Wordless Wednesday : Cherish

Alex smiling at his Great-Grandma at his Baptism

Alex's Baptism

This past Sunday, August 28th, Alexander James was baptized in the same church I was and the same church where Kris and I were married in October 2008. He did fantastic! He didn't even flinch when Pastor Robert sprinkled the water on his head. My sister Ali and her husband, Nathan are Alex's godparents and it was so great to have them standing there beside us at the alter. Alex had a lot of family there to support him, the boy is dearly loved! All of his grandparents were there and even his great grandma and grandpa Sheets. Some weren't able to make it but we know they were thinking of the Bambino! In our church, the baptism takes place during the regular service and in this case it was done early in the service which was a blessing in disguise. While Alex did great when we were up in front of the congregation, my mommy radar kicked in and it was becoming clear to me that Alex was getting tired. As soon as we got back to our pew, I quickly got a bottle ready and Daddy fed him. Only close to 2 ounces in and he was out cold!

He did through the whole service!

Afterwards, everybody came back to our house and had a fabulous lunch together. We had pulled pork (that was baked in beer, fabulous) all kinds of  great salads and goodies. I think everybody had a good time hanging out and celebrating our special little "big" guy :) and I enjoyed having both my family and Kris's family together, it isn't something that happens very often.

I am truly blessed to have the family I have. I cherish every one of them.

Photo Recap : The Green Bean Monster!

Alex, AKA "The Green Bean Monster", has made a mess of himself! We have found that when it comes to feeding him anything that doesn't come from a bottle, it's best to strip him down to his bareness. He has this habit of "playing" with his food, he pushes the food out with his tongue, then shoves his entire fist in his mouth and then rubs whatever it is he's been eating all over himself. He has a great time doing it too, I promise you every time it's like the best time of his life! LOL.

Anyway, here is a photo recap of last night's green bean dinner :) Charlie thought she wanted to eat what Alex was eating, that was until he splattered her nose and she got a taste, she changed her mind.

Inside the Head of a 2 Year Old; Share Post

I came across this from another blog (that I LOVE) this morning and decided I needed to share it. While my son is only (almost) 5 months old, this gave me a little insight as to what lies ahead waiting for us. This seriously had me cracking up and reminded me how excited I am for all the funny things that will one day come from my Alexander the Great.


 Enjoy!

365 Blog

DAY 215: APPROXIMATELY 3 MINUTES INSIDE THE HEAD OF MY 2 YEAR OLD

by JASON GOOD on AUGUST 7, 2011

Each of these “emotions” lasts about 3 seconds.

1. I wanna play with Daddy’s phone.
2. I wanna put on Mommy’s shoes.
3. GET MOMMY’S SHOES OFF MY FEET NOW!
4. I wanna open and close the thermostat.
5. I wanna turn on and off the light on the microwave.
6. Is there anyone here with a phone I haven’t played with yet?
7. I NEED TO PUSH SOME GODDAMN BUTTONS.
8. I wanna pick up the cat by it’s head.
9. I wanna throw all the toothbrushes in the sink.
10. HOLY SHIT I’M STARVING.
11. CHEDDAR BUNNIES.
12. I HATE FRUIT.
13. I want out of my chair.
14. I wanna play with the iPad.
15. I wanna go outside. No, I wanna turn the heat on.
16. I wanna take my pants off.
17. I don’t like the shirt I’m wearing.
18. I wanna play with Mommy’s phone.
19. I NEED TO PUSH MORE BUTTONS NOW.
20. I’m thirsty.
21. No, not for that.
22. Yes, perfect, juicebox. I’m gonna squeeze this damn thing all over myself.
23. Where’s Daddy?
24. Where’s the cat?
25. Where’s Mommy?.
26. SERIOUSLY WHERE’S MOMMY!?
27. Oh my God I think Mommy left forever.
28. Ok, there’s mommy. I want to play with her phone
29. Hungry again. Never mind
30. I just remembered not liking these pants. Get them off.
31. STOP TAKING OFF MY PANTS!
32. Wow, I’m starving. I want peas but I don’t know how to tell anyone.
33. Finally, peas. I like throwing these.
34. WHY DO I STILL HAVE THESE PANTS ON?
35. Oh look, a new person. I wonder if they have a phone.
36. Im tired.
37. IM NOT TIRED!
38. I wanna go for a walk but I don’t wanna go outside.
39. No, not inside either!
40. I need to push some buttons right now.
41. I hate this diaper.
42. My eyes itch.
43. WOW! Is this my toe?
44. STOP TRYING TO TAKE MY PANTS OFF!
45. I hate these pants.
46. This shirt itches.
47. I’m tired.
48. Stop asking me if I’m tired.
49. Where’s that toy that goes beep.
50. I wanna take a bath in my clothes.
51. Put on my favorite song.
52. Where’s the cat?
53. What is UP with my shirt?
54. Did I just hear a dog bark?
55. YOU DID NOT JUST TRY TO TAKE OFF MY SHIRT AGAIN!
56. I wanna see a dog.
57. No, not OUTSIDE! I wanna see a dog inside.
58. Is my penis still there? Good.
59. I peed.
60. I’m bored.

