The Reality of Friendship

Hi! Kailly here. Hope you all had a great Saturday! The weather is finally gorgeous here. I went to a garage sale with my best friend, J, at 7:20 this morning and it was already 52 degrees! Hello spring!! N and L slept in this morning so it was nice to have some mommy time.

Let's chat about friends today. Did you think you would grow up with best friends and be best friends forever? Yep, me too. It doesn't happen. Well, rarely happens. I have a best friend from New York, where I grew up, that is still, and always will be my best friend. Also, complete side bar, but will you pray for her? One year ago today, she saw a friend pass away. She's hurting. And the guilt she has felt in the past year has been so hard on her, though it wasn't her fault at all.

Okay, attempting to get back on topic. I always thought I would find who my true friends were in high school as I wept over being broken up with. As time passed and I grew up, I thought I would find my true friends as I got engaged, and then married. And, it's true, I've learned a lot about friendships, and the true colors of people, so to speak. I've weeded a good amount of people out, and honestly still have some to go, I'm sure.

But, when you get pregnant you learn who your friends are. Oh, and when you become a mom, you really learn who your true friends are. People stop calling. They distance themselves. I've always wondered why? I still am "me." Honestly, I'm a better person. N has made me a much better person. I have a new definition to loving life all thanks to my new partner in crime, whom is always attached to me either in my arms or via Ergo! So, why disappear? My husband just called it "breaking up." It kind of is in a way. My heart hurts when someone I thought was my "BFF" just goes away. I miss them, I get sad, etc.

Maybe they disappear because we are on different life paths. Maybe, they don't think I'm a better person? Someone said once that I didn't have as much time anymore for them. That's definitely true. Instead of relaxing after a work day, I now work 24/7 and don't always answer phone calls or instantly respond to a text. But I will. It may take 5 minutes, it may be a day, but if it isn't instantaneous like before my precious girl came, they feel ignored. And, honestly that sucks. My life doesn't revolve around the latest episode of "Grey's Anatomy" or "The Bachelor" anymore. Well, "The Bachelor" was very important to me this last season. But, I watched it one or two days late. This is because I have a little girl. She calls me mommy and takes up all of my time. And, I love every bit about it.

Believe me when I say I've messed up friendships. I've turned my back on people that I shouldn't have, and I've apologized. I've been that girl that's been frustrated. I've been that person that's walked away from a friendship being impatient with their life change. Heck, I've talked about people behind their backs when I shouldn't have!

You know what I hate most? Fake friends. The ones that are your friends for no reason. The ones that constantly go against what you have to say, constantly want to "one up" you in life. I cannot flipping stand it. It automatically puts me in the defensive mode, and I tend to get overly frustrated, flustered, and just be quiet before I burst. I don't do well with competing. If you know how I grew up, I constantly felt like I had to "fight" to survive with my mother. I don't fight well anymore. I don't have the energy. Well, unless you go after my princess, then all bets are off and bear claws quickly come out to protect my precious girl.


So, enjoy the rest of your weekend. Enjoy your true friends in life! They truly make living more enjoyable, don't they? And if you are rethinking any of your friendships, remember to always appreciate the true friends, and tell them. And, if you're out of touch with some you miss, call or text them. It's never to late to be back in touch with your friends! A true friend will pick up on conversation like you haven't lost anytime at all!

Have a blessed Sunday!

Love, Kailly

So... Are YOU raising a genius?

Hello, all! This is going to be a fairly short post, but I'm going to start off by answering the question in the title of my post: "So... Are YOU raising a genius?" Answer: Who cares!?

Honestly... Since becoming a mother, I have noticed how competitive parents and families can be about the development of their children, and sometimes, nieces, nephews, grandchildren, what have you. Seriously... It's ridiculous. Call me a bad mother, but I don't think baby C is a genius or advanced in any way compared to other babies. Do I think he's smart? Sure, I do! Do I think he's incredible? Well... Of course! After all, *I* grew and carried him for over 40 weeks and laboured to bring him into this world. I think C is beautiful and wonderful and I love watching him learn and explore. But I don't think everything he does is incredibly advanced. I touched briefly on this in my last post, but I'm happy with him being "average". I'm elated for him to hit each milestone right on time! The few things he has done early, pretty much just take after me and his father: holding up his head early, teething early, and bearing weight on his legs early. But every other milestone, he has pretty much hit on time. Of course, I constantly worry about him doing some things late, but that's just being a mom. No child will hit every milestone, or learn everything at the same time as the next kid. And it will all be in different order! Even siblings develop incredibly differently!

Sure... I've had people tell me that they think C is smart or advanced in one thing or another, but honestly, I think he's just a "baby C" brand of smart.

In any case, I'm not going to pressure C to be super smart or advanced. He'll be pressuring himself soon enough, as will several others. I WILL, however, encourage him to value family, friendship and education. I do enjoy watching him grow and learn and discover the world around him; and I want to nurture that. I want learning to be fun for him! I don't want him to feel like he needs to be the best so that mommy can tell "so and so" that he is "better" than their kid.

Just as every child is different, every parent is different. The competitiveness that exists between parents in regards to their children, also tends to turn into a competition of "who's the better parent?"; who knows more about parenthood and raising a child? This is the silliest of all competitions, because no one knows how to be a mother or father BEFORE becoming a mother or father, no matter how many books have been read on the subject. The fact of the matter is, YOU are the best parent for YOUR child. Don't let anyone make you feel otherwise!

Now please don't misunderstand me... I'm not saying you shouldn't be proud of your child or even brag about him or her! I know that I am so incredibly proud of my baby C and I love to share stories about him hitting milestones. But the decision that I have come to is this: I will not compare my child to any other children, because they are not him, and I am not raising them; instead of setting goals or expectations of who C SHOULD become, I will dream of who he COULD become; and I will use those dreams to drive the way that I raise and nurture him.

Alright... I'll get off of my little soapbox now. ;) love you all! I hope you have a lovely Thursday night and a beautiful Friday!

- Ashley

Here is baby C snuggling with his giraffe from his Yaya and Papa: :)

I Love Playful Tuesdays!

Hey y'all Shannon here. It's another Tuesday and we all know I LOVE Tuesdays! :) so how was your day? Hope it was a wonderful like mine which is what I am going to share with you. So kick off your shoes and come on in this is a day in the life of Shannon!

Woke up this morning and had some tea got myself dressed and together and then rallied the mini troops and served up some breakfast totally pressed the easy button this morning and opted for cereal and milk. Other than a quickly thwarted syrup kidnapping incident we had a delightful morning together. Next up my MnMs and I played outside for a bit and came in and had a play doh date where we made elephants and dinosaurs and Big M made lots of spaghetti with the squeezy handle pasta maker thing and then we had some lunch and I impressed my children with a new 'most favorite' lunch ever! Brace yourselves for this culinary genius ... Hot dog roll ups (cut a tortilla in half for the kiddos sprinkle cheese like you're making a quesadilla add a hot dog roll it up and done) is that not the most brilliant kid pleasing snack ever? At least for my boys anyway... So after lunchtime we attempted a naptime which ended up being about a 30 minute cat nap so we decided against nap time and headed to the park with our new friends :) played on the slide and ran and jumped and climbed (the boys not this preggo mama) haha.

