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

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

These first few are from Boo at the Zoo, which we went to last Friday. 

Big sock monkey, little sock monkey. Lol.




Grace and Sami were riding together lol.

Zombie baby!!!!! This picture is creepy!

They were in a costume contest!

And these are from today's various Trunk-Or-Treats!

He kept trying to pull the hat off. We joked that he looked like a hobo without it lol.


My sister and the kids. I'm not sure what my sister was... not even my mom knew. My sister wanted to be a rainbow, and that's what it turned into lol.

How cute is this??? And his parents were chefs LOLOL. (Yes, we got permission to take this picture).




Making a sand art pumpkin, which she managed to break before we even got home :p

Hayride! The kids would not look at the camera for anything :/

We had fun! It wasn't as cold as it has been all week, so that was nice. We went to three different Trunk-Or-Treats. The kids got a ton of candy!


Monday, October 29, 2012

To address a comment left on my last post...

It has been brought to my attention that some people think we spend too much on our children at Christmas/birthdays, and I would like to address this.

I am know that they do not need all of this stuff, but holidays/birthdays are a big deal to both Chris and me. I know there is much more to holidays than getting presents. We put huge importance on family... much more so than gifts. This is evident by the fact that we go to at least four (sometimes five) different family get togethers within a three day span around Christmas. And, once they are old enough, I plan to put importance on giving to others (by donating their time and toys). Grace will actually be donating some of her toys this year.

But still, we feel that presents are a huge part of their birthdays, and Christmas especially. Chris and I both grew up having generous Christmases, and that is something we both want to give to our children. However, we do have a spending limit, and they will know this as they get older. This is what my mom did, and I always understood that if I wanted something big/expensive for Christmas, I would not get many presents.

I would also like to address the fact that we are not the type of parents that buy things for the kids every time we go in a store. We do not just give in and give our children whatever they want. If they get a toy when it is not a special occasion, it is either from a consignment sale, or it's a hand-me-down.
Also, they don't get real presents for any holiday except Christmas and their birthdays. We give them each a little something for Valentine's Day and Easter, but nothing expensive.

Furthermore, we do not just go out and spend all the money at once. I start looking for deals early in the year. We started buying in July this year as to spread out the cost of everything. I also sell their old stuff (either through consignment or sites like Craigslist) and use the money from those sells to buy them new things for Christmas/birthdays.

As for the issue of a family vehicle. I bought the car I have now when Grace was six months old. I paid for it with my own money that I saved up so that we would have a family car. For being 18 at the time, it was a pretty good purchase. It has had some issues, but we've always been able to get them fixed, and it has always gotten us from point A to point B. Only this summer did the air conditioner quit working, and that is when we knew that we would need something better for our family, so we ultimately came to the conclusion that I would take out a school loan in order to get a new car. No matter what we spend on our childrens' birthdays and Christmas, we are still going to have the money from the loan. We have not touched one cent of it. Every bit of it is going to go toward getting a better family car. We will get a new (to us) car no matter what we spend on them because we have a set amount set aside for a vehicle.

My children have always had everything they needed, whether it be clothing, shelter, food, etc. If, for some reason, we were not going to be able to get a car at all because of what we spent on them for special occassions, then I could see your issue. However, my last post was not about if we were going to get a car. It was simply about if we were going to get the Trailblazer that we have been waiting on. If we don't get the Trailblazer, we will get something else.

As for the part about me spending so much on them because I'm trying to compensate for being a teen mom... Well, that is just plain not true. I have never and never will hold myself to different standards or feel that there is anything to make up for because of my age. There are certainly things that I want them to learn from my experience, but from the moment Grace was born, I went into "mom mode." I have never acted as anything but a mother to her (and Brentley). I have nothing to make up for because I have never let my age take presidence over being a mother to my children.
Not to mention, I am not the only one spending on the children... Chris and I buy their presents together. Chris is 23 (he will be 24 in Nov.). He was almost 21 when Grace was born, so he never was a teen parent.

I do not intend this to be rude. This is purely to explain myself against the concerns that were raised. In conclusion, I realize that our spending can be a little much for Christmas and birthdays, but it in no way takes away from anything the kids need. It may seem that they are being spoiled, but I can assure anyone that they are not consistently spoiled, and I feel that a little spoiling at special times of the year is fine.


Sunday, October 28, 2012

-_-

We tried our hardest to get them to go ahead and give us the Trailblazer if we paid a down payment. Well, as you all may remember, they refused. And now, they just came back to us with the SAME EXACT plan except they acted like they came up with it! Grrr... Well, whatever. Of course we agreed because it was MY PLAN. So, Chris goes over there yesterday to clean it out, and the battery was completely dead. They hadn't even been starting it occaisionally. Just letting it sit there, so the battery completely drained. So Chris jumped it off, and when he did, the inside lights, the cd player, the power locks and windows, and the lights on the instrument cluster quit working! Chris tried to fix it, and he can't figure out what caused it. He says we need to rake it to a Chevy dealer.

