Pre-party anxiety?

Does anyone else get this?
This is the best name I could give it.

I googled it, and it seems like its the anxiety before going to a party.
I get it when throwing a party.

When I was younger, my parents constantly forgot my birthday.
I know, awe.
It really still affects me today.
In fact, I still don't throw birthday parties for myself.
I stopped probably when I was a teenager.

You see, any time there has been anything exciting happening in my life, I pretty much had to plan it myself.
There was only one time I could think of where I had someone do everything for me, and that was my first baby shower.

My boss teamed up with one of reps (I was a manager at the time) and together they put on a baby shower for me.
I had no idea what was going to happen (which, if you know me, doesn't always go over well with me. I like to be prepared for what to expect with everything). All the food, games, etc were taken care of. All I did was show up, play along with whatever was going on, open gifts and go home. It really was nice. There was no stress. I just enjoyed the party.

My second baby shower was a team effort between myself and a friend of mine (coworker). Just a few things that we worked on together and she helped as much as she could.

Over the years, I have thrown parties for myself (which I stopped doing a long time ago) and my kids and I seem to get the same results.
What happens is that I get super excited about having a party and having people over at my house (since I actually never go out and do things- I guess I'm kind of a hermit- I spend time with my family and not much "socializing") and I go all out with decorations and making yummy food (I'm a pretty bomb cook and baker btw) and get everything ready in advance and get the kids excited and hype them up that it's going to be so fun…. then, the day of the party comes.
And, no one shows (or only like 5 people when I invited tons since I know tons of people and I have tons of people say they are going to come and then the day of they all have something come up).
Now, I know that things happen.
I understand.
However, it is still frustrating. No. Maybe frustrating is not the right word here. Depressing.
This has been how it has been my entire life.
A continuous circle of disappointment.

Now, I can't, as a good parent, let my kids see this.
I have to still put on parties for them and beg my bum off to get people to show (yes, I have actually begged people before for my son's party when almost no one was going to show and we were about to lose our party table at Chuck E Cheese because we didn't even have 5 kids- and 2 of the ones we had were mine!).
I still get super excited with them and tell them that they are going to have an awesome time.
I still do what any good mom would do.

However, I get pre-party anxiety every time.
I panic when I get a bunch of "something just came up" or "oh we already have plans" or "I totally forgot about a thing that we already have that day".
My thought process led me to ponder when I get invited to parties.
I go to almost every one (unless I have tickets to like the Nutcracker or something) I get invited to.
I hardly ever miss a party.
I buy gifts (well, there has been a time or two here and there I totally spaced it out and felt AWFUL).
I show up (not always on time, but I do my best) and I stay as long as I am able with 2 rowdy kids.
So, does that mean that I am not important enough to those around me to make parties that I throw a priority? Or, am I over analyzing this?

Now, I have had challenges in the past with invitation.
I have sent social media invites, emails, text messages, calls and still have the same results.
I have sent actual invitations and they are about the same as well.
Not sure what is supposed to work out best here.

So, for this Gender Reveal Party, I did not have anyone to help me with the party.
I did it all myself.
I am proud of the planning I did and I think the party is going to be awesome.
The challenge is getting people to attend.

With all this being said, I am NOT looking for a pity party here.
I am just expressing some thoughts and anxiety on my part.
Why? I'm tired. It is a lot of work to put on a party for people (that is why I make an effort to attend as many parties as I can if I am invited since I know the work put in), and it might just affect me more then others when only a few people show just because of my past experiences.

So, today, my anxiety started kicking in for the party coming up this weekend.
I have everything ready on my end.
My house is clean (minus a few small last minute details). The decorations are purchased. The craft stuff is pretty much done.
All I have left is the baking (which will be done on Friday to provide the yummiest and freshest treats), putting out smelly good candles, decorating, and picking up the food and cake (which all of that will be done last minute on Saturday).
Do I have high hopes for this party?
No.
Do I hope I am wrong?
Yes.
Will this party determine whether or not I do a baby shower? (I am on bed rest, so I don't have any coworkers who will want to help me put together a shower, so I know I will have to do it all myself.)
Yes it will.
I don't think I will have it in me to do 2 parties so close together when it feels like no one is going to come.
Thanks anxiety. You're totally awesome. Not.

Gender Reveal Party Crafting

Hello all!
I just wanted to show you some pics from today's progress towards our party this weekend.

We are having a gender reveal party.
Ultrasound Friday. Party Saturday. Why so soon? Because I NEED TO KNOW!!!!!

So, for the party, I am trying to do as much as I can myself vs. paying for it or commissioning it from someone else. And, why not? I'm crafty!

So, the first thing I made today was the party favor Hershey bars!
I bought 24 Hershey bars (4 packages worth) and bought pink and blue sharpies and colored them in.
I only took a pick of the first one. I will take a better pic when I set up the party Saturday.
It was super easy to do!
The only challenges were:
1) If you held the candy bar while coloring, the chocolate seemed to melt a little from my hand.
2) The sharpie left lines in the coloring. I would have preferred a "seamless" color. The pink was way better than the blue.
3) There were a few times where I needed to give it a "second coat" of sharpie since it seemed a little light also.
For the day of the party, I will also have pink and blue marshmallows. If the kids at the party decide they want S'mores, I have graham crackers in the pantry and we can fire up the oven super quick to do indoor S'mores.

