Making a mini-Pingers (or Dingers) - Our journey into parenthood.

What were we thinking?

2010-05-21T22:44:00.000-05:00

This post is 100% totally inspired by Military Mama . She did a ridiculously awesome post about her fashion sense over the years and it got me thinking ... if she thought she was bad, HOLD THE PHONE, because I think I may have been worse.
Prepare yourself. This could get ugly.

Let's start with this gem from a Father-Daughter Dance. I was probably at least 10. Crimped hair and all. I can tell you that I remember loving this dress because when I spun around the dress was very whirly. Loved it.

Let's move on a year or two. WTF is in my hair. I remember that bow (if you can call it a bow) it had a metal clip on it and I would put it on my side ponytails. Sweet, right?

Flash Forward into my real teen years. I know I could not yet drive in this photo. I was 15. In short shorts, a cami tank top(that I sometimes wore a white fitted tee under) and you cannot see them but these foam platform sandals from Old Navy. Hey, this outfit got me my first long-term boyfriend. He was hot (in my mind anyways) so I must have been doing something right. But really what could be right about this? Wrong, it's all wrong! (Pictured here with my fashion impaired sisters and my best friend who apparently loved sporting the midriff!)

This next one is Embarassing, with a capitol E!

I am about 16 here, bangs, roots, the whole works.

Now, that's hot. : /

Moving right along. Here is me at my HS graduation with my two besties. I know this does not show clothing, but it does show my unfortunate hair. I could never get it right. (I have since learned the error of my ways)
My Freshman year in College. Abercrombie track pants and a tee (and a bottle of Hooch, lol) and Easter that same year - over tanned, over feathered, and over flowered. Laugh - it's OK.

And just for kicks. Who wears their homecoming dress to a wedding. Aparently I do.

Now with short, short hair, bangs, and really not much makeup.

Also, I ended up at homecoming in the same dress as the girl who stole above said boyfriend from me. It was tragic. Like my hair.

My own personal "you know when you're a mom" isms'

2010-05-21T08:21:00.003-05:00

- When I am in the grocery store alone, and yet still rock the cart back and forth as if soothing Brody.
- 5 out of the last 6 movies I have seen feature a taking train. (a la Thomas)
- I know every song on his Laugh and Learn Puppy, but have not a clue the words to most popular songs on the radio.
- Following the theme from above - Baby Einstein "World Music" is what is residing in my CD player at the moment.
- I can reach into my coat or jeans pocket on any given day and pull out a soothie (pacifier), baby wipe, singular sock, teething ring, maybe even a cheerio.......
- Looking over "family" photos of the past year and realize that in the well over 2000 photos I have, I am in maybe 10 - I am always snapping photos of the boys in my life!
- A bottle of wine and a movie other than "G-rated" is a "big night" for us.
- At dinner while putting Brody into his high chair, I smell something funky, and sniff his bottom.... With other people present.
- The most rewarding part of my job is no longer getting praised by a boss, it's getting BIG Brody smiles when he gets up in the morning!

Baby Giggles are the best!

2010-05-19T20:51:00.001-05:00

Baby Giggles are the best!, originally uploaded by SweetMemorybyLea.

I caught Brody in the act of being naughty (he knows he is not allowed to climb on the entertainment system) and said "hey" which inspired Brody to have a massive case of the giggles that continued on until I got my camera and for 6 minutes after that!

You're Fired.

2010-05-11T00:24:00.002-05:00

Yeah, just like that. Donald Trump style. I was fired. Only, it was not totally DT style. At least he has the decency to do it in person. My boss : Chickened out in a and did it while I was driving into the office, for our 930am meeting that she set up, over the phone. Coward. That is all I have to say.
I have had a pretty rough few weeks. Not that this post is going to be all negative nancy, because rough or not, I have had so much time to spend with my two favorite boys!
I hurt my back on 4/21 at work helping a 407 lb patient out of his car. He normally can do everything independently (for those of you who are wondering why I was doing this - I work in Home Health Care, in Physical Therapy) and just decided to be lazy this day and made us do all the work. He did not follow my instructions, and in turn hurt my back. My doctor put me on 100% restriction from working for a week. Which was fine with me, more time for Brody, but I was only getting paid peanuts for my workers comp claim (WI - this is why I hate this state. You have to wait 3 days, 3 BUSINESS days, to even get paid benefits, and then they are only 60% of what you make.) So I decided to talk to my doctor, and go back 2 days early.
To get put on suspension. WTF? I was shocked. Suspension- unpaid - after a workers comp claim. Pretty suspicious if you ask me.
Well I took my 3 day suspension and was on my way to my meeting on Monday morning, when my boss called me and fired me in the car. Nice.

Anyways, That was on May 3rd. I have already had one interview. Got the job!! Woo hoo! But not what I was looking for. (It was as-needed work, and they already have 16 as-needed employees. Why they even interviewed me was beyond me!) So I will probably work once a month.
I had another interview today, which ROCKED! She said they would most likely be calling me with an offer in the morning!!! As long as my background check comes back OK (and I am certainly not a criminal- and 100% positive that I do not have a record) and my drivers record comes back OK - I think I may actually have a job! Fingers crossed, and I do not want to jinx it, but I am hopeful at this point!
I do have a 3rd interview set up for Wed afternoon, if I don't get this job tomorrow. But I really want this job!

So anyways, I have been diligently working on my photography site and finishing up my final portfolio, even if I totally bomb the final, I will still have a 91% in the class, and earn my certificate in photography! So excited about that.
And I have been spending every single minute of the day with Brody, which has turned him into a clingy mama's boy, but that, I can definitely live with :)
All in all, job loss included, life is not too bad.
Accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative. I hated my old job (well boss to be specific) anyways!

My Blog is undergoing major construction.

2010-04-28T00:12:00.002-05:00

I pressed the wrong button and LOST EVERYTHING on my blog. I actually cried, real tears. I was working on a new layout, with pages, and lost it all. Well keep your eyes open for a new and improved Mini-pingers blog.... coming soon.

EDIT!!! Yay, I recovered it! There will be some changes still to come, but I am so happy all is not lost!

He is getting to where he needs to go!

2010-04-26T23:01:00.000-05:00

Go Check out Military Mama and her Bum Essentials giveaway!!

2010-04-26T13:25:00.000-05:00

Exploits of a Military Mama

She is an avid cloth diaperer, and has been pretty helpful to me while making this transistion!
She has a great giveaway from Bum Essentials
They have some awesome dipaering goodies, and great diapers. I cannot wait to try them out!

Diapering Mishap!

2010-04-21T13:13:00.000-05:00

I am always prepared. Always! We're going away with Brody for 3 hours - I have 5 diapers, 2 changes of clothes, and 3 bibs packed. Ok, maybe you can call me over prepared. but, HEY, you never know.
I am also always the one to be prepared, my husband, just does not have to do it, because, well, I don't really give him the chance. I just do it.
Well last week, I planned on taking Brody to the Children Museum on Friday. I asked Corey to please check the diaper bag and tell me if there were diapers in there. He looked and said yes. In an attempt to let go of a little bit of control I didn't even bother to look, and the next morning away we went.
Like any typical baby, once we parked, paid for parking, paid for admission, walked around to find the baby-toddler area, and started playing, I smelled something foul - of course it was coming from Brody's diaper.
So I take him with our diaper bag to the restroom to get changed. Laid our our traveling changing pad on the table and went to take off his diaper.
Problem #1 - The wipes container was empty! Oops. Oh well, I thought, so I wet some paper towels and proceded to clean him up. Then I went to get a diaper out of the bag.
Problem #2 - There were diapers in the bag alright - about 5 swim diapers, still in there from our vacation! Not a single regular diaper in the mix. Uh oh.
If you have ever worked with a swim diaper, you would know, they do not hold in the pee like other diapers do. What to do? We had literally JUST paid to get in, we were a half hour from home, downtown (I have no clue where to go to get diapers downtown and was not about to leave to go search.) When I remembered: (now please, don't judge.) I used the diaper bag for my stuff as well in the hospital when I had Brody and I still had a super pad in there. So what did I do? I stuck that bad boy right into the swim diaper, suited Brody up and got out of there as fast as I could (so no one would see the crazy mommy putting a feminine pad in her sons diaper).
I think from now on I will stick to the Girl Scout Motto : Be Prepared. (or was that Boy Scouts? I have no clue, but I would rather be safe, than have a baby running around the children Museum with a pad stuck inside of his diaper!)

We're going green!

