January Goals

It's about that time of the year where people start getting depressed because their cheeks don't look that great in that ass hugging dress they wanted to wear for NYE.  So we start making obscene resolutions up for the new year; things like, go to the gym 8 days a week for 13 months in a row. No eating carbs, sugar, fruits, vegetables or anything that smells, taste or even looks good.  So back in November I told myself I was going to make a few goals, (because resolutions just seems like a scary word to begin with), and stick to them for a whole month. Here is what they were:

1. No more buying Starbucks (I know, I about pooped my pants when I wrote it out on paper but I actually kept to it!...and then December came and I caved mega hard!)
2. No more buying dumb shit at work
3. Quick gym membership & work out at home at least 3 days a week
4. Drink more water

To some these 4 things may slap you in the face and be like well duh, that's what I do on a daily basis, but to me it was hard shit!  Now that it is New Year's Eve I'm not going to make any yearly resolutions because I've been down that road before and I don't keep them, plain and simple!  I am going to make monthly goals in hopes that these will be more manageable!

Here are my goals going into January:

1. Get Etsy store inventory up to date & figure out new packaging
2. Get a workout plan together & actually stick to it
3. Figure out new budget plan for 2014-IE: pay off credit cards (bastards!)
4. Organize pictures on external hard drive

I have a feeling this month will be really busy but I'm going to try my hardest to make sure I don't half ass these.  I did make one more goal for myself, (I guess you can count it as one) one that I need to always work on and that is to slow down with these boys, to yell less, to not be as psycho about the cleaning/laundry that needs to be done and to just live!  So many days I spend trying to fit in work, errands, grocery shopping, dishes, laundry, dinner, playing and baths I forget why I enjoy being a mom so much!  I don't really need to get it all done in one day if we're being honest here! There are days where I swear I yell or tell Tracen 'no' to the DUMEST things, things that if I heard another mother tell their kid no to I would talk smack about them to Jerek and he would nod and pretend he is listening to what I'm saying. So I will have one resolution I suppose, and that will be to live more, worry less. The laundry will get done...one day and just because Tracen knocked over your morning coffee all over the rug because you left it in a bad spot doesn't mean you should get mad at him for it, it's your own damn fault really. (Also, I love improper run on sentences incase you were wondering.)

Thank you 2013 for an AMAZING year, I'm excited and looking forward to the next 365 days!

five month update.

WEIGHT: 17lbs

HEIGHT/LENGTH: 27 inches

SLEEPING: what's that?? No, really, I honestly don't know how I function as I get on average 5 hours of sleep a night.  We do have a really good "put to bed" schedule and that is; oatmeal around 7-730pm and a 5oz bottle around 830-9pm. This then fills him up till about 1am (if I'm lucky!) We then are up every three hours eating and shitting are brains out. I honestly don't understand why on earth he is pooping at EVERY diaper changing?!

EATING: we are doing oatmeal twice a day, usually in the morning and then again around 7-730pm.  I'm starting to re-read my blogs and pinterest pins to begin the process of making Sky's food. I made all of Tracens food and it was super easy! I do have some of the organic baby pouches on hand for when we are on the go. He then takes down 5 ounce bottles through out the day. Have I mentioned that this kid eats more than Tracen ever ate?!

FAVORITE MOMENTS: words can't really describe it so here ya go! Aren't they the CUTEST!!!

LEAST FAVORITE MOMENTS: this sickness that won't leave your tiny little body! The doctor says as long as you don't have a temperature and are eating that you are okay but DAMN, you are so miserable I feel horrible!

FIRSTS: this month marked the first time I've ever had to cut a onesie off a kid because they shit so far up their back I thought if I tried pulling it over their head they would have it all over their dome and I just couldn't handle that. Nope, just couldn't! So RIP dark gray baby Gap onesie, we hardly wore ye. This month also marked the first time we threw away pillows because there was shit covering those as well. I'm still on the hunt for a decent diaper for this kids ass explosions!

LIFE CURRENTLY : crazy hectic! We just celebrated Tracens 3rd birthday with a few family and friends over at the house.  This was followed by Jerek and I getting this crazy bug that consisted of us basically sharing the shitter barfing the night befores dinner out. We then were so nice to give it to about 15-20 other family members including the boys. That bug was no joke but thankfully it only lasted about 24 hours! However, I'm pretty sure I didn't gain any weight from the holiday's because I couldn't keep anything down! (winning!) Tomorrow is New Years Eve and as excited as I was for 2013 I'm even more excited for 2014, I feel good vibes acommin guys!

four month update.

