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

Nailed It

I don't know about you but recently I've become a bit of a nail polish junkie.  I never really cared before.  In fact, I really didn't do my nails because I'm hard on my hands and hate having chipped nails so it wasn't worth it.  But since I've become addicted to Pinterest I've seen all these adorable ideas I wanted to try or new colors that seemed like a good way to add a little something to my normally very reserved, classic wardrobe. 

This week I decided to pick up a new navy polish.  In the bottle it looked amazing.  A shiny dark blue with just a tiny bit of shimmer to it.  I was thrilled with how it came out.  Unfortunately two days after I did them also happened to be cleaning day and my perfect nails got all chipped up.  Since I was too lazy to actually re-do my nails I decided to get creative with a shades of blue french manicure. 

 

I used Revlon Midnight Affair as the base color and Blue Lagoon for the tips.  I am not big on pricy polish but this is good quality and won't bust the budget.  What do you think?

Ladies Don't Do That

I am one of those rare people. The type that believes that ladies do not sweat, burp, fart or make any bodily functions that would bring tears to your eyes. I was taught by my nana that ladies to not whistle, spit, or curse. I try very hard to maintain a ladylike demeanor. And heaven forbid I did let a bodily function happen, I'd deny it til I was blue in the face.

Now, that said, allow me to tell you a story.

It was a typical evening. Dinner picked up on the way home from work. One of the roommates in the living. The loving couple in the bedroom talking about their day. Nothing at all out of the ordinary. Mr. was laying on the bed, and in typical spoiled girl fashion, Miss. was sitting on his stomach. (Please note, they were both clothed, this is a G rated story after all) While talking and laughing about the daily stress, Mr. thought it would be funny to start tickling Miss. Amid shrieks of "PLEASE STOP!" and giggles that even the roommate could hear, it happened.

She couldn't stop it. She knew it was going to happen and there was nothing short of death that could put an end to it.

Miss. Farted!

Hoping to God, Buddha, Zeus, Allah and every other deity in the world that Mr. had missed it, Miss' eyes got wide and her face got red. The look on Mr.s' face said that he hadn't missed it. How could he when the vibrations were right on his stomach.

It took only seconds before Mr. went from shocked to crying with laughter. He was trying to run for the door to tell the roommate. He had proof now, that Miss., ladylike little Miss., was in fact human!

It was only because of the tears coming from Miss. (embarrassment, fear, sadness) that kept Mr. from telling the whole world. And while they, of course, were able to move past the little indiscretion, Mr. never let Miss. forget what happened when she would try and be her prissy self.

The end!

Now please note, this is just a fiction story. I mean, it couldn't possibly be about me.   After all, a lady like me never passes gas!

It's a peanut....with nubs!

On Christmas morning, while getting ready for the day at my grandma's, I decided to take a pregnancy test. Now, for those that don't know, my husband and I had been trying for just about a year for #3. I have fertility issues and it's a hard road to travel. I didn't expect a positive that early and really not at all, to be honest! Well imagine my surprise when I saw a very faint line! I was in complete shock and so was my husband! It was the best Christmas present ever.Our edd is September 3, 2012 and I am 7 weeks 4 days!

Fast forward to several weeks later and we now have a peanut with nubs! How amazing the body is and how awesome it is to watch your baby grow through ultrasound. Not to mention hearing and seeing the heartbeat for the first time. No matter how many kids you have or how many times you have been through this, hearing the heartbeat for the first time is an absolute trip! I could go on and on and on about my blessing but I'll give you guys a break. Now, that's not to say I wont blog about my pregnancy because I would love to share this journey with all you amazing people. Right now this pregnant chick needs to hit the sack and deal with some serious morning sickness. So with my goodnight, I leave you a picture of our "Poppy"...so cute right?

Sorbet

Since the new year I have been, not on a diet, but cutting back on bad food and ice cream is a huge favorite of mine and I refuse to give in and eat it. So I have resorted to sorbet, but I don't like to but it from the store because number one, its EXPENSIVE and number two its full of sugar so I decoded to make my own. Are you surprised? Ha ha.