2010-04-20T19:07:00.001-05:00

So we have made the decision to lead a healthier lifestyle around here. Not just for us, but for the planet as well!
I guess when it comes to Brody, we were already on the healthy lifestyle road. I considered my self a part-time crunchy mama. I am a baby wearer (I wear him in my organic cotton Lovely Dud Wrap.). I make his baby food.
It is as easy (literally) as 1,2,3!
1) Steam Veggie/Fruit
2) Puree said food.
3) Store and feed!
and he eats organic applesauce (no sugar added) and Yo Baby! yogurt from Stonyfield Farms.

Well a few weeks ago after watching Food, Inc. we decided we had to get healthier about our eating habits and choices as well. So we started slowly going organic. Oh my gosh, the biggest difference I can tell is the taste of apples. They taste so fresh!

Well now we are going to {try} to switch to cloth diapers. We are going with Bumgenius and I just got 6 for 40 bucks! (They would be 120 normally!) and with some great advice from really awesome mommies, I feel like we are ready to give it a try. If we like it I will order more (I know we need at LEAST 6 more!)

Here's to a healthier {for us and the planet} lifestyle!

Pretty Please.....

2010-04-17T21:18:00.000-05:00

Hi Everyone! It's been sometime since I have updated. I have been hard at work finishing up my portfolio and final for this semester.
I have been hard at work on my new photography website as well and I would love if you would go visit and share your thoughts! Sweet Memories by Leanne - Family Photography
is where to find me. Tell me what you think and be critical!

Please go check it out and become a follower (it's a pretty sad total of 2 as of now), and if you are in WI or IL tell your friends as well!

I hope everyone in blog world is having a great spring and more blogging to come soon!

Thirtysomething

2010-04-08T09:51:00.004-05:00

Does anyone remember this TV show. I know most of you wont. It debuted in 1987. But I believe my mom watched it. Anyways, while I was browsing through our instant netflix selections this came up and caught my eye. I am not completely 30-something, yet. I still have one and a half years to go, but my hubby is, and we have a baby, so by the look of the photo, I thought it was a show I could relate to.
And my gosh, was I right. It is incredible how similar the story-line is to our life right now. It deals with the new feelings of a marriage while having a new baby, friends that don't understand what it is like to have a a child at all and don't acknowledge them, loosing the ability to breastfeed your infant, fights about the husband coming home from work to toys all over the place and saying "what did you do all day" (my favorite was her reply, a line that I believe most mommies have used in some form or another: "I have cleaned up today 4 times, I just haven't gotten around to cleaning up everything the 5th time yet!". It's not all bad, it's also heartwarming and genuinely good show that I fell in love with instantly.
They say its a "dramedy" I don't know about that. The humor is very dry and the clothes are very 80's (along with the hair and make-up) - but I guess no matter what generation, the trials and tribulations of having a new baby in the home, are truly ones that stand the test of time!
I highly recommend this guilty pleasure to all of my new mommy friends!

On a side note, my blog is all sorts of messed up. The sidebar stuff is appearing below all the posts, but when I go into my layout, its still on the side. Anyone know how to fix that? TIA!

Our NC Trip - Photos

2010-04-08T09:50:00.001-05:00

Enjoying the ride.

Rolling hills in West Virginia.

Asleep on the hotel bed!

Meeting Fellow Blogger: Jessie(Visit her @ http://babypooface.blogspot.com) in NC!

Finally arrived in Wilmington!

The Bridge from OTH!

Our OTH day, including going to 1829, Studio tour, and the rivercourt!

The Beach and Corey's BD! Brody ate sand, played with Daddy, played with Mommy, and we took lots of beach pictures! I love the ocean!
The Aquarium.

I took 500 photos on this trip. These don't even begin to relay how much fun we had!!!

Our NC Trip- Day 5 & Day 6

2010-04-07T12:55:00.003-05:00

Wow, I can't believe it's been over a week since I updated. Get ready for a bunch of Blog posts today, including trip photos, some random thoughts, and new old TV show I just discovered via Instant Netflix!

OK, so to start. Day 5 was fun. It was raining in the morning a ton, so our plans to go to the Arlisle Gardens had to be changed. We went to the Fort Fisher Aquarium instead. Brody LOVED the fish. He would sit on the ledge in front of the glass and just stare at them (and try to catch one every once in a while, hehe).
After the Aquarium it turned out to be a great day. The weather cleared up and we headed downtown to search for Clothes over Bros, and to get some lunch.
We ate at Slice, which will totally be our new pizza place WHEN we move down there. We had an artichoke pizza and it was soooooo good! Then we walked all over town and had dessert at Coastal Cupcakes. YUM! I had a red velvet cupcake and Corey had a cookies and cream one. Brody shared both with us.

Then we went home, packed our suitcases, at a late meal of Wendy's and got ready to leave in the morning. We loved NC. And would recommend Wilmington to anyone looking for a nice vacation spot.

Day 6 - The drive home
We decided to do it in one straight shot, no staying overnight. I drove the first 8.5 hours and Corey took over for the last 9. One shut-down freeway (because of a truck that looked like it had a bite eaten out of it by Godzilla), and 3 detours because of construction later, we arrived home at 2am.

Maybe I already did this on my post about driving out, but here are some tips for long car trips with a baby (our is 10 months old):

- Plan some time for the passenger to sit in back to entertain the little one, but don't forget about your significant other that has the boring task of driving. Each need attention. We did both in front for the first leg of the drive before we had to stop for gas, because Brody always slept that entire time, then we would do one of us in back to feed and entertain Brody while he was awake.

- Bring plenty of interesting car friendly toys. Babies get bored VERY fast when they have to sit in the same spot for hours on end.

- When you stop make sure you take said baby out of the car and get some active time in. Sure it cost us 30+ minutes per each stop, but a happy baby and a baby that gets to stretch and get the blood flowing through their little body, is totally worth it!

- Bring puffs and biter biscuits along for the ride - Brody loves these things and is a good distraction while you are preparing food on the road.

- Water bottles (if you are bottle feeding) and travel sized container of formula. Just enough formula for our trip and in a less bulk container than the normal ones we buy. We would make bottles on the road for when he got hungry to avoid any unnecessary stops.

- Disposable Spoons - Take and Toss is the brand name. Awesome. No cleaning up spoons on vacation! Now if they only made bottles as well!

- And last but not least, THE ONLY TIME we had a fussy baby in the car was when he needed to be changed. So if he got fussy we stopped regardless if we got gas 30 minutes before hand. And always lathered his tush up with tons of butt paste. These two things will help you avoid nasty diaper rash from sitting all day long!!

Our NC trip - Day 4

2010-03-29T22:12:00.002-05:00

Corey's BD/ Wrightsville Beach/ More real-estate/ Sushi!

Well Brody and I got up early and got doughnut holes, coffee, and balloons for Corey. We woke him up and sang happy birthday. Well, I sang. Brody said "Mobbbb Glaaab Bobbbb Mommmm Mommmmmmm" Really loud. I think he woke up the entire hotel!

Then we packed up and got ready for the beach. SPF 100 for the Brodster - SPF 25 for me (and 30 for the face - trying to undo damage from tanning beds, by not getting any sun on my face now!) Wrightsville Beach is GORGEOUS! The stuff of Nicholas Sparks novels. I have never been anywhere in the continental US that looks as pretty as this area.

Brody ate sand and then cried. I took pictures. Then we washed his mouth out with water. Poor baby!!!

After the beach, we went and looked at more houses in the Wrightsville Beach area. Beautiful! And still reasonably priced.

We went home and napped and got ready for Corey's birthday dinner at Nikkis Sushi Bar. YUM!

Our NC trip with Brody - Day 3

2010-03-29T10:10:00.002-05:00

What an amazing day! Brody is finally getting used to hotel life. The first few days were a bit rough on him, with all the travel and sleeping in hotel rooms (be warned - traveling totally messes with your baby's schedule, both eating and sleeping, and that can make for a fussy baby. (We got lucky, he was only fussy at night, where it would take us 2 hours to get him to sleep - but only for 2 days).
Today we went to Screen Gems Studios and got to go on the set(s) of OTH.
We also went to 1829 Wrightsville Ave (Lucas Scotts "house") - it's for sale by the way.
230K - It is very very run down though and in a run down neighborhood.
Then we went to the Rivercourt. We loved the rivercourt. Except the baskets were taken down off the poles!!

After lunch we went looking for housed. HOLY FREAKING COW! We can get so much more house here than we have now, for so much less! We actually found a house 1000 ft from the Intracostal waterway for 179K! Wow. Once we got away from the downtown area and Market St. we fell in love with the neighborhoods!

Step 1 - Get house sold
Step 2 - Find a Job
Step 3 - Move to Wilmington (?) It's very possible!

Our recipe for eating out {daily} with an almost 10 month old.