WEIGHT: 15.2lbs

HEIGHT/LENGTH: 26inches

SLEEPING: Teething has begun and the 6 straight hours of sleep you WERE getting has vanished. We are now looking at MAYBE 3 straight hours before you wake up screaming bloody murder to eat but then not really eating back to screaming, whining and then falling back to sleep.

EATING: Giving you 6 ounce bottles and you gulp down 5 of them real fast and then linger around with the last ounce or so. I just started a little oatmeal cereal and he's liking it. Given around 7pm before your last bottle in hopes of filling your stomach bottomless pit up!

FAVORITE MOMENTS: Sky is laughing way in his belly at Tracen when he dances around like a crazy man makes my heart melt. He is the happiest baby in the morning, so no matter how tired I am from the night before, that gummy grin makes my morning/day!

LEAST FAVORITE MOMENTS: teething is a bitch. I forgot about it entirely. Poor kid has been chewing and sucking his hand like theres sugar on it. Plus he's got some cough/congestion going on that I'm trying to magically cure myself. (So far the mucus and boogers are winning.)

FIRSTS: rolled over from back to front while we were getting ready in the morning this past week. I put him on his belly, walked to the bedroom to get something, came back and he was on his back smiling! Jerek was standing right there ironing and missed the whole thing as well. ugh!

LIFE CURRENTLY :I've been so busy staying at work late and then rushing home to the boys to eat, play, put the kids to bed and then work on Etsy orders that I've barely managed to crawl into bed before 11pm. This makes for a long night and even longer next day. These next few weekends are full of work Christmas party, our brother-in-laws graduation, Tracens 3rd birthday and then Christmas and NYE this year will soon be just memories!

Tracens Birth Story.

Now you must remember that it's been some time since I gave birth to Tracen, so if I forget a thing or two, please forgive me.  Here it is though, all written down, in a little corner of the web that I will be able to remember forever. I'm sure I will need to remind myself to check back and read this every so often because the past few weeks, hes been a real shithead, I mean like I'm not going to listen to anything you say, do the opposite and spit on you while doing so.SO! Lets begin!

With a due date of Jan 19th 2011 and already 50 lbs sitting on my 5'2" frame I was beginning to think that we might just not make it to my due date, or even to 2011 without having a baby first. My hip dysplasia set in at the Thanksgiving dinner at my aunts. I couldn't sit, couldn't stand, couldn't really walk, I was miserable. I just wanted to go home and lay in bed, but not really because even that seemed to hurt.  From Thanksgiving to Dec 21st I was in constant pain and having to take two different pain pills (prescribed by my doctor.)  There were a few nights I forgot to take one before bed and I would wake up in AGONIZING pain and swore I would never forget again!

I went in on my 36 week check up and found out I was 5cm dilated, yea, F-I-V-E!!! So for the past two weeks since my last appointment I was in labor and had no idea, no wonder I was in so much pain. I was told that we were having a baby today! Now many people would have been surprised but I really wasn't because I had read my horoscope over on astrology zone and KNEW I was having my baby on the 21st.  I even told my boss the day before that I wouldn't be in after my appointment on Monday because I was going to have a baby then. He laughed. I didn't. My horoscope read "life changing things will happen on the 21st, things that you can not plan for." If that wasn't a sign I'm not sure what was...I did say I was already 5cm dilated right? Right.

So we did what every normal couple going to have a baby 4 weeks early with no hospital bag packed did, we walked waddled up to labor and delivery floor, checked in and called everyone and their mothers and were smiling head to toe unaware of what was to follow. In my mind I was "going to do this the natural way" (who was I kidding!) By 2pm I was at a 7 and I just couldn't do it any longer and asked for the good stuff. The anesthesiologist came up and took care of me. I was much more relaxed and even started to watch a movie. By 550pm I was checked and told I was at a 10 and ready to push. I was nervous, I didn't know how to push, I didn't know how to get this baby out of me, I didn't know what to expect and I didn't know how my life would change. But I was ready, ready to go balls to the wall and do this damn thing! 45 minutes of pushing Tracen was born at 6:35pm on December 21, 2010, the first day of winter, the cusp of the astrology calendar. He was 7lbs and 21" long. He was beautiful.

