The Andrews Family

i was tagged

2012-01-19T18:28:00.000-08:00

by my dear friend Megan. So I have to tell you 11 random facts about myself and then answer 10 questions that Megan wants to know. Let's roll.

11 Random Facts about Me

1. I won the "sit & reach" portion of the physical fitness tests in highschool. every year. boo yah!
2. I am sensitive to noise and hate background noises like fans and motors.
3. I like weird shows like Hoarders and Sister Wives, but you already knew that.
4. I was called a "pillsbury doughgirl" by a boy in 6th grade. Scarred me for life (or just the rest of middle school).
5. I learn the lyrics to songs really easily, including rap.
6. I really dislike it when people give "cold" first impressions, just smile!
7. I could be a professional eavesdropper, which I think may have to do with #2.
8. I almost never answer phone calls for numbers I don't know.
9. I used to want to be an astronaut. Like, for real. I went to space camp in 5th grade and I would order freeze dried food to eat and wear my space suits (I had pink and blue) around the house. I also recall copying portions of the encyclopedia regarding space exploration into my space notebook. This is not a joke.
10. I always open the microwave before it is actually done. I'm not sure what this means, maybe I'm just impatient?
11. I have a geographic tongue.

Megan's questions for me..

1. Where were you born? Virginia Beach General Hospital, about 3 minutes from where I live now.

2. What the best meal you've ever made? Hmmm....probably tenderloin with gorgonzola cream sauce. It's chronic!

3. Where did you honeymoon? Half in Harbour Island, Bahamas (fail), half in Key Biscayne off the coast of Miami. Do NOT trust website pictures!

4. If you were a Disney princess who would you be? Belle, I like that she marched to the beat of her own drum and was willing to stick up for her father.

5. What is your favorite blog to follow? Link to it. Probably Simple Mom

6. Pick a fav: Thai Food or Mexican Food? Mexican, all day every day. I love mexican! I dream of fajitas.

7. What's more embarrassing to have happen: walk around with toilet paper stuck to your shoe (or coming out of your shirt in my case!!!) or fly down? Hmmm...probably my fly down?

8. How old were you when you got your first cell phone? I think I was 15, right before I got my drivers license.

9. What is your drink of choice at Starbucks? Usually a grande white chocolate mocha. Love me some white chocolate.

10. Favorite song on the radio right now? I'm kind of a sucker for Rhianna's "We Found Love", such a fun dance song.

11. What is keeping you from selling your house and moving next door to me for life??? hubby's job! I would love to live next to los tres! xoxo

25yo female seeks friends

2012-01-08T10:36:00.000-08:00

Do you ever feel like you just can't find a place you belong or you are in a transition? I'm in a season where I just feel like I don't quite fit in anywhere and it's hard to find people who share my interests. I don't say this to elicit any sympathy but I'm just processing my feelings honestly. Since I became a mother, I'm discovering all these interests I never had before. If someone had told my 16 year old self that I would be requesting manure from a local farm for my garden or preparing wild venison for my family or canceling my cable so I could afford local food I would have been horrified. At that point in my life, I was most concerned with how fresh my highlights were and when I needed to go tanning again, oh, and that I would get an "A" on my next test to get into UVA of course. Almost ten years later, I still love me some highlights, but have given up those things that seem so trivial and dumb now, like tanning beds.

So, I got married, had Parks and in a heartbeat my focus was no longer myself, but him. What to feed him, what to bathe him with, what to teach him, what to let him watch, if anything? All these questions. I wanted to do the very best I possibly could to steward this blessing wisely. That desire has led me on a journey towards an intentional, simple lifestyle that I never would have thought I would be pursuing. I've come to the conclusion that everything matters. It matters what we feed our children. It matters what they spend their time doing. It matters how we view our job as parents. It matters what we tell them about God and more importantly, how we show them God. It all matters. Now, please don't misunderstand me here. I'm not about exalting all these things above our faith and trust in God. There must be balance and godly perspective in every part of our life. What I have discovered though, is that if I'm not careful, I slip into "default" parenting and I'm not really aware of my choices for my children and I'm not really aware of the long-term lessons and patterns that I'm setting. If Jackson and I didn't have a vision for the boy we want Parks to be and left it up to Parks, he would not speak to adults willingly, he would not learn to look people in the eyes, he would not know how to give a firm handshake, he would not know how to address adults as Mr. and Mrs. But, we do have a vision and we are training accordingly as best we can. I'm convinced the little, everyday things matter in the long run.

So, back to not fitting in. When you become a parent, you quickly realize that there are all these little "subgroups" of parents, even within the Christian community. It starts before birth when people are advocating their "infant care" approaches. There's babywise vs. attachment parenting. Then there's formula feeders vs. breastfeeders. "Normal" breastfeeders vs. extended breastfeeders. baby wearers vs. people who put their baby down (the horror!). No tv vs. tv on all day. Organic, whole food vs. cheetos & capri suns. Self-weaned vs. rice cereal at 4 months. working mom vs. stay at home mom vs. work at home mom. spanking vs. "gentle parenting". emphasis on traditional manners vs. emphasis on casual relationships. homeschool vs. public school. preschool vs. no preschool.

So many choices! I honestly feel like I'm part old-school, spare-the-rod, mind your manners and part crunchy, organic, waldorf, let's live in the country and milk goats. I'm finding it's a rare combination!! It's been difficult for me to find other women who are interested in things I am like traditional food preparation and herbal remedies who won't report me to Child Protective Services when I spank my child for disobeying. Or maybe I find someone who disciplines like I do but they look at me like I'm crazy when I talk about sprouting grains and driving an hour away to get meat.

I have several dear, real-life friends who I love and share interests with me, so friend, if you are reading this, I love you and am glad we are friends! I'm just saying I've noticed it's been difficult to find community with people who share my interests, because it seems that I am somewhat of an odd duckling. If you see this ad in the paper, you'll know it's me:

25yo female seeks friend. Must enjoy: traditional foods, herbal remedies, breadmaking, homesteading, intentional parenting AND the real housewives of new jersey, highlights, diet coke and a good pitbull song every now and then. Please call: 757-619-**** thank you very much!

(I told you, I'm a freakshow and I know it).

Because everyone loves a good picture

2011-12-08T10:58:00.001-08:00

and because I've been a blog slacker lately...some photos!

Playing in the cul-de-sac

this little girl melts. my. heart. (her hair is pulled back in a ponytail, yes. ponytail at 7 months old!)

Best Buddies

This is what happens when Parks snatches my phone

just a normal day

Caught red-handed! This girl is on the move by the way. It's her own unique blend of an army crawl and up on all fours crawl, video to come.

In much bigger news, Parks turned THREE! Something about your child turning 3 really makes you stop and think as a parent. Three is like "Goodbye toddler, hello big kid!". Craziness.

Celebrating with his besties at Chick-fil-a, obviously!

My Angel

Christmas traditions and what we do about Santa

2011-12-02T10:45:00.001-08:00

This year feels different than the rest we've had so far as a married couple. I think it's because Parks is finally old enough to understand things and this year we will be staying in our own house for Christmas. So, basically, it's time to start our family traditions and create the Christmas "magic" on our own. When I started to ponder all this I do what I always do....read. I read everything. Books, blogs and more blogs about other families' Christmas traditions. I knew I wanted to blend Jackson and my's favorites from our families but I wanted to create some new traditions just for our family. After a few days of researching I became convicted that above all, I wanted to make Christmas about Jesus's birth. That is easier said than done these days.

Almost everything about Christmas as presented in our culture emphasizes gifts, commercialism, consumerism and Santa. Almost nothing presents Christmas as the birth of our Savior. I asked Parks out of the blue a few weeks ago "Why do we celebrate Christmas?" His answer shocked me and humbled me, "Santa Claus!" he said. This is coming from a child who has had minimal exposure to Santa. I couldn't believe the pervasiveness of our culture! Jackson and I realized, if we really wanted to teach our children that Christmas is about Jesus, we would need to be very purposeful and intentional about the decisions we made regarding Christmas. This includes our home decor, holiday outings, the books we read, the stories we tell etc. We want it all to point to Jesus' birth.

I personally, think it's rather confusing for a small child to tell them "Christmas is about Jesus" and then from every other angle they are learning that Christmas is about Santa Claus bringing them presents. So, what's the Andrews Family doing about Santa? I'll tell you.

We are choosing to tell our children Santa is a fun make-believe character (like Barney or a disney princess) not a real live person who comes down our chimney on Christmas Eve. We do not tell our children that gifts are from Santa, they know (or will know) that gifts come from us. We also do not decorate with or have books that emphasize Santa. It's really not because we hate Santa. I don't turn the other way if I see a Santa in the mall or gasp in horror if someone gives us a Santa ornament. I just want my children to have a firm foundation in the real meaning of Christmas, one that isn't cluttered with competing messages from "Santa". I think it's naive to think we can combat an entire culture of "Santa" with a couple "Christmas is about Jesus" phrases thrown in every now and then. So, we pretty much go without Santa, elves and things of that nature.

We do have nativity sets, a Christmas tree, stockings, angels, books about the real Christmas story, etc. Here are a few things we are doing this year that I think will be good reminders of the real meaning of Christmas for all of us:

Have a Jesse Tree. This is an advent celebration that traces the lineage of Jesus and God's redemptive story through the Old Testament. You get a special tree and hang an ornament every day after your bible reading and devotional. Click the link for a free download and more info.
Let your child pick an Angel Tree gift. Talk about giving to other children out of the abundance God has given us.
Give a "gift to Jesus" for his birthday. This can take on many forms. It can be a gift caring for the "least of these" in your community or it can be an offering to your church or other Kingdom work.
Read books about Jesus' birth and talk about what Jesus' birth means to us as Christians.
Teach the Christmas songs about Jesus to your child. Most of them have very powerful lyrics like "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" and "Oh Holy Night".
Make a birthday cake for Jesus on Christmas.

Another important thought: we don't do any of this to be kill joys. In fact, it's just the opposite. We have the REAL joy...Jesus!!! And he is worth celebrating big time! He is a bigger joy than Santa and that's what we want to leave our kids with. Not a gloomy, boring, "we don't do santa" Scrooge/holier-than-thou mentality. Hope that helps!

For more info on creating Godly traditions for your family, I highly recommend the book, "Treasuring God in Our Traditions" by Noel Piper, wife of John Piper.

My Country Fantasy

2011-11-12T11:24:00.001-08:00

Where to begin...

Basically, my desire to "homestead" and live in the country has gone to new levels over the past few weeks. I've been reading, researching and slowly making lifestyle changes for probably a good year now. With my reading and researching dating back before that. I am just convinced that I want to live more of back to basics life and raise my children in more of an old-fashioned setting. My dream would be to live on about 10 acres with a mix of cleared and wooded land and have a beautiful, restored farmhouse. We would have a gorgeous, plentiful vegetable gardens, many fruit trees and bushes, chickens, maybe a couple goats and of course, 4 wheelers and dirt bikes. Preferably, my boys could hunt right on our own property. I would wear an apron and cook completely from scratch. We would harvest and can our own produce for the winter. I would homeschool my children and ring a cow bell to summon them in for dinner. I would line dry our clothes and my children would be alongside me all day, doing the chores of a farm life. Learning real life skills and a getting a rich hands-on education, not a government mandated agenda. We wouldn't watch tv or be in front of a screen all day. No, we would experiencing real life and learning real skills and developing character traits that will serve them well.

There you have it. My country fantasy. And we are slowly figuring out how to make it happen. Jackson, thankfully, has a wonderful job and we can't move too far away and have an unrealistic commute for him. So, we have a limited area that would be feasible for us to work with. Also, I'm not introverted so I want to be careful not to be too isolated from other people. I'd imagine us at our homestead most days and maybe venturing into "town" twice a week.

We've looked at several properties but realistically, we are probably several months away from a move. The country ain't as cheap as you might think! We have a great set-up right now and I can implement lots of homesteading practices right where we live.

In the meantime I have:

Switched to cloth diapers!
Started soaking my grains and flours.
Purchased and am reading Nourishing Traditions (basically the "bible" of traditional, nutritious cooking, highly recommend it to discover what really is good for you, like butter!)
Switched our (kids too!) bathing soap to a pure goats milk soap made locally.
Signed up to take a Homesteading course at a local farm.
Signed up for a 2012 Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) with a local farm.
Purchased almost all of our meats from a local farm
Taken Parks out of pre-school (more on that later, but it just wasn't meshing with him or my general education/parenting philosophy)
Done another toy purge and simplified our playroom.
Taken every chance we can to get outside and enjoy God's beautiful creation!

We have already:

"Greened" our laundry. I use Country Save or 7th Generation detergent and only wool, dryer balls for softening our clothes. Dryer sheets can cause cancer!
Stopped using paper towels and switched to cotton rags and microfiber cloths.
"Greened" my cleaning supply. I make a great general all-purpose cleaner with castile soap but I have started purchasing a couple 7th gen. products for bathroom cleaning. I've been dealing with lots of poop lately so let's just say, I'm more comfortable with a product that says "disinfectant" for now.
Gotten rid of HFCS and Trans fat from our diet completely and cook from scratch as much as possible.
Purchased mostly organic meats and dirty dozen produce.
Replaced canola and vegetable oils (not good for you) with butter and coconut oil (good source of saturated fats).

I would like to :

Bake our own bread
Find a regular source for eggs straight from the farm
Hang a line outside to dry my clothes
Get a raw milk share (gasp! it's not the dangerous substance you've been lead to believe it is)
Learn how to make Kombucha and other fermented drinks

Every effort I have made to slow down and return to a simple, back to basics lifestyle has been so worth it. I am thrilled with each and step we make towards a simpler, sustainable life. For us, it's all about priorities. Yes, our pastured meat straight from the farm is more expensive than ground beef in a grocery store on sale for 1.99/pound. (That by the way, is really disturbing when you know more about what it costs to properly raise a cow!). But when you think about the investment we are making in our children's health, it becomes worth it and I figure out a way to save so we can afford it (like not buying paper towels). I'll do a real food budget post later.