Next, I made badges for people to wear to sport the gender of the baby they are rooting for.
The theme of the party is "Ties and Tutus", so I made a cardboard pattern from an empty box out of the recycling bin and traced the pattern onto pink and blue craft foam from Michael's.
The foam was super inexpensive (don't remember exactly how much) and I was able to make plenty of them from each large sheet of craft foam.
Then, I cut them out (of course, the most tedious part) and added pins to the back.
The pins were self-adheisive, so all we had to do was take off the paper backing and stick!
My toddler helped out with this part because stickers are fun!

The last project for today was favor bags.
Since we have so many other goodies, I made super simple bags.
The only have mints inside, so nothing fancy.
The favor portion of the table will have these, Hershey bars, and lollipops, (plus they will have their badges that they can take home if they want) so they will have plenty of goodies to take home.

I was going to work on the canvas tonight, but opted for laundry and dishes instead since they were cluttering up my kitchen.
I will work on it tomorrow.
We are making a fingerprint tree. It will be a canvas with a black tree on it. As the guests arrive, they will be able to put their finger (or thumb) in pink or blue ink and make "leafs" on the tree. There will be a fine point sharpie there also, in case they want to write their name next to their fingerprint. This painting will go up in the baby's room (which will technically be our room, but since its so huge, the baby gets its own corner/half).
All I will be doing with the canvas tonight is tracing the design and then tomorrow I will paint the tree so it has plenty of time to dry before Saturday.

Hope y'all like the crafty stuff.
I got all my ideas from Pinterest (go figure)
Here's my profile if you want to see links or other ideas I looked at for this party
http://www.pinterest.com/c2mcdaniel/

Is this part of being a Mom or am I just crazy?

So, I find myself doing things that seem OCD to me.
And, sometimes I laugh at myself and think "Do other Moms do this?"
What do I mean?

Is it normal for a Mom to randomly check the bathrooms?
Why?
Someone probably didn't flush the toilet at some point today.
Or, someone probably used the toilet paper as streamers in the bathroom.
Or, there might be toothpaste all over.
Or, wet pull-ups casually tossed about instead of in the trash.
Or, if there is a child inside the bathroom and there is also great silence, then there is something happening that the child knows they are doing wrong.

What about the sniff check.
You find a mysterious smell and you track it down.
Why?
It could be a rotted half eaten banana stuffed behind some piece of furniture.
It could be a diaper or pull up stuffed in a vent (because someone wanted to hide the evidence).
It could be poop in a drawer all by itself (yes this happened).
It could be some other mysterious substance that has been there for who knows how long and we have no idea what it even is at this point.
If the smell is attached to a kid, yes, we even smell their bottoms.
Non parents are probably cringing at this- the smelling of a another human being's bottom.

Moms (and yes dads too) get all the dirty jobs:
diapers
boogers
throw up
diarrhea
snot (totally different from boogers)
poop
pee
You name it
All in the name of Love.

If you are a Mom, you have probably been:
Pooped on (I actually woke up one time surrounded in diarrhea from a sick baby- it was in my hair and everything)
Peed on (if you have boys, you know all about the challenges of changing diapers without getting wet)
Drooled on (kisses!)
Thrown up on (those unexpected throw ups are brutal)
Sneezed on
And more

But, if you are like this Mommy, you wouldn't have it any other way.

Does that mean that we are constantly searching the house like an investigator for the next "event" our children have brought into our lives? (Like the moms who have had to clean up the poop paint their little artist has left on the walls)
Yes it does.
Does that make us crazy?
Nah…. although any non-parents may think so
"What are you doing?"

Natural Remedies and Essential Oil Use Crash Course

Today we stopped in Whole Foods to get our fruits and veggies like we do every weekend, and I decided to grab a few essential oils that I use frequently to make sure I don't run out.
In that aisle I was greeted with a pleasant surprise. I saw a friend of mine that I haven't seen in probably 4 or 5 years.
She is a super sweet lady, who is also expecting, and she was lost as far as natural remedies was concerned.
I remember being lost and wanting to try something better for us. I also remember all the research (and the continued research that I still do) to learn how to use essential oils and other natural remedies properly.
So, I grabbed my phone and googled a few oils that she could use for her respiratory infection and helped her out.

Once I got home, I thought "Maybe I should post a bit about essential oils"
If you want daily tips and recipes, I post constantly on my Facebook page here:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jill-of-All-Trades

So here's a crash course on the basics you will need (because essential oil and natural medicine is a big subject to cover) and what some of the benefits are:

Lavender- many uses- most popularly used essential oil
-Relaxation- use in a burner to scent a room, in your bath, scent a pillow, etc to relieve tension
-Fever- rub on feet and spin to quickly reduce a fever
-Antibacterial/antiviral- reduce healing time on cuts, scrapes, bites, and stings
-Burns- reduces redness and swelling
-Eczema/Dermatitis - mix with coconut oil to relieve pain
-Nausea/Motion Sickness - put behind ears or neck or navel
-Dry/Chapped/Sunburn lips or skin
-Hay fever
-Dandruff
-Cold Sores
-Flavor booster- add to certain foods to boost flavor

Peppermint- most concentrated oil- typically will need a carrier oil or mixed with other things to use without causing harm to self (please research before use the best mix for each ailment)
-Fever- use with a carrier oil to reduce fever (can also help if its a super hot day)
-Nausea/Motion Sickness/Morning Sickness
-Headaches/Migraines
-Insects/Spiders - spray around you house to deter pests
-Indigestion
-Colds/Congestion
-Stress reducer
-Get energy
-Sore Muscles
-Dandruff
-Tired feet
-Air freshener (put some in the bottom of your trash can to get rid of yucky smells)

Eucalyptus- MANY uses also - research for all of them
-Antispasmodic
-Antiviral/Antibacterial
-Asthma
-Bronchitis
-Analgesic
-Anti-catarrhal
-Anti-inflammotory
-Insecticidal
-Expectorant
-Diabetes
-Dysentery
-Fever
-Flu
-Hypoglycemia
-Jet Lag
-Kidney Stones
-Lice
-Measles
-Pneumonia
-The list goes on and on!

