32 weeks

She weighs as much as a Jicama!

Time is still ticking away until Jospehine's arrival. Little by little I am getting things done. We still don't have a crib, who brings home a baby without a crib? I'm thinking we are. We have no place to put one, and I figure (hope, really) that she can sleep in our bassinet for a while. I'm praying everyday that I don't go early. Besides the obvious reasons, we have little to nothing ready. I can't believe we have waited so long!

Last Sunday was my last day of work. FREEDOM!!! It's bad when you dislike a place the way I did that place. My boss was the worst person I have ever worked for. AND. I'm fat and I was very sick of working and carrying around all this extra weight at the same time. Things will be tight for a while, but I'm okay with that. We can make it work... we have before.

So far this week, I've tried to get into the whole "housewife" thing... it's slowly working. I made the bed today... that's about as far as I got! I WILL get myself back into the routine of housework, running kids all over, and trying to find some "me" time. Right now, I'm reaching the miserable point of pregnancy so trying to reach in my washer to get the clothes out can wait, my belly stops me anyway! Hubby has been a blessing this pregnancy, he's done so much around the house. My house would be in shambles if it wasn't for him. It's close, but he's tried to hard and done a pretty good job.

That's all for this little update!

Happy New Year! I'm back!!

Hi, I'm Sheila and I'm a bad blogger. (Hi, Sheila) It's been almost a year since my last post, and in my defense... I've been a little busy! I started working almost 2 years ago, after staying home for 4 years. It was madness, really. I didn't know how to fit everyday things into my life lol. Eventually I got over that, but still stopped posting here.

Here it is January of 2013, and I have ONE WEEK LEFT, til my 2 week notice at work expires and I will be back to being a SAHM. Not quite sure how I feel about all that. Getting back in my routine will be difficult and I'm sure I will go through another period of not knowing my ass from a hole in the ground for a couple of months! I can do it, I'm ready for the crazy. I work best in crazy conditions. Saying I'm ready is really an understatement. I've hated my job for the last 6 months. My crazy boss, the crazy customers... hell that could be a blog all of it's own!

 I've really missed everything that I took for granted before. Like being able to leave at the drop of a hat. Taking my kids to the water park on a whim. Being able to go to every. single. girl scout event. My daughter has kept track of everything that I have missed lol! I now owe her 9 "Mommy/Daughter days", for the things that I had to miss out on because of work. That's totally okay in my book, I love those days. I've missed my son like crazy. I feel like I worked his whole toddlerhood (is that a word?) He starts preschool next August, and just the thought of my baby being in school makes me want to cry like a baby. He's getting so big so fast.

Speaking of babies...

BABY #3 is on it's way!! I'm 31 weeks pregnant and Due March 15th 2013!! It's a girl! I'm way excited to shop for girl clothes again :)

After many, many, many mind changes we decided to go for it and try for #3. Maybe TMI, but all it takes is once lol! She was conceived before we could change our minds again, she is my meant to be baby. Her name is going to be Josephine Jean, though we are planning to call her Josie.

I can't wait til she gets here. BUT, I have NOTHING ready yet. Not a thing. Well, I have a couple packs of diapers. No clothes, no where for her to sleep, not a thing. I'm still waiting for this nesting thing to kick in. I really need to get motivated and get things ready for her arrival. I go in on March 8th for a C-section (let me tell ya how happy I am about that. NOT AT ALL) so time is ticking away!

Well I suppose I will stop rambling. I'm sure not many people will be reading this here blog of mine, seeing how it's been all but deserted for a long time. BUT... if your reading, thank you! I hope to get back into reviews and giveaways sooner or later (probably a little later) and I will keep posting this time!

Happy New Year!!

Five Mom Inspired Driving Tips

I've been in 5 wrecks in my life, each and every one were before I had my kids. Becoming a mom obviously changes a lot about you, including how you drive. After having my daughter I had this awareness that I didn't have before, not only was I responsible for my safety, but a V.I.P.'s safety too. There are many things that you can do to prevent wrecks, accidents, and being stranded. Here are my top 5 mom inspired driving tips!

