Being a young mom means we met a little early, but I get to love them longer.


Here are some links to helpful posts I have done in the past :)

Learn about car seat safety HERE!

Need breastfeeding advice? Click HERE for lots of helpful tips!

Lilypie Fourth Birthday tickers

Lilypie Second Birthday tickers

Lilypie Breastfeeding tickers

Monday, October 31, 2011

I feel like crying...

As I mentioned, everything is not okay with my classes.

Basically our classes for our majorsare broke up into areas. Area A, Area B, Area C, etc. Well, when I first started I was told I had to complete areas A - E with a C or above in every class to be accepted into the education program. I had taken everything in A - E with an A, except for two classes, which I was planning on taking in the spring. Well, now I have been informed that I also have to complete area F.
That's not such a big deal... for one thing, more classes means more Pell grant.

The big deal is the fact that I was informed this by a friend, not a person who actually works at the college. And then my counselor finally emails me bac today telling me the same thing. Well she waited SIX days to email me. What kind of professional takes six whole days to do her job??? Not to mention I called her before that, and she has no answering machine, so I could never leave any contact information for her to call me back. So I go to look for some of the classes and it appears that most of them are full.
She was also saying I need something like eight more classes. I cannot figure out where she is getting this from! There are not eight classes in area F, and if there were, there is no way my major would be for a four year degree, and it is a four year degree, so I just can't figure it out. She wasn't specifying what classes I need to take. She just said things like "another elective," "another lab science," another English," etc. Then she says she has released me to register for any classes I need. Well that is great except for the fact that you didn't tell me all the classes I need!! Then she says most students make an appointment... well I have been trying to for over a week now, and no one would respond to me!! This was all in an email, so I couldn't immediately ask her. I replied to her asking if I could just make an appointment to go talk to her, and attempt to get all of this straightened out. No telling how long it will take for her to email me back though, and I don't think there will be any use anyway. Most of the classes are full. There's no way I can get put in the ones I need.
It looks like my two years left of college just turned into three years left :( I just don't know. I'll probably be taking summer classes again to try to get some classes in. Hopefully I'll get to go talk to her soon. Even if I can't get anything fixed I will feel better knowing what I need to do. Right now I feel like I'm out in left field with no where to go, and I hate that feeling.

It really bothers me even more because I am not a slacker. I am smart and an over-achiever. I am not trying to brag. I just take pride in that. I am not rich. I am pretty average when it comes to looks (I think of myself as plain Jane). But I am smart. I have made A's in every single one of my college classes. I have made the Dean's List every semester. I have tried and tried to contact them. I started trying to contact them on the first day registration opened. I could understand a slacker getting this sort of treatment, but not someone who is trying their hardest to make it work. I already got screwed over by my high school, and now I am getting screwed over by my college.

Sometimes I feel like just quitting, doing some sort of quick certificate program, and getting a job. But the three semester I've already done would have been for nothing. I am not going to let them do that to me. I will graduate with a degree in Early Childhood Education, even if it takes me an extra year to do it!

Saturday, October 29, 2011

Grace's birthday party!

Unfortunately my camera didn't have much room on it, so I used my mom's camera and won't be getting the pictures until Monday, so look forward to that post. I'll go ahead and tell you guys about it though.

It went pretty well. She had several little friends there... Cayle, Sami, Christian, Cheyenne, Mark, and Mason, and of course Brentley ;)
We also had my mom, sister, dad, brother, aunt, nana, and one of my cousins (who is pregnant), two of Chris' aunts, five of his cousins, two of my friends who don't have kids, and Brittany, Erica, and Morgan (all three are fellow bloggers lol). And of course Chris and me. Pretty good turn out.

Grace had a blast at first. She was running around playing with the kids. Then everyone got their ice cream. After that we did Grace's cake. We didn't sing Happy brithday because my brother was there, and I know from experience that whenever a whole group is singing at once it really hurts his ears because of his autism. So instead, we just lit the candle and let her blow it out. My mom kept missing the picture opportunity though, so we lit the candle like 7 times for her to blow it out lol. Then Grace started getting tired. She opened two presents by herself. Then I tried to help her. Well, the next present we opened had a coloring book and crayons in it, so she decided that was all the present opening she was going to do. She sat and colored while I opened her presents lol. And the last present Christian and Cayle opened for her :p
She got a lot of stuff... an Elmo that talks about shapes, an Elmo sit and spin, a Magna-doodle, some clothes, an Elmo DVD, a Sesame Street book, an Elmo coloring book with crayons, a set of blocks, a princess doll, 3 pairs of socks, a stuffed dog, a sock monkey, a Leapfrog Text and Learn, a Cabbage Patch doll, a Disney Princess pillow and blanket, an interactive book, and a little plastic flute and microphone.
That's not including the stuff we are going to give her on her actual birthday (a Baby Alive doll, an Elmo that blows kisses, a Barney CD, and a pair of boots).

