It's what bloggers are for.

Blogging is certainly not my strongest point and not something that I do very often, yet I find myself coming back week after week. I think my main goal is to share my experiences so that I can maybe help someone out there just as other bloggers have helped me. Any time I have a concern or curiosity there's a blog out there to help ease my mind. Bloggers you're my lifesavers and here's my attempt to give back.

Stay tuned for my upcoming experiences with our second pregnancy. Only 12 weeks in and I'm already learning new medical terminology, tests, and opinions which I never thought we're necessary to begin with. I will admit I'm a victim of the idea that "it could never happen to me". Well it's our second time around and we're already seeking advance specialists and second opinions. This is where other blogs have helped me cope and this will officially be me trying to help others in the same way. And hey...... Who doesn't enjoy seeing a few adorable pregnancy photos now and then??!

My very first decoupage.

The time has come to reveal my latest weekend project!! My very generous aunt called me before a trip to Goodwill and asked if I wanted an old little dresser than her kids no longer use. I don't know what it is in me, but whenever there's an opportunity to save a family item...I always say yes. This could become an issue down the road...hoarder in the making maybe. That's a post for another day... don't tell my husband. ;)

For the past few weekends I worked on refinishing the dresser little by little. I started by sanding it down and adding a fresh coat of white paint. I picked a shade that matches our baby's crib perfectly. My first intentions were to paint the top of the dresser to match the espresso trim of the crib, but quickly discovered that stain was a better option. Unfortunately stain just wouldn't work. So I jumped online to look for the latest trend and discovered my newest obsession: mod podge.

I will say I was a little nervous to use Mod Podge for the first time on a family item, but I'm really glad I went for it!! I bought a piece of inexpensive fabric and cut it to fit the entire dresser top. Followed the Mod Podge instructions and POOF... a master piece. 

The process was a lot easier than expected:

• Sand
• Paint
• Sand again.
• Apply Mod Modge & fabric piece.
• Wait.
• Apply more Mod Modge.
• Wait again.
• Sand....again :/
• More Mod Modge...more sanding...again, and again, and again..

I'm really the instant gratification type so waiting for mod podge to dry & sanding various layers were probably my least favorite parts of the project.

• Finally I sprayed the top with a clear acryilic sealer & added the new drawer pulls. 
• Time to be proud and for the moment only answer to, "DIY Mom!!!'

Time to give thanks for giving.

Mother nature sure welcomed us to the month of November today! It's freezing cold outside and I have the most annoying head cold around. Every tissue box in our house is empty which consequently means that every trash can is over flowing....(one thing my husband absolutely dislikes of me).

Maybe I should pledge that I will empty the bathroom trash more often and promise to always replace TP roll in 2013. I'm not one for New Year's resolutions, but my husband is the most deserving man that this world has ever seen. He's seriously one of those "nice" guys that women seem to think don't exist. I pretty much feel like I owe him the world and at this point, restocking the TP roll would mean just as much to him.

Last December we officially became parents!! I've heard some stories about first time dads and let me tell you....my husband is the best of them. He is the most generous father I know. From the beginning he has been hands on and proud of fatherhood. He changed the baby's very first poopie diaper and gave him his very first bath. To this day, he does absolutely anything and everything that he could possibly do in order to help take care of our son. Diapers, baths, dressing, playing, feeding, last minute shopping, you name it....he does it. (The only thing he doesn't do is breastfeed, but he's the first person to keep to my schedule and make sure that we have everything that we need to do so). I can't explain how thankful I am for all of the love and support he provides for this family.

My husband deserves an award, metal, or some type of noble prize. I couldn't be where I am today without every bit of his support. He gets me through rough times and brings me up when I'm sad. If I need someone to make me laugh, he's the one. If I'm lonely, he drives with me to work. If I'm tired, he brings me a coffee (In addition, if I am not feeling well he brings me an Italian soda..yummm). We smuggle up to movie nights, eat dinner together as often as we can, and spend countless hours enjoying quality time with our son.....together.

Together...that's a huge factor in why my husband is so amazing. We both work full time jobs and in a lot of cases, we work opposite shifts. There are many nights during the month when he isn't home or days when he is working overtime. His job is not really a job at all, it's a lifestyle and I've been given the chance to view life from a completely different perspective as a result. With all the long hours and late nights, our family is still together. He works ten or more hour shifts sometimes miles and miles away from home, but somehow he makes it feel like he is always here. No matter how much my husband works, he is still here for his family and that is what I'm thankful for. I'm thankful for the best husband, better father, and most amazing person that I share my life with. He deserves everything to the moon and back....so maybe I'll start restocking the TP roll when it runs out. ;)

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!!

