Back at it....kind of

Back in December we found out we were going to have a baby!! Yay!!!  And then a few months later we found out we're having a GIRL!!!!!  So of course I got to rub it in my husband's face...I'm so glad he loves me :D.  I wasted no time in trying to find the "perfect" theme for our soon to be girl.  Sadly, everything I liked turned out to be expensive or it just wasn't my taste.  So, I started thinking of what I could do.  I was stumped for a while until one of my trips to Michael's.  I decided to make a name plaque!  Of course before making this decision, I had done some research on Etsy and Pinterest.  Some weren't my taste and some were very close. So once at Michael's, I thought I would try something of my own.  I bought some wooden letters and this thing below (not sure what it's called).

I don't have a picture of the letters before I painted them, sorry.  But I loved the pink and green idea.  However, the pink just wasn't bold enough for me.  So I mixed some colors and voilà! 

I loved how the letters stood out more.  My plan to hang it up was to find some ribbon and secure it on the back.  But the more I looked at it, it seemed as if something was missing.  Unfortunately, I put it up for a while.  Fast forward to a few months later, while visiting my mom, we went to Hobby Lobby.  I was looking for ideas to spruce up her name plaque.  We, well I, waddled over to the scrapbook selection and my son, of all people picked out some paper.  And inspiration hit me!  I bought the paper he picked out, a picture frame and a little something else to go with this new idea.  It was time to go home and put it all together! 

This was just too cute, I couldn't pass it up!  I didn't go for the princess theme, but I had plans to spray paint it turquoise later on. 

My son did a great job picking out paper for his soon to be sister!

With paper and a picture frame, her new name plaque was reborn!  And the best thing was, it only took about a half hour to put together!!  

So without further ado, here is the final product!

To make the letters stay, I used Elmer's Glue. It's still sticking to this day

As I said before, I was going to spray paint the carriage a turquoise color, but her room is going to be a soft turquoise.  My mom and I put it up against one of the walls that is done, and the pink stood out even more than against the wall in this picture.  Therefore, it's staying bright pink!  

I can't wait to finish her room...but that won't happen until after she's born.  Because...drum roll please....we're moving soon!  Many would be freaked out about this, but I'm loving the adventure!  Well, now that I'm done with as much as I can do with her room, I'm onto the next project.  Making a name plaque for my son using Star Wars fabric.  Once I get that done, I will be sure to post that on here too!  

Until next time! Happy crafting :D!!

Pregnancy at it's finest

Well hello everyone, long time no see!  In the recent months, I have not only moved back around my hometown, but I have gotten married, found and lost a job, and now I am almost 4 months pregnant.  Yup! That's right!!! I'm pregnant with my second child; husband's first.  And while we know what we're having....I'm not going to reveal it just yet :D.  But instead, I want to talk to you first time fathers.  If you happen to stumble across my blog, please please PLEASE read this.

I urge you to read articles and the book "What to Expect When Expecting".  It will not only help you understand what pregnancy does to the female body, but it will help you connect with your significant other.
So, let's start this bad boy off by talking about cravings.  They happen all of the time!  The food may be in the house, it may be at a restaurant, store, what have you.  But expect them to happen.  If your wife/girlfriend mentions what may sound good, offer to go get it for her.  DO NOT WAIT TO BE ASKED.  Not saying she won't ask. However if she doesn't, please just go get it.  This will squash a lot of the fighting.  Now, I was nice when I had my cravings.  I didn't wake my husband up in the middle of the night and ask him to go to the store for me.  Mainly because he had to get up early for work the next day, and I wanted to be considerate.  Yet with my experience this time, my husband would not go to the store unless I actually asked, even if he knew I wanted something specific to eat.  Do not do this!

 It is EXTREMELY important to realize that your wife/girlfriend is not being lazy.  And yes, being that tired is normal.  Even the doctor will tell you.  As long as all of her levels are on the right track, there is nothing to worry about.  Unfortunately this has been a sore spot for the both of us.  When I was pregnant with my first child, I was a single mom and I had to work.  I had no choice.  All I had at the time were my parents since I had moved away.  So staying home when I felt sick to my stomach, or had been up all night because I couldn't get comfortable wasn't an option.  I had no one to lean on.  I do now, so my thought process has changed and so have my circumstances.  However, that hasn't stopped me from wanting to do work around the house and outside of the home.  So with that being said, if she was a hard worker before pregnancy, trust me, she will be a hard worker after she's gotten over the fatigue.  Give her time!!!   Which leads me to this.  If she is extremely tired....do not under any circumstance ask her what she got done around the house, or say you feel she's been lazy.  Those are fighting words!!  I promise you!  This is where the book comes in handy.  The baby literally wipes us out.  Not only do we have morning sickness (sometimes we throw up, other times we just have the nausea), but we have a baby who is growing and feeding off of us.  The placenta is growing...and..ya...just read the book :)!  It's just enough for us to go to the bathroom some days.