This has been a journey for us. One that I am glad we are on and one that you can't rush. I wasn't ready for these things 4 years ago and I have slowly, but surely added things one at a time. Take one step at a time! We are still such newbies compared to other people (like the ones who use cloth toilet paper!! ahh).

bless his heart

2011-10-21T10:36:00.000-07:00

Parks was enjoying a Trader Joe's yogurt smoothie while I was picking up the living room. I heard the familiar noise of the dishwasher door shut and Parks announced, "Mommy! I'm all done. I put it in the dis washa for you!" Bless his heart. He did.

wise words

2011-10-20T07:49:00.000-07:00

I got to spend some time last night with my dad which I always treasure these days. He gave me some very wise advice. Two things that stuck with me:

"The spirit of the leader is the spirit of the pack."

As a mother, I am the leader of my pack and my children will follow my attitude and countenance. So much application here, I might put this quote on my fridge.

"Part of being a good parent is being a good actor."

This had never crossed my mind before but it's so true. Sometimes you have to act serious when you want to bust out laughing or sometimes you need to put on a cheerful face even when you want to sulk and act 12 years old.

The Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-19T13:16:00.000-07:00

We had a blast at the "pumpkin patch" a couple weeks ago. We had to forgo a real pumpkin patch this year because Parks had an allergic reaction last year after visiting one. We think it was the pumpkin leaves but it could have been straw. Either way, we avoided it this year and went to a pumpkin "yard", if you will.

My little harvest display makes me so happy every time I walk up to my door! It's the simple things in life, right?

It's official...I am a freak.

2011-10-18T06:40:00.000-07:00

In case you needed any more evidence that I am a freak of nature...here it is. I have ordered my first homeschool curriculum and I was way. too. excited. when it arrived. It's a Pre-K curriculum called "Sing, Spell, Read and Write" that my mom did with us when we were kids. And hey, I learned to read, right? It's colors, shapes, numbers, alphabet and some beginner phonics. It says it's recommended for age 4, and yes, I know Parks is 2 almost 3, but he already knows half the stuff in there so I figure why not casually introduce more? I'm not about pushing academics too young, but when their minds are sponges, why not fill 'em up?

Nearly beside myself with excitement...freak.

This image thrills my Type A heart, you have no idea.

My darling pupil. Lord, help us.

Who knows what the future holds, but these curriculum boxes alone are enough to make me homeschool. Love em!

My First Vlog: Natural Alternatives to Miralax

2011-10-11T06:54:00.000-07:00

Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional. This is my personal experience and opinion of miralax.

Hello bloggies! This is a kind of an unusual post for me, but it's something I feel strongly about. If you have kids, you have probably heard of "miralax" which is a commonly prescribed laxative/stool softner. Unfortunately I have way more experience with this product than I'd like to admit. Parks has been on it off and on for over 2 years at the advice of more than one pediatrician. If you have experienced problems with stool witholding or chronic constipation, I know first hand how difficult it can be. Please watch the videos to hear our story, my thoughts on the "safety" of miralax and plenty of natural alternatives. Please spread the word about the alternatives if you know someone who is on miralax.

P.S. I'm not going to get into a debate here as to whether or not miralax is safe. It is my firm belief that the less chemicals we put into our bodies the better, even if the medical community says they are "safe". What I do want to do is help parents know there ARE other options, ones that your doctor probably won't bring up. Please comment accordingly.

crafting memories

2011-10-07T11:13:00.000-07:00

I was blog hopping yesterday as I love to do and I came across an interesting post. The woman said she thinks about the memories she wants her children to have and that helps her decide what's important to her. It's a neat thought! As mothers we are largely responsible for crafting our children's memories. She listed some of the memories that she would like her children to have of her and their home. I thought it would be a great little exercise so I came up with a few of my own.

I'd like my children to remember me...

Reading my bible as a regular part of my day
Praying often and without hesitation
Looking and smelling nice and put together...maybe with one signature scent that they remember
Cheerful, patient, kind
Full of adventure!
Hugging and loving on Jackson and honoring him with my words
Diligent in my work at home

I'd like for my children to remember our home as...

Cozy and warm with candles
Un-cluttered and neat
Filled with good music
A place of peace and rest
A place where all are welcome and hospitality is practiced

Think about it for yourself and if you don't have children, it could be a good exercise to do thinking of your husband!

Seeds of Faith

2011-10-05T17:34:00.000-07:00

We're working on the basics with Parks: God made me, Jesus loves me, God made everything, We go to church to praise Jesus, etc. A little over a month ago I implemented "Circle Time" during our morning routine right after breakfast and it's been so much fun. We do prayer time, praise songs with hand motions, a memory verse and a Bible story. Parks has learned 2 verses so far: Ephesians 6:1 and Psalm 126:3. It's been so rewarding to see his comprehension grow. Today he started talking about God out of the blue and I grabbed my flip camera and started recording. Of course, the minute you do that they get all goofy but I did grab a few cute moments. I love God's promise of Proverbs 22:6: "Train up a child in the way that he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it. I am thankful for the privilege to be a part of God's work in my children's lives.

If you don't know...now you know!

2011-10-04T11:33:00.000-07:00

Give yourself a pat on the back if you got the shout out to the Notorious B.I.G. I have recently stumbled upon a few very nifty things that I thought you might want to know. Let the randomness begin!

1. How to keep a tile shower clean. I have struggled ever since I got married to keep our tile showers clean. I really hate using products like Tilex because of the toxic fumes but I'll be honest, my natural cleaners just weren't cutting it to my satisfaction in this area. However, thanks to my googling skillz, I found a very simple way to keep it looking like new! Are you ready? Wipe it dry with an old towel after every use. It's a little extra work but it's so worth it, you don't have to scrub anymore. The moisture of leftover water is what helps the mold and mildew breed. Maybe everyone else knows this but it was news to me. I've been wiping my shower down and it stays looking perfect, no toxic cleaner needed. Genius!

2. Woodglue is your friend. How did I not know this until now? I don't know how I lived before discovering woodglue. I have been on a gluing spree since I discovered my husband's handy Titebond II. This will be especially helpful to you if you have wooden toys in your house. What started it all was these wooden toy cars Parks has. They are "stackable" also known as "frustrating" to a 2 year old boy who want to "zoom" not "stack". I knew if they were not stackable he would enjoy them much more. So, woodglue to the rescue! This is about as DIY as I get so I'm actually very proud of my modified wooden cars:

much better!

My next project: A cute wooden frame that Parks painted during art class. The little stand kept popping out and voila, a little woodglue made it nice and sturdy.

3. 2 Year Olds Can Ride a Dirtbike (with training wheels)

Oh yes, this is happening in our cul-de-sac. I'm pretty sure our neighbors think we are crazy rednecks. Oh well!

a life-changer

2011-09-30T11:14:00.000-07:00

My life changed, thanks to the Pioneer Woman. If you are not familiar with her run, don't walk to her site and check it out. Chock full of goodness I tell you. She is downright hysterical and makes me laugh out loud when I read her posts, and that's rare for me.

Today, her recipe for the perfect iced coffee has taken my life to a "whole nottha level" as our Aussie pastor says. You see, sometimes I get a hankering for a tasty iced coffee from Starbs. Those hankerings can cost me anywhere from 2 to 5 dollars depending on the size and if I go regular coffee or latte. Well, no longer! I will be making my delicious iced coffee at home. Check it out...

Behold, my ready-to-pour iced coffee dispenser!

In case your vision is poor, a close-up:

This my friends is a very concentrated coffee mixture. You basically take 2 gallons of water and a pound of coffee and stir them together and let it sit for 8 hours or overnight. Then you strain the coffee grounds out and you have a very concentrated coffee, perfect for iced coffee. The Pioneer Woman can give you all the details. Then comes the good part...

You may be asking yourself, why in the world is Sweetened Condensed Milk out on the counter?

Is it clicking yet? You're probably thinking "Oh no she di'int!" Oh yes, I did. And it is amazing. Because as the PW says, "I'm a naughty, naughty, bad girl."

Ta-daaaa!! The most delicious iced coffee you have ever tasted. I. die.

And just for kicks, a cute baby:

Now go make yourself some iced coffee on tap! Yum!

My Joy and My Delight

2011-09-29T11:18:00.000-07:00

There's something so stinkin cute about a naked baby. Even cuter when you put the naked baby on a Missoni for Target blanket! I was not swept up in the Missoni craze but a sweet and very hip friend of mine gave me the blanket as a gift.

Our little Reesers has become quite a hoot! She is a funny little bird and loves to squeal. Oh my word can she squeal. It's like a loud shriek of delight. And she does it regularly, including in the checkout at Trader Joe's. She's also a wiggly little thing. She has been practicing her rolling lately and enjoys rolling over to her back in her crib regularly when she should be napping! The little stinker! But she's always all smiles whenever you go see her so how can I be pained? Also, she is totally doing this "pre-crawling/scooting" thing. Parks was not even close to this at her age. He crawled around the end of his 8th month. She can hike her legs up under her and work her way forward with her hands. She's really quite mobile for 4 months. I'd imagine she'll be a full blown crawler by 6 months.

Here's her pre-bath wiggle time...

Check out those moves!

Practing her scissor kicks, a girl's gotta tone up!

and leg lifts... (notice the diaper in the background, I like to keep it real)

People tell me all the time "Reese looks JUST like Parks." I think they look different but I can see the sibling resemblance.

Backpedal, backpedal, backpedal

2011-09-26T11:16:00.000-07:00

I hate when I have to backpedal, you know, when you make a decision that then needs to be undone. Either you say something that didn't come out right or you just plain shouldn't have said or you buy something you know you shouldn't have. Well today, I had to backpedal. I had an appointment with my eye doctor because my vision has been bothering me lately. I figured I might need some occasional eye glasses for night driving and when I watch tv. Turns out, he wrote me a prescription for some glasses to wear occasionally. Fine and dandy.

Here's where things got crazy. I was never handed a prescription or asked if I wanted to purchase glasses there. They just immediately whisked me over to their "glasses department" where some nice people started helping me select frames. Price range was never discussed and shame on me I didn't really ask. I just figured they would be reasonable (bad I know!). The price tags are so tiny on the glasses and my eyes were dilated for goodness sakes! So, I find a pair I like of course they were "Kate Spade" (what was I thinking?!) and the sales lady just goes to town tallying up my order. I hear her say something about a discount and I think to myself, "Score!" and then she goes "Ok, that comes to $423. Would you like to pay all at once?". Ok, stop the train. WHAT?!! Four hundred dollars are you kidding me? For my "occasional-watch-in-front-of-the-tv-glasses"?!! I was totally shocked and felt like it all happened so fast. All this was running through my head but what did I say to her, "Umm..yes". So there I was handing over my credit card to the lady for this outrageous sum. I guess I felt kind of intimidated and like I had already committed and was too embarrassed to speak up at that point.

I was so uncomfortable and I told Jackson the error of my ways. Thankfully, he laughed. Have I mentioned I have the best husband ever? But, I knew what I needed to do. Backpedal. So, three hours later: ring, ring, "Hi, this is Mallory Andrews I was in earlier today and I need to cancel my order..." I made the call. I don't like making calls like that but I couldn't stand the thought of spending that much money on GLASSES. I'm kicking myself over the whole thing.

Lesson learned: SPEAK UP! Ask questions, don't let yourself get intimidated by doctors or salespeople. *Always* ask about prices. Slow the process down and say no the first time if you can't afford something or are just uncomfortable with the price.

Please tell me I am not alone in my idiocy.

Happy 4th Birthday, Blog!

2011-09-24T06:49:00.000-07:00

Can you believe I've been blogging for four years? When thoseandrews started I was 21 years old, had been married for four months and was starting my senior year at UVA. Now four years, 2 degrees, 2 jobs, 1 move, 5 houses and 2 kids later...we're settled in VA Beach and excited watch our family grow.

Sept 07

Sept 08

Sept 09

Sept '10

Sept '11

I already knew this but boy does this photo journey further convince me that long & blonde is my destiny! Oh my word. I will never go back. If I ever start talking about a major haircut or going dark please. please talk some sense into me.

Anyways, I really love blogging here and while I do not pretend this is some super interesting, cool blog I know I've garned a couple readers over the years and I really do appreciate your interest in the blog and joining in through the comments. Thanks for sticking with me through seasons of blog drought and harvest. Cheers to blogging!

Because I know you are dying to see my kids' playroom...

2011-09-22T07:25:00.001-07:00

Haha! Just kidding. I realized I never finished our "big reveal" from when we moved into our house. In many ways, we are still in progress but we have definitely made changes since my last house photos and I thought I would post some recent ones.

I'll start with our playroom. Whenever I say playroom I think people think our house is big. It's not. I should say in the same sentence, "We have a playroom because we don't have a dining room." I wouldn't trade it though. I LOVE having one room for toys! It saves my sanity and gives us other "pretty spaces". It is a must have in my opinion, no one wants a train table for a coffee table.

PLAYROOM BEFORE: I realize this is a terrible before photo of the dining room but you can see it was wallpapered and dated.

AFTER:

I have big dreams for this room. Fun paint, fun rug, fun light, fun wall ideas, paint the bookcase rainbow colors. Fun, fun, fun! For now though, it's really functional and is a great space for our toys. Parks loves his artwork displayed on the wall. I am pulling for a new light fixture though :)

LAUNDRY:

As you may remember, we went from this:

to this:

Huge improvement! My washer/dryer now are properly lined up so I can easily transfer clothing. I have a counterop and a cabinet for extra storage and I still have my utility sink (it's in the corner). Jackson did the countertop and cabinet! Score! P.S. Do you love my foot holding the door open? I've got skillz.

