Stay At Home Moms don't do anything?!?!?!?

Okay, folks, you know me. I think having a stay at home parent is important for children. I don't look down on parents who don't get to stay at home, but for those of us who do, we know it's an important job, and oh, did I mention, HARD WORK!

This post comes because I was reading another mom's blog today (who also stays at home), and she said her husband thought Stay at Home Moms don't do much! WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am pretty sure we do it all! We don't get days off. We are responsible for appointments, chores, errands, bill paying, house cleaning, sicknessses, laundry, and the list never ends. If I am thinking correctly, that means we do a WHOLE lot. Not to mention, your child or children get to grow up with a parent with them not with a daycare provider who probably doesn't give two, well, I can't think of a nice word to put here, :) about your child. The daycare is just a way for them to make money.

This is obviously not all daycare providers since once my children are in school, I plan to teach, but I have worked in daycare and preschool, and while I really care about children and made them a priority, I have worked with plenty of people who just needed a job. This is sad, yes, but it's a reality, and because of that, staying at home is vital for me especially while my children are very young and fragile.

So, for those of you who stay at home, thumbs up to you. I know sometimes I have felt like I missed my calling when having a bad day. I think: "I really should've finished college before having a baby." "Maybe I would be better off working," etc. etc. Sometimes I feel like I have failed myself and my peers. For those of you who don't know, I graduated number 4 in my class of 200+, and I was a super scholar, ACT scholar, the president of many organizations, etc. I get comments all the time like, "I never would've guessed you'd be married and with child." Most people would take offense because the "right" thing to do is have an education and career before having children in the eyes of many. But in the end, this is my calling, and everything will all work out. School will be finished (Because that is super important to me, and I want my children to be able to do the same), and life will happen. For right now, being at home, taking care of the house and Emma IS my calling. I want to have more children, and they will be my calling when they come along too! Children are such blessings, and I wouldn't trade one second for being at home with my baby. Here is one of my favorite quotes:

“Life affords no greater responsibility, no greater privilege, than the raising of the next generation.” 
- C. Everett Koop

And here is my calling :)

The Cash Only, Envelope Budget!

Okay folks, it's definitely supposed to be cloth diaper Tuesday, but I decided I like randomness better, so I want to talk about MONEY and FINANCES! Yahoo. Everyone loves money, right?

Since moving on base, I've been lucky enough to meet some awesome people that I would've never met had we continued to live off base! Just last week, I was able to meet a sweet sweet mom to an 18 month old that live just a few houses down! I won't mention her name because I am just weird about mentioning other people when I don't have their permission. Okay, back to the story: In the short time since I met her, I have learned so much! She was talking of a cash only budget, and I just had to know more! Her and her husband attended the Dave Ramsey Financial Peace University class at their church last year, and she was gracious enough to share her knowledge and materials so that I didn't have to pay for the class!

If you know nothing about Dave Ramsey, GO NOW and research his baby steps and all of his financial advice! I am no expert, so I am not going to sit here and give you financial advice, but I will explain to you how the cash only approach with envelope system works! There is a little book, part of Dave Ramsey's materials that you can order on his website or on amazon.com. Here it is:

This is the inside! It has a place for your checkbook on the left, a notepad and pen in the center, and the right side has the envelopes, a coin pouch, and a place for your debit card, ID, etc.

Here are the envelopes!

Okay, I am definitely no expert on this, but I will tell you what I do know. Basically, you come up with categories of items that are purchased each month, most importantly, clothing, food, shelter, and transportation. Some of my categories include food, clothing, house misc., car repairs, blow money, etc. You can create as many as you need and use a separate envelope for each category. Sit down, figure out your necessary expenses, and dedicate a set amount of cash for each category. Once you run out of cash, that's it. No more blow money or whatever the category may be.

I am super excited about this because once I actually sat down and figured out the amount of money that we bring in vs. our bills, we had a lot of money left over that was just being blown on random, pointless things. Now that every dime is spent before it even reaches us, it's nice the money has a purpose, and now I am paying twice what I actually have to pay a month on our car to pay it off in about a 1/3 of the time as we have it finance for! YAHOOOOOOOOOO! All of that, and I'm still able to put a good chunk into savings each month!

Just a couple things I read in Dave Ramsey's book that really stood out to me:

"If you will live like no one else, one day you will be able LIVE like no one else!"

"A good man leaves an inheritance for his children's children." Proverbs 13:22

Ohhhhh, and if you read his book and listen to his advice, you'll never take out a loan again! :)

Oh Wednesdays!!! :)

So there is something about Wednesday that I really love. Maybe it's that the week is getting closer to be over and we're going to have Aaron home for a few days, or maybe it's that I've started going to coffee mornings every Wednesday, and it's just nice to have the adult company even though there are only a few of us that actually show up every week. I love coffee and good conversation, and it's nice to see other mom's having to keep up with kids too.

