CONFESSIONS OF A STAY AT HOME MOM

Ideas for the New Year

2011-12-15T16:13:00.000-07:00

Alright readers! This blog is actually going to come more to life in the new year. I have great plans for this blog so bare with me. :) Keep your eyes open for my new and upcoming events here. I am hoping to post daily having different topics each day. Can't wait! I'm planning now! :) Happy Holidays!

Extreme Couponing....Not Quite!

2011-09-30T19:33:00.000-06:00

I have recently gotten into clipping coupons. I have a couple friends from church that got me into it and I think they made a monster out of me. :) (Love you Fee) Anyway, I went on a fairly big trip today to get a lot of great deals that were going to be gone by tomorrow because my coupons were expiring. YIKES! So I took the time and figured out all the deals and how I was going to go about shopping...and yes, this took a lot of time, but was well worth it! :)

I wanted to share with you all the wonderful things I got today. Here are a few pictures!

Okay so as you can kind of see what all I got. Let me list it off for you...

-2 boxes of Theraflu Multi-Symptom Severe Cold
-4 boxes of Colgate Optic White Toothpaste
-Schick Quattro for Women Razor Cartridges (4 pack)
-3 Pack of Orbit Gum
-2 Colgate Optic White 360 toothbrushes
-3 KitKats (filler items)
-1 Reece's (filler item)
-2 packages of Mentos Up2U gum
-Real Soft Toilet Paper
-Hormel All Natural Lunch Meat
-Kettle Brand Baked Potato Chips
-Reach Dental Floss
-Feminine Product (they were free) :)
-Clorox2 Laundry Stain Remover
-2 Pert Plus 2 in 1 Shampoo and conditioner
-Irish Spring Body Wash

Now for the lovely total I paid for all of this.....$21! I SAVED ALMOST $70! It was great! Just the 4 boxes of toothpaste alone cost $20 at regular price. :)

Here are a few other pictures ...

Yay for coupons! Now clip your coupons and get out there and save some serious money! :)

Have a great weekend!

Homemade Baby Food--8 Months Old

2011-08-30T14:56:00.000-06:00

I just realized I haven't finished my series on Homemade Baby Food so let's keep going with Month 8.

Ashlyn 8 Months

Typically when babies are around 8 months they are able to start using a cup (sippy or regular) if you haven't already started. This is great to add water, diluted juice, formula or BM. I have also noticed a lot of meat being introduced as well. I will list in a few recipes that will be good to try for those mommies who are attacking this Homemade Baby Food trend! :)

Pumpkin and Chickpea Stew

1 Cup cubed peeled pumpkin

1/2 Cup canned chickpeas, rinsed and drained

1/2 Cup canned diced tomatoes, with juice

1 tsp crumbled dried sage

Put all ingredients in a medium saucepan, bring to simmer. Cover and simmer for about 15 mins. Let cool. Transfer to blender and Enjoy!

Fish and Mushy Peas

1 Cup frozen sweet peas

6 oz skinless cod, haddock, or halibut fillet

1/2 Cup low-sodium vegetable stock

1 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

Arrange peas in a medium saucepan. Place fish on top and pour stock over fish. Cover and cook over medium heat until fish flakes...about 10 mins. Let cool. Transfer to blender and blend till smooth! Enjoy!

Avocado with Chicken

8 oz boneless skinless chicken breast, cut in strips

1 avocado, peeled, pitted and sliced

1 T freshly squeezed lime juice

3/4 Cup low-sodium chicken stock

Arrange chicken in a steamer basket fitted over a saucepan of boiling water. Cover and steam for 10-15 mins, until chicken is no longer pink inside. Transfer to a cutting board and cut into 1 inch pieces. Let Cool. Transfer to blend and add avocado, lime juice and stock...puree till desired consistency. DO NOT FREEZE! This one will only last for up to 3 days in the fridge!

I hope these give you some ideas and inspiration of what you can do. The beauty of this book "Blender Baby Food" is that with just about every recipe it gives you, it also gives you and older kids spin. So now that Ashlyn is 2 years old, I can still make these recipes for her but make them to suit her. For example, the Avocado with Chicken makes a great dip for whole wheat tortilla wedges. :-) You just blend it like it says and use it as a dip!

I highly recommend this book if you are making your own food. It was a life savor and she can still eat the same foods now that she did then. :)

Happy cooking!

Our TTC journey thus far...

2011-08-14T20:40:00.000-06:00

I have been out of the loop for a couple months now and that is due to traveling like crazy! We are still not home as I'm writing this but I thought I should let you know what has been going on. We are at a week long lectureship this week in Sevierville, TN and it's just been so uplifting and a blast. I will write a post about it later. We also went to California for the 4th of July and then Ashlyn and I visited my dad in IL for a week and a half. It was great! After this trip we won't be traveling anymore hopefully! :) Love traveling but boy do I love to be home as well!

Now on to the reason why I'm writing this post. Brett and I have been TTCing since November of last year. We already have a wonderful daughter of 2 years and she is a blessing! I wanted to share our journey with you so far.....

Back in March I wrote this post and if you read it then you know a lot of what happened, if not, for time sake, read that post. I tell you everything! Since my ectopic in February we had to wait 3 full cycles before TTC again. So we waited and then I realized I was ovulating on the opposite side of my ectopic so we were excited to TTC. We found out on June 6 (10 DPO) that I had a positive pregnancy test. However, the hubs didn't want to believe it until I took a digital to confirm so that Friday I took one for him. :) We were so excited! We told family and a few friends but didn't want to get too excited until our first ultrasound. We had that ultrasound when I was 6 weeks 3 days. Early, yes, but we had to in order to make sure everything was in the right place. IT WAS! So we were thrilled. However, baby was measuring 5 weeks 5 days and the heartbeat was only at 113 bpm. They said it was a little on the low end so they wanted to do another ultrasound in a week. That was fine by me. :) Well my ultrasound was the Monday after I took the digital test. The following Wednesday I started spotting. I was a little nervous but thought everything was fine. Then it got worse! It continued to get worse so Thursday I had another ultrasound and baby's heartbeat was still fine. THEN it got even WORSE! So Friday I went back in and the heart was no longer beating. :'(

After that appointment, the next day, we left for California. I passed the baby on July 3 after Sunday morning class. It was so hard! However, it was nice to come home because it was like I got closure leaving baby in California.

I know that God has a plan for us and we are trusting in that plan. We hope and pray there are more babies in our future but that's only for Him to decide! We are now waiting and letting go and letting God do what He is going to do and only hope for the best.

It is nice to know that I am not alone in this. It is great having a support system. I am hoping however that this blog can turn into more of a pregnancy journey later on. We shall see....

Calling all baby dust! :)

Menu Plan Monday

2011-06-27T15:17:00.000-06:00

It is that time again! I feel like these weeks just fly by sometimes. I can not believe June is almost over! July is full of fun times for my family and I. I can't wait to post all about our trips and the memories we made after I get back. This will be the last menu plan for a couple weeks. We are leaving for California on Saturday and not getting back till Thursday! We get to spend time with friends and family and have a wonderful vacation! Can't wait! Then I will only be back for 6 days and then I am going to my hometown for 10 days! I can't wait to see all my family! I haven't seen them since Christmas so it will be a nice visit for sure!
As for my menu this week, we are just eating things around the house. Meals I prepared for over the weeks that just got rolled over or meals from the freezer. Just so I don't have leftovers or anything hanging out in the fridge while we are gone. I would hate to come home to a gross smelling fridge :). Here is our plan (rough) for this week...

Monday:
B-Muffins and Fruit
L-Out
D-Chicken Alfredo Pizza

Tuesday:
B-Cold Cereal
L-Spinach Cheese Bites (never got around to making these last week)
D-Leftover steak, potatoes and veggies

Wednesday:
B-Oatmeal
L-Turkey, Black Beans, Fruit
D-Spaghetti

Thursday:
B-Eggs and Toast
L-PB & J, fruit, veggie
D-Leftovers

Friday:
B-Cold Cereal
L-Spinach Cheese Bites
D-FFY (Fend For Yourself--Brett will be out of town for the night so I will see what I'm feeling)

Saturday:
B-Cold Cereal
L-Green Grilled Cheese
D- Airport food!

Like I said, this menu was sort of a repeat of several weeks but when I get back from traveling we will get into more yummy recipes that I haven't made in a while and maybe try out some new ones! Have a wonderful week!

Happy Monday!

Spending Time With My Nieces

2011-06-25T18:13:00.000-06:00

Today I was able to watch my two beautiful nieces all day. Ashlyn enjoys playing with them so much. I had to take the time to share with you the most adorable picture I took of them playing today.

They decided since I only had one pooh train, they would ride it together and take their babies along for the ride too. I thought it was adorable. They played so great today!

My other niece Sophie is too cute too. She is a little young to really play with them yet but she got lots of hugs and kisses today from them. Chloe is 5 months older than Ashlyn so it's the perfect match for cousins. I'm sad that Sophie won't be getting a cousin as close in age. :( But I'm sure all the cousins will play together when they all get old enough. They are all so sweet together!

We try to get together with Chloe and Sophie every Thursday for a play date and boy do the girls love it! Mommy loves it too, because I get some adult time with Auntie Sarah. :) A little of that never hurts!

Well that was my Saturday and thought I would share. Hope you all had a wonderful Saturday as well. I'm tired now so I think I'm going to relax the rest of the night with my wonderful family! :) God is good!

Homemade Baby Food--7 Months Old

2011-06-23T15:11:00.000-06:00

This is Ashlyn at 7 months with new toy I had just bought her and she loved this thing! I love this picture of her! :)

So I thought I would continue on in my baby food series for month 7. There is nothing really new for this month except just getting closer to being able to make more combinations of foods. This was when I felt making food got fun. I loved making all sorts of neat foods for Ashlyn to eat. :)
For now, Breast milk or Formula is still the main source of their nutrition so make sure you continue that. I will share just a few recipes for this month that you can add on once your baby has tried everything individually. Don't forget the waiting period between new foods. It's very important!

Again these recipes are found from the Blender Baby Food book by Nicole Young

Green Rice
2 tbs olive oil
1/4 c sliced onion
1 clove garlic, minced
4 c leafy greens (spinach, swiss chard or kale)
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp grated lemon zest
1 c cooked rice, any variety

In a skillet, heat oil over med-high heat. Add onion and cook about 5 minutes or until tender. Add garlic and cook 1 minute. Stir in greens until wilted, about 1 minute. Sprinkle with salt and lemon zest. Let cool slightly.
Transfer to blender and puree' on high speed until smooth. Stir in rice until rice is coated with greens.
You can then choose to put back in blender and make the rice more of a puree. :) Enjoy!

Peach and Banana Oatmeal1 banana, sliced
1 c cooked oatmeal
1 c sliced, peeled peaches

Place all ingredients in blender and puree' till smooth.

Jumpin' Jambalaya
1 tbs olive oil
1/2 c chopped peeled carrot
1/4 c chopped onion
1/4 c chopped celery
1/4 c long-grain white rice
1 c low sodium chicken stock
1 bay leaf

In a skillet, heat oil over med-high heat. Add carrot, onion and celery and cook about 5 minutes. Stir in rice until coated. Add Chicken stock and bay leaf. Bring to a boil and cover and simmer for about 20 minutes. Discard bay leaf and let cool.
Transfer to blender and blend till smooth.

The best part about this book is that it gives you ideas of what you can do with these dishes for toddlers and older kids. It's great!
It is okay to add great flavor and spices to your dishes. You want to broaden the pallet of your little one and let him/her experience all different flavors!

I hope you enjoyed these recipes and I will see you next time for month 8. :) Happy cooking!

Menu Plan Monday

2011-06-20T22:17:00.000-06:00

After this past week, it was nice to have some time with the hubby today. He was able to take the day off and even though it was a rainy nasty day, we enjoyed being with each other. Not to mention Ashlyn enjoyed having her daddy! :) We celebrated Father's Day tonight at Granddad's and Grandma's house. We cooked out and visited and Ashlyn got to enjoy her cousins. It was a great night. Even though it's getting late, it's still Monday so I'm going to get my menu plan posted for you before I hit the sack. Here is what we are planning to eat this week (including today's)

Monday:

B-Eggs and Toast

L-Spinach Cheese Bites (However we ran errands so Subway made our lunch today)

D-Cookout at Granddad's and Grandma's

Tuesday:

B-Oatmeal

L-Green Grilled Cheese

D-Steaks (yum)

Wednesday:

B-Pancakes

L-PB & J Sammie

D-Italian Subs

Thursday:

B-Cold Cereal

L-Chicken Nuggets

D-Chicken and Gnocchi Soup

Friday:

B-Muffins and Smoothies

L-PB and Banana Grilled Sammie

D-Spaghetti

Saturday:

B-Biscuits and Gravy

L-Spinach Cheese Bites

D-Chicken Alfredo Pizza

Sunday:

B-Steel Cut Oats

L-Out

D-Leftover Bar

The Lunches are typically planned for Ashlyn and then Brett and I eat whatever. I am not set on everything happening in this order. A lot of times I end up switching things around but it works for us. Hope you enjoy! Feel free to comment if you want some recipes. :)

Few Changes Made..More to Come!

2011-06-18T22:02:00.000-06:00

I changed a few things on here such as my title! It was time for a new title. I was getting tired of my old one and wanted a change. :) I have some other things I want to change about it but that can wait for now. I thought this week would be a great week to continue posting on my Menu Planning and my Homemade Baby Food. I hope to hit both of those this week. If I don't, someone please get on to me ;). I am determined! So stay tuned for Menu Plan Monday! Can't wait to share it...it's going to be a good one!

Happy Father's Day to all you Fathers out there! This is your day so go enjoy it! Ladies, make them feel special!!! :)

Redoing Blog

2011-06-16T15:01:00.000-06:00

Hey everyone! I am going to be redoing by blog. You will know why when I start posting again! So stay tuned...it will be back. :)

Menu Plan Monday

2011-06-06T22:05:00.000-06:00

I'm back! I had been having so many issues with this crazy blog lately that I gave up for a little while. Now I am back and ready to share my dinner ideas for you this week! I hope you enjoy! Don't forget, if you want recipes I can get them to you. Just comment below! :)

Monday: Homemade Pizza (ended up being an assortment of things I had in the fridge/freezer)
Tuesday: Brown Sugar Glazed Mahi Mahi
Wednesday: Chicken Fingers w/ homemade honey mustard dipping sauce
Thursday: Baked Ziti with White Sauce
Friday: Onion Chicken
Saturday: Date Night
Sunday: Leftover Bar :)

I hope everyone has a wonderful week! We are having our VBS (Bible Discovery Days) at my church this week and it's been a blast. Ashlyn is loving it and learning all sorts of new songs. :) It's so enjoyable watching those little kiddos having the time of their lives learning about God. There is nothing better!

Happy Monday!

Unable to post

2011-05-25T20:38:00.001-06:00

I have not been able to get on Blogger for some reason all week. I wanted to let you know that I will be continue my series on baby food hopefully tomorrow. Have a wonderful night! :)

Gone for the week

2011-05-18T21:11:00.001-06:00

I am so busy this week but wanted to post something quick to let everyone know that I won't be doing any posts this week :) I will continue on Monday with my meal plan for the week. We have company staying with us all week and I'm working full time. But I will see you next week!

Have a wonderful week and weekend!

Homemade Baby Food--6 Months Old

2011-05-11T14:46:00.000-06:00

Making homemade baby food is really fun! Seriously! I enjoy making healthy yummy foods for Ashlyn. I know what she is eating and I know it is good for her. And you have to admit, she looks adorable at 6 months with homemade green pea puree all over her face! :) It's hard to believe that my little baby is almost 22 months! The all grow so fast so make sure you are filling their little bodies with the best nutrition you can.

I started out feeding Ashlyn rice cereal. Sadly I didn't have the proper equipment to make it myself, but believe me I tried! It just didn't go over well. You need to be able to grind the rice or oats (or whatever grain you decide) to a fine powder. Then cook the powder on the stove in water. You can find great recipes here for homemade cereal. I would then puree in a blender or food processor until smooth and creamy. :)

After she was eating cereal well I moved to veggies and then to fruits. You can cook most veggies on the stove or steam them. I would not recommend using a microwave because I feel it pulls a lot of the nutrients out before the baby even gets to enjoy. There are some fruits that can be mashed, for example bananas and avocados. Just remember to introduce one food at a time and allow 5-7 days between each new food. :)

I know some of you were asking for some combinations of foods you can do. There are a ton in the Blender Baby Food book that I used but I will share some of Ashlyn's favorites with you.

Orange, Orange, Orange
1 Cup diced peeled carrots (about 2)
1 Cup diced peeled sweet potato (about 11/2)
1/2 Cup diced peeled pear (about 1/2)
1/2 Cup orange juice (I had to substitute additional water here b/c Ashlyn was sensitive to citrus)
1/2 Cup water (so if you substitute you would do 1 Cup water)

Simmer all on the stove for 20 mins or until tender. Let cool then blend till smooth!

Peach-Pear Bananarama
1 1/2 Cups diced peeled peaches (about 2)
1 Cup diced peeled pear (about 1)
1 Banana, sliced

Combine all in blender and blend till smooth :)

Figgy Pears
1 1/2 cups diced peeled pears (about 2)
3/4 cup unsweetened orange juice (I did use juice here and it didn't bother her)
1/2 cup diced figs, stems removed (about 4oz)
1/4 tsp ground allspice

Cover and simmer about 20 mins then blend till smooth

Squashed Apples
2 Cups diced peeled butternut squash
1 Cup diced peeled Golden Delicious apple (about 1)
1 Tbs Vegetable oil (I use olive oil)
1 tsp pure maple syrup
Pinch nutmeg
1/2 cup apple juice or water (I use water whenever possible)

Preheat oven to 350...toss squash and apple with oil, maple syrup and nutmeg...spread on baking sheet and cook for about 30 mins. Let cool...then blend till smooth!

Pears, Carrots and Squash
1 Cup diced peeled butternut squash
1 Cup sliced peeled pear (about 1)
1/2 cup sliced peeled carrot (about 1)
1/4 cup water or apple juice

Cover, cook and simmer for about 20 mins. Blend till smooth

Squashed Green Beans
1 cup diced peeled butternut squash
1/2 cup apple juice or water
1 1/2 cup sliced trimmed green beans (about 6 oz)

Bring squash and water to a boil and then simmer for 10 mins. Add in green beans and simmer for 10 more mins. Blend till smooth.

Ashlyn's All Time Favorite....