I would say it was a pretty successful party. I really liked the ice cream theme, and the decorations came out really cute. The cake was cute as well.
After her party we took her to a fall festival down the street from our house. They had a trunk-or-treat, and free games and food.

These are the only pictures I have for now...

Eating her ice ream at her party.


From the fall festival.



Also, found out today that everything is not cool with my classes, but that is another post for another day. All I have to say for now is that my college is great until it comes to registration. They NEVER get my classes or my financial aid right :(

Friday, October 28, 2011

Hopefully...

I got my classes straightened out. I made myself get up early this morning and called the lady in the financial aid department who helped me last time. She told me that if I came down there I could fill out an add form and she would push it through.
So I get myself and Brentley ready and we head to the school. It was freezing and raining this morning. It's only 49 degrees out right now at 4:30pm. But anyway, we drove all the way to Dalton just so I could sign a paper. She pushed the paper, but it was too late for one of the classes. I have been wait listed for it. However, I am the first person on the wait list (yes, I literally missed the class by one spot). This is promising because someone always drops. Always. I have never had a class where someone didn't drop. And she said that if no one dropped by the start of the semester she will give me a form that I can take to the professor and request to be added even though the class is full. If it's a nice professor they usually let you in, and according to ratemyprofessors.com she is nice, so hopefully this will work out one way or another.

Also, we got our couch today. Oh my word it is huge!!


And tomorrow is Grace's party! I can't wait!! We are also going to take them to a trunk-or-treat after her party.
We've been doing some Christmas shopping for her finally. We got the cleaning set, the Tag Junior, three Sesame Street books for it, the carrying case for it, two Elmo cups, an Elmo plate, and the movie Polar Express. On Sunday I am going to get her the Leapfrog Scribble and Write thing. Then, all we have left to get is stocking stuff and the Kinect game for Grace. We still have to get Brentley some sippy cups, a children's Bible, and stocking stuff, then we are done for him too.
---Sidenote to Megan and Jessika. Megan, I found out that sale doesn't start until Sunday and they do have them on sale at Toys R Us. Also, the reading one you wanted for her is going to be on sale as well. Jessika, the Leap Pad is going to be on sale as well. I think I remembered you saying you wanted to get that for Kaedyn.

I've also got a bid on an Elmo ornament for Grace. If I win with the bid I have now I will only have to pay $3.50. I'm willing to go up to about $8, but so far no one has bid against me. Wish me luck lol.


***ADDED***
Brentley blanket was finished today. Here's a pic of it.
I really like it! It's probably my favorite Christmas present for him.

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Ugg... and just ugg!

We had some pictures made today of Grace in her birthday outfit and both of them in their halloween costumes. Grace's birthday pictures came out really well, but after changing her into her halloween costume she was done with pictures. We only got one of her in her halloween costume. We got a few of Brentley, but none that I was just in love with. Also, his costume isn't long enough for him. It is supposedly a 0-6 months costume, but his legs are all scrunched up in it :(
We didn't have enough money to buy the cd but I will scan the pictures in when we get them next week so you guys can see them.
There is an option on the website to share the album on facebook, but it won't work for whatever reason :(

And also, Dalton State still hasn't gotten it's crap together. Like I said in a previous post, I put in a request to be registered for my classes. Well, I still have not heard a single thing from my counselor. So today I called her extension three times. Not once did I get an answer, and she has no answering machine, so I couldn't leave a message. After that I called the main number and told them, so they put me through to the education department (my major is Early Childhood Education). No answer from them either. I called the education department back about an hour later, and finally someone answered, but I was told that there was nothing they could do until my counselor releases me for registration. I explained that she wouldn't respond to me, so they told me to try emailing her again and if I haven't heard from her by Monday I am to contact the education department again. So I email her again and then go check the status of the classes I want. They are both already over half full!!! I put in my request the day that registration for spring opened up. I should already be in those classes!!!! So I look up the number for the advisemment department thinking surely the head of that department could release me, or at least get my advisor to respond. But of course, no answer!! Keep in mind that every single time I have gotten no answer from all these different departments it WAS during business hours... what the heck??? I left a message with the advisement department around 2pm. I also called two more times after that, and never heard anything from them! Also, when I emailed my advisor again it was around 11am, and I never heard anything back from her either.
I am going to be so angry if I don't get these classes!! Those are the only two classes I could find that were back to back on the same day. If I don't get these, I am either going to have a huge gap between my classes or have to drive to Dalton Monday - Thursday (which it's 40 miles there and back, so two days a week is MUCH better than four days a week). I am just sooooo angry about this! The education department won't do anything for me until Monday (which the classes will probably be full be then), and I can't get anyone else to respond to me :(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

There is just no way that...

