Project- Pailynn's first Birthday

So-- I found out I am that crazy mother who goes all out for their child's first birthday party! I may find myself regretting it later but so far, the decorations I made are ADORABLE. Plus, the items I am making- can go into PJ's room as décor.. Here is a sneak peak on why I have been soo busy that I haven't had time to blog...


So here is your sneak peak to Pailynn's "Look WhoOoo's Turning ONE!" Birthday Party!!

Mommy daughter time

Regardless of how old your daughter may be, spending time with my little one still makes my heart thump uncontrollably, She is the second love of my life! Some times it its great to forget about all her little tantrums and play with dolls or other things. But life isn't that way. You have to learn to grow, together. My daughter is 11 months. She will soon be a one year old, I can't seem to wonder where the time went? This is why I vowed to her, that we will do more fun mommy and daughter dates. She is young and may not understand but I shouldn't let my time with her slip away. I find myself hiding away on the weekends to study and to do homework. I know that right now that may seem important but I have spread myself thin a lot of times, but not with this one person. Don't get me wrong, I do a lot with PJ. I feed her, bath her, and play with her. But I always thought she wasn't old enough to do FUN mommy daughter things together. This girl has my full heart and will always be my favorite little girl in the whole world! Which is why I decided to change the way I thought and start doing MORE baby friendly activities with her.

So .. I wanted to paint her nails. I didn't want to use my regular nail polish, she sucks her thumb way too much to put all of those toxins in her mouth! I did my research and found piggy paint. Walmart actually carries them for like 7 bucks you get pink, blue, and purple. It is a non-toxic, ordorless, kid friendly.

Making this whole "TIME" thing work was a little ruined when I first painted her big thumb and tried to blow it dry.. Lets just say it takes a little to long to dry and ended up on her pants.. So I decided I would wait just a little while... She actually fell asleep on me.. and well.. I atleast got one coat done!! haha! We will try for another coat tomorrow!.. Still a little fun for me.. NO lie. Plus look at those cute little pink fingers!

DIY Photo invitations

I never realized how much planning your little ones birthday party could be! Specially since I am on a budget but I still want it to look amazing! I am finding all of this DIY stuff.. the problem is trying to budget time in between her party, school, working, taking care of PJ, and actually being able to do each project. I am not going to lie.. These SNOW DAYS are definitely helping!

I wanted a CUTE invitation with a picture of PJ on it. The problem was, I didn't want to spend 15 bucks for 20 invitations. So I came up with this CLEVER idea to get past breaking the bank.

I used the website pizzap.com and edited a background, cut around PJ in her picture, put a sticker, added some text and PRESTO. I sent the photo to walgreens (first I made sure that everything fit on the picture, I actually had to redo it because you need a gap between the edges so it doesn't cut off the picture or text. BAM- 20 cents per invite. I then went to the dollar tree and bought a pack of invites only because I wanted HOT pink envelopes. There were 8 for a dollar. I ended up only spending 7 bucks on her invites. One thing off my checklist and so far.. I have already saved -$23!!!

Here was the final result. Don't mind the black out spots- that is where the original information for the party was. But I don't want everyone and their momma coming to my daughters first bday unless you actually receive an invite! Sorry! xoxo.

baby shower GALOR part #2

Lately, a lot of my friends are having children and I have constantly been going from one baby shower to the next. Here are some of the different foods/recipes and activities

Games:

1. Crap happens: my friend laid out diapers on a table. Each diaper had something a little different in each one. The guests are supposed to guess what is in the diaper without tasting it. You can smell, touch, etc. The guest with the most correct answers wins!

2. Baby stats: have each guest guess how long, the weight, the date, the time, the eye color, the hair color of the soon the be newborn. My friend also added in some fun. The last part of the question was, what do you think the new mom steal from the hospital? Let's be honest! Who doesn't load up on the diapers, wipes, etc. lol! I was even guilty of this! My friends told me it wasn't stealing, more like taking what is yours because they are actually supposed to throw out anything that was left over from the room during your hospital stay.

3.Pacifier Toss Have guests stand in a circle and take turns tossing the pacifier to each other. The person who catches it has 10 seconds to name a baby item -- without repeating one that's already been said. If you repeat an item, or don't call out an item in time, you're out of the game. If you are the last person standing, you WIN!