Then we walked home and worked on our alphabet, shapes, and numbers. Practiced counting to ten saying our alphabet and writing the letter B and traced a bunch of circles to finish off our mini school session. We put together and played with an assemble yourself paper pirate ship with sea monsters and pirates the boys loved it so much!! They had a blast firing imaginary cannons at each others ships and trying to avoid the dreaded sea monster while searching for the elusive treasure which was a mini Tupperware with colored rotini noodles :) the imagination of little boys just knows no bounds! I love watching them learn and grow and imagine worlds of pure fantasy and fun! While they were playin' I was fixing supper I made 'basketti 'fredo' (spaghetti alfredo) super fast and super easy kiddos loved it and so did mama (using gluten free noodles) after we ate supper I gave the boys a quick bath time and they jumped in their jammies. We snuggled and watched an episode of Super Why (my little MnMs new favorite show) and then they gave me kisses and I tucked them into bed now this mama is plum worn out and ready to hit the pillow now. But that was our day and I loved every minute of being with my little MnMs I got a bunch of snuggles in we battled sea monsters and found new favorites! We had a very full happy day and I'm ready to rest up for tomorrow! I hope you all get some good rest and that your day was spectacular! I'm off to dreamland yall! Goodnight sweet dreams and pleasant tomorrows to each of you!

Swashbuckling hugs and some extra tired snuggles and love... Shannon :)

Too big, too fast!

Happy Monday, everyone! I hope you all had a lovely weekend and a great start to your week! I'm going to share a bit about my little man tonight, because the fact of the matter is that he simply growing too big, far too quickly!

When baby C was born, it was like I, too was born. I suddenly began living and thriving on a whole new plane of existence. He was, and still is, the most incredible, most important thing that I have ever done. The moment my little Prince was born, there was absolute silence in the room until he let out those heart stopping, life changing cries. He was stubborn to begin with, and very determined to be understood. He screamed and screamed every time the nurse would try to measure him or take his footprints. And since she didn't seem to get the point - that he didn't want to be messed with anymore - he peed on her. Twice. Baby C was strong from his first moments, trying to lift his little head so as not to miss a thing going on! And he was a snuggle bug. Those first two nights of his life were spent in the hospital, since he was born so late at night, and he mostly wanted to snuggle his mommy. But don't misunderstand me... He didn't really cry at all. He just fussed until I let him sleep on me. I loved it. Still do.



C is a very good baby. We have been so lucky. I remember being so anxious, nervous and excited to get him home. I was anxious to start our life as a family, nervous to not have nurses around, but so excited to be home. If you read my birth story, you'll remember that since my labor was so long, we were in the hospital from Tuesday until Friday. Anyway... His first night home, I expected to be difficult. Throughout pregnancy, so many people had told me to expect a screaming baby, being peed on, pooped on, vomited on, and sleep deprivation. Well... MH and I agree... People over sell the bodily fluids and undersell the sleep deprivation - though, it's something you can't possibly explain, effectively, to someone who is not a parent. Sorry... Back on track. I expected C to just cry constantly. But honestly, the only sounds he made, were little grunts when he was hungry, and little groans and moans while he slept. Thankfully, my mommy instincts kicked in, and I subconsciously knew exactly which sounds to wake up for, and which sounds to simply enjoy. (My little man even snores a little bit!) Now... People think that when I say I enjoy these sounds, I'm just trying to find the silver lining and say, through delirious, sleep deprived senses, "haha... Yeah... Cute." But they are wrong. I sincerely enjoy all of his little sleeping sounds. I especially enjoyed them when he was a newborn, because I didn't have to keep checking that he was breathing! Haha! But every little sound that he makes just melts my heart. Okay... All except for one. I'll admit it. There's one he makes that I even find irritating. It's his drawn out half grunt/half whine; it just isn't as cute as his other sounds. Haha. Call me a bad mom, mean mom... I don't care. Lol But still... Even his cry is adorable. It simultaneously melts my heart, turns it to glass, and shatters it into a million little pieces. C never really screamed. That is, not until he got his 2 months shots... During which I quite literally sobbed and scared the crap out of my nurse, who had told me all through my pregnancy what a tough momma I was. After that, it was as though he had found his voice! And then of course, his "terrors" began. I hate them! And he has several every night, and at least one per nap. Ugh... I hate them! Still... C didn't scream nearly as much as he learned how to once he started teething, which was far too young, in my opinion! My poor little guy started on his first two teeth at about 10 weeks, and is currently working on a third at 17 weeks. None of them have cut through completely yet, but boy do I pity him! I sincerely believe that dental pain is the worst brand of pain that there is! Still... I love his sounds. And on that note, his daddy and I got to hear his first sincere laughs over the weekend! I'll tell you... It was the most beautifully composed symphony these ears have ever heard.



I have deeply enjoyed watching little C hit each milestone, one at a time. Some early, most on time, and sure... Some seem late to a paranoid mommy. I constantly worry about my potential to stunt his growth somehow. But C started pushing to stand when he was barely a month old, and it is still his favorite thing to do! Many times, if he is doing is nasty little half grunt/half whine, I hold his hands, give him some leverage, and he'll push himself up! He's definitely still young to be pulling up, but he loves to push! C rolled from belly to back for the first time, with the assistance of his Boppy pillow when he was just about 9 weeks old. He's becoming more and more consistent the older he gets, and today I finally got it on video! Of course, he's getting much stronger, and is able (and willing) to tolerate more and more time on his tummy. He started grabbing for things right around 3 months (pretty average) and he loves to reach for different sized toys to see if they will fit in his mouth! He is getting closer and closer to sitting up on his own, and you can tell that he definitely wants to... He just gets so excited, kicks his legs, and then it's all over! Hehe!



More recently, my little Prince has started scooting on his back while I try and change him. He started doing it a little bit a while back, but I could tell that it came as a surprise to him! Now, it's much more intentional and controlled. Even today, while MH and I had C on his belly, playing with him in his room, he seemed like he might opt to scoot instead of rolling over! He did scoot a few millimetres (haha), but it was absolutely intentional, as he was trying to get to his Mozart music cube (with all of its pretty lights) that he got from his Auntie D! Clearly, I am a proud mommy! Mostly, I just can't believe how much time flies! My little 6lb 8oz 20in baby, is now a (roughly) 14lb, 25 1/2 inch solid chunk of baby! He has his four month appointment at the end of the month, even though he'll be closer to five months by then, but I can't wait to see exactly how much he has grown!

Well, that's all for my Monday post! I could really just go on and on about my little man for as long as there is room on this page. But I should go to bed while my little angel rests.

Have a good night and a great week!
Love,
Ashley

Have a Little Faith!

Hi everyone! I know we rarely post on Sunday, but I wasn't feeling great last night. Migraines stink! So, I decided to post today!

First of all, can I just tell you all that my beautiful princess is napping in her crib! It has been a few weeks of trying to figure out how to get her to peacefully sleep in her crib, without throwing up everywhere. So, I am grateful she is sleeping in her crib today! It allows me to get a ton done around the house, and to blog, all while she is safely sleeping in her crib. And, believe me when I say it is hard too. It takes everything in me to not run in there, scoop her up, and snuggle her. But, with slightly teary eyes, I will blog, and watch her video monitor like a hawk. I worry too much.

 

Also, I thought I would talk about something else. I know I originally said I wouldn't, but it is a part of me, so I will write this and then move forward. My faith is so important to me, and my little family.

I believe in Jesus. I love Jesus. And, I believe in God. And, I love God.

I changed my life, and committed to living as a Christian in 2010. What does that mean exactly? Well, it depends. It is different for each person. To me, it means I pray. I pray a lot. I try to worry less and pray more. That doesn't always go as planned, but I sure do try! It means I try to not judge. Also, a work in progress as people naturally judge. It means that I go to church, participate in a young adult bible study, and try to live a more sin free lifestyle.

It also means that N is brought up to love her faith. We pray for her, we pray over her. We believe if she is ill that she can be healed. Healing also doesn't only come from above. That's why there are doctors, nurses, etc. And, believe me, I have absolutely no problem taking N to the doctor or hospital. It just means that we will pray over her if she seems under the weather, asking God to help her get better quickly. We also pray over any medicine or antibiotics given to her. We pray against side effects, and against the enemy.

