Sticky Bellies Giveaway

*******************************CLOSED*************************
So notice the cutie pahtutie sticker bitty is wearing in the previous post? I found these and thought they were such an incredible idea. I ordered them asap. Slap em on a cute onesie and snap away all your monthday pics! (Please don't slap em on the onesie with babes inside :) )

Check them out here! Sticky Bellies

And one of you lucky readers is going to score a set of your own sticky bellies!

Mandatory Entry: (All comments must have e-mail addresses)
Be a public follower of The Bri Hive

Extra Entries:
-Visit Sticky Bellies and tell me what accessory you would grab

-Facebook or blog about this giveaway. Leave your link in the comment

*This giveaway will end 9/9 at 11:59 PM MST. The winner will be chosen via random.org and announced following. The winner has 48 hrs to contact me or a new winner will be chosen.

Bitty is 4 months

So Bitty #2 turned 4 months this weekend. Where has the time gone? Aside from the fact that my house is covered in burp rags (shes a spitter) and breast pads, all feels pretty normal and we are in a routine.

Today was the check up complete with shots! She did great, and pedi says she looks great! Obviously still a healthy {little} girl.

Here are her stats:
14lbs 11oz and 25.3"

At her age, bitty #1 was 13lbs 2oz and 24"

At her age, I was 15lbs 12oz and 25"

So she is somewhere in the middle, and has slowed down a little in the porker department :)

She is wearing 3-6 month and 6 clothing (for at least the next week)

She almost is rolling over and second now really

Still exclusively breastfeeding

Sleeping 10-12 hrs @ night

Sleeping a total of 4-5 hrs during the day

Getting more and more vocal, loves to laugh and most recently chuckle out of nowhere :P

LOOVES her big sister, watches her every move when she is in the room

Puts everything in her mouth (no teeth yet)
Tracks toys for at least 20 secs
Overall a super happy babes!

Here are a few pics

I told you, no more pictures!

Favorite Friday!

So the title of this post is not only fitting because Friday is my favorite day of the week, but because every now and then on Fridays, I would like to share with you a few of my favorite things. Things that make my little world go 'round. Things that simplify, organize, and or I can't imagine being without.

Today, I would like to talk about my Hot Mama Handbag. I am sure some of you have seen.read about these, maybe you even own one!

With my first, I had over the course of her first year, at least 5 different diaper bags. I was wearing them out, or just getting sick of how bulky disorganized they were. So when #2 came along, I told the hubbee, sorry but I am spending the $ for a nice diaper bag!!! I came across these shortly after bitty #2 was born and am SO GLAD!!!

I opted for the larger of the bags, now called the "Emma". {This bag is now available in 3 sizes!}

Here is my bag:

Here is what was in my bag:

*bitty's lovie *pacifier wipes

*digital camera *teething ring and case

*wipes *mini first aid kit

*3 disposables *2 powdered drinks

* G diaper *pen

*hand sanitizing spray *checkbook

*infants tylenol *wallet

*gas drops *extra outfit and bag

*2 packs of gum *headband

*lip gloss *diaper bags

I think I labeled it all. Anyways, you get my point. There is soo much room, and the part that I cant get over, is that it all actually stays organized thanks to all of the handy dandy pockets! I also opted for the recessed zipper pocket which is so worth it as well. (where I hide my lady products and little hands cant conveniently grab them to put on display).

The second amazing thing about these bags are the fabrics. I mean, how trendy can you get? I chose my fabrics being neutral with what I wear and pretty gender neutral for the babes. (in case there will ever be a bitty #3). She has recently added more fabric and more products!! (I am in bag heaven)

And these bags are so well made, I have no fear of wearing it out anytime soon. I'm actually curious what it would take to wear it out. All the stitching is impeccable and the fabrics are very sturdy. Plus, her bags are half the price of the other spendy diaper bags out there. (I won't mention any names)

SO, If you are expecting or already have a little one or two, I HIGHLY recommend your fingers head right over to her site and check it all out.


AND, because she is so fabulous, she has a fabulous offer for you all. With the purchase of your bag ($55+), she is going to give you a free wristlet!!! I mean what more could a girl ask for?

"With a 10" strap, this 9" wide x 4/12" tall clutch is perfect for your checkbook, cell phone and sunglasses, or use it as a makeup case inside your purse. Perfect for quick shopping trips when you don't need your purse or use it inside your purse to keep some of your items contained or easily on hand! Build Your Own-choose any fabric for your own custom wristlet!"

What more do you need? Go on, get one! I am jealous of the great deal she is offering and want a a matching wrislet for my bag now! Just note the free wristlet giveaway from The Bri Hive blog and the deal is yours! Thank you Maranda!

Leave me a comment if you already have and love your Hot Mama Handbag or are planning to get one!