4. Tinkle in the Pot: Each player puts a balloon under their shirt while holding a ping pong ball between their knees. Player must waddle down the line and drop the ball into a jar. This was actually really difficult for us, and we had a lot of people, so we lined up everyone that made it in the first time to race off against each other, the fastest won!.. But you can run the game however you want, even relay!

5. Rice rice baby!- Blindfolded guests will race to find baby pins in a bowl of rice. The one who gets them all moves on to the next round!

6. mom or dad baby shower game. One person read the questions one by one and we had to try and guess if the question applied to Mom or Dad. For example, the first question was "Who was born with blonde hair?" So if you thought it was Mom then you put on your lips and if you thought it was Dad you put on your mustache. ( I am not going to lie. I lost this game! lol )

7. Guess that baby food! You are better off blind folding the ones who are being fed, this way they can't even see the color of the baby food, which means they can only rely on their taste buds! Also, take the wrapper off so the ones who are feeding don't have any idea either and can also try it out for themselves. But the ones that were feeders for the one I was involved in were too scared to do it!


Clever Ideas:
1. Craving section- dedicate a WHOLE section to everything that the new soon to be mom has been craving during her pregnancy! Genius! That would have made me extremely happy! Make sure to add some tums close by! lol!


Rawkin pink punch-
Ingredients
1 (2 liter) bottle raspberry ginger ale
1 tub pink raspberry sherbet

Directions
1. Add raspberry sherbet to punch bowl then slowly pour ginger ale over top about 5-10 minutes before serving.

They also added pineapple juice which gave it the most amazing Flavor. Seriously the best I have ever had!

15 FUN activities to do with a 10 month old

Are you looking for a fun SAFE activities to do with any little one that is mobile? I was looking for things to do with PJ during my school break (While I had plenty of time). But there isn't much crazy remember fun things to do with a 10 month old! So I brainstormed. I wanted her to make something for Kevin but I also wanted her to learn... I googled activities with 10 months old and got this strange list. Some of these games are what we already play or do on a daily basis but some are things I would have never thought of to even try! I have know created my To-Do Bucket list with PJ to accomplish before the New year hits! Which is a few days away! SAY WHAT!

1. Arrange & re-arrange- Pj and I usually do this daily. We have foam blocks she loves to play with. Possibly almost as much as she loves chewing on them! I also bought her stacking cups that she loves to play with. She hasn't gotten the hang of stacking just yet but, she does clash them together or knocks over what I built. After a while, I don't find that fun anymore. I can never get past my third story building!
2. Endless cruise- Pj LOVES to follow people now that she is mobile. I can't get her to stop moving unless she is asleep! She is like the energizer bunny! At first when she wasn't crawling and was kneeling on the floor I would crawl around her to help her get the point of crawling. I would place a toy in the middle of the room walk over where she was, position her just like me. I would crawl and then move her hands just like mine a little at a time. Once she started crawling there was no stopping her. I no longer have to get on my hands and knees and crawl. She just follows me as I walk room to room.
3. Bath time fun- I don't consider this to actually be fun. It is a lot of work on my part. She goes CRAZY in the bath tub. I feel like I get more water that she does and she is the one in the tub! I tried bubbles to help her not splash me as much, hoping she would be more interested into feeling the bubbles
4. Copy cat- PJ has gotten really good at this. Some times too good! She can imitate the sounds I do like when you flick your index finger over your lips and make a sound. Yes that one! That is her favorite! And she does it CONSTANTLY. Mainly every time she she's her farther now! I was a little annoyed by this at first but I got used to it and started teaching her a new task to copy!
5. Stick it good!- this sounds cruel but it is actually teaching PJ problem solving. I duct tape a small toy to the floor and have her try to get it unstuck. Sounds silly but it strengthens her as well!
6. Obstacle course- this is a little more difficult only because PJ doesn't really understand she is supposed to go a certain way and not pick up her toys and just stop in the middle of the tunnel I made from the couch and footstool with a blanket draped as a roof.
7. Reading- M-F Pj gets two-three bed times stories at night. I only do it 5 out of 7 days because I can't be too silly when people can hear me!! So I try to focus on doing this with the hubby isn't home. I don't need anything that he can hold against me for in the future!
8. Hide and seek music- I take PJ's mobile base and hide it in her room and let her listen to the music to find it. Some times she doesn't even look for it because she is to busy dancing to the music which then turns into a dance battle lol
9. Which brings me to singing & dancing- Again I do this when no one is home. If anyone every recorded me I sure would be embarrassed. Only because I don't dance with my baby girl to look cute or sexy I do it goofy because I love to hear her laugh!
10. Playing tag- this is more like the "I am going to get you game!" Any time I say those words her eyes light up and starts crawling in the other directions once I crawl and catch up to her I blow on her neck, give her kisses, tickle her and let her get a jump start so we can do it all over again!
11. Walker- I bought pj one of those sit-to-stand walker. We have been playing with that every day. Needless to say she will be walking SOON thanks to it! She is so smart! She realized she can push it forward just a little bit then step forward. If she only had her balance she would have that whole walking thing nailed!
12. Pick up game- I am constantly playing this game. PJ drops a toy, looks at me, then looks down at the floor to find the toy. This game is not one of my choices. I am actually forced to do it.
13. Painting- I know you may think this is impossible with a child who LOVES to put her fingers in her mouth but there is actually a homemade edible paint recipe. The inner child in my got way to excited to wait to do this. But I wanted to wait until Kevin would be there to join in on the fun as well! (See below for recipe)
14. Rainbow soap foam bubbles (see recipe below)
15. Simon Says- As your little own grows they learn to mimic you really fast. I play this daily with. I believe this helps her learn certain things about daily life.. For instance I taught her the word hug and when I say it she now hugs (most of the time). Now I am working on waving hello and goodbye. I am also working on getting her to gives kisses when I say the word. 