Repeat.

Every party has a pooper and that pooper is ME!

Dear completely annoying obnoxious people hanging out outside my house, 

Other than the noise in general, what really gets me is the lack of respect you have for the people around you. Hello morons! You're not on a college campus where everyone around you is in school and in the partying lifestyle too, there are families in these homes, families with small children. Children who first thing in the morning are going to their first day of school, some of them their very first day of school ever with nervous parents who want the day go off without a hitch. The adults in these homes have to get up early and go to work so that they keep their homes and take care of their families. Don't you notice all the lights flicking on in the houses around you? The porch lights coming on? That's because of you! It's the middle of the week AND it's 3am, does that mean anything to you at all? You are completely disrespecting us, so as long as you choose to do so, I promise to be the pooper of your party, I have LPD on speed dial, go ahead and mess with mama!

Sincerly, 

One ticked off mama!

OK, now the back story to the letter: 

As a new mom, I hear everything, I  mean EVERYTHING! Didn't used to be this way, I used to be able to sleep through anything, both a blessing and a curse, there were times I would sleep straight through my alarm. One time, before Bambino, our neighbors put an old couch on the curb for trash and some kids (we assume) found it humorous to set it on fire in the middle of the night. There was a firetruck with sirens and flashing lights literally right outside of out bedroom, lots of yelling and commotion, 2 escaped dogs and violent flickering from the flames of the fire on our bedroom wall, and Kris and I slept through ALL of it. We didn't know anything about it until our neighbors said something to us in passing the next night, insane I know! But without a doubt, those days of dead sleep are over. Last week, I made Kris get up in the middle of the night to go check on Alex because I swore I heard him fuss, turns out it was a couple of cats fighting probably a few blocks away.


The fact that those days are over has made the last 2 nights ridiculously impossible! The house around the corner from us has a garage behind it that happens to back up to the back of our house. I am not completely sure but I believe that this house is  rental, and rental or not, there are new people living there. Recently, as in this past weekend, it has become somewhat of a "party barn" if you will. There is this weird pounding sound that seems to be pretty consistent and sounds a little like lumber being thrown into the back of a pickup, annoying sound when you've heard it 4 hours straight. On top of that, there is a ton of yelling, and screaming, and loud loud loud music! The other night, I was awaken by some (most likely drunk) guy yelling "DUDE! Come check out this f*^&#%$ spider, it's the biggest I've ever seen, quick bring the lighter, I'm gonna light this b@#$% up!" After this first night, we vowed that if we had another night like this, we were totally becoming "those neighbors" and calling the police on them. Oh why oh why can't I sleep through all this chaos????

Well, in comes night #2 and it was louder than the last. Kris and I went to bed around 11, Alex fell asleep in his bouncy chair so I carried him up to his room and put him in his crib, I turned on his tower fan to create that white noise effect that helps him sleep so well and flipped the switch on the monitor so we could hear him since our room is downstairs. As I was coming downstairs, the old clunky Blazer that had been parked in front of out house all night sped off sounding insanely loud probably because it didn't have a muffler attached to it anymore. Kris and I looked at each other holding out breath praying that Alex didn't wake up, whew! We were lucky, that was a close one. So Kris and I go to bed, and about 1am, that same clunky Blazer is parked out front again, only this time it's blaring Rhianna from the stereo and there is a circle of 5-6 people huddled around the bottom of the front steps to our house laughing, yelling, just being obnoxiously loud as if they were at some college frat party! They were out there for about 15 minutes, and I am just staring at the monitor watching the voice activated lights flash praying that we weren't going to have a screaming baby. Fortunately, Bambino has inherited my previous can-sleep-through-everything ability. Thank the good Lord! All I knew was if they woke up my baby, some serious words were going to be exchanged!

