It's a Love Thing

Valentine's Day is quickly approaching. I wanted to do something sweet and sentimental for my husband this year. I found a great idea at The Dating Divas (If you are in a relationship and you have not been on their site, check it out. They have great date night ideas, gifts, tips, etc. They're amazing!) Anyways, I loved the ABC's of us...so I decided to use their basic concept, but make mine a little more personal.

I went to Hobby Lobby and picked up a 5x7 scrapbook. I had a 40% off coupon, so I only spent $3 on it! Great deal! After I came up with something for each letter...a memory, a song, anything that is significant to our relationship...I started to scrapbook each page. I added photos to some of the pages just to make things a little more personal. Here is a photo of a couple of the pages.

I love the way it's coming together. I still have to finish it, but I really think my husband is going to love it. It'll be fun to relive our memories together. 

Hopefully I was able to give you some inspiration for an inexpensive and heartfelt gift. Happy Love Day!

Baby Blues

No this is not a post about my horribly loud ticking biological clock.  Well, not really.  It's more about my fears of that clock.

At youth group on Sunday we had movie night and watched Facing the Giants.  Now, this was no Academy Award winning movie.  The kids loved it but even they will admit that it had horrible acting.  The thing that me was the one plot line about the couple not being able to have a baby. 

I have no idea why that hit me so hard.  It seems the older I get the more I worry about if I'll be able to have kids.  Not just if I will, but can I?  I know that more and more people are getting married later and having kids later just fine.  And my parents just had to think about having kids and they got pregnant so fertile genes run in my family.  But what if it was just them?  What if I have problems getting pregnant when I ever meet Prince Charmingenough?  What if I can't ever have my own kids because I'm just too old? 

Never mind the train of though that I may not meet Prince Charmingenough until I'm 40 and all my eggs have shriveled up and there is no chance of getting pregnant.  That's a whole different can of worms to worry about but I'm pretty sure I could babble on and on about how hard dating is these days (and I probably will when I'm having a crappy single day) but thats not the issue today.

Am I the only person who worries about things like this?  Or at least the only single chick who does?  I would understand this being a concern if I was married and trying and having a hard time.  Why am I worried about stuff that really doesn't matter right now?  Especially when 99.9% of the time I'm worried about preventing pregnancy!

Avocado Love

Heaven help me when I get preganant and start having crazy lady cravings. As it is I already get someone in my head that I NEED to eat and that's it. Doesn't matter it I don't have what I need or don't know if it will turn out, I just NEED to cook it right then. That happened the other day. Someone at work was walking around with a grilled cheese in the kitchen and I started craving this avocado, bacon, grilled cheese type sandwhich I'd seen on Pinterest. It's all I could think about. So off I went to the grocery story.

I used the thin sliced chicken because it cooks quicker and because I really didn't want a normal thick chicken breast on a piece of bread. I cooked the chicken in a pan on the stove with a little garlic until it was cooked thru. As for the bacon I sliced it all in half and cooked it until about a min before it would really be done. If you turn off the heat the bacon will finish cooking in it's own grease. While those things were cooking on the stove I popped my bread in the toaster. If you use good bread instead of just plain ole Wonder I'd suggest sticking it in the broiler to toast up.

When the chicken and the bacon were done I started to layer. Since I used the thin chicken and small pieces I decided 2 pieces of chicken were good for me. I layered chicken, bacon, avocado, cheese. Wanted the cheese on top so it would all melt together nicely. To get it all melty I stuck it in the microwave for 30seconds. When it came out I almost didn't want to put it on the bread it looked so good.

Considering this was something I half found online and half mixed up myself I'd say it came out darn good! I cooked the entire package of chicken and bacon so I had leftover parts in the fridge to make it again. Or to use for whatever else sounded good this week. 

Co-Sleeping

I'll be honest.