Ah...cleaning the house.  Men...you helped make the baby, you need to help with the chores, and possibly take over for the time being.  That means, clean the house.  Don't just half-ass it.  She doesn't have the energy.  Imagine if you will, that you are 500lbs, trying to go up the stairs.  You get up maybe half-way but then, your heart beats so fast, and you're out of breath and all you want to do is sit down.  Suddenly, you get dizzy and are afraid you're going to fall down the stairs or worse, pass out.  That's how it is for most of us in our first trimester.  We can start to do something, but about 2-5 minutes into the chore, we can hardly breathe.  Be patient, that too will pass.  So back to cleaning.  Let's think about this for a moment. How exactly did you keep the house clean before we moved in with you?  Did you let the dog hair pile up in the crevices of your home to where it stank so much...and THEN you finally cleaned it up?  Or did you clean up the house after you came home from work, or even on the weekends?  JUST DO IT!  Don't let everything pile up and then get mad because we haven't helped.  If there's laundry, wash, dry, and FOLD the laundry.  If there are dishes in the sink, clean them.  If the floors need vacuuming...and the bathroom.  OH MY GOODNESS the bathroom!!!!  Do not let the germ-infested room become more germy all because you're trying to prove a point.  Clean the damn thing!  Listen, we know you work hard and you're tired.  However, just because you have a woman living with you now, that doesn't give you full reign on selectively forgetting  how to pick up a mop, a bucket, wash cloth or sponge, and clean the house.  You become the "maid" until she is able to get back on her feet and take over the house dutites.  That is, if that is the arrangement you two have.  Either way, work with her, not against her.  She is already having a tough time with her hormones going up and down like the Screaming Eagle at Six Flags, or one of those twisty roller coasters.  And it's not something that can be turned off.  Oh no...it's constant.  One minute she's fine, the next she's biting your head off, to crying.  It can't be helped, it can't be stopped, but it can be diminished.  Is it fair for you men?  Hell to the no!  Do you want to bitch slap us??  Oh I'm sure you do.  But just remember, you helped with the baby making process :).  BUT!!! Don't despair.  If you start off by helping because you know she just can't do it right now, the hormones may not rage as much.  If they do take over....then I don't know what to tell you, except good luck.  That hasn't been my experience where the hormones took over no matter what, yet every pregnancy is different.  But take my word for it.  If I'd had that kind of support from the beginning, my reactions to things would have been completely different.

Last pointer.  Do special things for her.  Bring a flower or two home for your honey.  If she's too tired to go somewhere, don't pressure her.  But if she's not too tired, take her someplace special.  Of course this should be done whether she's pregnant or not, but now is the best time to show her some extra appreciation.  Men, you gotta step up your game.  And to those who already do this....I applaud you!!!  Keep up the good work.  But men who have no clue what they're getting themselves into, trust me on this.  I do promise that things will get better.  Especially when you're holding your new bundle of joy.  Everything you fought about, worried about, stressed about during the pregnancy will melt away as you're holding your new baby.  Just remember.  Be patient :).  This will most definitely work out and fall back into place.


* Please note that I am not a professional at all.  I am only speaking from my own experience.  I welcome any comments or questions you may have.  Thank you for reading!