On another note, we're really trying out this budget thing this month. August was pretty hectic because we had to pay rent for our other house still and we had some final bills to pay, but now that we are done with our other house, we can actually set funds for each thing. This is going to be hard for me especially because I like to randomly buy things for Emma. Not for myself, but I get a special joy buying things for Emma. So, here's to having only a set amount for everything and sticking to it! Once I get it all worked out and working correctly, maybe I'll lay it all out for anyone who wants an example. Just so you know in advance, we don't make that much money. :) I told my Granny yesterday how much we make, and she just goes. "How do you pay all your bills?" hehe. The military is "so overpaid," right? NOT!


       Daily picture: Isn't this the sweetest face you've ever seen?!?!?

Holy Crapton of Technology Skills Needed Batman!

I CAN BLOG AGAIN! Some of you know I was sort of locked out of my account. I had been using my Southern Miss. email address for my blogger account, and evidently administrators at Southern Miss made it to where you cannot use your Southern Miss account for things like blogger. Anyway, I had to manually move my blog from that email account to another. YIKES! It took me forever to figure it out, but I AM BACK!!!

Black Bean Burgers!!

Since I didn't share anything last week, I can tell you of my grocery trip to the Commissary last Thursday. My monthly grocery bill came out to $120! Before coupons it was $167, so I feel like I did pretty good for a last minute thrown together list.

One thing I bought was a bag of dry black beans. If you didn't know, that bag makes A LOT of black beans! I had beans and rice for dinner and lunch the next day and still had plenty of beans left over, so I decided to branch out a little and try something I've been wanting to try for a while, black bean burgers! Let me tell you, they were delicious! Here is the recipe I sort of used. I say sort of because I'm not really good at following recipes. I usually just guess at it. :) That probably drives a lot of people crazy, but for some reason, I just really don't like to measure food! Anyway: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/homemade-black-bean-veggie-burgers/detail.aspx Follow as much of it as you want or change it up a little or a lot like I did! There's plenty of other recipes out there also! They were super easy, super tasty, and super good for you!

I made only two patties because I though Aaron wouldn't dare try them. Well, guess what! I made him try it, and he actually liked it! WHOAH. What happened to my husband people??? Anyway, I had one for dinner last night on a wheat bun topped with Spinach and a little chili sauce, and I had the other for lunch today wrapped in a Spinach tortilla and topped with Spinach and Chili Sauce. I personally preferred the Spinach tortilla better. (Maybe because I am a little obsessed with Spinach! Okay, enough already. Here are the pictures:

Last Night: (don't mind my fine china :) I try to have as little dishes as possible when Aaron is working nights and I'm alone with Emma)

And for lunch today: I wrapped it up after the picture, of course!

Busy, busy!

Sorry for the lack of posting yesterday. :) We sold our car, so I was doing some paperwork for several hours, and I came home a packed more boxes. EEEEk. So today I will try to include Wednesday & Thursday's posts together!

So long sweet Cobalt, you were good to us (for the most part). Aaron's getting a Jeep now, and he's ecstatic.

Last Wednesday, I promised I would talk about what other exercises I do besides running. Well, I changed my mind! I have big plans for ordering P90x or TurboFire when we move and doing those, so if you'd like you can look into it! I've heard great success stories from both programs. I have been continuing to run, and my endurance has definitely built up since I started! I am still no runner, but I see myself improving, which is an accomplishment in my book!

One tip I'd like to give for being a little healthier is something I have done. Stay at home mamas: TURN THE TV OFF! I've never been much of a tv watcher, but since staying home with Emma I found myself watching the game shows and news stations. This lead to me sitting a lot more during the day, so now I just keep the television OFF completely. It keeps me from taking a little break on the couch, and that means I am up and moving a lot more. Even the little bit of moving and not sitting on the couch is a step in the right direction. It is no diet/weightloss solution, of course, but it is good for you!

Now, Thursday focus: Well, guess what? I have failed you guys again. I had planned to have a dress and diaper made by today. Ugh. I have a dress almost completed, but it will not be done until probably tomorrow. Maybe I will intrude on Friday's topic to post a picture? We'll see. I've been so busy, but I did get around to finishing a bib I started like two months ago. hehe. I'm not completely happy with it, but I still think it's cute. It also has a matching taggy that I made as well, but guess what? I packed them both up not thinking about it. So I'm pretty sure it would be counter productive to go unpack just for a picture. I will definitely share pictures though!

My New Love: Prefolds!

Yes, I said it prefolds are my new favorite type of diapers! You may say why in the world do you like those ugly things, or if you know nothing about them, you're going, what the heck is that? I am going to answer both questions.