So, Chris told his mom what happened, and all she said was, either we pay to get it fixed, or she's selling it to someone else!!! It's not even in our names, and it was their fault that this happened!!! I agreed to pay for a car with NO issues. I didn't agree to pay that for a car that presents issues before it's even in our name.

But no, she's holding it over our heads. She knows we need this vehicle, so it's either we deal with it, or she's not going to sell it to us. Gahhh, it's things like this that remind me of why I can't stand her.

If they would have just agreed to the plan back in August, we wouldn't have this problem. If they would have taken care of the car while it was still in their possession, we wouldn't have these problems. And now, she's refusing any responsibility >:[

I have no idea what to do. The Trailblazer is still a better vehicle than my Cavalier... even with the newfound issues. But, we barely have the money to buy the Trailblazer, and we have no money to fix the issues... especially at whatever outrageous price the Chevy dealer is sure to charge. Any advice is welcome because I'm completely torn.

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Fall festival :):)

We took the kids to the family fall festival that my school hosts every year. We went when Grace was one, and there was only about 10-20 other people who came. We didn't go last year, but I was fully expecting this year to be the same as when we went before... Boy was I wrong! When we pulled up there were people EVERYWHERE. It was very crowded. We still had fun though! And I just about died of happiness because part of it was Hunger Games themed!! You all know my obsession lol.

Right as we got out of the car. My little butterfly!

And my little sock monkey :)

Playing the first game.



I thought this one was cute!

Putting together a skeleton puzzle.




Brentley got to get in on this one! He was too young for most of the stuff.



He got to throw the ball, too. He really liked that lol.

She was ready to hit that pinata! She was first in line lol.


Effie!

Katniss!

The Hunger Games sign. The circle is a Mockingjay symbol. 

Grace shooting an arrow with "Cato."

Me shooting an arrow lol.

Seneca! He had "the beard."

Peeta, Prim, and Caesar!

We all had a really good time tonight. I love that my school does stuff like this for the students who have kids! Oh, and Grace and Brentley also got balloon animals. I didn't get pics, but they are amazing. Grace got a butterfly, and Brentley got a bear. The guy who made them was a professional. I had no idea that you could be a professional balloon animal maker lol. He was literally touring the country. He said that he was headed to Texas tomorrow. Crazy lol.

GRRR.

There is this guy in my biology class. I don't know his name, nor do I care to. He sits at the front of the class, and every. single. morning he babbles on about some random something to whoever will listen to (tolerate) him. Nobody around me can stand him because it's always around 7:45 am... None of us are even awake, and for some reason this guy is apparently the world's best morning person! He never stops talking... even during the lecture!

Well, aside from the annoyance, I just try to tune him out... except, today, I couldn't.

I didn't hear the whole story because, like I said, I try to tune him out, but I really wish I hadn't this time. I noticed he was talking about breastfeeding to our professor who was turning the computer on.

He started saying something about a girl who was breastfeeding (I'm assuming on campus), and it sounded like he was saying she was told she couldn't do it wherever she was doing it. Well, that immediately caught my attention. She apparently told whoever that she had no where else to do it, so they took her to the President's office to let her do it there. Then he proceeds to talk about how "weird" it must have been for the President to walk in his office this morning and see that. That ticked me off. Our professor stepped in and said, "Well, it is natural." I could have hugged him (yes, he's a man!) for that. And the guy just kept saying, "Well, I mean, you just don't expect to see something like that. It had to be weird for him."
I'm pretty sure I had steam coming out of my ears like a cartoon character at this point. I really can't stand people like him who have no idea what they're talking about... no idea how hard us breastfeeding mommies work to give out babies the best. He was acting as if the woman had sprouted an extra head or something, and he didn't even care to think that he might be offending someone with his little rant.

I wish I was brave enough to stand up to people like that, but I'm not :( So instant, I'm ranting about it on here.

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

My school never fails...

to FAIL!

I only have classes in one building. I rarely go anywhere else on campus except the library occaisionally. Yesterday, I had to go to the student center to take some money off my account, and my card wouldn't work. So then I had to go to the business office, and here I see a sign that says early registration opens the 24th. Immediately went and emailed my advisor telling her I needed to be cleared for registration asap.

I need three more classes to get into the Education program, and it just so happens that those are some of the hardest classes to get into. The two ISCI classes I need, there is only one of each available, which means 28 seats for about 500 students trying to get into the program. And the EDUC class I need, there's only two available, so 56 seats available. I knew I was going to have to register the first day if I was going to get those classes.

Well, I kept checking, and she didn't email me back, so I emailed again, and still nothing. I checked my student account under my advisor tab and found her phone number. So, as soon as they opened this morning, I called her, and got no answer, so I left a message. Then I called the school, and they transferred me to the Education Department... again, no answer, so I leave a message there.

