we were in Market Street; I was just running in to grab a pound of chicken. In a matter of 10 minutes the munchkin managed to spit up 3 times; yes I am convinced I will be sending him to Kindergarden spitting up. Amidst the frustration sometimes all I can do is laugh that I am wiping spit up off of the side of an isle, the floor, as well as my purse. Which leads to this.....

Like I said in the last post, Pinterest has change my life in the kitchen, so much so that I have surpassed Betty Crocker to become Better Crocker : ). If that doesn't make sense read my last post.

 I was in the middle of cooking dinner when I looked over to see little man doing this.

He loves this particular box of dog treats so much that I have turned around before and he has had one sticking out of his mouth. Where is the camera when you need it?!?!

I redirected him and turned around 2 minutes later to find him unloading every plastic baggy in 3 boxes. At that point I had to give up because 1) It was keeping him entertained and 2) it allowed me enough time to wash the raw chicken off my hands. 

He migrated over to the drawer, at which point momma cracked open a Corona and watched as he played enthralled at the strainers and pans. I LOVE that he is at the age that everything is new and amazing to him, so fun to watch and maks those, ahem... frustrating moments so much more bearable!

He was quickly redirected when he decided the cabinets with all the bakeware was where he needed to play and from there it all went down hill. A fit or two was being thrown when Daddy walked through the door and this is where I sit and ponder.

 Daddy came in scooped up Crewe and started talking to him, like he does everyday. He continues to talk and I here him say to Crewe, "Daddy doesn't like to walk in and find you giving Momma a hard time. You need to be nice to Momma. Trust me, I know!" I stopped stirring for a moment, turned around to find them walking towards the hallway and caught myself before saying, "What is that supposed to mean". It was significant moment in my life that I decided to pick my battle and this is not one I was willing to fight. I write this and still wonder what he meant by that. : )

Hope everyone had a great week!