Edible Paint
* 2 cups of corn flour (corn starch in the US I think)
* 1 cup of cold water
* 4.5 cups of boiling water
* Liquid food colouring
Method:
Mix the cornflour with the cold water and stir together. Pour in the boiling water and stir between each cup. It goes really strange (you are basically mixing a hot oobleck goop) but keep stirring and it literally seems to “melt” into a wonderful, custard-like consistency. We then separated it into individual jam jars before adding colouring, but you can do it however you like and this is the stage to add colour.

Rainbow Soap Foam Bubbles
* 2 tablespoons of dish soap
* 1/4 Cup of water
* food coloring
Method:
Add all ingredients together and mix on high for about one or two minutes. Repeat until you reach your desired amount.

I used an the plastic container I got from ice cream. I put 2 tablespoons of dish soap (any if fine) and a cup of water. Since I had a bigger container I was able to double the bath. When you add food coloring you also need about 2-3 drops. Repeat until you have the amount of foam you want. I put it in a plastic tub and set the tub in my bath tub. This way once she was done with playing I could switch her over to her ducky bath tub and give her a bath =)

When I did this- I left PJ in her diaper which might have not been such a good idea. I recommend using swimming diapers. I am not going to lie, PJ BAWLED when she first got in. But after a while of me splashing the foam around, she started to get more comfortable and started to play in it by herself.

Sleep PLEASE

Any one feel like they are sleep deprived? Silly me, all mothers are!! I am one for LOVING my sleep and I am really cranky when I don't get enough. My husband can contest to that! It took me almost a month to get the swing of this whole SLEEPING with a newborn ordeal. Let's just say I learned quickly on what worked and didn't work for me.

Here are some tricks to get your little one to sleep, as soon as you bring him/her home from the hospital.

1. Elevate the bed- I bought one of those crib wedges and put it in her bed. It helped a lot with her acid reflux.

2. Differentiate- Make sure your little one knows day from night. Some ways to do that is.. When they are taking their nap on during the day, leave the light on. Get them used to NOISE, which will happen during the DAY! When it is night time.. PJ only gets a night light. Even if I change her diaper in the middle of the night and feed her.. No lights on, just the night light.. Takes some getting used to at first to make sure you get all the stool off them.. but you will thank me in the long run. When you turn on the light you are waking up just as much as your little one is waking up!

3. Swaddle- In the womb the baby is used to be in a warm tight place. That doesn't change when they are born. They still love it! So PULL that blanket tight baby!!

4. Pat on the back- many babies need burped.. ALOT.. So don't be surprised if you have tried feeding, changing the diaper, rocking, and if your little one is still cranky, chances are that they probably have a gas bubble! So, pat that sucker out!

