Tuesday, December 1, 2009

29 Weeks

How far along? 29 weeks! Baby girl weighs around 2.5 pounds and is 15 inches long already!

Total weight gain/loss: down a couple

Maternity clothes? Yes. never really stopped wearing them

Stretch marks? yup they just keep coming... oh well i guess!

Best moment this week: seeing my belly move on both sides at the same time! she's laying transverse and LOVES to stretch out!

Movement: she's all over, most days she's transverse but other days she's up in my ribs... silly girl!

Food cravings: chips!

Gender: baby girl!

Labor Signs: lots of pressure, cervix is softening but not dialated. supposed to be taking it super easy...

Belly Button in or out? In still but I don't think it will stay that way much longer!

What I miss: being able to sleep on my stomach!

What I am looking forward to: hearing baby girls heartbeat again in a couple weeks!

Weekly Wisdom: hmmm.... ummm.... eat often!

Milestones: Lillyanna has a pattern of waking and sleeping now, her lungs are maturing and she's adding fat to her skinny little body! :)


Wednesday, November 4, 2009

1 year old!

1 year ago today we welcomed a perfect 6lb 13.8oz baby boy into our family.... wow! I can't believe it's been that long! I'm super emotional about the whole thing and I think for now I'm just going to post some pictures of his first days and let them speak for themselves!


After getting cleaned up a bit and nursing for the first time!

My all time favorite picture of Ryan and Landyn!

First time holding him after he was cleaned up!

Weighing in! I can't believe how tiny he was!

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

25 weeks!

How far along? 25 weeks. Baby girl is about 13.5 inches long and weighs around 1.5 lbs!

Total weight gain/loss: down a couple

Maternity clothes? Yes. never really stopped wearing them

Stretch marks? yup a few new ones!

Best moment this week: watching my belly move from the outside!

Movement: she has been super active which is a good sign considering how many meds i was on this last week! :)

Food cravings: Arby's!

Gender: baby girl!

Labor Signs: less contractions than before but still having some if i do too much!

Belly Button in or out? In, not sure if it will pop or not

What I miss: being able to sleep on my stomach!

What I am looking forward to: Landyn's birthday party this weekend!

Weekly Wisdom: being sick while pregnant sucks!

Milestones: she can make my whole belly move now!

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Little Farmer

So a couple weeks ago Ryan and I decided to start our family tradition of taking Landyn to a local pumpkin patch/orchard. Little Farmer was about a 40 minute drive from our house but totally worth it! I wish we had bought a few more carmel apples but there's always next year :) Here's a few pics from our family day! (it was a lot colder than we expected but we still had fun!)



Standing soo nicely next to the pumpkins! (After i tried to eat them!)

Ryan and Landyn on the hayride

Mommy and Landyn waiting for the hayride

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

23 weeks!

How far along? 23 weeks! baby girl is about 11 inches long and weighs just over a pound!

Total weight gain/loss: down another pound...

Maternity clothes? Yes. never really stopped wearing them

Stretch marks? yup a new one... it's lovely! (haha not really but oh well!)

Best moment this week: seeing Landyn's face today when he heard her heartbeat at the doctors office, he got a huge smile on his face! :)

Movement: she really enjoyed the Green Bay Packer game on Sunday, otherwise she's pretty active!

Food cravings: hot chocolate

Gender: baby girl!

Labor Signs: not as many contractions as i was having

Belly Button in or out? In, not sure if it will pop or not

What I miss: Being able to sleep..

What I am looking forward to: holding my baby girl!

Weekly Wisdom: don't steal your wife's food! she will not be happy! (Ryan took the rest of the ham to work today and only left me 4 pieces...)

Milestones: Lillyanna seems to have the start of a schedule in her active times, she likes to move a lot at night (just like Landyn did)

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

22 weeks!

How far along? 22 weeks (baby girl is the length of a spaghetti squash and weighs about a pound!)

Total weight gain/loss: Still down a little.

Maternity clothes? Yes. never really stopped wearing them

Stretch marks? leftover from Landyn

Best moment this week: seeing baby girl on ultrasound last week! (she still has girl parts and is VERY active!)

Movement: yup when i'm hungry she kicks me to let me know she is too!

Food cravings: hot chocolate

Gender: baby girl!

Labor Signs: still having contractions, went to see doctor last week about it and i'm just taking it easy!

Belly Button in or out? In

What I miss: Being able to sleep..

What I am looking forward to: putting a face with the name Lillyanna Kate!

Weekly Wisdom: do as much as you can but don't be afraid to ask for help!

Milestones: baby girl finally has a name, Lillyanna Kate and we can't wait to meet her!

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

21 Weeks!

How far along? 21 weeks 1 day!

Total weight gain/loss: Still down a little.

Maternity clothes? Yes. never really stopped wearing them

Stretch marks? leftover from Landyn

Best moment this week: seeing baby girl kick from the outside!

Movement: yup lots! especially at night!

Food cravings: milk... which if you know me very well is strange... i HATE milk!

Gender: baby girl!

Labor Signs: contractions if I do too much... interested to see what the doc says when i see him in 2 weeks

Belly Button in or out? In

What I miss: Being able to sleep..

What I am looking forward to: seeing baby girl in about 4 months!

Weekly Wisdom: don't listen to every one's opinions about names you have picked out! your doing all the work you get to decide! :)

Milestones: My fleece jackets barely fit and I can no longer see my toes when I look down!

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Almost Wordless Wednesday

Here is a 16 week belly pic (it's 4 weeks old but better than nothing!) Last week we found out this baby is indeed a LITTLE GIRL!!! We are super excited for Landyn to have a little sister!!!


Sunday, September 13, 2009

The two of us...

Since it's close to our 2 year wedding anniversary I thought I would do a little questionnaire about us!

