Silly face Monday!!!

 Enjoy the commentary...I feel it gives you a better understanding of the pictures...

 "Whaaaaa!? Gurrrrlll! Oh no she didn't!"

 The one above looks like hes trying to hold a sneeze =D

 The two finger shove

 "Thank you Jesus Hallelujah we have Goldfish crackers up in here to-DAY!"

 "You are healed Goldfish! I set you free! Now go and prosper! Amen!"

One thing I have learned...

Disappointment

What is the best part about being hurt and disappointed by someone that you love?

It’s that you are able to truly appreciate it when a total stranger is kind to you

Those acts of random kindness encourage you to pay it forward

But with disappointment comes anger

And anger is a drug that can consume even the kindest of hearts

The presence of anger doesn’t validate your pain

Your anger only invites more pain in

It feeds it

Anger humiliates you

And NEVER let anger fool you

It will tell you that without it...you are weak

Remember

We are human

We are imperfect

We make mistakes

If we cannot accept these facts about ourselves

We are choosing NOT to view ourselves clearly  

We are choosing to live a lie

If we cannot accept these facts in others

Then we are choosing to live our lives in anger

When we accept that

We are human

We are imperfect

We make mistakes

Then we can learn to forgive

And by learning to forgive, we can learn to let go of the anger that holds us back

Once the anger is gone

We can start living the lives we were meant to live

Seeing things the way they were meant to be seen

And being the people we were meant to become

In my opinion, letting go of anger is always the first step to achieving your own personal  happiness

Silly face Monday!

I know I posted something like this on Tuesday. I had originally wanted to do this on Monday...but something was wrong with my Internet so boo to that.
Cause what's better than a silly face to cure the Monday blues?  =) That's right nothin!

 He started going with the crazy faces before I could even focus the lens

 That ones my favorite

Yayyyyy! Silly faces on Mondays forever!!!

A birthday is looming...

 I am about 60% done with my "Knox's First Birthday Party" list...three months away and I am feelin good my friends.
Most people think I'm crazy for doing sooooo much work for my kids birthday...well poo on them! Those Ebenezer Scrooge's can go bah humbug themselves! You only have your first birthday once!  Will Knox remember any of it? No...but that doesn't mean I should put less effort into this special occasion. I believe that if you can do something that will bring a smile to your babies face...THEN DO IT! These little guys aren't just pissing and shitting blobs...they're tiny little people...and they are soaking up everything that is going on around them. What you're creating for them now are family traditions and warm fuzzy memories.
Besides...that's what cameras are for...and every shot you take of them now, is a story you will be telling them (and your future grandchildren)  later on down the road.
You know whats not a fun story? "Well, we didn't do anything because we figured you wouldn't remember it."...BOOOOO! That story sucks!
Is his party maybe just a little bit for me as too? Well duh!!! Of course it is! Why shouldn't it be!? I think us parents are allowed to have a little fun at these child shindigs. Not to mention its nice to be able to relive your childhood through those happy faces.


 Here are some of the big items I was able to cross of my list for this Uglydoll/mustache extravaganza...

Yesterday, my husband and I went to order Knox's b'day cakes and treats. There is this precious little bakery near us called "Sweet Cakes by Rebecca"...and she does some fantastic cakes up in there.
Here is what his smash cake will look like!  Its going to have a giant Uglydoll on the top...and yes....the Uglydoll will have a mustache.

I decided that I wasn't to thrilled about the orange Uglydoll cake topper...so we will be having this guy on top of the cake instead.

 Also, there will be a bunch of these adorable Uglydoll cupcakes (with mustaches). These are for all of the guests. I am not a big fan of giant cakes. I normally lean towards cupcakes/cupcake towers. I enjoy anything that is bite size and easier to shove in my mouth.

 Oh no! I couldn't just stop at cupcakes! We will also be having these silly looking cookies =D

 If you wanted an idea of what one of the tables will look like...I think this picture is pretty close. There will be lollipops in a flower pots, a back drop, giant pom poms, and huge glass jars full of candy.



 The next thing I decided to do was a photo booth. Yes, I'm jumping on the bandwagon...but my motivation for this is to give the parents a gift. I bought a picture frame and some photo props ( that everyone gets to take home with them) and I'm going to take a bunch of pictures of everyone. Then I will print the pictures out and give them to the parents as gifts.

 I still have a ton of stuff to do...but I feel like I've taken a nice chunk out of this b'day list. That's all for now!

How to play Go Fish with your baby!

For those of you who wonder what it is I do all day (now that I’m a stay-at-home mom) the answer is 10% of the time I’m taking care of the house and the other 90% of the time I’m playing with my son.

Here is one of the games we like to play together. It’s called “Baby Go Fishin”

This is what you need…

Graham cracker goldfish

A hungry active baby that likes to climb all over everything

And about a million safe hiding place that are easy for a baby to climb up and hold onto

Here is what I do.

I take the goldfish crackers and hide them all over the house. Then I let Knox try to find all the fishes that ive hidden…trust me when it comes to these crackers…he’s a pro at this game. In his world the taste of success is the taste of a graham cracker.