5. Collic calm- This is an all natural mixture that helps with collic, upset stomach, hiccups, and acid reflux. For a while this was my best friend when it came to PJ. I had a lot of problems with switching her over to formula at first. She was constantly vomiting the regular baby food so we tried soy thinking maybe she is a little lactose intolerant like me, that didn't help! I was about to pull my hair out! We then changed over to gentleease, which worked for a little while maybe a month and then the symptoms got worse. FINALLY I found Enfamil- AR (added rice)

6. Routine- Keep your routine on track as much as you can. It will help her body create a biological alarm clock letting her know when its nap or bedtime! Try to keep the same nap times, bed time routines. (bath, lotion, bottle/boob).

7. Stand your ground- I have problems with this a little bit, PJ will cry some times in the middle of the night. I do use the cry it out method but for a limited amount of time. (Ten minutes) After ten minutes, I know something is wrong that she can't calm herself back down. (which usually means diaper or bottle) But as soon as both are done... It is back to the crib she goes.. But I will be the first to admit.. Some times I break down- When I have had a really busy week and a lack of sleep instead of standing my ground I back down. It maybe happens once a month. Pj ends up cuddling up to me in my bed. What can I say.. Some times a momma does need a wink of sleep!

Baby's First Cold

What is worse than having a sick child? Nothing other than you being sick at the same time they are! Over the past almost 10 months I have quickly learned ways of improving how my little one feels when she is sick. All of these things that are listed aren't all on the internet, some came with pure experience!

Here are the items that help ease the cold:

1. Johnson & Johnson- Soothing vapor bath wash It is perfect for when you baby needs a bath. It works just like vicks but works while the baby is playing in the bath tub! Two for one WOOT WOOT! It costs about $4.30 but check out johnson & johnson's website some times they have coupons! I got a $2.00 off coupon and ended up only paying 5 bucks for TWO of them! Ohh YAY!
2. Vaporizer- It actually makes my nose run more but seems to help my little one out. You can get one that is warm mist or cold mist (incase your little one is always on the move and your afraid they will touch it) I set the cold one on the floor and PJ just acts like it isn't even there!
3. Vicks baby rub you can buy or make your own. Here is a great website that teaches you how to make Homemade vicks vapor rub
4. Saline & nose syringe- I actually have an automatic one where I push a button and it sucks her nose- Works really well actually! Remember to plug
5. Boogie wipes
6. Tylenol/Mortrin

Here are some things you can do:

1. Warm bath with Soothing Vapor
2. Turn on vaporizer at night.
3. Put vicks baby rub on little ones chest and feet! make sure you cover there feet with foot pajamas specially if your little one is all about taken her socks off like mine is. I don't want her to get the rub in her eyes!
4. Use saline spray and suction out little one's nose. It will help dry out their runny nose quicker! Don't forget boogie wipes to get those straggles ;)
5. Make sure to check their temp! Remember to call your Pedi if the temp is 104 or greater. If your little ones temp is constant 102+  Mortin is when I switch to motrin otherewise it's Tylenol for me! Make sure you check with your pedi on how much to give to your child. REMEMBER: motrin and Tylenol have DIFFERENT doses!!!
6. For moms who breastfeed- you can actually use breastmilk instead of saline.
7. When PJ was little I would put her bouncer chair in the bathroom while I showered to help open her up. When she got bigger I had to switch to shutting the bathroom door running hot water in the sink and putting her in the bath tub.
8. If your little one is a bit older you can boil vicks in a pan and place paper over nose and inhale. I use the paper so the steam of the vicks doesn't get into my eyes because it burns! lol
9. If you have a scentsy pot you can put one teaspoon of vicks and two tablespoons of water and let it glow!
10. Cuddle. When they are sick they love to cuddle with you. Just make time for it! What helps the heart helps the body! =)

20 things they DIDN'T tell you

Everyone tells you that you look cute and that your such a cute preggo lady but what they really don't tell you is what you need to be asking about?! Here is a list of things you can expect from the point you when you get pregnant to the point after the baby arrives.

1. You are going to feel HUGE and trying to get reassurance from you husband is not your best bet, you know he is telling you a lie to make you feel better. Skip the anties and eat a fruit!

2. When you are about eight months pregnant you are going to pee yourself! Literally. Laughing, walking, or coughing it will probably happen!

3. When pregnant you are more likely to get a UTI so drink that cranberry juice up to avoid them! It is 10 times worse than a normal UTI because it can cause you to have contraction. Point taken, take care of your body!