Squashed Vegetable Puree
1 cup diced peeled butternut squash
1/2 cup sliced peeled broccoli stems
1/2 cup diced peeled carrot (about 1)
1/4 cup orange juice (again I did water)

Cover and cook 15-20 mins and then blend till smooth!

If you want more recipes like these please purchase this book Blender Baby Food...you can find it here
I hope you all enjoy some of my select recipes from this book.

ALWAYS REMEMBER TO INTRODUCE EACH SEPARATE FOOD FIRST BEFORE YOU COMBINE.
Combining is where it gets fun but do not rush the introduction process. You need to be sure that your baby can handle each individual ingredient before you put them together.

Next Wednesday we will talk about feeding your baby at 7 months and what Ashlyn's favorites were then. I will share some fun websites for making homemade baby food as well. :)

Enjoy! Happy Eating!

This is Ashlyn after first trying cereal! She loved it as you can see! Too bad it was commercial cereal and not homemade :( We will next time! I'm totally getting the Baby Bullet that I told you about in the introduction.

Dinners for The Week and What's for Breakfast and Lunch for Toddler

2011-05-10T15:26:00.000-06:00

I wanted to do my Menu Planning a little different this week. I make my menu plans based mostly on what Ashlyn eats during the day with the exception of the family dinners. I decided that I would tell you all my dinner plans for the week and then each day or every few days let you in on what I ended up feeding Ashlyn for Breakfast and Lunch.

Our dinners for this week look like this: (A lot rolled over from last week)
Monday: Homemade Pizza and Salad
Tuesday: Grilled Chicken Roll Ups, Parmesan Potatoes, Green Peas, Corn
Wednesday: Green Chili Chicken, Green Beans, Edaname, Leftover Potatoes
Thursday: Shrimp dish of some sort (this is still in the making), Veggie Sides
Friday: Grill out with friends
Saturday: Graduation dinner for a girl in our youth group :)

What's for Breakfast and Lunch for Toddler:
Monday:
B-Oatmeal with Banana, Squash Puree, Yogurt and Flax Seed Meal mixed in. (She loves this!)
L-Macaroni and Cheese, Green Beans, Cheddar Biscuit, Mandarin Oranges
Tuesday:
B-Blueberry Waffles w/ Agave and Banana
L-Avocado and Cream Cheese Sammie and Peaches

I am excited to do my next post on my new series on Homemade Baby Food. Be sure to check back tomorrow for that! :)

Happy Tuesday!!!

Introduction to Homemade Baby Food

2011-05-04T14:51:00.000-06:00

Have you been to the grocery store to pick up the jarred baby food and realize how expensive it is? When you have to buy enough jars to feed your baby you are looking at spending a fortune! Ever think about making your own homemade baby food from your own kitchen? It's much cheaper and so much better for baby! :) My daughter never had one single jar of baby food from the store. I always made it for her at home. I made do with the tools I had in my kitchen already. So it's possible without having to buy anything extra except your healthy produce.

I was browsing the internet the other day and came across this site http://www.babybullet.com/. I couldn't believe my eyes! This may be a purchase worth every penny when #2 comes along! I would love to try this wonderful contraption. :) I know they also sell the normal Bullet, which I'm not sure if this is much different. The blades may be different. I know the baby bullet has a special blade for grinding up grains for you to make homemade baby cereal! That is something I would have loved to have!

I was asked by one of my friends who just had baby #2 (Congrats Kristen) to do a post on Homemade baby food. I decided I wanted to make a series out of this to help other moms realize how super easy this is! I will do a post on the different ages and what foods to offer, recipes, etc. I will be basing a lot of my finds off of the book "Blender Baby Food" by Nicole Young. I highly recommend it! You can find it here. This post will simply be an introduction and then each Wednesday I will post a new blog about the next age group. I hope you enjoy! :)

Let's get started on basic facts first. When should one start feeding their baby solids? I know there are a lot of opinions out there but this is my blog so I will give you my opinion ;).
When baby:
~Can sit alone or with minimal support
~opens mouth when seeing something coming towards her face or mouth
~turns her head away when she does not want it
~closes her lips over the spoon
~seems interested in what you are eating
I also like to say for most children 6 months is when these occur, however every child is different and I have seen some ready by as early as 4 months. I personally always wait till at least 6 months before starting solids.

I always started with Rice Cereal and then moved to Oatmeal. When baby is eating about 2-3 T of cereal a couple times a day I started introducing veggies and then fruits. I always waited 5-7 days between each new food just to make sure there were no allergies to that particular food.

When making your own food keep these tips in mind:
~Most food will stay refrigerated up to 3 days.
~Homemade food can stay safely in your freezer for 3 months.
~Do not thaw at room temperature because bacteria could start growing.
~Discard any food that has been heated and not eaten.

I love storing my baby food in the freezer in ice cube trays. You can find some with lids and if not, you can always cover with plastic wrap. I wait till it is good an frozen then I transfer all cubes to a gallon size ziplock bag labeled with what the food is and the date it was made. :) Each cube can equal about 1 T sometimes 2 T.

I hope you find this helpful. If you have any questions at all, please comment below and I will be happy to answer them. Next Wednesday I will start with 6 Months!

Enjoy! Happy Healthy Feeding!!! :)

Menu Plan Monday (Tuesday)

2011-05-03T14:45:00.000-06:00

I can't seem to get in the hang on this blogging thing. I think a lot of it has to do with the lack of finding things to write about. I would love to do this more so if you have any suggestions please comment below.

We have been so busy lately with youth events and other church activities it's been hard to keep up. I was also working full time for two weeks in a row helping out a family with their children. I am glad that's over for now and I have one more week of helping them a little later in the month. For now, I have enjoyed keeping little Ryan a couple hours a day anywhere from 1-5 days a week. I get all my mornings free with Ashlyn, which is the best! She enjoys that time with Mommy and me with her. :)

Okay lets get on to see what we will be eating this week. I will start with what we ate yesterday since I'm a day late on this whole Menu Plan Monday! :)

Monday:
B-Bacon, Egg & Cheese on Whole Wheat English Muffin, Cantaloupe (B,J, A)
S-Cherrios (A)
L-PB & Honey Sammie, Sliced Banana (A) Leftover Pasta from Apple-bees (B,J)
S-Raisins (A)
D-Pasta w/ Red Sauce, Green Beans, Cubed Cheese, Fruit (A)

Tuesday:
B-Blueberry Muffins, Smoothies (B,J,A)
S-Raisins (A)--her new love!
L-Avocado & Cream Cheese Sammie, Green Beans, Peaches (A) Sandwiches (B,J)
S-Cubed Cheese and Crackers (A)
D-Buffalo Chicken Pizza on homemade whole wheat pizza dough, Salad (B,J,A)

Wednesday:
B-Cold Cereal, fruit (B,J) Frozen Blueberry Waffles, fruit (A)
S-Apple Sauce and Crackers (A)
L-Pasta, Beans, Fruit (A) Leftover Dinner (B,J)
S-Dried Banana Chips (A)
D-Green Chili Chicken, Parmesan Potatoes, 2 Veggie Sides (B,J,A)

Thursday:
B-Oatmeal, fruit (B,J,A)
S-Apple and Peanut Butter (A)
L-Spinach Cheese Bites, Beans, fruit (A) Leftover Dinner or Sandwiches (B,J)
S-Raisins (A)
D-Salmon, Brown Rice, Salad, Veggie Side (B,J,A)

Friday:
B-Cold Cereal (B,J) Strawberry Breakfast Bar (A)
S-Trail Mix (A)
L-Avocado & Cream Cheese Sammie, fruit, Sweet Potato cubes (A) Leftovers or Sandwiches (B,J)
S-Crackers and Apple Sauce
D-Grilled Chicken Roller, Noodles, 2 Veggie Sides

Saturday:
B-Big Breakfast of some sort...I will ask the hubby :)
S-Her Pick
L-Spinach Cheese Bites, Beans, Fruit (A)
S-Her Pick
D-If at home it will be something with Shrimp :)

Sunday:
This day is up to Brett :) HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

If you have any questions or want recipes please let me know. I really am going to do better at posting so don't forget to leave some ideas for that too. :) Happy Tuesday!

Menu Plan Monday (Tuesday)

2011-03-29T15:05:00.000-06:00

With everything going on I have been terrible at posting my meal plans. But I've decided to get back into it and share them with you again! So here is my menu for this week. I will also include what I served yesterday.

Monday:
B-Oatmeal w/ Banana
S-Homemade Apple-Cinnamon Crackers
L-Avocado & Cream Cheese Sammie, Apples w/ peanut butter
S-Cheese & Rasins
D-Crunchy Garlic Chicken, Green Peas, Mashed Garlic Potatoes

Tuesday:
B-Green Smoothie
S-Banana w/ Peanut butter
L-Broccoli Bites, Kidney Beans, Apples
S-Apple Sauce & Graham Cracker Sticks
D-Sweet Potato Enchiladas with Chili pepper and tomato sauce, Edamame, Leftover Mashed Potatoes

Wednesday:
B-Toast w/ butter and honey, Fruit and yogurt
S-Cheese & Rasins
L-PB & J Sammie, Pita Chips and Avocado
S-Frozen Banana (Popsicle)
D-Crock-pot While Chili, Leftover Green Peas, Crackers

Thursday:
B-Green Smoothie
S-Homemade Apple-Cinnamon Crackers
L-Enamame, Broccoli Bites, Peaches
S-Cheese & Rasins
D-Leftovers

Friday:
B-Apple-Cinnamon Oatmeal
S-Diced fruits and Veggies
L-Veggie-Cheddar Pancakes, Kidney Beans, Banana
S-Frozen Banana (Popsicle)
D- N/A--We have other plans!

Saturday:
B-Blueberry Pancakes
S-Cheese & Rasins
L-Avocado & Cream Cheese Sammie, Peaches
S-Apple Sauce & Graham Cracker Sticks
D-Chicken Adobo, Brown Rice, Veggie Side (not sure yet-probably Green Beans)

Sunday:
B-Eggs & Toast
S-Apple slices (eaten in church)
L-Out to eat
S-Frozen Banana (Popsicle)
D-Leftovers

Now this menu is mainly what I feed Ashlyn. We all eat the same for Dinner. If we want what she is having for Breakfast and Lunch we do so, if not we either have cold cereal for breakfast and sandwiches for lunch. :)

I hope this will be helpful to some of you busy moms out there! Enjoy! :) I will try to post my menu plan everyone Monday!

Happy Tuesday! Enjoy the rest of your week!

*Picture at top of post is from the blog I'm an Organizing Junkie

When You Think Things Can't Get Worse....

2011-03-11T13:33:00.000-07:00

Boy has my life been filled with ups and downs lately! Sadly, mostly downs but there were some brief ups. I have not been 100% well since Christmas. I will just give you the readers digest version of that part...
I started off getting a 24 hr stomach bug which my daughter had before me. Then a couple weeks later I was diagnosed with a severe stomach virus that put me in the ER. Luckily my daughter didn't have it as worse as me and only got sick a few times while mine was an all day event. Then I was well for a couple weeks and was then diagnosed with Influenza B! (THE FLU!!!) I was seriously thinking, You have got to be kidding me! I NEVER get sick! I get a little cold here and there but never THIS sick! Sadly the whole time all of this was going on my husband and I were TTC (trying to conceive). Now here is the story about how things got even worse from here....

We found out we were pregnant on the morning of February 18. We were not excited however b/c (TMI alert) I had been bleeding for 11 days! I was so worried! I got an appointment right away with the doctor and she thought I was about 1 week pregnant and I should be excited. Well, I didn't feel right about it and we didn't want people to know right away because we didn't want others getting excited about it and then we would get our hopes up. The doctor told me though that if around 5-6 weeks pregnant I started getting severe abdominal pain to call then b/c I could be miscarrying. So Tuesday, February 22, I woke up with...you guessed it....severe abdominal pain! My midwife called to tell me the results of some blood work I had done the previous Saturday and Monday to check my HCG levels (your pregnancy hormone). Well my levels should have doubled from Saturday to Monday but they didn't :( So she knew it was not going to be a healthy pregnancy. I proceeded to tell her about the pain I was having and she said I needed to get on in for an ultrasound to see what was going on.
I get my ultrasound at 11:45am on Tuesday and they tell me that the baby is not in the uterus, they don't know where the baby is, and that they think I have a mass and I need to go straight to the ER. So I head over there and they tell me they are going to admit me. I start freaking out a little b/c I just thought I was getting more tests ran or something. So I get up to my room and they proceed to tell me I am going to be heading into SURGERY!!! I thought what is going on here! She the nurse filled me in that I had an Ectopic pregnancy (baby is in the fallopian tube) and that they needed to remove the baby or my tube could rupture and I could be in danger. So I am in and out of surgery by a little after 5 pm. That is how quickly my day went!
My daughter came in to talking to me and basically said they removed a pint of blood from my abdomen. I was bleeding internally! Seriously! So I am so glad I was so in tune with my body that I went in when I did or I may not be writing this blog today :(
The great news is, they did not have to remove my tube and that I had really healthy ones at that. It turns out that while the baby was implanting my body was going through the flu. Pregnancy and flu really do not mix so be careful!
I have been having to get my levels checked since my surgery to make sure they are heading back down to 0. Well I get a phone call a couple days ago letting me know they are rising again. Turns out a little cell from the placenta was left in my tube and decided to take off growing! They had to give me a shot of a very strong drug to stop the growth and send it on out of my body. I was lucky to not have any side effects from the shot and I go in about 3 more times for blood work and then a doc appt on Thursday. So I am hoping to hear good news on Thursday. I will be sure to post an update on everything when I have one.
Thanks so much to all those who have prayed on my behave. I couldn't not have gotten through all of this without prayers!

Thank you!

Oh btw, I was 6 weeks pregnant not 1! :( My baby is in heaven hanging out with my mom, it's Granny! I will meet my baby someday.

Cloth Diaper Review: CuteyBaby

2011-02-26T15:18:00.000-07:00

I am so excited to share with you all my first product review! When I started blogging I wanted this blog to be geared towards moms and helping them with information and research I have done and learned in the process of being a new mom. What an honor it was to have this company contact me and want me to review their newest cloth diaper! This diaper is different than all others I have tried. I love to cloth diaper and will never go back to disposables. I do use disposables when needed but the majority of the time I cloth diaper!

So I would love to give you all pros and cons of this diaper and want to encourage all of you cloth diapering moms out there to give this one a shot. It does has some perks.

This diaper is called "That's a Wrap." It is sold in grocery stores which I think is awesome and very convenient! You can find them at Albertsons / Cub / Jewel stores. They are also featured on Amazon.com. Please go take a look at them. You can find them on their actual website too. http://www.cuteybaby.com/

A little about this diaper is it has a 3 step system. You have the cover, the package of 2 inserts and a roll of disposable liners. The liners are great because it can catch babies poo and and just dump it right in the toilet without having to touch anything. The 2 inserts are nice because you can occasionally use the cover twice if it isn't soiled the first time. It is a great diaper!

Here are my pros of this diaper:

1. Super cute! Yes my first pro is that the designs are so adorable! I love the one they sent for Ashlyn!

2. It has the inner leg gussets that I believe will seriously help hold in BM poo. (now I haven't tried that but it looks like it would).

3. It comes with a set of 2 inserts and because it did I was able to use the cover twice before I had to wash it. Obviously if it gets soiled then you need to put it straight in the pail, but hers didn't so I was able to get 2 diaper changes out of one diaper :)

4. The roll of liners are better than any I have used. They are super soft and do not irritate my daughters bottom.

5. You also do not have to take the insert out after the whole diaper is soiled! It comes out in the wash by itself! :) So great!

As with any product, here are the cons:

1. I felt the Velcro tabs on the diaper were too loose. They needed to have more sticky to them. There is also an inner tab as well that seems more annoying than anything, but I see how it can help keep the diaper on an in place.

2. If I were to not use a disposable liner, this is not the kind of diaper you wanna use to spray poo off in the toilet. I'm afraid you would have a big mess on your hands. So make sure to use the liners with this diaper.

3. It did leave red marks on my daughter's legs. I am never a fan of that, however a lot of diapers do that and it's just one of those things that you just deal with when it comes to cloth diapering. It didn't bother her though, just her mommy :)

So as you can see, I have more pros than cons and it overall is a great diaper. Like I said it is worth trying out and you never know how much you will like something or not if you don't try it out :) I am glad I own one.

I will give it 3.5 out of 5.

I hope this helps some of you moms out there and please let me know if you have any questions at all!

Home Management Notebook--Section 3

2011-02-15T15:18:00.000-07:00

CLEANING!!!!

This post is going to be a long one I'm afraid, only because this section is a huge section in my HMN. I literally am cleaning all the time because I am such a neat freak, but I'm okay with having a happy, healthy, clean environment for my baby. :) So basically the first part of this section is my Daily Chores page. (note: I took pictures but for some reason my dumb blog is not letting them upload anymore and I don't know how to do it otherwise.) Here is a list of my daily chores that I have broken down in Evening and Morning chores.

Daily Chores

Evening Chores:

1. Program coffee to start at 6:15 am.

2. Load and Run Dishwasher

3. Clean and Sweep Kitchen

4. Pick up Living Room

5. Gather Trash

Morning Chores:

1. Enjoy coffee and do Bible reading

2. Unload Dishwasher

3. Prepare and Eat Breakfast

4. Do special cleaning for that day

5. Wipe down bathroom counters if needed

If I stay on top of my daily chores than the weekly cleaning never takes long :)

The next part is my weekly cleaning schedule...

Weekly Routine

Monday:

Do Daily Chores
Laundry Day
Weekly Prep for Meals (prepare Ashlyn’s lunches, snacks, etc.)
Be Crafty!

Tuesday:

Do Daily Chores
Clean Toilets
Clean Bathroom Mirrors
Vacuum
Be Crafty!

Wednesday:

Do Daily Chores
Clean Bathtubs and Showers
Sweep and Steam Mop Floors
Be Crafty!

Thursday:

Do Daily Chores
Dust
Zone Cleaning
Be Crafty!

Friday:

Do Daily Chores
Menu Planning
File Papers
Purge Magazines
Clean out Purse
Be Crafty!

Friday: is "Date Night"
Saturday: is "Family Fun Day"
Sunday: is "Renew Your Spirit Day"

Then to make sure I am getting everything done that needs to be done, I always check the next part which is the weekly checklist...

Weekly Checklist

Kitchen/Dinning:

Scrub floor.
Wash area rugs.
Clean out refrigerator.

Bathrooms:

Polish mirror.
Empty trash.
Mop floor.

Bedrooms:

Clean Mirror.
Vacuum carpet.
Dust.
Change sheets.