Well here we are again.....day light savings!!!! This morning everyone claimed their extra hour of sleep with the exception of all the parents out there who have tiny little minis that pay no attention to our watches. Our baby woke up just before 6am today and I felt myself needing a nap by 10am. So of course on an exhausting day of traveling, cleaning, and playing I decided to round up the baby and head to Walmart at 5pm on a Sunday. When I pulled into the parking lot I immediately knew it wasn't one of my greatest ideas, but we made the best of it!!!

Our trip to Walley World America was one of my first outings out in the dark. The street lights were beaming and headlights circling the parking lot all over. I had to take a deep breath and remember it's just a simple trip to the store and not the end of the world (pulling into to an overpopulated parking lot at night with a Baby can be quite scary at first). I was fully equipped with our grocery cart cover, winter hat, diaper bag and more. We headed in like two soldiers about to go to war.

As we entered the sliding glass doors, felt the sudden blast of wind (where does that come from) and survived the giant grocery cart speed bump, my very first observation was....CHRISTMAS!! The pumpkins haven't even met markdowns yet and the potted evergreen is on sale (spray glitter included I must add). The baby and I browsed around the store looking for gift giving inspiration I suppose. Until I run into the scented pine cones, I feel holiday resistant.

All the marketing craze made me start thinking about all the fuss of the holidays. We live in Central Washington exactly centered between Spokane relatives & Seattle relatives. I imagine Christmas as a beautiful, warm holiday when I don't have to work and I can celebrate joy & appreciation in my sweater and slippers (while eating too...stuffing only tastes right on holiday). Anyways, living away from my parents, my husband's parents, my grandparents, great grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, friends who are really family....on and on and on.. makes the thought of Christmas exhausting!! A few experienced parents out there have predicted that we will ensure the shuffle for a few years and finally make our own traditions as a family avoiding the stress and commotion. Well I'm here to say that we don't need to wait until the "you can't please everyone" lesson kicks in....I say, We're having Christmas at our house!!!!! Simple. <3

Baby's first bite!!!

Preparing for solid foods!

Yep, I will admit it and be proud of it: I'm THAT kind of mom. Over the past few days I have cleaned, straightened, organized, and planned out our son's homemade and organic solid food. If you already know me, I have Brentlee on a fairly strict schedule. He nurses, sleeps, and even poops on the same routine just about every single day. My husband has always given me a hard time for being "that" mom, but I caught him once saying that I'm a genius and for me that's all I need. :)

Now don't confuse me as "Germ Patrol: Mom of the Year." I don't boil our bottles everyday, Brentlee is touched and hugged by everyone, I let him pet the cat, drool on toys off the floor, and go outside! I welcome exposure to most germs and unhealthy parts of life. He's a baby...and babies get dirty. My version of "that" mom is the mom who takes extra time and care to make sure that her baby has a solid foundation in order to live a happy healthy life. I'm setting him up for a very healthy life style, even though it means reading dozens (okay hundreds) of nutrition articles and blogs....I feel good about it. Anyway! Here's my documentation of preparing Brentlee to eat solid foods!

Just about every single mom browsing the internet has asked,"When do I start solids and what do I start with?" I've already said my two cents on when to start. What to start with is something that I sort of want to share with everyone. Historically doctors and moms both have always said to start with rice cereal thinned with formula or breast milk. After learning about why do delay solids, I questioned this tradition and starting researching for an answer. Rice cereal is made up of what? Fortified white long grain rice or something? Any health nut will tell you that white is not right!!! So why are we giving our babies processed food that tastes of cardboard as their first food? If you wait until your baby's system is mature and also if you are breastfeeding....then starting with a super food just makes more sense to me. A food rich in good fats, nutrients, and known for low allergic reactions seems like the perfect foundation food for a baby!!!! My definition of baby's first super food: AVOCADO!!!!! An organic California avocado costs maybe $1.50 and makes enough baby food for dozens of first feedings. I haven't even priced a jar of stage 1 baby food so I can't really compare any money saving tips. I'm sure the convenient food is sensible, but just not fresh and free of fillers. Therefore I have never shopped for a jar of baby food. 