Prefolds are the original cloth diaper. You can generally buy the Gerber brand prefolds in stores everywhere, but these are NOT diaper worthy, no matter what Gerber claims! Prefolds are a rectangular piece of fabric (cotton, most of the time) that has a thicker layer in the middle for more absorbency. They used to be pinned together with diaper pins, but that was before the invention of the Snappi (a really awesome contraption)! They come in many different sizes and material for you to choose what works best for you!

Now, on to why I like them:
-Cheap, cheap, cheap! Prefolds are virtually the cheapest way to cloth diaper. They start out at only $1.00!
-EASY- Yes, I said easy! I mean this in two different ways. First, they are easy to wash and keep clean. Prefolds are the least likely to cause you problems as far as stink/ammonia/washing routines. Also, once you learn to use them, they are super easy and fun!
-Can dress them up any way you want! They are usually just plain cloth which is so not fun! You can dye them, sew embellishments on them, etc. You name it! I haven't done this yet, but plan to after the move so be expecting some pictures of my finished products!
-They are trim fitting, especially if you have the correct size!

Have I mentioned these things are CHEAP! I like Green Mountain Diapers Unbleached prefolds. Check them out at Greenmountaindiapers.com for them. They also sell other types of diapers. Cottonbabies.com also has some good prefolds!

So, you may ask how in the world you work a prefold. Well, I was going to make a video, but little Emma is NOT in a good mood today, so no video from me, but there are plenty of videos on Youtube! My favorite fold is the Jelly Roll, which is a little complicated at first, but it works the best for us. There is also the angel wing, bikini twist, etc.

Prefolds need a cover! They are obviously not waterproof since they are just cotton, but you can get covers anywhere and everywhere! Now that you know all about them, here are some pictures!

Gather your materials! Above are covers. The top two are made by me and are fleece. The right one is called a fleece soaker and has to be pulled up over the diaper. Ask me, and I'll make some for you for cheap! :) The bottom is not made by me. It is a Bummis Whisper Wrap. 

Below is the prefold and a Snappi that holds the diaper together. These cost like three bucks a piece.

I took a picture of the back of the Snappi so you could see how it works. It just grabs on to the material. Easy as pie!

Here is Emma modeling the prefold and Snappi in a Jelly Roll fold!

And here it is with the cover! 

Still have questions? Feel free to ask! Next week, I will talk about cloth wipes!

Oh Emma....

Can anyone tell me why I have the most feisty little one on earth? I've been told that God knew I could handle a baby with a temper like this, so he gave her to me! In that sense, I am thankful my ill-tempered child is not with another family who could otherwise not handle her, but I sometimes dream about what it would be like to have an easy baby. I guess if she wasn't difficult, she wouldn't be our Emma. :)

We had her 6 month check up last week, and as many of you know, we have been begging for an off base referral for the longest time and finally got one! Well, I LOVED the doctor!! He was incredibly awesome and didn't tell me I was doing everything wrong. He respected the things that I wanted to do with Emma that he did not do with his own children. Oh, and he complemented my sewing skills since she was wearing a diaper made by me. :) Anyway, Emma is weighing in at 18lbs, which is the 90th percentile, and she is 26.5 inches long, which is the 70th percentile. She finally hit a growth spurt and grew in length! Thank goodness! She was stuck at 25.5 for like 2 months. Poor girl. Doctor says she may be taller than we originally thought.

Right now, she's got something wrong with her eye? It's not pink eye because her eyeball isn't pink. I'm thinking maybe it's a sty, but she won't let me look close enough! Ughhhhh.

Anyway, she loves the outdoors, so we are enjoying these cooler temperatures we've been having these last two weeks in Northern California! Here she is enjoying herself under the tree in our front yard today.

P.S. Her new favorite thing to do is gnaw on celery. :)

Giveaway for your liking!

Okay friends, if I haven't yet convinced you to cloth diaper with my cloth diaper Tuesday posts, maybe a giveaway of a diaper will convince you to try. It's a good opportunity to try it out or add to your stash if you're already a cloth diapering mama! Feel free to share this with your friends, and follow this mama's blog! She does giveaways and will soon be a fellow Beale mama. Check it out here:

http://thedutcheradventures.blogspot.com/2011/07/smartipants-cloth-diaper-review-and.html

Not today...

I will not be sharing recipes or grocery trips today as I was woken up at 5 this morning to deal with one of the worst things ever. We had to put our Coco to sleep, and I am sort of a wreck, but here are a few of my favorite pictures to remember him. 