Living Rooms

Dust furniture.
Vacuum carpet.
Clean mirrors.
Cull/toss old magazines.

Paperwork and Misc. Duties

Plan menu for next week.
File Important Papers.
Write letters and cards.
Clean out purse.
Water and fertilize plants.
Straighten out laundry room.

Errands:
Grocery.

Then at the end of my cleaning section is my zone cleaning section. Now this is a master list of all the deep cleaning tasks I can do for each zone. I have 6 zones and I do one zone a month. This way my entire house gets deep cleaned twice a year. No spring cleaning for me :) Here is my master list which I am sure is already on my blog somewhere but here it is again.

Zone Cleaning

Zone 1: Ashlyn’s Bedroom & Bathroom

Bedroom
1. Clean Cobwebs
2. Vacuum Mattress
3. Wash comforter and dust ruffle
4. Flip Mattress
5. Wash Windows
6. Straighten Drawers and Closet
7. Sort Out-grown Clothes
8. Clean under bed
9. Vacuum Lamp Shades and Curtains
10. Dust Blinds
11. Wipe down Baseboards
12. Wipe down Light Switch Plates
13. Straighten Toy Shelves

Bathroom
1. Wash Rugs
2. Straighten Drawers/Cabinets
3. Wipe down Baseboards
4. Wipe down Light Switch Plates
5. Scrub Bath toys

Zone 2: Office

Office
1. Clear off the surface of your Desk
2. Throw away pens that don’t work
3. Sharpen Pencils
4. Throw out the trash
5. File Bills and important papers
6. Wipe down baseboards
7. Dust blinds
8. Vacuum lamp shade
9. Clean windows
10. Remove cobwebs
11. Check supplies
12. Wipe down light switch plates

Zone 3: Kitchen and Laundry

Kitchen/Laundry Room
1. Empty Refg/clean thoroughly
2. Clean stove/oven
3. Wash canister/knick0knacks
4. Straighten drawers/cabinets

Zone 4: Living Room and Half Bath

Living Room
1. Clean cobwebs
2. Clean windows
3. Straighten bookcase
4. Wipe fingerprints from walls and light plates
5. Vacuum furniture
6. Shampoo carpet
7. Clean out fireplace
8. Move furniture to vacuum

Half Bath
1. Wash Rugs
2. Straighten Drawers/Cabinets
3. Wipe down Baseboards
4. Wipe down Light Switch Plates
5. Wipe fingerprints from walls and switch plates
6. Wash windows
7. Clean fan/vent-a-hood filters and hood
8. Scrub down cabinet fronts
9. Clean light defusing bowls
10. Clean under sink and throw away old rags
11. Wipe down baseboards

Zone 5: Master Bedroom & Bathroom

Bedroom
1. Clean Cobwebs
2. Vacuum Mattress
3. Wash comforter and dust ruffle
4. Flip Mattress
5. Wash Windows
6. Straighten Drawers and Closet
7. Get rid of unworn clothes/shoes
8. Clean under bed
9. Vacuum Lamp Shades and Curtains
10. Dust Blinds
11. Wipe down Baseboards
12. Wipe down Light Switch Plates

Bathroom
1. Wash Rugs
2. Straighten Drawers/Cabinets
3. Wipe down Baseboards
4. Wipe down Light Switch Plates

Zone 6: Basement

Living Room/Workout Room
1. Clean cobwebs
2. Clean windows
3. Straighten bookcase
4. Wipe fingerprints from walls and light plates
5. Vacuum furniture
6. Shampoo carpet

Bathroom
1. Wash Rugs
2. Straighten Drawers/Cabinets
3. Wipe down Baseboards
4. Wipe down Light Switch Plates

Craft Room
1. Wipe down baseboards
2. Clean cobwebs
3. Clean off desks
4. Organize
5. Clean off bookcase
6. Vacuum furniture and lamp shade
7. Wipe light switch plates
8. Clean out closet

Okay there you have it! You are welcome to use my master lists for anything you need. You will always have to adjust it to suit your lifestyle and your specific needs but I hope this helps some of you busy moms out there. It really isn't hard to stay clean and organized if you just do it. :)

Happy Tuesday!!!

Oh and I'm so excited because my next post is my first product review of a cloth diaper from CuteyBabies!

Sick AGAIN!

2011-02-12T13:34:00.000-07:00

Yes I have been sick yet AGAIN! I really hope this is the last batch for the season. I am so ready to be done and well for longer than 2 weeks! I started feeling bad a week ago today. Come Tuesday I was hit hard. I went to a walk-in clinic to get checked out b/c I was just getting worse! Found out I had the flu! They started me on medicine that didn't work at all and my flu still lasted like 4-5 days! Luckily I have an amazing husband who took care of everything and a daughter who didn't seem to catch it. :) My husband is seriously made of steal I think. Nothing gets him. His immune system is amazing! Wish I had his! Anyway, I hope next week is much better and I will be able to be back on her regularly. More to come with my HMN series and also a new product review I am excited to share with you!
Enjoy your weekend!!!

Home Management Notebook--Section 2

2011-02-07T15:14:00.000-07:00

Schedule! Schedule! Schedule! I know I promised this would be up last week but boy I got so busy! I will just stop saying I'm gonna get something up when I can't be sure. :)
Okay so this section is super easy. All I have is a calendar in this section. In this calendar I color code all our activities and such so when I just take a glance I can see what is going on and when and if I have to be there lol. Since my husband is a youth minister, a lot of the activities are color coded in that color. :) Here are some pictures of my calendar.
This is just a three ring binder 12 month calendar. It has a two page spread for each month. It's perfect to keep all our important events in. :)

Here is the inside.... Well for some reason it wouldn't let me get the picture on here. Maybe on my next post I will try to share what the inside looks like. :( I hate it wouldn't let me put it here.

As you can see this is a very easy section to put together. All you need is a calendar. You can buy one like I did or you can print off a monthly calendar each month from your computer and do it that way. I also write down our goals for the month on the side panel of these calendars as well. It keeps it right there where I can always see it and it helps keep us on track (especially with home improvement things).

Well I hope this helps in continuing on with my series. The next section is a biggie! It's the cleaning section which has a ton of information to share with you. It will be a very long post....coming soon!

Challenge Update and a Little More :)

2011-02-02T15:12:00.000-07:00

So I am only one day late with my update on my workout challenge so not too bad! :) I decided that I didn't really care so much to take my measurements as I do just weighing in each Monday morning. Well this week being my first week on the challenge, I forgot to weigh myself on Monday and AGAIN on Tuesday...oops! I decided I would just weigh myself this morning and then next week I will go ahead and weigh myself on Monday morning like I was suppose to do. :) So right now starting out, I am weighing in at 117.0 lbs. Like I said when I was explaining this challenge. I am very happy with my weight. I am simply trying to tone up, not loose weight. However, in the mix of toning up I will be dropping a few pounds and then I may gain a few of muscle. Either way is fine with me :) I wouldn't mind being 110 lbs like I was Freshman year in College but we shall see. Haha, I may be far to gone to get that low. Who knows. :) Keep in mind I am 5'3" so I am not that tall.
Monday afternoon I started off the challenge with Lindsay Brin's Shed 5 Fast DVD doing workout 1. I have it 100% and was so proud. Tuesday afternoon, however, I tried to do the cardio circuit she had in the plan and WHOA! I could barely do 10 minutes of it! So I decided to jump on the elliptical for another 10 minutes just to get my 20 minutes in. :) This afternoon I did the workout 1 again (same as monday). But today I felt like I gave it a 110%. I was still sore of course from the past 2 days but I am def looking forward to my workout free day tomorrow :). A day off is always nice!

Today I am working on switching a few things around, yet again, in my HMN. I will do the next section in my series tomorrow! It is Section 2--Schedules. :) I hope everyone is having a wonderful Wednesday and we will talk organizing your schedules tomorrow!
Also coming up soon is an 18 month update for Ashlyn. I haven't taken her in for her appt. yet, but when I do (probably next week) I will get an update up for you all along with her new schedule! :)

What's for Breakfast and Lunch for Toddler

2011-01-31T20:02:00.000-07:00

I have been out of the loop for a while because there was a terrible sickness that ran through my family. :( I was planning on starting the Shed 5 Fast challenge a couple weeks ago but I haven't been a 100% yet. Today I finally am and I started it today. However, I forgot to measure myself this morning so tomorrow I will give you a recap on my challenge thus far as well as my starting measurements. :)

Now for the topic today. I thought it would be neat to share what I plan on feeding Ashlyn this week. For now I will let you in on what she had today and that will also be a couple other days this week too. I usually make 2 lunches for her to swap every other day and as for Breakfast, I usually make some form of pancake or she can have cereal or breakfast soup which I will talk more about later.
Breakfast: Pumpkin Pancakes (which she LOVES).
                Diced Peaches
                Yogurt (I mix her probiotics in here)
                She also takes her gummy multi vitamins

Lunch: Cheddar and Veggie Potato Cakes
           Sliced Apples
           Bread

Snack: Banana slices
           Cheese cubes

With her meals she always gets whole milk and then with snack she gets water! :)

Hope everyone had an awesome Monday! More to come tomorrow on the Challenge :)

Shed 5 Fast Challenge and some Weight loss tips

2011-01-13T21:16:00.000-07:00

I know what you are probably thinking, 2 posts in 1 day!? LoL! I just had something really exciting to share with you. Since I am a mom, I have been loving Lindsay Brin's workout DVDs. You can find her at www.lindsaybrin.com or www.momsintofitness.com
She is very talented and offers a ton of good tips and workouts for new moms or women preparing their bodies to be a mom. :) As for me, I have two of her DVDs right now and can't wait to buy more! I have Shed 5 Fast and Core Metabolic Jumpstart. Since I already own the Shed 5 Fast I am going to be participating in her new challenge. Basically you can visit either of the links above to find out all the details but I will copy and paste the workout schedule here for you.

Beginners Weeks 1-2:	Beginners Weeks 3-4:
M: Shed 5 Fast Workout 1	M: Shed 5 Fast Workout 2
T: Cardio Option A	T: Cardio Option B, repeat 3x instead of 4
W: Shed 5 Fast Workout 1	W: Shed 5 Fast Workout 2 + (optional) 10 minutes of Cardio Option A
R: Rest	R: Rest
F: Shed 5 Fast Workout 1 with 2 lb. heavier weights + Free 8 Minute Ab Workout	F: Shed 5 Fast Workout 2 with 2 lb. heavier weights + Free 8 Minute Ab Workout
S: Cardio Option C or D	S: Cardio Option C or D
S: Rest	S: Rest

Veterans Weeks 1-2:	Veterans Weeks 3-4:
M: Shed 5 Fast Workout 1	M: Shed 5 Fast Workout 2
T: Cardio Option B	T: Cardio Option B
W: Shed 5 Fast Workout 1	W: Shed 5 Fast Workout 2 + (optional) 12 minutes of Cardio Option B
R: Rest	R: Rest
F: Shed 5 Fast Workout 1 with 2 lb. heavier weights + Free 8 Minute Ab Workout	F: Shed 5 Fast Workout 2 with 2 lb. heavier weights + Free 8 Minute Ab Workout
S: Cardio Option C or D	S: Cardio Option C or D
S: Rest	S: Rest

Cardio Option A
1 minute of each:
1. Half speed squats: Stand with feet shoulder width apart, squat halfway down (not to 90 degrees).
Goal: 35-40 reps in one minute

2. Jumping Jack crosses: Old school jumping jacks, but crossing your feet one in front of the other as you jump in.
Goal: 35-40 reps

3. Lateral ski: Stand with your weight on one leg, jump 2 feet to the side so your weight is now on the other leg.
Goal: 60 reps

4. Side squats: Stand with feet together. Step 1 ½ feet to the side into a squat. Bring leg back to center stand and repeat on other side.
Goal: 30 reps

5. Mountain climbers: Get in a plank position and bring one knee towards your belly button, switch.
Goal: 70-80 reps

Repeat 1-5, 4x (total=20 minutes)

Cardio Option B
1 minute of each:
1. Half Speed Squats: Stand with feet shoulder width apart, squat halfway down (not to 90 degrees).
Goal: 50 reps in one minute

2. Burpees: From standing position crouch down so your hands are on the floor, jump your feet back so you are in a plank position, jump your feet back into crouch position and stand up.
Goal: 15-20 reps

3. Lateral Ski: Stand with your weight on one leg, jump 2 feet to the side so your weight is now on the other leg.
Goal: 80 reps

4. Rotating Squat Jumps: Perform a squat. Jump out of the squat and into another squat facing the other direction (180 degree turn in air).
Goal: 30 reps

5. Mountain climbers: Get in a plank position and bring one knee towards your belly button, switch.
Goal: 80-90 reps

6. Plank Twisters: Start in a plank position. Bring your right knee towards your left hip bone. As your right leg straightens your left knee should come towards your right hip bone.
Goal: 60-70 reps

Repeat 1-6, 4x (total 24 minutes)

Cardio Option C Workout Download #5 - Core Cardio, release date January 13th,

Cardio Option D Boot Camp 2 DVD: warmup, cardio #5, cardio #6, cardio #5, cooldown

That is straight from her website www.lindsaybrin.com so go there to check out more details on entering to win $250 in workout clothes!

A few other tips I would like to offer that I learned from her are to watch what you eat! If you want to loose weight it is best to only eat 3 meals and 1 snack a day or 5-6 small meals a day every 2-3 hrs. I do 3 meals and 1 snack and I make sure to do the plate method when I eat. 1/2 of your plate should be veggies, 1/4 should be protein, and 1/4 your starch or grains, etc. I also make sure to really only eat serving sizes and not over eat. If I am wanting something sweet or something other than in my eating times, I will have water, hot drink, or green tea! All good fillers and helps me stay away from those not so good eats. But every little bit I can have something that I really want. I'm not that mean to myself :).

If you do not have her DVD and don't really want to enter the challenge. Join me on here and do whatever workout DVD you own and her cardio she has listed! I am going to enter the challenge but I am going to be posting on here about my journey starting Monday morning! I will be posting my weight and measurements of where I will begin and then each week for 4 weeks.
Let me warn you, however, I am already at my healthy weight goal, but I am not toned at all. Which means I will shed a little more weight in order to build up that tone I am wanting before another baby starts baking :). When you see my stats please don't comment rudely just understand I have my reasoning just as much as you do. :)

Please jump on this wagon with me! It will be fun! :) See you on Saturday with a new update about my sweet baby girl who will be 18 months already! Wow!

HMN--Section 1--Prayer and Bible Study

2011-01-13T14:00:00.000-07:00

Prayer and Bible Study has always been a very important part of my life. I've tried reading at all times of day and I think what works best for me is reading while eating breakfast and enjoying my coffee. Sometimes it's before the kiddos are up and other times it's between the two of them eating breakfast. The main reason this is the first section in my HMN is because it is the most important part of my day.
I went to www.wholesomewords.org and found some awesome reading schedules. I just printed them off and put them in page protectors so I can cross off the reading when finished (type A personality) :). It's a great way to always know what to read and you get to read through the entire bible!
If you want you can add some loose paper in behind the schedules where you can jot down thoughts and such. I personally just keep a notebook handy and write mine in there. I also love to do bible markings so I keep my pen and highlighter pouch with my bible and notebook so it's altogether. :)
I hope you all start you HMN's as well and that this will be the first section in you book too. Nothing beats starting your day with God's Word!

Happy Thursday! :)

Flu Bug

2011-01-12T22:19:00.000-07:00

So if it's not more molars coming in, it's now the flu! Poor Ashlyn has had a run for her money these last few weeks. She woke up early this morning around 3am and had thrown up in her bed. I cleaned her up, changed the sheets, changed her diaper and put her back down. About 3:30 she wakes again and throws up again. I do the same thing and put her back down. She then slept till about 10:15 this morning and when I got her on the changing table she started heaving. Poor girl! She wanted to eat a little something so I was getting hopeful that she had an appetite. Well she had a little bit of plain toast and some apple slices and water. I laid her back down around 12:30 and the poor thing woke twice during her nap throwing up. :( She finally slept till about 6:15, drank some watered down Gatorade and went back to bed at 8. She is now sleeping soundly and I am hoping and praying she makes it through the night.

As for my series on the HMN. A new post on that is coming to you tomorrow. Also, I really need to change the name of my blog, so please if you have any ideas based on what I write about, please help me decide. :)

See you tomorrow :-D

3 Year Molars are the Devil!!!

2011-01-06T09:24:00.000-07:00

Okay so after staying up what felt like most of the night with Ashlyn last night I am trying to enjoy my coffee this morning and let you all know what is going on here! LOL. She has always gotten her teeth way early and by 12 months she was getting her 2 year molars. Well now at 17 months she is getting her 3 year molars which are the WORST yet! I don't know what to do for her! Last night she woke me up screaming around midnight and I went in, tucked her in and went back to bed. Then about 15 minutes later she was screaming again so I did the same thing. Well another 15 minutes went by and the poor thing again was screaming so I remembered about her teeth and gave her some Tylenol. Well of course that takes time to start working and she was not patient for that so she screams more. I gave her teething tablets then and she slept for a little longer and screamed more! :( So that time I had done all I could for her and had to let her scream. Well she kept going to the point she was doing it on purpose so I then had to go and discipline her (which I hated doing). That settled her down briefly and then I finally turned on some music and she cried for about 5 minutes and fell asleep. WHOA what a crazy night it was!
Seriously these molars are terrible. She has been so irritable for about 3 weeks now. Her other teeth were a piece of cake except for two or three where she just ran a fever. I just don't know what to do for her with these ones. They are driving me crazy! She will have her 18 month checkup in a couple weeks so hopefully the doctor can give me some advice. But man, it has been a whirlwind for us.
Prayers hoping she will have these teeth sooner rather than later or at least they stop causing so much pain for her! Poor girl! :(

On a more positive note, today I have been married to my husband for 4 years!

(this was right after we said I Do and were walking out--we were very happy)

I can't believe it has already been that long. Boy does time fly! He truly is the best man God could have ever put in my life and I'm so in love with him! I've never been happier than I am right now! I hope and pray for many many more years with this wonderful, talented, loving man of God! I love you Babe! :)

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thursday!

Happy Anniversaries and horrible molars, :-)
Julie

Home Management Notebook Series Begins...