1. When is your "engagement" anniversary: June 4Th, 2006

2. When is your "marriage" anniversary: September 21st, 2007

3. How long have you known your spouse: 7.5 years

4. How long did you date/court before you were engaged: we dated for almost 3.5 years

5. Where did you meet your spouse for the first time? Kimberly High School

6. What is your spouse's full name: Ryan Roy

7. Do you have any children: yes!

8. How many - boys/girls: One beautiful baby boy, Landyn who is 10 months and another baby on the way, due around Valentine's Day!

9. Do you have any house pets: Yup a big 70 pound Lab named Tucker

10. Do you own a house or rent: we own our house

11. Do you live in the country or town/city: city but I wish it was the country!

12. What is one of your favorite activities together: bowling and spending lazy mornings in bed talking

13. Do you have a favorite vacation spot: no vacations don't really happen around here, hopefully in the future they will!

14. When did you first kiss? The end of October 2002!

15. How old were you when you met? Ryan was 17 and I was 16

16. Did you get married in a church? Where? yea... Holy Spirit

17. What town is your current address at: Appleton

18. Do you work or stay at home: I stay home with the little man and the dog!

19. Where did you go on your honeymoon: We went to upper Michigan, we would love to go back! It's gorgeous up there this time of year!

20.What was the funniest gift you gave when dating? hmmm we usually don't do gifts but when we do they are something we need.

21.How long have you been together? almost 7 years

22. How long did you know each other before you started dating? 5 or 6 months

23. Who asked who out? haha that's a really funny story, that will have to be it's own post!

24. How old are each of you? Ryan is 24 and I am 23.

25.Where do you each work or go to school? Ryan is working at Team Winnebagoland. He loves his job!

26. Which situation is the hardest on you as a couple? holidays, there is always somewhere we need to be, now that we have children we are going to have to figure something different out.

27. Did you go to the same school? for high school yes.

28. Are you from the same home town? Nope

29. Who is smarter? What a dumb question....

30. Who is more sensitive? probably me but Ryan is a very sensitive guy, it's one of my favorite things about him!

31.Where do you eat out most as a couple? Texas Roadhouse

32. Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple? England and Ireland

33.Who has the craziest exes? neither of us really

34. Who has the worse temper? me by a long shot! it takes a lot to make Ryan mad

35. Who does the cooking? depends on what it is, we usually cook together but lately Ryan has been doing more.

36. Who is more social? Me

37. Who is the neat-freak? Let's be honest here, neither of us, but I desire things to be picked up and he doesn't care.

38. Who is more stubborn? me by a long shot

39. Who hogs the bed? we both share it very well. when Landyn slept with us he was a total bed hog!

40. Who wakes up earlier? Ryan, usually gets up at 6 everyday

41. Where was your first date? We didn't really go on dates, just hung out all the time together

42.Who had more boyfriends/girlfriends? Me

43. Do you get flowers often? Nope... Ryan doesn't believe in them sadly...

44. How do you spend the holidays? running from place to place... like I said, we have to figure something out

45. Who is more jealous? probably me

46. How long did it take to get serious? ummm I would say about a year or so

47. Who eats more? depends on if I'm pregnant or not

48. Who does the laundry? both of us, or my mom comes over and helps. Thank you soo much Mom!!

49. Who’s better with the computer? Me

50. Leave a piece of advice for the other couples: remember that the little things won't matter tomorrow. In the end everything will work out as long as you trust each other and you both make it a priority.

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Pregnancy survey

Here's a pregnancy survey I found on another blog. I've highlighted the ones that apply to me this time although I see a few that were very wrong with Landyn so I'm not sure how much I'll believe this! And the ring test was a bust, either Ryan doesn't know what he's doing or the ring didn't know what the baby is... 11 days from tomorrow is the big ultrasound!

It's a boy if:

You didn't experience morning sickness in early pregnancy <-- I was sick but nothing compared to what it was with Landyn.
Your baby's heart rate is less than 140 beats per minute
You are carrying the extra weight out front
Your belly looks like a basketball

Your areolas have darkened considerably
You are carrying low
You are craving salty or sour foods
You are craving protein -- meats and cheese
Your feet are colder than they were before pregnancy
The hair on your legs has grown faster during pregnancy
Your hands are very dry
Your pillow faces north when you sleep
Dad-to-be is gaining weight, right along with you<--- accept i'm losing still!
Pregnancy has you looking better than ever
Your urine is bright yellow in color
Your nose is spreading
You hang your wedding ring over your belly and it moves in circles
You are having headaches
You add your age at the time of conception and the number for the month you conceived and the sum is an even number

It's a girl if:
You had morning sickness early in pregnancy
Your baby's heart rate is at least 140 beats per minute
You are carrying the weight in your hips and rear
Your left breast is larger than your right breast
Your hair develops red highlights
You are carrying high
Your belly looks like a watermelon
You are craving sweets
You are craving fruit
You crave orange juice
You don't look quite as good as normal during pregnancy
You are moodier than usual during pregnancy
Your face breaks out more than usual
You refuse to eat the heel of a loaf of bread
Your breasts have really blossomed!
Your pillow faces south when you sleep
Your urine is a dull yellow color
You hang your wedding ring over your belly and it moves from side to side
You add your age at the time of conception and the number for the month you conceived and the sum is an odd number

Boy- 11
Girl-6

maybe it really is a boy....

Sunday, August 23, 2009

Sunday Meal Plan

I again decided that we should start making a meal plan and stick to it! So here goes

Monday
lunch: Mac and Cheese and hot dogs
dinner: Haystacks (at my moms)

Tuesday
lunch: ?? not sure depending on what the babysitting kids want?
dinner: Porkchops with cream of mushroom soup over the top, mashed potatoes, and corn

Wednesday
lunch: just me so leftovers or eating out
dinner: Lasanga and garlic rolls

Thursday
lunch: just me maybe steak sandwiches
dinner: turkey and cheese sandwhich

Friday
lunch: Picnic at Bay Beach: PB&J, chips, apples and little hugs
dinner: Wildtree Cheddar and Herb Skillet Meal (something new to us! i'll let you know how it is!)