MASTER BATHROOM: I don't know about you but I just LOVE that wallpaper :)

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Floor to ceiling tile is definitely the way to go people. It adds drama to a dull bathroom. I had originially wanted to do the whole wall in the mosaic tile but the price was ridonkulous so I decided to a do a "picture frame" mosaic instead. Jackson is pained that we didn't go with a seamless shower door because it impedes the view of our beautiful mosaic but you live and learn. Next house, seamless door!

HALLWAY:

Before:

This looks boring at best and kind of scary at worst!

After:

Jackson added 4 ft beadboard wainscotting. It gives some character to our otherwise plain 1980s house. I added happy yellow trellis runners. Of course, we painted all trim and doors white. Our walls are Benjamin Moore's gray owl. I hopped on the gray train and traded our beige for gray. Gray is totally the new beige :) Hopefully sometime I will have some fun prints on the walls. Baby steps. Baby steps.

LIVING ROOM/OFFICE:

Before: Please notice the large mirror...

After: Please read my comments before judging this room...

Ok, so...I am a neutral girl at heart. I sometimes have to force myself to add color to a room. I had envisioned this room as being "cool" and "monochromatic". I'm afraid it ended up being kind of monochromatic but not cool. It needs color and some serious help in certain places. I need guidance with what to do over the desk. It's kind of an awkward space because the furniture isn't centered on the wall. What to do? Does anybody have suggestions?

Also, the warm blinds need to go. They clash. I kind of hate the chair in the corner that I BOUGHT. Ugh...I hate it when that happens. I think I desperately need some color here but I'm not sure what color to incorporate. Any ideas? I know yellow could work I just get so scared about making the wrong choice, it's silly.

Still to come...master bedroom!

Not the cat's meow

2011-09-21T17:24:00.000-07:00

I have something I need to get off my chest. I'll just come right out with it. I have a small problem with cats that roam the neighborhood and come into my yard. I just don't get it. Why is it socially acceptable for cats to enter other people's yards and it isn't for dogs? I personally think it is not ok for any animal to come into my yard uninvited (except for my neighbor's adorable doggie who we love). What if I'm allergic? What if I don't want your cat peeing in my child's sandbox? What if I have a dog that doesn't like cats? What if I take personal property rights seriously?! I mean, for real. If your cat likes to be outside, get a fence. Why is it ok for cats to roam? I don't get it. If you're a free-range cat lover you're welcome to explain why you think your cat should be able to traipse through your neighbors yards. Let's hear it.

so in love

2011-09-19T17:43:00.000-07:00

I figured it's time for a life with 2 update. I am so in love with my two babes. We've found our groove (at least for now) and I'm really enjoying being a mom to 2. I'm starting to become more comfortable in my "mom skin" if that makes sense. I think I'm more confident, more relaxed and all those things that just come with time. Being a parent is a big adjustment and just like any other job, it takes time to develop your skills or should I say skillz :)

The biggest blessing has been seeing the relationship develop between Parks and Reese. Parks is an amazing big brother. He has been so sweet and gentle with Reese, it's amazed Jackson and me. He loves to have her around and calls her Reesey-cup or Reesers. I could not ask for a better big brother. She takes such delight in him too. She gigles just watching him play. There is just nothing sweeter as a mom than watching your children love each other. Precious moments. We are loving this season as a family of four!

I see some Jackson in Reese in this pic!

love

he likes to "help her burp" :)

mmmm soo squishable!!

Parks loves to get in her crib and play "baby" with her

thank you Lord for a happy girl!

Parks "bjorning" his bear...never a dull moment with him around!

education

2011-09-15T07:30:00.000-07:00

*This is a rather hot-topic so please know that I'm writing from a humble, honest place and wish to start an interesting, respectful dialogue, NOT a divisive, judgmental comment war.*

I'm going to be very honest in this post. I am starting to have anxiety over how we're going to educate our children. I think about it every day. It's not keeping me up at night or giving me panic attacks but it definitely pops in and out of my mind every day and I just have such an unsettled feeling about it. Yes I know Parks is only two (turning 3 in November) but the years pass so quickly and default parenting is not my style. I want to be fully informed and make wise, intentional decisions for each of my children. What follows are my thoughts thus far on education and our options.

My opinions on education are largely based on my personal experience. I never attended pre-school or kindergarten. My mother taught us everything we needed to know at home. She was a fantastic, hands-on mother and homeschooled us off and on through elementary school. I was homeschooled first, third and fourth grade and attended a private, Christian school second and fifth grade. After fifth grade, I completed the rest of my schooling at private schools. The middle school I went to was secular and the high school I went to was a Christian school. I never had a public school experience. I know my background shapes the way I feel about education and I'll put that out there right from the start. I loved being homeschooled and I loved that my parents decided each year what was best for me and our family. That is something I will definitely take with me and use in our family. Decisions on education can change every year based on what's best for the child and the family.

The idea that at age 5 kids go off to the local public school kindergarten program and are gone for 8 hours a day until age 18 has never been something that I envisioned my children doing. At this point, I am not at peace with sending my very young children into someone else's care that will not be reinforcing the ideals, values and faith that my children learn at home. In fact, some things they learn from the classroom will be in direct opposition to what we want our children to learn.

It is not my desire or intention to shelter my children from the world indefinitely. But, while they are young and impressionable I want to shape their worldview and fill their minds and hearts with Jesus so that when they are sent out into the "world" they will be set up for success as best as we are able to do so. I worry about all the trash kids are exposed to in school, both public and private. I'd rather not have my child exposed to inappropriate language and subjects when they should still be innocent children. I do not buy "socialization arguments" that children need to be in school to learn social behavior. Who do we really want our kids to learn social skills from? Their ill-mannered peers or from respectful adults who teach them how to properly interact with people? Let's be honest about what most kids pick up from school: name calling, bullying, exclusiveness and coarse talk. No thanks. My general philosophy is pour into them when they are young, be selective about their environment, train them up in the way they should go and then when they reach middle school and high school open up and let them out, at least in terms of an educational environment.

So, my options are public school, private school and homeschooling. Honestly, I think sending my children to a private, Christian elementary school would be my first choice at this point. But who knows if we will be able to afford it? There's a darn good chance we won't be able to. Public school and homeschooling scare me almost equally. However, at this point, I just don't think I could send Parks to public school with my convictions on education. If I'm honest with myself I think homeschool could be the best situation for my children, because who better to educate them than me? Who loves them more than me? Who understands them and knows their strengths and weaknesses and interests more than me? Who will sacrifice for their well-being more than me? No one. Ughhh....I really don't know if I'm up for it. It scares the dickens out of me. But I know that if I truly feel God is calling me to homeschool He will sustain me.

So there you have it. A brief synopsis of my daily thoughts on education. I want to make thoughtful, wise decisions for my children. I want to be a good steward of the precious children God has blessed us with. I don't want to blindly march on with what everyone else does just because that's "what everyone does". We only have one shot with our kids. That being said, please, please, please do not think that I judge people who send their kids to public school. I do not! These are my personal feelings for my kids and I do not project them onto other people. Also, I respect public and private school teachers a tremendous amount. I have several good friends who are school teachers now in public schools. I just wanted to make sure that is clear before I get a bunch of comments about that. I probably won't though because no one comments anymore :( We'll see where God takes us. With His sense of humor I'll probably either be sending them to public school and taking a huge leap of faith or wearing a denim jumper and homeschooling my kids.

What are your thoughts on education? Do you question our society's conventional system? What choices have you made for your children?

practically perfect in every way

2011-09-08T06:55:00.001-07:00

This little girl is 4 months old already! Time is flying by. If you don't like to hear about proud moms gush about their children, stop reading now. Go back to Facebook because this post is all about my darling baby girl!

I'm writing about Reese for a couple reasons. I want to remember what she was like at this age and what things I love most about her right now. Also, if we have another baby, it's really helpful to look back at these posts and read about how much they were sleeping and eating, etc. It's been nice to re-read some of my posts about Parks to remember what he was doing at each stage. So here we go.

My Precious Reese,

I've never met a more delightful baby. You bring joy to everyone you meet. Happy and content is your temperament and it blesses your mama daily! You are so sweet and snuggly I just want to hold you all day, but thankfully you don't demand that because I do have your brother to look after too!

At four months old you are:

- Sleeping 11 hours at night (7-6:15ish)

- Nursing about 5 or 6 times a day

- Taking approx 3 naps a day

- Loving your nightly bath and bedtime routine, you are a splashin' queen!

- Weighing in at about 13.5 pounds. Dr. S says you are "petite" :)

- Capturing everyone's attention with your amazing hair! Literally everywhere we go someone always comments on your hair. People think you are adorable!

- Loving your big brother. He is so incredibly sweet to you. He brings you toys and kisses you and has never once been mean to you.

- Quite the squealer! You have some of the most hilarious squeals of delight we have ever heard. You have a great sense of humor, we can already tell!

I just adore everything about you. Your soft, plump cheeks. Your perfect pink lips. Your chunky little thighs. Your beautiful eyes. Your sweet giggle and your precious smile. And of course, that gorgeous hair that definitely has some curl in it by the way. I'm excited to see if you have a headful of curls like your Aunt Shannon!

I love you Reesey Girl! I feel so privileged to be your Mommy!

Love you forever,

Mommy

Why I am surprised?

2011-09-07T12:56:00.000-07:00

While working in the kitchen I hear another "HEELP!!!!" This is what I find....

Why not crawl into the dryer? It's just the right size! Boys are so much fun.

Supermom

2011-09-01T12:08:00.000-07:00

There are some situations that make me feel like supermom. If you're a mom you probably know what I'm talking about. They usually involve some impressive physical feat done while holding a baby and wrangling a toddler. Sometimes it's just navigating a big shopping trip and getting everything in the house. Other times it's nursing a baby WHILE you help your potty training child make it to the bathroom on time. Or not skipping a beat when you are puked on and you just start to clean it up and care for the child. After you're done you know that what you just did is only something a mother would be able to do because after all, mothers just get the job done. There's simply no time for complaining or procrastinating. Anybody with me?

Today I had a supermom moment, although it was one that I'd like to forget. I took Parks and Reese to the beach....by. my. self. This by itself is worthy of supermom status in my opinion but this is just the beginning. Taking two small children to the beach is no logistical walk in the park let me tell you. So I managed to get them both down to the beach and Parks starts playing on the playground at 31st street. He's having a blast and about 45 minutes into playing I notice he needs to go to the bathroom. I look around nervously. I had thought we would be able to make it the whole time without a potty break...no such luck. That's when I see this and felt my blood pressure rise:

In hindsight, I should have just told him to go in his pants. But no, I insist we go to the "bathroom" aka porta-a-john. So off we head to the port-a-john, Reese in my arms and Parks trailing behind. Of course, I open the door and am almost knocked out by the nasty fumes. Parks was very curious about how this "potty" worked and took one look down and goes, "Ewww dat's poo!". I wanted to die. So I have to kneel down, help him get his pants off and lift him up so he can stand on the potty all while HOLDING REESE. Poor thing. I'm trying desperately not to let any part of either child come in contact with the port-a-john. I spot Parks' right hand touch the toilet seat itself and practically shriek in horror. Of course, this was the ONE time I left my Purell in the car so I say a quick prayer against Hep A and e.coli and move on.

It was definitely, without question one of my top supermom moments so far. Navigating a port-a-john by myself with an infant and 2 year old boy...I do believe I deserve a 'rita tonight! Cheers to all you supermoms out there and a special shout-out to any military moms reading, you are the ultimate supermom!

never a dull moment

2011-08-30T16:58:00.000-07:00

I was in Reese's room when I hear, "Help...I'm stuck!!"

A photo update

2011-08-19T12:32:00.000-07:00

Maintaining blogging consistency is difficult with two little ones. I am currently ALL BY MYSELF...holla! That's all I have to say. Here's what we've been up to lately...

Painting Projects

Catch me if you can!

Loving every minute when Daddy's home!

Building "HUUUGE" towers

Chillin outside

Playing with some great friends

Three little monkeys jumpin on the bed!

Turning 3 months old!

Our little "Cindy Lou Who" as we call her, our treasure!

Other than that, not a whole lot is going on!

hugaphobia

2011-07-22T10:50:00.000-07:00

It has recently been brought to my attention (ahem...lindsey) that I have unusual feelings about hugs. Apparently, most people love hugging and give hugs away willy nilly. I, on the other hand, am what I like to call a "selective hugger". I will only initiate hugs with certain people at certain times. I think I was born this way. My grandparents tell stories of me as an infant "pushing away" when they would try to hold me close. I never liked to be rocked or held I wanted to be laid down in my crib. To this day I'm not a cuddler or snuggler. I can't sleep if I'm touching Jackson, I like to keep to "my side" of the bed.

All this to say, sometimes I get "hug aniexty" if I know I'm going to be approached with an unwelcome hug. Anybody know what I'm talking about? Family members and close friends are never in this category by the way. I will hug them without any hesitation. However, sometimes I feel like you are in situations where everyone is hugging and you may be faced with hugging someone you don't know very well or don't want to share such close contact with. This is a dilemma because you don't want to seem rude. So you have two choices, you can avoid the hug entirely by positioning yourself far away from the person and get away with just a wave goodbye or you can go in for the side hug, which is also awkward.

Has anyone else ever gone through this mental game? Sometimes I just feel hugs are not a necessary interaction. To me, hugs are a sign of affection for people you know well and have a relationship with. I don't know, I just don't enjoy pressing my body up against someone I don't know very well, especially a man that I don't know very well. I feel it's almost an intrustion on my personal space. I'm trying to think back and I'm pretty sure I've never been tramatized by a hug. I know that since I posted this people are going to come up and give me hugs but I just have to know if there is anyone else who would call themselves a "selective hugger". It's not like I have nightmares about people hugging me, I'd just prefer not to sometimes. Good thing Angelina Jolie shares my feelings. Anybody else...anybody?