About the time Kris got out of bed to go shut the idiots up, the walked around the side of the house, down the alley towards the "party barn." At least the party moved towards the back of the house. A pathetic attempt to go back to sleep failed and at 2:00am they were back, being loud and obnoxious of course, they all piled into the Blazer, and again sped off obscenely loud. By 2:30 they were back and one guy was yelling because somebody took his beer and then some whiny chick kept crying "you said you loved me, that's what you told me." Wah Wah Wah! So when they walked around the side of the house again, Kris went outside and and wrote down the license plate number from the Blazer, as we were about to call the cops, I noticed brake lights beaming through the living room windows, I looked out and yay, it was the great LPD :) Somebody called the cops before us! Kris and I both went outside and talked to the cop, gave them the run down of the night and the night before expressing how nervous we were that they would wake up our 4 month old and then suddenly 2 other cop cars pull up and all 3 officers take off down the alley towards the "party barn." Oh please say this is over and we won't have to endure a third night like this?!

At this point it's about 3:45am, my alarm starts going off at 4:50 every morning to get ready for work, so for the sake of staying awake for my hour commute to work I attempt to go back to sleep. Epic fail! Very little sleep leads to an uber cranky lady. I feel for my co-workers today, sorry guys!

Wordless Wednesday (with a little wordage)

This is from another blog I write about getting back my self confidence. Follow me as I set myself out on this journey and discover the beauty in myself.

 bLiSsIfY mE

Self Confidence

STAND like you have confidence.

LISTEN to people.

FORGET what society says you should be.

FOLLOW your heart.

SET goals.

CHALLENGE your beliefs. 

BE your own hero.

FLOW with what motivates you.

BELIEVE in a power greater than yourself.

GO get started.

Check out this Blog!

Visit Toddle Along Tuesday for links to some great blogs, plus add your own to the list, happy reading! Oh and happy blogging!

Rolling Extraordinaire

Things have got a little on the crazy side in the S household. The days of laying the Bambino on a blanket on the floor and walking away are over! Now that Alex has figured out how to roll over we can't get him to stop doing it. One morning, Kris had laid him down on a blanket on the floor next to the couch, it was early in the morning and I think Alex was falling back asleep, well Kris fell asleep on the couch and when I walked into the room, Alex had rolled all the way across the living room and about halfway under the TV stand where he fell asleep. He's really good at rolling from his back to his belly and while he CAN roll from his belly to his back, he isn't that great at it. Alex has never been a fan of so-called "tummy time." In fact, most of the time he flat out hated it. So keeping that in mind, it's not a surprise that he usually ends up a giant bucket of fuss every time he ends up on his belly. So Kris and I spent the entire weekend flipping him back over to his back only to have him immediately roll right back over to the belly. . . . and repeat. . . . and repeat. . . . and repeat. No matter how upset he ends up being, he is always super proud of himself first with a big grin across his face, I think he is enjoying his new found "freedom." So this week we have 2 goals, master the art of rolling over from belly to back, and sitting up without the constant cradling of mom and dad, we can do this!

1. Do you close the bathroom door when you are home alone?
Yep, does that make me weird? Something about the dog watching me pee freaks me out a little.

2. You have to walk around with a word on your forehead. That word describes you. One word. What is it?
Not really a word, but I am going to go with "?", My mood is constantly changing and sometimes I might be lost, or confused, happy, thrilled, excited. "?" explains the variety in me.

3. What store do you refuse to shop at and why?Walmart, even though I find myself there on occasion. I am not a Walmart fan at all, I feel all wierd (not in a good way) when I leave that store, no thank you.