2010-03-29T07:38:00.002-05:00

One Stick -to -the- table fun toy that he loves.
One serving of puffs (any flavor your baby likes).
One biter biscuit.

Begin with toy. When that gets old, switch to puffs - one at a time - to make them last longer. When your meal comes give the biter buscuit. This will keep him occupied, while letting you enjoy a nice meal. (This sounds like a lot of carbs for a baby, but we only end up giving him about 10 puffs, and the biter biscuit + milk = a full meal).

Day 3 to come...
No CMM or Sophia Bush sightings yet.

NC - Day 2

2010-03-28T18:25:00.002-05:00

Day two started off at 8am. We had hotel breakfast snd hit the road.
Drove through the rest of WV, and V, and finally made it to NC!
We stopped along the way to have lunch with my fellow PD, Blogger, and GPM lovely - Jessiecow! We got to meet A - her adorable little girl and enjoy at tasty meal at Red Robin :)
Then at 3pm we made it to Wilmington.
Yay!!! We checked into our hotel - The Wingate by Whyndam - pretty, nice, clean, comfy beds! A big step up from the hotel we found in WV to crash at for one night. Corey and I a most def. 4-5 start accomidations kind of people.
The we went to the riverwalk. So cute!
Now if you know me at all you know I LOVE LOVE LOVE One Tree Hill. So does my hubby. So this is like as good as it gets for us (well, ok, the Disney Cruise through the carribean tops it....but only by a little!). So not only is this vacay for us to see if NC is a place we could move too, but it's also a little One Tree Hill fancation as well!!!

More to come on our second day. And I have taken, um, about 400 pictures so far, so those will be posted as soon as we get home. I promise!

Traveling with the Brodster - Our trip to NC, Day 1

2010-03-27T07:10:00.002-05:00

We started off our road trip at 7am on Thursday morning, March 25th. Packed the car and hit the road. Brody ate right before we left and we had changed his diaper (I highly reccomend lathering on the butt paste - or any other diaper rash cream- at each diaper change when you are on the road for long periods of time, regardless if they actually have diaper rash. It protects their little tushies from getting it when there is a possibility of sitting in a wet diaper for a stretch of time). We drove until 11:00 am where we stopped somewhere in IN for lunch for us, to change Brody, and fill up on gas. Most of his meals were given on the road, as well as his bottles. We had bottled water to make bottles and disposable infant spoons that made all of that easy as pie!
We drove till we got to Ohio, some city, don't ask me what, but it did have a prime outlets, so of course we stopped and shopped. I got an awesome under armour coat. Corey got shoes!
We drove through rain the entire first day. Finally after 11 hours, rain, big mountains (scary when it has been raining all day long and you hydroplane!) we finally made it to Princeton, WV. We ate a meal and went to bed. It was a long day.
Unfortunately Brody, who slept all day long in the car, had other plans for the night! haha

Oh and I forgot to mention: Through most of WV the freeway is not finished yet, so you go through back roads THE ENTIRE WAY - for like 60 miles. Anyone ever see: Wrong Turn. Yeah, think of that + Deliverance and you will totally have what we drove through.

And PS it did not help that the movie was filmed there.
At one point, there was a house cut in half and Corey said: "Um Excuse me, your house is broken" (he said this to me, not an actual person living there, in a joking voice, that had us cracking up for miles).

But we also got to drive through Frazier's Bottom, WV as well, where Win A Date With Tad Hamilton "takes place"!

Ahhh, now that is a much better image!

Well off to go see the sights in Wilmington, day two update to come soon!
Pictures will be up after I get home :)

Godmother and Brody

2010-03-24T10:24:00.002-05:00

DSC_0139a
Originally uploaded by LGEyecandy

Brody's Godmother Aunt Jackie came yesterday, all the way from CO to spend the day with Brody! We had such nice weather, so much fun eating oreo bon bons, playing at the park with Brody, and helping her register for her upcoming baby shower!

... and so I cried.

2010-03-21T22:44:00.003-05:00

This month has been nuts, with vacation planning, spring cleaning, classes, work, and planning Brody's first Birthday party. Wait... did I just say "planning Brody's first Birthday Party!?". Yes, I did.
Automobiles is the theme.
Catered chicken, potato salad, baked mostacholi, rolls, salad, and coleslaw. Ice cream cake for the guests, a small homemade cake for the birthday boy, and a tasty summer spiked punch is the menu.
June 6th is the date. (Hoping for a nice sunny day, just like it was a year prior.)
But really, is my little boy, my baby, my teeny tiny little preemie that was born about 2.5 months shy of a year ago, already going to be a year old?
My gosh. This is going too fast. That is what I was thinking as he snuggled with me on my chest while he napped today. How much longer will we be able to do this? How much longer will he want to snuggle with me at all?
And in that moment, laying on the floor, with my baby on my chest, I cried.
I am so proud of all of his accomplishments, and I cannot wait to see what the next few months (or even years for that matter) have in store for us, but he will never be a baby again.
Not that I just realized this today, but in the craziness that is our world right now, I just have not taken the time to stop and realize how close to his first birthday we are, and how fast it is going, and how I would do anything to freeze that moment today on the floor with him on my chest. Freeze it and put it in a box, where in 10 years I can take it out and re-live it again, because they really do grow up so fast.

Prayers for a safe return.

2010-03-19T20:45:00.003-05:00

My Brother in law, Nick arrived safely in Kuwait this morning. He is on his 2nd 18 month tour of duty in Iraq. Please lord, keep him safe throughout his journey, and bring him home to his wife and baby-to-be. Good Luck, Nick. We will miss you and keep you in our thoughts and prayers daily!

If ever there was a time for a prayer to be heard.
And now is the time, to hear every word.
Now that our boys called soldiers have gone,
Please march with them and keep them strong.
Stand beside them if they have to fight,
And in the darkness be their light.
Don’t desert them, march in their faith,
So they’ll be here when the morning breaks.

Bring them home safe and sound,
Across the waters to peaceful ground.
Home to loved ones, mother’s wives, daughters, sons,
Bless them all, each and every one.

They stand for freedom and make our flag true,
These boys called soldiers for the red, white and blue.
A prayer for a soldier, please let it be heard,
And please Lord, hear every word.

A prayer for a soldier, with the job to be done,
Please bring them home, these soldiers your sons.

AMEN.

The many faces of "No!"

2010-03-16T15:48:00.006-05:00

Teaching your 9 month old the meaning of no - Interesting stuff. Even more interesting? When they know what it means and listen! And more interesting, still? When they know what it means, listen, and then tests the waters just a little bit more. This is cute at 9 months. I know when he hits 9 years, I will no longer think of it as cute... but I am living in the now!

We take Brody with us everywhere, for the most part, we don't have too many nearby babysitters to just call on the fly, so he goes lots of places. He is really good too, most of the time. But he is in that curious stage where he feels the need to touch, grab, pull on, and put everything in his mouth!

We were at a restaurant last weekend when Brody reached for the fork at the table. Corey told him "NO" and he gets the most adorable little pout for a second (think Michelle on Full House) then thinks about it, and stops the action. For a minute. Then he goes back to it one more time, just to see what he can get away with. At this particular restaurant, he stopped reaching for the fork, pouted, looked at his daddy with a mischievous little grin and never taking his eyes off his daddy, touched the fork with his pinky finger. Only for a second, until he knew Corey had caught him again. And repeat. After the third round of this he actually listened! But now he knows 100% what no means, and he does not like to hear it. He knows that that pout melts his mommies heart each and every time!

No Brody, you cannot eat the dirt!

No Brody, you cannot bite the dirty swing!

No Brody, you cannot pull on that phone charger! (a big parenting oops on my part leaving it plugged in while he was cruising around in his car!)

Correct!

2010-03-11T22:48:00.000-06:00

You were right! The obvious (although, not so much to me) answer was correct. He had fallen asleep in his chair, in the bathroom, and was sleeping so peacefully that I forgot where I put him! Classic Mommy brain moment!

Honey, I lost the baby!

2010-03-10T23:19:00.004-06:00

Have I told you about the time I lost Brody. Well I am going to tell you now.
How, you ask, can you loose a baby that does not even crawl or walk yet (this was when he was roughly 5 months old)? Mommy brain, that's how!