1. Fill the tank up! I don't like to let my gas get in low in fear of being stuck somewhere with my babies and having to walk with them to get gas. I always fill it back up when it gets to the half way point so I know we will be fine. It's also a plus that if we have to hop in the car to get somewhere quickly, I won't have to worry about stopping to put gas in the car.

2. Get a baby mirror! Having a mirror that sits right above my rear view mirror has helped me stop fights, helped my know when my son was choking on something, and helped me see that I needed to turn the radio down because the kiddos were about to fall asleep. I don't have to turn around when driving and endanger us and I can see what my two monkeys are up to.

3. Learn about your vehicle. Before my daughter, I couldn't even tell you where to check the oil in my car. I had to learn the hard way once because as pitiful as it sounds I didn't even know how to change a tire. My daughter and I got stuck on the side of the highway once for almost 2 hours because of a blow out. I learned that day how to change a tire, and now we will never be stuck because of that again.

4. Keep up on Maintenance. My dad used to always tell me how important it was to get my oil changed regularly, to get my tires rotated, on and on and on. I always listened but never really did it! Keeping up on maintenance cuts down on costs in the long run, unfortunately that was another lesson learned for me.

5. Buckle UP! Probably the most important one here! If you buckle up in front of your kids it makes them more likely to remember to do it too and it becomes a life long habit, and it could possibly save them one day. It's gotten to the point that if I should happen to forget, my daughter reminds me before we are out of our neighborhood.

Driving with kids has been a game changer for me. I'm much more observant and way less reckless, and I know that some of the things I do are keeping my kids out of danger! These are my top 5 mom inspired driving tips. Feel free to add yours in the comments below!

I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Esurance blogging program for 8,000 My SocialMoms Rewards Points. For more information on how you can participate, click here.”

Worldwide Day of Play!

Did you know that on September 24, 2011, kids and families are encouraged to participate in the Worldwide Day of Play to turn off the TV and play outside? I didn't know about it until I read it at Social Moms! I think it's a great idea, and one that my kids and I will be taking part in this year and every year from now on. There are way too many times that my kids get caught watching tv too long, and I'm always on them about getting outdoors. Especially since it's beginning to get cold and winter is right around the corner. They need all the fresh air that they can get! The exercise is great for them too, and being outside turns on my kids imagination like the click of a button! Worldwide Day of Play is Nickelodeons centerpiece and this year Clorox 2 is a proud sponsor! They want to know what our favorite outdoor activity is!

My kids and I are outside as much as we can be during the summer, and anytime it's nice outside! One our favorite things to do outside is to camp. Although we can't always make it to the lake (our favorite place to camp) we do have regular sleepovers in the back yard with the tent, campfire, and tons of bug spray! Sleeping outside is awesome during the summer and this year my kids liked to set the tent up on the trampoline so it's more comfortable!

We play outside a lot during the day too. We like to find rocks of all sizes and paint them, my daughter tries her hardest to find arrow heads while we are searching for rocks. When she does it's like she found a treasure! We make a game out of it a lot, with a map to the treasure! When we find enough rocks we bring the paint outside and sit down and make different designs on each rock. The kids love it, and I love not having to clean up a mess inside!

We also hunt for bugs a lot. We try to see how many different kinds of bugs we can find and then we look up what they eat, how they have babies, and their natural habitat. We always let the bugs go, but it's fun to find them. 

There are also a lot of days when we just jump on the trampoline. My kids have all sorts of different games that they have came up with for the trampoline. One is a "video game" in real life. I don't understand that one, but they know what they are talking about! 

I love being outdoors with my kids! I think it's great for them as well as myself and I would much rather be outside with them than watching them play video games or watch tv! Being outside brings out your imagination, and that's something that a lot of kids are missing nowadays. So, will you be outside on September 24th? I know I will!

