Advice & parenting.

“Self-confidence gives you the freedom to make mistakes and cope with failure without feeling that your world has come to an end or that you are a worthless person.”




I just got done reading a blog, talking about advice for parents! And the one main thing was DON'T give advice at all! That got me thinking...does it really bother people, more so new parents when you offer them advice?!
I never thought of it being annoying or rude. I admit, I am one to let a new parent know what diapers are the best, what items are just a complete waste of money to buy for a new baby, and sleep when the baby sleeps, etc!

I, myself don't mind advice at all, I mean...I guess I do when someone is telling me how to raise my children or I'm doing something wrong, THAT definitely is annoying and rude! But when you're letting a parent know the best places to shop and the must haves for kids I would think most parents would be appreciative of that!

Maybe I need to keep my mouth shout more...Ekkkk! I don't want to be "that person", the one who thinks she knows it all! :/
Because I am sooooo far from that, I have a lot of improvement to do as a parent, I fail some days, my kids are mad at me because I didn't buy them a candy bar at the store, or I'd rather give them a bath in the morning, not before bed! They let me know I'm a mean mommy some days, ha!

However, I know I am a VERY opinionated person and sometimes I voice my opinions at times when I shouldn't. It's something I really need to control and work on, ughhhh.

And I have to say there is soooo much judgement in this world, especially being a parent...all eyes are on you when you're out in public.
And breastfeeding seems to be one of the biggest judgements on whether or not you're a good mother. If you formula feed, you're lazy and a horrible parent.
If you get an epidural during labor, you're weak!
I mean, there's so much pressure to be the perfect parent!
But we need to realize every mom and dad has a different style of parenting, whether it be cultural or environment or just how you were raised..sticking to the good ole' fashioned ways! We, as mothers just need to be confident and just love our babies, raise them the best way we know how, regardless what "Parents" magazine or the "know it alls" are telling us to do and not to do!

A bit of bragging!

..Sorry, I have to do a little bragging here! And if that annoys you and bothers you, then exit out of this blog! :o)

So...apparently I need to keep getting pregnant and stay pregnant because it's the easiest and only way I can seem to lose a decent amount of weight. I know, it's NOT good to lose weight while pregnant BUT if you read a previous blog of mine I suffered hyperemeis so I lost 30 lbs.

It's such an AMAZING feeling when you're 4 months pregnant and are two sizes SMALLER in jeans! I had about 5 pairs of jeans I bought about a year ago because it was my motivation to lose the weight and get into them, which I never did...they still had the tags on them until..all my other jeans were too big and I had to get the new, sexy, and smaller ones! Great feeling! I wish I could keep going because I have a lot of motivation at the moment BUT obviously I'm pregnant and this baby needs food, lots of it! ;) So, hopefully I still have all this energy and motivation after the baby because I am sooooo determined to get back to my 120 lbs pre pregnancy weight!

It also helps when people notice and compliment on my weight loss, it really gives me a lot of confidence and I just want to keep going!
JJ is so proud of me and is liking the "new look" and when I go for the cookies or am craving McDonald's chicken nuggets with sweet N sour sauce, he politely says "Are you sure you really need those honey?" LOL...I know he wants the best for me and wants me to be healthy, which I appreciate that BUT dammit, sometimes I deserve to indulge!!!!!!!

I admit, I still have a ways to go to lose the weight I want to be at but this is definitely a good start and I want to continue to surround myself with positive people in my life, not only to help with my goal weight but also for the soul. I want to be around that person often, not question whether or not I have to listen to them complain about their drama filled and stressed life. I don't want to be brought down by the negativity. I'm at a new place in my life, where I've REALLY learned who my true friends are, who I can trust and rely on, and who I'd be devastated to see leave my life.

So...enough with all that sap! I'm finally truly proud of myself and am the happiest I've been in awhile, I can't remember the last time things were this good in my life! I have an AMAZING family whom I love more then I can ever emphasize, great friends that I can be myself around and enjoy life with! It's a loving feeling. <3.

Five Question Friday!

...Happy Friday y'all! Yayyyy!
Although we have no major plans for this weekend, I'm still looking forward to it!
I think JJ and I will have date night on Saturday, that is if grandma wants to take Piper..as Taylor will be at JJ's parents for the night! They take Piper every other weekend over night on Saturday! Soooooo thankful for such loving grandparents that love to spend time with their grand children! :o)

Anyways, here are the questions...I haven't done these forever!!!



1. Have you ever forgotten your child in a store or at school? Oh gosh, Nooooo! I've "misplaced" them a couple times...only because they run off and have no fear...but thank goodness I've never left a store without them. Ekkkkk! How scary that would be!


2. Where did you go on your very first date? (Like...first first, not first with your spouse or current significant other!) Ummmm...OMG, sheesh....that was wayyyy too long ago, my first boyfriend was Lucas Little in 5th grade...I think we may have possibly went to the movies, that's usually where all my dates took place..I mean, not that I had a lot of dates back then...LOL..but that was the hangout out for kids our age, so it was always a big group date!