Budgeting and crafting

Well folks, after nearly two months on the waiting list, we have a house!!! Yahooo. I am excited not only because we are so ready to be out of this house, but because once we get on base and have no bill that fluctuate, I'll really be able to budget better. It's so hard to budget when you have electricty, etc. that fluctuates every month! Our biggest budget issue is eating out. We really love to eat out. This could also be a getting healthy issue. Eeeekkk. So when we move on base, we will really be eating out a lot less because there really isn't much to choose from on base! We are thankful for that for sure! It will help our waistline and our bank account, and those are two things that could always use improving. The house we're moving into is smaller than the one we live in now. It's only a 2 bedroom, but really and truly, we don't have visitors anyway being all the way out here, so we the 2 bedrooms works. The living room is spacious, and the dining area is large enough for half to be dedicated to the kitchen table and half to be dedicated to either the computer or my crafts. I think Aaron and I are going to have a war over that half. heheheh. :) The laundry room is large which is where I could do crafts, but I don't want to be toooooo crowded in there. We'll see once we move in. The kitchen is tiny, bummer, but that does mean less to clean! The bedrooms are decent as well and both upstairs! So here is a picture for your viewing.

Speaking of crafting, I was at the Airman's Attic earlier this week where I found a shirt that said Fight Cruelty, Not Dogs. Well, you know me! I had to have it except it was a size XS, and we all know I am no XS! Even if i was in super good shape, my body build would NEVER allow me to wear an XS, so I turned it into a dress for Emma instead. I cut it up, made it a little smaller and shorter and added some straps and a ruffle from some fabric I had lying around. I am super happy with how it came out. Check it:

Obviously Emma loves it. :) hehe. Next week I hope to have another dress made and possibly a diaper also. I will share whatever it is, of course!

Exercise?!?

I think finding time for exercise is one of every mom's biggest challenges. I know it's really hard for me to find time around keeping up with the house, the errands, and a VERY needy baby. I've come to the conclusion that a daily schedule really helps me to establish a routine and keep up with all of the things I need to do. One thing I have done is eliminated the amount of things I do around the house on a daily basis. I am so OCD about the house and have been since I've had my own place, but now that I have a baby, I have learned I can't be as OCD because I just won't get anything else done for me. Exercising is something I want to do for me to improve myself.

One thing I have started doing is jogging. Oh people, let me tell you, after 9 months of pregnancy and a few months of getting back to your normal self again, you are super out of shape. Or at least I AM! I am really starting to work on it now by jogging everyday of the week. I do this in the mornings while the temperature is still pretty good out, and Emma is usually in a good mood in the mornings so she will sit in the jogger. My first goal is a 5k. I'd really like to start doing these regularly. There are several held in the local area, and the base does one every Wednesday morning. I know that a 5k really isn't that long, but I am NOT an avid runner. I don't enjoy it that much, but I know it's good for me! So here is my Jeep brand jogger that I got used for only 40 bucks! It was definitely a good investment.

So, if you're having trouble finding time for exercise, plan it into your day. You are more likely to actually do it if you actually set a time for it. And if you're at Beale, come running with me! I'd love it. Next week, I'll talk about other exercises I do!

Pocket Diapers

Since today is cloth diaper Tuesday, I am going to focus on a specific type of diapers and a couple different brands. Today's type: Pocket diapers.

These are the diapers I started out with. They are really easy as pie (the reason I started with them, duh!). You have the diaper shell and an insert. The diaper shell has a pocket to stuff the insert in, easy, huh? The insert absorbs the moisture and the lining of the shell helps to keep baby feeling dry. If you're considering cloth diapering and you want super easy, I suggest pocket dipes! Here are some examples here:

Top left is a Kawaii Pure and Natural (Good for babies up to 18 months ish)

Top Right is a One Size BumGenius (fits approx. 10-35lbs)

Bottom is a Sunbaby (also fits approx. 10-35lbs)

My favorite of these is the BG, but it's the most expensive also, so budget friendly options are the Kawaii and Sunbaby!

 The pocket and insert going inside it

 and the two separate pieces

So simple! Hopefully I can convince someone to cloth diaper with these posts! Next week, I'm going to talk about Prefolds and Covers (my new favorites)!

Half Birthday

Yep, Emma is half a year old! Can you believe it? Because I totally can't. It's amazing how time flies when you're having fun.

Some updates on Emma: We had her Upper GI done last week, and it was miserable. I really hated to see her going through it, but the good news, NO SURGERY! The test results were normal, so now we are just going to have to try medicines to see what works for her. Let's hope we find something quick!

Our newest issue: Sleep. Okay, it's really not new. It's more like 6 months old. Emma is a terrible sleeper, and I know I have said this before, but it hasn't gotten any better. I am looking for solutions! I am going to be doing some research on what we could be doing that's keeping her from sleeping to try out some new things to see if they work or not. If not, I guess I'll just have to live with it! We already have an established routine at bedtime. She eats plenty during the day, including solids! She has a noise machine for white noise while she's sleeping. She will NOT sleep on her back. She sleeps on her belly. I don't know what else to do! So, I'm looking for solutions. I'm taking suggestions if anyone has them!