4. If you participated in arranged marriages for your child(ren), who would you choose for your child(ren)?
My son would marry the one that makes him happy. The one who shares in his beliefs. The one who knows him inside and out and will always keep him in her heart. My son will marry a girl that loves him for who he is and not for who she wants him to be.

5. If you could pick how and when you would die, would you? 
Oh absolutely not! Imagine knowing that and then trying to live your life honestly? Is that even a possibility? You would always have that in the back of your mind and wouldn't live out your life with full confidence. I think you would always be distracted. I think you should live like your dying, always, but do it with all your heart and soul. 

At 4 Months

Look Mom, I can fly!

How old am I?
4 months 2 weeks old


How big am I?
I weigh a whooping 16 + pounds and am  25 1/4 inches tall!


What size am I wearing?
I am wearing size 2 diapers, size 3 coming very soon! I mostly wear size 3-6 months clothes but because I am tall like Daddy I'm almost too big for them. Sometimes I can wear 6-9 months!


How long am I sleeping at night?
I sleep about 7-10 hours a night, Mommy and Daddy love me for this! :) 


What am I eating now?
I eat about 5-6 ounces of formula every 2-3 hours but last week, Mommy gave me oatmeal with carrots, I LOVE carrots!


What milestones did I hit?
I'm mobile! Well, almost. I have learned how to roll and boy am I getting good at it, I roll all over the living room. It wears me out though, this week I rolled all the way until I was almost under the TV stand, I decided that would be a good place to take a nap! I'm also really really good at grabbing things, Mommy wishes she had long hair so she could pull it back, her hair is my favorite thing to grab ;)


What is my favorite toy/thing to do right now?

2 months old here but still my fav!

I can play here for hours with Charlie

I still love my grab apple and of course my play mat. There is so much for me to look at and grab. But, I think my favorite toy right now is a mirror, I talk to my best friend there :) see blog post:  The Boy in the Backseat




Any funny moments?
I'm usually a pretty happy baby, Mommy and Daddy praise me for that but once this month, I really made them squirm. I wanted to make sure EVERYBODY in Target knew I was there so I decided to scream as loud as I could in the middle of the store. Boy were Mommy and Daddy embarrassed, I thought Mommy was going to cry too! Sometimes I have to remind them that I am a baby ;)


What are Mommy and Daddy looking forward to?

Not Alex, duh! But still an adorably cute baby. 

Everything! Now that I have conquered rolling over, I think they really want me to sit up all on my own, they keep working with me on that one. I bet they are tired of carrying me around in the big carrier car seat, I think Mommy wants to use that really cool shopping cart cover grandma found when we go to the store so I can sit in the cart.

Wordless Wednesday

Mommy and Alex's Tuesday Night

Not yo momma's oatmeal :)

Ok so the introduction of oatmeal was fantabulous! Alex loved it and learned quickly that the object was to pull the food back into his mouth and not push it out. But like most things, he quickly became bored so we decided to spice it up a little. I decided it was time to start adding a little extra to his oatmeal, boy needed a little flavor in his diet. I am bound and determined to make this baby enjoy flavor and not want to live on the bland boring diet his father lives on. My husband won't touch a vegetable and very little fruit ventures into his meal plan unless I trick him. I've become mighty creative in the past just to get a little vitamins and nutrients into his diet.

MmMmMm Carrots :)

Okay, back to the not yo momma's oatmeal thing. . . . . the other day I made Alex his oatmeal like I normally do, playing with how much oatmeal to add versus how much formula to add, then mixed in a little num yummy carrots. I decided that starting the boy on veggies was the only way to go. I've heard from several people that if you start them on fruits, chances are they aren't going to like veggies at all so as previously mentioned, this boy is NOT going to be eating like his father, carrots it is.

I think he liked it just as much as he did the oatmeal, my only regret was not stripping him down to his diaper. Orange oatmeal was a little scarier than the plain stuff, at least plain oatmeal doesn't stain, oops, mommy fail!

Coming soon: apples, bananas, and green beans, mmm mmm goodness! :)

Will the REAL Alex please stand up?