This is a photo of the cross at our wedding. It was a very important to us to have it there.

 

N goes to our weekly bible study every week so she can hear the word. She plays in my lap, or on the carpet with her toys. Sometimes she bounces in her jumper. She loves to worship, looking up at us, dancing, singing sometimes too! We like to have her with us, as she hears what is being said. But, we love having her there, and everyone else does too! A baby naturally brings smiles and joy to people, and she is always making people laugh!

Anyway, I just wanted to share about something that is so important to my family and myself. Faith and religion are very touchy subjects, but I just couldn't ignore it on here anymore. If you have questions let me know!

Oh, here is my outfit of the day.

Hope you all have a blessed Sunday!

                                                                                                        Love,
                                                                                                             Kailly

Falling in love is quite simply art

  Well hey y'all :) It's Shannon again and it's FRIDAY!!! Who else is relieved that it is Friday? I am. Pick me! First off let's start with baby news I had a blood draw appointment this morning. The army likes to officially confirm or deny these types of things and so.... I can now tell we are "officially" pregnant and they are assuming around 4-5 weeks which is crazy because I am already showing even though my little sea monkey is just barely the size of an apple seed!?! (I'm convinced it's those late night cravings for Chinese food and ice cream!) Oh well. Anything for baby even if it means packin' on a few extra pounds ;) haha. Well I hope you are all having a delightful Friday and that you are spending time with the ones you love so much!! I am actually going to share my love story today. The girls, my partners in crime, have already shared their girl meets boy stories so I thought I would take my cue from them and share how I met my sweet fella who was not exactly the "sweetest" when first we met. Ours isn't a love at first sight kind of tale but it is ours and it means the entire world to me and with that the story of how Shannon met Shane....   ;)

  It all started my very first day of  high school... (Yes, my husband and I are high school sweethearts) I was a doe-eyed, naive, shy, little freshman and Shane was a sweet talkin' flirty sophomore. We met on that very first day of school, in art class, Painting 101 to be exact. I was tardy which was of course devastating to my otherwise perfect record so I was already a bit flustered when I walked in. The teacher Mr. Cox proceeded to chide my being late on the first day being more or less friendly about it (mostly less) so I tried to hurry to my seat nervously. Cox had a no seating chart policy so I was just looking around for the most isolated empty seat when Shane, my now husband, said you can sit by me if you want and pushed the chair toward me a little. I was so grateful for this simple act of kindness I didn't question it at all I just sat down thanked him and tried to pay attention to the rest of what Mr. Cox had to say... quite unsuccessfully i might add ;) I was giving my best attempt at sketching a bunch of violets from a magazine cut out when Shane leaned over and asked, "is that a cow?" I don't know why but I was extremely upset and I told him, "no! for your information it is not a cow it is this" I then proceeded to shove the picture toward him. He continued to tease me about my artwork, my sneeze, everything about me was made fun of. I was never so glad to hear the bell telling us to change classes. I was angry at this "dumb boy" for being so rude and unkind to me. I went about the rest of my school day trying to focus and avoid him but being courteous when I did see him and ignoring him when I could. 

  My first day ended rather uneventfully and when my mama picked me up I was still pretty upset at "the dumb boy" and cried and told her all about it... She told me and I quote "someday shannon you will marry that dumb boy". WOW! when they say mama knows best they sure mean it... haha. We dated through high school and shared mini golf games, movie dates, and many a Sonic strawberry slushy with EXTRA strawberries of course and the rest they say is history, or art in our case ;)  

wow! just a couple of kids at prom ;)

    We continued to date throughout high school and became really good friends and even when we weren't in love with each other we always had a love for each other. I have always loved Shane and I always will. All through college we were in constant contact and when he decided to join the army we wrote letters back and forth all through his days at basic training. When he got deployed to Iraq the first time he would call me at all hours of the night (I didn't much care I figured I could sleep when I am dead) haha but my poor roomies would hear our late night conversations about nothing in particular and laughin until 2 am ... and on more than one occasion had to let me back in the room :) sorry roomie pals! love you girls! But anyway we continued to love each other through distance and difficult circumstances. We got engaged the summer of my freshman year in college it was so sweet. He proposed over the phone and even over all that distance and with miles and miles and an ocean between us it was as if he was right there with me on bended knee! I of course said yes and walked into the living room of my parents to inform them that I was now engaged. haha. We definitely have a very unique love story and I wouldn't change anything for the world. 

Exchanging Our Vows

   We got married on October 14th 2007 and it was truly the happiest day in my life! I wore a polka dot dress and a flower wreath in my hair and it was absolutely perfect!! He deployed shortly after and we met up in Alaska for mid tour leave and shortly after that we found out we were expecting our first! About 7 months later he came back stateside and we were happily reunited though I was now hugely pregnant ;)  and we moved into a town house and shortly after welcomed our first son into our lives! We ended up purchasing and moving into our first home in a quiet neighborhood off post and wouldn't you know it right around the time we were celebrating our first son being 6 months old we found out we were expecting baby #2!! We welcomed our second son into the world about 4 months after our oldest son's 1st birthday and approximately five months later my husband deployed to Afghanistan when he got back we moved to Texas and here we sit making preparations for our third baby to join our lives! :) 

   We have been through so many things already in our life and marriage together and I cannot wait to see what the future is going to bring! I am so blessed to have Shane in my life, let alone as my husband! I love him so much! I have never loved anyone in my life as much as I love him! ...and soon our family will be growing with the birth of our newest addition. We have made a family together and a life that I am so beyond blessed to be living! I am so happy to share my life with this amazing man of mine!! My heart is so full of love and respect for Shane as a man, as the father of my children, as my husband, and as my best friend that it's hard to express myself to make anybody else understand just how much I need him in my life! I am so blessed to have him! I absolutely love him to the ends of the earth and until death do us part!!!! Shane is my one and only and always will be!! I am so grateful for him and this love that we share everyday!!! So to my sweet, amazing husband I love you Shane! You are my forever and always and you are always going to be my forever! :) I'm so thankful for you and so blessed and proud to be your wife! You're the best!! I love you with my whole heart Honey! 

Just the two of us havin' fun in Alaska

  Well everyone I know I get a little mushy over the fella who stole my heart and I hope y'all feel that way about your loved ones! It's Friday night and I hope each of you have a fantastic evening and a wonderful weekend. :) I wish you the best of today and tomorrow. I'm off to cuddle with the man of my dreams and have an at home movie date... 

  walking down memory lane and strolling hand in hand into my future with the love of my life.... so with sunny smiles, big, big hugs and as always polka dot love from my house to yours... Shannon :)
 

In Light and in Love

This week, I have watched the news in tears, while holding tightly to baby C, just hoping and praying that everyone and everything will be okay. It is a sad, sad week in America.

As tragedy has hit our country, I keep hearing one thing that has me in shock, but also nodding my head: that the month of April has a history of dark violence and tragedy. In 1993, the siege in Waco, Texas ended bloodily after a 50 day standoff; In 1995, the federal building in Oklahoma City was bombed; 1999 Columbine High School in Colorado fell victim to a deadly shooting; in 2007, a shooter went on a shooting spree at Virginia Tech; and this week two explosions occurred at the Boston Marathon in Massachusetts and just last night, West, Texas was rocked by an explosion at a fertilizer plant.

And just in the last year, I can think of several tragedies that have occurred...