2011-01-05T09:36:00.000-07:00

I am so excited to finally share with you all the finished product of my HMN! I have a worked a long time at putting this together so I could share it with you and show you how easy it is to organize your every day and make the most out of your time. I hope you enjoy this series. I will probably not post about this everyday but maybe do a post on it a couple to a few times a week. I want to write about other things as well :).
Okay so first off, why have a HMN? I'm sure that is what you are asking yourselves. Why is it important? I am a type A personality. I love lists, schedules, ect. If you aren't much like this then you may not enjoy these posts but I hope you will at least give them a chance because you never know what you could take from them. Hey it never hurts to try something new ;). I was constantly going through my head, how am I ever going to get everything done that I need to get done? It was a constant battle! I finally started searching on Google "stay at home mom's daily schedules". When I finally came across a blog that really encouraged me...here is the link, check it out! Want What You Have This mother is simply amazing! She has three kids and stays at home and takes care of them and does her best at saving money and being the best wife and mother she can be. I was super encouraged. She has a HMN as well and taught me how to put mine together. I also followed guidelines from www.flylady.com. I have my time scheduled out now and it's been wonderful. The HMN has really helped me to put everything in one place and it's also great for anyone that may be coming to help out the family if you get sick or had a baby. They can resort to the HMN and see exactly what needs to be done. :)
I am so thankful to have found these two wonderful sites to help me achieve this. I hope you will check them out as well and start putting together your own as well.
A little about my HMN....
I have taken a few pictures of what mine looks like and I will give you an overview of that now. I will then take each section and tell you how to put yours together with each post here after.

This is the front of my notebook. It's not really that pretty but it works. I wasn't going to go all out for this but it serves it's purpose :) Obviously I have no idea who those people are in the picture, I just thought they were a cute family ;) j/k

These are the tabs I used. Just the stick on tabs from Walmart. They work great! All the pages in my notebook are in page protectors so if I need to cross things off (Type A personality again) then I can with a wipe off marker and then it comes right off with a little water :)

I keep a pencil pouch at the front with different color pens, highlighters and a wipe off marker.

Each section has a title page which is what that next pics are of. I have 6 sections altogether.

I hope this was a good introduction to this series. Next time I will start with our first section...Prayer and Bible Study!
Have a wonderful Wednesday! God Bless!

Happy 2011!!!

2011-01-01T11:07:00.000-07:00

I hope all of you brought in the new year safely and full of fun times and memories! My husband and I had a lock in for the teens and it was a lot of fun. He is sleeping as I type b/c unlike me, he stayed up till 8am. I was in bed by 2 :D. We brought in the new year with singing praises to God! Nothing beats that!
Well, I have to say that I am excited for 2011. I am hoping for the best year yet! My husband starts his first full time job today! He is officially the youth minister instead of just the intern. We are both very excited for this new chapter in our lives. Now comes new year resolutions, and yes I always make them and no I don't always keep them but I still think it's fun trying. :) I have a long list this year but I am hoping at least three of them will stick. lol. We shall see. I would love to know what you all have decided about your resolutions. I think it's fun hearing what other people need to work on. ;) I hope everyone has a wonderful New Year's Day and I will be coming to you next week with my official Home Management Guide series! :) Enjoy the day and God bless!!!

17 month Update and Schedule

2010-12-16T10:55:00.000-07:00

Here is my sweet girl at almost 17 months. She is a doll and is growing like a weed! I felt I needed to update you on her progress thus far. She won't have another checkup till 18 months but thought I would let you know how she is doing right now. We battled diaper rash for a while and finally have it under control. She is very sensitive to acidic foods and as of now she can not have 1. Grapes 2. Strawberries 3. Avocado 4. Red sauce/tomatoes. So we are still slowly adding things in to see what she can and can't have. I'm sure once I can get her body alkaline again, she will be fine.
Developmentally she is still going strong. She now can count to 4. She knows heart, star and circle of her shapes. She says over 100+ words and can speak in 4 word sentences. She loves working puzzles right now and she knows lots and lots of animals and their sounds. She knows probably 15 words in sign language (which is an awesome way of communicating with her). She is loving books right now too. She would read them all day if I was able to do that all day with her.
Her schedule hasn't changed much at all. Today I am going to move lunch up a half hour to 11:30 and then move nap time up as well to 12:00 instead of 12:30. She is sleeping from 8-8/8:30 so she gets a great nights sleep in but by 11 she is done. So I am going to put her to bed earlier for nap to see if she will sleep better at nap time. I am trying to add in more one on one time with her, such as working on her puzzles with her, reading books, and doing a craft like play dough or coloring or finger painting. I'm still working on this of course and deciding when during the day is a great time to do these things. This is her schedule right now...

8:00/8:30-Wake, Diaper Change, Eat Breakfast (she wants to eat as soon as she wakes up)
9:00-Puzzle time with mommy
9:15-9:45-playtime w/ me in same room
9:45-10:00-Snack time
10:00-11:00-TV time
11:00-11:30-playtime w/ mommy in same room OR possible craft time
11:30-Lunch
12:00-3/3:30-Nap time
3:30-Snack time
4:00-5:30-Playtime
5:30/6--dinner
6:30-7:45-Playtime
7:45-Start bedtime routine
8:00-Bedtime

Boy that was a rough schedule. Come the new year I will have a better schedule lined up for her and myself. I will also start my new series on putting together a home management notebook and this time with pictures! I'm so excited to share mine with you!
I hope everyone has an amazing holiday and happy new year. I will probably not be back until the first of the year! I will be busy busy and also traveling to IL.
Be safe and MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Stomach Bug

2010-12-11T12:46:00.000-07:00

Well I know I promised some posts this week but we have been battling the stomach bug for the past couple of days. I've been also hard at working on our xmas cards to get those sent out by Monday. I will be back soon once everyone starts feeling better. Hope everyone had a wonderful week! Posts coming soon...

Promise

2010-12-03T21:45:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I have been so busy working with my family who I caregive for this week. It's been so crazy because her mom went on bed rest and now I am needed to keep Taylor till later than usual and by the end of the day I don't want to do anything. So I apologize for not getting any posts on here that are beneficial to you all.
I promise I have been thinking about some new series I would like to put together and different posts I want to do. I may try to do a post every other day if not every day :). I am thinking of redoing my Home Management Notebook posts with pictures and such of my personal one. Of course things are always changing with that but I can share with you my recent schedules and such and pictures so you get more of a fill of what I mean. :)
There will also be a November favorites post coming soon. I'm trying to get all the things I want to share together to write that post.
There are lots of new things coming, I promise!
Have a great weekend! :)

I NEED YOUR HELP!

2010-11-24T23:12:00.000-07:00

I just had the sudden urge to figure out how to get my cute backgrounds back and I did! yay! But now I am wanting to change the actual name of my blog because I won't always be a first time mom. Seeing the different things I post about, not just our family adventures, but about products and just random stuff I want to write about, I need a new name. For the life of me I can't figure anything out.
Please help me decide what I should name my blog. Please leave me a comment below. I have no idea!! Thanks :)

Happy Thanksgiving! and My Favorite Items for Ashlyn

2010-11-24T22:44:00.000-07:00

I hope everyone has a happy turkey day tomorrow! I am going to be busy the next few days as I'm sure most of you will be too. Tomorrow being Thanksgiving, and then of course I go shopping on Friday and then Saturday My husband and I are putting Christmas decorations up! I can't wait! What a fun weekend! I think tomorrow morning we are going to wake up and have homemade chocolate chip pancakes with sausage and eggs. Yum! We will be going to my husband's cousin's house for dinner this year. I am making green beans so hopefully they will be tasty. I am trying out a new way that my bestie told me about. So I'm sure they will be delish...she is a great cook!

I also wanted to mention in this post my favorite items that I use on Ashlyn. My daughter is very sensitive to everything it feels like. I have gone through several lotions, bath washes, etc. to find something that works for her. I finally found that for lotion I love to use Method lotion as well as the Method bubble bath. As for body wash and shampoo, I am still looking for one I like. The Method body was and shampoo doesn't really lather and I like getting a good lather but at the same time I want something natural on her skin. The Aveeno she is allergic to :( so that doesn't work out. Any ideas would be appreciated :)
For diaper rash ointment I make my own using coconut oil and lavender oil. But if I had to use one that wasn't mine then I would use Burt's Bees Baby Diaper Cream. I love it! It works really well and overnight. :)
Something I've done with her since she was 3 months old is Baby Einstein videos. She loves them still! I think they have also helped in her being as smart as she is. (16 months at a 27 month level). She gets TV time every day and it's always something educational.
I do cloth diaper and cloth wipe so I don't really have anything in that category although if I needed to buy disposable I would to Target brand diapers (they are amazing!) and Huggies Natural Baby wipes.

I hope this is helpful to moms out there trying to find good ideas of things for their child and please help me figure out a good baby wash :)

Have a happy and safe holiday!!!

Product Review: Honey Chunks

2010-11-18T14:22:00.000-07:00

I just ordered these honey chunks from www.honeychunks.com and they are awesome! I drop a chunk in 2 cups of boiling water and let it dissolve. I then fold up all my cloth wipes put them nicely in my huggies wipe container and pour the solution (once it cools) over the wipes and there you have a perfect cloth wipes! :)

They are so easy to work with and they are not pricey at all! Plus I bought the organic oils kind which now I have organic wipes to use which I think is awesome on my dd's bottom. :) I have been using them for a few days and her bottom is very clean and softer than normal. I think she likes them too. They also have a nice but soft smell.

If you cloth diaper, I would totally recommend cloth wipes. You are already doing the washing anyway so you might as well throw in some wipes. Seriously, i use to make my own disposable wipes but then I had a trash can in her room just to throw the wipes away and that started to smell after a few changes (especially the bad ones). So I thought about trying the cloth wipe idea, but wondered what I would do if I was out and about. Well, that's not hard either. :) I just take some of the wipes (about 10) from the huggies container that are already soaked and put them in my travel huggies container :) Works great. Or you can fill up a spray bottle to keep in your diaper bag along with dry wipes and just spray the bottom and wipe it off. Easy as pie! :) Cloth wipes is a real money saver of course. The disposable wipes can be expensive and even making them yourself adds up but once you have cloth you are good to go. You can make them easy with a sewing machine and whatever material you want (cottom, fleece, flannel--I recommend flannel) or there are several great options out there to purchase them, and they are cheap to purchase. SO it's a win-win!

I hope you liked this product review and I would recommend checking them out at www.honeychunks.com they have so many other products as well :)

Have a wonderful day!

Cloth Diaper Wash Routine

2010-11-16T20:24:00.000-07:00

I have been having plenty of issues with my cloth diapers with Ashlyn. She has had diaper rashes and yeast problems. My diapers have not been letting her rashes go away because they haven't been clean enough. I love surfing you-tube and I came across a Mommy and her channel. She writes a does a lot of videos on cloth diapering and she helped me out a ton trying to figure out the problem with my diapers. Here is a link to her channel. Livin Life to the Fullest!!

My main problem was the fact that I have a front loading washing machine. I couldn't believe it. But the point of front loaders is to use less water. Well for cloth diapering you need as much water as possible. So, she helped me out by giving me a washing routine that seems confusing but actually works and is really awesome. I also found a website that I fell in love with and it had a cloth diaper laundering guide of other things you could add in to make it even better. Here is the washing routine...

Step 1: Cold rinse and then manual cancel it when it fills and saturates all the diapers.
Step 2: Normal Wash with cold water--no detergent--no spin (Once the washer fills up with water I then add two big containers of cold water to the detergent drawer)
Step 3: Heavy Wash with hot water--1 T of detergent--you can also add a cap full of calgon water softener--few drops of GSE (grapefruit seed extract--this kills yeast)--no spin (Once the washer fills up with water I then add two big containers of hot water to the detergent drawer)
Step 4: Normal Wash with hot water--no detergent--high spin (Once the washer fills up with water I then add two big containers of hot water to the detergent drawer)
Step 5: (I added this step in b/c I need to really sanitize because of the yeast) Rinse and Spin cycle with Hot/Cold water--I add just a splash of distilled white vinegar to the detergent drawer right before I start this rinse and spin.
Step 6: Put in dryer on medium heat until dry or hang to dry. In the winter I usually dry them in the dryer but in the summer I hang them outside so the sun can also sanitize them.

I hope this helps some of you cloth diapering moms out there. I know I received some help and I'm so glad I did. :) Thanks Jordan.

Oh and one last minute tip for homemade diaper rash ointment that is great is taking coconut oil and mix it with a few drops of lavender and there you have a very soothing anti viral ointment. But always remember to use a liner to protect your diapers. :)

Happy Tuesday! :)

16 Months Old

2010-11-15T15:02:00.000-07:00

My sweet girl is 16 months old today! This is hard for me to believe! It feels like only yesterday we were finding out she was a girl. She is the most precious, most loving child. She weighs about 21.8 lbs and is 30 inches long. She is around 27 months developmentally, which I might add she did not get from me HA! She is loving learning about shapes right now and learning what things are and that they are actually called something. We have been working on her puzzles, animal names and sounds, shapes and just being able to point to a picture of anything and her tell me what it is. She is doing a great job! We try to have learning time every day and this I feel is beneficial to her. She loves to learn new things, and I love teaching her!

Her eating right now could be better. Granted she is fighting a cold but it's other times too. She is in the testing stage so if she doesn't want to eat it, she is expecting mommy to give her something else. This does not happen. I give her several chances to eat her meal and if she doesn't eat, she doesn't eat. Granted 2 hours from every meal she gets a snack so she does get food then but I won't sit there and fill her up on her snack b/c she didn't eat her meal. She gets what she would normally get and that's all. One of these days she will learn that mom means business. :)

She has been fighting a horrible cold virus since Wednesday evening and I feel like we are finally seeing the light. She still has a cough today and her runny nose is a lot better but still slightly there. I am just glad she is feeling better. She had a temperature of 104! That was so scary! I was so scared (being a first time mom and all) that I called the hospital to find out what to do. They said that she would be fine even if it reached 106! I couldn't believe that. She also said not to alternate Tylenol and Motrin because we want her to have a little fever to fight off the virus and said that no matter how much medicine we give her, it won't make the fever go away until the virus is gone. So, we kept her as cool as possible but getting cold fluids down her and we let her eat a 1/2 teaspoon of honey every 4 hours for the cough. In case you didn't know about the honey...it really works!!! But only if the child is at least 1 year!

We have also recently discovered that she is sensitive to everything acidic. EVERYTHING! So I removed all acidic foods from her diet about 4 days ago and her diaper rash is FINALLY gone! It has been around for months!! Her yeast is finally killed as well, although I'm sure that will be back. I think I am going to get an allergy test done on her just to make sure it isn't something else.

We are now back in cloth diapers and I have learned a lot of new information from a wonderful mother about cloth diapering so I will share that tomorrow in another post with a link to her you-tube channel which is amazing!

Hope everyone enjoys the rest of their Monday! See you tomorrow! :) HAPPY MONDAY!

16 Month Schedule

8:00-8:15--Wakes and eats breakfast
9:00-10:00--Independent/Free play/Story time with Mommy
10:00-10:15--Snack
10:15-10:45--Free Play
11:00-11:15--Learning time with Mommy
11:15-12:00--Play and help me feed Taylor
12:00--Lunch
12:30-3:30--Nap Time
3:30--Snack
Play time till dinner
5:30-6--Dinner
Play time till bedtime
7:45--Bedtime routine
8:00--Bedtime

October Favorites :)

2010-11-13T21:06:00.000-07:00

Okay so I told you to expect a post about my favorite October favorites this year and here it is! I have been subscribing to a lot of you-tube channels lately and something I have come across were a lot of people doing videos on their favorite things for each month. Anyway, I thought that was cool so I wanted to share mine on here.

Makeup:
I've been loving the Too Faced Natural Eye Pallet. It has three different looks already put together for you in the box but of course you can do whatever you want. I've worn all three and have mixed it up a little and there are BEAutiful! The packaging is awesome too!

There is a Day look, Classic look, and a Fashion look. I personally love the Classic as my favorite!

I bought this at Ulta during the Breast Cancer Awareness month. I was glad to help support the cause. That is so important!

Nail Polish:

I love China Glaze polish and this month I have been wearing their two new fall colors Riveter Rouge and Hey Doll. Both very pretty but Hey Doll is my favorite out of both of them.

This is the Riveter Rouge color and just a heads up...this is not my hand haha, but I wanted you to see the color.

This is Hey Doll and I really really like this one. :)

Face Wash:

As for this category I am loving the Neutrogena Make-up remover wipes...they are awesome and get most of it off if not all of it!

I also love using the Burt's Bees Citrus Scrub every morning in the shower. It makes my face so smooth and soft and perfect for my makeup.

Hair Products:

Okay so I love the Organix Coconut Milk Leave-In Nourishing Milk! It leaves my hair so yummy and soft! It's perfect to spray on right after I comb out my wet hair...totally recommend it and you get find it at Walmart, Target, etc.!

I have always wanted to try dry shampoo because I only wash my hair every other day and love it when it smells so fresh and clean and it sort of lacks that with second day hair. So now I throw in TRESemme Freshstart Waterless Shampoo and then spray on the TRESemme Refreshing Mist! It is awesome! Espeically when I have my hair at it's natural state...curly! It is like I just got out of the shower except I don't have to wait for my hair to dry! It's amazing! I totally recommend it!

Additional things I've been loving the month of October and of course into November is the TV show Hellcats! So cute! And of course America's Next Top Model! Right now I am reading The Last Song even though I already saw the movie...the book is great!

Alright...there you have it! Enjoy and seriously I recommend going and getting some of these products because they are AWESOME!!! :)

Good night!

MIA

2010-11-12T14:53:00.000-07:00

Wow I am so sorry I went MIA again but life has been busy. So the last time I posted was around Halloween and I have to say my birthday was pretty fun. My husband's family took me to Macaroni Grill for lunch where this large Italian guy sang to me on his knees (it was embarrassing) and then we took Ashlyn to the Denver Zoo for Boo At The Zoo. We went with Brett's brother, sister-in-law and our niece Chloe. It was a lot of fun. That evening we ate Arby's because I wanted it and my husband and daughter showered me with gifts. :) That's about it. But it was a good day.

So I have some other posts I wanna do to add to some of my other categories and what I think I will do is tomorrow I will share some of my October favorites with you since I didn't get around to sharing those at the end of the month and then later on this week I will talk a little bit about cloth diapering and issues I've been having with my daughter.