Brentley is two months old today!! Um, I'm pretty sure it was yesterday that I found out I was pregnant with him! Lol!

He is such a good baby. He only wakes up one time a night. Occasionally he will wake up twice, but it is rare. He loves to smile, and let me tell you, he is going to be a heart breaker. When he smiles he has the most adorable very noticalbe dimples (more prominent on his right cheek than left though), and he has his daddy's eyes. That dark gray marble look, which is what first attracted me to Chris, so he is definitely going to attract some girls with those lol.
He can hold up his head completely now, and has rolled over a few times on soft surfaces, such a strong little man. Today he laughed for the first time. Oh my gosh it was just precious!!

He still doesn't like to be put down at all. Chris can hold him for about 20 minutes, and then it's back to me lol. He will sleep on his own, but Grace usually wakes him up (she is a loud little thing lol). So I usually only put him down to sleep if Grace is asleep or Chris has taken her to the store or the park in the neighborhood. If I want to clean Chris has to take Grace to the park, so I can put Brentley down and clean lol.

He is still exclusively breastfed, and boy can he eat! The kid is in 3-6 month clothes and size 2 diapers now! 3-6 months is a little big on him, 0-3 months is too small lengthwise, so we have to put him in 3-6 months. He is going to be tall like his daddy!

Yea, he so was not happy here, but I love his outfit, so I couldn't resist lol.





Also, we carved our pumpkin yesterday :)



Yes, he's ugly lol.

And I registered for my classes yesterday. I'm going to be taking American Liturature and Precalculus on Monday and Wednesday from 8 am - 11:30 am. I'll be starting January 9th. I've been pumping once a day and storing it in the freezer, so that Brentley will have something to eat while I'm gone. I only get 2-4 ounces each time, so starting in Nov. I am going to pump two times a day to double the amount I get. I want to make sure he has plenty to eat while I am gone.

Tasty Tuesday :)

This is another crock pot recipe.

Chicken and rice! This recipe was super easy! And again, I used the small crock pot, and it made enough for four servings.


Ingredients:
  • 2 frozen boneless skinless chicken breasts
  • 1 package of cream cheese (8 oz)
  • 1 can of cream of chicken soup
  • 1 package of zesty Italian dressing seasoning (as seen in picture)
  • Rice (I used ReadyRice)
Directions:
  1. Let the cream cheese sit out for about 10 minutes
  2. Put cream cheese and cream of chicken soup in the crock pot on low for 30 minutes to allow the cream cheese to soften enough to stir.
  3. After the 30 minutes are up, stir the cream cheese and cream of chicken soup together, then add the seasoning packet, and blend well.
  4. Add the chicken breasts and cover with the mixture
  5. Cook on high for 2 hours, then use a fork to shred the chicken.
  6. Continue cooking for another 2 hours on high.
  7. Cook your rice (I used the rice you put in the microwave)
  8. Turn off crock pot, add rice, blend well with the mixture.
  9. Enjoy!
--- Would be good with corn or green beans as a side. I also think it might be good if it had some corn added to it. I'm going to try that next time.

Sunday, October 23, 2011

Our trip to the pumpkin patch-- so much fun! (Warning: longgggg post with LOTS of pictures).

Today my mom and I took the kids to a small pumpkin patch/fall festival that a local daycare was hosting. I didn't expect it to be as much fun as it was. I dressed the babies up in halloween themed outfits, and Cheyenne was wearing a halloween themed shirt as well.

First, they explored the pumpkins.

For whatever reason, Grace was scared of the pumpkins and would not walk around in them after the first minute, even with me with her, so that didn't last long.

So next, we went to check out the smaller pumpkins. She liked that much better. As you can tell...






I love this picture! 

They are best friends :)

We then took a minute to have them pose on the hay. That didn't go over so well. The sun was behind us, so they didn't want to look at us to get their picture taken lol.