Our Journey to Health

2011-07-16T04:35:00.000-07:00

Let me start out by saying I am by no means an expert on nutrition or health in general. I am however, a wife and mom trying to do the best I can to provide my family with nourishing foods that will help their bodies grow, function at their best and set them up for a healthy life. Over the past four years, I have learned a lot and changed many of our eating habits. When Jackson and I first got married, I knew very little about nutrition and all manner of frozen food graced our house. Frozen "Digiorno" pizzas, pillsbury cinnamon rolls, fast food, etc. We ate whatever we thought tasted good. Wow have things changed.

I thought I would come up with a few things that we have changed that might be helpful if you are contemplating a "healthier" lifestyle with food but don't know where to start. So many blogs I read are great but the writers are talking about sprouting their grains and making their own yogurt and that can be a little overwhelming if you are just starting out.

Here are some changes we have made over the years:

1. Buy and eat whole foods. This means food that is not processed in any way. Fruits, vegetables, grains, meats, etc. One practical way to do this is shop around the edge of your store in the refridgerated section. This is where most of the produce, dairy and meat is. Now, this does not mean that I NEVER buy anything processed. But I do try to focus on whole foods. For us, this means I've changed the way I cook. I cook much simpler meals that require fewer ingredients than I used to because of our budget and now I'm now prioritizing quality over quantity. Now we might have a small portion of organic chicken, sauteed green beans and sweet potatoes. Cheap, delicious and easy. Everyone's happy.

2. Don't skimp on meat. Meat quality is very important. Just watch the documentary Food, Inc. to see what I'm talking about. Meat is one area I don't compromise on. Trader Joe's offers organic, grass-fed beef and organic chicken and this is what I buy. Now, because of our budget, we don't eat meat every night. I usually buy us 1 pound of ground beef and 1 pound of chicken and that's it for the week. There are lots of tasty meals you can make without meat!

3. Buy organic when it counts. For me, this means I buy organic dairy whenever possible, organic meat, sometimes organic eggs and usually always the "dirty dozen" produce list from the EWG. It really doesn't matter all that much if your bread or crackers are organic. It may make a marginal difference, but for someone on a budget you have to buy what is going to have the biggest impact on your health and that's the things I listed.

4. Just say NO to High Fructose Corn Syrup and Trans Fats. These things have no place in our diets. HFCS is NOT metabolized the same as cane sugar and it is not good for us. HFCS is in almost everything, seriously it's really startling. A few months I ago I went through everything in my pantry and fridge and threw out everything with HFCS with the exception of two things, our Heinz ketchup and Hungry Jack Syrup. I know, the hungry jack is garbage...but maple syrup is SO expensive and Jackson doesn't like it. Ugh, what's a girl to do? I will be buying non-HFCS ketchup when our bottle runs out. Also, trans fats are horrible. Do a pantry/fridge search and throw out anything with trans fats. You should NOT be ingesting these.

5. Consider switching to full-fat dairy and use butter. The average American Diet is low in Vitamin D. Vitamin D is naturally found in only a few foods, milk being one of them. Vitamin D is also a fat soluble vitamin meaning it must have fat to properly assimilate and be used by your body. With the crusade for "fat-free" diets, most Americans drink skim milk. The problem is, the fat in milk is necessary for us to absorb the vitamin D. Also, there is research indicating that saturated fats are actually good for us and our body needs them. Read this for more info on healthy milk choices and some disturbing info about organic, ultra-high pasturized milk.

6. Take a cod liver oil supplement. Cod liver oil has so many great things in it. It contains DHA and EPA, Vitamin A, and Vitamin D. All of which are lacking in most American diets and very important for healthy brains, hearts, bones and immune systems. It's seriously jam packed with goodness. For more info on cod live oil go here. I bought Carlson's lemon flavored and it's not bad at all, I can't even taste a fishyness to it.

7. No sugary drinks. Parks doesn't drink juice daily anymore. Juice is a special treat when we are out somewhere. I don't even buy it anymore. Sugar is an enemy of our health and the less you consume it the better. I have found that not having sugary drinks is a major way to consume less sugar. This includes gatorade, vitamin water, etc. We drink only water and milk at home and somtimes Jackson buys his 2-liters haha.

And there you have it, the past four years combined into 7 points. I will also note, it is important to be balanced with all of this. Yes, I want to do the best I can to provide my family with whole foods that will nourish them. However, I never, ever want to be so consumed with health that I forget that God is in control of everything or that I can't enjoy life. For example, we still go to Five Guys and eat burgers. I still have diet coke sometimes. I still go to Chick-fil-a. And if Parks is at someone else's house, I'll never say "Oh, he can't eat that because it has HFCS!". No, not at all. I figure I do my best when we are at home, and the rest I don't worry about.

a turn for the worse

2011-07-11T16:52:00.001-07:00

**Warning, this another post about #2, read at your own risk**

This is an update from my earlier post "Chamber Pot Days". We have moved on from the Chamber Pot. Normally this would be a joyous occasion where the child realizes he no longer needs the small potty chair and can use the "big potty" just like mommy and daddy, (yay!). We enjoyed this bliss for about 2 days. And then, things took a turn for the worse.

Parks has struggled with "holding it in" with #2's for over a year. I won't go into detail but I think you know what I mean. We have to be very vigilant about making him go or things get ugly and really painful for him. Think hysterical crying and suppositories. Yeah, it's not fun. So when you combine that with potty training things can get tricky.

A couple weeks ago, Parks had another bout of "witholding" and I was getting desperate. He refused to go on the potty and continued to hold it in. Finally in a moment of pure desperation I said, "Parks, would you like to try to go in the grass?"(Parks, like all little boys, loves to pee in the grass in our backyard so I thought maybe he would go #2 there as well). Big mistake! Oh, he went in the grass alright and since then he ONLY will go in the grass. Yes that's right, our child is potty trained like a DOG, an ANIMAL! I let him "out" in our backyard to poop. It's beyond ridiculous. He tells me to "leave" and "go inside" so he can have privacy of course. So there I am, watching him poop from a window inside and then I have to go outside quickly before he touches it and properly dispose of the waste or otherwise our yard would be a minefield.

I feel so bad for our neighbors. Our yard is only partially fenced with a privacy fence so there's no telling what indecency some of our neighbors have seen!

So here we are again, another unforgettable moment of motherhood. All I can say is I hope this is a phase.

2 months old!

2011-07-11T10:59:00.001-07:00

"who does she look like?"

2011-07-05T17:27:00.000-07:00

It's the question every parent gets asked when they have a baby. Sometimes its blatantly obvious but oftentimes the baby is a unique mix of the parents.

We used to say Parks looked like me as a baby but really analyzing the pictures now, I don't think he does at all and the older he gets the more he looks like Jackson to me. Parks really doesn't look like me at all.

Now I think Reese favors me, but is not identical. Here are some pictures of Jackson and I as babies:

Jackson

Parks

Reese

As you can see, I had hair as a baby but nothing like what Reese has!! What do you think? I think both our kids are a blend of each of us with Parks favoring Jackson and Reese favoring me.

An Answered Prayer

2011-06-29T11:06:00.000-07:00

When we found out I was pregnant with Reese, Jackson and I prayed throughout the pregnancy that she would be a laid back baby. Half joking, half serious we would say "Lord, please give us a chill baby." God answered our prayer! Parks is great fun, but I would not use the words laid back or chill to describe him and I am so, so thankful to have a child who is a bit less...maintenance, shall we say? Because I use this blog to document our family life, I'm going to brag on Reese this time.

My Darling Reese,

You are an absolute delight. You have completely captured my heart and I love you more than I could even describe. Your daddy is smitten with you and adores you. Parks thinks you are pretty awesome and likes saying "Hi sweet girl" to you when we get you out of your crib in the morning. All three of us are in love with you.

You are such a little beauty. Your long, dark hair gets everyone's attention and it's the first thing they comment on when they see you. Your sweet chubby cheeks and pink lips are perfection. You have an adorable little button nose and big eyes. People say you look like Parks, but Daddy and I think you look different.

Your personality is divine. You are happy and content and you enjoy observing life around you. You are sweet to cuddle with and you love smiling at mommy, especially after you eat! You are an outstanding sleeper, you slept 7-8 hours in a row at 1 month and now you sleep 10 hours continuously at 7 weeks. Amazing! You are just a dream come true and only fuss when you are tired and you rarely really "cry".

You are a gift from God and we cherish you. I'm so thankful God chose me to be your mommy. We are blessed to call you ours. I can't wait to watch you grow. I love you my little laid back baby!

Love, Mommy

Chamber Pot Days

2011-06-14T11:11:00.000-07:00

I've spent the past 2 weeks emptying a chamber pot. Literally. Parks is potty training and my days are spent doling out gummi bears and chocolate chips for a job well done and then of course, dealing with the remains. 7, 8, 9 times a day I pick up the pot, dump and clean. G-l-a-m-o-r-o-u-s, right???

In between nursing sessions and the potty training I feel like a servant cow who empties chamber pots for a living. This is my reality. I could get all "I know I will look back on these days and realize how important my job is and blah blah blah" in this post but I won't. I'm just going to discuss reality. And the reality is, I deal with poop, pee and spit up soured milk on the regular.

My sister who I adore and who doesn't have kids, (yet!) came over to my house the other day looking amazing. She is gorgeous and she was all dressed nicely for work in a fabulous dress with her hair done and there I was, the chamber pot maid. Hair dishelved in a messy bun, spit-up stained cotton tank top, khaki shorts and no make-up and I felt disgusting. I felt like Lynette on Desperate Housewives when her husband's co-worker comes over. Don't get me wrong, I'm not jealous of my sister at all, I love her dearly, I just had a moment where I felt sorry for myself. Jackson came home and I just cried about how disgusting I felt and how unimportant my day feels. And then after I got my feelings out, miraculously I felt better. I think that sometimes it's ok and in fact, helpful, to have those moments. I read lots of blogs that applaud motherhood and esteem it for the awesome role that we have as mothers, shaping and training little souls with eternal consequences. That is all true but sometimes it needs to be ok to just have a moment. To have a good cry over the reality that you deal with poop, pee and look disgusting despite your best efforts to look cute and to not have someone give you a lecture about how wonderful motherhood is.

Of course, I believe motherhood is wonderful and great but I truly think there are some things I will not miss and that just aren't fun about the job. The chamber pot days being one of them. So, if you find yourself discouraged in your role as mommy, it's ok to let yourself have a moment. You don't have to act like Suzy Sunshine all the time. Cry, whine and then move on. Each day is a new day with new mercy and a fresh start.

P.S. Potty training is going great this time around and Parks is completely trained at home and we are working on public places and outings. I'd say he's 90% there! Hooray!

Memorial Day Weekend

2011-06-01T17:19:00.000-07:00

We spent the weekend at the Lake and had a blast! I have about 30 seconds to wrap this post up because I hear Reese crying so suffice it to say, we had a great trip and I'll let the pictures do most of the talking!

My father-in-law "Mr. Deke" as I like to call him, did a wonderful Sunday service where he dedicated the children and his three grandchildren to the Lord. It was so special!

Feeding the carp with Parks. I must say, they are the nastiest fish I've ever seen but Parks adores feeding them.

Weeeee!

This picture cracks me up. He was probably just about to say "That's so funny".

4 wheelers with daddy = the best!

Precious cousins! Harrison & Reese are 3 weeks apart!

All 3 Andrews grandbabies

Uncle of the Year Award goes to .... Uncle Britty!

The Mayos with their darling new addition!

The first of many, many photoshoots of these two.

Aunt JiJi with Reese!

Fishing

Brother & Sister with their niece and nephew

Uncle Britt can soothe crying babies and assemble toddler toys, I told you he was Uncle of the Year!

Baby Harrison!

Parks

Meeting my very first nephew for the first time!

The bros, minus 2.

Encouragement for Mothers

2011-05-18T08:43:00.000-07:00

If you are a mother and in need of some encouragement (and let's be honest, who doesn't need some encouragement) please read this post. This is a guest post on one of my favorite blogs, Passionate Homemaking. This is one of the best articles I've read in a while and it's such godly, wise advice. I'm entering a new season with Parks of some challenging times and this is just what I needed to hear. God is so good to encourage us when we need it.

1 week old

2011-05-15T07:58:00.000-07:00

Baby sister is 1 week old and we are falling more in love with her each day. It's truly amazing how different you are as a parent the second time around. Jackson and I both can really "enjoy" her more because we are so much more relaxed. I don't tense up everytime she starts to fuss or freak out when she cries. I know what to do this time and I know what she needs, plus I'm not making things harder on myself by making habits I'll just have to break later (more on that later). Like the Babywise mantra says, "begin as you mean to go". It's such a relief.

Jackson's parents have graciously taken Parks to their home for a few days giving us some time to rest and enjoy Reese. We seriously feel like we are on vacation, which is not how I would have described the newborn days with Parks at all.

Reese is already on a pretty good schedule. She eats every 3 hours and has been sleeping a 4.5-5 hour stretch at night directly followed by a 3 hour stretch after a feeding. I told Jackson, "I can exist like this for a long time". It's really not bad at all. And the best part is, I lay her down in her crib to sleep at night AND for daytime naps. GLORY!!! And it gets better, she's not even asleep when I lay her down, she's tired, but awake and then learns to go to sleep on her own! I wish I had done this with Parks from the start but everything is so different with your second child. It took me a while to let him cry it out.

I know I've said it before but I have to give it props again, Babywise works for us in a major way. It faciliates early nighttime sleep and good naps for baby. A rested baby = a happy baby = a rested, happy mommy! Everyone has to do what is right for their baby but since it works so well for us, I like to throw it out there in case it's helpful for anyone else.

Here are a few pics of the princess! We think she has my face shape, possibly Jackson's lips and we're not sure about the eyes. She definitely looks similar to Parks, but not exactly alike. They have totally different face shapes and different eyes and noses I think.

Right after her first bath!

Can you believe I can put a bow in her hair?!! It's so fun!

She's a happy girl!

She makes the funniest faces too!

sleeping beauty

2011-05-12T05:23:00.000-07:00

She is the sweetest! And big brother Parks adores her, thankfully! All of his "adjustment issues" have been directed towards us :)

She's here!