Speaking of suggestions. The last thing I want to say is WAY too often I see people with pictures of babies in their car seats, and they aren't properly using the car seat. I am a car seat safety guru, so PLEASE if you have questions about car seat safety, I will be glad to answer them. Better safe than sorry people! Here is some proper usage of Emma's seat buckles!

Coupons and Peanut Butter

Totally random title, right?
Well, today is about groceries and recipes. Though i don't have any recipes for you this week (I mean, unless you need a recipe for spaghetti or tacos), I do have a few things to share!

I have recently started couponing. When I say I am a couponer, I am NOT an extreme couponing kind of person. I, personally, find people who get things just because they can get them for free WASTEFUL! Since I don't want to be wasteful, I still shop for the same things that I used to, but I go crazy looking for coupons for those items before I shop! I started doing this a couple months ago, and this month will be my third shopping trip using coupons (I only grocery shop once a month, besides bread, etc.). On my first trip, I only saved $25, but I thought that was a good start! Last month, I bumped it up to $45, making my monthly grocery trip only cost $140! This month I'm hoping to make it $55, but I won't shop until the 14th. To some, this may not be impressive, but I feel like it's great since I am being REALISTIC! :) I gather coupons throughout the month from the Sunday paper and various coupon sites online and store them in this handy little thing:

It's not super cute, but it does the trick! It has little dividers so that I can organize them by when they expire or what type of coupon they are. So, take my advice and start clipping coupons. It's fun!

Next, I want to share this deliciously awesome peanut butter I got from the grocery store this week when I was shopping for bread. I have been wanting to eat more "natural" things and slowly adding little things to the cabinet as I go, so when I saw this, I thought well, I'll try it! I didn't mean to get the crunchy kind, darn it, but it's still delicious and a lot less sticky than regular peanut butter. Best part, it's free of hydrogenated oils! So, try it!

TERRIBLE at this!

Yep, I am OFFICIALLY terrible at blogging, once again. We have had soooo much going on with Emma lately that I really haven't been able to blog, but I am back now! And I really promise to try harder this time, as long as Emma stays healthy! I will start blogging for real tomorrow, but I am still going to take weekends off from this page so that I can spend time with the family!

Cloth Diaper Tuesdays :)

Okay, for those of you who think I am nuts for cloth diapering, I think you're nuts for not! We decided to make the swtch in March because we had tried all diaper brands, and I was continuously having leaks. I was tired of changing outfits with every diaper change, so I researched cloth diapers. Let me tell you, I was OVERWHELMED at first with all of the information, which is maybe why some people won't cloth diaper. I spent three days searching all of the types, brands, etc. I decided to do a trial of diapers from a company so that I could see which diapers I liked the most. I recommend Jilian's Drawers for a diaper trial, btw. Once I got the diapers, I found that I really like pockets! Basically, it's a simple as a disposable. You just stuff an insert into it's pocket and snap or velcro it on! Easy Peasy. I also like hybrid dipes because they are good for the diaper bag. Basically it's a cover with an insert, and you just reuse the cover with different inserts. Anyway, I'll be going into great detail about brands and types that I use with one post for each. So look forward to that next week! Cloth diapering is so easy that I would NEVER use disposables again. I can't believe I was paying money for that garbage that's going to be in our landfills for 600+ years!!!! Aaron thinks I've moved to California and become a hippy, but seriously, it's just the logical choice.
Many people think the washing would be bad, but I assure you it's fun! I love having clean fluff to fold, and I hate laundry! Something about hanging my diapers to dry makes my day! Here is a little photoshoot of dipes outside drying this morning:

 

That is the cheapest little drying rack that Target carries, and works perfect for hanging the covers! So if it's not washing that causes people to not cloth diaper, start up costs could be it. Yes, it was a little bit to start up, but honestly, I am going to save about 1800 or more with just Emma. Then, I can use them for our next baby also! And when I am done, I will still be able to sell these things to other mama's! So, questions? Feel free to ask me! I would love to sell some other mamas on cloth!