I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Clorox2® blogging program, for a gift card worth $40. For more information on how you can participate, click here.

Squirmy Baby Diaper Changes

My daughter was possibly the squirmiest baby ever and trying to change her diaper in the beginning proved to be a difficult task! The older she got the worse it got, and I was really thankful to get to the potty training stage. I had to get creative, fast, in order to get a diaper on her without her taking off or wiggling away! Here are a few of the solutions I came up with. 
When she was little I tried to change her in her crib where the mobile was there to keep her occupied. Most of the time it was a long enough distraction to get her changed and I would finish just in time for her to start squirming again. If I couldn't change her diaper in her crib, then I would give her a toy to play with or a plastic bottle, (for some reason plastic bottles are the best thing ever for babies!) and get the job done. I also had this little mirror that had plastic around it, and she would love to look at herself while I was changing her, so for a while I gave her that to play with. Eventually I started changing her in front of our long mirror in the hall so she could "talk" to herself while I was busy.
As she got older it wasn't so easy to amuse her anymore! I started every diaper change by counting her "piggies" and we would sing while I was changing her. It kept her occupied long enough. Eventually, we would take the singing to the toilet as she started potty training! Changing during commercials proved to work for us, as commercials always have kept my daughter's interest. Having a brother or sister there to talk to your baby while changing them is a great idea, when I had my son my daughter kept him occupied and I didn't have to worry about anything!
Huggies has recently introduced Little Movers Slip-on Diapers, and I so wish they would have came out when I was changing diapers all the time! They would have been a life saver on nights that I was running on 2 hours sleep. These will certainly come in handy for new moms!
Obviously, every baby is different but I would say that practice makes perfect and that goes for dads too! Always enlist dads help in the diaper changing process. you both could be changing diapers in a matter of seconds instead of making it a 20 minute struggle for one parent. If all else fails, remember that they are only young once and to savor every moment... even the messy ones!


I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Huggies blogging program, for a gift card worth $35. For more information on how you can participate, click here.

10 Healthy Tips for Back-to-school

Back to school is almost here and we are all ready around my house! My kids have been so bored these last few weeks, and my daughter is itching to go back to school. We have started our back to school routine already and are definitely looking forward to school starting. Today though, Social Moms and Transitions Lenses would like to hear 10 healthy tips to get your kids ready for back-to-school. Here are mine:


1. My first tip would be to keep reading to your kids or having them read right after school gets out, it keeps them in the habit of learning and keeps their mind fresh for back to school! My daughter loves reading time, as it's a part of our everyday routine. 


2. Get your check up's done! Kids are constantly changing and may develop eye problems over the summer, be sure to get them checked out in plenty of time for school. I got used to wearing glasses over the summer when I was a kid, and it helped out a ton!


3. Early to bed! Start putting kiddos to bed early like you would for school. During the summer my daughter stays up really late so we have already started putting her to bed at 8 every night so she can get into the routine of waking up early. 


4. Stock up on healthy snacks. I like to make sure we have plenty of carrots, celery, apples and oranges on hand so when the kids want a snack they grab something healthy instead of full of sugar. It keeps them healthy and full!


5. Go over the basics. School can be a very dirty place! Make sure your kids know how to thoroughly wash their hands and when to wash their hands. Flu season is right around the corner and teaching them to wash their hands definitely helps! 


6. Make sure you send their meds to school, before the first day. The first day is often hectic, so it's a great idea to drop of medicene when you meet the teachers. 


7. Stock up on meds! Like I said flu season is right around the corner, make sure you have plenty of meds for the little ones in your medicine cabinet! We are always running out around here, so when I find them on sale I have started stocking up!


8. Buy the right clothes. Fall and winter are coming soon and while it's fun to buy shorts for back to school, look for jeans and sweaters as well. Be prepared with an umbrella or rain boots when the time comes! 