4. You will have difficultly pooping, for about a month!

5. You will look at your husband in a new light. He is no longer that cute funny guy you meet a while ago. Instead he is this monster that made you SOOO HUGE and swollen like a big fat elephant. Try to breath. The little things he does will annoy you and that's ok. This will pass.

6. The first three months are the worst. You have morning sickness which makes you never want to leave your bed. Plus, why do they call it morning sickness when it usually seems to last ALL day. (Check out my morning sickness cure on a previous post!) Plus these three months are the most stressful. Some miscarriage in the first trimester. I  know how it feels to have a miscarriage because before PJ, I had lost my first child within the first trimester. When I was pregnant with PJ I always feared the same thing would happen. I was lucky the second time around that it didn't happen.

7. Delivery isn't the only painful part. You will have major cramping going on during the end. Back pain that won't ever stop. It will even wake you up in the middle of the night! As if you don't get enough sleep as it is?

8. When you start to show more, the more people will come up to you add give you tips or pointers. This will get annoying after a while and you may want to tell them to just SHUT UP after a while. I get it! Just tell them thank you for the advice and change the topic completely if you aren't comfortable with the topic.

9. Discharge GALOR. Nothing is surprising when it comes to pregnancy. You will have random discharge. By random I mean like a white milky discharge, which is normal.

10. When you do actually get some sleep, you will have some crazy WILD dreams. I was dreaming of people I haven't seen in years, or haven't even met for that matter!

11. Metal-taste. Don't freak out your mouth may taste like metal. Lets just say the prenatal vitamins don't help solve this case.

12. Boobs get bigger. and by this I don't mean one size. I mean two or three? Don't go on a bra shopping spree though, each month you will notice a little bit more of a change. Spend wisely!

13. Maternity clothes. I thought being pregnant I would wear these more? WRONG. I actually bought larger stretchy clothes. I even wore regular jeans and used a hair tie to expand them. For some reason it just felt more comfortable. Plus after I had the Pailynn I could wear those larger jeans until I slimmed down some more to fit into my pre-pregnancy jeans!

14. While your in labor you won't be allowed to eat. You be set to a strict clear liquids diet.. I stocked up on hard candy which they allowed me to have. I bought a bag of peppermints and those root beer float candy! After I had my C-section I was so glad I had brought these! I ended up getting this horrible taste in my mouth after the antibiotics during the c-section!!

15. You would think you would have maybe one or two people looking at your private area. WRONG!! It was weird I had many nurses coming in and check to see how dilated I was, But my cervix was soo high that a lot of nurses couldn't tell so they had to go get other nurses to check their work. Nothing more awkward than your husband looking at other girls while they stick their fingers into ya!

16. Privacy issues. So I started off trying to breastfeed in the hospital. It was painful and some times weird. The breastfeeding consultant wanted me to be completely topless to have the skin on skin contact. This would be find if I didn't have soo many visitors. It was really uncomfortable for me to be nursing while holding a conversation with another one of my family members. Point proven- Make a sign that says Nursing Come back later. I understand you will be nursing a lot while in the hospital but you really don't need to be interrupted or flashing your in-laws yours goodies!

17. Once your labor starts they WILL put a catheter in you! .. It sucks NO LIE! Take a deep breath! I got it out the second day! Just remember, don't pull on it! haha no just playing but seriously make sure it gets emptied the pressure or the if it backflows back into you and can cause a UTI!

18. If you give birth naturally chances are you are going to poop. At least that is what everyone says! I had a C-section.

19. While pregnant you may suffer leg cramps- I HATED THEM! The best way for me to get rid of them fast was to flex your foot upwards and straighten your leg like you’re going to touch your shin with your big toe.

20. Along with leg cramps I suffered from restless leg syndrome, as if I wasn't tired enough. My darn legs kept me up at night. The only way to really beat this is to drink more water! Stretching, warms baths, acupuncture and massage seem to be the suggested remedies.