Saturday
lunch: Picnic at Madison Zoo- turkey/ham sandwhiches, chips, water, carrots and apples.
dinner: probably something on the way home since it's a 2 hour drive to Madison.

Monday, August 10, 2009

Not Me! Monday!

So it's been months since I've done Not me! Monday. I'm just being a blog slacker. I have no excuses, well besides a crawling child who is into EVERYTHING and the fact that I'm lazy. Yup I said it, I'm lazy. Onto bigger and better things, here goes. If you'd like to join in the fun head on over to
MckMama's blog!

I did not spend 15 minutes yesterday making a guest list for Landyn's first birthday party.

Said birthday list is not 136 people long (including kids) that would be crazy, who would have that big of a party for a 1st birthday, Not me!

After making said list I did not make another list of the people I knew wouldn't come, which would not bring that list below 100.

And after making that 2nd list I did not make a 3rd list of the people I think would actually come and that list would never have gone down to about 60.

I would never spend time thinking about all of this when his party is 2 days shy of 3 months away, who has time for that? Not me!

I would also never be looking into somewhere to have it because my house is huge and there is pleanty of room for everyone, nope not my house!

I also did not start looking into birthday decorations and change my mind 4 times about the theme. I always make decisions right away and I never change my mind at least 10 times before I actually make a decision. I also would never wake my husband up from his nap to ask him about this decision either. Not me!

I am not a nervous wreak for my ultrasound tomorrow either, Nope! Not me!

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Bummas Winner!

I just closed the giveaway and went to random.org and entered 50 into the number generator and it came out with number 39! (yes I'm too lazy to try and figure out how to post the actual screen shot of the generator, sorry!)

And the winner is....

Danielle aka zealandsmom!
zealandsmom said...
follow:)

July 27, 2009 7:06 PM


You have 48 hours to contact me and I'll get your information to Bummas so you can get your wipes! yay!!

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Bummas Wipes!

After the wipe and before the dipe, use a soft kiss of cloth to dry bums off. Keep diaper rash at bay, the Bummas way.

How cute is that saying? I love it! I got the chance to review a set of Bummas in calm ones and let me tell you, they really are amazing! Here is the recommended diaper routine by Bummas

1. Grab a Bumma before opening the diaper. Sneak "attacks" are frequent and will happen the second your mind wonders!
2. Place the Bumma over the privates while tending to the other parts. One Bumma will soak up an entire pee (really it will!)
3. clean up baby with a regular wipe or wet a Bumma and clean up sensative skin.
4. Use another bumma to thoroughly dry the baby off. Re-diaper
5.If the cover Bumma gets soaked, rinse it off and throw it in the wash (i didn't rinse i just threw it in the diaper pail)
6. The payoff- a dry bum, no diaper rash, and no surprise squirts! save money on diapers, powder and ointment. You can wash them and use them again and again!


Landyn generally doesn't do surprise attacks for me anymore, once in a while but he does always seem to get my mom's pillow when we are camping so i wish i had these when we went! I am looking forward to using them with the new baby since those surprise attacks happen very frequently in the first couple months. So since I skipped that for the most part (it did save my couch once!) I put some in my regular wipe rotation and some kept dry for drying off his bum and they really work well. It's nice not to have any extra moisture on his bum before putting the diaper back on. That's something that has always bothered me! Using them with my other wipes they are a whole different league! I wish i had a ton more! They really wipe up messy diapers well and work great for getting baby food off of the high chair.

Now I know what you are thinking, I want some! Well the wonderful people at Bummas have allowed me to give away a set to a lucky reader! So to enter head on over to Bummas and let me know which set you would pick. Leave a comment with your pick and one thing you like about Bummas. (Required entry)

For extra entries
1. Follow my blog publicly
2. Follow me on twitter and tweet about this giveaway
3. Blog about this giveaway and leave me a permanent link
4. Follow Bummas on twitter.

This giveaway will end July 28th at 8:00pm CST.

Monday, July 20, 2009

slacker

So all of you can call me a huge slacker in the blog department. I really don't have a good excuse for not being on here. I log in and read everyone's but don't do anything with mine. So here's a family update

Landyn turned 8 months on the 4th of July. We went down by my family camping and Landyn scooted on his belly for the first time across my parents bed. Yup he sat up on his 7 month birthday and started scooting at 8 months. Fast forward a couple weeks and he is into everything! Still not crawling but scooting everywhere, rocking on his hands and knees and can go from his belly to sitting. He also can pull himself up onto you if you are laying on the floor with him. Oh and his favorite thing to do is bite people! Those 2 little teeth he has on the bottom are sharp!

Onto baby #2 aka Peanut- I will be 10 weeks tomorrow, went to the doctor and they changed my due date from Feb 8th to the 16th. Saw the heartbeat on ultrasound, the tiny flicker brings tears to my eyes. I go to the OB on Thursday morning for a regular visit and then on the 11th for an ultrasound, bloodwork and a regular visit. We were not offered the 13 week ultrasound with Landyn and I cannot wait to see Peanut! I'm hoping to find out the sex but am not crossing my fingers since I understand it's very early on to know.

I've had some very bad reactions to this pregnancy and have decided that I'm just going to ignore all the comments and disable annoymous comments on my blog for this reason. It sucks because that means that family who reads my blog cannot comment like the past but I've talked to them about this and they understand. So from now on if there is something they want to say i'll just comment for them!

Okay enough negativity. I have a few reviews and giveaways coming up so stay tuned!

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Baby Names

Well we are trying to figure out baby names... it's harder with the second I think because we are not sure if we want to stay with another "L" name or not. My mom did, Kelli and my bro Keith. Ryans mom did (although she just liked the names) Ryan and Rebecca. Since our baby names are not family related at all we were thinking about staying with another L name to keep some sort of tradition... I can't decide and Ryan isn't any help at all! (but what man is??) okay onto the names!