I don't know who THIS baby is, but he's not MY Alex! He looks like him, but it's definitely NOT him. My Alex sleeps through the night, He's been getting up between every 1 to 2 hours, he didn't even do this as a newborn (slept 6 hours the first night we brought him home.) He sleeps in his crib all night long, he giggles at everything and always smiles at you, but this Alex. . . well, this Alex pretty much hates everything. He is always mad, wants to eat about every hour, refuses to smile and laugh and has completely boycotted his crib. He will fall asleep in his bouncer or rocker or on mommy or daddy's chest and just be dead weight, but as soon as you move him to his crib, eyes sprout open and arms swing wide with his hands open palmed and then that little bottom lip comes out and WAHHHHHHHH in a blood curdling scream! As soon as one of us picks him up, he is instantly asleep on our shoulder, no exaggeration there, instantly! The differences in this baby are like night and day, so I ask, will the REAL Alex please stand up?

To be fair, he did have a really rough week last week. He got his 4 month shots and ended up with a fever for 2 days and then he caught mommy's nasty nasty head cold. So chances are, his bizarre mood and sudden change in sleeping habits could possibly be a direct result from his terrible, horrible, no good, very bad. . . week. But, i'd be lying if i said I wasn't feeling a teeny tiny bit scared that this new Alex was the Alex to stay. In a repetitiveness matter every night, I would go to bed saying, I want my old baby back, I want my old baby back . Who is this child?

UPDATE: 

MY Alex might be back, but for the sake of not jinxing it right now, stay tuned for TBD post ;)

Messy Schmessy :) The Introduction of Oatmeal

Lately, it's been brought to our attention (by Alex of course) that the formula just wasn't enough anymore, he just wasn't satisfied. So we started toying with the idea of adding a little more to his diet. I remembered from a previous Dr appointment that she'd prefer we not give him rice cereal unless he was ready to take it from a spoon. Since he never had any reflux issues, she highly recommended we not add rice cereal to his bottle. 

So, a few weeks ago, we tried rice cereal with Alex. This happened.

Needless to say, he wasn't a fan. We spoke with the Dr and she said some babies just won't do rice cereal,(yay! My kid is somewhat normal!!)! She said to go ahead with oatmeal, just oatmeal for a few days, then add banana's or applesauce. So last night, we introduced Alex to oatmeal. Oh my! At first he couldn't figure out was in his mouth, he kept pushing every thing out with that crazy tongue of his. But it only took a few more 1/4 spoon fulls and he had this spoon feeding thing down. He started lunging towards the spoon, mouth wide open, and actually moved his tongue out of the way, he started swallowing the oatmeal as if he had always done it. My kid is a genius! He was a happy camper (finally) in his bumbo (he's not a huge fan normally) as long as the spoon kept coming. I am so proud of the little guy for doing so well, he's a natural. 

We realized however, just how "clean" bottle feeding is. We lived on this 1 bib a day philosophy (you know, less laundry) with the bottle. But not going to be the case with the oatmeal, it was everywhere! My cute little blue eyed bambino was sporting a new oatmeal beard and his eyebrows too had been replaced as well. How can something so little (and not mobile) make such a mess. Messy schmessy! 

I have realized though, how quickly this is happening. In all seriousness, I swear my bambino was just born last week, how could he possibly be eating off a spoon and getting ready for real food? So in my joy of our successful introduction of anything other than formula, I am a little sad :( My boy is growing up so fast! Slow down buddy, mommy needs more time! That's an order!

The boy in the backseat

Alex has made great friends with the boy in the backseat. Every time we look back at him he's smiling and making faces at him. Earlier this week he was showing the little boy his feet. Alex likes to play coy with the little boy, giving him that sheepish sideways grin as he peeks around to make sure the boy is watching him. With the discovery of his voice in the last couple weeks, I often catch him "talking" to the little boy like they are having a real conversation. I love it, it's cute and entertaining and well, just down right adorable! My mom (who watches him during the day in the summer while mommy works) told me this week that after his 4 month appointment on Monday, Alex and the little boy talked each other to sleep. I love it!

I wonder how long it will take Alex to figure out that the little boy in the backseat is his own reflection in the mirror???????