 

I cannot get out of the habit of letting my daughter co-sleep with us. Everyone has always told us not to do it because they do not think that it's safe, because it will create a bad habit, because my husband and I will lose out on intimate time.. There are a multiple number of reasons why there are individuals that do not believe in this. And I completely see where they are coming from. 

However, we have co-slept with her since she was born (and she's almost 10 months old now). Not EVERY night. There are some nights where she was sleeping peacefully in my arms and I laid her down in her crib and she slept her little heart away. But you know what? Some nights, I am completely worn out and she is not asleep yet. 

And there comes the beauty of Cry It Out. I know that it absolutely, positively works for some parents and that is great! If you are able to do that and your child self-soothes and sleeps through the night, I give you major props. I just can't bring myself to do it. I hate hearing her cry. I tried CIO for like 3 nights and it was too much for me. 

So, we (meaning my husband and myself) find it easier if she just sleeps with us. We were blessed with a big bed.. we don't even feel her most of the night, but it's nice because she's right there beside of us. She sleeps good with us.
 

Like I said. We don't co-sleep every night. Sometimes she'll fall asleep downstairs watching a movie and I'll carry her up to her bed and she sleeps in there until she wakes up for a bottle (and I know if she didn't wake up for a bottle at 4AM, she would sleep all night in there.) She loves her bed. But she loves sleeping with us too.

Honestly, it hasn't created any problems with us. We still have our 'alone time' and we don't feel like she 'takes over the bed.' Of course, when the next baby comes along, then what? Do we let that baby sleep with us AND our daughter? Will we be confusing her to make her start sleeping in her own bed? We figured we she understands that 'You MUST sleep in your bed means you MUST sleep in your own bed...' then she'll start doing it. Right now, I just enjoy her being next to me. She'll be 17 one day and think I'm the weirdest person on earth. She probably won't even want to ride in a car with me, let alone sleep next to me. So, I'm enjoying that time while I have it. But am I confusing her?

Seriously. I knew parenting was full of decisions, but I didn't know this many. I am always worried that I'm making the wrong decision. And I worry WAY too much about what people think about how we parent. In the back of my head I'm thinking, 'What will people say about this? Are they going to talk about me or it behind my back? Will they think I'm a bad parent?' It's tough. I need to thicken my skin up though and know that I'm doing what is best for us... and Tayler. But I'm still wishy-washy on that. I enjoy doing 'our own thing' but I also worry about the future and the consequences of actions.

Do any of you out there practice CO-SLEEPING or have practiced co-sleeping? How old did you co-sleep with your child? When did you stop co-sleeping with your child?

And please, I'm not trying to be rude, but no negativity about all of this. I'm asking for opinions, obviously, but lets be adult about those opinions. Nothing downgrading. Thank you!

Case Of The Mistaken Undies

Recently I was chatting with my Sister (aka my best friend, aren't I lucky?) and we were sharing funny dating stories from out past.  One had me near tears so I couldn't help but to share. 

Mr. Canada and I were a new couple. Together maybe 2, 3 months tops. We moved FAST! Met, kissed, started dating, and I moved in all within a month. Technically I didn't live there but that's not the point. The point is we didn't go at a normal speed so we were already doing mixed loads of laundry when most couples are still unconvinced that there is anything to do outside the bedroom together.

The first time we mixed our wash I was folding things to put away while he geeked out on the computer for a bit. We were chatting about our day or making dinner plans or something. The details aren't important. All the sudden I held up a pair of very tiny lacy pink undies and with the most serious face I make asked him who they belonged to.

If he had turned any whiter he would have been see through! His jaw about hit the floor and he stammered out "I..I...I thought they were yours!"

I lost it! I couldn't stop laughing. I nearly had to run for the restroom I was laughing so hard. Of course they were mine! I just couldn't resist screwing with him a little bit. Who says I am uptight all the time?  A girl has to have a little fun right?

Getting Fit!

Is anyone else out there struggling to find motivation like me?