If we stay with another L name:
Boy- Liam Alexander
Girl- Lillianna (Lilly or Anna) Rachel

If we don't stay with L names:
Boy- Aadyn William, Keaghan Alexander (not sure how i want to spell it but will not be the "normal" way)
Girl- Ryleigh Olivia, Adleigh Rose, Ella Ryleigh

So for now that's the list. Landyn would have been Ryleigh Olivia so that name is still top of my list but depending on if we stay with the L names or not... I know this seems like a little detail to everyone else but to me it's a hard decision!!!

Saturday, June 13, 2009

baby #2 aka Peanut!

Well I calculated my due date, Baby #2 aka Peanut, is due to arrive around February 8th, 2010. If history repeats itself i should be induced around 38 weeks which would be the week of January 25th. I scheduled my first appointments, which are next week Wednesday for a meeting with the nurse, bloodwork and pee in a cup and then I meet with the doctor the next morning. Which happens to be the day before my best friend Rachel's weddding, which i'm in! It will be a crazy week but I'm soo looking forward to it!

This pregnancy was a bit of a suprise to us but a very welcome suprise. We hadn't been preventing since about 2 months after Landyn was born, the mini pill wouldn't work very well if i was only taking it every other day! (if that!) We trusted that there is always a plan for everything and God would not give us more than we could handle. In the beginning of May Ryan and I sat down and said we would plan on waiting until the fall or winter to start trying for a second baby, well mid May we concieved this little Peanut! We wouldn't change it for anything and really are looking forward to having two children about 15 months apart!

Ryan has been gone since Thursday night at a Nascar Race with his Dad and some friends and i have figured out one thing this weekend. I would never be able to handle being a single mom! I'm exausted, working on about 15 or 16 hours of sleep total and to top it off morning sickness aka all day sickness has fully set in!

This week I'll post our baby names for all of you to weigh in on! (I just have to wait until Ryan's home to go over them again with me!)

Thursday, June 4, 2009

7 months

Well I know I'm a slacker in the blogging department, I'm trying to get better I promise! Landyn turned 7 months today, at 12:05pm to be exact! He's still not sleeping through the night and on average gets up at least 3-4 times. I know, you think I'm joking. But nope I'm not! Last night I got the idea that maybe he is just too warm at night so I put him to bed in his adorable Bum Genius cloth diaper and a onesie... he slept 8:30-12:30 and then went back to sleep until 5. Unfortunately he wet through his diaper, which in turn leaked all over my bed sheets. So after a quick change of sheets and Landyn, Ryan took him downstairs so I could get some more sleep. I love it when Ryan lets me sleep in!!! (he's very good to me with letting me do this on a fairly regular basis, which makes me love him even more!)

Today Landyn finally mastered sitting up, I still can't walk away from him because our dog, Tucker, likes to sniff him or piles his bones behind him and then when Landyn falls backwards he hits his head on the bones. Major problem, I know! Tucker doesn't always realize he's 70 pounds... he still thinks he's a little puppy!

We went to the park this afternoon with my mom and a couple of the kids she watches. Landyn and Sarah (whos 9 months) play together fairly well. Landyn has to be the brute and steal all the toys from her but she's bigger than him so I'm fairly certain she could take him on with all her cute mama milk making fatness! We put them in the swing together and they loved it, Sarah even smiled! (this is a very rare occurance. She's completely opposite of Landyn, who smiles all the time!)

Tomorrow I will upload some pictures from today because apparently blogger doesn't like me tonight. I promise!

Monday, May 25, 2009

Gro Baby Diapers!!

So I've been talking since starting cloth diapering about 3 months ago about how much I wanted to try Gro Baby diapers! I just haven't had the money to pick one out and try it. SOOO I became one of their facebook friends and they are sending me one to review!!! I can't wait to get it! It's different than any other diaper I've ever seen, great for on the go! Doesn't take much room up in the diaper bag, all you have to do is take the diaper and some extra snap in liners, throw in a wet bag and some cloth wipes and you are good to go. Makes diapering on the go soo much easier from what I've heard! Plus they are one size and everyone who knows me, knows I love my one size dipes!

Head on over to their site and check them out!

I can't wait to try this!!! I'm going to be checking for fluffy mail all week!!! there's nothing better than fluffy mail!

Monday, May 18, 2009

Not Me Monday

Okay folks, I took a week off blogging and here we are, ready for Mckmama's blog carnival. Please take a moment and say a prayer for Stellan, he's been having some runs of SVT and brachardia on his monitor and will be seeing his doctor today and receiving a holter monitor.

I did not love having my husband home for 3 full days! Why on earth would I want to spend that much time with the man I love??

I did not go out and buy new crib bumpers for my child because the other ones not working anymore. I would never spend money on something that is not even supposed to be in his crib anyway!

I am not excited to get my wet bags from Planet Wise in the mail this week, I would never check the mail constantly over something that holds my sons wet diapers in, who would do that??? Not Me!

I did not go online and order a different dress for my friends wedding in June just hoping it will fit and I will not be super disappointed if it doesn't....

I did not get a new cell phone on Saturday and I totally know how to use it! (seriously I'm soooo confused!!)

I did not get to sleep in until 10:00 this morning because I have an amazing husbad who took care of Landyn all morning!

Monday, May 11, 2009

Not Me Monday!

Well folks it's that time again, Not Me Monday! has arrived. MckMama is back at it! yay! here we go...

I did not cry all day Monday because it was my son's 6 month birthday and he's growing up but mostly because Aunt Flow came back for the first time which means I'm not pregnant yet... I would never be that crazy to want another child already and be slightly jealous that Amanda and Marge both are!

I would never blog about something as personal as my monthly cycle... Nope! Not me!

I am not so lazy that I didn't even link their blogs for you either...

I did not decide that somethings gotta change in the sleep department in my house and start a new idea... and no I'm not going to share it with you at this moment because I'm not quite sure it's working yet...