The next 10 days were a blur and not the oh 'I'm a new mother I don't know what I'm doing blur.' Since Tracen was a month early there are complications that come with this. He was rushed to the NICU because he was having some breathing issues. I was exhausted from labor and ligitamitlly thought my hips were about to fall off. I assumed he was being taken to the nursery to get a bath and would be brought back to me that I didn't even think to ask when he was coming back. We were taken to my post birthing room and I think I ate a cracker or two and passed out. I woke up to a hospital grade pump and was told to start pumping, so I did. Jer would take whatever I could pump down to the NICU. He fed him and spent time with him for the first 3 feedings as I was in and out of sleep. I don't think I totally understood that he was in the NICU until about 12 hours later when I realized he still wasn't in our room with us.

When we finally saw him I started crying. He wasn't small by any means, in fact his nick name was "the big one" because for a baby in the NICU, 7lbs was huge for those kiddos in there.  I cried because I was scared, and in SO much pain to be honest. I didn't know what to do, who to ask, did I even have to ask to hold my own baby? Why were there wires everywhere, what was he hooked up to, why wasn't he breathing good, the questions were really endless. I got some answers; he had jaundice, and fluid in his lungs so they needed to monitor him. I was told he should be released soon. Soon turned into 24 hours, 24 hours turned into 48 hours, 48 hours turned into ten.long.days.

I think they felt bad for us because I was refusing not wanting to leave the hospital without my son. We ended up sleeping in the room IN the NICU for two days after we were released. Those two days were hell. All we heard was monitors going off, crying and doctor talk. It was pure hell. It was Christmas eve and we were waiting for the doctors to come around for their rounds. We were told if all checks out well we could take him home.  When the doctors came around and told me that he had 'd-stat' the night before I was so confused. What did that mean, we were taking him home tonight right? W.R.O.N.G. 'D-stating' is when the baby forgets to breathe. A lot of time it happens when they are drinking from a bottle or have a pacifier but it was happening when he was just sleeping. It's a very scary thought but at that moment, for those 30 seconds when they said he wasn't going home on Christmas, I thought they didn't understand, it was Christmas, I just wanted my baby home with his family.  When a baby d-stats they have to go 48 hours without doing it again. Tracen would get to the 40 hours mark and d-stat, then 43 hours mark and d-stat again, it was extremely frustrating. I was up at the hospital all the time, giving them breast milk, snuggling him, waiting for doctors to do their rounds and getting disappointed every day he couldn't go home with us.

Finally, on New Years Eve, he was cleared. We were going to spend the last night of 2010 together, as a family. It was THE happiest day of my life.  Looking back, I feel so silly being so dramatic about 10 whole days when 90% of the other babies in the NICU were in there much longer, battling much larger struggles, but for me and Jer, those were our struggles.

Tracen has grown into a beautiful little boy and in exactly 1 month from today he will be three. THREE, I can't even think about that. He is in the 95 percentile in height and 50 percentile in weight. His vocabulary is right on track and comprehends everything we say, although his listening skills, or lack there of, are that of a 3 year old's. Thankfully there were never any side effects from coming early. I am forever grateful for the doctors and nurses that put up with me during those days because I don't know if I could do it! He will forever be the first person to call me mumma, the first baby that stole my heart and the first little boy I called my son.   

 

10 Years.

10 years ago I was just hoping we would go to Prom together.
9 years ago I was hoping we would make it through our first year apart at college.
8 years ago I was hoping we could work things out.
7 years ago I was hoping we could survive our 21st birthdays.
6 years ago I was hoping we could live closer.
5 years ago I was hoping we could finally graduate college.
4 years ago I was hoping I knew what I wanted.
3 years ago I was hoping for a healthy baby boy.
2 years ago I was hoping to find a house.
1 year ago I was hoping we would have another baby.