Emma Mondays :)

Oh, Emma! Did I mention that my little one is a PISTOL! This girl has definitely got her momma's attitude. She definitely gets it honest, but I could live without the ridiculously sassy personality! She knows what she wants and how to get it already, and she is only 4.5 months old! YIKES! Anyway, we have her late four month well baby visit on Wednesday, and we are very anxious to see how much she weighs! I am also very anxious to get a hold of her reflux issue.
She was put on Zantac at her two month appointment, and it had a hold of the situation for a little while, but it's lately come back and been getting worse. Not only do I hate to see her in pain, but it stresses me out a lot with her crying so much and not wanting to eat/sleep, etc. Poor baby. I hope the doctor will actually listen to what I have to say this time. Last time, she just kept interrupting me every time I tried to say something. It's an unfortunate situation we're in with this Tricare Prime business. I wish we lived at a base with more than one pediatrician, but Beale, well, is Beale. So we'll see how it goes.
We recently purchased a white noise machine, and it's helped with our sleeping issue a little. If you didn't know, she slept through the night for a few weeks, then she got sick, and it's been awful since (That was 2 months ago!). Last week, she was waking up about every 1.5 hours, which is NOT fun. So, since she slept so well on the plane on both trips we've made, I thought a white noise machine would help. The last two nights she has slept from 9-2! That's a huge deal to me because before it was like 9-11, up at 12:30, 2, 3:30, 5, and 630 for the day. So I'm hoping as the nights go on, it will get even better!
And we got a new big girl car seat, YAY! The airline ruined our infant seat by getting cargo grease all over it, so we got $200 worth of travel vouchers, and we had to get her a convertible seat, and she LOVES it. Here is a picture below: How I rotate it is beyond me! So just turn your head!

Now that I'm back! Some changes!

Okay, now that we are back from our little vacation, I am going to be making some changes to my blog! I am going to start dedicating each day of the week to a different topic so that my blogs aren't completely random and hard to keep up with! So, here is how it will go.
Monday- All about Emma :)
Tuesday- Cloth Diapering... Yes, I'm obsessed!
Wednesday- Exercise & Getting back to the size I was in 9th grade
Thursday- Budgeting/School/Life in General
Friday- Groceries and Dinner (I'll share new recipes that I like and any grocery trips I've had!)

I will not be blogging on the weekends in order to spend some time with my little family! This will start tomorrow! Also, I am going to try and include at least one picture with every post!

Twice in one week!

Okay, so it's my second post this week. Go me! I'm really going to try hard this time. I am writing as I sit here feeding Emma and trying to get her to go to sleep. She has been on a wonky sleeping kick lately, and let's just say, I've been one tired momma! I think the hardest thing about having her has been the fact that I am nursing and she relies on me for all of her food rather than me being able to pass off the night feedings to Aaron on the weekends, which would help tremendously, but I suck it up and do it anyway. I can't wait for the day when she finally sleeps through the night. I haven't seen a full night's sleep since long before she was born. At least my fat pregnant body got me sort of used to it before she got here.
Anyhow, tomorrow is mother's day, my first. Aaron and I are going to take Emma to the Sacramento Zoo in the morning, and then have lunch. We then have to come home and pack and be at the airport back in Sac around 10:30 tomorrow night. I am really looking forward to this trip and having the help with Emma, also to see family and eat good southern food!

About that diet. hahah. How am I possibly going to diet while going home for a week. Yeah right! So, I've really decided I'm getting serious about it when we get back. I've been doing well lately with working out. I've been doing an hour circuit type workout five days a week and walking with Emma another few times a week. Now I've just got to get my eating under control! Even though I've lost the baby weight, I want to be in really good shape, and it's going to take some discipline!!!! Hopefully I can do it!

Serious about blogging

Okay, so I want to get serious about blogging! I know. I've said I'm going to do better about blogging several times, and here it is two months since my last post! I mean it this time!

So, in 5 days, we are saying happy four months to Emma! Yahoo! A lot has changed since I last posted. We are going to Mississippi for a last minute trip next week to visit Aaron's family, and mine will be coming down for the weekend to stay and visit with us. Then we will hopefully still be going back in September to visit one week with my family and one week with his! Even if he can't go because you know issues arise with the military (last minute deployments, etc.), then I will probably go alone. Emma was not as hard to deal with as I had imagined she will be when I traveled home in March. It was my first time on a plane, and I will admit, I was TERRIFIED! It was easy peasy really, besides the fact that my plane from Jackson to Houston was delayed, and I almost missed my connection back to Sacramento! If you've never been to the Houston Airport, it's huge! And it wasn't easy lugging myself, a 2.5 month old, and two diaper bags across the airport in less than 15 minutes! I loved being home and definitely wish we lived closer, so I could go more like once a month!