3. What's your "silly" fear? (We're not talking water and heights.)I will admit I am a freak when it comes to fears...I suffer a bit from OCD. One of them is railroad tracks, I speed and close my eyes while driving over them..hahaha, IDK...it's weird!
Also, I'm afraid of drains...so when I take a shower I always have to lift the shower head up high so I'm as far away standing away from the drain as I can be.
HHmmm, what's another one?! LMAO!
And I'm gonna have to say I agree with Mama M...I too am deathly afraid of escalators, that one started when I was a toddler, my mom still laughs and makes fun of that little incident to this day! Ughhhh..but I have such a problem stepping on them and forbid them if I can..I'll find an elevator instead!


4. Confrontation: do you cause it, deal with is as it comes, or run far far away? Ummm, I'd say I usually just deal with it as it comes...I'm pretty confident when it comes to confronting someone..and I most usually don't ever run from it. I fix problems, at least ones that were my fault.


5. Wood floors or carpet? Wood floors!!!
I HATE HATE HATE carpet. It's gross. All the allergens, the stains, it's ugly!
But we don't have wood flooring, unfortunately. I pretty much begged our landlord to put it in, which he said he wants to, but never did...jerk!
I hate having to always shampoo our carpet so it's clean, healthy, and decent looking. Our kids spill EVERYTHING on our carpet, grrrrrrrrrrrr!
When we get a house...there will be NO carpet AT ALL.

Alright, that's it folks..I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!!!!

XOxo.

7 more weeks!

...So, the phone rang this morning & it showed up as the clinic...ughhh, do I want to answer this?! I've received a couple bad phone calls from them within the last month, well bad news with my lab results and such. I wasn't in the mood to receive bad news today so I let it go to voicemail. New message! Ekkkk! Should I check it?!
Yeah, might as well...it was the nurse to schedule my 20 week scan! Whoooooaaaaaaa! I didn't even finish listening to the message, I called the clinic right back!

I got connected to scheduling and the lady is like we're looking at the week of April 26th. Ummmm..."do you have anything sooner, that seems kind of late. What's the earliest day I can do?" Well, she got me in a week sooner, the 19th! Yayyyy! There's no way I could wait until I was almost 22 weeks pregnant, too suspenseful! LMAO! PLUS, we're doing a gender reveal party on the 24th, which is Easter...that way all of our family will be together! Perfect timing! I'm still trying to think of a creative way to let them know..it seems like EVERYONE does the cake reveal, which is cute but of course I like to be a little different! We will see tho when the time comes!

Ughhhh...7 weeks is a long wait! Hopefully it goes by fast! I've never been this anxious to find out the gender! I think it's because it's baby #3...so it makes it a little more exciting/nerve wracking! Although, I'm about 95% sure it's a girl! :P
JJ seriously hates me when I say that! He is wanting a boy soooooo bad, which every dad wants a boy...I get that, but he needs to realize a baby is an absolute blessing regardless of the gender and that we just need to be thankful for a healthy baby!
Plus, we make some beautiful little girls! ;)

Alright, I'm exhausted and in desperate need for a nap. Whewwwwwww.

Dilemma.

..So, we're facing a little issue lately. Housing. We need to move! Our current living situation is a 2 bedroom, 2 bath townhouse. We've been here for about 5 years now and it's been perfect while it was just JJ, Taylor, and I. Then when Piper came along it started to get a bit cramped. Now with baby #3 on it's way there is no way 5 people can live comfortably in a 2 bedroom. I mean, we can make it work as Taylor and Piper share a bedroom, a decent size bedroom...they have room for all their toys and room to play. And then of course the baby would need to share a room with JJ and I, Piper's nursery is still set up in there since she was born back in 2008, ha!
So...we won't have to worry about that, just changing up the decor a bit if it's a boy!
But..of course our biggest issue is having too much stuff between all of us and not enough room to store it all. We are a family that likes to shop, especially for clothes, we honestly don't have enough closet space or dresser space to store it all..when people come over and realize how much clothes we have they are just speechless! hahahaha! And then, we have so much other "junk." I'm a pack rat and keep everything...I still have homework/papers/projects from high school, I save EVERYTHING from my children, so we have totes beyond totes of "junk!"
We have a double stall garage and can't even park our vehicles in there because it's full of storage! :/

So..needing to move before the baby comes is our top priority. However, we won't buy a house. I know it's probably for the best BUT I'm too scared to own a home, I'm not ready for that commitment, it scares me. We've been looking to buy our first home for years, but we chicken out. I know, it sounds silly BUT we know the kind of money it costs to repair, update, and maintain. As a renter, we've came across A LOT of problems, whether it be our ceiling leaking, our house flooding from rain, mold in the bathroom tiles, replacement of the garage door, new windows, new appliances...I mean the list goes on...I'm glad our landlord has had to pay for all that! I couldn't imagine having to! I just want to continue to rent, I know it's kind of a waste because we will never own it but I'm okay with that! :o)

Now, the search is on...and it seems impossible to find something decent and affordable around here, housing goes fast in our area! So, if any of my readers are in my area and know of anything, I would greatly appreciate the help!!!! :D

..Veggie Soup.