Then I called my dad. He always finds some way to get me to who I need to get to. He got me on three way with my school. Two transfers later, I find out that not only is she no longer my advisor, she no longer works there! They still had her listed as my advisor on my account!! I was emailing and calling no one! Thank you school for not only not informing that she left, but also for not even giving me a new advisor! They had to assign me to a new advisor while I was on the phone!
Then, they transferred us to him.
Luckily he was really nice. He took my student I.D., pulled up my info, and cleared me to register for spring.
Just in time too because one of the classes I needed only had 6 spots left!! And registration hadn't even been open for two hours!!

In the end, I got my classes, but no thanks to my school. Not only did they not switch me to an actual advisor, but they didn't do a good job of letting the campus know that registration was opening.

Anyway, I've got my schedule for next semester.
On Monday and Wednesday, I'll be going from 8am to 9:50am.
Then on Tuesday and Thursday, I'll be going from 10:50 to 2:55 with an hour break in between the two classes. I don't really like having breaks, but it's the only way it worked. At least it's only an hour. At one point, I had a two hour break, and I hated that.

I'm just happy I got all three of the classes I needed! I just need to finish this semester and spring, and I'll be starting the education program in August of 2013!! Also, since I got these three classes in the spring, I don't have to take anything next summer. That'll be my last summer break. Once I start the program, we don't get summers off :/


I'll try to post more over the next week. We've got a lot coming up like my school's family fall festival, a trip to the zoo, some other fall festivals in the area, and of course Halloween! Then Grace's party will be on the 3rd. So we've got lots and lots I'll be posting about :)

Sunday, October 21, 2012

Sooo...

Sorry for my absense. We've just had a lot going on in these last few days. Just busy stuff mostly. Nothing worth posting about.

Last night was an interesting night, but all I have to say about it is... the army guy and the guy with the Ninja Turtles baby ;)

Other than that, our life is Chris works, Grace goes to gym, I go to school, I work on Fridays... this is on repeat and consumes a lot of our time. We usually see my mom at least once a week, and Brittany and Sami at least once a week lol. And Chris mom at least every two weeks (she works a lot).

I did get to take advantage of a coupon that Toys-R-Us had. 20% off of a purchase of $100 or more. Well, I figured I was going to buy the stuff anyway, so why not use the coupon while it was good.
We got a tricycle, some Tonka trucks that came with a book, some Lil' Zoomers for Brentley, and a baby doll bottle, a baby doll stroller, a baby doll diaper bag, and a Dora playset that came with a horse... all for $88, which is a great deal considering the tricycle alone cost $50! After that little shopping spree, we are almost done shopping for the kid's Christmas. I'm saving the rest for when it's actually the Christmas season lol.

I've also been selling some of their old toys and clothes. So far, I've made about $80, and I still have a good bit more to sell!

Um, what else... I've been reading the first Harry Potter book. I've only got like 40 pages left. I really like it, but I'm still getting used to the third person POV. I always just assumed it was first person from Harry's POV.

Oh, and Chris and I got to go out by ourselves last week for the first time in forever. We went to a haunted house, played a couple rounds of "goony golf," and then went to eat. It was nice!

Now for some random pictures just because :)

From our date (he refuses to smile in pictures).

They set up the golf course to be "haunted." I thought this was cute lol.

And this is when we were at the restaurant. 

Grace sleeping with Blue :)

Brentley and his little buddy playing on the playground.



I really love this one!

And lastly, Grace can work my iPod Touch now. She dressed Santa! She was playing on a paint type app I had downloaded and there was an advertisement for this app. She just had to have it, and she loves it lol. She's going to be like her mama and love Christmas :)

Monday, October 15, 2012

I'm losing my mind...

Be prepared... this entire post is going to make me sound crazy.

I CANNOT shake the baby fever. I try and try to convince myself that our family is complete, but I just can't. If I see a pregnant woman, I miss having that baby belly, feeling a baby stirring inside of me. If I see a tiny baby, I can help but "awww" at it. And don't even get me started on seeing tiny baby clothes.

Today, Brentley and I joined Chris and Grace to her gymnastics class. Brentley and I were sitting upstairs in the viewing area, and the  woman and her husband sat down beside us. It didn't take me long to figure out she was pregnant. She wasn't showing, but they were looking up baby stuff on his iPad. Then, she called one of the companies to talk about a bed, and she said, "I'm the one that's having twins."

Now, here I go sounding even more crazy... I want twins. I want a boy and a girl. I told Chris this the other day, and he looked at me like I had lost my mind (which I think I have lol).

I think the hardest thing for me is that we have the perfect names picked out for a boy and a girl, and the thought of never getting to use them, to actually meet these babies I already have named.
I told you, crazy.