*The Bri Hive must be mentioned in order to recieve this deal and the offer expires September 6, 2010.

What a drag

For all of you that have attended higher education, you may know what I am talking about. The fact that within 6 months of graduation you now have lovely student loan payments to start making. Within the last few years, interest rates for these have **doubled**. Yup, what used to be thought of as a tiny payment has now exploded into a "gotcha while you were in school now you better find a job quick or else" type of situation. I thought school was bad, but loans and job searching have now reached an all time high on my list.

So, I will be returning to work in a few short months. :(

Ultimately I want to find a job that allows me to be at home a few days of the week, or at least part of the time during the day (work an evening shift). However, my schedule and my husbands schedule don't really work together, so I have no idea what we will be doing and how we will be working daycare for the bittys.

Some days make you want to crawl back into bed hibernate. Today was one of those days.

And Monday, Bitty sliced her foot under her toe. It was quite a deep cut that I could tell, and was a bleeder!! Nurse or not, seeing your own childs blood is not fun. It happened at 9 at night and all the urgent care centers were already closed, and I didn't know if it was really bad enough to make the trip to the ER and drop the $250 copay. I am not putting a price on my childs health/well being, but seriously, $250 for them to clean and bandage is NOT a good price. So, we went to urgent care yesterday and by that time it was to late for stitches or dermabond, so she got cleaned up, bandaged, and a rx for an antibiotic.

Here is the foot

She was quite the trooper, very interested in what it looked like. Maybe she'll grow up and be a nurse like her mom. :)

And the WINNER is...

Yay i'm so excited!

The winner of the gift certificate to JJD is #7 Bethany!

Email me within 48 hours to confirm and claim your prize!

Thank you all for entering and stay tuned for more giveaways!

Congrats!

{Is it wierd that I was nervous as I was entering the number into the number generator? I don't know what I had to be nervous about, I guess I was nervous for y'all. :)}

Well, another busy weekend is over, and this weekend was fun. We went to hubbee's company picnic at a gorgeous ranch a little ways from here. They had all sorts of stuff for the kids to do which was awesome. Bitty #1 really loved the bounce houses, face painting (she called it her tattoo), and the photo booth. Course she loves her own mug, so I coulda guessed that. Bitty #2 did great! She just chilled and took in the scenery!

After church on Sunday, guess she was still tired from Saturday! (Fell asleep reading her bible)

Finally Friday!

It feels like this week has been forever long. Maybe its just everything that has gone on. Due to that, this post is going to be short. Gma (the true queen bee) came down yesterday so that I could go to an important appointment sans the bittys.

Today, Bitty #1 had her very first trip to the dentist. She did great! (I only got a picture on my phone, i was bummed that i forgot my other camera).Here are some other pics of the last few days.



Practicing the fist pump!


Sister time

Me and the Bittys

Gma and the Bittys

Don't forget the JJD giveaway ends tonight at 11:59 pm MST. The winner will be announced Monday! I'm so very excited!

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Cheers!

Learning the alphabet

*********************************Update*******************************************

The giveaway for JJD has been extended thru 8/20 and will end at 11:59 PM MST

AND A BONUS
Another way to enter:

~Blog about this giveaway and leave me the link in the comment section where I can see it for 3 extra entries! (leave three seperate comments)

Enter Here

*************************************************************************************

Let me just share with you a convo I had with bitty today.

Bitty: Its a J

Me: Whats a J

Bitty: My poop

Me: Did you have an accident?

Bitty: No! My poop makes a big J!

Me: Where? In your panties?

Bitty: No, in the potty!

Me: Reeeaally. That is neat.

::Goes in and looks, Yup, a big J in the potty::

Forget about burping, I have a child who can poop the alphabet.


Speaking of, this post shall be dedicated to her highness. We had her 4 year well child visit today and these are her stats:

32.5 # (25%)

40.5" (60%)

And here is a little about Bitty in list form:

*Loves pink and purple
*Loves to play in the dirt
*Loves dress up and princesses
*Loves gardening
*Loves just being outdoors
*Loves singing
*Loves Dora, My Little Pony, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse
*Loves coloring, drawing, and painting
*Has imaginary friends, and kids (they go most everywhere with us)
*Loves her baby sister
*Loves to eat fruit and lettuce salad
*Loves talking on the phone
*Loves the sound of her own voice (she must, she talks all. the. time.)
*Has an insane imagination


Sometimes I say she is a boy trapped in a girls body. Then, the next minute shes decked out in dress-up and is as girly as they come. Probably an ok mix. Sometimes I also say she is a 13 year old in a 4 year olds body. She can act waay beyond her age, problem is, the next minute she's crying or whining like a baby. Whataya gonna do?