Time to get real

At 195, I have decided it's time to do something about my weight.  Growing up I always had meat on my bones.  But I mistook it for being fat.  Therefore I never enjoyed who I really was.  I was always afraid of how others saw me.  Now years later, I am still in that same fear.  Worried that someone won’t want me because of my size.  And with the media, how can I not be self-conscious?  Being a busy mom, college student, and a part time worker, it is hard for me to take some time out and do what I need to do.  I love to exercise and I love to work out.  But the time just isn’t there it seems.  I tried out Weight Watchers for a couple of weeks, but that seemed to hurt me more than help me.  By that I mean I was constantly getting on the scale and obsessed with the points, whereas before I wasn’t.  I would only get on the scale the first thing in the morning, but that was it.  With Weight Watchers, it was more like three times a day.  And when I say obsessed, I was worried of using all of my points before the day was over, so I wouldn't eat much of anything.  Having a prior history with anorexia, I knew that was not a healthy way to look at things.  I feared that eventually my disease would come back, so I knew I had to quit the program.  Once I did, a weight was finally lifted. My eating has never been the culprit of my weight gain.  It has always been the lack of movement.  I’m not saying my eating is perfect, but I do not have a problem with portion size or over-eating.  It’s simply the exercise part.  Now if I had the money to hire a personal trainer, then I’d be golden!  Alas, that is not the case.  So as a pledge to myself, I have made small short term goals that will have long-term results.  

Goal 1:  Get back to the gym.

Even if I only get there once a week, that is progress.  Just doing nothing won’t help me, it will only hurt me.  There have been many times I have told myself reasons not to go, or that I could do it or something else later.  But once later got here I was always too tired or just didn't feel like it. 

Goal 2: Stay off the computer. 

This is a horrible, horrible, horrible habit of mine.  When my son is outside playing or if we go to my mom's house, all I want to do is relax, watch tv, and get on the computer.  I don’t want to be bothered to do anything.  It’s been a long day and/or week and shoot I deserve it, right?  Well instead of getting on the computer, I can be doing some exercise DVDs, clean, or even cook.  There is something I can be doing that doesn’t require me to be on the couch.  8:30 pm is his bed time and the time when I should be sitting on the couch in preparation of going to bed.  Which leads me to my next goal…

Goal 3: Go to bed early.

I have a horrible habit of going to bed around 11 pm or midnight.  Not exactly the best time to get some shut eye for a busy person like me; especially since I have to get up at either 5 or 6 am.  

Goal 4:  Drink more water

Another bad habit I have.  I will admit, I have a huge sweet tooth and I don’t always want to drink water.  I like my juices and kool-aid…scratch that…LOVE them.  But I also remember when I was drinking a lot of water, I felt more energized.  Time to go back to that.

Goal 5: Play with my child more.

This goes along with Goal 2.  I know I’m not the only guilty one of this (not pointing any fingers!).  So I feel okay with admitting this.  He has asked me to play with him less and less.  Mainly because I have been too tired and suggested he do something else.  The way I see it if I keep this up, one day it’s going to bite me in the behind.  The song The Cats in the Cradle comes to mind.  

So those are the first of my goals.  I’m sure many are saying “How simple, why couldn’t you just do that already?”.  I’ll tell you why.  I haven’t been ready.  I could give you every single reason why I wasn’t ready, but I’m not going to.  The point is, I am ready now and I want to change, now.  That is the most important lesson.  Anyone can say they want to do something and say how they are going to do it.  But nothing will be set in motion if they aren’t ready to make the change happen.  

There you have it.  My time of realness :).  I am now going to enjoy the rest of my busy week.  I hope you enjoy yours.

Great Things

I decided this week to do something I have never done before.  I joined Weight Watchers.  I will admit, when I went to the meeting it felt odd.  So many were talking about their struggles with eating (hence the program).  Naturally I felt a bit out of place; mainly because my biggest problem isn't eating...it's getting myself off the couch or chair to do some exercise.  However, after talking to the woman who leads the group it started to feel as if I needed to be there.  Accountability is the key word for me.  If I know I have to weigh myself every week, that will push me to do what I need to do to get healthy again.  So day one on W.W. wasn't so bad.  Once I was able to sit down and really take a look at the website and recipes, it started to get easier.  Well, it has to since I'm planning on doing this for the long haul.  Tomorrow is mine and my son's day for the Rec Center, which he has been talking about all week.  That's another thing I have to get ready for...that boy loves to run. I think what I will do is post before and after pictures each month....I think.  Not sure I've become that brave just yet.  But I will keep everyone updated on my progress. As they told me this week, this is the last time you will ever see that number (on the scale).  I'm excited, scared, and some other emotions I can't quite pinpoint.  But either way, I'm realizing I can't do everything on my own *yes better late than never to figure this out*.  Alright, time for bed.  Goodnight fellow bloggers.  Until next time!