Its a basic recipe and you can use whatever fruit you like. I like it most with watermelon but its not in season right now, so I used raspberries because they were on sale at the grocery store. Now most recipes I found said to use an ice cream maker, well I don't have one. I just put it in a Tupperware and it worked out great.

I started off by pureeing the raspberries with a little lemon juice to cut the sweetness of the raspberries. After that you need to sieve the seeds out. No one wants seeds in their sorbet. Then I made a simple syrup. Always 1 part water and one part sugar. I stirred it all together and froze it over night. Now mine was a little to sweet for me so next time I will cut the sugar but you guys may like it sweeter, try it out and figure out how you like it. You can always add mini dark chocolate chips too!

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup water

6 cups raspberries (about 1 3/4 pounds), thawed if frozen, I use fresh

1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

Amanda

Crochet for a Cause

Janet here. Right now we're in the midst of a move. Moving to a bigger place not too far away but off of this dead-end street where all the teenaged "hoodlums" like to hang out and stir up trouble! I can't wait! But in the evenings I've been been spending my time crocheting up some beautiful red and navy blue, warm winter scarves for the Special Olympics. I recently learned to crochet but have caught on rather quickly and love making beautiful handmade scarves and hats and baby blankets and more! Its more than safe to say that I am ADDICTED to crochet! And I like to think it comes quite naturally for me as my late Grandma Eunice was an avid crocheter and was always making us beautiful afghans that I very much treasure to this day. Check out the link below if you'd like to join in on this cause and knit or crochet some scarves for the project. And if you don't knit or crochet yourself but know someone who does, pass the link along. Here are the 2 I have completed so far. I hope to finish at least one more before the deadline. 

http://www.scarvesforspecialolympics.org/

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

We want everyone at Crafts, Cooking, and Countless Conversation to wish one of our writers JANET a happy birthday!

We hope you have a GREAT day today, sweetie!

Holy Easy Popcorn

I don't know about you guys, but I LOVE popcorn. I have never really liked the popcorn out of the bags you make at home. Now I have learned how bad it is for you and your family. I couldn't believe the nasty things I found out about bagged popcorn. So I decided to make my own. I was so nervous because I thought it would be hard but I soon learned its as easy as the bagged, if not easier! It tastes so much better and you can add basically whatever you want to it. There are so many combinations to making your favorite popcorn! I have two ways to make it, both are easy and both come out basically the same.

 The first way is in the microwave. I found this amazingly easy way to make bagged popcorn in the microwave from Squawkfox.com.  Basically its brown paper bags & popcorn kernels. That's it! Cook on high for 3 minutes. Make sure you stay by your microwave because they cook differently and some may only take a minute and half. You don't want to burn this popcorn! 

 Next way to to do it is on the stove top. Use a deep pot, like you would use to boil potatos and add about 2 tablespoons of oil. I use veggie oil but you can use whatever you have. Olive oil gives it a great taste too. Pour the kernels in, just enough to cover a layer on the bottom of the pot. Now turn the temperature to high and put a lid on it, You don't want kernels in your eye! Once its starts popping I shake my pot back and fourth on the stove to keep them moving around. When the popping slows, its done!   

 You can add whatever flavors you want too. You put a pat of butter on your popcorn and some salt. I like Parmesan cheese on mine. 

 Other combinations are:
Chili powder, hot sauce, and salt.

Onion powder and garlic powder.

Parmesan cheese with a little salt.

Cinnamon, a sprinkle of sugar, and a topper of honey. 

Amanda

Sweet Vampire Killing Chicken AKA Garlic Brown Sugar Chicken

Happy Saturday!  Rachel here.  Like every other person these days I've become a bit of a Pinterest addict.  I have about 2 dozen new recipes to try out and having an unexpected night off of work meant I had no excuse not to channel my inner Julia Child and try something out.  No surprise I went with a chicken dish.  No matter what else may be in my freezer I will always have chicken on hand.  This was a piece of cake to make.  Even for a cooking challenged gal.

First things to do is get the ingredients.
Chicken (I used chicken tender cut but you could use normal chicken breast too)
Garlic (I love garlic in an abnormal way so I used 4 cloves, the original recipe called for one.)
Butter (Or not butter stuff if you're like me and haven't used real butter in a while)
Brown sugar (I grabbed dark for the picture but used light when I actually cooked.)