Last summer was the shooting in Aurora, Colorado at the movie theatre; all of summer 2012, the entire country was hit HARD by nature... All of Colorado was lit ablaze, and my own home town seemed to be all but burned to the ground. It seemed like every other week, another college was falling victim to another shooter; and the day we brought baby C home from the hospital, a truly evil, disgusting man struck an elementary school called Sandy Hook in Newtown, Connecticut. All of this happened over the course of my pregnancy, and now all of the tragedy this week with my little man at 4 months old... It all has me thinking, "what kind of a world did I bring my child into!?" Because the fact of the matter is that evil exists; darkness is a part of reality.

BUT... In the face of great adversity, heroes are born. In every single one of the circumstances I have discussed, the innate good in people has truly shone. Yes, shone, not shown. We must remember that in the midst of darkness, even the smallest light is victorious. I have lost count of the reports of people acting selflessly, as heroes. In light of the Boston Bombings, I have seen photos of people, strangers, turning to each other and helping... People trying to protect each other and save each others' lives. And this tells me that evil never will win. Evil is a coward; evil acts out of a place of desperation, in the hopes of overpowering unsuspecting victims. Ah, but evil is ignorant; evil underestimates the good in people; because goodness breeds hope, and hope breeds faith, and faith breeds love. And love is stronger than anything this world can throw at humanity!

In the midst of all of this heart break and tragedy, cling to your faith, spirituality, hope, whatever you might call it. More than that, let love connect you to man-kind. Put aside the debate of politics and religion. In the end, we are humanity, and humanity is attempting to turn on itself. We must stand up in love, and show those who would turn on us, that love truly is stronger than any evil.

To summarize the words spoken by our President this morning, let our "resolve be the greatest rebuke to those who have committed these heinous acts" and, I add, to the darkness that continues to attempt an overtaking of the great light of love inside each and every one of us!

Sending you all love, hope and light this Thursday!

-Ashley

My Struggle with Post Partum Depression.

Hey everyone. This is Kailly. I have been stuck between a few topics today. I'm sure I will choose one today and save the other for Saturday, but can't choose yet. Here in Denver it is snowing. I feel like Spring will never come at this point. I long for the sunshine, summer dresses, flip flops, and days at the park! Come on, Spring!

Anyway, I thought I would chat about something I struggle with. Post partum depression. Ugh. That was the first time I've ever written it down in regards to myself. This is a newer thing for me. I was recently told I may be struggling with it. Well, it's been about a month. Besides my husband, and my counselor, I haven't told anyone. Until today, and all of you. Ahhh, I feel like a weight was just lifted off my shoulders.

Are you wondering why I haven't mentioned it before? Well, honestly, I was ashamed. I love being a mom more than anyone I have ever met. I was born to be a Mommy. How could I ever have depression from the thing I love the most?

It has taken me a while to learn that while I may struggle with depression somedays, it isn't from being a Mom. It is from the hormone levels getting back to normal after giving birth. And, I still breastfeed, so all of those hormones play into things as well.

Somedays, I just feel like I have baby blues. I know my PPD is not very bad. It is a mild case, but stronger than just baby blues. There are days I spend the day so upset, crying over everything. Other days, I seem completely normal. I am not on medication for it. I choose not to be. I don't want any medication in my body while I am breastfeeding besides Tylenol on the rare occasion of a migraine.

There is such a stigma behind PPD. Some people don't believe it is real. Some people think all people that deal with it will hurt their children. But, let me be the first to tell you, it is real. And, let me also tell you that I LOVE everything about being a Mom and would never hurt my baby. Like I said, this isn't about N. This is about hormones in my body getting back to normal after giving birth.

I prepped so much before giving birth. I read about PPD and thought of everything possible to try and "prevent" it. But, that isn't really possible. I never had a disconnect with my daughter that a lot of women have, and I am so thankful for that. I just deal with some rough days mentally, and emotionally.

So, anyway, just wanted to share something that has been hard for me overall. But, it's nothing to be ashamed of. As time goes on, I feel better each and every day. I pray over it every day, too. So, if you are dealing with PPD, please know, you are not alone!

But, do you see this little princess? This is my sweet N. She makes each day worth fighting for. She makes me smile every day. She makes me laugh every day! And, I know, because of her, I will be back to myself in no time! :-)

                                                                                                                Love,
                                                                                                Kailly

My Baby Story #2... and #3???

Hey y'all it's Shannon FINALLY back to posting. :) How the jelly bean are ya? (I tend to substitute different unexpected words to make my conversations more colorful and fun... I'm a nerd and I am ok with that :) Like what the mac, Cheese?! But any how it's I LOVE TUESDAY again!! I hope y'all are having a fun-derful, humdinger of a Tuesday! And to my dear Colorado friends I'm still praying for the weather to be more spring-like for you and less umm... holy is it still winter there Batman!??!!!?? Peculiar weather to be having in April only not when you live in Colorado it is what it is, second winter. Here it is sunny and bright with a delightful breeze (sorry cold weather buddies I'm just tellin' the truth). Anyway I hope you are safe and even if your weather is crazy I hope you have had a delightful week thus far. I'm terribly sorry for my recent post absences I have been pretty busy lately but having a wonderful time just being with my Hubbers and our kiddos and seriously having a blast with my new Scentsy business!! :) Yay!! Anyway back to the blog post at hand... :)

  Today's post is about my second baby story, my Little M. :) It was an interesting pregnancy as I was chasing an almost 1 year old around while experiencing the same exhausting pregnancy symptoms. There was also a three month training in the middle while I was 5 or 6 months preggo! It was a challenge but it's worth it to me because I get to have my sweet husband in my life! Yes, being Mrs. Army is no easy task but it's my wifestyle and I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world! :) I am just incredibly grateful that my husband was home for both of our babies births I know a bunch of women that endured labor and delivery on their own and wow ladies I salute you!! You are such amazing, strong women!

 My labor and delivery of baby Little M was extremely different from my first birth experience! I was going in for a routine check up for my 38 week appointment. The doctor was amazing she was very thorough and said she wasn't liking the measurement and feel of things so she sent us straight downstairs to get an ultrasound. Of course I was scared but we saw that strong little heartbeat and to me everything seemed alright so I calmed down and watched my baby on the screen as the ultrasound tech did countless measurements and clicked away furiously on her computer screen. Hubbers and I could tell by the techs. face that something wasn't right so he asked, "What's wrong? What's going on? I don't like that face!" She smiled up uncertainly and said, "well do you see how little fluid there is around the baby? That's not good at all but the doctor will explain everything to you why don't you head upstairs now" So I cleaned up and almost ran to the elevator I was officially freaking out now! I got up to the doctor and she said well let's put you on a fetal monitor and just see how the little guy is doing after an hour she came in and said, "Alright Shannon it seems you have been leaking fluid for awhile so there is hardly any left in there for your baby. I know this isn't what you expected or how you wanted this to go but why don't you go home take a nap eat some dinner and come back and we are going to induce. I lost my mind! "If there's no fluid shouldn't we just do it now?! He's early!?! I am NOT ready for this and this is NOT what I planned... " My husband calmed me down as we left the office and drove back to our home. We packed the baby bag and we got our oldest son, (Big M) all squared away had dinner and dropped him off with the sitters we had arranged, our awesome Pastor and his sweet wife, and headed back to post to go have a baby.

 It was a completely different experience as we drove to the hospital and I sat there holding my stomach willing my little guy to come out now. I was absolutely still in the car and kept asking my hubs, "Is this right? Is everything going to be ok? Is he going to be healthy? I just don't understand all this... My husband held my hand and assured me that yes everything was going to be ok he is going to be perfect! He knew this wasn't how I wanted things or how I had planned this at all so he just held my hand and kept reassuring me that we are all going to be fine and that I got this. :) (I sure do love that hubbers of mine!)