2011-05-10T14:17:00.000-07:00

So most of you know that our precious baby girl, Reese, was born Friday, May 6th at 4:58 am. She is amazing and we love her so much! I have so much to say about her, I'm not sure where to start. I guess I'll start by telling her birth story.

On Friday I started feeling some strong contractions in the afternoon but they were very irregular. My antenna went up because as a 2nd time mom, I know the difference between braxton hicks and real, labor contractions and these were the real deal. Jackson got home from work a little early and we decided to go out to dinner because I didn't feel like cooking. We went to Firehouse and I had a contraction on the way there, 2 in the restaurant and one as we were leaving. I started to wonder if this was it, but was kind of in denial. Then we stopped by our friends house for a quick visit and the contractions continued about 7 minutes apart. I had plans to go get frozen yogurt with my friend Alisa and I debated whether or not I should go and I decided it would be a good distraction. I knew Alisa, who is also 9 months pregnant with her third baby, would be a great and understanding companion. So the contractions continue on the way to Yotinis and I had one on the way there that scared me to death. We waited until the contraction was over, ran inside and got our fro-yo as quickly as possible and I made it to the car before I had another one. We got home and they were still continuing about 7 minutes apart but they were getting stronger and stronger. Around 8 pm and three hours of regular, strong contractions Jackson and I decide I'm probably actually in labor and we should start making some arrangements.

We call my sister and let her know we will need her to come watch Parks and then call my mom who had to drive down from D.C. Jackson and I start getting things ready to go to the hospital and around 10:00 pm we decide it's time to call my midwife. My sister arrives and we head off to the hospital and arrive around 10:45 pm.

This labor felt very different than my labor with Parks. My contractions this time were very, very strong from much earlier on. Even though they weren't super close together, they were intense and the pain was what I remembered from my transition contractions with Parks. I had a few contractions at my house before we left that really scared me because of how strong they were, I thought I might be getting close to transition. Also, I was having terrible back labor which I didn't have at all with Parks. The pain was seriously much worse. Having labored to 10 cm and pushed for an hour and half with no epidural before, I knew the pain/work/feelings that were ahead of me and at around 10:00 pm after some of these really painful contractions I told Jackson, "I don't want to do this tonight. I want an epidural." Poor Jackson was so surprised because I had been preparing myself and him for another natural birth attempt. I was sure I could do it "this time". Well, after chasing around a toddler all day 9 months pregnant and your labor picking up at 10:00 pm at night with horrible back labor (thanks to a posterior baby) I quickly re-evaluated my priorities. After remembering how exhausted and drugged I was with Parks, I knew I wanted to be as rested and refreshed as I could be when I met Reese. So, I quickly made up my mind that I wanted that epidural ASAP. Of course Jackson completely supported me in this decision which meant a lot.

It was a great choice for me. But I still had to labor 2 more hours in the hospital before they were ready to give me the epidural. Those were the hardest 2 hours ever. I was at 7 cm when I received the epidural and it could not have come soon enough. Those contractions were so intense and the worst part was I couldn't get in good positions to manage them because I had to have the fetal monitor on and my IV in. It was the worst but Jackson got me through it.

Then, the epidural kicked in. Ahhhh, the sweetest relief I have ever known. I was seriously sooo happy. It was around 1:00 am and I got to blissfully doze on and off for the next four hours. I was at 10 cm within 2 hours but my midwife wanted to let my contractions push Reese down as far as possible on their own before I started to push so we rested for about 4 hours total before it was time to push. That's one of the great things about an epidural, she was so far down that pushing didn't take long.

She was born at 4:58 am, "sunny side up" meaning posterior hence the back labor. She weighed 8 pounds even (bigger than Parks, we were all shocked!) and measured 21 inches long. Healthy and crying, she stayed with me skin to skin for at least an hour before she was taken from me at all, not even for weighing or measuring. It was awesome. We got off to a great start nursing and she has been a great baby so far. We are so in love and it's amazing how different everything feels with a little girl.

This was a great birth experience and I'm so thankful to the Lord for our little girl and an amazing husband who got me through it again.

Easter at the Farm

2011-04-25T12:28:00.000-07:00

After church this year we headed to my parents' farm on the Eastern Shore to spend some quality time together. It was a blast! Parks LOVES the great outdoors, just like his daddy! Sorry, no photos of the 38 week preggo in jorts & tennis shoes, I didn't want to lose any of my readers :) Click on any picture to see it bigger.

This face melts my heart!

He adores his Aunt Tina!

Love those two boys!

Mom & Jud

A real tractor, this was possibly the biggest hit of the whole day!

Precious!

I can't help but sing to myself "She thinks my tractor's sexy" when I see these

Catching fish and touching them with Mr. White!

All tuckered out!

my baby's all grown up....

2011-04-21T12:12:00.000-07:00

and getting ready to welcome another baby! I must say I've been pleasantly surprised with how well Parks has handled the "new baby" stuff so far. It's clear he comprehends quite a bit about what is happening. Believe me, I'm expecting some "adjustment" issues to come up with the new big brother but I have to say, he has a very good attitude about Reese right now. He is very sweet when he talks about her and seems very excited about her stuff and having the baby things in the house. I've been asking for tips and advice from people and I've gotten some good ideas for making the transition as smooth as it can be. Here are a couple of neat ideas we've heard that we will be doing:

1. Letting Parks bring Reese a present. Parks has these blue bunnies that he loves and he and I went to a kids boutique and bought Reese a matching pink bunny for him to give her at the hospital. He is very excited about it and talks about bringing it to her. A very cute idea.

2. Having a present "from Reese" at the hospital for Parks when he comes. We bought a cool monster truck for Parks to open at the hospital from his baby sister when he comes. Hopefully it will bring a positive association with the new baby.

3. Having Jackson hold Reese when he comes to see us so he can hop up on the bed with me and I'm free to hold him.

4. I'm thinking of making a "nursing box"to get out whenever I have to nurse the baby that has new/special toys, books and maybe a snack that he only gets when its time to nurse, thus making it something he looks forward to as well.

5. Trying to let Parks "help" out with Reese whenever possible or whenever he wants to, applauding his role as big brother.

6. Keeping his routine as consistent as possible, including all the little rituals we do as a family.

7. Plenty of snuggle time with Mommy! I think this might be the most important thing to ward off jealousy of the new baby.

Practicing putting his animals to sleep. He's very sweet and gentle and we say "Shhhh, night night"

Parks was wondering why we ever put this up :)

2.5 weeks to go!! Yay!!!

a glimpse at my DVR

2011-04-14T11:39:00.000-07:00

I was going through my DVR last night when I realized I am officially a freak. Being married helps you realize some of your "quirks" or things that aren't necessarily "normal" that you do. I realize that I like really strange TV as opposed to Jackson who loves popular comedy tv series. The Office? Boring. Modern Family? It's ok. But who wants to watch that when you can watch one of these delights! What are my current favorite shows, you ask? Read on!

1. Sister Wives

I just can't look away. I watch with my mouth hanging open half the time because I just do not get their lifestyle, but I can't look away. I'm totally sucked in. I just don't get how one man can equally love four women, or at least "enjoy loving" them? I feel like he's got to have favorites, at least for certain things. Do you get what I'm saying? I just don't get it, but I find it fascinating to watch. Weird, huh?

2. Hoarders: Buried Alive

The name of this show was enough to have me hooked. Buried Alive?!! Whaaaat?! Again, I just can't look away. Once you've seen one episode of Hoarders, you've pretty much seen them all. But for some reason, I'm usually fascinated by every new case.

3. Extreme Couponing

This show is my newest gem. It debuted a couple weeks ago and it has been sheer entertainment since it aired. The people on the show are out of control with their couponing ways. It's hysterical and just plain crazy. Since I have dabbled a tiny bit in couponing I find it both intriguing and insane the level they take it to.

So what does this say about me? I guess I like to watch TV about strange and unusual things! If you are also a fan of these shows, out yourself now!

true life

2011-04-12T12:13:00.000-07:00

This is me. I'm wearing maternity jorts right now. They are hilarious, but it's 80 degrees what am I supposed to do?! With less than 4 weeks to go I am not investing in any chic shorts so Liz Lange it is. That is all.

And then I almost cried in Trader Joes

2011-04-11T12:48:00.000-07:00

Buckle up because this is one ridiculous story about a pregnant woman in Trader Joes. So Parks and I were doing our normal monday morning grocery shopping at TJs this morning. We had gotten all of our groceries but we had yet to fufill one of our most important missions while there: finding "Shelby" the turtle. I was informed by a friend that TJ's hides a stuffed turtle in a different place around the store every day and if children find her they get a prize. This has turned into a huge deal in our house and Parks absolutely LOVES looking for Shelby and getting his lollipop as a prize. I like it because he doesn't mind going to the grocery store and it's a fun little thing for us to look for while we shop. It's a win-win.

Well, today "Shelby" was unusually difficult to find. Usually I spot her pretty quickly but I was looking with an eagle eye and could not find her. It got to the point where I was circling the store after I had gotten all my groceries soley looking for Shelby. If you have a two year old you know that they don't forget a lollipop prize easily so Parks kept asking "Find Shelby?!" "Lollipop?!"

I started to get annoyed because Shelby was so hard to find and I finally went up to a young guy in the produce section and asked if he knew where Shelby was. He said he wasn't sure but then went to go look for her. I kind of followed him around and then I saw the staffer with the hawaiian lei on. I proceed to ask him if Shelby was out today. He smirked and said "she is very elusive today" and walked away. I was thinking, "Seriously? Here I am 8 months pregnant with a two year old and that's all you're going to say to me? This is a game for children for goodness sakes, not private investigators!!"

I was very annoyed at this point because I had asked twice and not gotten any help in finding this stupid turtle. I approached the customer service desk where you go to collect your prize after finding Shelby and I said, "Hi, I have been around the store 5 times looking for Shelby and I have a two year old who's highlight of the day is finding Shelby and getting a lollipop. Can I please have a general hint as to where she might be?" The man told me "By the spaghetti sauce." Hmpfff, ok. So I went back to that aisle and I still have trouble finding her when FINALLY I see her head stuffed way in the back of the stand. I mean, it is was ridiculous how hard she was to see.

I march back to the customer service desk and I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes. This is where it gets totally out of control. This incident had me on the verge of tears!! Why in the world would any normal person be driven to tears over this? I knew I was completely out of my mind but I had no way to dismiss my frustration! It was truly comical. We finally arrived at the customer service desk and the man proceeds to give Parks a lollipop and we thank him and walk away. I was probably visibily upset. I got in the car and called my mom and proceeded to start sobbing telling her about the horrible injustice of what happened to me at Trader Joe's and how no one helped me. I'm laughing as I write this it's just so ridiculous. I'm embarrassed to go back next week!

I am totally pulling the pregnant card on this one and blaming it on the hormones. Jackson can attest I am actually very even-keeled during pregnancy and do not suffer from mood swings or irrational emotions but this one was just too classic and ridiculous not to share. Has anyone else had a truly outrageous story that can only be attributed to pregnancy hormones? Tell me I'm not the only one!!

neat kids resources

2011-04-10T18:19:00.000-07:00

I have discovered a couple wonderful resources to use with Parks that I wanted to share with the blogosphere.

The Village Church in Dallas, TX provides awesome resources for their children's ministry and makes them available for anyone to download on their website. This site contains great information about ways to make spiritual connections with your child and make talking about God part of your everyday life. The part I like best is that they do age specific "Developmental Guides". It's a great thing to print out and stick on your fridge.
http://northway.thevillagechurch.net/preschool/resources

I found this awesome blog called "I Can Teach My Child" that is all about teaching your pre-school age children at home. It's not really home-schooling it just provides a ton of great information and activities for you to do with your child and skills you can be working on. It's also broken down by age so you can search for activities to do with your child at whatever age they currently are. It is written by a Christian mom of two who has her Masters in Early Childhood Education. If you ever get bored and need some ideas for activities to do with your kids, you will not be disappointed!
http://www.icanteachmychild.com/

That's it, enjoy!

Live & Learn: Doing things differently with baby #2

2011-04-07T09:13:00.000-07:00

The saying is you live and you learn, that's very true. I've learned a few things since I had Parks and I'm definitely planning on doing a few things differently with Reese. The more I learn about pregnancy and childbirth and simply the way God designed our bodies the more in awe I am of his perfect creation and the more determined I am not to interfere with it! Some of the current "practices" regarding childbirth and early infant medical care are unsettling when you learn a little more about them. I have had my fair share of moments when I've wanted to give an earful to the AAP and the medical community in general (at least those who encourage and uphold these practices). The more I educate myself, the more I have lost confidence in medical "professionals". Here are a few things that I will be doing differently this time.

1. The routine application of antibiotics (silver nitrate or erythromycin) on newborns eye shortly after birth. I didn't know any better with Parks because they told me it was to protect the baby from "bacteria" in the birth canal. Ok, sure I thought. They didn't tell me it was ONLY to protect the baby against gonorrhea or chlamydia. Well, unless you are in some sort of a precarious situation most women are certain of their status as far as this is concerned. Not to mention, they routinely test for this in the beginning of your pregancy! If you do not have any STDS, there is NO reason your baby should receive these irritating drops and have his vision and connection with you blurred. What really bothers me about this whole thing is that the doctors are not up front with you about what is happening and why. You have to educate yourself and be prepared to advocate for your baby, sometimes very strongly with aggressive doctors and nurses.