So more posts to come over the next few days. Hope you enjoy them :)

HALLOWEEN

2010-10-30T10:31:00.000-06:00

*PLEASE NOTE THIS IS NOT MY PUMPKIN! Ha I'm not that good. :)

Hi everyone! I am sorry I've been MIA for a little while. I was trying to redo my blog and it's still not complete but the good news is I've figured out how I can organize posts between the different tabs. You will still read all the posts on my home page but if you want to find a specific post on one of the topics you just click on the tab and then there will be a link to those type of posts. As for actually posting on that tab doesn't work. So I think it will still work out well if I do it like that.
Okay on to more important things...hehe. This weekend is very busy! It is of course Halloween but more importantly my BIRTHDAY!!! Yay! I can't believe I am already going to be 26! That is just crazy! It is also hard to wrap my head around the fact that I'm married and have been for almost 4 years and I have a little girl! I just can't believe where my life has taken me but I know it is all the way God has planned.
We had a costume party last night and Brett was a cowboy, me a cowgirl and Ashlyn was the cutiest cow I've ever seen :) I will post a pic when we get one tonight. We have another party tonight and actually two we need to stop by to but I don't know if we will make them both. Brett is taking me shopping for my birthday today at Archivers! I'm so excited to buy some new scrappy stuff. Then tomorrow on actual Halloween we are going out to lunch with all the family for my bday and then taking Ashlyn and Chloe (my niece) to Boo at the Zoo. They can trick or treat there at all the animal stations. :) I think they will enjoy it! I will get lots of pics for that too. But as for this weekend that's about it. haha pretty busy...oh and we are going to probably carve our pumpkins today too if we don't run out of time.
I hope all of you have a happy Halloween and post a comment telling me what your plans are! I love hearing what other people are up to, too. :D

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

New Ideas

2010-10-25T14:31:00.000-06:00

So I've been doing some thinking and writing down blog ideas of what to write about and such. Here is what you will probably be seeing on my blog...
First let me clarify that I am hoping to figure out how to do pages/tabs on my blog and yes as you can see I have accomplished the Home tab. LOL But when I get finished hopefully you can simply click on a category and get all my posts for that certain subject. I hope it turns out that way b/c I love reading blogs where I can find things easily. So here is what I'm hoping for...

1. Parenting
This is where I will be posting topics like schedules, what's for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and activities I start doing with Ashlyn.
2. What's New
I will write what is going on with our family and new adventures and such.
3. Favorites
I have been loving lately to watch you tube videos and read others blogs on their favorite things for the month whether it's health, beauty, clothing, TV shows, movies, music, etc...you get the point. I want to post my favorite things. :)
4. Exercise
5. Books I'm reading.

So hopefully I can get things going with this and I'm hoping to attract more readers and subscribers so maybe it will work :)

Home Management Notebook Part 3

2010-10-18T15:30:00.002-06:00

Okay so I'm very excited because I was able to get a great deal accomplished today! :) I woke up and did my workout today, I've ate healthy all day, did my Home Blessing Hour so my house is so clean right now haha, and the kiddos are behaving pretty well. I worked a lot on my HMN today too. I bought my fun colored neon paper to put in the page protectors so I'm starting to print things off now. I will take pics of each section when I get them completely finished and post them here so you can actually see what I did. This is defiantly something that can not come together overnight. I've been working on mine now for weeks and finally feel like I'm getting somewhere. I will discuss with you what I have so far in my notebook...

HMN thus far...

Section 1 is labeled SCHEDULES
This section is where I put my monthly calendar. I just purchased a notebook size 12 month calendar from walmart and all it is is the months. There isn't anywhere to put to-dos or anything like that. It is only for monthly activities. It already had 3 holes punched in it so it was easy to put in the notebook. So far that is all that is in this section. :)

Section 2 is labeled CLEANING
This is what is in this section and in order...
1. Before Bed Routine
2. Morning Routine
3. Afternoon Routine (I will share with you in another post)
4. Weekly Routine
5. Weekly Checklist
6. Zone Cleaning
That is it. I have them all printed off on fun paper and in protectors so I can take a dry erase maker and mark off as I complete until I get used to the routine.

I will also have other sections that aren't yet completed and those are
Section 3 will be labeled MEAL PLANNING
Section 4 will be labeled TAG TIME (time alone with God)
Section 5 will be labeled PARENTING

I hope this is helping some of you moms out there. I can't wait to get this notebook completed so I can put together my coupon notebook :D (You don't need to remind me that I am a nerd haha).

Reflections on today...
Today I worked out to Lindsay Brin's Shed 5 Fast dvd and did workout 1 on intermediate.
Breakfast: Half a banana and 2T of Peanut Butter on a Whole Wheat Sandwich Thin with a cup of coffee (Yum!!!)
Lunch: Half a sting cheese (Ashlyn ate the other), 3 slices of Deli Natural Turkey Meat, slice of cheese and 1T Mayo on a Whole Wheat Sandwich Thin with a few Kettle Baked Chips and a glass of Water.
Snack: I will have a yogurt and a glass of water
Dinner: Salad and a few slices of homemade pizza :)

I just felt like sharing that today :)
Enjoy the rest of your Happy Monday!

Just a Quick Post

2010-10-17T17:09:00.001-06:00

Hi everyone,

I'm so sorry I was MIA for a little bit. I wasn't feeling good last week and needless to say NOTHING got done. But that's okay, I'm hitting everything hard again this week. This week I will be posting more about my HMN and I'm so excited to share some new things about that this week. :) I know I'm a nerd but I love things organized and running smoothly. So I hope I can help you all do the same. Can't wait to share but it's church time so I will hopefully start tomorrow with some new information. :)

God Bless!

Home Management Notebook Part 2

2010-10-07T21:24:00.002-06:00

So I decided I am officially a nerd! I found a pink binder to use for my HMN and then I had to go to Walmart and buy hot pink paper to print all my information on for the notebook. The only thing I could not find at Walmart mind you, was page protectors...who doesn't have page protectors. I'm hoping I have some lying around the house somewhere but who knows. :)

Anyway, I have reviewed my Morning Routine and now I'm ready to add in my Before Bed Routine. Both are so important, but if you ask me I think the Before Bed Routine is much better in the sense that it makes your mornings a whole lot easier!
I will list that first and then follow with my Morning Routine.

Before Bed Routine
1. Put a load of laundry in washer to start at 5am (my washer has a delay start)
2. Make coffee to start at 7:30 am (my coffee can be programed)
3. Load and run dishwasher
4. Clean and sweep kitchen (I do this right after dinner so I don't have to worry about it later)
5. Pick up the living room (usually shoes and Ashlyn's toys)
6. Then I take a Clorox wipe and wipe down the counters in the half bath and master bath since those are the ones used daily.

In taking care of me...
7. Obviously I get into pj's
8. Wash face/brush teeth
9. I will take a bubble bath if I didn't shower that morning :) (usually every other day is bath day hehe)
10. Read a good book and spend time with hubby!

Now I know that looks like a lot but really the chores do not take more than 30 minutes max and the stuff to take care of me well I don't care how long that lasts lol. I finally get to spend time on myself. ;)

Morning Routine (updated)
1. Throw laundry in Dryer
2. Exercise (every other day)
3. Shower
4. Dressed (includes hair and makeup--I feel much better if I do this step)
5. Prepare breakfast and enjoy coffee
6. TAG time
7. Fold and put away Laundry

Again, that may seem like a lot but really it's not that bad once you get the hang of it. :)

This is working out well for me so far. I hope it continues. One thing I was doing was exercising daily and I was getting burnt out that I didn't have enough time in my mornings. So I decided that I don't need to loose weight just maintain and staying fit so if I workout every other day then that can happen. Except I don't work out on Sundays because I'm never wanting to. LOL That's my nap day. ;)

Anyway I hope this is helping some of you and please feel free to post any questions and such you might have. I'm always available.

Home Management Notebook Part 1

2010-09-27T11:16:00.002-06:00

Now I'm not sure how many parts there will be with this series, but this is my first series and I'm so excited to do it! I hope I can stick with it. You all know me and this blog, I'm not too reliable but I think that may be stopping today :D.

So lets get on with it! I think the first part you need to start thinking about for your HMN is your Morning Routine. This is what I'm working on this week. I started thinking of a few things that I know I can get done before Taylor (the baby I watch 5 days a week) arrives. As I get really good at these things and realize I can add others, I will. So for this week, this is what I'm going to work out every morning.

Morning Routine:

Let me explain what I do in the evenings to make my first step of the mornings easy. Every evening I put a load of clothes in the wash and set my delay start for 5am. This way at 6 am when I go down stairs they are freshly washed and ready to be thrown in the dryer...now let me continue. hehe

1. Switch clothes to dryer
2. Exercise
3. Shower/get dressed (this includes makeup & hair b/c it makes me feel better haha)
4. Unload dishwasher while breakfast is making.
5. Fix and eat breakfast with coffee and TAG time (Time Alone with God).
6. Fold laundry if time

Now I would like to fit my laundry folding and putting away into my morning routine so I don't have to worry about it later. But this is one activity that is difficult to get to before Taylor arrives. I wake up at 6 and she arrives around 8. So you see my dilemma. :)

Now I want you to get working on the morning routine this week. Don't try to throw everything in at once. You will get overwhelmed and then it will never get accomplished.

I will post more later...have a great Monday! :)

Fly Lady

2010-09-20T15:14:00.002-06:00

Oh my goodness! This is probably becoming my favorite thing right now! I love Fly Lady! Please check her out here www.flylady.com to see why :). I said yesterday that I have a home management notebook or in Fly Lady's terms "control journal." I do not have it the way I would like it so I thought I would do a series on how I'm going to put it together.
Today I thought about my blessing hour. Which is one hour you take one day or more a week (which ever you need to clean your house) to clean your house. She has a list that she does. Here is her example...
Weekly Home Blessing Hour

1. Cull/toss old magazines.
2. Change sheets.
3. Empty all the trash.
4. Vacuum all rooms.
5. Mop kitchen and bath.
6. Clean mirrors and doors.
7. Feather Dust furniture.

Now my house has a lot of rooms so I am thinking mine may have to be done in two days. I would love to get quick at it and do it all in one but it would be more than an hour. Which most days I only have about an hour. You may be wondering why in the world am I changing up my routine AGAIN! haha. I like change...no j/k I seriously felt like I was always cleaning. I wanted to try something else. I want to be able to have a free day of no cleaning except 15 minutes of de-cluttering my zone for the week. I want to be able to have a day for desk time where I make cards for people that month and send them out. I am so bad at remembering birthdays and anniversary's that I want to be better at that so I have to find the time to do it.

Fly Lady is awesome in helping you take baby steps to organize your days, weeks and pretty much your life. I found her once before and I jumped in and said I can do all of this today...HA! I hit rock bottom and failed. LOL...so now I will truly take her baby steps into consideration. I'm doing it this time and I think you should do it with me. :)

Well good luck and let me know if you have looked at this site and what your thoughts are. I'm anxious to know.

Happy Monday!

Meal Plan Sunday :)

2010-09-19T15:12:00.002-06:00

Well I actually meal plan on Fridays since I go to the grocery on Saturdays but since I'm posting it today then this title will do :D. Not that it really matters. I hope everyone is having a wonderful Lord's day! Mine was going great till I went to put Ashlyn in the car after church this morning and slammed my head up against the car and now it is pounding...we thought I might have a concussion but I think I'm good. It is easing up now.
This week my grocery shopping was a lot cheaper so I will be saving that extra cash to put towards next week if needed or the week after that, etc. As for the menu this week, I had two meals that I didn't use last week (surprise) and we always have homemade pizza every week (it's our tradition). So here is the menu...

Monday: Green Chile Fried Chicken, Green Beans, Potatoes
Tuesday: Pizza and Salad
Wednesday: Slow-cooker Salsa Chicken & Rice, Broccoli
Thursday: 3 Cheese Garlic Chicken Pasta, Peas, and Bread
Friday: Homecoming Dinner with Church
Saturday and Sunday: Leftovers or Breakfast for dinner :)

I really hope this is helping some of you. I really ought to type out the recipes for you as well but like I said if you are interested then comment and I will get you the recipe.

I hope you enjoy the rest of you day! I have been looking at flylady.com and I already do something similar to her but if you don't know what that is or who she is check it out here... www.flylady.com
I may do a series on putting together my control journal for everyone to check out. It's a great way to stay organized and stress free (HA-that's a stretch). I already have a notebook somewhat together but I think I may revamp it to make it better :).

I'm outta here, going to a baby shower :D

Weekly Menu Plan and Such

2010-09-12T14:42:00.002-06:00

Out of request I thought I would share my menu plan for the week. I had to spend a little more over budget than normal because there always seems to be one week out of each month where we run out of more staples than normal. So I always hate those weeks when I overspend but what am I to do. I think from no on when I have extra money left over from the weeks I don't have staples to buy I will put it back in an envelope for when I do overspend. :)

Now here is my dinners for the week. If any of them interest you I should be able to type up the recipe for you.

Monday: Green Chili Fried Chicken, Corn, Potatoes (my special ones :)
Tuesday: Cheesy Turkey and Rice, Green Beans (This called for Beef but we try not to eat beef so I had ground turkey in the freezer)
Wednesday: Homemade Pizza, Salad (this is a weekly tradition)
Thursday: Chicken Tortellini in Rose Sauce, Broccoli
Friday: 3 Cheese Garlic Chicken Pasta, Peas, Bread

Saturday and Sunday: I do not plan these days and if we need something or don't have money to eat out then I will whip up breakfast for dinner or have a leftover buffet.

In all seriousness we usually have a leftover night instead of one of the meals I planned because I don't feel like cooking, or one of the meals always ends up on next weeks menu. Mondays meal was from last week :)

I hope this gives some of you busy moms out there an idea for dinner for this week. I will try to do this more often because I think it helps keep me motivated to plan. If any of you moms of tips on menu planning, grocery shopping, or coupon clipping, please leave comments. I know lots of moms would be interested in reading other ideas as would I. :)

So, now I've been trying to decide if I really like my cleaning schedule. I was always use to my apartment and it being so tiny and easy to clean in one day and then I would keep it picked up the rest of the week. Now with this big house it feels like if I clean all in one day it would take me hours. At the same time when I have to clean every day, I get burnt out. Any suggestions?

Well I hope you all have had a wonderful Lord's day and I hope you have a fabulous week. I have a very busy one ahead full of little kiddos. :)

September Calender

2010-09-03T11:05:00.002-06:00

Hi everyone! I'm so sorry it took me so long to get back on here but I have been out of town and very busy. Today I finally put together my September zone cleaning calendar. Instead of showing you an actual calendar I will write the dates next to the chore I will do that day. Now keep in mind that I also do my regular weekly cleaning as well. I try to plan my zone cleaning on what will be easier on the days I do regular cleaning (if that made sense at all). Okay so here is what I plan to do. A lot of my chores will happen on a Monday since that is when I clean the Master B & B and Office normally. The master bed and bath and office are my zone 1 which I will focus on this month. :)

Zone 1: Master Bedroom & Bathroom, Office

Bedroom
1. Clean Cobwebs--13th
2. Vacuum Mattress--11th
3. Wash comforter and dust ruffle--11th
4. Flip Mattress--11th
5. Wash Windows--we are getting new windows this month so I won't worry about this chore.
6. Straighten Drawers and Closet--10th
7. Get rid of unworn clothes/shoes--10th
8. Clean under bed--11th

Bathroom
1. Wash Rugs--(just remodeled in here and don't have rugs yet so I won't worry about this chore)
2. Straighten Drawers/Cabinets--5th
3. Wipe down Baseboards--(again remodeled so no need to do this)
4. Wipe down Light Switch Plates--(same applies here as well)

Office
1. Clear off the surface of your Desk--28th
2. Throw away pens that don’t work--28th
3. Sharpen Pencils--28th
4. Throw out the trash--16th
5. File Bills and important papers--21st
6. Wipe down baseboards--20th
7. Dust blinds--14th
8. Vacuum lamp shade--14th
9. Clean windows--14th
10. Remove cobwebs--27th
11. Check supplies--23rd
12. Wipe down light switch plates--20th

Okay so imagine a blank calendar and where I wrote the dates on here I will insert them on a calendar and write the actual chore. I will then color code so I can tell if it's Master Bedroom, Master Bathroom or Office. I hope this makes sense and if you have any questions I am more than happy to answer them.

I know this is confusing but it really keeps the house spotless and very clean all the time. :) Which is what I love to live in!

Next week I am trying out a new daily schedule for myself so I will let ya know how that works out and if it goes well I will share :).
Well today's the day to make my meal plan for next week so I'm off to do that while the babies are sleeping.

Have a great Labor Day Weekend!!!

Horrible Monday

2010-08-23T10:57:00.002-06:00

I hope everyone has had an amazing weekend. Mine was pretty decent. We worked on the bathroom some and I think we will finish it up today and tomorrow. This coming weekend is going to be great! My husband, Ashlyn and I are flying back to IL for my dad's wedding. I can't believe he is getting married. I'm so happy for him. He needs to have someone in his life. I get to spend time with my family and my best friend Jenn who lives there. Can't wait!
As for today, it is Monday! A while ago I went through this ordeal with one of my best friends (at least I thought she was). She treated me terribly! Well I decided last week to be the bigger person so I sent her a sweet message telling her that I wanted to talk to her and work out our differences. Well to my surprise, I wake up this morning with an AWFUL message from her! She slapped me in the face to put it mildly! I couldn't believe what I read. It didn't even sound like stuff I would do that she was accusing me of! The person she thinks I am in her head is NOT who I am. I am so upset about it and I'm really trying hard to not let it get to me.
I strive every day to be the person God expects of me and I feel like I do a decent job at it. I try to be nice to everyone and not cause problems. I hate that this has happened but it's not worth my time or friendship. So I'm moving on! Friendships come and go but true friendships are here to stay! I love all of you out there that respect me as a person and are always there for me. I hope to always do the same for you!
Have a great Monday everyone!
Oh, and I plan on putting together my September cleaning calendar today so I will share that soon! :)

Leaks, Leaks and More Leaks

2010-08-18T10:51:00.001-06:00

Yes that is right we had yet another water leak last night in our ceiling! I couldn't believe this house is so awful with pluming. Anyway, our plummer came last night and he was her till after midnight! I was so tired this morning that I did not get up till the doorbell rang to let me know Taylor was already here...oops! I jumped out of bed and that is how my day began :(. I hope for a better day!

Cleaning Schedule

2010-08-12T10:17:00.002-06:00

Finally here is my cleaning schedule I have been promising for weeks! I'm so sorry I have just been able to get it to you but life here is always crazy! For starters this is what I do...my friend Carley helped me figure out how to clean my 2200 sq ft house when I was so used to a little apartment that didn't take me 30 minutes to clean :). Now I have all these rooms and bathrooms and had to figure out a schedule because I wad driving myself insane! So weekly this is what I do...