You'll notice I have a hard time when it comes to measuring things when cooking.  I tend to go more on instinct so I'll explain the best I can.

*Brown butter (about 2 spoons full) and garlic (minced up) in a large pan.

*When all the butter is melty add the chicken.  Cook on high until the chicken is cooked all the way thru.  It took about 10mins for mine but then it was already cut into strips so it was thinner than if you're doing a full sized chicken breast.

*Once the chicken is done sprinkle the brown sugar over each piece of chicken, lightly covering each piece.  You can be a little heavy handed with the brown sugar.  It's ok.  You know you have enough when it's all covered.

*Stir chicken in the butter/garlic and brown sugar until the sugar has melted.  Just don't burn it!

I made corn and mac&cheese to go with mine but I bet it would be good over rice too.  I was afraid it might be too sweet or the garlic would be an odd combo but somehow it works.  I can't wait to make it again.  Or dig into the leftovers.

The Newlywed Game

I've been married for about 2 and a half months now. Along with the marriage itself, my life went through a ton of changes. I had been living in Indiana since 2005. I was working at the local police department as a Victim Advocate, a job I had since 2009 and absolutely loved. Being a military wife includes a lot of sacrifices. I had to quit my job, pack up, and move to Ohio to be with my husband.

It's been a tough adjustment for me. I was a very independent person...although I was still living with my parents. I had a job, paid my bills, and if I wanted to buy something...I did it. Now I am dependent on my husband. We currently have one car, so I spend much of my time in our apartment. I miss my friends. I miss my job. But I love my husband. Marriage is tough, scary, and absolutely amazing. 

Our entire relationship was long distance. The most time we had spent together at any given time was just over a week. We are learning each others' habits and quirks. I get irritated every time I trip over his boots that he haphazardly leaves wherever he takes them off, but I know I would miss it if they weren't there. 

I love our time together and I am incredibly lucky to have him in my life. I love my "good morning" kiss, even though it comes way too early. I love watching movies together, playing Wii, and Nerf Wars. I love that he will order me a pizza at 11pm and get me ice cream, just because I wanted it. I love falling asleep in his arms and our candlelit dinners. Even though he frustrates me and makes me angry. I couldn't imagine spending my life with anyone else.

I know things won't always be easy. I know that this is only the beginning. I know we're going to fight, and laugh, and cry...but, I also know that no matter what life throws at us, we're going to get through it together. 

Marriage is a struggle at times, but if you're willing to work through the bad moments, you can enjoy all the good things that come your way. 

Trojan War

So I figured I'd start off my blogging here with a bang.  Pun intended.  I warned you I had wonderful dating stories to share! 

I need to go back a bit. Back to the fall of 2007. I was blissfully in love with a wonderful Marine. We were going on 6 months of dating and were adjusting to the long distance thing that happened midway through the relationship.  He was in town for a meer 36 hours, half of which I was going to be working. We were determined to make the most of our short visit and clothes were flying off before the door was firmly closed and locked.

After the all the "Dear God" and "Oh baby's" were over we were laying there is a bit of a sweaty mess when Marine J got the most horror stricken look on his face. A million thoughts ran though my head. Did he see the extra stomach roll I couldn't hide? Was it not good for him? What could make this man, who was so excited to see me only a few shorts hours ago, have this look on his face.

Then he finally spoke...

"Uh oh."

Uh oh? UH OH!? These are not good words. In fact, after hot, sweaty, toe-curling sex, uh oh was the last thing I wanted to hear. Fear sank in as I realized that the only thing that could make this tough man say uh oh was a birth control malfunction. In my head, worst case scenario was a broken condom and that was enough to jack my heart rate through the roof.

Good news....I was wrong, the condom didn't break.

Bad news....the condom came off and was inside of me. INSIDE ME!

That's about when all rational thought flew out of my head and I could no longer remember my name, his name, or where I was if you had asked me. All I knew what there was something in me that definitely wasn't supposed to be.

Thank goodness for a calm, level headed boyfriend. Marine J was amazing. He calmed me down, helped correct the situation and was even wonderful enough to get the shower running for me.