Tea Tree Oil- may need a carrier oil- please research before using - very powerful oil also
-Antibacterial
-Anti fungal
-Cuts/scrapes/stings (Antiseptic)
-Warts
-Dandruff
-Acne
-Congestion
-All purpose cleaner (research many recipes online to cater to what you are cleaning)
-Antiviral
-Lice
-Persistent body odor
-Sinus infection
-Toothaches
-Sunburn
-Aromatherapy

Chamomile
-Aromatherapy
-Anti-inflammotory
-Acne
-Diaper rash
-Eczema
-Teething or colicky children
-PMS
-Abdominal pain
-Gall Bladder
-Throat infections
-Allergies/Hay fever/Asthma

As always, check and research before using. Some oils are safe to use with children. Some are not. Also, some are not ok to use when pregnant or need to be majorly diluted or used with a carrier oil. Some you need to always dilute or use a carrier oil before using. Some you can apply directly to the skin. Please make sure to research. Better safe then sorry. My guide is just to get you started.

Here are some websites with more info:

http://www.crunchybetty.com/21-things-you-should-know-about-essential-oils
https://www.auracacia.com/auracacia/aclearn/ar_directory.html
http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/09/18/5-essential-oils-that-heal/

Hope this helps!
Live well and be well!

Raising Boys. Not for the weak of heart.

Do you have boys?
I do. And, I grew up with just a sister, so I had no previous experience with raising or growing up with boys for a basis of comparison.
The older they get, the more I come to terms with the fact that raising boys is very much not for the weak of heart.
And, if you start out weak, you won't be for long.

First of all, boys are gross and dirty.
Here's some examples:

Boy1 (while sitting on his brother): I'm going to fart on you
Boy2: I'll pee on you.
Boy1: I'll poop on you
Then they chase each other around laughing and pretending to fart on each other, so all you hear is giggling and fart noises (made mostly by their mouths, I hope)

After bath time:
Boy1 (while naked shaking his pee pee): Look! My pee pee!
Boy2: Ew! (runs away while Boy1 chases him)

Boy1: Mom, what's that smell?
Me: *sniffs* I don't smell anything, honey.
Boy1: Is that… fart *giggles*
Me: Did you just fart on me?
Boy1: Yes *giggles and runs away*

Boy1: Mom, what's this on my finger?
Me: I don't know. Where did you get it?
Boy1: It's from my nose
Me: So, it's a booger
Boy1: Here. It's for you *tries to wipe booger on me* or *tries to put booger in my mouth*

Boy: Mom, come here
Me: What?
Boy: I need to show you something! Quick!
Me: *runs upstairs to the bathroom* What's up?
Boy: Look at my poop *points to toilet*
(at least it was in the toilet)

Boy (while sitting watching a movie at the theater): Mom, smell my finger
Me: *sniffs* Ew, what is that? What did you touch?
Boy: I put my finger in my butt. It's my poop.
Me: Stop it and watch the movie (then get out the hand santizer and wipes- gross)

I have tons more stories. These are just examples.
You have to have quick reflexes, patience, and lots of hand santizer and wipes at all times.

Secondly, they are apparently in a hurry to physically harm themselves on a daily basis.
For example:

Me: Stop running.
*children completely ignoring me and laughing and running*
Me: Stop running before you hurt yourself
*children continue to ignore me*
*BAM! someone runs into something and gets hurt*
Me: I told you to stop running. Are you going to stop now?
Boy (while crying): No

Boy: I want to help you cook!
Me: Don't touch the stove. It's hot. You will get a boo boo.
*boy darts hand to touch pan anyway before I can stop him and burns finger*
Me: I told you not to touch it!
Boy (while crying): But I wanted to touch it.

Me (while walking in a parking lot near a busy street): Hold my hand! Safety first!
*boy totally ignores me and darts into traffic*
Me: STOP!!!!!!
*drops everything in my hands to grab him before he gets hit by a car (cuz honestly who gives a crap about anything else I was carrying when my child is in danger)*
Me: Do you see that car? You almost got hit. You would have got a big boo boo and had to go the hospital
Boy: LET ME GO! I WANNA RUN!

I have plenty of examples of this also. Getting hurt is a daily occurrence with 2 boys.
They have scars, bumps, and bruises. It happens.
I used to worry that people would think I was such a crappy mom.
Like they are going to think that I don't even care for my own children.
Then, some older moms with grown children explained that it was unavoidable, really. I mean, you can only do so much. Don't stress it. Do you your best.
Well, that is definitely easier said then done.
However, I did notice that I wasn't the only one. In fact, there are plenty of moms on social networking expressing the same struggles, so I knew I wasn't alone.