Anyway, Emma is doing lots of new things since I last posted (DUH! It's been two months). She started to roll over from her tummy to her back at about 2.5 months ish. She recently, like a week starting rolling from back to tummy, and it makes her so proud! She does it every time I put her down now, so she's actually spending a good bit of time on her tummy without getting mad! She also started eating solids about 2.5 weeks ago, and she LOVES them! She's eaten carrots, bananas, apples, and green beans so far. So far, she love the apples the best, and surprisingly really doesn't like bananas. Oh well! Oh, my favorite thing is her laughing out loud! She's been doing this for a while now, but I still get excited every time she does it. My least favorite thing is this sleep regression phase she's going through. BOOOOOO! She's been waking up several times a night, and I'm about to go crazy! She was such a good sleeper for the longest time that I got spoiled.

Another new thing is: CLOTH DIAPERS! Okay, I looovveee them! We originally switched because of the massive amount of leaks that we were having with disposables. But a huge plus is the lack of money we are going to spend! Now that I have pretty much got everything I need, we are going to be saving a good bit of money not buying diapers every week or two. We are also using cloth wipes which is money saving too. :) Doing the cloth diapers has inspired me to do other things, like going back to menu planning and saving lots of money on groceries! That means only eating on Saturday, and every other day, we will be eating at home. It's been way too hard with a new baby and going to school and such to cook every night, but now that the semester is almost over and Emma is getting bigger, it will be much easier!

One last thing for this post, and I'll stop talking your ears off! I seriously want to start selling things that I make! Now that I have a sewing machine, I have learned to make leg warmers, skirts, shirts with sewn on designs, fleece diaper covers, curtains, a dress, and I plan on making a cloth diaper here soon. Plus I still make bows, bow holders, tutus, paintings, etc. I really want to do it because I have so much fun sewing and doing crafty things, but I also would like the little extra money it would provide. I just don't know how to go about getting all of that started. I know lots of boutiques have Facebook pages and Etsy stores, but how does one get so many freaking fans? IDK. I am going to continue to make a few more things and then I will see about starting something up. I think it would be ultra fun!

8 weeks!

Welp, Emma is a whopping 8 weeks old today! Time is seriously just flying by. She will be two months old in three days, and we have to go to the doctor and get shots. :( Boo hoo! I don't think that it will be as bad as the night in the ER, so maybe we will be okay! Right now, she's so stuffy and coughing, and I just feel soo bad for her! Hopefully she will get better soon. But the good news is that the coughing and stuffiness just takes all of her energy, so she's been napping good during the day!

Sooooo, it's only 18 days until we leave for Mississippi, and I am beyond excited! I am starting to get nervous though! I have talked to many people who say it's not bad at all, but I can't help but be nervous. My first time flying alone and with a baby at that! YIKES! I've already started a list of things that I will need so I am hoping that I will have everything together by the time we leave! EEEKK! Come on March 25th! Anyway, I will update again after her 2 month check up on Thursday!

Terrible Blogger

Once again, I am being a terrible blogger! Good news though! Emma is doing great and still growing sooo fast! I made her two month appt. today, and it's crazy how fast time has gone. In one week and 3 days, she will be two months old ahhhH! Scary! Anyhow, last week she weighed 11lbs, so I'm anxious to see what she's weighing at the end of next week! I have officially put away all the newborn clothes and the 0-3 month sleepers because she is too long for them! She is still wearing mostly 0-3 months for now, but some of them she's starting grow out of! EEEKKK! We have a big baby on our hands for a girl! She's been in the 95th percentile for girls, but the doctor said she will start slow her growth since she is breastfed. Thank goodness, she's getting incredibly heavy to lug around in her car seat!
In other GREAT news, Emma and I are going to Mississippi!!!!!!!! Yahoo! We cannot wait! We're going the last week of March and staying with Granny and Papaw. Sucks Aaron can't go, but we are going to have so much fun!

Our 7 week old! 

Growing so fast!

Yes, Emma is growing incredibly fast! It's kinda sad that she no longer fits into most of her newborn clothes, especially the one piece outfits... But she's also at this awkward stage where her 3mos clothes are still big, so I'm not wishing for her to grow up, but I do wish she could properly wear one size or the other! She's doing great though, eating well, and sleeping pretty good at night. Sleeping during the day is a whole different story though. It is 4pm, and she is sleeping for the first time since 7:30 this morning! But I am A o.k. with her sleeping at night rather than during the day!

On another note, Aaron enrolled her in Tricare today, and we found out that she has to be seen on base because we live within 30 minutes of the installation. Let me tell you that our address is 28 minutes from the clinic!!!!!! OMG. That makes me really mad because everyone talks negatively of the regular pediatrician on base. We haven't seen her yet because she's been deployed or something crazy like that, and they've had temporary people in there, who have been really nice. I'm not only mad because of the pediatrician, but I'm mad because all of the Airmen who work the appointment line and front desk are TERRIBLE at their jobs. They're just a pain to deal with. Did I mention that we are the base with the worst health care in the Air Force? UGHHHHHHHH. That is all for today!