It was a rainy November day and my schedule was packed with patients for the afternoon. Brody was cranky that day, and I had a photography assignment due by noon.
I finally got my homework done, organized my work bag, double checked my schedule to make sure I left the house in time to get to my first patient, and had to jump in the shower. I put Brody in his bouncy chair (where he always goes when I take a shower, the shower/fan in the bathroom calms him down and he loves it!) and got in the shower. I got out, picked out my scrubs for the day, did my make-up, dried my hair, put all of my make-up and hair products away, shut off the light and went to the kitchen to do the dishes. I noticed I still had some time before I had to wake up Corey and leave, so I jumped on Facebook and Blogger and was catching up on some blog reading. When I realized that I had 5 minutes before I needed to leave for work, I went to the living room to go check on Brody who was napping (or so I thought he was napping....) on the floor. I walked into the room and my stomach dropped to the floor - Brody was no where to be found. My mind raced, I checked the office where I was on the computer, maybe I left him there instead of the living room. Nope, no Brody. By now my mind is reeling... did he fall down the stairs? (Not likely, considering he could not crawl, and our stairs are protected by a child safety gait) Did someone come in from outside and take him? (again, not likely, since we have the doors locked at all times)
Ha! I thought, Corey has him. He must have gotten up and taken him back to bed with him as he sometimes does. I still felt sick with worry and I threw the door to our bedroom open and said (rather loudly and panicky) "PLEASE tell me you have Brody!?"
So not the way a father wants to be woken up from a deep sleep. "NO" he said. "What is going on?" I told him that I could not find Brody. Now I was really stressed and worried beyond belief.

Anyways, Brody is fine. We found him. I am not a failure of a mom like I thought. My brain, overloaded with life, just failed me temporarily.

Can anyone guess where we found him?

The answer to come!

Day 61

2010-03-01T22:19:00.000-06:00

Going for a stroll

Day 60

2010-02-28T22:16:00.000-06:00

Mom, my nap is over, can I come out now?

Day 59

2010-02-27T22:13:00.000-06:00

Have you noticed? I love sleeping Brody pics!

Day 58

2010-02-26T22:07:00.000-06:00

Day 57

2010-02-25T22:03:00.000-06:00

Day 56 - Brody 365

2010-02-24T21:44:00.000-06:00

Calling Daddy!

And one just for fun.

14 days of Catch-up Days 41-55 of Brody 365

2010-02-23T22:40:00.000-06:00

Enjoy.

Day 55 - Falling!

Day 54 - Hanging out with Grandpa.

Day 53- Grandma and Auntie Kristin.

Day 52- Playing at the Big Backyard.

Day 51 - Success

Day 50 - Nothing new to report.

Day - 49 Mohawks and Mischief

Day - 48 What looks good to you?

Day - 47 Alright Stop, Mommy time!

Day - 46 Happy Valentines Day

Day 45 - Letters from Grandma and Grandpa

Day 44 - Read a book.

Day 43 - Cheating. I realize that I do not have a day 43 picture :( So we will do pictures with daddy instead.

I am missing 2 days because of a snowstorm, no batteries, not going out in the cold, and my re-charger not working. - I will do two-a-days on 56, and 57 to make up for it!

Unfreakin Belivable.

2010-02-23T22:10:00.000-06:00

So I have been missing from Brody's Blog for a while now. Not because I have not been taking his pictures. That I have been doing. But because I lost my glasses and have not been able to see the screen. So stay tuned for one LONG post with about 14 days worth (ugh, did I really just type 14 days ??!!!) of Brody 365 photos.

I do not mind doing the blog, not at all, and look very much forward to seeing him progress over the year. But it takes so loooooooong for the pictures to upload. So give me about 4 hours, and the pictures should be up :)

I'll have a slice of humble pie, please.

2010-02-23T21:45:00.004-06:00

I don't lie in my blogs. I don't claim to be super-mom. I don't pretend to have it all figured out. Believe me, my house is not always cleaned, the laundry is not always done, and sometimes there are so many dishes in the sink I don't even know where to begin. This is what I do - make that, did - claim to have all figured out: Brody does not cry in public. He goes with us everywhere and we have never had a public meltdown! Pretty great for almost 9 months of age. I mean, he does not crawl, he does not walk, so I feel like it's OK to brag about this! When asked by others I say "he is great in public, no crying here, my little charmer" and I always chalked that up to something we did right as parents. So when my parents told us we were all going out to dinner for my sisters 23rd birthday, we jumped at the chance to go. Brody has been out to dinner TONS of times. My parents live 2 hours away and really are our only consistent babysitters, so you can imagine we take him almost everywhere with us. And over the past 8 months he has been so good! Chili's - no problem. Olive Garden - Easy! Our favorite pizza joint- piece of cake. He was so good every time we went out we have even ventured into the world of quite and serene sushi restaurants - without so much as a whimper from Brody. So yep, my baby is great in restaurants, and I let the world know.

MISTAKE.

OH MY GOSH. So after all of this talking him up to my parents, who have yet to experience a dinner out with Brody. We ventured out to Texas Roadhouse for Kristin's birthday. The minute we walked through the door, he started crying. Then they led us to our seats in the back and something caught his eye and scared the $h!t out of him so he cried some more. Putting him in the highchair - wailing. In fact the only time he would stop was when he was eating his puffs or my applesauce from my meal (that I specifically ordered for him, I just did not expect him to eat the entire dish!). Other than eating all he did was cry. Luckily it was a super loud restaurant so even my sister and dad at the end of the table could not hear him, and also probably the reason for the crying (seriously, it was so loud at points, I wanted to cry), that, and the weird thing on the ceiling that made him cry every time he looked up (we still do not know what it was) yet, he could not stop looking at it!

So yep. I learned my lesson - babies are unpredictable, and just when you think you have them all figured out they go and change it up on you- And swallowed a huge piece of my pride right along with that humble pie.

Sleep training makes me chuckle.

2010-02-17T11:07:00.005-06:00

And my thoughts on other parenting issues.

Disclaimer: If you do sleep train or have totally rigid schedules, I am not writing this post to say you are wrong! The opposite, in fact, this post is meant to say that everyone has their own way of doing things. I am just simply stating ours!

Actually any form of "training" for an infant makes me laugh.
I feel like I have always been honest in my blogs about being a mother and a wife, so believe me I am not going to start sugar-coating now, but I have a great baby. Sure the first 3 months were probably the hardest of my life - the sleeplessness (even when Brody slept great, I stayed up too late), the anxiety, the fighting with Corey.... but since the 4th month, it has been wonderful. Brody has slept well since he was a newborn. He naps 3-4x a day and sleeps 7-10 hours a night. We never did "sleep training" we simply put him to bed when he was tired. Did it take some time for him to be comfortable sleeping on his own, in the crib, through the night? Yep, you bed. About 2 weeks. Does he have a set bedtime? No. If he naps for 3 hours during the day, I let him. He obviously needs it if he sleeps it. So will I put him to bed at the same time that night? Nope - that will only lead to him whimpering and kicking and playing in his crib.

So we don't sleep train and you know what? We survived. Brody survived and we are happy.

I feel like moms are in a constant state of competition over what their baby's can or cannot do. My child stands. My baby walks. My baby can crawl up the stairs. My baby can surf the furniture. Guess what? Brody can't! He is 8 months old and he cannot crawl! He does not walk. He does not even army crawl! I will tell you that he can sit up on his own, he can get on all fours, and he can pull up. Babies all develop at their own rates! Your child will walk, crawl, roll, and sit up when they are ready! So no need to compete!!

Eating. I can't stand when people tell me how my child should eat. Brody at rice cereal in his bottle since 2.5 months. He had acid reflux and that worked for us. So he ate rice cereal earlier. He ate solids at 5, possibly even 4 months. Because he could. He could handle it and he did. So now when I hear people say. You can't feed him whole peas, or you should be feeding him this kind of food. I take their advice and smile and think in my head, mmm yeah, OK, were doing fine, but thank you! Brody can chew whole peas, and teething biscuits, and puffs. I think I know him best. I think most parents have a really good grip on what is best for their own child. So even if another baby is not ready yours may be in fact at that point. Don't let others make you feel bad for anything you do when you know it is right. :)

Babies grow at TOTALLY different rates. I just had lunch with a friend who was upset because someone told her her 8 week old is too small. She is eating well and growing on the same curve that she has been since birth. Her parents; 5'3 105lbs and 6'4 and very thin! Of course she will be little. She is tiny but long! SO weather your baby is on the bigger end or smaller end. Don't worry. Don't compare! Don't tell someone that their little one is too small! As long as they eat enough, are happy, and there is no other major health issues, don't worry! If we were all the same exact size and shape the world would be a pretty boring place!

That was my little rant on some issues that drive me nuts! I guess what I am mostly trying to say is stop comparing! Just because your baby can do more, does not make you a better parent or make you know more. Just because your baby does less does not make you less of a parent! Let them be babies! There will be time for rigid school competitions and schedules but for now, enjoy the baby just being a baby!

All that you can't leave behind.