I was 12 years old when I met Jerek in Middle School...and I've had a crush on him ever since! Many ask up how we met, what's our 'love story' and our story is just that, a story. One that has ups and downs, good times and bad times. A story of heart aches and tears, but a story of triumphs and success. More importantly it's a story of two people that like to wear sweats and drink beer together, who support each other in every decision that they make and who love each other whole heartedly.  Two people that can finish each others sentences, that know EXACTLY what the other persons Taco Bell order will be and will not judge if they sing Dora songs while getting ready in the morning.

 I find myself so blessed that I get to wake up day after day next to you, the person that brought 2 kids into this world with me. The person that drives me crazy because he doesn't separate his shirts when he takes them off.  The person that makes the most amazing meals out of random shit found in our fridge and the person who gives himself selflessly to his family because he loves us more than himself.  I can only hope that these next 10 years are just as challenging, as exciting and as rewarding as these past 10 have been. Without you I'd be nothing, but with you I am everything.

Now that I'm done crying I will tell you what we did, or what we didn't do. We did NOT go to work, that's for sure! We DID take the day off work and it just so happen that it was a Monday and the boys went to daycare, major score!

So we dropped the boys off and ran to our Starbucks and grabbed coffee. And get this, we went INSIDE and SAT down and drank our coffee and chatted! That's funny right! Most likely unless you have children you will not appreciate how much we enjoyed those wonderful 30 minutes. We then scooted home and got ready to go to brunch.  We headed to TOAST in Birmingham (we both agreed we like this one better than the Ferndale one, not really sure why!) Jer got 'the cure' which he aways gets (the man knows what he wants.) I on the other hand always get something different and this time I got the turkey brie and the butternut squash soup. I was nervous thinking I wasn't going to be able to finish it all. Welp, I was wrong. I basically licked my plate clean.

We then headed to the mall and did a little shopping as we have a wedding to go to this weekend in Grand Rapids and well, it's our first night away from the boys since Skylor was born and we need to look fancy, right?

Last but not least, we went and got tattoos. Because that's what you do on your day off and you are celebrating 120 months/10 years of togetherness! This was actually the only thing we had really planned out for the day. We had been wanting to get tattoos together for a while now and the day seemed fitting.

I decided to go big and get two, or three, depending how you look at it! Jer and I got matching ones. Now some people might freak out and be like you know what happens when you get ink for your boyfriend/husband/partner.  Rest assured, I would never get his initials, or name tattooed anywhere on my body. What we got was "I'm yours forever" in Arabic. We choose Arabic based on we loved the font/look of the scripture. Neither of us speak or can read Arabic so I relied on a girlfriend at work and she asked a friend of hers that speaks it. It's loosely translated and if you Google it, it comes up as 'you forever.' The whole purpose was we wanted something to get together, FOR each other. One day we will get married but being together for 10 years is a huge milestone. Although we have not been together for a consecutive 10 years it does not matter to us. (Please forgive the wonderful iPhone quality.)

The next tattoo(s) I got were arrows and these are for the boys. I had held off getting something for Tracen because I knew I wanted more kids and wanted to get a tattoo for each one. I got arrows for the boys because I love the bible verse Palms 127:3-4.

Children are a heritage from the Lord,

offspring a reward from him.

Like arrows in the hands of a warrior

are children born in ones youth.

I got ones similar in look, but different as these boys are clearly just that. Plus there is room to add more if we get a little crazy and God wants to allow us to raise some more little hellions!

We then picked up those little guys from daycare and made some pasta and snuggled on the couch as a family of four, with so much love in our hearts for each other.

11.18.13

three month update.

Sky Sky, you are the apple of my little blue eyes! I will probably say this every month, but for real real, where the H has the time gone! Lets do a little recap because mama is a bad mama and doesn't have a baby book for you yet. Second child syndrome, poor guy, hand me downs and no baby book, what's a kid to do!

[This cute onesie is part of a set that was a gift from one of my very best girlfriends! Unfortunately I did not have it in time to take my 1 and 2 month pictures but they are SO cute! Here is the link to her Etsy store as she has tons of cute kiddo stuff!]

WEIGHT: 14lbs

HEIGHT/LENGTH: 25 1/2 inches

SLEEPING: goes down at 930pm and sleeps till about 2-3am, grabs a bottle and passes back out till about 6-7am. NOTE: this kid sleeps WAY better than Tracen did at this age!!!