Things you need to know about a C-section:

1. The nurses will try to keep you in the bed for the most part, but I was up four hours after Pailynn was born. If you are looking to get out of the hospital quickly, like I was.. You need to walk.
2. Take it easy at the same time. You will feel like you can run a marathon with the pain meds but as soon as you switch to pills, pain control isn't the same!
3. Request the catheter be taken out asap! The longer it is in you the higher the chances are for a UTI.
4. When you have to cough, seriously- use a pillow! Your stitches will thank me later!
5. Listen to the nurses when they say rinse your private area. It helps flush out everything, which lessons the chance for an infection!
6. The second day home from the hospital, take it easy! I thought it was a good idea to walk around target getting different odds and ends for the new little one. Little did I know I would have to be put in a wheel chair and rolled out to my car!
7. Engorgement- This may sound a little weird but seriously, pay attention to your breasts! They will be HUGE and hard as a rock, and if they get too big they will pop, jk. But they will hurt like a knife is being stabbed into them. Pump often!! Even after feedings pump for an extra fifteen minutes to get your supply up!
8. Leak attach- no one told me my boobs will have a period! Not red but they will leak milk! They know make a pretty cool product that collects the milk you leak up. If you have twins or a baby who constantly needs nursing than you should look into this!

Dreams~to~reality

Today was the day! Today was the day I took a huge leap of faith and plunged into my dreams of being a nurse. I was always soo scared of rejection that I put my dreams in a box and shoved it as far away in the closet for as long as possible. It wasn't until recently looking at PJ and seeing that
fearless look in her eye. I used to have that, but I lost it in the ruins of this so called life, but not anymore. Today I took the HESI A2 test. I had studied the day before ALL day long. 2 pots of coffee later 1 am and I was still going at it. Today I even woke up at 5am to finish up some of the chapters I didn't get through. I didn't get done with all of it so I even youtubed videos on the way for the drive.

I sat down in third row in front of an older computer. I was soo nervous I had the administrator agree to let me write my login on my paper so I wouldn't forget it! Once I logged in, I realized.. Half the test I studied SOOOOOO FLIPPING HARD for WASN'T on there! I almost signed in relief, but I realized some other topics I didn't study where on there. I read SOO many pointers on how to take this test that I sat there in AWE at the computer screen. It took me a few minutes to snap myself back into reality. I started with the section I knew I would forget if I didn't take it NOW! May I note when I read the guidelines for HESI A2 it made it sound like each section was timed and you only have a certain amount of time to finish. But this wasn't the case. It started the clock backwards from 4 hrs and 30 minutes. Realizing this, I took my time... about an hour later I click finish for my vocab portion of my test. ... Finishing each section with a little bit more stress slowly releasing my pores! I took the Math section last. I knew math is my BEST subject. So if I didn't remember too much from what I studied that it wouldn't matter much. This portion of the test took me the longest. I solved the problem and then rechecked all of my work. Needless to say, I ended up getting 100% on the math portion!..


Overall I PASSED the test! I was sooo excited that I couldn't even wait to get home to tell everyone. I texted everyone as soon as I got into the car!


After one mile of my journey was completed I wanted to finish another leg of the race. I turned in my RN application even though the deadline was Jan 15 2014. Sooo.. I may or may not procrastinate a little bit? Anyway, good news is that it is turned in... Now.. the part I REALLY hate the most- WAITING!


STAY TUNED... Find out if I got in!!

Fearless

Today was a different sort of day. My in-laws were watching PJ for most of the morning while the hubby slept (he works second shift and is the breadwinner of the house) and I have my follow up doctors appointments. The morning started out a little rough. You see my husband and I have to different time schedules. When I say I need to leave by 9:30, he thinks it means walk out the door at that time when actually that means that I want to be at Point A at that time! It drives me BONKERS! But like any other morning I zipped my lips! I didn't say a word! He got up this morning to feed her breakfast because he hasn't seen her in a couple days (because him sleeping, me working, or being gone with her for appointments, etc). Plus some times you need to know when to pick your battles. This was a battle I was not going to put my boxing gloves on.

I dropped PJ off, and was on my way to start my day of fun filled driving around to appointments and errands. As if the weather wasn't bad enough people who were on the road drove like idiots! Who drives extremely over the speed limit when it is snowing and there is SLUSH ever where, not to mention black ice! That is besides the point. I went to my doctors appointments did my errands and that was that. I got back to pick up PJ and they said she was an angel today and that she wasn't fussy. (which means she wasn't in teething pain or running a fever). I am thinking to myself SCORE! I am in for an easy night!

eeexxxcuse! my! language but... HELL NO!!! As soon as we got in the door the tantrums started. She is an on the go type of girl, which normal is ok. But as soon as I get home, I have to finish unloading the car, put away her bottles/food, get her dinner ready etc. Her favorite thing to do is go to the chimney which is made of complete ROCK with sharp edges etc. and hold on to it to stand up. She is not the most graceful person yet and I know if she hits her head even lightely on it that it will cut it right open! I would love to baby gate that room off but the house is a donut so even if I do there is about a six foot gap. Let's just say we are really budgeting to get financially stable to be able to get our own house soon! One where we can be financially coozy! Again besides the point, this girl just doesn't understand the word NO. I read that some people say to do more gestures to teach young ones how to communicate but let's just say I can sign, or even overly exagerating gesture my hands in a NO sort of way while saying no... still nothing! What is it in kids that makes them feel so indestructable?