Sunday: Lord’s Day….Tidy

Monday: Master Bedroom & Bathroom, Office

Tuesday: Ashlyn’s Bedroom & Bathroom, Vacuum all carpet

Wednesday: Basement, Sweep and Mop all hard floors

Thursday: Main Floor, Re-vacuum Living Room

Friday: Meal Planning Day

Saturday: Grocery Shopping Day

Now each Monday-Thursday is considered a zone. So I have Zones 1-4. Basically what I do is pick one zone per month and I have a zone cleaning list which I divide up throughout the month so that one zone gets deep cleaned each month. I will have to make up my calendar for September and share it with you so you know more of what I am talking about. Here is my zone cleaning list. Bear with me because it is LONG!

Zone 1: Master Bedroom & Bathroom, Office

Bedroom
1. Clean Cobwebs
2. Vacuum Mattress
3. Wash comforter and dust ruffle
4. Flip Mattress
5. Wash Windows
6. Straighten Drawers and Closet
7. Get rid of unworn clothes/shoes
8. Clean under bed
9. Vacuum Lamp Shades and Curtains
10. Dust Blinds
11. Wipe down Baseboards
12. Wipe down Light Switch Plates

Bathroom
1. Wash Rugs
2. Straighten Drawers/Cabinets
3. Wipe down Baseboards
4. Wipe down Light Switch Plates

Office
1. Clear off the surface of your Desk
2. Throw away pens that don’t work
3. Sharpen Pencils
4. Throw out the trash
5. File Bills and important papers
6. Wipe down baseboards
7. Dust blinds
8. Vacuum lamp shade
9. Clean windows
10. Remove cobwebs
11. Check supplies
12. Wipe down light switch plates

Zone 2: Ashlyn’s Bedroom & Bathroom

Bedroom
1. Clean Cobwebs
2. Vacuum Mattress
3. Wash comforter and dust ruffle
4. Flip Mattress
5. Wash Windows
6. Straighten Drawers and Closet
7. Sort Out-grown Clothes
8. Clean under bed
9. Vacuum Lamp Shades and Curtains
10. Dust Blinds
11. Wipe down Baseboards
12. Wipe down Light Switch Plates
13. Straighten Toy Shelves

Bathroom
1. Wash Rugs
2. Straighten Drawers/Cabinets
3. Wipe down Baseboards
4. Wipe down Light Switch Plates
5. Scrub Bath toys

Zone 3: Basement

Living Room/Workout Room
1. Clean cobwebs
2. Clean windows
3. Straighten bookcase
4. Wipe fingerprints from walls and light plates
5. Vacuum furniture
6. Shampoo carpet

Bathroom
1. Wash Rugs
2. Straighten Drawers/Cabinets
3. Wipe down Baseboards
4. Wipe down Light Switch Plates

Craft Room
1. Wipe down baseboards
2. Clean cobwebs
3. Clean off desks
4. Organize
5. Clean off bookcase
6. Vacuum furniture and lamp shade
7. Wipe light switch plates
8. Clean out closet

Zone 4: Main Floor

Living Room
1. Clean cobwebs
2. Clean windows
3. Straighten bookcase
4. Wipe fingerprints from walls and light plates
5. Vacuum furniture
6. Shampoo carpet
7. Clean out fireplace
8. Move furniture to vacuum

Half Bath
1. Wash Rugs
2. Straighten Drawers/Cabinets
3. Wipe down Baseboards
4. Wipe down Light Switch Plates

Kitchen/Laundry Room
1. Empty Refg/clean thoroughly
2. Clean stove/oven
3. Wash canister/knick0knacks
4. Straighten drawers/cabinets
5. Wipe fingerprints from walls and switch plates
6. Wash windows
7. Clean fan/vent-a-hood filters and hood
8. Scrub down cabinet fronts
9. Clean light defusing bowls
10. Clean under sink and throw away old rags
11. Wipe down baseboards

Now I hope that is somewhat clear. Please feel free to ask me any questions you may have. I am open to help.
Being a first time mom is hard to try and find a system so you don't go insane. Just remember to always take time for yourself weather it's with a good book or a bubble bath or both :). (that's what I do). I also workout every day and that allows me to take out all my frustrations that day so when Brett gets home, he can come home to a happy wife! :)
I hope everyone has a happy Thursday and who knows maybe I will post again tonight and tell you all about my wonderful Thursday! Praise God today for He is AWESOME!! :D

Lindsay Brin!!!

2010-08-10T15:24:00.002-06:00

Hi everyone! I hope you all are having a wonderful week! I have been a little more laid back than last week but still pretty busy with house work and such. I jumped back in to working out yesterday and hit it strong. I'm pumped about working out today as well. It will be great! I am doing some interval training on the elliptical today. It is going to feel AWESOME! Okay for all you moms out there I have to recommend Lindsay Brin to you. Check out her two websites... www.lindsaybrin.com and www.momsintofitness.com
She is awesome and I ordered a couple of her videos and I'm doing her workout plan and it is amazing! She is really great! I am trying to get my body in really good shape so that when we are expecting again (hopefully Nov or Dec) I will be able to continue my workouts as normal. So check her out, she is amazing. We actually even chat on facebook and she helps me out personally and is always very encouraging.
She has great workout videos for each trimester of your pregnancy as well if you are expecting and then a great video for right after.
I really do have my cleaning schedules coming soon, I just don't have the time to put them on here just yet. Hopefully tomorrow but we will see.
Have a wonderful Tuesday! :)

Crazy Week!

2010-08-06T23:06:00.002-06:00

Oh man! Where in the world do I begin! I have had such a crazy week and I'm exhausted! I have to say watching 4 children under the age of 2 is nuts! I already have my own and Taylor, and well this week I started watching my niece once a week except this week it was twice a week. So I had her on Tuesday and then Wednesday I had this other boy that I use to watch before Taylor and then Thursday I had my niece again. But to my surprise on Thursday the little boy shows up on my doorstep and now I have 4! It was insane and so tiring! But I'm glad this week is over. However I'm suppose to have the little boy all weekend but that didn't happen today and I was glad! I sure needed some rest! Instead tonight I had ice cream and watched The Proposal! So cute! My husband was doing a guy's night out with the youth and so I was all by myself. Which was okay with me! It was a nice break! I did get my zone cleaning list typed up and will have to share all my cleaning schedules with you mommies next week. So be looking forward to that! Have a great rest of the weekend :)
Oh and I still can't find my memory card that was in my camera with all my precious daughters pics on it from 9 months and up. :( Please pray I find it!

Taylor's 6 Month Schedule

2010-08-02T15:28:00.002-06:00

I have had a request for the schedule of the other baby I watch along with Ashlyn. Now I don't have her past 5pm but I am more than happy to let you in on what I do with her during the day.

8:00- Breakfast (fruit & cereal and 3 oz of breast milk)
11:30- Lunch (fruit and veggie and 3 oz of breast milk)
3:00- Bottle (4 oz)

Naps are from 9:30-11:30; 12:30-3:00; 4:00-when her mom arrives

That's that...a fairly easy schedule for a baby who is still pretty easy :)

Ashlyn's 12.5 Month Schedule

2010-07-31T09:45:00.002-06:00

So, here is her schedule right now. It is a tentative because I let her sleep till she wakes in the mornings and then that depends on how her day will run. But usually this is how it looks...

8:15-8:30--Ashlyn wakes and gets diaper changed
8:30-9:00--Breakfast
9:00-9:20--We read books together (she loves mommy time when she gets up)
9:20-9:40--Bath time and into clothes for the day
9:40-10:15--Free play (this is her playing with me in the same room doing other things)--I usually read or something here :)
10:15-10:45--snack and TV time (educational video like Baby Einstein)
10:45--get prepared for nap time
11:00-12:30--midmorning nap
12:30-1:00--Lunch
1:00-1:30--playtime with Mommy
1:30-2:00--Independent play (this usually happens in a play pen or her room with a baby gate)
2:00-2:45--free play
2:45-whenever--afternoon nap
5:30ish--Dinner
From after dinner till time to get ready for bed is playtime with Mommy and Daddy (during this time she has some more milk and sometimes a little bedtime snack)
8:00--Bedtime routine (brush teeth, pjs, diaper change, story, bible verses, prayer, hugs and kisses)
8:15-8:30--Bedtime

I hope this helps some of you moms out there. She is 12.5 months now and this is what we do on an every day basis with the exception of Sat and Sun. Feel free to ask any questions you might have.
I am going to be working on a cleaning schedule today as well and I hope to share that with you soon. It may be Monday before I get that posted. :)
Enjoy your weekend!
Oh I also keep a 9 month old that was a premie so she is technically a 6 month old. I can write down her schedule if anyone is interested in what a schedule for a 6 month old should look like :).
God Bless!!!

Update!

2010-07-29T11:00:00.002-06:00

A ton has happened since I've been on here last. I've been so busy with this summer and traveling and doing things with the youth group that time has gotten away from me. I haven't had time to do much of anything. Time is starting to slow down now that school is starting back and I can actually get back to writing on my blog. Let me start by updating you on a little that has been going on.
At the end of June I took Ashlyn and went to see my dad and family for a week. While I was in IL my dad and I drove down to AR where I got to see my best friend and her family for a few days. My dad flew back with me to CO and then we all went camping for a few days. My dad stayed with me for 2 weeks which was a blessing. OH and I forgot to mention that while I was back in IL I met my dad's fiance whom is very nice I might add. I really like her and she is making my dad sooo happy! It's great! While my dad was here we had Ashlyn's first birthday party (which I still can't believe she is one already)! Time flies!!! She had a great time. Now things are slowing down and we are starting to get back in our routine of things.
As for Ashlyn, she started walking while we were camping so I had her out of her cloth diapers for the time being and we just got back in them yesterday. Now that she is walking so well I figure now is the time to try the diapers again and she is doing great! She has a little more of a hard time getting up in them but she is learning. :) I will have to put up some pics of her walking. Anyway, she is doing great and is such a big girl now.
She is 55 weeks today and is learning so much! She knows like 9 words in sign language which is great because we are able to communicate with her without her getting upset. She tells us what she wants and we understand, it's awesome! I am a firm believer in letting your child watch one baby einstein video a day. That is how she learned her words. She watches my first signs and loves it! She is eating fairly well. She is starting to get a little picky which I'm not found of but thats okay. I'm trying to give her a variety of options but sometimes she just doesn't want to eat and they say that is normal for little ones. She is off the bottle completely and it took less than a day! It was awesome! She loves cow's milk now and she will drink it straight from the fridge in her sippy cup. She doesn't even have to have it warm. It's great! She is really spoiling me and I hope our next baby is similar but I know all babies are different I just hope I don't have it in for me since she is so good. Anyway, I am going to be typing up schedules (since Ashlyn's is changing daily haha) and cleaning schedules and I want to fill you all in more on Ashlyn's development and such. We will be in touch that's for sure and hopefully pics to come!

Busy Week

2010-06-09T14:34:00.002-06:00

VBS started Sunday and it has been a crazy week for me. I promise I will be posting schedules soon. I planned on doing it this past Monday but this week got so busy. So expect them by next week. My husband is going to be sleeping at the church all next week from Sunday to Sunday :(. We have a preacher camp every year and he is always a counselor, which leaves me home alone in the evenings. I will get on and post something worth reading next week :D. Have a great rest of the week!

How to have a baby and save money!

2010-06-04T11:25:00.002-06:00

You are probably thinking how in the world can I have a baby and save money. Aren't they expensive? I've always heard the saying, "If you wait till you can afford a child, you will never have one." Well good news! You CAN have a baby and not let it break the bank. :)
Here are my money saving tips for saving money with a baby. Enjoy...

1. Breastfeed--Yes nursing is FREE! No formula to buy, not bottles to buy unless you want to pump and give in bottle which I do recommend doing one bottle a day after they are 6 weeks so they can get use to both. This way if you and your hubby want to go on a date your babysitter will be able to feed the baby breastmilk from the bottle :).

2. Cloth diapers--I know I know, you are probably thinking this sounds crazy and you couldn't do such a thing. Well, guess what?! YOU CAN! It's so easy! I use rump-a-rooz with Ashlyn and they are basically a diaper that you put an insert in and throw it on like a normal diaper. Not much different, it's just cloth. A cheaper way to use cloth diapers is to get the prefolds and snappi...you can get the Thirsties duo size covers too. The prefolds are only $20/dozen and the snappi is like $5 (you only need a couple of those) and the covers are about $12.95/each...you would need 6 per dozen prefolds. This is a cheaper way to go. Yes cloth diapers are a lot of money upfront but after you use them on ALL your children and never have to buy disposables again...think about the money you are SAVING!!!

3. Cloth wipes--That's right...this is the best thing in the world if you are doing cloth diapers...you can just through everything into the diaper pail when dirty and into the wash to be cleaned. It's perfect! Then you don't have poopy wipes in a trash can stinking up the house. :) I just make a solution with 2.5 cups of boiling water and add 1 T of Coconut oil and 1 T of Ashlyn's bath soap. Put it in a pump spray bottle in the diaper bag and spray their little tushy then wipe away. At home I just leave the solution in a closed container and drop my wipe in before I use it, squeeze out the solution and move on :) It's easy!

4. Make your child's baby food--This is a HUGE savor! Not only are you not feeding your child junk from using the commercial baby food but you are saving money. My personal preference is not to let Ashlyn have any of the commercial baby food. If you store it right you can take it anywhere. I have even taken her homemade food on a hike before..it was fine and not difficult! I feed her nutritious foods yet she gets all the daily requirements she needs. The only think I bought her was the dry cereal at first because the texture of the homemade wasn't smooth enough. But now I buy her oats and make them myself. :) She also isn't getting any sweets until she is at least 2. (personal preference).

5. Shop Consignment--I buy all of Ashlyn's clothes at a consignment store. It's cheap and since it's baby clothes they are in GREAT condition! I haven't bought her but one pair of shoes b/c she doesn't walk yet...so when she does I will start. The socks that look like shoes she wears ALL the time! There is no sense in buying expensive clothes or shoes when you can get them cheaper. Now for holidays and special occasions..I do splurge a little :)

Okay there you have it! My top 5 money saving tips with a baby! Hope they help and hope you enjoy. Feel free to ask any questions you may have. :)
Have a great weekend...new post coming Monday!

Check out www.rumparooz.com
www.thirsties.com
www.wholesomebabyfood.com

First Things First

2010-05-28T23:11:00.002-06:00

Okay Moms out there or Moms-to-be...first things first. I'm sure you wonder how in the world am I going to get back to normal or when will this happen. When I first had Ashlyn I was worried that I would never have a life. All the hobbies I love to do would never happen. Well guess what?! Things do go back, maybe not like they were but they do go back to something even better. Just think, you just added a wonderful child to your crazy life. The key to getting back on track is scheduling. For those of you who know me personally know that I can not live my life without a schedule in hand. I need every second of my day scheduled or I go insane. I need a to-do list or nothing gets done. I think it's the enjoyment I get out of crossing things off and feeling good about getting things done. :) But who doesn't like to get things done!
When Ashlyn was 2 weeks old I started Baby-wise. This book was basically written for me! I was able to get my baby on a wonderful schedule and because of that she was able to sleep through the night at 6 weeks! Yes that is what I said...6 WEEKS! It was awesome! Some moms, however, tend to fit the book to the child instead of the child to the book. You need to make sure you are doing what is best for your baby and what your baby needs rather than making your baby do exactly what the book is saying.
As for house work and hobbies, I was able to jump into that with a schedule. :) I scheduled house cleaning when I knew I could do it best and always made time for me. Time for mom is always important. A night off is always good too. My sweet husband allowed me the night off tonight so I was able to go to dinner with some girl friends and come back and watch a chick flick while Brett took care of Ashlyn. It was much needed and I had an amazing time. Never be scared to ask for help or ask for a night off. It's okay to have that once in a while.
Well, I think I will post my schedules for the day and how I clean (thanks to my friend Carley who got me on an amazing system). I will share it another time...my bed is calling my name.

Here we go again...

2010-05-26T10:39:00.004-06:00

I am so sorry I have been out of the loop for so long! My poor computer died and I had to wait and save up money before I could purchase a new one. Now I am up and running again...finally! I am excited to start blogging now about my experiences as a first time mom. I hope that all you moms out there who are first timers or are going to be (WHITNEY):) Had to give you a shout out since I know you read this. I hope my experience will help you all. If you have any questions feel free to post them and I will try my best to answer them.
I am a baby-wise mom. All that means is I have read the baby-wise books and I apply Ashlyn to that series. I recommend using this series if you are a first time mom. It is awesome and really helped me in getting Ashlyn on a schedule. A good one at that! She slept through the night at 6 weeks because of baby-wise. :) I am now reading the second book in the series which helps with your 5-15 month old. It teaches you a lot about correction and discipline and what is recommend for that age group. It is great so far!
I am looking forward to purchasing the others as Ashlyn gets closer to 15 months. I can't believe she is 10 months old already. Time flies! It is bittersweet that's for sure! I have been working on some things to help organize my life and I hope to share those with you in the days to come!
I have also found some great new blogs to share as well. I will have them posted in my side bar so check them out!
Have a good rest of your Tuesday and I will start giving lots of info tomorrow! :)

New Baby!

2010-03-13T16:58:00.002-07:00

I am so excited that the interview I had last week went SO well! I start keeping this precious new baby girl in May. It will be a great source of income for my family and I can stay home with Ashlyn! :) Nothing is better than staying home with your sweet baby. I will probably be out of the blog loop for a while. My cousin and her son are coming to stay with me for almost a week and I won't be on much. I am hoping to start making my coupon notebook this week. I will have to take pics of it when it's complete so you can see what I did. A site that I have been reading up on is www.moneysavingmom.com. It's great! Check it out! Have a good weekend!