EATING: depends on the day but usually eats every 2-3 hours, about 4 ounces each sitting. When nursing he rarely gets enough and falls asleep, then wakes up pissed 30 min later and wants more. I tend to nurse more on the weekends and at nights when I have more time to accommodate this sassy pants of an eater!

FAVORITE MOMENTS: the smiles are more regular and the chub rolls on your legs are bigger and better than ever!

LEAST FAVORITE MOMENTS: your sassyness from 7-930pm when we are trying to put your brother to bed. Your ass also smells like your fathers when you fart ever so loudly! But really I enjoy these moments as well :)

**Me and the boys at the 'Spooktacular' this past weekend. The kids walk around to all the local shops and trick or treat and the parents kids eat the candy. and yes, Jer slaved over this red race car that Tracen said he wanted to be for months only to wear it for this picture and then make daddy carry it while he snagged candy with Grammy. Sky slept the whole time, go figure**

Love you Sky Sky (insert Rachel Zoe voice)

Up Up & Away!

This week has been so busy with work and family it was nice to spend a night out and enjoy the beautiful fall air that has slowly crept it's way through Michigan. A year ago us kids were trying to come up with ideas as to what to get Jerek's parents for Christmas. They are some hard people to buy for as they both have different hobbies and tell you "I want nothing" when you ask. sweet, NOT helpful guys! We decided that we would all go in on a big gift together instead of small, somewhat meaningless gifts.

Well last year I came up with the bucket list gift, and was pretty proud of it if I do say so myself! Jerek's dad was just recently forced to sell his share in a small airplane he owned with 4 other people. The other men were older and decided to sell the plane, meaning he was SOL and was selling his share as well. With that coming to an end and I knew I had a great idea up my sleeve; a hot air balloon ride!!! Yep, I nailed it, everyone thought it was a great idea! I did some research and found a place about 45 minutes away that my grandparents had used years ago.  I've been OCD mildly obsessed with reading reviews ever since I found out I was pregnant last winter and the reviews about this company were great! Here is the place we ended up going through if you live in the mitten or will be visiting any time in the near future!  The customer service was amazing, the balloon owners were so knowledgeable and mother nature was a perfect lady.

When it came time to giving the actual gift we didn't just want to hand them a gift card and say Merry Christmas, no we wanted something more than that! Jer's sister made this awesome scaled down version of a hot air balloon.  We had every intention of "flying" it over to his parents sitting on the couch but shit happens and that balloon ended up on the kitchen counter sitting nicely.

We all dipped out of work a tad early and met up in Oxford where we followed our balloon man/team and headed to the take off site. I was a little antsy because I was about to eat my arm off a little hungry, but Jer said we were staying in downtown Oxford to eat dinner so I put my big girl panties back on and womened up. The site was beautiful and the sun was just starting to go night night, as Tracen would say.

After the three balloons took off we got into our cars and followed the "chase car." It was like a movie and the balloon just flew over us and we stopped and waved and were acting all touristy and shit!

The ride was about 45 minutes long, which was the perfect amount of time for the riders and the follows if you ask me. Tracen wanted out of the car and I was still "hungry." We all thought that there was some calculated landing point but it was far from that. We landed in someones back yard..and the kids living there were on cloud nine. It was like a movie as they saw this balloon descending from the sky into their backyard as they ran out of the house barefoot, to take in all the excitement. This picture is taken by Jerek's sister's husband, in other words, my brother-in-law (if Jer and I were married that is) *wink wink* He hates on the iphone so bad and we all hate on his whateverthehellphonehehas but damn...the picture quality is on point!

We ended the night with some dinner at a place in downtown Oxford called Red Knapps. It had THE most amazing chili I've ever had I'm going to write a review on Yelp for it, and I never do that!

So if you need Christmas ideas, and I know we all do as it's October 12th and Christmas is only 74 days away, a hot air balloon ride might just make you the gift giver of the year, I'm just sayin!

Lets Talk Boobs

Let me just start off by saying this; curse all you mama's that can just throw your child(ren) up on your boob and own that shit! No but seriously, a big F U because it's not fair! Let me take a step back, regroup, and explain, in great detail, why I have such a strong hatred jealousy over you all.