I did not make the most amazing cake yesterday... Mt. Dew cake! It is not super yummy and sweet... I am not eating a piece at 10:30am!

I am not super excited that Landyn is sleeping in his crib and it's officially been 35 minutes now... this wouldn't bethe longest nap he's ever taken in his crib!

Head on over to MckMama's blog and check out everyone elses Not Me Mondays!

Thursday, May 7, 2009

Slacker

So I've been a major slacker in the blog department lately, I apologize! Landyn turned 6 months this week. We went to the doctors yesterday and he weighed in at 16 pounds 14 ounces and was 26.5 inchees long. He has gained 10 pounds and almost 7 inches since he was born! He's a big boy! He's eating a ton of solids, nursing and growing like a weed!

Today we went to The Picture People and my old manager Heather took Landyn's pics! Here are a few of my favorites!





Friday, May 1, 2009

Bummis Give away!

So all of you should NOT head on over to Amanda's blog and enter her giveaway for Bummis! I totally want these cloth diapers so don't enter! haha just kidding! Head on over and enter, I dare ya!

Monday, April 20, 2009

the 8 things game

8 Things I'm Looking Forward To:

1. Landyn learning to sit up
2. Ryan getting done with work at 12 tomorrow
3. Ryan having off Wednesday
4. Putting Landyn is his adorable new baby legs again!
5. My God daughter Kylie's birthday party on Saturday, she's 1!
6. Seeing Amanda and her 4 kiddos on Friday (if we ever figure out what to do!)
7. Sleeping
8. Eventually having another baby! (well 3 more to be exact but NOT at once!)


8 Things I Did Yesterday:

1. Nursed Landyn
2. Fed Landyn good food!
3. Spent the day with my best friend Rachel
4. Cried about the future
5. spent lots of time on Twitter, facebook and blogger
6. Kissed my husband
7. Cuddled my beautiful baby boy
8. stayed in my Pjs all day!


8 Things I Wish I Could Do:

1. Have another baby soon
2. Take a photography class
3. hire a maid
4. stop supplementing Landyn with formula
5. Buy a deep freezer so I could make bigger quanties of food for Landyn
6. Buy a new vehicle or add a third row seat to my Durango
7. Go to the Mom and Pop Place for lunch... so yummy!
8. lose 50 pounds... haha maybe after I am done having kids!

8 Shows I Watch

1. ER... wait it's over... I miss it already
2. Jon and Kate Plus 8
3. The Biggest Loser
4. Law and Order SVU
5. Oprah
6. The Doctors
7. Little People Big World
8. Chopped

Monday, April 13, 2009

Not Me! Monday!

Well after a couple weeks off here we go... it's Not Me! Monday!


I did not spend countless hours making baby food for my son instead of just heading to the store and buying it. Nope! Not me! I would not waste my time doing something like that when there is a WAY easier way to do it!

I did not spend more countless hours at my computer doing research on different cloth diapers and then go back to where I started and order some of what I already had and only 1 new thing... that would be a complete waste of my time! Nope! Not me!

I did not run into Landyn's pediatrician leaving Mom's Club at the hospital and corner him and ask him questions for about 15 minutes and then go to see him 3 hours later in the office to have him check Landyn's toe when that's the reason I stopped him in the first place. Nope! Not me! My brain works way better than that and I would never forget what I wanted to ask him!

I did not start twittering this week, I wouldn't add one more thing for me to do on the internet instead of spending time being a good wife and cleaning my house! Nope! Not me! I love cleaning!

I did not dress my son up like a little man including a hat that my husband did not dislike and parade him around in it at Olive Garden on Wednesday and today for all of Ryan's family! Nope! Not me! I would never ignore my husbands many requests to take off said hat!

I did not purchase cloth diapers and give them to Landyn for Easter in his basket, I never would make something like that a gift! Nope! Not me!

I did not laugh at my amazing son while he threw a tantrum, kicking of feet included, because he couldn't get the toys in his mouth Nope! Not me! What 5 month old throws tantrums? Mine! (he might have gotten a little bit of his mother's temper!)

I did not make my status on facebook read, "Kelli is calling Fed Ex, telling them to bring a box big enough for his 70 pound body and Tucker is being shipped off anywhere but here!!!" I would never get frustrated with a dog so much that I would seriously consider something that crazy! Nope! Not me!

I did not cry when I got flowers from my husband for my birthday this week. I would never get so emotional about something like that! Nope! Not Me! I am never emotional!

I did not eat a Turkey sandwhich for breakfast a couple of times this week, I never crave food anymore! Nope! Not me!

I did not eat a piece of my birthday cake for breakfast today. Nope! Not me!

I am not sitting here in my yoga pants and a nursing tank instead of showering and getting dressed for the day! I always get up in the morning and shower, get dressed and put make-up on!

Saturday, April 11, 2009

A video

So I have a couple of posts that are in progress but I thought I would throw this video out for you guys to watch. Take what you want from it and do what works for your family. I'm going to leave it at that and all I ask is that you watch the whole thing! It won't work when i link it so you will have to copy and paste the address in, sorry!

http://www.joelsjourney.org/ViewJoelsvideo.html

Monday, April 6, 2009

Car Seat Safety

Well I'm not sure if all of you know, car seats and car seat safety are a passion of mine. I'm taking a class as soon as it works out to become a Child Passenger Safety Technician. In this post I will cover a few points and if you are interested in more information let me know and I can get it written up for you, if I don't know the answer I will find it for you! One major thing everyone needs to know, Car seats EXPIRE! There should be a DO NOT USE AFTER __________ stamp on it somewhere. If there isn't a stamp on it then it's expired and you should discontinue use immediately!