All in all, I love her none the less!!

Cheers!

A different kind of stress

So for the past 4 years really, I have been trying to raise my family while also going to school to get my nursing degree. This was tough. I can't put into words how hard it really was. Bitty #1 was born in July, and I returned to school in August, a short 6 weeks later. ( I know some of you mamma's do this with work too....::hugs::) The first semester I was part time and had wonderful friends and family who watched bitty while I was in class. But my mommy brain prevailed and I struggled to stay focused on my schooling. I finished the fall semester successfully and began my spring semester. I just wasn't all there. I dropped my full time class because my grade was not what I was wanting, and I just couldn't fully apply myself. I resumed classes again in the fall this time with more determination to prevail.

I started my clinicals finally in the fall of '07. Six consecutive semesters of grueling hours, classes, papers, CARE PLANS, and unsympathetic professors. If bitty would get sick, I would have to be up with her during the night, or have to stay home with her during the day and have to play catch up. That first semester I missed a test due to an ear infection, and ended up having to write a 10 page paper in 4 days as make-up, otherwise I would recieve a big fat zero. Might I add that in order to stay in the program, you had to maintain a B average AND maintain a 74 average on all of your tests. If that didn't happen, you wouldn't pass the class. So do the math, receiving a zero on 1 out of 3 tests wasn't feasible. Every semester at least one person wouldn't make it. I was determined not to be that person. Ever. Some semesters came close, too close for comfort. But if I learned one thing about myself, it was that I worked best under pressure. [Not the most fun thing to learn]

The following fall, we encountered a very strange and stressful situation. Bitty became very sick. After a few nights of waking up screaming, my mommy gut said something just wasn't right. Following 2 trips to the ER, she was admitted to the childrens hospital. The doctors were at a loss. Bittys symptoms were screaming and kicking in inconsolable pain, clumsiness, and a generalized weakness. By the time we were admitted, she wasn't strong enough to hold her own weight, and couldn't stand or walk. [Pause] I am struggling writing this because it is bringing back a flood of emotion.

Bitty on the phone with daddy

Anyways, the Neurologist came in one morning and handed me paperwork on Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS). It was a possibility. I had no idea what to expect. The research didn't have evidence of this in someone so young (she was just 2). The pediatric consultant and neurologist were not convinced, but were failing to find an explanation. It was eventually decided to start a treatment that was debatable whether or not to help, but shouldn't have any negative affects. 2 days of treatment, and there wasn't really anything left that the doctors could do, plus we were tired of the hospital. Bitty was released and we went home. At home, bitty was still unable to hold her weight and would crawl to get places. As they days went on, she was regaining strength, and walking to and from pieces of furniture. [ such as babes do when learning to walk. ] Point of this story is that I was in my semester of med-surge. There was a policy that if you missed more then 2 days of class you lost a whole 5% of your grade for participation. That means if you had a 85% (B) it would drop you to an 80% (B-). So not only was I struggling in keeping up on my material and trying just to pass my tests, I was faced with this stupid little rule. I thought for sure, beings all I went through, my professor would surely make an exception. WRONG. A rule is a rule, and it was clearly stated, thus no exceptions. (or so she says). Somehow, I still managed to pass the class. (Think nursing is my destiny? I do. It has to be. Someone was looking out for me). Ahhh. I could go on and on. So many obstacles, such a large mountain to climb. Definitely my Mt. Everest of life so far. So to make a long story short, I have overcome all of that and am now an officially registered Nurse in the state of CO. {passing boards is another story}

Yay! Look at me, I'm a grad!


Me and the Fam


Me and my super supporting loving hubbee!
(I love you Babe)

Something I reminded myself of often was the fact that I was graduating with more then a degree, I was graduating with a husband and two kids!


How does this relate to me blogging? Well, since graduation, I am officially a full-time stay at home mommy. I no longer have, as streesssful as it was, school as an outlet. So, I now turn to blogger.com as my outlet! (facebook was my gateway drug, lol) I am and always have been a pretty private person, but writing my thoughts down is way more therapeutic then I had imagined. I hope you find something to enjoy, relate with, or even pass along. This is my journey. Take from it what you will, and occasionally leave me your two cents!

until next time,

Must be a Monday

Sadness is seeing the bottom of the coffee cup and knowing its gone til tomorrow. Ahh. Mondays literally have to be my least favorite day of the week. Always. Without fail. Something. Goes. Wrong.
Not to mention that I lack all motivation, because in the back of my little mind I keep thinking, "I have all week to get things done". Why is that? I freak out every second of the weekend that my house is a wreck and there is so much to do that it overcomes me and I have a mini panic attack. ::Breathes::
So why can't I kick it into gear and get things done? The answer still eludes me. If you figure it out let me know.