Then I sit here writing this.. and I question... When did I lose that? That FEARLESS feeling. Then I snap back into reality and remember oh ya when I had a kid! Can't go around doing crazy things when you having someone always following your every step!..But in theory.. I am determined to be fearless..I have put off this HESI nursing test for as long as I could without brushing up on some reading. I am happy to say I officially scheduled the appointment. Next step is to set up evolve account and take the test! Cross your fingers.. Lets pray I get in this way I can be the breadwinner once all done and then my husband can get his "dream" job!

Well, that is that! Off to dream world... Until work tomorrow and drill this weekend.



Stay tuned! More good stuff on the way!!! Promise!

Upset tummy fixes

At some point you or your child are going to be hit with the stomach bug. It is the WORST possible thing to deal with EVER. I find myself gaging while cleaning up her mess.. A lot of people will say wait it out or it has to pass. But what they don't tell you is how to fix the problem a tad bit quicker. Who wants a problem to be solved faster? I DOO!!!! Specially when it comes to the stomach flu and my little peanut!

I have two tricks I use. Depending on ages of your children and what your pediatrician recommend.

As an adult- I heat a mug of water in the microwave once it is coffee hot or tea hot, I pour a jello packet into it and sip. I usually prefer strawberry flavor but you can do which ever you prefer. They also make tasteless jello which you can add with your tea. What I will tell you is.. you are going to get sick after sipping on this.. But it will help coat your stomach and help you stop getting sick.

For PJ and some times me (if I don't have jello on hand) I use Rice water.

Heat 3 cups of water to a boil
Once boiling cook 6 tablespoons of rice as directed on the box

You aren't going to get three cups of water out of this because the water soaks up into the rice. I drain the water into a mug (I feed it to PJ luke warm) and put the cooked rice in the fridge for a meal for later. By drinking rice water it soothes your upset stomach and adds some nutrients to your body.

14 Quick Mommy Snacks that I LOVE!

If your anything like me your life is complete and utter chaos. I am constantly on the run it feels like. I barely get time to sit down and eat a meal for ME. The one meal I do get to sit down and eat is dinner, mostly because PJ is sitting there eating dinner with us. As for breakfast and lunch I am on my own and this little one does not want me to sit too long. She seems to scoot right out of the room when I try to sit and eat. Here are some of my quick fix snacks I eat when I am busier than BUSY!

1. Peanut butter sandwich. I probably eat this the most because I can take it anywhere and it is still good.
2. Salad- As soon as I get any veggies I always prewash them so when I am on the go I can quickly throw this together and head out the door.
3. Yogurt- I eat these atleast once a day. Mostly when I get a sweet tooth I can't help but engulf the deamsicle one. It is my FAVORITE!
4. Smoothies- which I are second favorite. I love blending yogurt with fruits and some spinach. Which makes me super excited to be starting shakeology soon.
5. Homemade applesauce- PJ loves my homemade applesauce. So I am not going to lie, I eat it right along with her!
6. Apples with peanut butter. This is also amazing on the go. I cut up some apples and throw them into the peanut butter container for a quick on the go snack. It is perfect to chomp on in between my classes.
7. Celery and peanut butter- I do the same thing as the apples and peanut butter but with celery.
8. Homemade popsicles- No lie I tend to eat my nausea pops on the daily! Check it out!-Nausea Pops Recipe
9. Frozen grapes. Nothing beats eating something sweet and cold!
10. Whole-grain granola bars- this is also the perfect snack for when you are doing anything from vacuuming the house, doing errands, or while you are at class (for my case)
11. Instant oatmeal- I eat this when I have a busy morning and I know I won't get time to eat later. Mommy gets a bite while PJ gets a bite of her oatmeal!
12. Rice cake topped with peanut butter and sliced bananas on top! so creamy, so crunchy!
13. String cheese- I eat this while running around chasing PJ on her little adventures one hand for eating and one for holding PJ.
14. Green peppers- I love these with ranch when I have time. But if I am in the middle of driving having these sliced
15. Carrots- I love to dip these also in ranch but they are perfect for on the go. Small enough to fit into my purse but add a huge crunch to my diet!