  We arrived at the hospital right on the dot when they wanted us there and they hustled me into a room and got me all strapped to the monitors and plugged an iv in right away. (YUCK! I hate needles and IVs are the worst!) Our doctor came in and she tried to explain how things were supposed to go with an induction. I wasn't even having braxton hicksers when we got there so I was clueless as to how everything was gonna go down. She explained they would give me a pill to help soften up the cervix and then she'd come back in to check on us in an hour or so... 30 minutes later the contractions hit. I was amazed at how my body was responding and so were the nurses and the doc! She came in and I was breathing through the get started contractions I felt like a champ I was uncomfortable but it wasn't like my last labor where I shaking and out of control. So I felt pretty good of course I was still nervous and worried about our little one but I felt like we were progressing really well. The doc came in and said she wanted me to try to get some rest and I couldn't sleep so she gave me somethin' to sleep and said okay this will knock you out for awhile just count back from 10. To which I replied, "10.... 9 .... 7.... cookie........" Crash! I was out like a light! I remember dreaming I had actually had my baby and I was holding him in my arms when I startled awake to the nurse checking my vitals.

 I honestly have some fuzzy memories after that but I know at some point I did get an epidural again (not everyone chooses that and that's completely ok but for me that is what gave me that momentary relief and  boost of confidence that's just what I wanted for my labor and delivery experience they also put me on some serious pitocin to keep my contractions coming in a good strong pattern. When they upped the pitocin I started having some of my most intense contractions EVER and I don't remember much of the details of when I got checked and what I measured I just remember at one point we were getting toward his grand entrance into the world but I stopped progressing and the doc came in and checked the monitors and was getting concerned about Little M's heart rate and cautioned we don't want to wait too much longer or we may end up doing an emergency C section to which I replied "Ahh heck no! Let's do this!!" So I got determined and shortly after it was time to push... About eight to ten minutes after I started pushing and pretty much one and a half pushes he was out Hubby cut the umbilical cord and they placed him on my chest. They cleaned him up and I watched from my bed as my sweet husband helped give Little M his first bath and snuggled him close.

Proud Daddy snuggling Baby Little M :)

Mommy and Baby Little M :)

I did tear a little so I was getting stitched up as they did baby's little check up and concluded his bilirubin was high so try to keep him in the warmer/crib area as much as possible and a little bit after the nurse came in and we were able to try our first feeding my poor little fella couldn't keep it down and after the second or third (not entirely sure which) feeding that he threw up after the doctor came in and said he was concerned that Little M wasn't able to hold anything down in his tiny tummy he explained that it could just be some sort of air pocket or something that can be suctioned out or it could potentially be a gastrointestinal condition (that for the life of me I cannot remember the name of) where something inside is blocked and sealed and would require a surgical procedure to remedy the situation. He reminded us but again it could just be something small and not the long worded (scary) condition, but being as they didn't have a NICU at the military hospital we were at they would have to air evacuate Little M to Shreveport's hospital that has an amazing NICU... My heart sank I asked would I be able to go with my baby they told me that unfortunately there would only be room for the medical team and my baby boy. I went immediately from the unexplainable joy of experiencing my second baby and the happy tears I cried as I hugged him close and whispered how beautiful and amazing he is to panic, fear, and an absolute crippling uncertainty as we made the decision to send him ahead of us to Shreveport. After that everything was rush, rush and a blur of nurses coming in and out checking on Baby Little M and me and making very hurried preparations for our precious little one to leave in the helicopter. 
 

Sweet tiny baby Little M

  I remember when the NICU emergency medical team came in they were wearing crisp navy blue scrubs and they brought in a HUGE incubator covered baby crib on wheels and as they were finishing getting him all secure the head nurse (that my husband felt almost instantly reassured by as she was wearing a Jeff Gordon lanyard with her ID) asked me if I wanted to come over and see him before they had to leave, I said of course and I reached in and put my finger in his tiny little hand and closed  my eyes and prayed harder than I have ever prayed in my life! I looked down at him in this giant contraption and whispered "I love you my Little M" and the head nurse turned to me and said I will personally be taking care of your baby on the transportation and once we arrive in Shreveport I will treat him as if he is my own and we will be seeing you again very soon. She squeezed my hand and then they rushed out of the room and I followed them into the hallway and watched until they turned the corner and I just melted. It was like as soon as they turned that corner and I could no longer see my brand new baby boy my legs turned to jello and I could barely stand I felt sick to my stomach and was just sobbing hysterically when my husband hugged me and assured me that everything was going to be alright that it will all work out the way God has planned it. I looked up at him and asked him how he could be so calm. And he looked into my eyes and as he wiped away my tears he said he was upset too but he just knew that everything was going to be alright. He got me tucked back into the hospital bed and said he was going to run to the house and pack some extra clothes for us as we didn't know how long we would be staying in Shreveport with our Little M. I agreed that was best and when he kissed me and said he would be back as soon as he possibly could I just said thanks babe I  love you too. Then he hurried out the door. My hospital room was eerily quiet and dark and it was the most alone feeling I have ever felt in my entire life! I just wept in that dark quiet room and I prayed and I prayed and I cried as I looked over at the now empty crib/basket. One of the nurses came in and checked my vitals and everything, she sat on the end of my bed and said, "Child, I don't know if you believe in God..." I nodded. She took my hand and looked me square in the face and said, "Well I do too and we both know that God is watching over that sweet baby boy of yours right now. She said I don't know what's going to happen but as believers we know that this is all part of His plan and it's hard to understand why but He really does have the whole world in His hand and He has you and me and Little M in His hand too." She prayed with me and I thanked her for being there and for just reminding me of the Truth in my dark, scary, seemingly hopeless situation. She just smiled the biggest smile I've ever seen and hugged me and said, "Child, this is when we need to seek God's answers most not our own! He is still the God of miracles and even after you leave here I will be praying for you and your sweet baby" She gave one more tight hug and reminded me that she would be back to check on me in a little while and to try to get a little rest. I was still crying softly as I tried to close my eyes and rest. Nurse Love wherever you may be, I just pray God gives you a special blessing for having such an uplifting impact on a terrified mama who was losing faith as she wept in her dark empty hospital room! You are an amazing woman and I will never forget those powerful words as long as I live!!

  Shortly after my husband returned and he asked if I had heard anything and tears just fell down my cheeks as I told him I hadn't we just sat together and he said he had called our sitters that had Big M and let them know the situation and packed our bag and everything was ready to go as soon as we got discharged. This is when I started harassing the new shift of nurses. They told me the things I needed to do before they would allow us to go and I pushed my body to heal like now! My baby needed me and I willed myself to just be ok to go and I changed my clothes. I bugged those poor nurses probably every 20-30 minutes until they finally came in with the discharge paperwork and reminded me that I had just given birth very recently and I MUST take it easy. I grabbed those papers and pretty much ran down to the car. We drove straight to Shreveport and had to check in scrub in and I walked into the NICU for the first time. True to her word that same head nurse was holding my baby boy in her arms rocking him when we walked in. I was so happy to see her and looked at my little one all hooked up to a million kinds of tubes and just blinking awake as we walked in and the nurse asked if I wanted to hold him I was terrified that I was going to somehow bump something or hurt my little guy so I opted not to she put him back into the crib and explained that they were running some tests and they had more to do so we were probably going to be here for a bit but she gave us the timeline of "milestones" that they were looking for in order for him to be released home with us. I cried some more and was so timid around Little M. My husband was the first to really hold him and change his little diapers and he was so amazing in how he took care of our baby and me while we were up in Shreveport!! I remember they did some x rays and found a blockage of some sort but they couldn't figure out if it was the condition the doc was originally afraid of or if it was something less intimidating... So they did test after test and they had to suction things out and they had to keep him on an iv and do more tests. It was incredibly frustrating to feel so helpless while someone else cared for MY baby! But we celebrated each "milestone" and soon he was "unplugged" from all the tubes and I was able to cradle and breastfeed Little M. We were there for almost a week before we were discharged to take Little M home and be reunited as our family. When we got home we introduced Big M to Little M and they have been two peas in a pod ever since! 