I chose avocado as a first food because of it's nutrient content. It's packed with vitamins, minerals (including iron), and also composed of those "good" fats. Those unsaturated fat molecules that are proven to be important for every baby's developing body. All of these nutrients are coming from a fresh, organic fruit instead of a supplement processed in a box. In my opinion it sounds a lot better than white rice paste...but that's just my opinion. In the photo above, I used a very small avocado and made enough food for maybe four weeks of avocado "meals". They say as first, your baby should eat 1-3 tablespoons during a meal and most babies will eat only 1/2 of a tablespoon at first. (After this experience I've learned that the baby food that I have prepared for Brentlee will probably last him well over a month. Of course by then we will have introduced other foods so he will not suffer from too much green and not enough variety. :) Once he is familiar with this new food, I will offer him other types of organic food. Fruits and vegetables such as apples, pears, sweet potatoes, squash, and green beans will make wonderful mixed "meals". In a few weeks I even plan to add mild seasonings for him to enjoy!!!

Here is a photo of 3 days of homemade avocado puree. Now I say 3 days, because that's about how long I think it will stay fresh in the fridge. Brentlee can only eat about 1/4 of what's in one bowl...so this is probably about 12 days of homemade baby food for him right now (next time I will know to freeze more so there isn't as much waste). The ounce of breastmilk to the left is for thinning the fruit and masking the taste so that it's somewhat familiar to him.

Now I recommend using your finger as baby's first spoon, but I had been somewhat "training" Brentlee to use a spoon. I did this by offering him a spoon full of water whenever I was eating my breakfast or lunch. He is now very accustomed to opening his mouth when he notices the spoon coming towards him. (Note: babies around six months of age should not have more than 2oz of water per day....their milk has lots of water in it as it is).

Here we go.....B's FIRST bite!!!!! He's really excited to see that spoon once again and he's thinking there will be a lovely drop of warm water for him to drink. Little does he know that this soupy puree is not quite as sweet as he expects.....

Poor kid didn't know what hit him. We were only minutes away from nap time and after a shocking taste from his favorite spoon...he was ready to rest. We'll try 1/2 a teaspoon once a day for the rest of the week. I'm grounding up organic whole rolled oats for a yummy breakfast meal and reading up of the safest ways to bake and steam other foods. Every 3-5 days we'll try a new food after Brentlee gets used to the idea of trying the texture of purees. I'm very proud of him for his few bites today. He swallowed everything that I fed him and went down for his nap with a smile!!!!

Here's to a happy, healthy, and organic baby boy!!! Don't be afraid to be "that" kind of mom...it's good for them.

How did we ever survive as kids??!!!!

Well today is part of National Infant Immunization Week and ironically we just returned from our baby's 4 month wellness visit where he received his 2nd round of immunizations. He gets extra love and care from Mom today as he is sleeping in my arms as we speak. A little extra TLC is well worth the stress of getting shots which will one day prevent him from getting a disease.

Just about everyday another Mom will stop and admire our adorable baby boy and just about every time I hear the phrase, "How did our kids ever survive back in the day?" This of course comes up after bringing up a topic like infant shots or when to start solid foods. Well today I'm expressing my two cents and shining light on the other side of the story...well my story at least.

Now, I'm surely not a professional in any sort of baby field or any field for that matter. In fact, I'm a young, first time mom just trying to be aware of what's best for my baby. I can agree that most kids survive just about anything that parents do these days. Kids are tough and can adapt to things that happen to them and I am a firm believer that parents know exactly what their baby needs. Books, blogs, doctors, and health nuts can say whatever they please, but a mom or dad are the only people that understand what their baby is asking for. The key factor here knowing what the best option is before we do it. I think we all owe it to our kids (as educated parents) to take the time to listen to what "they" say and decide what's best from there ("they" being those authors, doctors, bloggers, and etc).