I hope this helps all you busy moms out! Its crazy how quickly you learn to eat with only one hand! ENJOY!

Baby shots. BUSTS.

Just like any other mom, I hate taking my baby girl to go get shots. I love that they protect her but I hate hearing her scream and knowing how helpless she feels! I tried almost everything in fact to help ease the pain of shots but I am here to tell you what actually DIDN'T work for me to save your money and really about the only thing you can do is..

I have spent a large amount of money trying all of these sooo called inventions that are supposed to help ease the pain, let me save you some trouble and SOME MONEY!

1. Buzzy- This cost about $40. My Grandma actually bought this for my daughter and nephew to share. It has an ice pack that you keep in the freezer. and about two min before the shot is given you connect the ice pack to the buzzy and press the button onto the area that the shot will be given. When you press the button it vibrates the area. I tried this for her 6 month shots and I thought it would work. Cool compress with a vibration, I thought it would at least numb the area but NO it didn't. I was kinda upset. When my Grandma asked me if it worked, I didn't want to break her heart so I told her I had forgot it at home and haven't tried it yet!.. Later I told her the truth and she was heart broken that she wasted 40 bucks on it.BUST

2. Pressure- I tried just putting pressure onto the area that she is going to get a shot. Kind of like you do when you get a mosquito bite, but that also didn't work. BUST

3. Breastfeeding/bottle feeding during shots- I tried giving PJ her bottle during her 9 month shots and she dropped that bottle as soon as they gave her the first shot! She actually turned so red and stopped breathing then started hysterically crying! Worse experience EVER with this. BUST


People I know SWEAR by this method but I have yet to try it and hopefully will get to try this the next round we have of shots.

Sugar Water- 1 packet of sugar to 10ml of water you can keep dipping the pacifier into the water solution or feed by syringe. Once you give your child this solution you have to wait two minutes before giving the shots.

There are different creams you can ask to use..and the PROS / CONS

EMLA Cream

Topical anesthetic that deadens pain. You request it before the visit and apply it beforehand.
Pro: Works very well and most pharmacies carry it.
Con: Must be applied an hour before the shot, so it takes some planning.

Vapocoolant Spray

Rapidly cools a small area of skin to help reduce the pain of needle pricks.
Pro: Works within seconds.
Con: Many pediatricians don't keep it in their office. Some studies show it doesn't reduce pain nearly as well as EMLA.

   

Little minion on the run

First crawling.. now standing.. NOW almost walking. SHUT THE FRONT DOOR! Where does time go? It feels like only yesterday that I was giving birth to this gorgeous little girl who stole my heart. She has only been crawling for about a month now. I worked with her a lot to get her to crawl and to motivate her to crawl. Here are some things I did to help teach her how to crawl:

• Give your baby plenty of tummy time, starting from birth.  By playing on their bellies, babies develop the muscle strength in their shoulders, arms, back and trunk that helps them learn to crawl.
• Encourage your baby to reach for and move toward the toys and objects she is interested in.  Lay interesting toys at just a short distance from your almost-crawler.  See if she is able to move herself toward these objects. 
• Make sure your baby has space to explore that is safe and supervised.
• Place the palms of your hands behind your child’s feet when he is on all fours.  This stabilizes him and gives him something to “push off” from when he is just learning to crawl.

Things to Avoid

• Spending lots of time in baby seats and baby carriers.  Babies learn how to crawl, and later pull up to stand and then walk, when they have plenty of time each day to play, move, and explore.
• Pushing your child to learn to crawl.  Pressing a child to develop a skill he isn’t ready for can actually slow the learning process.

Standing was a little bit different. She could ALWAYS stand with me holding her but the trick of her getting up off her butt to a standing position is beyond me how she learned this. She just started doing it one day!

As of right now, she is not walking alone, she is using the walker that I have discussed in two previous blogs. But by using this walker she is becoming more stable and is now being a dare devil! She is now boot scooting around the footstool while holding on of course but its like her own personal little race track!