Blogging & Motherhood

Okay, either I'm a terrible blogger or I'm being a great mother instead. I like the latter of the two, of course! I say this because I was supposed to post pictures of our princess like 2 weeks ago, and yeah, well! Being a mom is a little more time consuming than I could have imagined! But I can't complain. Overall, we are blessed with a wonderful baby! Emma sleeps VERY well at night for 2.5 week old. She's sleeping about 4 hours at a time, which is completely fine with me! She, however, doesn't sleep at all during the day, so it's hard for me to get anything done around here at all! (Hence the reason I haven't posted pictures!) We are establishing as much of a routine as we can, and things are calming down around here a lot!

Emma is doing great! We've been to the doctor twice because he was originally concerned about her weight loss, but now, she's gaining more than average! This is good news for me, since I can't really visually tell if she's getting enough to eat since I'm breastfeeding, which leads me to my health. I am actually recovering from birth very well. I'm almost back to normal from that whole escapade, besides about 7 pounds I need to lose to be back to pre pregnancy weight. (But then I want to lose about 5-10 more, just to be in really good shape!) However, breastfeeding brought on a whole new issue, mastitis, which, if you didn't know, is an infection of the breasts. Yes, no fun. I had a 103.6 fever, chills, aches, etc., and now I have to take an antibiotic four times a day! I am starting to feel better though. Fever is gone, but I'm still a little sluggish! This is all for now. Promise I'll try and update again soon!

She's here!!!

Yes, that's right! Baby Emma has come! She made her debut on Monday, January 10th! Here is a little recap of our day:
As, you know already, I was induced, so we had the day planned, but not the time, so:
6:00AM: Call to Labor and Delivery. We were told beds were full, and that they would call as soon as one was available.
9:30AM: Call from Labor and Delivery for us to come in at 10AM. 10AM? Really?!?! It's a 20 minute trip, and you want me to be there in 30 minutes?! Well, not hardly, we had to stop by McDonald's on the way because I knew that there was no telling when I'd get to eat again.
10:15AM: Arrival! We checked into the room and got settled. The nurse checked me and still no progress! Only 2 cm, but I was having very irregular contractions on my own.
11:00AM: Pitocin was started (In other words, bring on the pain!)
11:30AM: My water was broken, and I can tell you, I won't be upset if I never have to go through that again.
12:30PM: After my water was broken, the contractions started coming regularly, and they HURT! I went into the whole situation saying I did NOT want IV Pain meds that I would just stick it out to 4cm until I could get the epidural. Well......
1:30PM: I had it with the contractions! I got IV Pain Meds, and was able to rest for about an hour, and then the pains were back!
2:30PM: I was in tears from pain, and thankfully my nurse was nice enough to call the anesthesiologist a little bit early since I was only about 3.5 cm! He came, and was a TOTAL JERK! But the epidural itself was not nearly as bad when you don't have to actually watch it go in. It was like a pinch. That was certainly the LEAST of my worries!
3:00PM: The epidural was kicking in ,and it was a very weird sensation to not feel my lower half, but whatever gets rid of the pain!
4:00PM: 4.5 cm dialated (slowly, but surely, I guess) At this point, I am getting RESTLESS! Oh, and hungry!
6:00PM: 6.5 cm dilated (woohoo, progress!) At this point, I was starting to feel my left side again, and the pain started to get more and more intense! They thought that maybe the epidural was slightly off center, so I was propped up on pillow, but that wasn't working, and it just kept getting WORSE! This was the most pain I've experienced EVER.
6:30PM: The nurse decides that she should check me again, and guess what?! MAJOR PROGRESS! I was 10cm, and Emma's head was already busting through! That was a very quick transformation there. This is about the time that it started to get a little CRAZY. There were people in and out, in and out, and prepping things, etc. It was also the middle of a shift change, so my nurses were changing also. At some point during this time period, apparently Emma and I both stopped breathing and our hearts stopped beating. All that I faintly remember of this was being flipped from one side to the other and back and an oxygen mask being thrown on my face. Whew! Now, that we got past that fiasco, it was time to push!
7:30PM: I started to push!
7:50PM: Dr. was called, arrived, and delivered Emma! I pushed for less than 30 minutes!
Baby Emma arrived at 7:59PM on Monday, January 10th, 2011. She weighed 8lbs 12 oz, was 20 3/4", and had dark hair and blue eyes!

Overall, I think my labor experience was not too awful. I feel blessed that I had less than 12 hours of labor for a first baby! Also, less than 30 minutes of pushing felt like a huge accomplishment! The whole fiasco about losing conciousness was very scary once I heard about it later, and Aaron was very worried during, but we all came out okay! And now we're home and figuring out life together! I will do another post tomorrow or the next day with just pictures of her! :)