Ready! Set!

Here is a little fishy on the couch

And he’s got it

Here is a little fishy on the autumn 

And he’s got it

Here is a little fishy one the tall table

And he’s got it

Here is a little fishy on the short table

Got it!!!

Here is a fishy on one of his toys

Yum Yummmm!

Here is a fishy on his walker

I Just noticed that his shirt says "Insert Snack" HA! Not planned...at all.

This game is a fun and delicious game for Knox. I know  I enjoy any game that burns baby energy. 

You do have watch out for Pugs…they like to play this game too…sneaky sneaky

Im not giving you advice...but here's some advice

I love that I just answered a question on facebook about the worst advice you were given while pregnant...and my answer was...

"I can honestly sat that I don't remember any...because I made it a point to never listen to anyones advice unless I asked them a question. I realized early on that its too exhausting to filter information...and I was pretty exhausted already from growing a human inside me."

Now I'm about to write a blog...giving advice...the hypocrisy of it all!!!!

Anyways here we go!!!


This week I finally got a new stroller. 
A Bugaboo Frog!

 I never thought a stroller would bring me such peace and happiness...but it has. When I was pregnant I was thinking about getting the Bugaboo, but honestly that price tag scared me. I also though..."Who care it's JUST a stroller! All you do is push it around! How difficult could that be?!"...silly first time parent. I asked for a travel system, which my husbands wonderful family got for me as a gift. I liked it at first because my son was so tiny and having him in a big stroller made me feel safe. But now that my son is mobile (and bigger) I began to loathe that travel system. Most of the time I wanted to open the trunk of my car (while driving of course) and let it spill out onto the highway, causing a major accident and destroying lives...just like that stroller was destroying mine. Sounds dramatic? Maybe a little...but you try to push that tank around the narrow isles of a store...or trying to lean the thing back to get over a curb...its a shit show! You begin to realize at that moment that cheaper is not better because you cannot put a price on your sanity...and just the sheer nuisance of that stroller was turning me into a crazy person. All wanted to do...at the end of the day...was take a walk with my family and enjoy myself...I shouldn't have to go get a special heavy equipment drivers licence to operate an effin stroller.

So my advice is, pick quality over quantity. Pick a stroller that is easy to push and not very big. Choose anything that will make a trip to the store a little easier to handle. Now I'm not saying go buy a Bugaboo...that's just crazy pants. Especially with a baby...I'm all about saving a buck here or there...but in some situations saving money is not worth putting more stress yourself...and when you are already operating on 4 hours sleep...the smallest thing can just piss you off. There is also the fact that if you get the cheap item and its not working out...then you have to buy something else...and in the end your not really saving anything.

Oh man! The most important "must have" I forgot to get a picture of. Its the Shark Steam Mop. If you don't have one of these..GO!...NOW! You have to have one! Especially if you have a baby. I'm super OCD and having a kid has made it worse. So this thing makes cleaning the floors super easy and quick. I feel better knowing that I'm not using a dirty mop or swiffer mop. My husband makes fun of me every time he hears the steam sound the mop makes ( and curses the day my mother bought it for me)...but whatever...he has a clean house and his child hasn't come down with E. coli or something.


The next thing I cant live without are these...

 Gap 2 piece jam jams ( that's what we call them around my house). Everyone said get a bunch of onesies...but I hated onesies. I have a million of these 2 pieces and they are stress relievers. Not only does it look like a real outfit but you can mix and match the pieces...AND the bottoms go with other shirts you buy. Fantastic!


The Boppy!!!! I didn't breast feed, but I loved my boppy. I used it for the baby, I slept on it, and I even think my husband slept on it a few times. I used it to feed him., to sing to him, and to play with him. Knox slept in the bed with us until he was 5 months...and this kept him from going all over the place.

The standing bouncer! I could put Knox in this for hours and he would have a blast. He would just sit there eating his puffs and I could get stuff done around the house.

This beanie from Born to Love Clothing! (Obviously for cold weather parents) I loved using it more than those ugly baby beanies...it thicker and stays on his head. Whats even better is that it still fits him and he loves to wear it.

Me-in-Mind socks! I hate regular baby socks! Knox wore these all the time.I love that it looks like he is wearing a complete outfit and not like he forgot to put on shoes. I know that sounds silly because hes a baby but...it was a pet peeve of mine.

Ughhhhh...okay this one is a love/hate relationship. The walker is a must...it makes Knox tired (so hes ready for naps) and he has fun chasing the dogs around the house. Lets face it by the time your baby can crawl they want to be a little more independent. Plus, I can have him with me when I'm grilling outside or doing whatever...he enjoys being able to watch me clean. Here's where the "hate" part of the relationship comes in...I have so many cuts on my legs from him running me over with that thing.

Also, I wouldn't spend a lot of money on this one item...the babies entertainment is all around him so he doesn't need the bells and whistles that most of these come with. I mean after the walker its not too long before they're actually...*gulp*...walking. 