Work Week Schedule

2010-03-05T14:22:00.003-07:00

I am trying to establish a good schedule throughout the week. I think I have decided to wash on Mondays and Thursdays and I'm still trying to decide my cleaning day. Do you usually clean one day and do the whole house or do you split it up between days? I usually do my meal planning on Tuesday and go to the grocery on Wednesday. I may have to make this a weekend activity because I may be getting a new baby in April. My free time will be gone :(. I have enjoyed it that's for sure but I'm excited to work again.
I mentioned that I will do laundry twice a week. I was doing one load a day to keep the chaos away haha but then someone told me that it's better to do as much as you can in one day because it will cut back on the energy bill. Apparently if you run the dryer back to back your clothes dry faster, therefore using less energy. Imagine that! :) I did it this week and I had three loads of clothes done in like 2 hrs. My towels which normally take 1 hr to dry literally took 25 mins after I had already dried two loads before. I couldn't believe it!
Okay, so I have to admit, I am not a big fan of e-mealz. I told ya I would let ya know what I thought and I'm pretty disappointed. It's suppose to cut down on your weekly cost of groceries...and I have over spent each week I've used it so far. :( Couldn't believe that! The food is pretty good but I think I did a better job without it. The only thing is you have to buy three months so now I'm stuck with it for a while. Good thing it wasn't expensive!
Do any of you clip coupons? I am in need of learning how to do that better. I have been reading other blogs and trying to simply learn but it's confusing. Trying to match coupons with sales and mail-in rebates. It's all a little overwhelming. I think I may start by making a notebook to organize the ones I do have so far that way I can find them. I have read that if you take a zip up binder with baseball card inserts it works great! So I may try that.
Being a mom is the best thing I've ever done! My daughter is so precious these days. She is learning new things left and right and constantly smiling. She just learned how to give high fives and when her godfather came to stay with us this week she waved at him! It was the first time she had ever done that. Her godparents sent her this precious shirt along with a cute hat and a teething ring that's pink, which she loves!
Well I hope all of you have a wonderful Friday and weekend! I have my interview tomorrow for this new baby who is a little girl and was born at 25 weeks!!! Crazy! I will let ya know how it goes :) Wish me luck!

New Beginnings

2010-03-04T15:21:00.003-07:00

If you are normal readers of my blog, then you have noticed some changes! If you are new to my blog then I want to welcome you! I decided to make this blog more about encouraging other moms as well as keeping in touch with friends about what's new in my life. I am sure it will be a mix of things, but that's okay. :)

I will be back tomorrow for my first official post of my new blog!!!

Have a great Thursday!

Productive!

2010-02-24T22:17:00.000-07:00

Well well well! What a day I have had! I got up at 5am! That's right...I'm working out every morning! I am even going to be training for a half-marathon. 13 miles! That's a lot of running haha! I think I can do it! :) When I got home this morning I decided Brett deserved some homemade muffins so I made those for me, got in the shower, dressed and breakfast on the table all before 7:30! I couldn't believe it! Then I continued my day with enjoying my daughter for a couple hours, a much needed nap, and some grocery shopping. Then I got dinner and off to church we went. What a wonderful day!
Tomorrow I will be waking up early again! I hope I can move tomorrow because by the way I'm feeling right now...OUCH is all I have to say. haha :) I'm doing a little shopping tomorrow as well! yay! I'll fill ya in later! Have a wonderful night!

Just a thought...

2010-02-22T14:50:00.000-07:00

Okay so I was thinking about changing my blog over to a different site and when I went there to set it up...boy is it complicated!!! So here is where I will stay. :)
So, I have decided to become more of an early raiser and try my hardest to go to bed early! I MUST work out and in order to do so I'm going to have to get up early and get to the gym before my sweet girl is up for the day. It is doable, I just have to do it! Story of my life, I know!
I will try and keep track on here of the exercise plans I am doing and I may or may not write in what I eat throughout the day. I hope to take more pics as well and get them up here. I have had requests for that too. When I'm scrappy I hope to add pics of that as well :). I just entered to win a cricut expression from my favorite blog mypinkstamper.com! IF you love scrapbooking and card making you should seriously check her out. She makes videos galore and always offers great tips.
I also just signed up for e-mealz.com. I hate sitting down and planning menus...I'm terrible at it, so I got some help. I read that one of my friends started doing this and I thought I would just jump on the bandwagon and try as well :)

Evening Routine

2010-01-20T15:09:00.000-07:00

HI everyone! I know I have slacked just a little on posting but give me some credit...it hasn't even been a week since my last post. Okay so my morning routine is going pretty well for the most part except I'm almost too tired to workout with turbo jam videos that early in the morning. Any ideas? I would love to go to the gym and use my membership, but I have a 6 month old and I could go at night when my husband is home but I am scared to go alone and it's hard to find someone that wants to go with me consistently. Any suggestions would be awesome!
Okay so now that my morning routine is coming along nicely I thought I would share my evening routine with you as well.
1. Clean up kitchen (wipe out sink, clean counters, sweep, run dishwasher)
2. Lay out clothes for tomorrow
3. Brush teeth, wash face and pjs
4. check tomorrow's to-do list
5. cuddle up with a good read to relax
6. spend some time with my hubby before bed.
Go to bed at a decent hour! I need my rest!

Now that my morning routine is under way...her goes the night routine. Wish me luck!

So, I have a new passion brewing inside me! I really want to start my own card making business where I hand make cards of all occasions, invitations for b-days, parties, weddings, etc. I just don't know what all to do to get started. I am really wanting to do this though and I think it will be tons of fun too!

Hope everyone has a great Wednesday...it's church tonight for me :)

Yay for Motivation!

2010-01-15T08:01:00.000-07:00

Okay so do you remember yesterdays morning routine I shared with you? Well it is 8am and my baby girl is still sleeping and I have done most of the following (note the checks)

1. Get out of bed and put on those workout clothes.(CHECK)
2. Work out before Ashlyn wakes up.(CHECK)
3. Get Dressed: Shower, fix hair, moisturize and makeup(CHECK)
4. While in the bathroom swish and swipe (that simply means to clean the counter top and swish the toilet with the brush).(CHECK)
5. Empty dishwasher if ran the night before.(CHECK)
6. Check calendar for any appointments that day and check to-do list(CHECK)
7. Start breakfast and feed family.(CHECK)
8. One load of laundry (put it in the washer first thing before going to workout)
9. Thaw something for dinner.
10. Balance checkbook and write in all receipts from the day before.
11. TAG time (time alone with God)(CHECK)
12. check email.(CHECK)
13. collect trash around the house and place in kitchen trash can so one bag can be taken out instead of multiples.(CHECK)

Now, I think that is pretty good for my first morning on the job :). I didn't thaw anything for dinner because we are going to a winter party at our church tonight and I didn't do laundry because I am about to leave to go spend time with my friend Carley :).
My workout for the next 4 weeks is going to consist of Turbo Jam Maximum Results...I will be doing the advanced portion of the workout. If you are familiar with it, since today was my first day I simply started with the Learn and Burn DVD. I actually worked up a sweat, I was proud of myself. haha.
For breakfast I had a Berries GoMega bar and a green monster smoothly! If you have not tried the Green Monsters they are awesome! You can find tons of recipes for them at www.greenmonstermovement.com

I hope everyone has a great day and I should be back tomorrow :) Yay it's the weekend!

Needing Motivation

2010-01-14T10:01:00.001-07:00

Okay so as you can see not all my resolutions are working out so far. I keep telling myself I really need to post a few times a week for those of you who actually read this. haha. I just never make myself come upstairs to do it. Today I am making that change. Writing on my blog is becoming a part of my to-do list. Is that sad? Anyway, my husband and I are really wanting to make some changes in our lifestyle. We want to eat healthier, exercise in the mornings before Ashlyn wakes up, and I would like to be able to keep to my routines of the morning, afternoon, and evenings in order to keep our house running smoothly. I keep telling myself "baby steps", change one thing at a time, make it a habit and then go to the next one. So my first challenge is to master my morning routine. This one is a big one. This is on my list every morning. If I work quickly I can master all of this before breakfast.
Julie's Morning Routine:
1. Get out of bed and put on those workout clothes.
2. Work out before Ashlyn wakes up.
3. Get Dressed: Shower, fix hair, moisturize and makeup
4. While in the bathroom swish and swipe (that simply means to clean the counter top and swish the toilet with the brush).
5. Empty dishwasher if ran the night before.
6. Check calendar for any appointments that day and check to-do list.
7. Start breakfast and feed family.
8. One load of laundry (put it in the washer first thing before going to workout)
9. Thaw something for dinner.
10. Balance checkbook and write in all receipts from the day before.
11. TAG time (time alone with God)
12. check email.
13. collect trash around the house and place in kitchen trash can so one bag can be taken out instead of multiples.
What a way to start my day! It may look a like a lot, but really most of those things seriously take anywhere from 1 min to like 5 mins, minus the working out and getting dressed thing. haha.

Anyway, I'm lacking motivation, so any encouragement would be awesome! :)

A New Start

2009-12-14T11:01:00.000-07:00

Boy when I said I would be a better blogger, I don't believe I meant it haha. :) I really am trying though. Honest! I know some of you are following my blog so that you are always updated when I post something new and I apologize for not being more on top of things. I need to be more organized and that's something I'm trying to hard to put back in my life. I used to be so organized but then I became a mother. haha! You would think I would be more organized but I'm not, sadly. It actually stresses me out more than anything. So one of my new year resolutions (yes I'm already thinking about resolutions and this year isn't even over yet) is better organization in our home and family.

Let me just go ahead and list my resolutions for you and then you can help me stay on top of them :).

1. More organized (make to-do lists, a rough daily schedule, my "own" menus, etc.)

2. Try to buy, eat, and use more organic and natural products

3. Go full out all homeopathic medicines!

4. Exercise daily!

5. Make all of Ashlyn's food (starting in January) ONLY ORGANIC!

6. Blog more about family activities, exercise, and my daily nutrition.

7. The most important....better my Bible study and prayer life!

Boy that sure looks like a lot of resolutions but I think I could totally do it! Some of them may sound silly to you but I think they are just what I need for a more balanced, organized life!

Now on to what we have been up to....

We went to visit my dad over Thanksgiving and it was a great trip. We flew and Ashlyn did great! My family just couldn't not get over her. It was so precious. Her cousin, my nephew, Trevor, loved her!!! He was so proud of her! It was a great trip, although it was too short. Since we've been back we have been so busy, Brett especially! So, now we are trying to get things together to go back to my dad's for xmas! I can't wait! We leave a week from today and it will be a great trip. So I should have more pics and such posted soon on my facebook.

Have a great holiday!

MERRY XMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

Sleepless Nights

2009-11-18T10:31:00.001-07:00

Well I guess it is payback for me since I have had a wonderful baby so far. It all starts with a growth spurt and then she decides she loves waking up at 3am for an extra feeding and sleep time with mommy. I have concluded that since I know that she is able to sleep through the night just fine, I will try feeding her every 3 hours during the day and maybe that will fill her enough that she will sleep through the night again. Sadly, last night I decided to let her cry it out for a little bit. It wasn't too hard. Brett and I didn't get to bed until about midnight and as soon as we crawl into bed she starts talking. It was too cute! I went in to check on her and she was just playing in her crib. :) I tucked her in real good and to sleep she went. I am pretty sure I heard her fussing at 3 am this morning and she didn't do it for very long when she realized I wasn't coming to rescue her. So she was able to sleep till about 5:45am, which is much better, and then decided now it was time to eat. Although she was still not making her hungry cry. I just assumed that is what she wanted and it was considered morning time so I just fed her. :) She ended up going back to bed after that though until 8. So my goal today is to make sure she is getting fed ever 3 hours whether she is showing she is hungry or not. Maybe that will help tide her over till I feel she must have solids. I really want to wait till she is 6 months before starting them. Hopefully she will too. :)
Today needs to be filled with lots of house work. I need to clean clean clean. I was going to cook tonight for dinner but last night I made this amazing Chicken and Rice chowder and I also made (are you ready for this?) homemade BREAD BOWLS to eat the soup in. It was amazing! I was so proud that I took the time to make them. It was well worth it. This recipe has made it into our cookbook! Can't wait to have it again! I bet it will taste even better tonight :)!!!! Well I'm off to get started on much needed chores. Have a great day everyone!

4 Months

2009-11-13T11:05:00.000-07:00

I can not believe my sweet baby girl is coming up on 4 months old! She is growing way to fast for me, I can't keep up! So I said I would be a better blogger but look at me, it's been forever again since I last wrote on here. I guess it is tough when I have a baby and a husband to take care of. ;)

Thanksgiving is approaching and Brett, Ashlyn and I will be flying home to spend it with my family. I will be in my best friend's wedding on the Saturday after so we should be in for a good time! I can't wait to see my family! Half of them has never seen Ashlyn and she will be 4 months already. The ones who have seen her, have not seen her since she was a week old. They will be shocked to see how big she is already! www.stolenmomentsmenuplanning.com

I have to share a few new loves that I have found. One is Stolen Moments Menu Planning! That's right, I pay this wonderful lady $8 a month and she makes all my meal plans for me based on my budget, serving size, and what we like! It has been amazing and has truly taken the stress off of me. My grocery list is already made out for me weekly and all I have to do is add new things to my list that I need. She stays well within my budget and I even save a lot more too. The food is yummy and if you don't like something all you do is tell her and she won't put it back on the menu! It's great.
Another love of mine is called the Green Monster Movement! That's right! Sounds funny I know! But they are healthy smoothies that I love fixing for breakfast! It boosts your energy and helps you get your daily intake of fruits and veggies! Check it out here... www.greenmonstermovement.com

Well, I just spent all morning ordering Ashlyn's 2 month pics for all my friends and family and boy was that a chore. But it is finally done and all I have to do now is wait for them to come in. Unfortunately I couldn't do wallets so I will have to do those from Wal-mart or something.

Anyway, my little Hudson is about to arrive so I will be back soon...hopefully! Have a great weekend everyone!

Taking Care of a sick baby :(

2009-10-09T08:47:00.000-06:00

Ashlyn came down with her first case of the sniffles and it was so sad. The poor girl couldn't hardly breath out of her nose and she had a cough too. She had a hard time eating and sleeping. Today is the first morning where she actually slept till her regular time which is 6:30 and then I had to go wake her to feed because I HAD to! She went right back to sleep when we were through and is still sleeping...it's now 8:48! She is trying to play catch up now. Brett has had this same cold and my body is really trying hard to fight it. Just found out yesterday that the little boy I watch, his mom has the flu. Just the normal case of the flu but still...that's scary! I don't think any of us wants to catch that! Today my to-do list looks like I will be scrubbing this house to get rid of germs! Gross!

Well, this weekend is BOTA (banquet of the ages) at church and we give away pies as prices. So I have received the challenge of making three pies to use as prises. It has been a long time since I made a pie. I think the last time was with my mom and I made a coconut cream pie and she had to help. So now I guess I will have to do this all on my own. That's okay I GOT THIS! :)

OH! We had our first snow of the season yesterday! Boy was it beautiful! Yes in Colorado you get snow in the fall. haha! It seriously was so pretty! The flakes were so big! When Brett got home from work, I had him build our first fire in the fireplace of our new house (which works great btw). It was so much fun. I made hot chocolate and we watched the new love of our lives...Flash Forward! If you haven't seen it...it's a must see!

Anyway, my to-do list for today is quite demanding so I need to be getting busy. Coming soon...hopefully more pictures!

Remembering my Mommy

2009-10-04T16:59:00.000-06:00

In May of 2007 my mom was diagnosed with Adeno Carcinoma of the small bowel (stomach cancer). It was very rare. I was just contacted by one of my old friends from High School informing me that her mother has been diagnosed with Adeno Carcinoma also. I felt terrible for her and she wanted to know about my mother so I shared my story with her. This is what I shared...

Since my mom's started in her small bowel it went to her stomach lining, her lymph nodes, and her liver and lungs. Her body fought this very hard until the bitter end. She was having a lot of problems with a bad cough and she's always had problems with her bowels but they did tests and things on her a long time ago and diagnosed her with IBS. I got married and moved to Colorado in January of 2007 and she was diagnosed in May of 2007. I was heart broken because I was so far away. She had called me and told me she was having health problems but didn't think it was a big deal and was just going to get some tests run to figure it out when they found the cancer. Her counts were through the roof. I've never prayed so hard in my life.

She fought and fought and fought until one day her counts were down to 6 and she was almost in remission. I was so thankful! Then another day she took a turn for the worst. Her counts started going up again. They finally decided that the treatments weren't going to work anymore and they could keep them going or just stop them and let her enjoy what life she has left. They gave my mom one year when they first found out in May of 2007 but by May of 2008 she was still with us. So they did some tests on her and said she had 6 months max. But honestly they didn't think she would make it to Thanksgiving. I was scheduled to go down to visit October 4, 2008. My cousin went to visit her in September and called me and said I needed to come home now. I didn't believe her so I called hospice. I told them I would be there in 2 weeks did they really think I needed to get there now? They told me most def that they would be surprised if she made it to the 4th.

So, I went home, didn't tell my mom why just that I wanted to have a longer visit this time and that I felt she needed my help. We had the best week ever! We just hung out and spent time together and talked. I babysat my nephew so she could spend time with him with help of course. She loved it. I took lots of pictures and such too. The second week I was there she went to church on Sunday. My mom, as well as my entire family, are very faithful members of the church of christ. She wasn't going to miss if she could help it. She started slowing down Monday-Wednesday. A little more each day. Then when Thursday came along, she was not very responsive. There were times when she was but most of the day she wasn't. Another thing my mom always believed in was having a family dinner daily. She was on the couch and I cooked dinner that night and had it on the table and she insisted to come sit at the table even though all she could really eat was a popsicle. So we helped her to the table and there she sat eating her popsicle while we had supper. I called some of the family over that night to sit with her and visit because I was concerned she was going fast. I called hospice and had them send someone out because I needed to know how much time I had left with her. The guy got there and took a look at her and told me that she had days left.

After we carried my mom to bed, I got out the book from hospice to read and see the signs of passing away. My mom was showing nearly all of them. I went to bed and woke up fairly early that morning to my mom making a terrible moaning sound. Her voice was the first to go and all you could do was hear her breathing. My dad was in a panic and said she had been like that since 2 am. I asked him if he had called hospice yet and he said he hadn't. I told him he needed to do that right away and I went and crawled in bed with my mommy and told her everything was going to be alright and I just started to cry. I look up at my mom's face to see tears running down her face. She couldn't focus on me but she could hear me and probably feel me. I called all the family over and told them what was happening. When hospice arrived they confirmed that she was leaving us and we needed to tell her goodbye and that we were going to be okay.

My mom had one sister who lived in Memphis and we called her too. We kept telling my mom that she would be here soon to hang on. Sure enough my mom hung on till 1:15pm. My aunt arrived and my mom passed about 15 minutes later. Right before she passed we all crammed in her bedroom and prayed and held hands and sang "Blue Skies and Rainbows" which was her favorite church song. It was a bittersweet moment and a day I will never forget!

My mom fought this battle for 18 months! She was determined not to give up and she held on as hard as she could till the very end. She was able to come out to Colorado the summer before she passed and she also got to see my best friend's baby too. She was so happy to travel and do all these things although they were very rough on her. My mom was a very strong and beautiful Christian woman! She was a great mother! I am now blessed with a beautiful girl of my own, who I named after my mother. I hope she has some of my mother in her and I hope I can be a wonderful mother just like my mother.

