Christmas photos

10 years

On December 12, 2000, my DH and I started dating; we were both in high school. Three years later, we were engaged, we were married a year and a half after that, another year passed and we were blessed with our first child, and another five years and we had our second. We've dealt with a long-distance relationship during the first semester of college and long hours apart when he was working OTR. We also managed an entire year staying home together after his wreck. Through it all, we have only grown stronger. I wouldn't have gone through all that with anyone else; I love you, babe!

Grow With Me

I love things that can be used for a long time. I guess that's the cheap and lazy in me; I don't want to waste time and money on things that won't last. Here are some great products that I personally love which are made to last for years:

GroBaby/GroVia Hybrid Diapers - LIVE Package
MSRP: $375.00
Purchased for $292.67 from thegreennursery.com
Recommended for 8-35 lbs. Jacob was 47 lbs in the picture.

Joshua -2 days old

Jacob - 4 1/2 years old

ERGObaby carrier - Sport Version plus Heart2Heart Infant Insert

MSRP: $105.00

Purchased for $89.25 from Diapers.com with 15% off referral code ( my referral code is JACX2109 )

Recommended for birth to 4 months with insert / 15-40 lbs without insert.

Joshua - 2 months old

Jacob - 5 years old

The First Years Infant to Toddler Feeding Seat

MSRP: $29.99

Received as gift

Recommended for birth to 4 years

Infant mode: 

Toddler mode

RECALLED Kristi G Go and Grow Chair

MSRP: $89.99

Purchased for $34.99 from BabySteals.com

Recommended for 3 months to 75 lbs


http://www.swimways.com/Documents/Go_Grow_Recall.pdf

Joshua - 2 months

Jacob - 5 years

Cosco Scenera Convertible Car Seat 

MSRP: $69.99

Purchased for $45 at Big Lots

Rear-facing 5-35 lbs / Forward-facing 22-40 lbs

Monthly Photos

So I started this thing with Jacob where I have an image file with a photo for every month. I just updated it with 2 1/2 years worth of photos and I also made one for Joshua. These will automatically update when I add more pictures to it, so check back to this post every once in a while to see the new photos.

Hello Christmas season!

There are carols on the radio, Thanksgiving is over, and people are going crazy in the stores...must be Christmas time! I love Christmas. The snow, the hot cocoa, the beauty of it all. Too bad I live in DFW where we usually just end up with ice on the roads forcing everything to close. I can't wait until we save up enough money to move to Colorado. I have a sister that lives there and another one that is moving up there soon. I can wait to be able to take the boys to sled down a mountain. DFW does have its perks, though. Most of our family is here; my parents, an older sister (but she's moving to CO), my little sister, nearly all of my mom's siblings, a bunch of my cousins, and my maternal grandparents. DH has his dad and step-mom, all of his siblings, and his maternal grandparents. I know it will be difficult to leave our family and all the friends we've made here, but I have a feeling that if/when we move to CO, we'll be back to visit often. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be? Why?

I love baby smiles!!

GIVE. Thanks ;)

This is the time of year where we all reflect on our blessings. A warm bed, a roof over our heads, nutritious food, health, etc. Why not share your blessings with those who need help the most? Even if you are on a super tight budget, for only a few hours of your time, you can donate to those in need. Looking for ways to give back without spending any money? Here are a list of sites where you can search for your local charities:

Find a blood donation location: http://www.redcrossblood.org/make-donation
Find a breast milk donation location: http://www.hmbana.org/index/locations
Find a food bank to volunteer at: http://feedingamerica.org/foodbank-results.aspx
Find a homeless shelter to volunteer at: http://www.homelessshelterdirectory.org/

"Be the change you want to see in the world." - Mahatma Ghandi

Share your breastfeeding tips!

Oatmeal is a yummy way to increase supply.

Mommy Necklaces give nursing babies something to focus on so they don't whip their head around as much. *ouch*

If you don't want to spend a bunch of money on nursing tanks for under your clothes, you can use a BeBand that's the same color as your nursing bra and pull it all the way up. You can't tell the difference!

Big T-shirts double as nursing covers in a pinch, just pull the bottom of the shirt over your baby's head. This is a great tip to use with the one above so you aren't showing any skin.

If you have large breasts like I do, try different angles until you get baby to be able to latch without their nose being buried in your breast. This frees a hand so you can eat or type.

No-handed BFing without a Boppy - sit cross-legged with baby's head on one leg and baby's butt in your lap, that way you don't have to use an arm to support baby's head. If you're in a chair, cross your legs like a man (ankle of one leg over the knee of the other) and do the same thing. It might hurt your back a little more, but it helps you be able to get stuff done on the computer.

What tips and tricks do you have?

SAHMs...What do you do all day?

11/8-11/14/2010


Monday

Take Jacob to school
Pump for Jessica

Playdate

Pick Jacob up from school

Visit SIL in hospital when DH gets off work

Tuesday

Take Jacob to school
Pump for Jessica

Housework

Pick Jacob up from school

Jacob to Karate

Jacob to Soccer

Watch Megamind

Wednesday

Take Jacob to school

6 weeks PP appt (get Mirena in)
Pump for Jessica

Try to nap

Pick Jacob up from school

Playdate

Thursday

Take Jacob to school
Pump for Jessica

Mall walk with Fall 2010 group

Pick Jacob up from school

Karate

Soccer

Friday

Take Jacob to school
Pump for Jessica

Housework

Pick Jacob up from school

Moms' Night Out

Saturday

DFW Walk for LUNGevity
Pump for Jessica

Try to nap

Parents' Night Out - Rocky Horror at midnight

Sunday
Church

Museum

Pump for Jessica

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

I never thought about it before, but I can only recall 2 years when I didn't go trick-or-treating. I have always found a kid to go with, be it my sister, my cousins, my brother-in-law, or my kids :P It's really depressing how trick-or-treating has become a lost practice here in DFW. More and more people are just going to their church for "Trunk or Treat" or a "Fall Festival" on Halloween Night. It makes me kind of sad. What can I say, I'm my father's daughter! Here are some pictures of my parents' house the past two years...I can't wait to see what this year has in store:

Spooky Stories Under the Stars

Another playdate this evening. We headed back to Euless Public Library for Spooky Stories Under the Stars. We heard some silly and spooky stories and then ate Oreos and drank "blood" (Hawaiian Punch) while decorating monsters. A great time was had by all!

Fall Frame Playdate

While Jacob was in school, Joshua and I went down to Lucy's house for a craft playdate. We got to hang out with Lucy and Jacelyn (Joel took Kacen to the zoo), Candace, Sawyer, and Sawyer's birth father, Jason, plus Tamara (my friend I'm donating milk to) and her kids, Joey, Jenna, and Jessica (Joshua's milk buddy). We had so much fun! Joshua and Jessica were nursing pretty much the whole time, but they are only 4 weeks old, so what do you expect? Luckily for me, Joel got back right at 2:30 which reminded me that I needed to pick Jacob up from school at 3. I got there right in time ;) Thanks for having us over, Lucy!