Some other things I've noticed. Babies like toys that are crap or trash. The old "Give your kid a paper box" saying is no joke. My son loves water bottles, empty puff cans, and  paper.

Weather reprot...

My mother always says “Each person’s life goes through their own seasons.”

This statement always makes me think. I often wonder if we view our lives as “I should be” or “I choose to be”…and does either one lead us to the Holy Grail?… true happiness. Let’s say God (or whatever you believe in…Tom Cruise volcano alien spirits) came to you today and told you that you will die at the age of 70? What would you do with your time? And I’m not asking if you would go help build toilets in Ethiopia. I’m asking how you would navigate your life from the moment you received your expiration date. Would you change anything about your life?  Would you be the person that does what they should do and strive towards fitting “the mold”… or would you choose your own path… indulging all the different sides of yourself, regardless of what others think of your choices.

I’m sure I don’t have to say it…everyone’s prideful answer to that question is probably the same (and in all honesty it’s my answer too). Let’s face it, from the time you were 18 (maybe even before that age) you have pushed to be the one to make your own choices in regards to your life.  But really think about that for second…are you really being honest with yourself? Has there ever been a moment where you felt like maybe you had gotten yourself a little lost. That one day you woke up and realized it was someone else’s plan you were following...not yours…and you didn’t even realize it.

 From the moment we are old enough to understand, we are given some version of a “Life Plan” This plan is normally given to us by our teachers, parents, family, friends, and complete strangers that like to put their 2 cents in. The idea of this “Plan” is to help you navigate your lives…it’s like the blue print. We are told that WHEN we accomplish these things then we are guaranteed to find happiness. The “Life Plan normally looks something like this…

• Finish high school
• Go to college
• Pick a career
• Home/Car
• Get married/have kids
• Make enough money so your family is comfortable
• Retire at an age where you can enjoy your retirement

If only life was as simple as just making a list and following it.

This plan works for some people, I’m not arguing that. They cross one thing off the list and go for the other…and it works for them.

But what if this plan doesn’t fit who you are? What if you accomplish one of these things…but the next thing never follows? What if you feel stuck? What if you feel like your being called in a different direction? Then, when we realize what that pull in the other direction means…we immediately feel fear. Fear that if we step off the line that has been carefully drawn for us even for a second…we are doomed…we have failed…and we have disappointed.

 I’m not just talking out of my ass about this subject…I actually speak from personal experience. Right after my car accident I was very very unhappy and I couldn’t figure out why. Then I realized that it was because I had gotten myself into a place where I wasn’t being honest with myself anymore. I thought I was…but I was afraid to say what I really wanted, what I really brought me joy, and the path that I would like to be taking. I was terrified to tell anyone that as far as it came to a job…I loved working in retail. No one wants to hear that! It’s considered a part-time job you do while you’re in college…not a career. But I loved it…as crazy as it made me; I enjoy the chaos of it all. And saying those words out loud…telling people this was what I wanted was NOT an easy thing to do. While it was the most terrifying thing I had to do…it was the most freeing

 I always feel like I don’t want to just do one thing with my life…I want to experience everything. It wasn’t just the job situation that gave me inner turmoil. I also wanted to be a stay at home mom. No one wants to hear that either. You say “I’m a homemaker” and you get the “ohhhhh really…hmmm” I feel sorry for you face. Followed by the “do you have plans to do something else when your kids are older?” I am constantly awestruck by the amount of judgment I get from others. I mean I am a VERY opinionated person, and in the same breath, I respect the choices that other people make to best suit their lives. I’m not them, so another person’s decision doesn’t affect me in the slightest. I realize that no one is ever going to agree with what you choose. And from my experience, the person dishing out the judgment is struggling with some regretful choices of their own. Apparently it is still popular to project personal failures and unhappiness onto others. I find it exhausting but I guess others find it necessary.

Here are some of the biggest mistakes I made...

·        Never ever be afraid to say what makes you happy (even if you know the people you care about wont understand your decisions)

·        Listen to yourself and be honest…that’s a big one for me. By not listening to myself I got to a point where I was so lost I just stopped functioning all together. I had no clue who I was anymore.

·       

·        You are never too old to change things

·        Always ask yourself if you are doing this for the right reasons. 

·        Never waste time on a plan that isn’t your own.

·        We all have responsibilities…but don’t make that an excuse. Control the things that you can control. Everybody has a little bit of a say-so in choosing the quality of their life.

Which leads me back to the wise words of my mother…“Each person’s life goes through their own seasons.”  Your life changes, you change, your seasons change.

One minute I might want to dedicate a part of my life to my job, and the next minute I might want to dedicate another part of my life to my family. I might choose to go back to school when I’m 50 and learn a new trade. I might become a Photographer for a little while. I don’t know what the future will bring, but I will embrace whatever season my life is in at the moment.

In the end…my big thing is and always will be to be able to say…”My life experienced some beautiful seasons…and I didn’t disappoint myself”

Funny Face Tuesday!

Enjoy!!!!

 I guess its over....Oh wait! He had one more left in him =)