Sick Mommy :(

< insert sad face > I am sick. I woke up yesterday with an ear ache, sore throat, headache and congestion. Yesterday was a little rough to get through, I wasn't feeling well at all but at least still functioning. Well, today I woke up with all the above symptoms PLUS, a fever, ugh! This is the first time I've been sick since he was born and I NEVER want it to happen again! I am miserable! My head feels like it's a giant balloon, a giant throbbing, balloon. My ears are making my head feel like it's going to implode. My nose has turned into Niagara Snot Falls and I fear I will turn into a drooling slob any time now due to the inability to swallow my own spit with this sore throat! The worst part about this. . . . I can't take care of Alex. I've put the job on my husband, I am holding him solely responsible for him until I can feel better. I am a nervous wreck that whatever hellion of a bug I've got is going to attack him. So in my biggest attempt to prevent this from happening, I am staying clear of him. HELLO?! Easier said than done! As of last night, Alex is still feeling a little icky from his 4 month shots on Monday. He wants to cuddle and be held constantly and it's killing me that I can't pick him up and snuggle :(

HELP ME PLEASE!!!

My Wordless Wednesday

October 5, 2007

After I took this picture, Kris and I visited the John Hancock Building. Way up top while over looking the beautiful lake sprinkled with sail boats, Kris proposed. I will always love this picture.

Meeting Amana

Amana is that friend. The one where you can not talk to each other for months and pick up right where you left off every time. The one that knows what you are thinking before you know what you're thinking. The one you swear shares the same brain waves as you. She is THE best friend who lived with you in college and survived the year of the beast (long story short, the third roommate from H-E double hockey sticks.) The friend who shares the same obscene obsession of I Love Lucy. (According to a friend who once stayed over, we had over 69 pieces of I Love Lucy memorabilia and then vowed to not stay again because Lucy was staring at him.) A couple years ago, she moved to Germany, my best friend was an ocean away, and as hard as it was, it still felt like she was with me. She has recently moved back to the states but is leaving again to another state for a job. In the short time we were able to see each other, I feel so blessed that she was able to meet Alex. The best part, as soon as I picked him up out of his car seat, he took one look at Amana and cackled, out right gut laughed. What saddens me is I wasn't able to capture Alex's amusement with her. . He was flirting and it was ADORABLE!! As it got later it became clear that Alex was ready to go home and unfortunately those would be the images I captured with the red scrunched up screaming face. But I promise you, he loved her!

Oh, and that isn't a typo. . .. her name is Amanda, but since sophomore year of college, I have called her Amana, not sure why but i think it had something to do with the refrigerator in our apartment?????

Bambino's 4 Month Stats

Alex had his 4 month checkup today. Dr said he looks great and developmentally right on schedule if not a little ahead, yay!! He's going to be a smart one, just like his daddy! At 4 months old, he weighs 16lbs 12oz and is 25 1/4 inches long, that puts him in the 80th percentile for weight and 60th percentile for height. We've got a strong healthy boy on our hands. . . . but nothing tops the fact that his head, that's right I said his head, is in the 90th percentile. (Don't worry buddy, we won't dub you big head)

Look forward to a future post, this week we try oatmeal and bananas. There is sure to be some HI-larious entertainment to suit :)

Happy 4 Months Bambino!

Alex is 4 months old, amazing! Time really does fly when you're having fun. His personality is really starting to develop and let me tell you, it's a little on the quirky side. He's smiling all the time and laughing now, I love baby laughs! He's still trying to master the fine art of rolling over  but he's gotten pretty good at flipping to his side. He's reaching and grabbing for things, he gets his musical lion that hangs on his carseat to sing all the time with such a tight grip. Oh and right now, he LOVES to look at books, the bright colors in baby books really get his attention and of course, Baby Einstein : Baby Beethoven is still his favorite!

Wordless Wednesday (sorta)

Little Boy who cried Wolf

Alex suffers from a very rare condition known as Littleboywhocriedwolf Syndrome. It effects about every 1 of 500 babies. Ok, so I just made all that up but in the little world of Alexander Jame, it's totally real. Period.  He has mastered this to a science, at only 3 months old he has figured out how to fake cry. He will first start to whimper and then stick out his bottom lip in a cute little puppy dog fashion, then the fake crying begins. He makes all the sounds as if it were real, but when you look at him, there are absolutely no tears, his eyes aren't even wet, nor red for that matter. He simply cries just to get our attention, little brat, isn't he a little young to figure this kind of stuff out. Maybe we have a baby genius on our hands, hehe. I should know better, he doesn't cry that often so I should really be able to tell the difference between his fake cry and his real one (the two really are hard to distinguish) but whipped by my baby boy of joy, I come running every time, dosh garnit! And when he sees me, those fake cries stop and he gets that sheepish grin on his face. My heart melts every time :)

So, why can't the dog babysit again?