Here goes:

Infant Car Seat Safety-

A few major points-
Read your manual! All the information you need is in there! It's the most important part of installing any car seat.
After it is installed make sure there is not more than an inch of movement in the belt path. To check this use your non dominate hand and give 2 pulls. If it moves more than an inch it's not correct and you need to tighten the seat belt or latch anchors.
The handle/bar can be left up only on the newer Graco seats and the Chicco car seats. If you own an Evenflo seat the bar must be down and you have to have an inch and a half between the bar and the vehicle seat.

Rear facing/Forward facing

The law in every state is that a child must remain rear facing until 1 year AND 20 pounds no matter what. They have to reach both of those before they can be turned forward facing. This can be done in either an infant seat or a convertible seat.

The American Academy of Pediatrics just changed their recommendations to keep children rear facing until 2 years and 30 pounds or to the limits of their seats which for most convertible is either 33 or 35 pounds, again check the manual. The reason for this switch is that young children are 5 times safer rear facing. It reduces the risk of internal decapitation. (I can dig up the actual facts if you would like but for now I will leave it at that.) This is what we call Extended Rear Facing.

A few questions I have been asked by my husband mostly but also other people.

Won't their legs break if they are scrunched up against the back seat? There have been less reported cases of children breaking their legs in an accident because of Extended Rear Facing. Plus I'd rather have a kid with a broken leg than a kid with a broken neck, right?

Won't they be uncomfortable when their legs are longer? Again no they won't because they will adjust their legs, usually sit pretzel legs, to be comfortable. Most children actually complain after being switched to Forward Facing that their legs fall asleep from them dangling and not having support.

Won't they complain about it? Nope, if they have never been forward facing how would they know anything different? Depending on the seat you get they should be able to see out the windows or give them soft toys to play with while in their seats. Any hard or heavy objects can become a projectile in an accident.

Where should the straps be?
Rear facing- straps need to be at or below the shoulders
Forward facing- straps need to be at or above the shoulders.

When is a rearfacing seat outgrown?
A. Your child reaches the weight limit
B. Their head is within one inch of the top of the seat.

When is a forward facing seat outgrown?
A. Your child reaches the weight limit for the harness
B. The tops of their ears reach the shell of the seat
C. Their shoulders are above the top slots

If you have any other questions or would like to know about Extended Harnessing let me know!


I took this infomation strait from the car seat board on babycenter.com about convertable car seats. These ladies are amazing and have the answers to all car seat questions!

Britax Marathon, Decathlon, or Boulevard (MA/DC/BV)
17” top slots, RF 5-33lbs (newer models rf to 35 lbs.), FF up to 65lbs in 5 point harness. Awesome seats, allow for rf tethering, has lockoffs to replace locking clips, very easy installs, many bells and whistles that make them easier to use correctly every time, lasts most kids to age 5-6y/o. $220+

Evenflo Triumph Advance
RF to 35lbs, FF to 50 lbs. Max harness height of 17”. The Triumph Advance has the infinite-like harness adjuster too…no rethreading the harness! Much nicer than the old Triumph! Much taller shell than the old Triumph too. Harness not removable. $129

Sunshine Kids Radian
65/80 18” top slots, RF 5-33lbs, FF up to 65lbs in 5 point harness. Great seat, only second to Britax because it has some compatibility issues in some vehicles when installed with seatbelt. Harness not removable. Really good seat otherwise, allows for RF tethering, lasts most kids to 6-7y/o. 8yr lifespan (most have a 6yr) $175+

Recaro Como & Signo
Recaro makes seats for NASCAR and has made car seats for the European market and a few for the US market for years. RF to 35lbs, FF to 70lbs. Bottom slots of 9", so not ideal for newborns. The outside width of the seat at its widest point is approx. 19 ½” to 20”. The Como & the Signo are basically the same shell the biggest difference is that the Signo has an infinitely adjustable harness (whereas the Como has to be re-threaded) and the Signo's latch straps are on a bar--similar to Britax (on the Marathon and Boulevard)--so you don't have to re-thread the latch belt if you're going from rear facing to forward facing. Como is $249; Signo is $289 and has 17.75” top slot.

First Years True Fit Convertible Car Seat
RF 5-35 lbs, FF to 65lbs, 10” bottom slots, 17” top slots. 3 crotch positions, designed to fit smaller cars—headrest removes to allow rf seat to recline to 45°, put headrest back on after older child is 22 lbs. and adjust seat to be more upright when rf. Cover removable without unhooking the harness, lockoffs for rf & ff, harness adjusted with a knob, everything adjusts by sliding something. Covered in EPP Foam. $179.

Cosco Scenera
$40 5pt harness version. Very basic no-frills seat. Minimal padding, but it's rare for a LO to complain about it. 35lbs RF limit with a taller shell! 40lbs FF limit however most kids outgrow it in torso height at about 3-3.5yo due to the low 15” top slots. It just doesn’t offer enough torso grow room to get most kids to 40lbs. Readily available at Wal-Mart/Target/K-mart. Usually requires 1-3 chunks of pool noodle to get a good recline.

Safety 1st Uptown 35 lbs RF, 40 lbs FF, tall 16.5” top slots so this is the ONLY RF/FF 40lbs limit convertible that will likely get a kid to 40lbs. EPP foam, velvety plush cover, super cushy. Very easy to use & install. 8 yr lifespan! (Most have a 6 yr.) Around $100 or less at albeebaby.com and walmart.com.

The Graco ComfortSport, Evenflo seats, and the Alpha Omega 3-in-1 types are very small seats that are usually outgrown the same time as the $40 Scenera. You don’t get much for your money. While they are safe there are just other options that offer more for less cost.


Okay that's it for now. I will probably do more posts as time goes on as this is a passion of mine!

Sunday, April 5, 2009

Weekly Meal Plan

So this week Ryan and I decided that we needed to make a meal plan and stick to it! We went grocery shopping today and got mostly everything we need (minus a few things that we need fresh at the end of the week) My plan is to make a weekly post with our meal plan and if anyone wants the recipes just let me know!