2. The routine administering of a Vitamin K shot immediately after birth. This isssue is a bit more complicated than the eye ointment. It requires some in-depth research that I'm not going to go into here. But essentially, newborns are given a routine shot of vitamin K after birth to prevent a blood clotting disorder that affects 1 in 10,000 babies which can result in death or brain damage. There are certain risk factors that increase the baby's chances of having this disorder including drugs taken by the mother during pregnancy. The dosage of Vitamin K given at birth is 20,000 times the baby's natural level. According to an article from the Canadian Pediatric Society, "Although no significant complications after 420,000 intramuscular injections of vitamin K to newborns were reported (8), the psychological effects of intramuscular injections on newborn infants and their parents are unknown. It has been reported that pain experienced during the neonatal period may have long term effects (9,10)." Oral doses of Vitamin K for the baby are available if you want to skip the vitamin K shot, but of course no one tells you this. Again, what troubles me here is the blanket policy of vitamin K injections for everyone and how nothing seems adequately tested and no one tells you your options. There are preservatives that could be toxic in the injection and as a mother my common sense says, "leave the baby alone!" If supplementation through oral doses (which are much lower and natural than a shot that raises them by 20,000x) are available, my decision is no for this shot.

3. The routine administering of the Hepatitis B vaccine after birth. This one is truly outrageous to me. I'm honestly so mad at myself for not having done more research prior to Parks' birth on this one, I starting researching vaccines right before his 1 month appointment when I knew I would be faced with some decisions. I had no idea that they would start the standard AAP vaccinations the DAY HE WAS BORN. But oh yes, they do (read my thoughts on the AAP vaccination schedule here). Unless you speak up, your baby will receive the first round of the Hep B vaccine within a day or two of his birth. Hepatitis B is transmitted like an STD or through a blood transfusion. Obviously, there are some medical instances that could put a baby or child in the situation of needing a blood transfusion and I would certainly see the need for vaccinating at that point. But, to routinely start a vaccine that can only be transmitted sexually or via blood transfusion on the day of birth is totally out of control! A newborns' system and body is so delicate that to bombard it with a foreign substance and potentially toxic chemicals like aluminum and formaldehyde (both are in the Hep B vaccine) seems assanine to anyone with an ounce of common sense! Why is this common practice?!

Combine these three practices together and that's a lot of potentially unneccesary medical intervention in a baby's first 24 hours of life! Plus, the exposure to some questionable or downright dangerous substances. I have to wonder if Parks' "newborn rash" might have been due to the vitamin K or the Hepatitis B vaccine he received at birth.

I get a little worked up about this stuff because it just shows that you can't be as trusting as you thought (or hoped) with your medical decisions. I know some wonderful doctors and nurses and I am not trying to disrespect them, but I think it's clear that certain "common practices" are in need of re-evaluation. At the very least, health care providers should provide you with more information regarding your choices on these matters instead of bombarding you with a one-size-fits-all approach. The point is, you have to educate yourself. Responsible parenting starts when you are pregnant. When I say that, I don't mean that if you don't come to the same conclusions I have then you are irresponsible. I do, however, think it is our job to be informed about what is happening to our children and to decide for yourself what you think is best and know why. Some of the best ways I've gotten information is to simply ask other mothers for tips and info and I read some great blogs that align with my general childrearing philosophy. Honestly, I have gotten exposed to a lot of great information regarding childbirth and infant care through the blogs I read, most of which are listed on the right hand side of my blog. Only you can advocate for your baby. If you're like me, your instinct tells you that God knew best when he designed babies and the way they work and unless there is a clear, pressing need the best thing is to not interfere with his design. I hope this information is helpful if you're expecting or considering having a baby in the future!

Going Paper Towel-less

2011-04-06T11:27:00.000-07:00

I have not used paper towels in over a week. I'm still a newbie, but I think I'm in it for the long haul. I have become so tired of spending so much of our grocery budget on non-food items that are so stinking expensive. Paper towels are on that list, along with laundry detergent, DIAPERS!!, ziplocs, cascade, swiffer refills etc, etc. I've tried using Target's brand but I find the generic ones to really not work as well so I was buying Bounty with a coupon, which doesn't really help that much. One of the bloggers whose blog I enjoy was describing how she lives sans paper towels. I was really intrigued. I probably used an average of 10 paper towels a day when I think about it, maybe more! Between wiping the countertops, my glass kitchen table, and Parks face and drying my hands, we had a LOT of paper towel trash in our trash can every day. Once I read her post, I thought I would give it a try. It's definitely a frugally green concept. Less waste and less money!

The reality of living without paper towels means that you use several different cloths/rags every day for different purposes. I'll go through what I have substituted for paper towels. Every day, I get out 5 new clean cloths of different types. It's important not to resuse them because they will start to stink. It's happened to me before!

So this is the line-up!

1. Every day I take out a cloth napkin to use for myself when I eat. Jackson somehow never seems to need napkins so I don't take one out for him.
2. The second is a white washcloth from Target (I got 2 packages on clearance from Target a while ago) that I use to wipe Parks face and hands after meals. I can usually keep one for the whole day but if it gets too messy I'll get another one out.
3. The third is a "viscose" fabric rag from Trader Joe's that is a really absorbent kitchen cloth. I use this for random, non messy wipe-ups like spilled water or maybe a small counter spill but not for heaving cleaning or counter scrubbing.
4. The fourth is a white barmop rag for wiping down the counters and any "dirty" kitchen jobs. I like that they are white and I can bleach them if necessary.
5. And fifth, a normal dish cloth for drying dishes and drying my hands after washing.

You could probably do without the viscose rag and just use the barmop rag for all wipe-ups and cleaning. There are days when I don't really use the viscose rag very much.

For cleaning windows and mirrors I purchased microfiber cloths from the Target automotive section. Apparently these are cheaper than the ones in the cleaning section. I got a four pack for $5. They also work great for regular dry dusting. I've been pleased so far.

The only thing I have not found an alternate solution for is when I microwave bacon. I suppose if this is truly the only thing I use paper towels for it's not so bad but I really want to find a way to not use them at all. I don't really microwave bacon all that often but it's usually the way I cook bacon whenever I need it. Any ideas on that please share them!

For any of you wondering, yes, using these rags does somewhat increase your laundry load, but not by a whole lot. It's maybe one small extra load per week. It's still definitely a savings compared to shelling out $10 for paper towels every month.

So there you have it, another frugally green idea like the home-made cleaners (which are still working great by the way)!

35 weeks!

2011-04-03T17:47:00.000-07:00

Only 5 weeks to go! I'm soo excited to meet little Reese! In some ways I cannot believe I'm going to have a daughter. I'm so used to my little man I have a hard time imagining what having a girl will be like. All I know is I can't wait to meet my little princess. So here I am at 35 weeks. I'm carrying her similar to Parks, like a basketball, but way lower which makes me look a little "thicker" if you will. My midwife said this is because she is my second baby and there's more "room" down there (yuck). I used to feel Parks kick up in my ribcage and he gave me more heartburn but Reese is so low she hasn't even come close to kicking my ribs. It's actually really nice and much more comfortable. I can still lay on my back and not feel like I'm about to die. I've gained almost the exact same amount of weight I did with Parks at this point too.

I'm starting my "5-w" herbal supplements this week too! 5-w is a natural herbal supplement that my midwives recommend for preparing your body for labor. I didn't even know it existed with Parks and I'm really hoping it helps cut this labor time down from the whopping 26 hour labor I endured with Parks. I'd seriously be thrilled if it was under 20 hours. Anything is better than 26 at this point.

So here we go, into the final 5 weeks. My to-do list is dwindling and we are looking forward to enjoying these last few weeks as a family of three with just Parks. Sometimes I get teary thinking about it being our "last weeks" with "just him". I think it's the pregnancy hormones. I know Reese will bring such joy and dare I say, completion to our family : ) Who knows? We'll just have to wait and see... :)

Nesting & Homemade Cleaners

2011-03-31T11:29:00.000-07:00

Earlier this year I wrote about 2 baby steps I was taking towards a healthier lifestyle. One was drinking 8-10 glasses of water a day and the other was giving my morning coffee a makeover. I'm happy to report that both are still going strong. International Delight has not graced my refrigerator in over 2 months! Woo hoo! Being 8 months pregnant, my nesting instinct feels like it's in overdrive. I have all the usual organizing urges but this pregnancy, I have an especially strong urge to further "green" our home. There is a definition of nesting on urban dictionary that says:

"Nesting is a ritual performed by pregnant women in ridding the house, the “nest”, from anything potentially harmful to the soon to be born child."

Interesting! I have been coming across more and more articles and stories about the toxins we are exposed to in our own homes from cleaning products. It's truly overwhelming and often I've felt paralyzed to change. I've gone through phases where I've purchased more expensive supposedly "natural" cleaning products and times when I buy whatever is on sale or what I have a coupon for. I'm ready to just settle it once and for all, especially before Reese is born. The problem is, how do you really, truly know what is safe when companies are not required to list all of the ingredients on their labels?! Furthermore, the stuff that is supposedly safe and "green" is significantly more expensive than the regular cleaners and not something we can afford on a regular basis and certainly not for all our home maintenance needs. What's a girl to do?

Make your own cleaners! Completely. From scratch. Bye, bye clorox! It can be done. I have chosen to give this route a shot for 2 reasons. One, I know, without a doubt what is in my cleaners. Everything I'm using is completely safe and non-toxic. Second, it's way more economical. A win-win!

Here's a picture of some products I chucked. Literally, I threw them away. They are toxic!

Here's what you need to make your own cleaners: Castile Soap, Baking Soda, Vinegar. That's it! It's really that simple.

So far I have cleaned the bathrooms using my "new" method and I've been pleased. I don't miss the "smell" of the cleaners as they really do smell chemically. Another big bonus is being able to clean with Parks right there not having to worry about him around the cleaners. Plus, the products are so simple, you don't need a million different bottles. These three ingredients can handle virtually all of your cleaning needs.

I have a few more green initiatives to share but I don't want to overload you so I'll do it one at a time. Stay tuned for more green & frugal posts!

Happy Birthday Papa & Uncle Britt!

2011-03-18T06:29:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to two awesome dudes! Parks loves you!

best friends

2011-03-17T11:08:00.000-07:00

Park's best friend is sweet little Lili. We absolutely love it when Lili and her little brother Truett come to play! As they were leaving yesterday Lili and Parks began their hugging/kissing goodbye and it just got so cute I had to grab my camera. Alisa (their mommy) and I are hoping they stay friends long enough for us to embarrass them with these pictures one day!

this little boy...

2011-03-03T10:54:00.000-08:00

loves his daddy!

and likes to "build" and "fix" things just like his daddy (and bob the builder)

parks at the park!

2011-02-28T11:33:00.000-08:00

Just having fun at the park with daddy!

10 more weeks, are you kidding me?

2011-02-27T17:40:00.000-08:00

My baby ticker is telling me I'm 30 weeks...whaaat?! My visits with my midwives are now three weeks apart instead of four and will soon go down to 2 and then every week and then she'll be here! Insanity. I have 10 more weeks with just me and my little buddy. Kind of bittersweet to think about it that way. Oh yes, by the way, we've officially picked a name. Her name will be Reese Scottlynn Andrews. Scottlynn is both of my parents' middle names combined (Scott and Lynn). I randomly thought of it in the shower one day. I really like picking a first name that Jackson and I both just love and then a middle name that is a family name. Parks' middle name is Jackson, which of course, is his daddy's name but it's also Jackson's grandmother's maiden name. I think Parks Jackson and Reese Scottlynn flow well together.

I would love any helpful tips anyone has on helping an older, but still very young, sibling adjust to a new baby. I've heard some neat ideas including reading books about a new baby, talking about the baby frequently, letting the sibling help in the nursery and bringing the sibling a gift "from" the new baby to open at the hospital. I'll be doing all those things. If you have any other great ideas that helped your family, I'm all ears. I'm fully expecting to feel completely overwhelmed for about the first six weeks of Reese's life and then I'm hoping we'll establish our "new normal" routine.

Here I am at 30 weeks with Baby Reese! 14 pound gained so far and right on track to gain the same amount as I did with Parks, approx. 23 pounds. Last thought, I am officially in the market for my first "tankini" ever. Reese will be born right at the beginning of swimsuit season and I don't plan on flaunting my poor stretched out belly for the world to see merely weeks post-partum. Any cute tankini sources?

I gave arts & crafts a chance

2011-02-25T10:58:00.000-08:00

I have just discovered the beauty of arts & crafts. Prior to this week, Parks only exposure to "crafts" has been crayons and paper and whatever he does when he is with his Mama Boo, who is VERY crafty! Up until this point I've been very skeptical that he would actually sit and do something for more than 3 minutes so I haven't purchased any art supplies. Not to mention, crafts were not my friend growing up. I've always been "challenged" in this arena and my childhood bff, Bryceleigh, can attest to this. And to be honest, paint sounded like a HUGE mess and effort for very little time spent doing it. Well, boy did he surprise me! I went to Michaels this week and purchased some basics: paint, finger paint, brushes, stamps, a smock, etc. I told him we were going to do a painting project when we got home and he was very excited about it. Lo and behold, he loved it! We did "arts and crafts" for 45 minutes. The "Hallelujah" chorus was playing in my head because I had found something for us to do at home that we both enjoyed. I don't mind being at home *if* we have things to do and aren't bored. Here are some videos of my budding Monet!

P.S. I have an amazing resource I found about things to do with your pre-schooler that I will post on later. Get excited!

why moms shouldn't compare: the story of sally & sarah

2011-02-16T12:14:00.000-08:00

As mothers, I feel like we are always tempted to compare ourselves, and our kids to others. We see an area of strength for one mom and we get down on ourselves that we aren't like that or our kids aren't like their kids. Well, I've finally realized why this is such a bad idea. It's not a fair comparison when you're not comparing the same things. Comparing apples to oranges is never fair. Let me illustrate my point by telling you an imaginary story of two moms: Sally and Sarah.

Both are loving, wonderful moms who stay home with their children, both age 2. It might be tempting to lump them into one category together since they seemingly have so much in common, but look at how different their realities might really be...

Sally's Day

5:45 am: Sammy wakes up ready to start his day. Sally has tried everything to get the child to wake-up later but to no avail. He wakes at this time every day.