    I promise I am still alive :D.  This weekend my son and I spent some time at the gym.  He may only be six, but this boy loves to work out!  We went on the track at my school's gym and all he wanted to do was run.  Let me tell you...that was the most intense ten minutes of my life!  But it was good.  I called him my little personal trainer :).  So we're going to do that every Saturday, which means I can't skip out on my workouts during the week.  My body will thank me for it.  

      Also this weekend, I spent time making my first salt scrub and bath salts.  It was so rewarding to make something from scratch...as it always is.  But then when I came across another sugar scrub recipe, a woman said to stay away from food coloring when making your scrubs.  Her link can be found here.  Of course I was bummed at first because I used coloring in both things I had just made.  Yet when I did some more research, I realized how right she was.  So I started looking at alternatives which I found here.  I haven't tried these yet since I just started making the scrubs yesterday.  But! I do plan to try these in the near future.  So now I'm not so bummed about starting over.  At least I'll know what is going into the products I make (and I'll be able to pronounce them!). 

  As someone who was very content with what the stores offered, I'm becoming more repulsed by what is in our foods, body care products, etc.  I never thought I would be "that" person who was concerned about what the ingredients contain.  But the more I research the more determined I am to start making just about everything from scratch.  I promise I won't become someone who preaches about what one should or shouldn't do.  I will, however, post some links from time to time just so others can have information (if they want it).  I know first hand how difficult it is to get out of the comfort zone, especially if that is what you grew up with*.   So I don't fault anyone who isn't aware or decides to keep doing what they are doing. 

  Alright, enough blogging for now and back to my homework...my actual school work.  Have a great Sunday!

*Update and correction:  As children we had homemade foods.  But as we got older and busier with our lives, we all became more accustomed to the store-bought foods :).

It's been very crazy and busy around here, and I'm really excited.  Ever since we decided on where we were going to move to after my graduation, we've been getting ready for our next adventure.   Literally, in two weeks, we are going to have a combined moving sale with two whole households.  If that isn't chaotic, then I don't know what is!  Luckily, my school schedule allows me to have plenty of time for to get this accomplished.  And soon I'm going to be making my first table runner (oh and I am still baking).  I know it doesn't sound like much, but for me it's a HUGE step towards my goal.  Ever since I worked my first retail job at 5.7.9., there has always been a love of fashion.   From the first mannequin I dressed to the first window display I was able to do on my own, it has stuck with me.  Now that I have come full circle, I am able to do little things to prepare me for the bigger things.  My goals for the future will entail making clothing for women and children.
 
  Lately going to the stores, I have been utterly disappointed with the clothing selections for myself, my mother, and my son.  Now, I'm not a size 0, but that doesn't mean I don't want to look good.  Even though I am doing what I need to do in order to get healthy...I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I will not be smaller than a size 10.  Trust me, I am completely fine with that.  I like having meat on my body (I've been as skinny as a rail before, it wasn't pretty).  My frustration escalated when I did some back to school shopping for my son and myself.  The selections they have for him are even smaller than what I have to pick from.  I was hoping that it may have been because of our region, but that doesn't seem to be the case.  And since I am not made out of money, I have to settle for what is around...for now anyway.  But seriously, what happened to making clothing for children fun?  What happened to letting them be kids and stay kids for as long as possible?  They should enjoy being colorful, in which clothes should compliment that.  When my son was a baby, I couldn't stand the options there were for him.  Not that I have anything against Winnie The Pooh or any other cartoon character...it wasn't for me.  I wanted his room to have the bright blues, greens, reds, and yellows.  It took a while, but I was finally able to find some bedding that satisfied my need for color.  To this day, my son loves colors that pop.  He'll pick out a red hoodie before a maroon one or even a navy blue.  Unfortunately, even in the girl's section, it seems that the designers for these department stores are more worried about children looking like little adults.  So again I ask, why not let them be kids?  Of course they should look good for school, but let them be children in doing so.  Play clothes shouldn't have to look cheap either.  So! After seeing all of this, I have decided that I am going to get on the clothing bandwagon as well.  Okay, I am now off of my soap box.  I can breathe now :). 

So as I said, so many exciting things are happening around here.  It's going to be hectic, crazy, and chaotic....but I wouldn't have it any other way :D!

I have so much to blog about, it's such a shame that I want to write about it late at night (especially on the nights I have to get up early the next day).  But exciting things are happening for my family and myself.  More news is to come as the semester gets underway.  However, for tonight...I have to somehow can my excitement :D!!!! 

Please pray that I get enough sleep...ha. 

Goodnight world!