  The family that God has given us is just amazing and we are so abundantly blessed.... and we are about to blessed again!! :) I am pretty sure that silly stork from the Disney movie Dumbo was in my yard recently because we found out last Friday that our family is growing again!!!! It's true friends we are expecting our third child!!! :) I am not sure how far along we are our first appointment is on Friday so hopefully we can share an update in my next post! :) But I am so excited and happy to share our news with you!

"yep that's definitely two pink lines..."

I was just 1 
then I found Husband                              

and "I" became "we" 
and "we" became 2!

nine months of waiting...
we watched our "we" become a family
and just like that "we" became 3!

then as he started getting tall 
a small something more... 
our sweet little 3 quickly became 4! 

and now as we watch each of them grow
...once again I'm starting to show ;)
our fantastic four together we thrive
our family of 4 is soon to be 5!?!

 
  Well everyone I still can't believe how truly blessed we are! I am so unbelievably grateful for all of my sweet babies!! I hope as your day continues you say a prayer of thanksgiving for the blessings in your life! :) I know I am! Well I am going to wrap this post up I have missed posting for y'all lately and I am so happy to share our big news with you!! :)

Let the great age old debate begin .... boy or girl? I'm not sure but what do you think?

Alright everyone I have to run off for real now but I can't wait to update you on the happenings of my little MnMs and our latest edition of Baby Story #3 :) 

lots of love and pink or blue hugs with extra sunshine for you today... Shannon ;)

Trumpets, Marching, and Drummers, oh my!

Happy Monday, everyone! I hope you all had a lovely day today! I'm going to steal Kailly's idea from Saturday and write about how MH and I met. :)

It was 2006, the Summer after I graduated high school and I actually had a boyfriend. I was getting ready to leave for College, and, independent soul that I am, I wanted to be completely unattached to anyone and really just go experience College to the fullest! So, I broke up with my then boyfriend. It was not fun, but I knew that it would all be for the best... At least, for me. Well, I was going to College on a vocal scholarship, and I had friends who graduated before me who I would be "catching" up with, and I was so excited! Thanks to these friends, it caught wind that I play French Horn, so I received a call from the new Marching Band Drum Major for the next year, and ended up being offered scholarship money in order to participate. Not being able to turn down scholarship money, I said absolutely! But this meant that I would have to head down early for Marching Band Camp. Go ahead... Snicker now. Get it out. Feel better? Alright... Moving on. Leaving early made it easier to deal with my breakup, so I was more than happy to do so! I was going to be sharing a dorm suite with one of my best friends at the time, and she was leaving at the same time for camp, so we met in town the day that all of the Marching students were set to move in and get ready for band camp.

My family didn't linger too long, and I was excited to have all of that freedom and independence that came with being a College Freshman! Ha! College Freshman really don't realise that they're really, basically homeless... Not really, truly living here or there. In any case, I was excited and jumped right in to all of the music and learning how to march, which was something I had never done before; and it is quite honestly meant for the coordinated! I was enjoying the first few days and I was so happy to see some old friends and to be making some new ones. I even met this cute Trumpet player that I had a crush on. I remember that I was curious to see what the percussionists would be like, because any band nerd will tell you that percussionists are notoriously cocky and... Well... Loud. And there was this one especially loud and cocky one here, at my college of choice. Great. Just great. Whatever, I thought, as long as he doesn't bother me we'll be alright.

I had more and more time to socialise with the cute trumpet player, as we had sectionals together (practice times specifically for the brass instruments), and I also got to make pretty good friends with a tuba player. To my chagrin, however, I was not able to avoid the extra loud percussionist. And when we had marching practice I actually ended up in his line. I don't remember how many of us there were, but I remember that I did not want to be the center point of our line, because the center person must indicate to the rest of the line when and where to stop, go and turn. Remember, I had never done this before! Well... I was called to the center and who do you think was right next to me? Yup... The loud percussionist. He had clearly been doing this for a long time, and I knew I was gonna mess up, and I knew he was going to laugh at me. That's exactly what happened. I messed up, he laughed; then I messed up, "grrred" a little, and he laughed some more. I was not amused. :/

I kept my distance from this loud percussionist, but I had to admit, he was kinda cute. Dang. Soon, classes started and I still had a crush on the cute trumpet player. He was one year older than me and was in charge of my little Freshman socialising group. I think it was called a FIG group, but I do not remember what in the world that stood for. I had classes with the loud percussionist and my friend the tuba player. I soon came to find out that my friend the tuba player was rooming with the percussionist. I ended up hanging out with both of them to study, and started to see that the percussionist maybe wasn't all that bad after all. A few days into classes, some other friends of mine, helped to set up a date between me and the cute trumpet player. I was SO nervous. He was older than me and I had only really had two boyfriends before... I hadn't really been on dates with anyone I didn't know pretty well first. We weren't really going anywhere, but still... I was really nervous! It was a fun little date, but that night, I went to watch a move with the tuba player and the percussionist in their dorm, with my suite mate. The next day, we all ended up hanging out the whole day. I had to admit to myself that I was sort of starting to fall for the percussionist. He really was sweeter than I thought and he played his guitar for me! *SWOON* Long story short, the next day, I was in bed when the trumpet player came by and my suite mate answered, but I pretended to be asleep. I knew he was probably going to ask me out again, but I kinda was hoping that the percussionist would first. So, she turned him away and he said he would see me later. My suite mate rushed into the room and asked me what I was going to do. I told her I really liked the percussionist, and so she set about sending word along to his roommate, the tuba player. The percussionist was off campus at practice and got word from the tuba player. He called me and asked if I would like to run to dinner with him really quick while he was on a break and I said yes. So he took me to Subway, where we just sat and talked. Neither of us ate very much, but I still couldn't tell you what in the world we talked about. All I know is that we went the entire meal without him asking me to be his girlfriend. So... I just thought that maybe I had read into things too much. But as we were walking back down the hallway to my dorm, corn started to spill from the percussionist's mouth... "So... I was thinking about maybe taking our relationship to the next level." *snort laugh* "I'd like that", I replied. And that was that. Nothing romantic... I love this man, but he is a comedian and could suck the romance out of a rose.

Three years later, MH proposed to me at a Dave Matthews Band concert in Albuquerque at Journal Pavilion. 18 months later, we were married on December 19th, and 16 months later we found out we were expecting baby C, and he was born 7 days before our second anniversary! Now we have been together almost 7 years and life is beautiful. I can definitely see at least 7 more years with him. ;)

Guest Post: Complete Awkwardness

Well hello there friends it's Shannon just here to introduce our beautiful new guest blogger for today. Everyone I'd like you to meet my dear friend, Mallory. Mallory and I went to high school together and have been friends ever since. She is not only a gorgeous mommy she is just as beautiful on the inside too. She absolutely loves her kiddos (and their crazy antics) and she loves the Lord with her whole heart. She and her hubby have two absolutely adorable littles!! Mallory is such a wonderful friend of mine and I'm so happy she is sharing with us today on the mommy blog. So without any further ado the magnificent mommy and my amazing friend, Mallory, giving us a mama's perspective on those awkward mommy moments...

Complete Awkwardness....

Hi y'all! First off, I would like to introduce myself. I'm Mallory, but you can call me Mal. A 26 year old happily married wife and mother of two beautiful children. My oldest is my son. He turns three next month, lets call him Monkey. :) My second born is my daughter who just turned 5 months old, lets call her Elephant. :) My two favorite animals. And those animal nicknames fit my children nicely.