7:00 am: Sally realizes that they are both dressed, have had breakfast and her kitchen is clean at 7:00 am and there's three more hours until her playdate. How wonderful!

8:30 am: Sally is trying to occupy Sammy at home until it's time to leave for her playdate. She does some laundry and tries to do other things but after about an hour or so Sammy starts whining and wanting her attention.

10:00 am: Finally the playdate crew arrives. Sammy is pleased with the company but quickly has difficulty seeing his friends play with some of his toys. Sammy's attitude and actions need attention and Sally has to remove him from the playdate to give him a spanking. Sammy returns and then repeats the offensive actions, Sally removes him again from the playdate to administer another spanking. Finally, Sammy decides to have a good time.

1:00 pm: Sammy naps, Sally is happy.

3:00 pm: Sammy is awake!

5:00 pm: Sally tries to start cooking dinner but Sammy is running around the house like a wild man and pulling up his chair to her counters trying to help her cook. Really, this is just a huge hazard and while cooking dinner she is having to make sure that Sammy isn't endangering his life by touching the hot oven or by getting into the knives. 2 more spankings are administered over the course of the next hour.

6:00 pm: Daddy is working late tonight so a tired Sally puts dinner on the table and watches while Sammy doesn't eat anything she has prepared.

7:30 pm: Bedtime for Sammy. Phew! Repeat in 10 hours.

Sarah's Day

7:45 am: Sarah's little darling, Lucy wakes up. Bright-eyed and bushy tailed saying things like "love you mommy".

9:00 am: Breakfast is done, Sarah and Lucy are dressed. Lucy plays happily by herself while Sarah does a couple things around the house.

10:00 am: Playdate! Sarah and Lucy go to the playdate and Lucy is a complete angel. She shares and isn't bothered when someone takes the toy she was playing with. She's totally laid back and sweet. She leaves the playdate and gives the host kisses and hugs. She's confused when her friend Sammy has to be taken away for discipline, her mommy's firm voice is all it takes for her to obey.

1:00 pm: Lucy naps, Sarah does whatever she wants.

3:00 pm: Lucy wakes up and they read together

5:00 pm: Lucy "cooks" in her pretend kitchen while Sarah makes dinner.

5:30 pm: Daddy's home!

6:00 pm: The family sits down to eat dinner together. Lucy eats all her chicken and even a few bites of veggies! Go Lucy!

7:30 pm: Bedtime for Lucy. Kisses!

Well, it's no wonder that Sally has a little harder time in this season of life than Sarah is it?! Her day is much more challenging than Sarah's day! This is why comparing is so dangerous because chances are, you're not comparing the same thing at all. Certainly stay at home moms of young children have many things in common, but the reality of their daily life can be quite different. This is just a friendly reminder to give yourself and others grace, because you never know what their day is really like.

**These fictional characters are not based on people I know, although I will say I loosely identify with Sally, surprise!**

2 years in...and some reflections

2011-02-13T17:44:00.000-08:00

A little over two years in to this thing called "parenting" and I feel like I've learned a few things. Overall, I've become much less judgmental and critical of others and myself. I was your typical type A parent who thought they knew exactly what kind of parent they were going to be and exactly what kind of kid they were going to have and exactly how they were going to be raised. Sure, some of those general ideas are still in tact but some of them aren't at all.

1. Things are not as black and white as I tend to think they are. Period. Life, and parenting especially, is just more gray and that's O.K.

2. Some kids are just plain hard to raise. This is not the fault of the parent, I repeat, this is not the fault of the parent or because the parent lacks good parenting skills. It's also not because the child is rotten. This has been a big eye opener for me. Some children are simply harder than others. If your child is generally easy and you have more good days than bad, thank the Lord. If your child is more strong-willed/high maintenance/needy or whatever you want to call it and you feel like most days are a struggle, pray for strength and get some supportive friends who acknowledge that your child is a tough one. I find that when other people acknowledge my reality, it makes me feel better. This is not to excuse bad behavior that should be corrected, it's just to say that some kids require A LOT more energy to parent well than others and that's O.K.

3. I'm more "career minded" than I thought. This has been very difficult for me to come to terms with. Here I was, a stay at home mom, doing what I had always dreamed of doing and yet I found myself frustrated, lonely and generally unhappy about the reality of a whole day with nothing to do but care for a 1 year old. It's hard for me to even write this because so much of my pride did not want to admit that I wasn't actually loving my staying at home reality. (Disclaimer: not to be confused with not loving and adoring my child, just not loving the stay at home lifestyle with a very young child). I put a lot of pressure on myself to love staying at home because I knew it was the "right thing to do". And by the way, I still believe that.

I still believe that parents need to raise their children and that a child's mother is irreplaceable in the early years of life. However, what this looks like practically speaking has changed for me. I personally am still committed to being home with my children when they are not in school. I'm happy with that decision and I feel it's right for our family. However, I'm pursuing some work from home ventures that are very fulfilling for me that require me to work outside the home a couple hours a week. At this point, I have a babysitter come about once a week for a couple hours so I can get some work errands done and then Jackson covers any other time I need. At this point in our life with pre-school aged children, a few hours a week outside the home is all we are comfortable with. However, when my children are in school, I'm certain that I will want to increase my work load. Before I had children I would have told you that I did not desire a career outside the home in any capacity. The bottom line here is I've learned to give myself grace and that there's freedom in how every family works this stuff out. What is right for us may not be right for you and that's O.K.

4. A full quiver for us might mean 2 kids. If my mother-in-law is reading this she is probably cringing or crying :) Of course, we will take it one kid at a time but we're thinking this baby might complete the Andrews family. It makes me laugh to think that before Parks I went around telling people I wanted four, or five (gasp!) children! Ha. Ha. Ha. The joke was on me. If I had four or five children I can honestly tell you I would be in an insane asylum. You truly have no idea what kind of parent you will be until you have a child. And, equally as important, you cannot predict what kind of child you will have. Parks is a wonderful child, I had just underestimated the amount of sheer effort and energy it would take to raise him and frankly, I'm not sure I'm up for more than 2. And guess what, I'm learning that's O.K.

The overarching theme here as you can see is "It's OK!". It's really ok. I feel like there should be a Bob Marley song on right now in the background. Two years of parenthood have mellowed me out, and I think it's a good thing.

Trader Joe's is my happy place

2011-02-06T18:44:00.000-08:00

If you have never been in a Trader Joe's, you won't understand this post. If you have, maybe Trader Joe's is your happy place too. I seriously love going in there. I've always enjoyed grocery shopping but stores like Trader Joe's just make it so delightful. Usually I go every Monday morning and then on Thursdays to get food for the weekend. There's just so much to love so I'll start in the beginning of the store.

When you walk in, you are greeted by fresh, cheerful flowers and a nice selection of pre-potted houseplants. These make great hostess gifts and I've bought two for myself. The containers are so stylish. Oh, and I forgot to mention the sanitation station for the shopping carts. Also, the carts are smaller than the average grocery cart. I like it because it feels more "market-y" than grocery store and they are easier to maneuver.

Some of my all-time favorite items are:

1. 99 cent GOOD pizza dough

2. Chicken/provolone/sundried tomato meatballs that takes my spaghetti from drab to fab on a regular basis

3. The bananas are 19 cents each...that's 5 bananas for under a dollar if you're counting. Parks frequently asks for a banana to eat while we shop.

4. The asadero marinated chicken. It's so delicious and I'll get it, lay it on my hot grill pan, slice up some onion and red pepper and we've got tasty fajitas in about 10 minutes. Delight.

5. The apple/carrot crushers. These are in the baking aisle and Parks loves them. They come in a cool pouch that you squeeze into your mouth.

6. The corn bread mix is great.

7. Hollandaise sauce. They sell this by the eggs and this pregnancy I've craved eggs benedict. I buy this sauce and enjoy eggs benny for weekday breakfasts in no time! It's great.

8. Cinnamon Rolls. Goodbye Pillsbury! You have forever been replaced in our home. These are the BEST cinnamon rolls out of a can you will ever eat. Jackson and I have eaten all manner of canned cinnamon rolls throughout our marriage (not a fact that I'm especially proud of) and these are by far the best. They have a great homemade taste to them. We now have them every Sunday morning as a little family tradition.

9. Honey-wheat pretzel sticks...tasty snack. Parks loves them.

10. Cheap, tasty wine! I haven't been enjoying this for the past 6 months but they have a great selection of very affordable and good tasting wine and beer. I look forward to enjoying a glass of wine in 3 months!

Those are my favorite products at Trader Joe's. I also love the sample station in the back. I usually always go see what the sample is and try it. They are usually great and twice I've actually purchased the products they were showcasing after trying them. The employees there are so friendly too, everyone smiles and asks if they can help you. It's like walking into an alternate universe. They also hand out stickers to all the kids and Parks loves getting his TJ stickers.

I will say if you are new to the TJ's, it may be slightly confusing or challenging at first. I felt like Whole Foods was like that at first too back when we lived in Charlottesville. You need to take your time and go when you aren't in a rush the first few times. If you would like a personal guide, I'm available.

What are your favorite grocery stores? Do you enjoy a trip to grocery store or loathe it?

celebrate the successes: keeping a home

2011-02-03T07:21:00.000-08:00

After 4 years of struggling with "keeping our house" I have finally made a breakthrough! I am not an expert in this area but I figured if I have found something that has really helped me, I may as well share it because it just might help someone else.

Until about...3 months ago, I never really had a routine for cleaning/caring for the house. I would do things as it became clear they needed to be done. This included dishes, cleaning the kitchen, laundry, etc. This meant that I would wait until the laundry was overflowing or Jackson said he had no clean shirts to wear to work. Some days Jackson would come home to clean house, other days he would come home to something that resembled a chaotic zoo. It was unpredictable and stressed us both out. Not exactly the best way to serve my family.

I was always frustrated at the way our house was and frustrated with myself that I wasn't doing a better job. After all, so many women keep their homes effortlessly spotless, right? Well, the answer to that is NO. Keeping a tidy, organized and efficient home is not effortless. Anyways, I really wanted to improve in this area for the sake of our whole family. I realized I was going to need a system or some kind of routine. I'll share with you the routine that I've developed over the past few months and share the results, they have been amazing and have really changed our home!

For starters, I asked Jackson the top three things that were important to him in terms of home maintenance. I'd encourage you to ask your husband if you haven't already. His answer was 1) clean laundry, 2) clean kitchen counters 3) clean bathroom counters. Ok, easy enough. As I planned my routine, I made sure his top three things were incorporated on a regular basis. Because I'm currently a stay at home mom, I decided to organize my cleaning routine around the existing rhythm of our days. This is my current daily routine:

daily routine

shower & dress -- this does not always happen :)
make bed
straighten room
start laundry

breakfast

clean up breakfast dishes
unload & load dishwasher
wipe down kitchen
5 minute pick-up
switch laundry
2-3 cleaning tasks - I rotate these activities based off a master monthly cleaning schedule. Each week of the month focuses on a different part of the house so each day has different cleaning tasks.

lunch

clean up lunch dishes/wipe counters
load dishwasher
sweep kitchen floor
swiffer main hallways

nap

fold laundry & put away
5 minute pick-up
check counters/bedroom **Jackson's top priorities!**

dinner

clean up dinner
load dishwasher & run - this has made the biggest difference in keeping our kitchen clean! Every morning I unload the dishwasher and it's ready for the days dishes, no more piling up in the sink.

bath

wipe down bathroom
pick up Park’s room

As I noted, I do different more in-depth cleaning tasks every day after the "morning chores". But this basic routine of keeping the floors clean, house picked up and kitchen clean has been HUGE. Life-changing really. And the best part is, when you are on a routine like this, nothing takes that long. I usually have my morning chores and cleaning tasks completed by 8:30 or 9:00 am at the latest. Then I have the whole day to enjoy knowing I've already taken care of my chores.

Laundry is the other area that has drastically improved with this routine. I don't actually do laundry every day as this routine suggests, we simply don't have that much right now. I do laundry every Monday and Thursday and this is the perfect schedule for us. I also make sure to fold and put away before Jackson gets home from work.

I stay focused on my routine by using a checklist of sorts that I created to fit my needs. It's very similar to some other ones I've seen on the blogosphere but I felt like making my own because then I could include exactly what I wanted. Every night before bed, I fill out the next day's sheet. It includes my daily routine on the left that I already showed you all, and then a schedule in the middle for any appointments we have and then my to-do list on the right which is where I fill in my cleaning tasks for the day. At the bottom I have an expense tracker to help me with our budget, what's for dinner that night, and my water intake tracker. At the very bottom is a blank space for whatever I need to jot down during the day. Checking things off from my routine list and to-do list everyday makes me feel productive and keeps me motivated. Call me crazy but it really works for me.

I absolutely love this system and it's changed our family life. I'm happy, Jackson is happy, and well, we think Parks is happy about it. When our house is out of order, it makes me feel like life is out of order. A well-run, well organized home is such a blessing to everyone in it.

I know I've been a little MIA from the blog lately but I've just been so encouraged in this area that I wanted to share it with you and hopefully it will bless you in some way. If you struggle in this area, don't give up. I, just now, after 4 years of being a wife and 2 years of being a mom feel like I've made significant progress. It's never too late to start! Your family will thank you!

baby steps

2011-02-01T11:26:00.000-08:00

I read lots of blogs that emphasize "green" living among other things. These blogs inspire me but they can also make me overwhelmed. Some of these women make their own cleaners, shampoo and deoderant for crying out loud...whaaa??? I've realized that in order to make any lasting changes, you must start small.

For example, these are my two healthy changes for the year.

#1. Drink 8 glasses of water a day. Seriously, this may sound simple, but it's really not. Drinking 8 glasses of water does not feel natural at all. It feels like you have to constantly be drinking water, like forcing it down. My midwife told me you know you're properly hydrated when you can't see your urine in the toilet. Ummm...sorry for the gross vision, but whose urine is totally colorless? I've been tracking my water consumption every day and usually I drink 7-9 glasses of water and I've really noticed a difference in how I feel. I'm less tired, my skin is clearer and I know it's good for me and my baby. I plan on continuing post pregnancy.