Being 24 years old in this lovely modern world makes it seem like "everyone" around me is announcing the birth of their new baby! So naturally, I watch and enjoy all the status updates and photos of these new babies. How could you not enjoy hearing about a new life in this world? And well...if you don't enjoy it, you better deactivate your Facebook account, cuz everyone is talking about their baby. A big trend right now is sitting those brand new babies in their state of the art ergonomical chair and feeding them some sort of solid food!! Last time I checked "they" said that babies do not need anything but formula or breast milk during the first six months. Those cute little bodies need to be able to sit up so they can even attempt to swallow food and their digestive systems need to fully mature in order to process that same food. There are dozens of popular sources that list each and every reason to delay solid foods. Does this mean that it's wrong to give your baby solids and you want to because your mom did the same thing for you? OF COURSE NOT!! You survived and most likely your baby will survive too. If those extra 5 calories will help you get more sleep at night....that is great because sleep these days is like winning Mega Millions. I'm personally choosing to delay solids because the research was done and the statements were published for parents to decide. They want to make us aware of what they know now and what they know now is very useful information. It's all in our best interests. Read the statements and do the research..then decide what to do. Yes your child will survive, but keep in mind that anything can happen to you and any baby has an equal chance of being that one in (how ever many) kids that develop diabetes, allergies, obesity..etc.

Look at it this way:

Your grandmother kept a very fashionable basket in her car for carrying her baby while on the go and you're here today to say that her baby survived. Now are you going to use a tested and approved infant car seat because "they" say it safer, or are you going to dig out that that gorgeous basket just like they did back in the days?

The answer to this question about how kids survived is very simple: most kids WILL survive!!! Statistics, journals, publications, etc state only percentages, approximations, and chances!! All of their lovely statements express what portion of kids suffered from whatever it is. The majority of people can all say they survived. My thoughts here are...I don't want to be the mom who falls under one of those stats. Anything can happen to us and we should know our stuff before taking on such a huge responsibility of raising a healthy human being. Sometimes "they" know what they are talking about and I personally like what "they" say (most of them..hehe). So moms and others who seem entertained by some of my new mom ways, please remember that I know your kids survived and they are beautiful kids at that.....just respect my decisions as I respect yours.

Links I like:
Why delay solids?
6 reasons to delay solid foods.
Healthy Children

Spring Break: from dance parties to baby milestones.

Well we made it to Spring Break already and I smile when I think about how much my life has changed. So many events have taken place over the past few years that have really molded me into a completely new person. I must say it's fun to look back.

Here's my ever so important binder cover from year 2003. If you didn't have one of these, you certainly missed out on what everyone was doing those days. In order to have the perfect binder, you needed the following ingredients:

• Family
• Best Friends
• Digital Camera (3 mega pixels)
• Spring Break memories

2003 Spring Break meant spending evenings in the garage waxing my 1988 Honda Accord with my Dad. I remember that day like it was yesterday as the second I started my grey little beauty I noticed that the blinkers didn't work. I drove myself to the nearest gas station on Regal and blushed as I stuck my arms out the window to signal my next move. As excited I was that my Dad bought me a car; I was a horrified thinking about how "everyone" would witness me using arm signals on the South Hill. I'm here today to say I survived the long week without turn signals and was super lucky to be able to drive myself to school.

In 2004 I was spent my week doing my little sister's hair and dressing her up in cute pink outfits. It was even more fun when our cousins came over to play. The photos that I have are priceless.

Jump to 2005 when buying surprise grab bags at the dollar store was the most exciting day of our lives. I wonder if things would have been different if we grew up in FL where MTV hosts all the bikini wearing Spring Breakers.

I spent Spring Break 2010 on the Western Coast with my fiance at the time. Still no tropical, crazy bikini wearing vacationers yet again. This time though I at least found the ocean (a rainy one that is). You seriously have to love clouds and rain if you want to live there. We also went hiking at Mt. Saint Helens as well as Multnomah Falls in OR.

Finally in 2011 I found all the Spring Breakers at South Beach in FL!!!! For the for first time I knew what it was like to step into warm ocean waters during the biggest vacation time of the year. The sand was hot and the drinks were cold. It was an amazing honeymoon vacation. We joke about not planning our trip right, but honestly Spring Break was the perfect time. The weather was great and the destinations were crowded and busy...just how Spring Break is supposed to be! What's a party without a bunch of people?

This year I'm a mom and Spring Break has an entire new meaning. Instead of looking out for MTV Spring Break, seeking out the best pina colada, or hiking up the tallest peaks, I'm spending it with my family. I'm more concerned about what new skill our 3 month old learns this week. Today I witnessed his first signs of the giggles and my heart melted just as it did when I saw his first smile. Hopefully soon we'll hear his entire laugh. It's amazing how the smallest little moments feel so much bigger than any Spring Break party. My best Spring Break memories are with my new family and I can't wait for the many years to come.