..I've been craving this soup lately, so I thought I'd share with y'all how super easy and yummy this is to make! It's my favorite soup ever!
I got this recipe from my weight watchers guide, but switched it up a bit and added a few things of my own...and it's AMAZING!!!! Seriously, if you're a veggie lover...you'll love this veggie soup, and it's zero points on the weight watcher's system. Of course I'm not doing weight watchers anymore as I'm pregnant but I continue to eat healthy. And I could eat this soup everyday, for real!!
Here's what you'll need:

**Sorry but I don't really measure out my ingredients, I just add more of what I like and less of what I don't like. So, I'll give approximate measurements..also, go by the picture that I'll provide! :P

*6 c. of broth (I use chicken) you can use vegetable, beef, or anything else! (add more if you want it more watery/soupy)
*olive oil- 2 TBSP.
*2 carrots, cooked and peeled
*1 large yellow onion, diced
*4 tsp. garlic or four cloves of garlic
*1/2 of a cabbage, chopped (my favorite part of the soup!)
*1/2 pound frozen green beans
*2 TBSP. tomato paste (although I think I use close to a whole can, the small can)
*1 large zucchini, diced

-pour olive oil in pan, saute the onion, garlic, and carrots for about 5 minutes.
-Add all the remaining ingredients EXCEPT the zucchini and bring to a boil, this includes the broth.
-Cover, reduce the heat to MEDIUM and simmer for about 15 minutes or until the beans are tender.
-Add the zucchini and cook until the zucchini are tender. Serve and enjoy!

*I also add pepper and kosher salt. Sea salt, or regular salt will work well too. You can also add orengo, basil, or parsley.

Update!

First and foremost, I want to apologize! I say every time I'm gonna stay updated with this blog, and then I end up not writing again until a month later. Ughhh.
It's been chaotic around here to say the least! Without going into much detail, I've been very sick...with hyperemeis which is a severe case of morning sickness. Worst thing I've ever gone through in my life. No lie! ANYWAYS...that's kept me on bed rest for the last month.

Alright...so some happenings, let's see. I'll talk about baby for a bit since that seems to be the highlight of our life at the moment! :o)

I had to have an ultrasound at 11 weeks, due to my extreme sickness. They wanted to make sure there was only one baby in there, women with hyperemesis usually carry more then one baby..twins would be a blessing but I'll admit it wasn't what I wanted to see on the screen! Thankfully there was only one baby, one healthy baby is growing well and had all it's limbs! I say that because I was extremely worried that my 30+ lbs that I lost was going to effect the baby's growth or that the numerous anti nausea medications I had to take were going to harm him/her. But the babe is perfectly healthy and has had a heart rate of 170 BPM every time I've gotten checked, seems kind of high! Dr. said it's normal in the beginning and it will slow down later on. Ummm..what else!? I had another ultrasound for my 12 week scan...again, baby looked good! Am actually measuring a week ahead, which is a good feeling! Since I had both of my girls on their actual due dates(ultrasound due date) I'm sticking to what the ultrasound says with this one, seems to be VERY accurate, plus my body is very regular I guess!

Well, since I went almost an entire month without food...yes, no food! I'm not kidding. Between the ER and IV Therapy, that's where I got my nutrients from(fluids.)
So now I'm slowly starting to get my appetite back! I need to stick to very bland things, so my cravings have been Nick's Pizza(shrimp) in which we've had twice this week...OMG! It's sooo fricken good tho! The best pizza EVER! Chipotle is also a huge craving, but I've only had that once, last week and only because a lovely friend brought it to me as our nearest one is almost an hour away! Booooo! But it was delish, best Mexican food! I love their Guacamole and chips...devine!
Other then that...no other cravings. I live on orange juice, for real...it's the only beverage I've been drinking, I drink a gallon a day. I'm not sure if that's healthy or not?! :/

I've gained back 3 of those pounds, since I've been feeling better and eating. Kind of depressing, but yet I know I need to gain a bit of the weight! I'm usually a pretty good/healthy eater during my pregnancies, with the occasional fast food craving I must indulge in, but I'm not too worried about gaining much. Although it's the best feeling ever when I'm wearing jeans that I've never been able to wear before! I'm down 2 jeans sizes and pregnant!!!! AMAZING! Usually I'm sooo fat and don't even wear jeans during pregnancy, but this time I'm feeling kinda luscious! ;)

Alright, I think that's about it..I'm so thankful I'm feeling better and am able to be the mommy I'm suppose to be to my girls, they've missed me while I've been hibernating! Time to go...daddy is here with my snack! muhahaha!!!!