To this day I'm still terrified of another "incident".  Though maybe I'd handle it with a little less panic.  Nah, who am I kidding.  I'd still freak out!

The Baby Question..

(via Nutrition)
I'll be one of the first ones to admit it: I have baby fever.

For those of you who do not know too much about me, let me give you a little bit of a background story.

My daughter is almost 9 1/2 months old (the 15th of this month!). We recently purchased a home (December 20th) and I recently accrued a great amount of debt. (Got to love graduating from college... and realizing, 'Holy crap. How will I EVER pay this off?') Not to mention the fact that I'm not exactly working right now. We decided that it would be more beneficial for me to be a stay-at-home-mommy for the time being and that I would search for a job after our kid/kids go off to school. It is just more important to us that I be home with Tayler right now. Plus, we are fine with the financial situation (or at least we were until this darn loans started to have to be paid off... but fortunately, I baby-sit and sell Scentsy, so I can at least make that payment!)

The house we recently purchased is two bedroom. The bedroom downstairs is on the smaller side (plus it's downstairs.. I don't want my baby all the way down there without me.. Yes, I'm on the protective side ;) haha) And the bedroom upstairs was converted from 2 bedrooms to one uber large room. We aren't complaining-- we LOVE it. For as long as we've been together, we've always had a small bedroom where everything was crammed in there, so this is perfect for us for the time being.

Well.... if you haven't gathered what I'm about to say from this blog, I'll go ahead and say it:

We are SO not ready for another baby.

I know, I know... everyone says there's no perfect time to have a child, but I seriously can't help but think it would not be smart for us to have another one right now.

Of course, I have two sides pulling at me. On one hand, I'm almost 25. I'm not getting any younger... We wanted to have 3-4 children (Oh, don't look at us like that ;) We have always wanted a large family!) So, it would be smart for us to have another baby (or at least get pregnant some time this year!) Plus, I love babies. If I found out I were pregnant today, Tayler would be almost 18 months old when the next one graced us with their presence. I think that's a good age, right?

Then, there's that other side that pulls on me that says, "People are going to think this is a bad decision and terrible timing." And not only do I worry about people, but I worry about the welfare of our family. I have a huge student loan debt, we just purchased a home... Do we really need to bring another life into this world when we don't know what kind of life we can REALLY give it? We've always wanted our children to have a 'good' life. We never wanted to have to worry about being able to afford their needs or their wants... Plus, there's the room issue. We would have to save money and add on to our home or at least convert the upstairs back into two bedrooms which is, of course, going to take money and work.

...then the baby-wanting side pulls on me yet again with things like: "You're not getting out of that debt any time soon, so you might as well just do it!" And that's true. We have a 30 year mortgage... it's an estimated 30 years to pay back my student loans. We can't very well wait until I'm almost 55 to have another child. Good heavens, Tayler will be 30 years old, haha!

It's just a tough situation where we are not exactly sure what we want to do.. or for that matter, what we SHOULD do. I see both sides of the situation. I see where it may be selfish of us to reproduce so soon... but then I see where it also will be selfish of us not to. We feel Tayler deserves a brother or a sister. We feel that we want at least one more baby to make our family feel complete.

Do any of you struggle with having a larger family? Do you have these conversations in your head as well? (Please tell me I'm not the only one!! haha!!) What are your thoughts?

Our Ladies!

Here are the ladies that will be bringing your daily dose of enjoyment! Have fun meeting them and get ready for lots of cooking, crafts, and other chit-chat in the upcoming days!

Hey there! Janet here. A bit about me as an intro before I share my daily muses with you. I am the proud wife of a sailor and mom to a spunky adorable two year old named Cooper. We also have two dogs, a puggle and a german shepherd, who I can't imagine my life without. I love to cook and to bake and am always trying new recipes. I also love scrapbooking, crocheting and photography. I can't wait to share my recipes and projects and challenges with you all!