Another thing is that they give me mini heart attacks daily.
Like when they decide to clim to the top of the playground and try to jump off.
Or, grab scissors and try to cut towels.
Or, try to take their LeapPad into the tub.

I know some of it is a learning process but gee whiz! You can't look away!
I'm sure I will have more stories later, but I thought this would be a fun starter to how raising children (in my case boys) is not for the weak of heart, by far.

I had the most ingenious idea EVER! Maybe...

Would you like to hear my ingenious plan?
I need to google of course to see if anyone has created it yet.
I'm sure it does, and if so this post is nothing but the random ramblings of an uneducated person about these things.
If it doesn't exist, I wish it did.
But, this blog will be here as proof (if it doesn't exist) that I come up with this idea in case someone steals it (maybe not the best idea for me to do, but I want to share this idea) so I can get some credit or something.
And, maybe get a patent. I'd probably just do a "poor man's" patent and mail it to myself and not open it.
If it does exist, where? I need it! Now!

Any-who!
So, here is my idea and how I came up with it.

Let's start at the beginning.

I did a bit of yard work today (pulling weeds and laying mulch). Nothing too strenuous, but given my health issues and high risk pregnancy, apparently it was too much for me (even though I had help from my toddler).
So, this resulted in a massive migraine that ensued later that evening.
Another contributing factor to that could also have been the fact that I spent 3 hours with my children that afternoon who were screaming and fighting nonstop. I actually went a bit hoarse from trying to get their attention and get them to stop. They were louder than me. Anyone would get a migraine after that!

After dinner, I decided that I needed to take action.
Since I am pregnant, I cannot take Excedrin Migraine (which is the only thing that typically helps when I get a stress migraine). I took Tylenol, but it wasn't helping.
I asked my 7 year old to watch the 3 year old for a bit, put on a movie, and went to the tub for relaxation.

Relaxation for me entails:
Bubble Bath (warm water this time vs hot water per my norm since it is not good for the baby to be in hot water- it can cause birth defects)
Zen relaxation "music"
Scented candles
Lavender essential oil in the bath
Epson salt in the bath
Peppermint oil or lotion (from Origins) on my temples
Lights off
Door locked (so as not to be disturbed by "Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom")

Once I have all that, I soak in the tub for about 20-30 minutes.
This gives enough time for the muscles to relax (typically the culprit for a migraine) and the essential oils and headache medicine time to work.
By the end of the time, I feel not only much better, but very relaxed and ready to go back to being Mommy!

While in the tub, I had a thought.
First of all, in our new house, we do not have the Roman sized tub like we had in our old apartment. This was the only thing I disliked about our house, but it wasn't enough to deter me from the house since it was, other than the tub, perfect.
So, because the tub is MUCH smaller and I am MUCH bigger these days, I don't really "fit" in the tub.
My tummy is completely above water. My chest is also above water. And, its not long enough to fit all of me in. I have to take turns having my feet and my upper half of my body in the water.
This situation made me wish there was a way to go somewhere (like a spa) and have a Roman tub just to soak in. Not to bathe (I bathed earlier today after the yard work), but just to soak and relax.

While I am pondering, I am also rubbing my tummy.
Another "fun" part of being preggers is the awesome stuff that happens to your body.
That includes, aches, pains, itchy skin, heartburn, stretch marks, headaches, etc.
So, I thought "Wouldn't it be nice to also get a massage right now, like when you go get a mani-pedi."

Then, it hit me!
Why don't they have a ZenSpa type of place that caters mainly to pregnant woman. It of course could be for anyone, but their main client could be those mommies who desperately just want to be pampered.

What would they offer?

Tub Soaks

- can add bath salts or bath bombs 

- can add essential oils

- can add candles

- can add body scrubs 

- can add face masks

- can add other specialty bath options

- always plays zen music

- can add massage therapist to massage feet, legs, belly, arms, hands

- if they can make a tub where the mommy can lean over while still in the tub, then back and shoulder rubs also

- for the non-expecting, can add detox soak

Massages
- just like at somewhere like Massage Envy
- can add and cater the massage to what you need or want
- has tables or ways to accommodate the mommy belly

Salon services
- manis
- pedis
- waxing
- no false nails though (that's a whole different thing)
- scalp massage
- remedies for damaged hair (masks, rinses, etc)
- natural face masks (catered to what they need- blemish, redness, eczema, infections, etc)

They can also purchase water, specialty drinks, etc to enjoy while getting pampered.

Doesn't it sound fantastic?
I mean, what mom wouldn't love to go to something like this and have an hour or so just for herself and get pampered?

They could also sell the products they use so mommies can do what they want from home.
Products would be all natural type of stuff and herbal remedies to promote minimal chemicals. That's just my opinion, though, since I think those are not only better for you but work better without side effects.

Products would include:
Bath salts
Bath bombs
Body Scrubs
Face masks
Detox soak
Shampoos
Conditioners
Essential Oils
Candles
Zen Music
Nail polish (in case they like the color used in the salon, then they can purchase their own to take home)
Water
Specialty drinks (detox water, green tea, remedy drinks, etc)
Books about natural medicine for home use
Balms
Pain relievers
Ointments
Soaps


Sigh. It sounds amazing to me.
Now, off to google to see if I can find what I want.

I can make the natural products myself, of course (I have recipes for everything).
But, the challenge being having a place with HUGE tubs and massage tables and massage technicians and salon technicians.