9. Talk to the teachers! Be sure to let your childs' teacher know what health issues your child has. Even if the nurse already knows, it's a good idea to let the teacher know too, so they know what to look out for. 


10. Send healthy lunches to school. A good lunch can make or break a good day at school, make sure they have plenty healthy options to choose from in their lunch box!


Well these are my ten tips, I hope they help someone! I'm hoping my daughter has a great year at school, and I can't wait to start getting those cute things she makes! Thanks for reading!


I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Transitions Lenses blogging program, for a gift card worth $50. For more information on how you can participate, click here

Ten tips for making your life easier while on the go.

I think I've said before than moms are very busy people, and any time saved is amazing to busy moms. Today, Social Moms  and Seattle's Best coffee would like to know your 10 tips for making your life easier and more efficient while on the go. We are always on the go around here, so I'd like to share my ten tips with you!

1. Pre-plan. There have been many times that I have had some place to go and like to no time to get everything together. I like to have certain things packed and ready to go for the times that I have to go somewhere on the fly. I keep an extra diaper bag in the car with all the extras that I can think of that I will need for most occasions. It has come in handy many times.

2. Easy, ready to go meals. Having easy meals stocked up has saved me a bunch also. I like to stock up on things like Stoffers Lasagna so that I don't have to worry about cooking a meal when I have too many things to do. I can just throw it in the oven and I'm good!

3. Get a head start. Generally I am early no matter where I go or what I have to do. I always allow myself at the very least an hour of what I call 'grace time" and again, it's saved me on many occasions. You never know what crazy stunt the kids will pull that can put you behind!

4. Snacks! I like to keep snacks in the car so that I don't have to stop for unhealthy fast food when the kids get hungry while we are out. Things like trial mix will be perfectly fine staying in the car. In fast during the summer we keep a cooler in the car so that we don't have to stop to get bottled water.

5. Incorporate help! I'm kinda bossy about it but I have certain things that the kids have to help with... and the hubby too. I have realized that I cannot do it all... all the time. So having help, helps me a lot.

6. Shop online. Shopping online not only saves valuable time, but gas too, and with gas prices as high as they are here, it's a double win. Not to mention all the great deals you can find online that are not in stores. Amazon is my favorite place to shop!

7. Only do what you can handle. When my daughter first started school, I signed her up for everything and I tried to help out with everything too. Once I realized that just wasn't working out for us, she is only in one thing now. You can't be everywhere at once, and it definitely saves time to only do what you can handle.

8. Use a calendar. The calendar on my cell has helped me so many times. I forget things a lot, so when I set a date for something I always add a second date 2 days before the thing I need to do so that I have a little head start.

9. Relax! A happy mom makes a happy family, therefore I try to find 10 minutes or so during the day of after the kids are in bed just for myself. I'm much more relaxed after that and I'm ready for the challanges that the next day will bring!

10. Once a month cooking! Though I haven't been doing this so well lately, it really helps. Take one day and cook all the meals you will need for the month. That way you can throw a pre-made casserole in the oven and not have to worry about dinner!

So, there are my ten tips. I hope they help someone! Do you have anything that you do to make life easy for you? If so, I would love to hear it! Go HERE for a $1.50 coupon off of Seattle's Best Coffee!

About Seattle’s Best Coffee
As coffee blenders and roasters since 1970, we’ve seen a lot come and go. We went from a tiny shop on the Seattle waterfront to being declared Seattle’s Best Coffee in a local competition. In 2003, we joined the Starbucks family which has allowed us to place more resources into further honing our special way of crafting delicious, impossibly smooth coffee. Every step of the process, from coffee cherry to your cup, is managed to fit our exacting standards and our premium approach to coffee. Now, we’re making it easier to find your perfect coffee with our new Level System.

I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Seattle’s Best Coffee blogging program for a gift card worth $30. For more information on how you can participate, click here.