One thing that helped me is that I knew that my mom was going to be okay. She was going to be with the Lord and I will see her again someday. I love having that hope, hope in Christ and I wish everyone had that hope. It makes loosing loved ones a lot easier because you know you will be with them again. Before I close out this message I want to share with you something that was shared with me a month ago by a sweet lady who had also lost her mother. She thought she could never live without her mother and she told her mom that. Do you know what her mom said? When you went to Kindergarten you made it a half of a day without me. When you went to elementary school you went 8 hours without me. Then when you went to college and got married you went everyday without me. Now you simply have to wait a little longer to be with me again.

I thought that was so inspiring and encouraging. Because I am a Christian and I live my life for Him and do all that He has commanded of me, I get the chance to be with Him in Paradise and see my mother again. I can't wait!

I'm a terrible blogger!

2009-10-01T08:46:00.000-06:00

Wow! It sure has been forever since I have blogged. I have been so busy being a new mommy and now I am watching a little boy along with Ashlyn 5 days a week. I don't get much time to do anything unless of course they are sleeping. :) I always LOVE the naps! My Ashlyn is now 11 weeks old and I can't believe how fast she has grown already. We got her 2 month pictures made, which I'm waiting on, but I do have a preview of 2 of them I will have to attach to this post. Better yet I will put them right here. I just think they are adorable! She is such a blessing in my life and I couldn't ask for anything more! I can't wait to see the other ones that were taken.

This week has been really hard on me. As most of you know, my mom passed away a year ago this Saturday, October 3. As I go through each day this week I am reminded of the events that led up to her passing. It's been tough but I know she is in a better place and boy am I thankful for that. She was an amazing woman and all who knew her would agree with me. My family is going to be having a hard time this weekend with this so please keep all of us in your prayers. My dad's birthday is this Monday and I hope he is able to enjoy it. I hate that my mom passed two days before his birthday. I hope he will always be able to enjoy his birthday, but I bet it's tough.

Other things going on have been more house work. We are slowly getting the house work completed little by little. With Brett working every day along with school/church/work activities on the weekends, it's been hard to get things finished. I know tonight we are going to be doing some work and hopefully tomorrow as well. I finally got an awesome desk for my craftroom and will be showing pictures of it off soon. I'm in the middle of organizing it so when that is done and it is decorated I will post pictures.

Now that I have an oasis to get away to (aka: craft room) I am thinking of starting my own buisness making all occasion cards, invitations, etc. I think it would be an awesome thing to do and I would enjoy it. I'm just not sure how much buisness I would get selling from my home. Who knows maybe it would turn into something more :). I have dreams and lots of them, we will see if any of them actually come true. I thought about doing scrapbooks for other people and then I though that would probably be too much and then I wouldn't have time to scrapbook my own life. So I will stick to just the card thing. :) Let me know what you think.

I will try to be a better blogger. Coming soon....more posts! :)

First Vacation

2009-08-17T22:57:00.000-06:00

My husband and I decided to attempt our first vacation with our daughter who just turned 1 month old this past Saturday. We traveled by car to Ft. Worth, TX to be at one of my best friend's wedding and to spend time with his Nana. Ashlyn did a wonderful job traveling (she was a piece of cake actually). We hardly had to stop but just for gas. It was a great trip down.

The wedding was beautiful and the bride was even more beautiful! It was a great wedding and very eventful. I attended the rehearsal dinner, the bridal luncheon, the bachelorette party and the wedding. It was a lot of fun!

After the wedding we decided to drive an hour and a half to Greenville, TX and spend a few days with some more of our friends that graduated from Bear Valley last June. We are still here at their house today, and are having a blast. We went bowling and played some arcade today as well as out to eat. It was so much fun just to be able to spend time with them. We are also thankful that they have agreed to be our children's godparents. We decided we wanted to ask them this very important question while we were down. They showed so much love for Ashlyn that we just did not think we could find a better couple to be our children's guardians if something every happened to us. We know they will always stay with the Lord and will be great examples to our children. We are glad they accepted this wonderful role in our children's lives.

The trip is still going on, so I will post more after I am home and settled back into a routine. But I just remembered that I won't be home for long before Brett, Ashlyn and I fly to Tennessee for Polishing the Pulpit for a week. We are crazy I know, but Ashlyn just does so good! Then after we get back home from there, then I will settle down and get in a routine. It will be nice to be in some sort of a routine with Ashlyn.

Bedtime calls, I will post again soon.

A New Life Begins

2009-07-27T18:39:00.001-06:00

On July 15, 2009 I finally gave birth to my beautiful little girl. My goal was to go all natural but after 24 hours of pure insanity, I could not go on. They told me I had the option of going home since I had only dilated 1 cm in 24 hours so I was only at 2 cm (I came into the hospital already at 1). They also said I could stay and let them break my water and if I didn't progress in 3 hours they would have to do a c-section. I agreed to the breaking of the water but only if I could have my drugs then. I could not go on any longer without them. I was getting too tired. Right before they gave me my drugs my water decided to break on it's own! I was so excited! They gave me the drug at 8:00 at night and by 3:00 I was at 10 cm and ready to start pushing. Too bad I had to push for 3 hours! By the end I was exhausted and could not get her out on my own. I had to make the decision of using the vacuum to help her along. It helped so much and apparently they barely had to use it. I did most of it on my own! My midwife was concerned that because she could tell how big the baby was she didn't know if I was going to be able to push her out. But I did and we were all pumped when it was over.

The Reaction...When the baby came into this world I wanted my husband to tell me what the baby was. He looked at me with teary eyes and said it's a girl! I could not believe it! We both thought sure it was going to be a boy. My reaction to him was "Really, are you serious?" My midwife was like "here see for yourself." and she took the blanket off so I could see. Then I burst into happy tears and was so glad it was all over. It is amazing how much relief you feel as soon as you are not pregnant anymore. I was so tired and just ready to sleep after it was all over.

Now that we are home, things are going so well. Ashlyn is already back to her birth weight and some. She weighed 8 lbs 14 ozs and was 20 inches long when she was born. Now she is 9 lbs 1 oz and is cute as ever! I am now allowed to let her sleep and only feed her when she wakes on her own. I was told not to let her go past 5 hours during the day though because then she could get her days and nights mixed up. But overall, she is an awesome baby that loves to sleep. I hope it stays that way. She will be introduced to her new room in a couple of weeks, right now she is sleeping next to our bed in her own.

My family came out here for the first week we had her home. They were such a huge help with everything around the house. I could not have survived the week without them.

As for now, I will try to update as often as possible and hopefully get some pics up too.

It's been a while

2009-06-29T14:27:00.000-06:00

It has been such a long time since I last posted anything. Now I need to update on EVERYTHING. As you can see from the picture to the left, I am about to pop! No joke! I am less than 2 weeks away. It feels like just the other day I was telling everyone I was pregnant. I am hoping to go pretty soon, because I am beyond ready.
The house is coming along. The nursery will be put together real soon. I can't wait to have the house done! We got measured for our counter tops today and those should come in in about 7 days. The house will be coming together really soon. I think a lot of it will be done before my family gets here, at least I hope so.
I am currently battling a horrible head cold which knocked me off my feet. I can't take much for it, which stinks. I am going to the doctor tomorrow so maybe my midwife can tell me something to take that will knock this thing. Anyway, it might be a while before I update again, but that just means we have a little one :). Can't wait to post about that! Stay tuned.

Needing Patience

2009-06-03T15:02:00.000-06:00

We are finally in our house (if you want to call it that). We have all our furniture in, just not all where it needs to be. Things are trying to get organized and some house work still needs to be finished. I have about 5.5 weeks to go which I can't believe! I hope we can get everything done before the baby gets here and all my company I have coming in to help with the baby. Hopefully things will get finished. I've been working my husband silly since I'm not allowed to do anything just about. I know he is getting so tired after working all day and then having to come home and work all night on the house. It will be over soon, I just need the patience to endure this time.

A New Week

2009-05-11T08:32:00.000-06:00

Another week is here and I can't believe I only have 9 weeks to go before I get to meet my little one. It's hard to believe that 9 months have almost already gone by. It seems like just yesterday I had a positive test.

My friend Alicia who was due three weeks before me had her precious baby girl, Emma this morning at 4:30am weighing in at 3 lbs. 6.6 oz. and she was 16 inches long. She is a cutie. Not sure on all the details yet, but I'm guessing she is healthy and doing fine.

We are still working on the house and trying to get it ready to move in. We are now hoping to move ourselves in, in about 2 weeks. This week is so busy with other church activities that it is going to be too hard to get everything done that needs to be before we move in. My husband is doing a wonderful job getting things done by himself. He's loving every minute of it although he keeps getting injured. I told him that he isn't allowed to have any more injuries this week.

I am still watching my adorable niece this week, Monday and Wednesday. She is seriously the cutest little girl ever. She is awesome to say the least. I also have an adorable nephew that I miss so much. I don't get to see him very often because he lives back in my old hometown. Hopefully I will see him soon though.

A busy week ahead...I will post when there is time.

My Life is Blessed

2009-05-06T10:21:00.000-06:00

I am realizing lately how blessed my life truly is. I have a wonderful family who cares a lot for me and I also have wonderful friends who do the same. I am so lucky to have met the man of my dreams, my best friend and I have been married to him for a little over 2 years. I couldn't have asked for a better husband, not to mention dad to be also. I am also blessed to have been given the opportunity to be expecting our first child. I am so excited for these next 10 weeks to fly by. It will be awesome when I finally get to hold this little one in my arms for the first time.

We should be getting into our new home soon. I think it's time to start decorating and organizing so I'm ready when the baby gets here. I can't wait for my church shower to see all the goodies I receive from the thoughtful members at Bear Valley.

When I get into the house, I will be putting together my craft room where hopefully I will get to spend a good amount of my time working on scrapbooks and cards. I just found the coolest blog ever if you are interested. It is called The Pink Stamper. I have it linked under the blogs I follow. Check it out. It's awesome! Very encouraging as well.

I am watching my adorable little niece 3 days this week and 2 next week and she is so cute! She is sleeping right now, but should wake up soon so off I go.

It's Already May!

2009-05-01T21:46:00.000-06:00

It's hard to believe that May has already arrived. I have about 10 weeks left of this pregnancy before I get to hold my precious baby in my arms. Brett and I are so excited to become parents! The house is coming along nicely. We hope to be moved in or at least our stuff in two weeks. The painting is probably half-way done and since I'm not allowed to paint Brett and his parents along with a wonderful couple from church are doing it. I really wish I could paint though, because I just love doing that.
I am really missing my friends and family right now. I hate that most of them are not being able to be a part of my pregnancy, but I am happy to be able to share the joy of my baby with them all when he/she arrives in this world. Right now my baby is a wiggle worm and never sits still. I guess that is a good thing.
Anyway, life is staying busy and honestly I'm ready for it to get back to normal.

The Start of Something New

2009-04-16T22:34:00.000-06:00

THE TIME FINALLY CAME! We are homeowners! Today at 4:00 we signed our life away and became homeowners. It feels so good that this has finally happened. We can't wait to get in and get our hands dirty doing all the renovations. It will be a lot of fun! Well more fun for Brett since I can't do much but that's okay! I will have to get before pictures and then get after pictures of every room! Oh I'm so excited!
My adorable picture is of my little niece Chloe who was bonding with her unborn cousin. (note: the baby in my belly). She is so adorable in every way! I love her!
Tomorrow my husband and I as well as 5 other guys from the school are suppose to head out to Kansas for a campaign till Thursday. We are also suppose to get a snow storm blown in tonight so I guess we will see if we go. If we do I will have to post when we get back.
It's bedtime...goodnight

I'm Getting Impatient

2009-04-07T22:29:00.000-06:00

I am seriously getting impatient about this whole homeowners business. It takes forever to get anything done! I am ready to be in my own place and decorate and fix it up all cute. Right now my days consist of not much of anything. I just sit, sleep, eat, etc. I never dreamed it would take this long to get all the stuff done. All we have left to do now is close and when we do that we are planning on painting and replacing some of the windows and then moving in. We will finish the rest of the renovations after we move in (kitchen, bathrooms, minor things, etc.) But I am way past ready to move in.

Then there is only about 3 months left before I have this baby. Less than 100 days now! I can't believe it! My husband and I REALLY need to register. Maybe we can squeeze that in this weekend. I think I am going through nesting where I need to have things done and in order. It's driving me crazy. Please pray for me that I will have patience through all of this.

After the loss of my mother back in October, my family has had it's ups and downs and of course the time of healing. It's been over 6 months since my mom has passed (which is so hard for me to believe), but things are starting to look up. My dad had the triple bypass surgery on his heart not too long after my mom passed and is now doing awesome. He actually had eye surgery today to remove cataracts and it also went fine. In two weeks they will do the other eye and then he will see as good as new. The rest of my family seems to be healing well too (even me). I miss my family a lot and can't wait for some of them to come out here to help after I have the baby. It will be awesome!

The clocks ticking away and it's time for bed. Goodnight!

5.5 Months

2009-03-28T19:16:00.003-06:00

I can't believe I am 5 1/2 months along already. I only have 3 1/2 more months to go. The time has flown by! Unfortunately, last night I got to experience my first contractions which kept me up till 5 this morning. They are so uncomfortable and not very pleasant. Hopefully I won't feel them too often although I know that will not happen.

This weekend has been a wonderful spiritual fulfillment for me. We had our annual women renewal last night and today and it was awesome! Last night we all met at church and ate supper together and then had a devo which was great. The singing was beautiful and the speaker gave a great message. Then today we met at the church at 9 for breakfast and then spent the morning in filling our minds with wonderful messages from two great speakers. The lessons were phenomenal! It made me want to better my life as a Christian woman and strive every day to be more like Him. My heart was pricked like it was when I first became a Christian. It made me just want to cry being reminded of such pain and suffering that Christ went through for us and the fact that no matter what we do, this debt is unable to be paid back. What a selfless decision Christ made!

I am so excited about what has been going on with our house. The inspection has been done and our house passed. The appraisal will be either this weekend or Monday and then after that all that is left is to close! We are finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel and are so pumped to get started on renovations. Hopefully we will be moved in by the last week of April with everything or mostly everything done.

Have a wonderful week to those who actually read my blog. :)

Youth Rally

2009-03-18T15:51:00.000-06:00

The youth rally was awesome! The teens do not usually get to go on trips like these, which is why my husband and I are working with them. We took them up Friday around 4:30 and they heard the Good News Singers from Harding University and then heard a wonderful lesson taught by Joe Wells. They had snacks and then we headed back home.

We then left Saturday morning around 7:30 to drive back up to the youth rally. The teens participated in classes and games and heard even more lessons from Joe. It was a great rally and I think the teens really enjoyed it! We didn't get home until after 11 that night.

Brett and I then had to get up early Sunday morning and leave around 6:30 so Brett could preach at a congregation about 3 hours away. Then we drove home that afternoon after lunch and so he could preach at our home congregation that night. He did an awesome job too! I think this sermon was seriously my all time favorite!

It is finally Wednesday and I think my body has officially caught up to speed. It was so hard on me doing all of that traveling this weekend, but it was well worth my time! I am always so thankful when I'm able to live my life for God and do what pleases Him.

Hopefully I will have my family photo site up and running soon. I am trying to get all my pics on there before I give out the password. When the site is up you will be able to view more pics from the youth rally.

Busy Week Continues

2009-03-13T11:20:00.000-06:00

Well, so far this week has been extremely busy (just like I thought), but it has been so interesting! The Seminar has ended and was awesome! Brad Harub is an amazing speaker and knows his stuff!

Today we leave for the Youth Forum and it goes through Saturday night. I hope the teens really enjoy themselves as I'm sure I will. I use to love trips like these when I was in the youth group. I always felt renewed and refreshed in God's word. I hope the teens will reap the same benefits.

We got great news on our new house! When the de-winterized the house they found leaky pipes, but fortunately the bank paid for it and it will be fixed by the end of today. Which means we could get the inspection done next week and hopefully close in a couple weeks so we can start rennovating. I cannot wait to take pics of the house and post them on here as well as when we're done with the renovations. I'm excited to show it off to people and start having guests to cook for and just hang out with in this awesome place!

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend and enjoy the wonderful creations right outside your window! :)

Spring Seminar

2009-03-09T09:27:00.000-06:00

This is going to be one busy week. It started yesterday. We have this amazing speaker named Brad Harub in visiting who is doing a Seminar all week. He talks a lot about disproving evolution and proving how God is the designer of this world. He is awesome!

He spoke Sunday morning for class and morning worship, then we had a potluck and then he spoke again at 2:00. He was going to be speaking again at 6:00 at a different church in the area so we went to hear him there as well. He was asked the question if he believed in global warming. His response which I thought was simply amazing was "Will there be global warming when Jesus comes...YES, but are we experiencing global warming now...NO!" He couldn't have answered it any better.

He will also speak at our church on Monday through Wednesday at 7:00. I am looking forward to hearing him again and again.

Thursday my husband and I are either going to be planning a bible study with a young couple at church or going to a basketball game! Either one will be fun.

Friday and Saturday we leave to go on our first trip with the teens. We are going to a youth forum which should be a lot of fun. I hope our teens really enjoy it!

Sunday, my husband and I have to drive a couple hours to a different church where he will preach and then drive back to our regular church Sunday night where he will preach again.

Hopefully next week won't be as busy. God blesses us everyday and always gives us opportunities to serve Him. I'm glad we will be doing that ALL week long!

Thank God today for your blessings!

New Blog

2009-03-04T13:34:00.000-07:00

I'm going to attempt to keep this blog updated as best as possible. I am trying to learn how to make it really cute, but it's sort of difficult. I hope that this blog will help keep all my family and friends up to date on what is going on in Brett and I's life these days.

A great deal has gone on this past month. We moved in with the in-laws after our lease was up at our apartment. We have made the decision to buy our first house so we have been house hunting for a while now. We finally made an offer on an amazing townhouse and luckily it was accepted. It is a little over 2200 sq ft. It has 4 bedrooms and 3.5 bathrooms. We basically got a steal and we could not be more excited!

My husband has started his first "real world" job this past Monday and he is loving every minute of it. He has his own office and everything. He will do such a great job working with the teens and I have no reason not to believe the teens will love him. He is teaching Wednesday nights at church starting tonight and I'm going to sit in on his class for support and also to get to know the teens a bit better myself. Our dream is to hopefully be at this congregation for many many years.

We are also expecting our first child in about 19 weeks. I am not 21 weeks and am doing great so far with everything. I'm having quite a bit of back pain but I know that just comes along with it. I am looking forward to being a mommy and I can't wait! I'm very excited.

Well I think this is great for my first post...so hopefully there will be more where that came from. Will post again soon.