I'm not entirely convinced that I can't train the dog the babysit. I mean, she IS incredibly smart and Alex is such an easy baby, so I don't get the big deal. Just kidding, sort of.

Word of advice for those mommies that plan on going back to work after baby, look for childcare the moment you find out you're pregnant, and start saving money before that! We found a fantastic childcare center, I loved everything about the place but unfortunately we couldn't get in :( We're on a waiting list though, of course the earliest possibility is January, but still listed none the less.)

Okie dokie, so childcare will literally break the bank, well, at least our bank account. When gas started increasing at unbelievable speeds it started to cross my mind that I wouldn't be able to afford to go to work, NOW, I can't afford not to go to work, seriously?! <Headache> Can somebody please figure this out for me? I want to be lazy and not do it. I would love to be a SAHM, but sadly our bank accounts won't allow for that so it's up at 5am every morning and 2 hour daily commute for me. Ugh! I found a great sitter for him, he starts there within in the next month, but what I wasn't prepared for was that childcare was going to be more than our house payment! So when it came time to sit down and work out the post baby budget it became abundantly clear that some cutbacks needed to be made so. . . .

• Gym membership (I can lose weight without it, right? Just Dance is highly productive as a cardio routine)
• Monthly Haircuts (I've been meaning to grow it our anyway)
• Cable Television EEEK! (Can I survive in the land of no cable?)

But the one thing I absolutely won't budge on. . . . . I will NOT, I repeat, will NOT get rid of my smartphone! That would just be dumb!!!

How am I going to get by without my USA and Lifetime???????

Help!

Welcome to change-a-holics anonymous.

Those of you who know me know that I have a strange addiction, maybe a mild case of OCD. I have this obsession with rearranging and changing things. The items on my desk at work have been in many many different arrangements, I have reorganized my "folders" in the pictures file on my hard drive so many times I can't find anything anymore, I made my diaper bag reversible because I knew I would get bored with it and want to change it,  I've moved the nursery of my 4 month old close to 10 times, and probably the most annoying, I am constantly rearranging the furniture in my house and driving my husband insane! Now I have added my blog to the list. I've sat around and played with this thing since I decided to start it. It's been up and running (officially) for just a couple months and I don't think I can even tell you how many changes I have made to it. WELL, I've decided to present myself with a challenge, I Ashley Schmelzer, Mommy Blogger of Happy Heart will NOT change my blog design for 6 whole months. I may add things to it, but the design stays the same. Challenge starts today, August 1st, 2011 at 3:00pm and will end, February 1st, 2012 at 3:00pm.


 Can I do it???

By the way, THANK YOU all for following and reading my blog. I am having a blast posting the events of the life of my new son. I hope you are enjoying reading them as much I as enjoy writing them. YOU ALL ROCK!

Alex and Lauren Schmees Photography ~ Part II

Lauren Schmees Photography

She's done it again, check out Lauren's blog to see more AMAZING pictures by Lauren Schmees Photography

Rock a bye . . . . Mommy?

Alex goes to bed fairly easy for us, usually down for the night between 10 and 11, this week it's been 9:30. But for the sake of trying to start a bedtime routine we bought a Baby Einstein : Baby Lullaby DVD to play for him before his bedtime bottle at night. To be honest, he's clearly not as into this DVD as he is the Baby Beethoven but he still watches it with a smile. Now I can't be sure, but the impression I get, Baby Lullaby is supposed to help calm Alex down with its soft images and soothing music. Well, wouldn't you know, something that claims to help get your baby to sleep doesn't work for the baby, but it works wonders for mommy! I swear, every time! If I sit down and watch the video with Alex, I am the one who drifts off into dreamland! I always wake up and Alex is laughing and kicking to the credits of the DVD. Seriously?! How can we vice versa these results????