Now, someone hurry and buy my idea and make it happen for me!!!


*** Update****
I searched on Google (I should really do that before rambling on the internet lol)
I found some spas nearby that offer close to what I am looking for.
They don't exactly cater to pregnant women, but there were a couple that offer prenatal massage.

Do they offer massage while in the tub soaking? No.
Do they offer all natural drinks and remedies? Kind of.
Do they offer Salon services, massages, and hypnotherapy (which is apparently what soaking in a tub with oils, bath bombs, etc is actually called)? Only a few of them offer everything.

I only found one location nearby me. And, its pretty pricey (of course), but it may be worth it.
You see, my hubby and I have a friendly bet going for the baby gender. If I win, I get a spa day. So, I just found my spa!

Could I still make this happen exactly how I imagine? Sure, but not anytime in the near future.
I need funding. Lots of funding to make it happen.

Gardening: Is it really exercise?

Gardening? Exercise?

Yes.

So, since I cannot do anything too strenuous right now due to my high risk pregnancy, I am always looking for other ways to still get physical activity in while keeping safe.

Today's search brought me to gardening.

Next weekend, we are having a gender reveal party for our newest kiddo.

In anticipation for that, I have been cleaning and organizing whatever I can without over exerting myself. Besides, I really want to have my house in order for when the newest kiddo comes. 

Well, when I looked into my front and back yard, I had a thought. We are going to have people hanging out in our back yard! And, the front yard is the first impression, of course.

First, let me start with explaining our house situation. We are renting a nice house. 

We were super lucky (with the help of our realtor friend) to find a brand new house that has never been lived in before that was up for rent. The homeowner lives in another country, and its managed by a local realty company here.

So, we got this super nice house for a great price! The only problem is that my kids are breaking it in for whoever moves in after us.

How long will we stay here? With the kiddo coming and my health concerns, we are not wanting to move anytime soon. I mean, the last place we were at, we stayed there for almost 7 years! We don't like moving. And, the only reason why we moved is because we needed more space and we were totally ready for home life vs apartment life.

With all that said, most people don't really take care of rental houses. Which makes sense, since the house is not theirs, they typically take no "ownership"since they do not own the house.

We are not those type of people. We take pride in where we stay. We want it to look nice and we want to live in a nice place. Yes, I understand that putting in the extra work just increases the property value and its money we are spending on someone else's house. But, I'd rather have it look nice then live in a slum.

Now, the weather here has been… less than savory. 

Typically, Texas weather is pretty awesome. But, with the "Polar Vortex" that has been going on all over, we have had weather down in the 30s! That's super odd for where we live in Texas. 

Because of that super cold weather, all the plants have pretty much died. the grass is all brown and crappy looking and some of my plants that I planted died because we would have a flash freeze and I didn't cover them properly (I need to start watching the weather I guess).

Well, the last few days have finally brought in rain and warm weather, so I finally have some green grass peeking through the brown dead grass. It kind of looks like bad patchwork.

I have a lawn person coming next weekend right before the party to mow, but the challenge is getting rid of the weeds and getting what little grass I have to grow even more in the meantime so he not only has something to mow, but also so it doesn't look super bad once he does mow.

So, today, we tackled the front yard!

I enlisted my helper (aka my toddler who is super clingy right now with the baby on the way and has to be by my side constantly) and we had fun! However, he did abandon me about halfway through, which is understandable. It's difficult for a toddler to stay engaged for too long. I was actually surprised he stayed as long as he did. (below is when we started- he said "this is my strong man face")

As far as what we accomplished, we pulled all the weeds and got rid of trash that had collected in the bushes.

Then, we mixed up the dirt and old mulch to kind of aerate the ground around the bushes.

After that, we added some Scott's Nature Scapes Red Mulch around everything to make it look pretty.

Which, by the way, I noticed that the weeds in Texas are a whole different beast compared to weeds back home. I grew up in Indiana. Weeds are not a big deal. You have dandelions and flat leafy weeds that are kind of tough to pull, but they don't hurt you.

Weeds in Texas have thorns and they are super prickly. And, I'm not talking about mild thorns. You need gloves. And, they somehow still make their way through the gloves to dig themselves into your fingers! And, they are long and ivy like, so once you get them out, they try to wrap around you and stick you everywhere! UGH! It was rough.

And, I wasn't wearing sissy gloves either. They were gardening gloves with extra padding on the finger tips and whatnot. But, they were no match for these weeds.

The roots were also way down in the bushes and even when I found the source root, I couldn't pull it out since it was tangled around the bushes roots. I feared pulling out or harming the bush. So, I trimmed it all the way to the ground and left it be.

All of this took about 2 hours. I felt it was time for a break, and I was curious as to how many calories are burning gardening and looked a up a few articles here (if you are so curious and inclined to read):

http://gardening.about.com/od/allergiesarthritis/a/Garden_Fitness.htm

http://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/features/get-fit-by-gardening

https://www.weightwatchers.com/util/art/index_art.aspx?tabnum=1&art_id=680&sc=3040

http://www.hgtvgardens.com/life-style/get-fit-garden-for-exercise

As far as what we have left to do?

Well, for one, I didn't get enough mulch. I got 2 bags and it didn't even cover half it seems. I need to go back at some point and get 3 more bags. Also, my toddler made a mess on the sidewalk of dirt and mulch, so I need to sweep it all up.