2010-02-10T20:51:00.001-06:00

Corey and I are coming to a point in our lives where we want a change. We want to move. Move far from where we are now. I hate winter, cold, snow, and my job. Corey feels the same way, besides the job part, he is indifferent about that. But we both want to move.
Where, that is simple. NC or FL. Easy. I will be happy in either place(as long as it's Wilmington, NC and anywhere but Clearwater, FL).
What we are leaving behind is not so simple. My parents. I feel like we are taking Brody away from them. Their first grandchild, they love him to no end. I know it will break their hearts to see him go.
But what do you do when this kind of a situation presents itself?
I want to do what will make us as a family happy, and moving would definitely do that. I know what I want, I know what Corey wants, I just know that I will miss my family and Corey's brother and family terribly.
I told Corey today as long as I have him and Brody, I can deal with anything else. I guess it is time to stop worrying about what will make others happy and start worrying about what makes me happy. Me and Corey and Brody. It's a big step.

Corey called the Realtor tonight. Here we go.

Brody 365- 40

2010-02-10T00:38:00.000-06:00

Hi, My name is Brody. I pull up on EVERYTHING!

And this is what happens when daddy dresses me. Floods!

Brody 365- 39

2010-02-09T00:35:00.000-06:00

Family.

Brody 365 - 38

2010-02-08T00:23:00.000-06:00

The monthly Chair Shots.

Brody 365- 37

2010-02-07T00:08:00.000-06:00

Go Brody, GO!

Brody 365 - Day 36

2010-02-06T00:02:00.000-06:00

Brody 365- 35

2010-02-05T01:46:00.000-06:00

Happy 8 Months Brody. I am sorry we were stuck running errands all day long. We'll take your nice photos tomorrow. I love you Brody Bear!

The Man Behind the Curtain: Daddy Interview

2010-02-05T00:28:00.008-06:00

Dad's don't get a whole lot of credit, in my opinion. Do I think their feelings towards their children is different from a mothers - yes. Do I think it is any less special - no way. My wonderful husband plays Mr. Mom on Monday while I work all day and besides working himself (and 3rd shift at that) stays home with Brody every afternoon while I work. I think my husband is a pretty awesome Dad!

Mr. Mom

Here is the interview- I am asking the questions and my words are bolded. Corey is answering as best he could :)

How did you feel when you first found out I was pregnant?
Excited and Anxious

How about whey you found out we were having a boy?
Excited.
haha - a Man of few words.
Add happy and elated.

What were your feelings as I went into labor?
It's going to be a long ride, buckle up baby!

Were you nervous?
Nope.
Well when did you start to feel nervous?
I didn't

Tell me about Labor and Delivery from the daddy's perspective.
It was physically and mentally challenging. I remember feeling bad because it was so long (I was in labor for 29 hours) and the night we had him I went home to sleep and thought I would be back early in the morning and I woke up and it was noon! But you were not mad at me!
Nope, I knew you needed your rest too!

Did watching me go through labor and give birth to our son change your feeling towards me? Either way?
They change positively. I felt like we had a closer connection.

What is the hardest part about being a dad?
Having someone depend on you for everything, down to the most basic of things like getting from point a to b. I mean even the dogs can walk!

Ha, you crack me up. Do you have any hopes and dreams for Brody?
I hope he accomplishes everything he sets out to do in life and be happy. I don't want to set any stagnant goals like go to college, that may not be for him. As long as he has goals and tries to achieve them.

What is your least favorite baby chore?
Dirty Diapers - turd burglars.

Ha, you know I am going to put that in the interview! What is the one thing that surprises you the most about being a dad?
How incredibly fast time flies. How fast he grows and how you don't realize it until you look back at pictures.

How do you think having a child will effect our relationship?
Hopefully it will bring us closer together. Unless we have another one. Just Kidding. But those first few weeks were hard because we were adapting our lives to a new baby and it's not easy to change together. But we did.

So that is my interview with my husband. I teased him for being a man of few words, but really - he does a great job with Brody - eh hem - Wubbisk. And I think he is a fantastic dad (and an even better husband!)

Brody is 7 months old.

2010-02-04T22:14:00.000-06:00

January 4th 2010

7 months and time is flying by!

New this month - you are eating much more than just baby food.
You love your puffs, applesauce, beef stew, pot roast, mashed potatoes, corn, whole peas..... the list goes on and on. If it is soft enough for you to gum, you eat it. You eat 3 meals a day and drink about 30 ounces of formula a day.

Clothing - 6-9 month in some, but mostly 9 month.

Sounds : Tata, dada, baba, sssss

Rolling over from back to belly - FINALLY!

Favorite toys : The scooter from Grandma and Grandpa S and the activity table from mommy and daddy.

Weight: about 20 pounds.

Our love for you grows and grows with each passing day. You are so much fun to be around and you are such a good baby! Babisk - as we call you (along with Brody Bear, Wubbisk, the isk, bug, and the Brodster!) We love you baby boy!

Brody 365- 34

2010-02-04T01:39:00.000-06:00

I'm Naked and that's the way it's going to be.
Seriously though - my child only starts army crawling sans clothing. Hey, whatever works.

Nicknames and such.

2010-02-03T23:18:00.003-06:00

Sometimes I forget that we are in public when I use my nicknames for Brody and Corey. We really have some strange names for each other. Corey calls me dingers and I call him pingers. Brody has a ton of nicknames - the most commonly used one in our household is wubbisk (don't ask where we come up with these!).
So next time you are in the grocery store and you hear a crazy women yell: "Pingers!! Wubbisk and I are waiting for you!" don't worry, it's just us and our silly names.

PS I forgot to add that after I called Corey over by us he danced to "Isn't she Lovely" Right there in the store. Full out funny danced ... That is just how we roll.

Brody 365- 33

2010-02-03T01:30:00.000-06:00

Mom! Can I please try to feed myself? I promise I will not be messy!

Brody 365- 32

2010-02-02T01:27:00.000-06:00

Aw, My sleeping baby with carrots all over his face. Haha, Missed that when I cleaned him up after lunch!

Let's talk TV

2010-02-01T23:54:00.004-06:00

The Bachelor
I heart Tenley. I hope she wins. This was my immediate thoughts at the beginning of the episode tonight.
But at the end I was torn between Ali and Tenley. Hmmm....
I don't care for Gia or especially Vienna. With Gia, I just don't see it, no spark. But Vienna is annoying and young and annoying.
Poor Corrie! I really liked her.

and ....

FREAKIN LOST

I absolutely positively cannot wait for tomorrow nights episode. Corey and I are so wrapped up in lost. Right before our wedding we started watching season one and finished 3 seasons in a matter of 6 weeks. Yeah. It's that good. I can't believe that it will be over this year.

Did I mention I love TV shows? Because I do.

Brody 365 - 31

2010-02-01T01:16:00.000-06:00

Um, yeah. So I kind of fail at the ONE picture a day thing. I just cannot choose!

For some reason, B has an infatuation with clean diapers. That coupled with the shirt stuck on his big noggin, made me laugh so hard. My little boy cracks me up!

Brody 365 - 30

2010-01-31T21:57:00.000-06:00

One minute he was playing so nice, the next he was out!

Brody 365 - 29

2010-01-31T21:53:00.000-06:00

Nomming on my brush.

Brody 365 - 28

2010-01-31T21:50:00.000-06:00

Yummy juice... but mom, I think I am getting too big for this chair!

Brody 365 - 27

2010-01-31T21:46:00.000-06:00

Playing under the mommy fort.

I have gone missing.

2010-01-27T01:01:00.003-06:00

True, True. But my days are full. To the brim. Literally. Between Brody, Work, Classes, and spending time with my hubby I have almost no free time to get on here and blog! It is now 1:00 am and I am now just getting on the computer for the first time in days!

I have been spending some time over at Brody's Blog doing my 365 project. I think it will be so cool to look back at a picture a day for the next year and remember it all. And now Blogger is offering to make your blog into a book! I think I will do that for him every year at least for the first few.

My sister is pregnant!!! I am so happy for her and her hubby Nick. They will make great parents. I can't wait to be an aunt to to little baby! Woo hoo!

Work is stressing me out in a crazy way. (Crazy like a straw!) I work 30 hours only, but they don't seem to get that and keep loading more and more patients on my schedule. I am going nuts!

I made up with a very old and long-time friend this weekend. We have not talked in over 8 months. Not because we are far apart or anything, but because we had a bad fight. But typical me, I would not leave our friends going away party without at least speaking to her, and a great conversation came out of it with apologies on both ends, sincere apologies, followed by tons of drinks. Let's just say I was hung over the next day. Bad. But that was my first time in over a year going out like that. I learned my lesson. Drinking excessively + taking care of a 7 month old the next day = tiredness that lasts for days after!