It's winter, which is the first difficult thing about pushing myself.

Second, I'll just go ahead and admit it-- I'm lazy. I hate even saying that word, but I'm serious. When I think about exercising, I'm already exhausted. I know it will help me, but I just can't find the 'push' to actually do it which is REALLY frustrating.

My daughter is almost 10 months old... and while I can say that I have lost ALL of my baby weight from having her, I have yet to get this body toned again. When I first got pregnant, I weighed 136 pounds. When I walked into the hospital the day my water broke, I weighed 176 pounds. 40 pounds! AAAAHHH. But, a week later I was back down to 150.. and a few months later, I was down to 136. That was a good feeling, but clearly not good enough....

It bothers me when I sit down and I can see that 'pouch' of skin that just kind of lays there. Any of you moms out there know what I am talking about?? It's that extra skin... and it just haunts me. I'm not saying I'm upset about having a child or anything like that! Tayler was worth every stretch mark and stretched out piece of skin that I have...

BUT

now that she's here.. and ornery as ever, I think it's about time I get this body in order! Which leads me to this:

I FOUND MOTIVATION.

I found it in being absolutely tired of the way I look in the mirror... and now, I want to push myself! Now, I want to start watching what I eat. Now, I want to start exercising and toning this body. I want killer abs by the summer. Last summer, it was frustrating to wear a two piece. This summer, I want to be excited about it! When we go on vacation, I don't want to wear a one-piece because I'm embarrassed.  I want to be proud to walk into the store and buy a TWO-PIECE. I want to put it on with confidence that yes, I had a baby, but I have bounced back from that. I want to have a fit body that is prepared to have another baby in time. I do not want to be 'behind' going in to having this child, you know?

Is there anyone else out there that wants to join me in exercising and being accountable to one another? I plan on attempting to post my progress once a week (or once every two weeks depending on how things are going) and I would LOVE if you shared your strengths and weaknesses with me. My biggest problem is eating. I am addicted to fast food. I am SERIOUS. That habit has got to stop... and stop immediately.

Thanks to my friend Kat, I joined 'My Fitness Pal' online and it is helping me keep track of my calories. It also tells me how many calories I can have a day to reach my goals which is awesome! If you want to add me, my email-address is:

alyssadbay@yahoo.com

I hope someone out there feels my pain and wants to join me in this journey. I am not good at keeping motivated when I'm doing something alone, so it will help if others are motivated with me!

Love you all!

Shellac

Heard of it? Well I figured since Rachel posted about her nail polish obsession I would post that I as well I have become addicted to painting my nails. It must be in the water huh Rachel? Ha ha. I use to have acrylic nails for years! I finally decided to get them off and let my natural nails grow. Thank goodness I did, they were causing so much damage to my nails I could believe it. So now I have a HUGE nail polish collection and I think if I buy one more polish my husband will leave me. Ha ha. Men don't get it. I decided to try Shellac polish.

Its a gel polish and you do have to go to a salon to get it done but let me tell you, its so worth it. I was a little worried at first because it does last 3 to 4 weeks and I LOVE to paint my nail often. But I figured I could use a break from my husband looking at my like I'm nuts for awhile. I went ahead and got it done. Its amazing! It makes your nails super strong which is awesome because my are so weak. The lady doing my nails even told me it makes your nails healthier too! Its like having acrylic nails without the acrylic! Its a brilliant invention!

To get the Shellac off, you can either go back to the salon or do it yourself. You can decided which you prefer. Some salons might charge to take it off, some might not. But to do it at home you can use this method. You need PURE acetone and an orange stick. Soak your nails for 10 minutes. I know it sounds crazy and I was nervous about my skin at first but it didn't cause damage at all. If you are worried about it you can soak cotton balls and place them on top of your nails and wrap in tin foil. The Shellac will come off and use the orange stick to get the stubborn pieces off.

All in all, in my eyes, its so worth it! Try it someday :)

Amanda