Also, I got some Scott's Weed and Feed for the lawn, and I still need to cover the yard with that, then water the lawn. I don't know if I will get that done today, though, since it's already lunch and my eldest gets out of school early today. That may be a weekend project.

In addition, we haven't even started on the dreaded back yard. For some reason, the back yard seems to have gotten more water than the front yard, so there are TONS of weeds everywhere. 

I don't think I will work on the landscaping in the back yard until after the lawn guy comes and mows next week.

I will most likely need another 3-4 bags of mulch for the back yard as well.

We also have a small tree that needed assistance to keep straight. But, I think it is big enough now to no longer need the bars and wire. I fear a hinderance in its growth if it stays on much longer. 

However, that is not something I can do. For one, I need to ask the homeowner's sister (who is my local contact for things like this) if its ok to remove it and also find out if she wants her gardener to do it or if its ok for us to do it. Better to ask then do something they don't like.

I had already asked her about doing the landscaping when we first moved in. She said she would love any improvements we would do (at our own expense of course- we just wanted permission).

Whew!

What a mouthful (again). I think I have a "chatty Kathy" problem! LOL!

Hope this was fun to read and I inspired someone to get out and exercise by gardening. 

And, if you don't have a garden to work on, I have plenty to do here and could use the help!

A Project A Day

So, I try to make sure to accomplish at least one thing a day since I am home all day with my toddler.

There is TONS to do since I have been a career person since I was 15 years old.
My house has lots of organization projects as well as projects I want to do for myself as well.
Some of my future projects include organizing and cleaning my garage, which is full of boxes stacked up from when we moved in. This project will be started once my hubby best home from work. Since the garage is kind of "his domain", he wants to be there to oversee that project. Plus, I think he wants to make sure that I don't horde anything. We are going to go through and throw away a ton of stuff.

It will be nice to get everything organized and things thrown away that are needless clutter taking up space in my house.

I started with my vanity table.
I had all my makeup and nail polish and girly stuff all over the place- in closets, all over the bathroom counters, stacked up in boxes in our room, etc.
So, I got 5 drawer towers at Walmart for $20/ea and a table from Ikea for $25 and made myself a vanity.
I already had a mirror that wasn't being used since moving, so I put that up on the wall so I can use that to see better.
The only thing left is a makeup light (this is my hubby's forte) and a vanity seat. I have been looking for something inexpensive for a seat. No need to spend a lot of money.

Another project I was working on was crochet. Since we have a baby on the way, I wanted to make a baby blanket. But, we don't know what we are having yet. So, I made a pink chevron blanket and also started a blue blanket.

Also, I made a Star Trek Coffee Cozy for fun this week.
For a link of the appliqué I used to make this go here:
http://birdsofafeathergirls.blogspot.com/2010/03/to-boldly-crochet-what-no-one-has.html
I edited the pattern so that it would fit on my cozy, so mine is different than the pattern.

I spend a lot of time in line at the school dropping off and picking up my eldest. Crochet is how I pass the time. I'm sure I look quite silly or like an old lady to all the high school students who walk past my car. But, I see it as a much better use of my time then just sitting there on my phone for an hour.

Other than crochet projects, I need to organize even more in my house. For example, we had mail everywhere. So, I purchased a cardboard file box (2 for $8) and put our important stuff in there. This would have included check stubs, medical paperwork, investment statements, and the like.
I am not sure where I will put the box yet. Probably in the closet.
We have an old file cabinet full of stuff. I need to go through everything and empty out anything that isn't needed anymore to clean out the clutter.

Other projects this week include putting together my medicine "cabinet".
All our medicine and remedy stuff was in boxes and baskets all over as well. It makes it very difficult to find what I need when someone is feeling under the weather.
So, I bought a small 3 drawer tower for $11 at Walmart to put all our medicine in.
Tomorrow, I gather up everything, throw away the expired stuff, and organize it into the bin.

The more projects I accomplish and the more organized I become, the better I feel.
I am excited to see how wonderful my house will become in the next few months!

Prenatal Workout Day!

Today's task is working out!

I am 18 weeks along and already taking on weight. Sigh. Time to work out!
That's not to say that gaining weight during pregnancy is a bad thing. But, I was doing well at being very gradual until this past weekend, and gaining gradually is the key to a happy, healthy pregnancy.
Gaining weight too quickly during pregnancy can cause problems and issues like back pain, fatigue and shortness of breath, and those dreaded stretch marks that we won't really see until later.
I learned my lesson after my first 2 babies. I now know that I need to make sure to do something physical daily. The challenge is that I am on modified bed rest, so I can't really do anything too challenging. My heart rate goes up very quickly, as it does with most mommies in their 2nd trimester, so we have to be very careful.

Some things that I can do are walking for 15-20 minutes, but I thought I would share some free workout link I found on another blog while I was looking for very safe exercises for me to do while on modified bed rest.

I'm hoping that the light exercise I am doing also brings my blood pressure back down. My blood pressure is the reason that I am on best rest. I had preeclampsia with both my other children and I am showing the same early signs sooner this time. But, exercise is good for regulating blood pressure. I never had time before with my career to workout since I worked 12 hours a day then had to do all the normal mommy stuff and sleep. There wasn't much time left for anything.