All in all things have been well. Busy, but really good.

Wow, this post is all over the board. With no rhyme or reason, or even a point. U guess just an update. Hope everyone is doing well.
Come see the Broadster over at his blog! (He loves followers!)

Goodnight!

Brody 365 - Day 26

2010-01-27T00:51:00.000-06:00

Pulling up in the pack n play.

Brody 365 - Day 25

2010-01-26T00:44:00.000-06:00

Brody 365 - Day 24

2010-01-25T00:39:00.000-06:00

I am blessed.

Brody 365 - Day 23

2010-01-24T00:33:00.000-06:00

Cute and cranky. Hence the attachment to Nukkisk in these pictures.

Brody 365 - Day 22

2010-01-23T00:28:00.000-06:00

On our way to get his 2nd round of flu vaccines. And on our way back home. Can you tell which is which?

Brody 365 - Day 21

2010-01-22T00:22:00.000-06:00

Getting around (well, it's a start) and working on his scooter.
"What Mom, it needs a tune up!"

Brody 365 - Day 20

2010-01-21T00:19:00.000-06:00

Horrible picture quality, because I could not get Brody and Casper to sit still together to save my life. But, it's cute anyways. :)

Brody 365 - Day 19

2010-01-20T00:15:00.000-06:00

Tuesdays = Family Swim Day.

Brody 365 - Day 18

2010-01-18T23:26:00.000-06:00

Life is full of important choices!

Brody 365 - Day 17

2010-01-17T23:00:00.000-06:00

Showing off his treats and the chompers to go with them! Yay, for 2 teeth!

Brody 365 - day 16

2010-01-16T22:37:00.000-06:00

Spying on a content little boy.

My personal must-haves:

2010-01-16T12:43:00.001-06:00

So I did my mommy-must-haves, so now I want to do some of my personal favorite things I could not do without!

1. Bare Minerals Make-up. I love it and will never go back to a liquid foundation again. It does wonders for my super-sensitive skin, I hardly ever break out anymore, and it looks fantastic, so natural.

2. My Keurig coffee maker. I used it so much when Brody was not sleeping through the night yet. And it really saves us some serious dough, because we just make a cup to go and take it with us, instead of stopping at Starbucks or Caribou.

3. Burts Bees Chapstick and Mamma Bee Lotion. I am addicted to the chapstick, literally. I love the way it tingles on my lips after a minute or so, and it smells so good! The Mamma Bee lotion smells just like the chapstick and really revives my legs when they are tired from a long day of work.

4. Speaking of Bare Escentuals, I just started using this Skin Rev-er upper It is a lightweight primer that evens out your skintone and basically does what it says : it revs up your skin.

5. Suave Professionals I used to use Nexxus Therappe and Humectress but my friend Rita told me about this line from Suave, she swore by it and I tried and and literally didn't notice a difference at all! Well except in my wallet because I can buy the Suave version for 1.72 a bottle! Waaaahooo! (PS. I am super frugal lately, especially since Brody's arrival, if I can find something that works the way I need it to and it is cheap, I am not one to turn my nose up!)

6. Cherry cooler from Culvers. All I can say is YUM.

7. Express.

8. Online Bill Pay.

9. One Tree Hill

10. My Nikon Camera. Being that I take about 25 pictures a day, I don't think I can live without it! - Shh! Don't tell it that I am looking for a new one!
(PS. I am in no way stating here or on my photo blog that I am a "photographer" haha, I mean, I don’t even own a DSLR (YET). I shoot with a Nikon L100, which is basically a point-and-shoot on steroids. But I am in photography school - just to clear up any confusion!) My Camera

Brody 365 - Day 15

2010-01-15T22:09:00.000-06:00

Fresh laundry makes anyone feel warm and snuggly!

Brody 365 - Day 14

2010-01-14T21:57:00.000-06:00

Sleepy Boy.

Brody 365 - Day 13

2010-01-13T23:27:00.000-06:00

Splish Splash!

Brody 365 - Day 12

2010-01-12T21:28:00.000-06:00

Cutie Patootie!

My Baby Has His First Cold

2010-01-12T01:46:00.000-06:00

7 months and 1 week old, and its awful.
He coughs so much that sometimes he throws up.
He is so congested.
He has a runny nose.
He is very sleepy (which I am sure he needs the sleep).
I can tell his throat is sore, because he wont cry, just whimpers... aw :(
It's breaking my heart.
We are using the cool air humidifier, elevating his crib mattress, doing Tylenol for pain relief and the slight (99.9-100.3) fever he occasionally has, using the brain sucker, and taking him in the bathroom when we shower for steam.
I hope he feels better soon!

My Stick Family from WiddlyTinks.com

I got an Award- For being an honest Blogger.

2010-01-12T00:45:00.003-06:00

Thanks to my friend E over at Completely Eclipsed. Thank you for this great award, honestly awesome! Now I have to list 10 things about my self. I will try to list 10 things you don't know about me. Here goes:

1. Even though I went to school for 4 years and had a 3.0, I still only have an associates degree. I knew my B average grades would never get me into PT school and I still really wanted to do PT so I decided to be a PTA (can do the same treatments as a PT, I just cannot do the initial evaluation). I have 2 years of an undergrad biology degree done, my 2 year PTA degree completed, and 136 college credits - and only an associates!

2. I am terrified, like a fear that paralyzes me, of spiders. I cannot get near them, not even to kill them. Even if they are teeny tiny. They are just creepy. Now that I am a mommy and am home alone with Brody quite often there has been an occasion or two where I have had to step it up and kill a spider near Brody's crib, I can do it, but it takes a huge pep talk to myself and my heart races and I do it fast. Even now I am getting the chill bumps thinking about it.

3. I am quite literally the most disorganized person in the world. I loose my car keys and cell phone daily. And don't even get me started on my bag for work (I do home health care) where I loose my daily schedule, um, daily. It's very frustrating!

4. I am a diabetic, Type 1, but I LOVE CANDY. Love it! And I hate when people say, you probably should not be eating that - a) Mind your own business b) Diabetics can eat sugar, shocking, I know, in moderation. All I do is take more insulin to cover what I eat.

5. Some day Corey and I want to own our own pizza place. We would love to open a restaurant together and work out the rest of our days with each other. We want to serve great pizzas, have a really good- super fresh salad bar, and eventually serve drinks as well.

6. I love cake. Cake is my weakness. If I bake a cake for Corey for his birthday or some occasion, I usually (over the course of a week or more) end up eating almost the whole thing on my own.

7. I watch Beverly Hills 90210 and One Tree Hill every.single.day. Because of Soap net. I used to watch the OC again as well, but they did not have as many seasons and I have now seen every episode 4 times. Did you know 90210 was on for 10 years! 10 seasons and only 4 of the original cast members made it all the way through to the end? Well now you do!

8. I was a gymnast in high school, I was in choir, and performed on stage in front of hundreds a night in the "History of Rock and Roll" I sang 2 songs in the show and danced in 13 numbers. I love performing. I danced for a company in college. My Jr. high choir tried out for Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and were part of the children's Choir! I desperately miss being in the spotlight when I go see plays, musicals, sporting events, and dance recitals.

9. One of my favorite movies of all time is Labyrinth. It's so creepy and weird. But my sisters and I loved it and know every line. My husband is creeped out by it and will not watch it. Hmm, I think I am going to go throw in it the DVD player right now, since he is not home. "You remind me of the babe..."

10. I used to suffer from Diabulemia. It is a very little known about problem but it effects quite a few diabetic women/girls. Insulin makes you gain weight. Diabulemics deliberately give themselves less insulin than they need to loose weight. When I got diagnosed I went from weighing 85lbs (I was 21 years old - it was not cute) to weighing 125 lbs in one week. None of my clothes fit and after I gained that weight, my boyfriend of 4 years broke up with me. Needless to say I had a complex. It got really bad when I moved out on my own after college. I didnt have my parents monitoring me anymore, so I kind of had a field day with it. Thank GOD for Corey, because he noticed that I was not taking care of myself and implemented meter checks to make sure I was taking my blood sugar and that it was under-control. Also, he made me feel pretty and good about myself. Things could have been really bad for me and since I have been pregnant and cannot loose those last 15 lbs, I find myself thinking about doing it again. Then I think of my two wonderful boys in my life and know they love me for who I am, not what I look like. But it is a struggle day to day, still.

Phew, those are my 10 things.

Some other ladies I feel that deserve this award:

My friend Annie at The House That Jade Built
My friend Michelle at The Lady is ... in
My Friend Maureen at Livin.Lovin.Laughin. with Lillian
My Friend L at Whatever Happens, Happens
My friend Shannon at Faith Hope and Love
and
My blogger friend Becky at Any Day Now, I'm Waiting

Brody 365 - Day 11

2010-01-11T21:27:00.000-06:00

Aw. Sick little guy.