Next, we decided to attempt letting Grace get her face painted. I didn't figure that would go over very well, but my little girl amazed me! She sat perfectly still, and let the lady paint a pumpkin on her face.



Then, it was time to paint the pumpkins they picked out :)




Grace did great! She sat and painted all by herself. Funny thing though, when she first grabbed the paint brush she put it straight to her face lol. You can see the purple dot she added under her pumpkin. She thought since the lady did it that was what she was supposed to do, but I showed her that she was supposed to paint her pumpkin, and she did fine after that. Cheyenne had a completely pink pumpkin. She is all girl lol. Grace didn't know not to mix the colors, so her pumpkin turned out mostly gray lol. But I still love it!

After that, we decided to take a break and get something to eat. Of course the girls were so excited that they barely ate anything. They played tag while we were eating lol.


Then, we went to the hayride. My mom stayed behind with the stroller while the rest of us went.

(Grace was finishing her food lol.)

(She messed up the pumpkin on her face. It looks more like a blob here lol.)

Half way through the hayride we stopped a cabin and went in. I definitely wasn't expecting what we saw when we did...







Someone likes to hunt lol.

And of course, I had to get a couple of pictures of Brentley in his adorable outfit!



And what's the best way to give a person a heart attack??...

I about fainted when we saw this on the way back to my mom's house. This is the gas station that I normally stop at near my mom's house and was planning on stopping at until I saw that. I thought something crazy had happened to the price of gas while we were at the pumpkin patch lol. It's normally around $3.30 a gallon around here right now. We figured it out when we drove by though. This gas station was one of the ones that was destroyed back in the April tornado. They had re-opened it, but it was running out of a small trailer. Well, they closed it again because they are working on the building now. I guess they thought it was funny to put that on their sign or something. Luckly, gas is still around $3.30 a gallon lol.

Saturday, October 22, 2011

Is she really talking about Christmas again??

I'm sure that's what  you are all thinking, but I just can't help it lol. I'm too excited. So pretty much Grace's Christmas list got wiped clean and I am starting over because I just discovered the Tag Junior by Leapfrog. I don't know if you guys have heard of it or not, but it helps kids learn how to read. You put the little Tag over the page and it reads out whatever you have him over. I'm not sure if I'm explaining it very well, but it is very cool, and I found a pretty good deal!


The carrying case, three Sesame Street books (which is right up Grace's alley), and the Tag Junior (the little dog looking thing) for 75! Yes, I know it says a $77 dollar value lol. The sale was only $7 off, and then adding tax made it $75. However, orders over $60 get free shipping, so I'm going to get free shipping. I'm going to wrap this into three presents -- the Tag Junior in one, the case in one, and the books in another. 

She is still going to be getting the cleaning set like I have talked about before, and she is still going to be getting the Kinect game.


And the last thing I found that I want to get her is...



She is going to have a very Sesame Street Christmas!! Lol.

I'm ordering the Tag Junior set on Monday. And we are going to order the other stuff pretty soon too. I'm hoping I can find the cleaning set in stores because it's $5 to have it shipped and I would rather not pay that lol.
She also has the Barney books that I already bought her, and the pillow and pillow case that I made her, so that gives her a good bit of presents, plus whatever we get for her stocking.


As for Brentley, we have most of his Christmas shopping done already.
We got the Jumperoo, monogrammed blanket, and piggy bank, plus the pillow and pillow case that I made for him, and whatever he gets in his stocking. All we have to get now are the cups I want to get him and the children's Bible. I think that is plenty for a baby who will only be 4 months old.


Also, I know several of you have children around Grace's age. If any of you are interested in the Tag Junior, they have a pretty good sales going on right now on several bundles. Just check out Leapfrog.com and search the Tag Junior. Also, Wal-Mart.com has it where you can get the Tag Junior plus one book for $32, but you have to pay shipping.


And, the wedding planning is underway...

These are the rings we are going to get. I have been in love with these rings since I first learned about them when I was about 12 years old. I love the meaning behind them! And Chris actually likes that ring, so I knew those were the ones. Sorry the pictures are so blurry. It would only let me save the little pictures, so it makes them blurry when they are bigger.

And I am hoping to get a cake somewhat like this...
However, we would only need two tiers, and I want a white cake, not a blue one.

We talked to my dad, and he actually took it pretty well. He was thankful that we gave him a heads up, and even offered to help us pay for some of it. My mom offered to help us pay for some as well. Neither of them are rich by any means, but that does raise our budget a little bit, so I really want that cake lol.