Here goes

Sunday- No Peek Chicken (It's in the oven and I cannot wait for it to be done!)
Monday- Ryan works 9am-8pm so I will be eating whatever I can find (maybe leftovers!)
Tuesday- Spanish Hamburgers and Broccoli
Wednesday-Porkchops with cream of mushroom soup over the top, mashed potatoes, corn and biscuits
Thursday- Ryan works 9am-8pm again so I will be eating leftovers by myself on my birthday... how boring is that!
Friday- We will be eating out because it's Good Friday and Ryan cannot eat meat.
Saturday- Hu Hot for my birthday (we have a gift card from my parents from Christmas still!)

So there it is... I'm hungry just thinking about it!

Saturday, April 4, 2009

The many faces of cereal...

So we had planned on waiting until Landyn was 6 months to give him solids (it's the new recommendation from the AAP) but he had some plans of his own. Since he turned 4 months he had been grabbing at stuff and pulling it into his mouth and he would open for an empty spoon so I knew he was ready but I wasn't. I put it off for 2 weeks and then on Sunday March 22nd we decided to start with some oatmeal cereal. I know most people start with rice but he has some major constipation problems already and I didn't want to make it any worse! Here are some of the funny faces he made!





Thursday, April 2, 2009

4 months in pictures

Here is another post full of pictures. This is month 4 of little mans life! Enjoy!





This is my all time favorite picture of 2 of my boys!

Baby Toes

Yup another picture post but I just couldn't stop myself from taking some super cute pictures of his little toes! (Plus he has one of his cutest cloth diapers on so it makes it even better!)



Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Building For Kids

So a few weeks ago the kids I watch after school had off so Ryan and I took them along with Landyn to a local children's museum called the Building for Kids. Here are a bunch of pictures!

Landyn in the giant reading chair (without a book haha!)
Landyn in the giant pumpkin
Going down his first slide!
Jonathon and Danielle as firefighters!
The cutest penguin ever made!
Mommy and Landyn (I'm holding his hand down so he can't chew on it!)

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Please Pray of Stellan

I'm going to make this short and sweet. Baby Stellan is in urgent need of your prayers right now. Click on the button to see the newest updates on him!

Prayers for Stellan

Monday, March 16, 2009

Not Me! Monday!

Okay it's that time again folks! Not Me! Monday! has arrived! If your interested in what this blog carnival is all about head on over to MckMama's blog and read all about it!



I did not get extrememly excited about my best friend coming to stay here for the weeekend! She is notthe most amazing person in the whole world and we, including Landyn, were not thrilled to have her stay with us! Nope! Not us!

I did not finally finish Landyn's nursery today. Nope it soo did not take me the second half of my pregnancy and another 4 months to do so! Nope! Not me!

I did not go to Kohls and spend an outragous amount of money on a Rachael Ray Cookware set and be completely in love with it before I even used it for the first time! Nope! Not me!

I did not start looking up plane tickets and planning my trip to Omaha that is not until June where Landyn and I get to meet Megan and Carson! Nope! Not me! I would never fly to a different state to meet an internet/blogging buddy!

I did not take my son to the ER this weekend because he apparently had a ingrown toenail that was infected, which I didn't notice. I would never miss something that big and then have to spend a ton of money at the ER. Nope! Not me!

I am not sitting here eating dry Kix cereal for breakfast! Nope! Not me!

What about you? What did you not do this week??

Sunday, March 8, 2009

All pictures.. okay a few words too!

Passed out in his carseat with the wubby!




A couple of the pictures I took on our trip to Wisconsin Dells! I'm so mad that I didn't take more!



Not Me! Monday!

Well it's that time again my faithful followers...all 8 of you! It's time for Not Me! Monday! woo hoo! If you are wondering what this is all about head on over to MckMama's blog and read all about it!



I did not cry because my amazing little boy is 4 months old now and of course I never would have done this multiple times in a week! Nope! Not me!

I did not spend countless hours on the internet reading new blogs and looking up stuff about cloth diapering. Nope! Not Me!

I am not now addicted to cloth diapering and all of the cute little accessories that go with it! Nope! Not me!

I most certainly did not spend hours at the Mom and Pop Place this week hanging out with a new friend named Amanda and her 4 adorable children and enjoy every minute of it! Nope! Not Me!

I did not like MckMama take my laptop to the bathroom with this week or any other week. Why would I do a silly thing like that??

I did not not beg Amanda to show me how to use the prefolds and afterwards feel like a complete idiot for not figuring it out on my own. It's sooo easy! Nope! Not me!

I for sure didn't forget when the last time I changed my son's diaper and continue to let him zonk out in the swing and just hope the cloth diaper didn't leak in the swing. Nope! Not me!

I did not go against what I have said all along and go out and buy Landyn some baby Oatmeal, spoons and bowls just in case I decide to start feeding him solids soon. I wouldn't change yet another thing I said I would never do because my son is apparently ready for cereal WAY before I am. Nope! Not me!

I did not spend 15 minutes taking pictures of my son's feet and adorable cloth diapers just because yesterday. Nope! Not me!

I did not get breakfast served to me on the couch yesterday morning by my dear husband! It did not include Scrambled Eggs, Hashbrowns, Sausage, Bacon and Toast. Nope! For sure it didn't!

I was not completely oblivious to the fact that we had a huge winter storm coming at us that was in fact name Winter Storm Kyle and sit on the couch all day yesterday doing nothing but hang out with my 3 favorite boys... Ryan, Landyn and Tucker! Nope! Not me!

What have you not done this week?

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Happy Birthday Landyn!

Today is Landyn's 4 month birthday! We had his well child checkup first thing this morning. He weighed in at 14 pounds 6 ounces 44% and is 25 1/8 inches long! (I'm pretty sure this is wrong his head was over to the side when she measured him.) The doctor also gave us the go ahead with solids but we will be waiting until he is ready or about 6 months. He was only 6 lbs 14 ounces when he was born so he has to gain 1 more ounce to double his birth weight! His shots went way better than the 2 month ones. His legs are not swollen and he's really not as crabby as I imagined.