However, I plan to actually be home every day this week, which is a first for me all summer. Yeah, i'm a go getter. I like to be on the go. But then it all catches up to me and seemingly, I crash and burn. That must be what is going on now. My to-do list is about as thick as the dust on my furniture. And lemme tell you, it's thick. So i've come up with a plan to do a few things a day and slowly knock things off the list, and dust while i'm at it. The week is full of potential, I guess i'll see how it turns out.

Next post should be much more interesting, I plan to write about why I started this blog.
Until then,

Pea Pickin' Good

I spy.....something sprouting? What can it be?
Last summer, Bitty #1 visited the farm in ND and helped gma pick and shell peas. This year when it was planting time, she wanted to buy a packet of peas and plant them. When we got home, I was trying to prepare an area to plant. By the time I turned around, she had already "planted" them. I told hubbee and he laughed saying they would probably come up. That they did! Here they are about 3 weeks after being "planted". (pounded into the top 1/4 inch of soil with a spade)

May 2010

In May, they were lovingly transplanted. They survived the transplant and the remaining seeds that hadn't sprouted were replanted. The pictures below are about a month and a half later.

July 2010


mmmm. The first crop. They all were immediately shelled and popped into bitty's mouth.


Look at the size of that pea! The picture on the below on the right is the most recent. I spy lots of peas!

August 2010

Bitty is soo proud of her garden. Here she is weeding!

Well, it has been a busy week. I am looking forward to stay home for a few days. Luckily, Bitty #2 has been sleeping for almost 4 hours and has allowed me to get laundry started and the house picked up a bit. Tonight, I am also going out to dinner with some friends. This mommy needs some grown-up time. So excited!!
Until next time,

Mini Trip

So we are up visiting the hubbee at work, prolly shouldn't do it very often cause it might get expensive. No, not because of gas money, hotel costs, or even the eating out. Its because the Outlets are close by. Too. Close. Me and the bitty bees wandered out, had breakfast, and shopped the morning away. It was nice to be outside, get fresh air, and walk around. Oh, and it was great to find some steals for moi. Normal shopping trips mainly include shopping for the bittys, but today, it was all about me, and a little for the hubbee. Get this, I bought hubbee a pair of awesome lightweight khaki dress pants and a polo from Tommy for $30. Maybe i'll get him to model it for me and take a pic for later! As for other pictures, I am not able to put any up this post because I am away from my home computer. Look for them later!
And, recently my brother got engaged to his lovely girlfriend. That means a wedding coming up in our family! I am excited because tomorrow I get to go along wedding dress shopping. Should be fun! I'll let you know how it goes.
Until next time,

I crack myself up

So, I thought that I was pretty smart when it came to computers and technology, but there is SOOO much I don't know. lol. And trying to figure it all out is quite entertaining. This may be a breeze for some of you, but I feel, uh, slow to say the least. SO, needless to say, this will be a very basic no frill blog! Ha!

EXCEPT for my awesome, lovely, grand, beautiful LAYOUT!!!! Thanks to Becca over at The Paro Post! Becca is a stay at home mamma who has her own design biz. She does awesome blogs like this, (this one is my fav, DUH) or glamo announcements and invitations. After trying to navigate through all this myself, I have huge respect for what she does. and so now :: claps for myself :: check out her blog here and her design blog here!!! {Yes, I am clapping for learning how to link a website. Ignore it if you want, or clap with me}.

Becca happens to be hub-bee's cousin, or something of that nature. I'll just say cousin. AND, one of you lucky peeps can score a $45 gift-certificate good for whatever ya want from her. Thats right, forty-five pretty little buckaroos could be in your hot little hands to spend as you wish! Check out her Caramel Macchiato blog makeover, or maybe some beautiful birth announcements, invites, whatever makes your little heart happy!
***************************CLOSED*******************************
Heres how to enter to win:

1. Must be a follower of The Bri Hive and leave me a comment

2. Check out her site and let me know what you would choose [ also in the comment section below]

3. Tell your friends!!!! (okay, that won't really help you, but you should do it anyways!)

*The giveaway will end and the winner will be chosen 8/18 @ 12 am MST (ha ha, not really, I wont be up at that time)


Me & Bitty Bee #1



So go forth, tell your friends and spread the word!
Until next time,

Inaugural Post!

Greetings. If it seems like it has been a while.....well, it has. Thats why I am super excited to start blogging again! My intentions are to document and share the growth of my bitty bees! Hopefully I can share some other things as well like my love for all things home-made and home-grown! I am not a professional blogger, so there is a strong learning curve. Feel free to follow me on my journey and thanks for stopping by, I promise there is good things to come!

I'll leave you with a few recent pics of our time in Breck~

Stay tuned for some exciting stuff coming your way!