No, let me make clear that I am NOT pregnant, nor do I intend to get pregnant any time soon. We are not in the financial position to have anymore children at this point. However, if we were, I am fairly certain we would be trying for a third child right now.

I go back and forth in my head about whether we will have more. It obvious that I want to have that experience again, but I don't want big age gaps between my little ones. I love the age gap between Grace and Brentley, but that's just not possible (I got pregnant with Brentley when Grace was 13 months and 2 days old. Brentley is 13 months and 19 days old, so we've officially gone longer without getting pregnant with another child, which, at this point, is a good thing).

I think another thing is that I long for the experience of planning and being ready for a child. At 17, I was 8 WEEKS late before I finally took a test (that Chris pretty much forced me to take). I didn't want to believe I was pregnant. I couldn't stop crying. I couldn't even stop crying long enough to tell my mom. I just handed her the test.
With Brentley, I knew there was a chance I could be pregnant the moment it happened, and a week later, I knew I was pregnant. Yet, when I took that test a month later, I still cried.
Don't get me wrong, I love my babies more than anything. It's just that, at those times, the uncertainty was overwhelming in both instances.
I want to have that experience of trying for a baby, and being over the moon to see a +.
There is not a day that goes by that this doesn't cross my mind. Very few people know this, but it's true. This is the one thing that I cannot let go of. I can get passed the names that won't be used, the thought of never feeling the first kick, things like that... but I can't get passed this.
In Grace's and Brentley's baby books, there is a place that talks about finding out we were pregnant. Once line says, "Mommy and daddy celebrated by..." In both of there books, that line is still blank. The last thing on my mind was celebrating, and I can't bare to tell them that we didn't celebrate them nor can I lie to them, so it remains blank.
I want more than anything to be able to fill those lines, but I can't go back and change the past :/

There really is no point to this post other than to get this off my chest. There are no babies in our immediate future, and possibly not in the future at all... only time will tell.

Sunday, October 14, 2012

What happened???

I had over 16,000 pageviews, and now they are reset at 1??? What the heck Blogger? I wish I could afford to run my own site!!

Saturday, October 13, 2012

I couldn't resist!

I'm not sure that I've ever posted pictures of my dad on here...

This is him (with Brentley last December)...

I also need to mention that he loves golf. That is important because I found this today at Toys R Us...
The part in the (white) hair... the (white) mustache...the button-down shirt... the golf bag... on the box he's labeled as "Grandpa," which is what the kids call my dad. The second I saw it, I was like, "That is dad!" So, I bought it to give to him as a silly gift for Christmas :p

We've been picking up things here and there. We got a tart warmer for my mom and dad (one for each), a TN Vols bracelet for Chris' mom... We're still planning on getting something else small for my mom and Chris' mom, plus tarts for the tart warmers for all of them (Chris' mom already has one).

We still have to get the rest of my sister's present. I'm planning on getting her the new Disney fairy movie when it comes out, and I'm going to get her some popcorn, candy, and drinks, and put it all together to make her a movie gift basket. 
-We already have some Scooby Doo wash cloths and playing cards that she will get as a smaller present.

We've already got a Peter Pan movie and book for my brother, so he's set. 
We haven't gotten anything for Chris' brother yet. We'll probably get him a Gamestop giftcard.

I got Chris' presents! I got him a Ford sign to hang in the garage where he stores his project car (which is a Ford). It's a big Ford blue arrow that says "Genuine Ford parts." And, I also got him a 1:24 scale model car that is the exact make and model of his project car. It didn't say the size of the  model car (I ordered it on Amazon), but from doing the math, I'm thinking it's about 7 inches. Oh, and as a joke, I got his car a small present... a deck of playing cards labeled "Maverick" because his project car is a Ford Maverick. I got the car a present because he says it's his "third child" lol. So,I'm completely done shopping for him :)

And then, we still need a good bit for the kids. 
For Brentley, we still need to get a Radio Flyer tricycle, an umbrella, some Tonka Trucks (the ones made for toddlers), a toy guitar of some sort, a bath set (with shampoo, soap, etc.), and The Hungry Caterpillar book. Oh, and stocking stuffers.
-We already have six books, a bubble machine, and a movie.

For Grace, we still need to get a doll diaper bag, a doll umbrella stroller, an umbrella, some art supplies, a bath set (shampoo, soap, etc.), and stocking stuffers.
-We already have an ABC game, a guitar, an ice cream set, a movie, a Dora puzzle, a bicycle, and a few stocking stuffers.

Oh, and we already have their kitchen, which is their big gift.

These are just the things we know we want to get for them. We may end up getting a few other things, but they will be small since they are getting the kitchen, Grace is getting a bike, and Brentley's getting a tricycle.

So, overall, we are doing pretty well. I can't wait to officially go Christmas shopping!