It all began with Tracen, I planned on breast feeding with him. No, I did not take any classes, read any book or even Google, "how to breast feed", I was just going to do it and that was that!  Well Tracen came a month early and was rushed to the NICU right after birth and stayed there for 10 long days. I tried to get him to latch on when I would be there but he just couldn't do it. I was then wheeled in a hospital grade breast pump and stuck my nips in that thing and got to work. Once my milk came in I was producing SO. MUCH. MILK. Like you would probably be jealous how much I was getting. I had a stock pile in the fridge and in the freezer. I would bring milk to the hospital 2 times a day and spend time with him while each time I would try to get him to latch on he never would. I decided that I would just pump, how hard could it be, I mean, I'm just sitting at home, recovering right?

WRONG.WRONG.WRONG.

I had bad hip dysplasia for the last 6 weeks of my pregnancy which continued on for the next 5 weeks post giving birth.  In a nutshell I could barely walk. Barely get out of bed. Barely go to the bathroom without being in excruciating pain. I was taking two different pain meds and had to make sure they over lapped each other or I would wake up in the middle of the night screaming and Jer wouldn't know what to do with me.  Try and imagine all that while having to get up every 3 hours to warm up a bottle, change a diaper, feed, burp and then lay baby back down. Oh did I mention after ALL that I still needed to pump my huge tits full of goodness. This whole process took almost 2 hours by the time I crawled walked back to bed. Meaning, I had exactly 1 hour until I was woken back up by a screaming baby to do it all again.

Fast forward 4 months and I was dry as a bone. I'm not sure what exactly happen but one day I remember I was pumping and I only got like 4 ounces total from both sides and I thought to myself, "oh shit, that's odd." Each time after that I felt like I was trying to pump long, faster, harder and I was still only getting maybe 4 ounces. I was starting to freak out and we bought some formula to supplement. I then started giving more formula bottles and less breast milk bottles which then led to just formula bottles.  My stock pile I had bragged about (even posted pictures on Facebook, yeah I was that new mom) was gone, every last ounce. I began to freak out. My old place of employment decided to not let me come back unless it was full-time so I was at home while Jer was working two jobs trying to support us all. On top of all that we were going to have to buy formula! Luckily, a month later, I landed my current job now and we were bringing in a lot more money but still I never 'planned' on ever using formula. 

Fast forward to Nov 2012 when we found out I was pregnant again. We had been trying for a little while now and I swore up and down that I WOULD breast feed my next child NO.MATTER.WHAT.

Skylor was born 3 weeks early and I was scared it was going to be the same game as before.  Although this time I gave birth at a different hospital, a hospital that had a whole lactation wing. A hospital that believed in no paci and only breast feeding. I knew they would help me this time, and they did, but I wasn't prepared for the reality if this baby wouldn't take the tit.  Skylor would latch on but only for a few minutes and it hurt, I mean it felt like sandpaper on my nipple.  They tried telling me that he had a small tongue tie and he couldn't get that deep latch because I had flat nipples, yes that is a thing and I apparently have it!  They wanted me to come back after  week at being home and they would 'snip' the part that was tied. I shook my head okay and said I would see them the following Wednesday at 11am. I never went. I looked on the internet, did research, looked under his tongue and I didn't really see an issue. So I went out, bought a tube of nipple lube and 2 breast shields. I put that kid on my boob with a nipple shield and I breast feed him. He took to the plastic nipple and I was happy. I was happy for about 2 feedings, that was until an hour after the first feeding he was starving again, and again and again. The kid wouldn't nurse longer than 5 minutes and then fall asleep. I had a plastic nipple spilling out milk everywhere. All over me, him, the new couch, even the dog, okay not really the dog. But it was fucking annoying! So I started pumping. Without making this post longer than it already is I'll say this. Do what is best for you. Do the research, listen to others advice but the most important thing is do what is best for you and YOUR baby because that's all that matters.  I was getting mad at Jer and Trace for no reason during the day because I was so exhausted from nursing every 45 minutes at night that I couldn't function! When all I needed to do was give him a big bottle at night and he would sleep 5-6 hours! Yes, 5-6 hours at 2 weeks old!  

I just went back to work on September 30th and I'm determined to keep up the breast milk for as long as I can. I can't say it will last a year, or 6 months or even 6 more weeks but what I can tell you is that I will do my best because if I stress out about my milk supply dipping or my nipples not being long enough to shove in the back of Skylor's throat we are all going to be living in a very cranky house and nobody's got time for that!