I would like to chat a bit about awkwardness. Awkwardness in public with MY toddler....

 Its that very moment when you are grocery shopping and you walk in to a wall of an unfamiliar smell of grossness. A smell that overwhelms your senses. You dart away from the smell and just as quick as you are quietly trying to escape the grossness your 2 year old yells (very loudly) "Mommy, that man farted". Yes, that my friends is MY two year old. AWKWARD!

I took my sweet little elephant and monkey to the mall a few days ago. As we are walking around Monkey wanted to chuck some pennies in to the fountain. We are having a lovely time despite how crazy busy the mall was. ( I hate crowds) We are surrounded by about 10 other families doing the same thing and my Monkey decides to yell out "my butthole itches". Several mommies looked at me with a shocked look on their face and several dads just cracked up laughing. Yes, that my friends is MY two year old. AWKWARD but FUNNY!

Another time, I took my son to Wal-Mart with me a few weeks ago. We made the 20 minute drive to the nearest Wal-Mart. I kept smelling something funky coming from the back seat but every time I asked Monkey if he needed to use the bathroom he would say "no mommy, I just farted." So I believed him. WELL, that was not the case. I parked, got Monkey out of his car seat and started walking towards the entrance of Wal-Mart. A women stopped me to tell me something was falling off my son. Falling off my son??? I looked down to find my son pooping ALL over himself and it indeed was falling off my son. In fact, he made a pretty stinky trail from my van to the front entrance of Wal-Mart. I had a "what do I do" moment while just standing there staring at this HUGE mess my son had made. People buzzing by me plugging their nose and pointing their fingers... AH! Yes, that my friends is MY two year old. Indeed very awkward!

I could go on and on for a LONG time about all the awkward but funny moments I have in public with my Monkey but I will wrap it up with one more story...

Monkey and I were at the grocery store when we passed by a mother of three who was yelling at her children. And when I say yelling I mean YELLING, she was also using some pretty nasty words that I will choose to leave out. My Monkey looked at me and said "Mommy, mean lady" I replied with yes son she is acting mean towards her kids. My son then yells to the lady as we pass by her again "MEAN LADY!!!!" The lady gave me a REALLY NASTY look, I just shrugged my shoulders. And yes, that my friends is MY two year old. Another awkward moment but also hope it made her think next time before she treats her children like that in public.

-Peace, love, Monkeys and Elephants. :)

It All Started With a Yellow House

Hi everyone! I hope you are all enjoying your weekend! This is Kailly! We took N to the zoo today! She just turned 10 months old on Thursday, so you may think she wouldn't enjoy it, but she looked at everything, waved to animals, and smiled and laughed at them too! Her favorite animal is a giraffe. It has been since birth. She loved feeding the giraffes lettuce today! She smiled so big, and kept petting him! It was precious! Don't worry, we washed her hands like crazy afterwards! And, the zookeeper said it was completely fine for her to pet him! Her least favorite was the Emu. She saw it, stared for a minute, and then shook her head "no" and gripped my arm for dear life. Needless to say, we skipped the bird house!

Anyway, I thought since you know so much about N, you may want to know how she came about. Oh no, I'm not going into those details. I meant, how my husband and I met.

L and I met in August 2010. It all started with a yellow house. I bought my dream home in a small town in Colorado. I was so excited about it! My closing date was quickly approaching, which was also finals week for me. My realtor called to remind me about getting my insurance set up, so my binder would be all ready to go on time. I told her I would call my insurance agent. I called her back with the rate he had quoted me, and she told me that was ridiculous. She gave me a number and told me to call and speak to someone. I called, asked for the person she recommended, and was passed on to one of his employees. This guy ran a quote for me, had a much better rate, so I decided to use him as an agent, and switch my car to the company he found as well for the discounts. A few days later I received a phone call that he had left the company. Good news, everything was done. They just needed my payment information to get my auto started, and that was that. On the phone came L.

He told me about Snapshot, which Progressive offers. I told him I would give it a shot, as I love saving money, and didn't drive a ton at the time with my work schedule. He said he had to ask me some questions. I was on a break from work, so I was sitting in my car. These questions were pretty silly so I was making jokes as I answered them. The first question was "do you ever drive between Midnight and 3 am?" To which I replied "only when I've been drinking." He was laughing so hard, and I was too. He asked if I was single, which I was. He then said that he liked to go to movies. I told him I liked movies too, and maybe we should go sometime. He agreed. I had to get back to work so we quickly hung up. I wondered if he was serious and if he would ever call back. He had my cell number, but I didn't even think to ask for his. An hour or so later my phone vibrated. I checked and it was him asking if I was serious about going out. Obviously, I was! I tried to play it cool, so I waited a bit before responding, and told him I was. We decided to meet at PF Changs three days later.

In the meantime, we texted one another often, and chatted on the phone. I felt he was too good to be true, and he felt the same way. The morning of our date, it hit me. I had no idea what he looked like. We were basically going on a blind date. I had to work that day, but after my shift I changed into jeans, touched up my makeup and hit the road. We talked on our drives, and I started to worry. I was SO nervous I was shaking. I got to dinner before he did so I waited in my car. He told me what he was driving, and ended up parking next to me. Dinner was awesome. Felt like I was with my best friend that I had known for years. We chatted, laughed, and decided to head to my apartment to watch a movie. Of course, I had boxes to the ceiling all over the place. Luckily, he understood.

We went on a brief hiatus a few months later. It's a super long story, but I wasn't sure if we would ever get back together. Five days later, we were brought back together. Believe me when I say that is a whole other blog topic, so I won't even go into it right now. L had said, if we ever got back together, it was for forever. Three weeks later, he proposed at Zoo Lights at the Denver Zoo. My two favorite things are Christmas lights and the Zoo, so it was perfect. Four months later, we were married, and four months after that we were expecting our blessing, N!

L and I lighting our unity candle at our wedding

 

 

So that is my short but sweet story of how we met. I just read this to L, and he said I should title it "how I met my prince charming." Haha. Goofball.

 

My family- Nov 2012

 

 

Love, Kailly

Puppies, Kitties, Babies and Sick Days!

Evening, everyone! This isn't going to be very long or super exciting, but I write to you from the comfort of my bed tonight. Yes... At 8:45, I'm in bed. Well... I'm a mommy! Sleep is valuable! It is the never-present treasure that I seek. And I'm sure all other mommies do as well. And this is just on a normal basis. But add a flu bug, and it's all the more precious!

Yep... You guessed it. I've been home sick. Tuesday morning, I woke up and was okay, but just not really feeling 100%. I went through the motions of my morning routine with C, but by the time I got to work, I was absolutely dragging and miserable. I felt like I could just drop at any second. Fast forward to Wednesday morning... I attempted to get ready for work, but my body was aching and I was feeling even worse. Took my temp and I definitely had a fever. So, I called in. But I decided to keep C home with me, thinking that it would just be so much easier not to have to pump instead of just feeding him right from the tap. It was really just so cute that I thought I could handle C, the kitty, AND the puppy and still be able to get some rest! C is currently cutting his two bottom teeth, and has recently started one on top, so he has moments of sincere crankiness. This leads to clinginess. And more often than not, it's my neck he's clinging to... Which makes sense - I have the magic milk makers, and they make everything better for him!