We also have started using cloth diapers! I'm totally loving it right now and with my new washer I just press all the buttons and it does the prewash, soak, normal wash, spin, extra rinse, and spin again! All of that in 82 minutes! But the nice things is I don't have to walk all the way down to the basement again to start the regular wash like 20 minutes later! Yup lazy me doesn't like walking down to the cold basement to flip the laundry! oh well!

Okay it's time for me to take a nap, I know it's super late for a nap but if tonight goes the way last night did I will be lucky to get 4 hours total by 7 am! I can't wait to get the replacement crib parts so we can start following the guidelines from the book "Healthy Sleep Habits Happy Child". Or as I'm starting to call it, "Sleeping Bootcamp". More about that later!

Happy Birthday my sweet boy!

Monday, March 2, 2009

Not Me! Monday!

So it's that time again, the day of the week that we confess all of the things we did not do this week! Head on over to MckMama's blog and check out what MckMama and all of her blog followers did not do!



I did not tell my dog to run out the door and find a new home at least 10 times this week. His excessive whining and constant need of attention lately do not drive me up a wall! Nope! Not Me!

I did not sit and crunch numbers for a crazy amount of hours to try and figure out how I can get this minivan I want! I would never put my son in his swing and let him talk to his animal friends spinning above him while I did this. Nope! Not me!

I did not get jealous when Megan said she was going out for Mom's Night Out with her Mom's Group. What stay at home mom who has a baby attached to her 24/7 would want that?? Me?? Nope! Definitely Not me!

I did not get a book from the library called "Healthy Sleep Habits Happy Baby" to try and get my son to sleep at night. I am not completely losing my mind with this child's not sleeping and reading a book written by someone who does not know him to try and figure this whole thing out! I am sooo not that mom!

I did not get so frustrated over this van thing and cry because it's not looking like it's going to work out! Nope! Not Me!

I am not already dreading Landyn's well baby check up on Wednesday morning. Nope! Not Me!

I did not break down in tears multiple times this week because my little baby boy is turning 4 months on Wednesday! Nope! Not me!

I most certainly was not beyond excited that Ryan has off on Wednesday so we can spend most of Landyn's birthday as a family. But then get upset because he will be crabby from his shots! Nope! Not me! (Let's just hope it goes better than last time or I might just have a nervous breakdown!)

I did not consider letting Landyn cry himself to sleep tonight after he was nursing, sleeping 20 minutes, nursing, sleeping 20 minutes... over and over again for hours... Nope! Not Me!

Last but NOT LEAST!!!!!!!

I did not give up on my child going to sleep at 4 am, bring him downstairs and turn on the TV and Laptop to write this post while bouncing my child to sleep in his adorable Rainforest bouncer chair. Nope Not me! It certainly did not take over an hour to do so! Nope! Not my child! (I think he seems to be liking this Not me! thing... let's try not to make a habit of it!)

And no as you can see from my confession above I really didn't let him cry it out... I can't do it unless we are in the car and I need to be somewhere!

Okay it's now 5:30am, Landyn is finally sleeping and I'm off to try and fall asleep before it's light out... Happy Monday everyone!

Thursday, February 26, 2009

New Vehicle

So I've been saying for awhile I wanted a minivan, basically since I got pregnant with Landyn. Well if everything works out money wise we will be purchasing a brand new 2009 Dodge Grand Caravan SXT. We test drove it last night and I'm IN LOVE!!!!!!! It's silver. It's soo much better than my 2001 Dodge Stratus which we will be selling or trading in. Even the Durango is nice but I need more room and I really really don't like having to basically throw my stroller in since the Durango sits so high! Ahh I can't wait! Okay gotta end this now Landyn is awake and the babysitting kids want a snack!

Monday, February 23, 2009

yup it's that time again, Not Me! Monday!

Okay ladies and gentleman it's time again for Not Me! Monday. If you are interested in what Not Me! Monday! is all about and would like to see what other people did not do this week, head over to MckMama's blog and check it out!


I did not tell my husband it's time to start trying for another baby, Nope! Not Me! what mother of a 4 month old baby wants another one already?

I did not convince my husband we need a minivan already when we only have 1 child! Nope! Not Me!

I did not give in and give my son a bottle of formula after listening to him scream for 2 hours because he didn't want to nurse. Nope! Not Me!

I did not tell my baby last night that if he didn't go to bed soon he was going to have to cry it out by himself in his room... hey it was only 11:30 pm! Nope! Not Me! (and no I never did this... I can't let my baby cry himself to sleep!)

I did not look at buying a Wii yesterday at Sam's Club and seriously consider it! Nope! Not me!

I did not completely ignore the dishes all weekend and now have a huge pile to do. Nope! Not me!

I did not decide I'm not doing anymore laundry until I get my new washer and dryer on Wednesday. Nope! Not me!

I did not go to Sear's yesterday and pick up some shelves to hang in Landyn's room when nothing else is hung in his room yet, Nope! Not me! Who would do such a silly thing?

I am not sitting here watching Good Day Wisconsin on Fox 11 eating a White Chedder Rice Cake and bouncing my son in his bouncer so he stays asleep. Nope! Not Me!

I did not dig my maternity pants back out of the closet because I plan on wearing them today. They are soo much more comfortable! I can't wait to get a BFP so I can wear them for a reason! Nope! Not Me!

I did not go out looking for new sleepers for Landyn because I think the ones he has are ugly. Nope! Not me!

I did not invite myself to my mom's house for dinner tonight! Nope! Not Me!

I did not cry when I started going through Landyn's clothes and weeding out the too small stuff! Nope! Not Me!

I do not let me son sleep with me after he wakes up around 3 to eat because I'm to lazy to take him back to his bed Nope! Not me!

I did not let Landyn cry for a couple of minutes this morning because I was waiting for Ryan to get out of the shower so he could change Landyn's diaper! Nope! Not Me!