If you are wondering what my work schedule is and when I pump vs. nurse here is how I have it figured out for now.

Mondays-Fridays I work. So the days I'm at work, I pump in the middle of the night (after I feed Sky a bottle) so around 2-3am usually. I then leave for work around 7/715am and pump around 9am and then again at 1pm. Each time I pump at work I get about 7-8 ounces between the two breasts. I then leave work and am home around 430ish where I will nurse if it's time to eat or pump if he's just eaten.  I usually give him a big bottle around 8 and nurse him to sleep around 9-10pm because he's usually really fussy at night and this calms him down.  The weekends are a mess and I just go with the flow because that's how I roll, ya hear!

So with that being said, can you understand why I'm jealous of all you mama's out there that can baby wear and nurse while doing the dishes or bust your boob out in public and strap on your daughter and talk on the phone with the other hand. I have to wear a biconical plastic nipple if I want my son to even recognize that there is a nipple for him to suck on before he has a major meltdown or my other option is sticking my flat nipple in a vacuum that pulls them out so far enough that Jer refers to them as hotdogs! 

So when you look at your clock and its 9am or 1pm you can think of me, because this is where I am at those times. Strapped up to a very expensive machine just trying to live up to my title as a "working mom".

First things first...

Hi, Hello, Guten Tag! 

I'm Chelsea or as others call me, Chellyboobookins, Chellybean, mama bear or beach angel and by others I mean my boyfriend of ALMOST 10 years (November 18th, to be exact!).  Friends and family call me Chel, how original.

My boyfriend is the bees knees and is my high school sweetheart, how cute right! More importantly he is THE most amazing dad to our two beautiful boys and keeps me sane when I loose my shit from time to time; it happens a lot!

I have a bachelors degree in German and International Business from the beautiful college of Grand Valley State.  Oh you've never heard of it? Well it's more recently seen on E! News for taking down their "wrecking ball" because of miss Miley's famous video, nice job GV, nice job.

I live in a house FULL of boys. Let me introduce you to them all. First there is the boyfriend, Jerek, jerrycakes,booboo, or better known as Jerbear (he's going to kill me if he knows I wrote that for the whole internet to read, sorry boo!) As I've already said we've been dating for ALMOST 10 years (with a few timeouts here and there.) 

My first baby was at 21 and I was a single mom to this fur baby,which Jer will STILL not adopt, how rude! His name is Ducati. Short story, I wanted a dog, my roommate found this little black fur ball on a flyer at the bar, yes you read that right. So without ever so kindly telling Jerek what I was doing, we went to this couples house, put a deposit down, and came back for the dog when he was 8 weeks old. His name is Ducati, and he is a little shithead! No literally, he's been eating dirty diapers around the house full of shit, so sick! (Yes, my dog is smiling, doesn't yours??)

Flash forward 3 years and some odd months later and we had graduated from college, we were both working two jobs when we were blessed with our first blonde beauty, Tracen.  Born on December 21, 2010, a month early, he was in the NICU for 10 days. It was the longest 10 days of my entire life.  He came home on December 31st, just in time to celebrate New Years Eve as a family. He is a stud muffin and daddy's mini.

As you can see I don't really follow the traditional route of get married, buy a house and then have kids. We like
to keep things spicy so we started trying for another babe and just recently welcomed Skylor into our crazy lives on July 29, 2013, 3 weeks early but extremely healthy (no NICU, hooray!)

I'd show you pictures of our two fish, Henri and Stanley, but sadly I've killed them; twice, so I will leave their photos off out as of respect. R.I.P. we hardly knew ye'. (Another thing I just "brought home" with out running it by Jerek first, you'll see I do this a lot!)

So between all the diapers, farts and little boy parts, is me, Chelsea Leigh.  A full-time working mama in the auto industry, who has a slight obsession for clothing, make-up, jewelry and her family. I'm a lover of laughter and Starbucks.  I hate showering and I curse a little too often.  I take far too many pictures and over share about my bowel movements. One day we will get married but for now we are enjoying our ride together. So grab a venti iced coffee, with soy and sugar free carmel and read on because life waits for no one.

XO Chelsea