Here is the link for the blog with all the links (sorry to have a link to a link- I usually hate that, but I don't want to slight the wonderful blogger who originally took all the time to research and post the links that I looked at)

http://fitformotherhood.com/free-at-home-prenatal-workouts/

Hopefully that helps someone else in their search for safe and free prenatal workouts to do.

Below are some YouTube links I also looked at that look like a good workout. As always, talk to your Doctor first before doing any workout. You need to keep you and your baby safe!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBRK_sUhUz4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pH6IrhTjdR0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yZFFGs8dLg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwPeo49HNVY

Our Valentines Day!

I know, it's past Valentine's Day. My last few days have been hectic, so I haven't been able to post all the fun stuff we did!

So, we started our day, of course, dropping off my eldest to school. Once the little one and I got home, we got started on our fun!

First thing we made was jello! Since jello jigglers take so long to set in the fridge, we got those started right away then put them in the fridge. We used the jello Valentine's mold that we found at Walmart. The package makes 2 sets, but we only made 1 of the 2 boxes since there was only 1 mold. The shapes were hearts, lips, "LOVE", and roses.

Next, we made simple Valentine's cookies from Walmart. They were the break and bake kind with heart designs on them. It was something fun that my toddler could help by putting the little pieces on the baking sheet easily. While the cookies were baking, we made hot chocolate and put heart shaped strawberry marshmallows in them. We rocked it in a Buzz Lightyear cup, because who doesn't love hot chocolate in a cool Toy Story cup?

Then, we got to the fun stuff. We decided to make a giant heart shaped cookie. We bought the cookie tray from Walmart in the Valentine's section. Normally for something like this, I would use break and bake cookies since they are easy to mold (once you let them sit out of the fridge for a moment) or just tube cookie dough from the store. But, we forgot to get chocolate chip cookie dough at the store, so we decided to make it from scratch. (It's cheaper that way anyway!) So, we mixed up chocolate chip cookies. We followed Betty Crocker's recipe (I just love that cook book) and added cherry chips and took out the nuts from the recipe. Once it was all done, we put it in the pan. Now, the only challenge here was that homemade cookie dough is VERY sticky. Had we had more time in our day, I would have put it in the fridge for a bit to make it easier to put in the pan. Then we put it in the oven according to the directions on the pan's sticker.
Now, there was one challenge with this. The pan directions stated that it can handle 18 oz of cookie dough. I'm pretty sure I put more than that in there. While it was baking, it seemed to bubble over the sides. I was afraid that it was going to pour over. I learned my lesson for next time- less cookie dough! However, once we took it out and let it cool, it lowered back down to look fine. We decorated it that night after picking up my eldest from school. We used icing in the middle to make a heart then covered the icing in candy and sprinkles. Then we used red icing in a can to decorate it. You can pretty much do whatever you want. You can make it like a cookie pizza if you want. We just wanted something simple. Now, another lesson I learned here was that, because I used too much cookie dough, the cookie didn't seem cooked all the way through in the middle. It was very doughy. So, we didn't eat much of it. We usually don't eat many sweets anyway, so it wasn't a big deal.

While the cookie heart was cooling, we met some friends for a Valentine's lunch and ran a few errands. I also finally went to buy stuff to make gift bags for my boys. (I will never again wait until the last minute to get the boy's stuff. The crowds were ridiculous and the selection was slim.) It was just a small bag that said "Owl love you forever" and I put a few fun things inside. There was bubbles, sweetheart candy, Spiderman fridge magnets, Superman and Batman chocolate (one loves Superman and one loves Batman), and a stuffed animal. When we were done with our errands, it was time to pick up my eldest from school, so we headed there. I put the gift bag for my eldest in his car seat so he could see it as soon as he opened the door. He was super excited since his stuffed animal was a dog (he wants a new dog so bad since our old dog passed away, but we are waiting until daddy comes home to shop for a new puppy). Now that everyone was done with all their errands and school, it was time for home!

Before we started on dinner, we made Valentine's cards for daddy. My husband works offshore, so he missed the holiday this year, but we didn't want him to completely miss out. The boys cut their own hearts and glued them on a small cardboard card. Then, we added glue and glitter hearts and "XOXO". Then we added stickers, foam hearts with googly eyes (these were from Michael's), and personal messages and put them up to dry. The boys had a great time making a special card for their daddy.

Next thing was strawberries! (You can see these in the first pic above) We heated up chocolate candy coating and put it on fresh strawberries. I opted this year for candy coating instead of the normal chocolate coating that they sell for strawberries. It was cheaper (especially since I keep candy coating in my baking cabinet anyway) and I wanted to see how it tasted. I melted the chocolate in the microwave. You can get a fondue pot, but that is just more to clean up later. I rolled the strawberries in the chocolate once it was ready. Immediately after placing the coated strawberry on wax paper or parchment paper (I used parchment paper), I added decoration before the coating dried. This is important if you want to add sprinkles or anything that needs to stick to the chocolate. The candy coating dries VERY quickly, and once its hard nothing will stick to it except more chocolate or icing. We decorated with sprinkles, icing, chocolate, etc. If I would have wanted, we could have melted candy coating in other colors to drizzle on top to decorate as well. You can use whatever you want to decorate it and make it pretty! Then, we left them to cool/dry (whatever you want to call the process of the candy coating cooling and becoming hard enough to touch).