#2. Coffee Makeover. Every morning since my junior year of college I've had coffee with a splenda (or two) and some kind of flavored creamer like Coffemate or International Delight. During pregnancy I still have one cup a day. Well, after doing some research I decided this chemical cocktail is no healthy way to start my day. I have switched to organic coffee, organic raw cane sugar and organic half and half. I can't say I have noticed a big difference in how I feel, but I just know I'm so much better off not ingesting chlorine, aka splenda, on a daily basis. Yes, I do miss the flavors of my previous creamer and the coffee does taste a little plain, but I know I'll adjust. If you use these creamers look at the label of ingredients, it's scary. We have a Keurig and I discovered that the organic coffee is the same price as regular coffee and apparently there is not very good regulation on chemicals used in processing coffee, so if you can get organic, it's the better way to go.

Those are my two things, that's it, just two. Like I said, it's all about baby steps. Are you making any changes to your lifestyle this year?

nursery fabulousness sneak peek

2011-01-13T11:57:00.000-08:00

Baby girl's nursery is going to be so sweet!!!

So far the mood board includes....

(this rug)

I'm in the process of working on fabrics/wallpapers/paint colors/crib bedding etc with my cousin-in-law who is a fabulous interior designer. I do know it will be fabulous and super girly! Can't wait to show you the finished product!!

23 weeks

2011-01-09T13:26:00.001-08:00

17 more weeks until baby girl joins our family!! We love you already and can't wait to meet you!!

it's the simple things

2011-01-08T10:59:00.000-08:00

who knew a puddle could bring this much joy and entertainment to a child?

one thing's for sure: he's. all. boy.

caught in the act

2010-12-29T18:01:00.000-08:00

I was on the computer (the root of all evil) when I heard "Mmmmm....MMMMM". Knowing I hadn't given Parks anything to eat I quickly walked around the corner and saw this...

what do you mean I'm not supposed to eat it??

"tay-teee" aka "tasty"

I'm just glad it lasted through Christmas!

Thinking Pink!

2010-12-20T06:50:00.000-08:00

Our second baby is going to be a GIRL!!! I'm seriously excited about this. I'm so thrilled I get the chance to have a baby girl! I've been envious of little girls' clothing, accessories, etc since Parks was born and now I finally get to indulge myself in the cuteness!!! I was totally giddy throughout the ultrasound. Praise the Lord everything looks good with our little girl and she's growing well. About 4.5 more months to go until she's here!!

the neglected second-born

2010-12-11T10:32:00.001-08:00

I can totally see the VAST difference between first-borns and second-borns already. Evidence? With Parks I did a "belly shot" and "pregnancy update" like practically every week on this blog. This baby? Nada, nothing. I figured at 18.5 weeks I should say something about this babe, not to mention I'll want to remember some of this stuff and this blog is the best way to document it. I've loved looking back and reading about my pregnancy with Parks, because it's all too easy to forget little details over time.

So this is me at 18.5 weeks with baby #2. I definitely started showing earlier with this baby. If you'll recall, I looked like a freakshow last pregnancy, even at 20 weeks you could barely tell I was pregnant. Yeah...not this time around. We find out the gender next week! I cannot wait, I kind of felt like it was a girl at first but now I'm not sure. I've been feeling the baby move since 16 weeks which was way earlier than when I first felt Parks move, which I think was around 19 weeks. It's the best feeling and I love getting to experience that again. I'm seeing a group of midwives for this pregnancy that deliver at the Midwifery Center at DePaul hospital in Norfolk and I couldn't be happier about it. I'm going to attempt the au naturale approach again but we'll see. I've learned that the baby decides how it will be born, not you. I am seriously praying though that I do not have another 26 hour long labor. Please, Jesus!

So for now, I'm in that fantastic, glowing, feeling great 2nd trimester phase. It's the best. I plan on enjoying it because I know what's next: large and in charge! I know it will be interesting caring for an active 2 year old with a large basketball belly in the way.

Merry Christmas everyone!

the hawk

2010-11-22T17:04:00.001-08:00

Mohawk, that is. I was changing Parks sheets tonight while Jackson was giving Parks a bath when I heard, "Mal, come look at this, bring the camera!"

Not too pleased about being photographed during his private tub time!

He slowly warmed up...

The boy has some hair! We have already had at least 8 "real" haircuts from Pigtails & Crewcuts since we moved to Va Beach. I hope that if this baby is a girl she has Parks' hair, just think how long it would be by now!!! :)

the best 24 hours

2010-11-21T11:32:00.000-08:00

Jackson's parents came in town yesterday for a quick 24 hour visit. Let me tell you, they can really pack a punch in 24 hours! It was probably the best 24 hours of Parks' life. Mama Boo, Papa and Moses kept that little boy quite entertained!

They're here!!!! He was so excited!

And they did not come empty-handed.... :) Happy Birthday Parks!

Mama Boo is the best!

Reading to my new friend in my new wagon

You look hungry, Papa!

Family walk with Moses, the dog, Parks' dream come true!

Parks loves Mama Boo's sweet tea!

Plaza with the Grandparents

We put out some Christmas things!

Parks favorite activity, baking with Mama Boo

Enjoying a taste of his work the night before our "early birthday party"

Yay!! Parks will be two years old a week from today! Time has flown. I'm so glad Mama Boo & Papa could come down early to celebrate with us. We had a blast!

so much

2010-11-15T11:39:00.001-08:00

There's so much I have to blog about. I have about 6 posts I could easily write and post pictures of, but I think I'll try to cram them into one. Sound good?

Remember this picture of Parks & Jackson last year!?

We went again this year and look at how much bigger our little boy is!

Wow! Time is flying. Parks will be 2 in less than 2 weeks! Ahhh....

On to Halloween...Parks was the cutest little spider ever!

Ahhh yes, how could I forget this next update...our potty training DEBACLE. While blog-hopping I stumbled upon this method of potty training that insists that any child over the age of 22 months CAN be potty trained in 3 days. Brilliant, I thought! I can do anything for 3 days, right? WRONG. This method, while I can see it's merit, was completely insane. I lasted 2 days and then had Jackson help on the third and by a couple hours into day 3 we were losing our minds, literally. Here are some of the highlights of Parks in his "big boy undies".

(notice the house is a wreck b/c ALL you do during these 3 days is stare at your child's crotch watching for pee, or worse, poop!)

Do the stanky leg!

Ready, plie!

Parks unfortunately looks way more pregnant than I do at this point...

This was on day 1 when we were still smiling

And finally, good old-fashioned leaf-jumping...

Wow, that was amazing!

He's a happy helper!

Happy Fall Y'all!

when you give a boy raspberry toast....

2010-10-20T11:02:00.000-07:00

this is what happens.

Pumpkin Patch...and a case of hives!

2010-10-19T10:41:00.000-07:00

I know what it's going to take to get my readers commenting again...regular posting! So here goes.

We went to the pumpkin patch this past weekend and it was great! At the recommendation of our friends, The Burkes, we went to Brookdale Farm in Chesapeake. This place is the real deal, you actually pick your own pumpkin right from the vine. Very cool.

Pulling the wagon for the pumpkins!

Exploring the pumpkin patch

Carefully inspecting each pumpkin...

Parks spotted the horse-drawn hayride and wanted to board immediately.

He was not pleased when I told him we had to wait.

Can I get a little help here??

Worn out after picking three beautiful pumpkins!

On to the haystack!

One of Parks' greatest delights...corn hole!!

Every time he put the beanbag in he would smile and clap for himself.

Our trip to Brookdale was great..but the next day, Parks developed a terrible case of hives! Neither myself or Jackson have ever had hives or been around it so we were very disturbed by it and kind of scared. We didn't know it was hives it just looked like a terrible scary rash that was spreading all over his body. We went to the ER (it was a Sunday) to make sure it wasn't some kind of serious rash and we were told it was a yeast infection. ER = FAIL. Unless you are truly dying they don't really care what you have. Which I can understand but it was kind of annoying. My mother's intuition told me this was NOT a yeast infection. Turns out we think he had an allergic reaction to the hay! My pediatrician just said it's either an allergic reaction to hay or just a case of viral hives. We won't know unless we re-expose him to hay and it happens again...greeeaat. Anyone else have a hay allergy?

an update

2010-10-18T17:18:00.000-07:00

I realize my blog has become a total yawnfest and I have to be honest, I have almost completely lost my drive to blog. I know this sounds cliche but things have just gotten so busy that I just haven't had time to blog. Or when I do have time, I'm so tired that all I can do is sit down and watch The Real Housewives of D.C. on DVR and vegetate.

Thankfully, one big reason I've been so busy is going to be over soon. I'm talking about the election, it is now only 2 weeks away! Wooohooo! I am so excited and so ready for it to get here you have no idea. My life will definitely slow down when that is over. I'm going to stop working after that and be home full-time.

Another reason I've been so tired lately is because I'm expecting baby #2! I've already announced this news on Facebook so it's probably not new to most of you. I'm due May 9th and I'm currently 11 weeks. I'm looking forward to that wonderful "honeymoon" phase of the 2nd trimester. We're very excited that Parks will have a brother or sister. Everytime we ask him if he wants a brother or sister he says, "buhda". We'll see.... :)

We are loving our house. I'll have to post a few more pics sometime. I think I still owe you the pictures of the bathroom and bedrooms renovations.

I made something really tasty tonight, or should I say Emeril made something tasty and I followed his recipe. Pork chops with carmelized onion gravy and pecan glazed sweet potatoes. He had me at carmelized onion. I love carmelized onions. It's definitely a winner if you're looking for a tasty pork recipe.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/double-cut-pork-chops-with-caramelized-onion-gravy-and-pecan-glazed-sweet-potatoes-recipe/index.html

So, does anyone have any advice on how to snap out of a blogging rut?? I'm all ears. Really the question I should be asking is, anybody out there??

the farm

2010-09-11T17:13:00.000-07:00

me & tina

my little fam

parks loves the four wheeler

he loved aunt tina's tent!

love love love

The Back-Up Plan

2010-09-05T09:44:00.000-07:00

Jackson and I watched this movie this weekend. I have to say, it really disturbed me. Overall, it was kind of a cheesy, predictable plot but that isn't what bothered me. What bothered me was the message it had to say about children.

The opening scene starts with J.Lo getting artificially inseminated because she is getting older and hasn't found "the one" and she wants a baby. She then goes over to her friend's house. Her friend has 4 kids and proceeds to tell J.Lo how terrible they are and how they, quote "ruined her life". She finishes her rant by saying, "I hate them".

Stop right there. Jackson and I both looked at each other. Yeah, we know, it's just a stupid movie but we couldn't help at think of the message our society is sending! I couldn't believe that the writers actually had this character say she hated her children. I was floored.

Listen, I'm in one of the most demanding phases of parenting as it gets and yes, some days it's really hard and yes, some days I live for 5:30 when Jackson comes home to help me but I would never, never think or say that Parks ruined my life or that I hate him. Quite the contrary! He has blessed me, enhanced our life in so many ways and I love him with an unrelenting love.

It's discouraging to me that our society says, children ruin your life, they are burdens, they are just little monsters who have the audacity to inconvenience your lifestyle, goals and priorities. That is a far, far cry from what Scripture teaches about children.

Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one's youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate. Psalm 127:3-5 ESV

Jesus loved children (Matthew 18, Mark 10). If we are to be conformed into the image of Christ, part of that is loving what he loves. He loves children, he doesn't see them as burdens. To some this may come more naturally than others, but I believe as Christians we don't get the option of saying, "I'm just not really into kids." That's a cop out. I'm saying this in truth and love. I have to encourage myself with what Scripture says about children when times get hard, and believe I've had my share of hard moments. I just want to encourage whoever reads this to pray for a Godly heart and attitude towards our kids and if you don't yet have kids, pray for God to cultivate a love for children in your heart. Be a light in your own world to people who don't share God's precious view of children.

Park's First Commercial

2010-08-22T16:39:00.000-07:00

This is the beginning of big things for Parks... ; )

P.S. Vote Rigell Nov. 2!

Jump It Out

2010-08-14T16:47:00.000-07:00

Why in the world is there a toddler trampoline in my backyard??? Oh, that's right. My husband ordered one! I wasn't gonna argue. If he was in the mood to purchase something that might occupy Parks and is basically a giant cage....I'm all in. Time-outs on the trampoline while mommy lays out!

We enjoyed breaking it in tonight with Parks' bff Liliana. She's the sweetest little thing and such a good sport with Parks. Little Truett, 11 months was a trooper too, enjoying the trampoline action from the ground.

It's really fun to take pictures of other kids every now and then :)

Quote of the Day

2010-08-12T09:39:00.000-07:00

"Quiet honey, Mommy's worshipping Jesus."

That's what I said today in the car. Parks has gotten into a bad habit of saying "Nana" about 1,000x a day. You think I'm kidding? Spend about 5 minutes with me and you'll see.

Today we were in the car and I was rocking out to the new Hillsong Live cd and Parks starts with his "nananana" for the 3rd time in 5 minutes. I desperately needed my praise time so I just had to tell him, not now! It's all about priorities, right??

i love my daddy

2010-08-06T05:03:00.000-07:00

The "daddy" phase has begun! Parks LOVES his daddy and asks about him several times an hour when he is at work! We are both thankful for such a great "dada". He's the best!

we've come a long way, baby

2010-08-04T11:20:00.001-07:00

Was looking through some old pictures and couldn't help but smile. Look how young we were! Marriage (and my highlights) has been good to us! :)

Spring 2006 Jackson had just turned 20, I was 19. We had only been dating a couple months.

Summer 2010, both 24

dresses & diapers

2010-08-04T11:12:00.000-07:00

two of parks' favorite "dress-up" items...

...hopefully there will be no permanent damage done from either...