Brody 365 - Day 10

2010-01-10T21:16:00.000-06:00

Crib time. WOW! Really showing off his red hair in this picture.

Brody 365 - Day 9

2010-01-09T21:11:00.000-06:00

Things I want to remember: 0-6 months old.

2010-01-09T09:58:00.000-06:00

I want to remember the feeling we got taking you home for the first time, introducing you to the dogs, and being scared out of our minds, and not knowing what to do with you, but at the same time feeling so incredibly happy that you were here.

I want to remember you sleeping on my chest (as this is still going on, and has since day one home!). I love napping with you laying there and love when I come in and find you napping like this with daddy. Makes my heart melt.

How tiny you were in the beginning. So little, you didn't even fit in your bouncer, we had to prop you up with receiving blankets!

I want to remember those chubby cheeks and the silly faces you would make. You are a very animated baby!

The hand movements you did while you slept. Putting your hand out as if to say, leave me be, I am sleeping right now. So cute.

How much you enjoyed our daily summer walks in the summer.

The way you smelled as a newborn. Daddy laughs at me, but I love the smell of your newborn breath too.

I want to remember that cute little shiner you had on your eye for the first few weeks. What a trooper.

The NICU. Not a great memory, but going there every day, 5 times a day, to feed you and hold you and cuddle with you, bathe you, and change you. We lived for those little moments in the begining.

The way you sat in your bumbo, like a perfect little angel when we got it. You loved that seat!

I want to remember the way you would stick your tongue out, like you were trying to catch a bug! haha

The smell of Dreft on your clothes.

How cute you looked in your swaddle me.

I want to remember the first time you smiled, and then proceded to laugh at daddy! Priceless.

The way you would fall asleep as soon as I put you in my baby wrap.

I want to remember the way Grandma and Grandpa S. spoiled you. You are their first grandchild, and it shows! They love you so much!

How stinking cute you were in your turtle costume!

Your daddy and I love you so very much. We can't believe how big you are getting so fast. In many ways I want you to stay my little munchkin forever, but I can't wait to see you grow into your own person as well.

xoxo

My Stick Family from WiddlyTinks.com

Brody is 6 Months Old!

2010-01-08T23:39:00.000-06:00

December 4th 2009

November 4th 2009 - 5 months old.

*You are wearing all 6 month clothes!

*You are still in size 3 diapers.

*You are starting to say ba ba, ma ma, da da. But you have no clue what they mean.

*You are beginning to understand "No" But most of the time, you go right back to doing whatever you want to do! (Which is usually is scratching your chest where your exczema itches you)

*You can sit up on your own! Your balance is wonderful. You weight shift fantastically and can reach for objects without falling over!

*You eat 5-6 7 ounce bottles of formula per day and enjoy two full meals of second stage foods a day!

*It was your first Christmas! Your first New Years!

My Stick Family from WiddlyTinks.com

My top 10 must have for a happy baby (and a happy mommy).

2010-01-08T22:11:00.008-06:00

So now that I have had 7 - yep, that's right, 7! - solid months of raising a baby, I have gotten a pretty good grip on things I love and things that make parenting a bit easier! Here they are!

1. The Fisher Price Waterfall Soother.
- There is no possible way that Brody would ever sleep as peacefully without it. And the songs and sounds are actually nice to listen to, very relaxing.
Waterfall Soother

2. The Lovely Duds Wrap
- I go everywhere with this and never leave home without it. It is great for carrying him around in when I do not want to haul out the stroller. I can wear him in so many different ways, and if he is cranky it is a fail proof way to get him to nap fast!
Lovely Duds

3. Butt Paste.
I use this for more than just diaper rash. a) I use it to treat and to prevent diaper rash. I usually slather it on his little booty in the morning every day even if there is no sign of redness (which, unfortunately is usually not the case) to prevent. I put it on at the first sign of redness throughout the day to treat it and within the next few diaper changes, he is healed! b) I use it on his chest and tummy area before we go swimming or if he is especially drooly that day. He has baby exczema and it gets bad, so to protect it from the harmful chlorine and from his nasty drool, that seems to irritate his skin, I put this on and it helps a lot!
Butt Paste

4. Hyland's Homeopathic Teething Tablets.
Lifesaver in a bottle. Love, love, love these! They ease Brody's pain right away, and with all the teeth suddenly popping out, its wonderful! Plus they are all natural, so no medication is in them! Bonus!
Teething Tablets

5. Luvs.
You live, you learn, you get luvs - so true. So maybe this is not making for a happy baby, exactly - but they do save me a ton of money enabling me to buy more fun stuff for Brody when he needs it, in turn making him happy in the long run!
Luvs

6. The Bumbo Chair
Now that Brody sits up on his own, I do not utilize it as much as I had, but I love this invention. Who would have thought a foam seat would be so popular. I use it while I am getting ready for work, Brody sits in his bumbo on the bathroom counter (ALWAYS supervised, of course) and watches me and himself in the mirror. Feeding times, and now that he eats snacks on his own, the tray is great!
Bumbo Seat

7. Mylicon Drops
From the month of 0-4 these were awesome. I would give him his dose right before his meal, not every meal, but at least every meal before bedtime, sometimes more throughout the day if he was really fussy. And it really relieved his gas and fussiness.
No More Gas!

8. The Munchkin Formula Dispenser.
I do not leave home without it. Its so nice to have his formula pre-measured when I am out. The way in clicks into place to let you know your in the right spot to pour out the formula is great as well, and we never loose any formula in transferring it from the dispenser to bottle.
Munchkin Formula Dispenser

9. Mophead
The octopus toy we lovingly refer to as "Mophead" - Brody's favorite toy. It has so much for him to explore on it, and he can hold it. It really keeps him entertained for quite a long time. It goes on every car trip with us.
Mophead @ LTD

10. The soothie holder.
We love our soothies, and Brody loves to not only soothe himself with it, but chews on it like a biscuit for teething! But when they fall they bounce and roll and then they get lost. The holder, albeit somewhat large, works like a charm. Especially when we are out in public! The wubbanub is also wonderful and cuddly!
Soothie Holder
Wubbanub

Items I could do without - The Space Saver high chair - my husband will tell you that I have have an unusually large amount of hate for this item and I am not kidding. Space saver my a$$! It takes up a whole chair in our kitchen (which I totally didn't even thing about when adding it to my registry back when we registered) leaving us with 3 instead of 4. So when we have company over, I have to take it off the chair. I also despise Targets return policy on registry items. They would not let me return it, because it had been longer than 90 days past my due date. Well, hello, I am not going to pull out a high chair and use it when my baby is 0-3 months old! Blah!
The doorway bouncer - Brody never took to it, and the few times he did go crazy and jump around, in it, I always felt like he was going to bang his head on the door frame.
Huggies, Babies R Us brand, and Fisher Price diapers - AWFUL. Like cardboard on my little baby's booty, and leaks galore. Give me Pampers or Luvs - nothing else works, IMO.
Fast Flow nipples - Woah, Brody can polish off an 8 oz bottle in 4 minutes flat with these, causing him to spit up a lot and be hungry again within an hour and a half. No thanks!
Wipes Warmer - Stopped using this after week one! Waste of money and electricity!

Now that I did 10 - there are more I can think of. But I will wait for a later post. Hope this gives some new mommies and mommies to be some good things to think about!

Brody 365 - Day 8

2010-01-08T21:08:00.000-06:00

Good Morning Sunshine!

brody 365- Day 7

2010-01-07T21:04:00.000-06:00

Happy little boy!

Brody 365 - Day 6

2010-01-06T20:56:00.000-06:00

Snow Day!

Brody 365 - Day 5

2010-01-05T20:54:00.000-06:00

vroom!

Brody 365 - Day 4

2010-01-04T20:49:00.000-06:00

Just hanging out in the house.

Brody 365 - Day 3

2010-01-03T20:28:00.000-06:00

Just hanging out with my new puppy!

Brody 365 - Day 2

2010-01-02T20:24:00.000-06:00

Here Mom, have a frog leg!

Brody 365- Day 1

2010-01-01T20:09:00.000-06:00

I want to document Brody (yeah, like I don't already have thousands of pictures of him!) and how he grows throughout 2010! So every day I will take at least one picture of him! Here goes:

It's sad to me that these are the only two pictures I have of him in his New Years outfit. Corey took a few of Brody and I all dressed up, but they both turned out really blurry :(

2009 - The best year of my life.

2009-12-31T20:07:00.003-06:00

January
Found out we were having a Brody, and not a Brooke!