Later, we, of course, needed to eat. Dinner was spaghetti with garlic toast. I cook ground beef for the spaghetti and set that aside. As far as the pasta sauce, I add green and red peppers, mushrooms, and onions to Prego Heart Smart Traditional sauce. The sauce it super chunky and full of yummy veggies! We put down the garlic bread, pile on noodles, then beef, then sauce and have open faced spaghetti sandwiches! The only challenge is that its super messy, but that's part of the fun! Once we are done eating, its bath time and time to clean up all the spaghetti sauce.

After dinner, we got to eat all the yummy treats we made! Just a little of each one, though, because that's a lot of sweets! The jello went first, of course. Then, the other stuff. The cookie heart was last since we were just having a little bit.

Then, we settled on the couch for our typical Friday night of movies and snuggling in a big blanket on the couch until bed.

Whew! What a busy day! We were doing stuff from the time we woke up until we went to bed that night. Not every day is like that, mind you. But, most days it is. There is always something to do! So, now that I'm done sharing our Valentine's fun with you, I am off to clean and do my errands for today (Monday).

I'm a stay home mom! Now what?

Let me start this by giving you some of my background.

I am a 30 year old mom of 2 with 1 on the way.

I have been a career type of girl since I was 15.
I got my first job working in a 50s style diner in Indiana in my hometown of Rochester.
I went to college in Fort Wayne, Indiana for Architectural Design. 2 semesters into my degree, my dad got really sick and I had to take some time off of school. That time off turned into a permanent situation due to financial issues and I ended up moving in with my high school sweetheart who was going to college nearby Chicago.
There, I ended up working 3 jobs at one time just to make ends meet. But, things got better, and I went down to just working at Hooters for 3 years. Hooters moved me up the career path and moved me around and I ended up in Ohio. That job went south when my "promotion" to management ended up paying less (half in fact) than what I made as a waitress. So, I left Hooters and started working for a financial company who asked me to move to Houston to help with their expansion. My high school sweetheart (yes, we were still together after 5 years) jumped at the chance to leave for "greener pastures".
Houston held fantastic opportunities for us. I excelled at my new sales position, but sooner after arriving, we found out that we were going to have our first kiddo! Super excited (since we wanted kids and had just decided to start trying) and terrified, we took on this new chapter in our lives with zeal! We earned a company trip during that time to Hawaii and decided to use that great destination to get married! It was beautiful and lovely (and super inexpensive since we were kind of broke at the time).
From there, life moves on as it always does. After 5 years in the financial industry, I decided to leave and decide on a new career path. While I decided on what to do, I went back to waitressing and bar tending. During that time, we decided to have another little kiddo.
I realized quickly that 2 kiddos is a whole different ballpark then 1. The good news was that, since they were 4 years apart, my eldest was able to be a really great helper. But, I really didn't like being gone every night to work. I wanted to be home at night with my kiddos. I just felt like I was missing so much. So, I decided I really needed to work harder at getting a day time career instead so I could be there for my kiddos.
2 years after leaving my last day time career to go back to waitressing, I finally found something to get me home at night and on the weekends and I started working in the telecommunications industry. Things were going well for us. My hubby was now working in the oil industry, so we were finally financially stable for the first time in our lives. Things were finally looking up. So, we planned to have our 3rd (and final) kiddo.
My first 2 successful pregnancies had issues, so my Doctor and I had a plan. I was under careful monitoring for health concerns. My first baby was 6 weeks early and my second was 8 weeks early and had to spend 10 days in the hospital before he was ready to go home. It was all due to preeclampsia. So, we knew the signs and what to expect and knew that going through with a 3rd pregnancy was a risk in itself, so we needed to be very careful.
So, this is what brings me to today. My blood pressure skyrocketed early this time due to work stress (I was/am in sales) and it was high enough to already cause issues. I was having dizzy spells, passing out in the middle of the day when my blood pressure spiked, and I was getting really bad anxiety. So, my Dr decided to put me on bed rest at 14 weeks along.
So, this is where I ended up. A career person, who's work ethic is so strong that I end up being a workaholic, is now a stay home mom!

So, transitioning to this was actually simple.
We had just finished up with Christmas vacation and so it just seemed to go smoothly.
Now, from there, what does a stay home mom do?
How does one schedule herself?
Granted, I had a TON of projects to accomplish. I am a super crafty chick who never had time the last 10 years to do the stuff I used to love.
But, I want to make sure that I do a good job. I don't want to mess up. I am molding a child's life.

This has made me have a newfound respect for teachers also. I have lots of friends who are teachers, and I totally respect their careers since lesser people would have anxiety or panic if they really thought about the gravity of the effects of their daily actions.

Wow. My background story took a lot! LOL!

Well, not comes the "Now what?" portion of this post.

I have lots to do still to clean, organize, and prepare our house for our new kiddo (we moved in last year and I still have tons of stuff still in boxes, so you can imagine the fun stuff involved in all that).
I also crochet. I made a baby blanket in pink and I am working on a blue one, just in case. We will find out first or second week in March on what we are having.
We are also going to have a gender reveal party after the ultrasound to announce it. This will be a first for us.
I also am going to reteach myself how to sew. I want to make a baby quilt and do a few other projects.
Whew! Lots to do!

As far as what I will accomplish with this blog. I just hope to share my daily antics and memories while I learn how to be a great stay home mom.

With that, I think I will end this INSANELY long post for tonight.
If you read this to the end, thanks and I hope you weren't bored.