Hello wonderful readers! My name is Channing and I am a 24 year old wife, mother, and advocate. I have happily been with husband for almost seven years. He has been in the Air Force for almost 6 years and although its hard, we love being a military family. We have 2 beautiful daughters, ages 5 & almost 2, and another sweet baby on the way! I am a stay at home mom, but I spend most of my free time as a victim's advocate for mothers against drunk driving (MADD). It's a huge passion of mine and I love it. I can't wait to share my life and fun ideas with you all!

   

Hello! My name is Miranda. I am a 25 year old Air Force wife. I'm a newlywed. (We were just married on October 29, 2011.) I love baking and am a craftaholic. My poor husband, Sean, puts up with my craziness that sometimes spills out of my pink and zebra craft room. My life is kind of hectic at times and has gone through a lot of changes in the past few months. I'm trying to get the hang of married life, which gets complicated, but that's life, right? I'm sure I will have all kinds of randomness to share with the blogging world.

　

I just wanted to introduce myself before I started talking (which I do...a lot!). I'm Kristen, married to Joe who is in the Air Force. We have two kids and one on the way. Joey is 5, Bayleigh is almost 2 and poppy seed is due Sept 7th, 2012. I am your typical soccer mom. I love to cook and bake, which my family definitely enjoys but my waistline does not lol. Right now I am teaching myself to crochet/knit and I just might share some of my mishaps with you. Hey, we all need a laugh in life right? My life is crazy, busy and always fun. I hope everyone enjoys the blog and gets a good laugh or two.

Hey yall! I'm Rachel. A 27 year old single gal who has enough bad dating stories to write a book. Hmmm, that might be a good idea. For now I'll just share them with you. Along with my adventures as a substitute teacher, waitress, and part time wedding coordinator. I live at the beach and am not nearly as laid back as you'd assume a beach girl would be. I run half marathons, play softball and am slowly learning to horseback ride. But I shouldn't give away all my secrets. Why would you keep reading if I did!?

Hi ya’ll. My names Amanda. Born and raised in the south and now living in Wisconsin with my husband Matthew. We have been married for almost 3 years. Trying to adjust to the cultural difference and loving it so far. We have a kitty named Bunns and no kids….yet. Matthew was in the United States Navy and is now going to school to be a cop. I am working in a retirement home for nuns. I work on the Alzheimer’s floor. I love riding my bike, hiking and I love to cook and bake. My dream is to one day own my own bakery.

Hey Everyone! Kelsey here. Just want to give a friendly introduction before I start writing about my crazy life! I am 23 years old, engaged, and moved to Columbus, OH over the summer from small-town Zanesville. I am SO excited to join this blog and guarantee that I will write more as soon as I throw together my usual 9PM dinner ;). --Kelsey

Well, hello there! My name is Alyssa. I'm 24 years old and I'm from the good ol' Buckeye State. (That's Ohio for all of you non-NCAA fans out there, haha!) I am hitched to a wonderful man named Ethan who puts up with all of my weird ideas and supports me regardless. We have a gorgeous baby girl named Tayler who turns one in March! She keeps us on our toes, that's for sure. I honestly have no idea why we are surprised that she is so ornery.... look at us! I am a crafty-wanna-be (meaning, I can do crafts, but they never look show-able, haha.) I love cooking and one day hope to own my own restaurant. I also love to write and I dabble in a bit of picture taking... mostly of Tayler. Okay, I take pictures of a few other things, but she's the main attraction! I'm so excited to be joining this blog. I cannot wait to get to know each and every one of you!

Welcome!

You've been there before right?

Your husband makes you mad as soon as you walk through the door. You're steaming. You can't call anyone because, well, he will hear you on the phone. You can't yell at him, because, well, you don't even feel like looking at him.

You're working on this craft for your gorgeous dining room and you burn yourself with your hot glue gun. Not only that, but you paint a piece of work and as you stand up to show it off, you knock over the paint can and pink paint covers your new hardwood floors.

You peed in your home bathroom... and you were not alone for the 15th time today.

Your new date slightly resembles your father and it really makes you start to wonder..

We're here for you! We've been there!

This blog is for women. We vow to bring to you stories about relationships, married life, dating life, engaged life, children, crafts, and of course, new recipes that we have tried! They could be horrific, they could be inspiring. Either way, we hope you enjoy the read!