Feburary
Started the Nursery and laying wood laminate down in the hallway and B's room.

March
Finished the Nursery

Started 3rd tri.

March was a big month as we also went on our "babymoon"

April
Brody's baby shower

May
Visiting Jodie and Wayne in Kentucky

35 weeks pregnant - little did we know I only had one more week left!

June
Welcome Brody!

Family.

Less than 24 hour old, in his crib/warmer

July
Brody is one month old!

August

September

October

November

December

Merry Christmas - In pictures!

2009-12-27T19:40:00.000-06:00

Christmas 2009. What an incredibly amazing experience. Having a child at Christmas time makes is such an unbelievably awesome experience.

We did Christmas Brunch at Cog Hill in Lemont, IL on December 20th with my parents. Then Christmas eve at Kurt's house (Corey's Brother - Brody's Godfather), then Christmas day at my parents house as well as the Saturday after, with more of my family. It was a whirlwind of days and seeing family and friends. We were truly blessed by the generosity of our parents towards us as a family. My sisters were actually both in town at the same time, so that was wonderful as well! It was a truly amazing Christmas!

I took my first crack at professional-like photos last night.

2009-12-11T10:42:00.004-06:00

Of course on my favorite subject, Brody :)

You can check them out here:

Brody's Christmas Pics

I love feedback!

Destined for a "mommy" suit?

2009-12-09T01:56:00.002-06:00

So Brody and I went to mommy and me swim today. It was great! Brody took to the water like a fish - his first time in the pool and no tears or fear or anything negative. Except maybe my body image. OK, maybe is an understatement. More like definitely my body image. I am getting ready and I go to put on my swim-suit circa 2008 pre-pregnancy = FAIL! There are rolls in the small of my back on each side and my c-section area just does not look right, more like a bowl full of jelly. Now I am back to my pre-preg weight, but I was up about 10 lbs more than usual when I got pregnant anyways, but I digress. So, second attempt - my speedo from training for and swimming in a triathlon = FAIL. Things were bulging out and the suit barely covered my newly shaped chest area. YUCK. So back to the pre-preg bikini - with a tank top over it. Yep, that is what I wore to the pool today. Luckily there were only 5 other famlies in this massive waterpark all of which were moms, all of which were wearing very mom-ish bathing suits. So am I destined to be banned to the mommy suits and tankini racks? I guess only time will tell. My love of pizza, popcorn, and ice cream is not helping matters much.

*sigh*

Off to scope out a new bathing suit on-line, as we have another mommy and me swim next tuesday and I really want to go, and I really want to leave the tank top at home.

Here it comes....

2009-12-07T15:03:00.003-06:00

Forecast for Tuesday evening to Wednesday morning: 9-13 inches of snow.

@#%&$@ I knew we had it too good so far! I guess mother nature is paying us back for the extremly warm weather (for WI, anyways) that we have had so far. Looks like I may be staying home on Wed.

Sledding for Brody, here we come!

My big boy!

2009-12-06T13:03:00.001-06:00

In one day -

2009-12-06T01:31:00.002-06:00

We went from this:

to this:

for minutes at a time!! I am so proud of our little boy! I was congratulating him and laughing with him, and whooping in delight! Can you imagine how I will be when he starts to crawl, or better yet, WALK!!???

Good Job, Brody!!!!!

This, my friends, is not crying:

2009-12-05T00:08:00.002-06:00

No, no! This is Brody's new sound he makes when he is HAPPY. Yes, Happy. Or motivated. Or doing something he is pleased about. Corey is not getting much sleep, being that he works the night shift and Brody is up doing this all day long. But we still thing it is cute (only a parent, right ;) ?) and funny!

He is trying so hard to be mobile, he is just not getting the concept. He moves his little feet like he is trying to go somewhere, but his arms are back like superman and the only time he moves forward is when he has his head on the ground!! haha

Any suggestions from moms about how to prevent this: from happening, would really help me out!

Brody is 5 months old!

2009-12-04T23:57:00.000-06:00

November 4th 2009 - 5 months old.

*You are wearing 3-6 month and 6 month clothes. 3-6 is getting snug at the end of the month!

*You are still in size 2 diapers.

*You are becoming so animated, so fun, and developing your own personality. You love to check out your surroundings.

*We got you a doorway jump-a-roo, but you never took to it. You really like being in your car walker.

*You eat 5-6 6 ounce bottles of formula per day and enjoy one full meal and one 1/2 meal per day! You are getting better at holding your own bottle up!

*At Thanksgiving you ate some squash, mashed potatoes, and had a sippy cup full of water. You do not know what to think of the water and make a pretty funny face when you drink it!

*You are starting to hold yourself up sitting unsupported, with the help of your arms! Daddy says you look like a little gorilla in that posistion!

*You spent a lot of time with Aunt Carrie and Uncle Kurt this month.

*You went and visited Grandma S at work!

*We took pictures in the park and you helped Mommy with a photography assingment!

*You are teething like MAD and are constantly chomping on your hands and anything else you can get in your mouth! There is one tooth that is almost all the way out of the gum - any day now - we have been able to see it for over a month!

You are the best little boy we could have every asked for, I say it all the time, and I will say it again: Our lives are truly blessed to have you in it! We love you Brody bear!

Brody is 4 months old!

2009-12-04T23:27:00.000-06:00

October 4th 2009

Daddy and I feel that you have changed so much this month. You are becoming your own person and devleloping your own personality. You like to explore your surroundings and take everything in. I have so many pictures of you this month it was hard to just choose 10 to show off here!

*You started eating solids, first rice cereal with a spoon (for about 2 days) then on to carrots and peas! You love food. Now you are eating Carrots, Peas, green beans, squash, applesauce (your favorite), and banannas.

*You drink 6 5 ounce bottles of formula a day.

*We finally Broke you of the Swaddle at night!

*You are constantly putting your hands in your mouth (makes it very hard to take pictures of you! and you like playing with and putting toys in your mouth as well!

*Mommy and Daddy went to Rachael's wedding on Mommy's birthday and Grandma and Grandpa S. Babysat for you.

*Your first Halloween - you were a turtle!

*You wear 3-6 month clothes and size 2 diapers.

Brody is 3 months old!

2009-12-04T23:06:00.000-06:00

September 4th 2009

*You still eat 4 ounces, sometimes - every once in a while 5 ounces - of pumped milk every 4 hours. We have been putting rice cereal in it because you have a bit of acid reflux - which is common for preemies, your pediatrician says.

*You are in size one diapers

*You are wearing 0-3 month and 3 month clothes!

*You like to bear weight on your feet and we are trying out your new toy car!

*We went to Cedarburg on the day you turned 3 months and Grandpa and Grandma S came and babysat you so mommy and daddy could go out.

*You are teething and drooling a ton!

*You still like to be swaddled at night when you sleep.

*You started holding your own bottle!

*Mommy went back to work - you spend your mornings and nights with me and your afternoons, while I am at work with daddy!

We love you so much, little baby Brody. Our lives are blessed to have you in them!

Brody is 2 months old!

2009-12-04T22:40:00.000-06:00

August 4th 2009 - You are now 2 months old.

*You love, love, love snoozing in your Lovely Duds wrap!

*You can hold you head up for long periods of time and you love your Bumbo Chair!

*You love going on your daily walks with Mommy and checking out all the sights and sounds!

*You are smiling more and more each day!

*You sleep in 6 hour stretches at night and get up to eat then go right back to bed.

*You eat 4 ounces of pumped milk every 4 hours!

*You still wear size one diapers.

*You still fit into your NB sleepers, but wear both NB and 0-3 month sleepers, wear 0-3 month clothes (except pants - you still wear NB pants!)

*Daddy can make you smile the most!

*Mommy reads to you every night "Guess How Much I Love You?" and "5 Little Monkeys"

Post-it notesTuesdays

2009-11-17T23:08:00.004-06:00

November Showers bring....

2009-11-13T23:02:00.003-06:00

... one relaxed and refreshed mama!

Today I am going to write about the amazing shower I just took. Now don't get me wrong, I shower every day, but not those good showers, the ones where you just stand there and soak up the realization. Usually its a 5-8 minute rush to get in and out before Brody wakes up or starts crying. Well tonight, instead of facebook stalking for a half hour and blogging or posting pictures, I took the most incredible shower at 12:30 am. Brody was asleep for the night, and without fear that he would wake up and start crying and wake up Corey, I took a wonderful shower for a half hour! It was so nice not to rush through it, to enjoy my shower like I used to. So relaxing.

If I could offer one really good pre- baby bit of advice to soon-to=be moms, is enjoy your last few days/weeks of really long relaxing showers. Because you never know the next time you will get to experience that again.