So all day yesterday, I was up and down, here and there, in and out. We don't have a fenced in yard yet, so I have to take the puppy - yeah... I don't think I mentioned that we got a puppy about a month ago... Sorry! - out on her leash. We got a baby gate, so with all the pretty Spring weather and the mud that comes with it, may be confined to my kitchen floor as opposed to brand new carpet. The cat - she's a grumpy old lady - thinks it's quite entertaining that this filthy, loud, and rather invasive creature gets locked up in the kitchen. Although, I have to say, the puppy is really not LOCKED in the kitchen. There's a gate, sure, but she can and totally does jump it. We move it a little higher on the door jam, but too high, and she'll just crawl under. So, it's really a very fine line that we walk in trying to keep her contained for a little while. (Don't go all animal's rights on me... She's not kept in the kitchen ALL the time!) Anyway... Between the cat torturing the puppy through the baby gate, and eventually luring the puppy over or under said baby gate, resulting in a rather loud and comical chase ending in a hiding, hissing/growling kitty and a crying puppy who just wants to play, and going up and down and up and down with a cranky baby taking sparse, short naps, and demanding to nurse extra (I think he was just sorta taking advantage of me being home) I did not get extra rest of any kind. Needless to say, I even ended the day more exhausted than I did when it started. But when C went down easy for bed, and the kitty and puppy were in their respective "beds", I took a sigh and MH suggested I take a day and REALLY get some rest.

So, this morning, I woke up with C (he actually woke up first, but just sorta waited for me), nursed him, changed him and then got him down for his morning nap while I ate breakfast. I sat there for a breath while C slept, then he woke up, I fed and changed him again, and the awesome, angelic, wonderful, spectacular baby sitter S's husband J came and picked up my little man for a few hours. Ahhh... Relief. For a second. Then I freaked out. It was the most bizarre feeling to not have my little man home with me. This was my first time being in my home without him for more than ten minutes! So, when J left with C, I breathed a sigh of "ahhh... I can take a nap" relief; but it was quickly followed by that special brand of "you don't love your child enough" guilt. It was so unbelievably quiet in my house, that it was almost eerie. I didn't think there was any way I could take a nap. So I just sat there for a little while. The next time I looked at my phone and saw what time it was, I realised that it had been an hour and a half since I had even gotten off of the couch! I don't remember the last time that has happened! It certainly wasn't when I was pregnant... And especially not in my third trimester, when I was lucky to sit still for 5 minutes at a time. I continued to sit there, and noticed that my guilt was gone. Sure, it was still a little too quiet and eerie and weird, but I was beyond relaxed and eventually, I was able to take a nap. It wasn't long by any means, but I still feel so much more rested! Just not needing to get up and down for this or that was incredibly rejuvenating.

By the time I did get a nap in, I realised that it was almost time for Connor to come home. But I hadn't even showered yet. I texted S and asked her if she could keep Connor for just another 30 minutes so I could shower and clean myself up a bit, and in true "I am a saint" fashion, she said "of course"! I took the longest shower! I'm not talking too-tired-to-wash-my-hair long.... I'm talking little kid, just-stopped-taking-baths-and-enjoying-being-a-"grown up"-and-taking-a-shower-instead long. It. Was. AWESOME. I can't remember the last time I felt so clean! Haha!

So it's back to the grind tomorrow, and I'm just so glad to have had a day to rest and quite literally do nothing for a few hours! :) I don't have my OOTD today, but here are the creatures who keep me constantly running:



Love and hugs!

Ashley

Budget Baby Buying!

Hi! Kailly posting!

I'm sure you noticed I haven't been posting any bargain buys lately. It's time I come clean. My name is Kailly, and I am addicted to shopping for my daughter. So, it's time to come clean again. I put myself on a 30 day buying freeze. My husband didn't think I could do it, and honestly, I didn't either. But, I will proudly say, I did it! I only bought N one outfit in the 30 days, and that was because it was so ridiculously cheap, I would've been dumb not to. Also, I had my eye on that outfit for over three months, and it finally hit clearance and only had one left in her summer size.

So, why did I choose today to be the end? Well, two reasons. One month ago today was when we decided I would go on "restriction." Reason two, today was the Just Between Friend sale somewhat near where I live. If you don't know what it is, check out their website and find one near you. Seriously. And, no, they haven't asked me to talk about their sales or review them. I wholeheartedly love JBF. JBF is a twice yearly sale, in while people donate or consign baby clothes, gear, shoes, bedding, feeding supplies, breast pumps, maternity clothes, bouncers, jumpers, etc. They also have things for children up to preteen age.

I went to my first JBF sale last fall. It was their toy/holiday sale. This sale had only toys and gear. My husband and I showed up 20 minutes after it started and it was wiped. Though, I found out later the building was not their normal, and it was really only toys, so people knew what they were going for. We still found great Christmas gifts for N. When we checked out at that sale, the cashier let me know the next sale in April would be completely different. Boy, was she right!

I got two free prime time passes, with many thanks to their coordinator! These are normally $20 each. I was planning on buying one, so I was so blessed to receive them for free! I invited my best friend, J about a month or two ago. L watched N, and J had a family member watch her sweet angels. The sale started at 1, we headed out at 12:15. Once we got there, we grabbed our many tote bags and headed inside. They handed us books with maps, and we mapped out our paths! My sissy also came! She is 6 months pregnant with a little girl! J and I were the fourth in line and so excited! The doors opened and off we went. I went straight to the safety area for baby gates. I couldn't find any I liked, though I did find some cabinet and drawer locks, 12 for $1! I grabbed two packs, and did a huge circle of the store. My main plan was to stock up for 18 months for N's closet. She will be 10 months old tomorrow (oh my, where has the time gone?) but I buy anywhere from 6-12 months ahead.

I went and spent a good amount of time in clothing, comparing prices with their respective websites, and finding what I thought to be great deals on a budget. My budget was $100. I circled through clothing, looking at sweet dresses, jeans, tops, pajamas, etc.

 I bought 9 summer dresses for N, the most expensive was $4. This dress retails for almost $50! Retail on the dresses total would have been around $200, I spent $27. I bought 4 full outfits, the most expensive also $4.

 I found 6 pairs of pants, four of which are jeans, two from Gymboree, one from Baby Gap, one from another brand I hadn't heard of. Total spent on the pants was $18. Retail wouldve been over $130.

I found 4 sweet outfits for my princess as well! I love the yellow one. Hope my blonde beauty can pull that color off! If not, we will give it to J for sweet baby C!

 I also found some cute tops, a shrug, and a darling raincoat. Oh, and a pair of Calvin Klein footy jammies. These were only $1!!!!!

 Then I found some miscellaneous things. I found some sippy cups, don't worry we have new tops for them, and they will be sanitized. The four cost me $2. I also found two packs of 18 placemats for tables. These are sesame street and were $3. They retail for around $7-10 in store each. I also found some sweet flower hair bows, brand new for $1.50. And, last, I found 23 board books for $3. My daughter loves board books! These are all Mickey Mouse (her favorite) and Sesame Street! I only show some in the pictures because I cleaned up the rest and put some in her diaper bag, living room, play room, and the car! I barely saw these as we were checking out, and I am so grateful I grabbed them!

So, my total was $86 plus tax! I believe it was $92 and change! I was so excited! I filled two huge tote bags (one an Ikea bag) and practically skipped out of there!!!

I highly recommend finding your local JBF sale. They had great customer service, wonderful organization and an overall very stress free environment! They also provide Ikea shopping bags (I brought mine from home) and they handed out water bottles while we were in line! It was so worth it waiting for this sale. I will likely attend all future sales!

Thanks for reading about my bargain shopping today! Now that I am off my freeze, I will let you know if I find any other great deals with photos! See you Saturday!

Also, don't forget about our giveaway! We are at 80 likes right now! 20 more and we will be drawing a winner for a Summer Fun box prepped by Shannon! Search for us on Facebook "Just Ask Always" or by clicking here!

Have a blessed few days! See you Saturday!

Love,
Kailly