Cloth Diaper Review

This last week I have been on a crazy cloth diaper rampage. I was seeing how much we really have spent on diapers(and what parents have spent) and it was too much!
I was doing quite a bit of calculating and decided that this is what I really want to do. Not only to save us some money, but to be apart in saving the planet. I'm already up to date on the recycling, my husband laughs at me to see the recycling bin so full that our second bathroom is full of the recycling for the next time that it's empty. He always tells me to just throw it away IN THE GARBAGE BIN! I just can't bring myself to do it!

So anyway, I've been ordering AIO and pocket diapers. Mostly from Ebay.(Credit goes to Jessica Swehosky for the suggestion, thanks Jess!) You can get super good deals on the name brand diapers like fuzzibunz, bumgienous, and gDiapers. Also some off brand diapers like Babyland. Kinda sucks that the off brand like these are from China but they are only about $3-$5 bucks, and that's including the shipping. I just ordered one from China off the ebay site, just to see how good of quality they really are. I mean for $3? You just gotta try it!

Last night I finally got my first diaper order in from the Fancypants brand of diapers. I am actually surprised at the quality and I'm excited to get Josiah to wear them. I've only got two Pocket diapers right now, so till the many others that come in I'm getting in some practice.
I also was looking up ways to clean them, I knew that detergents with soap and tons of chemicals in them would cause a buildup and in time cause a stink in the diapers. I will also be making my own detergent for diapers. I already have the products in my laundry closet from making my own regular laundry detergent. So why not?

Cloth diaper detergent consist of:
Borax
Arm and Hammer Washing Soda
Oxyclean
Also, I add just a drop or two of lavender to my diaper wash for a good smelling load.

The total comes pretty close to $80 starting, that included:
All the diapers
A wet/dry bag to store the dirty diapers in.
A drying rack with the clips
A few extra flat pre-fold backups
One snappy(something that takes place of the ancient safety pins)

That's a purchase for us to buy 2 boxes of costco diapers which each box lasts us a little less than a month and a large box of costco wipes which lasts us about 2 or so months.
I will also be making cloth wipes and my own wipes solution too!
What I'm doing is saving a lot of money!
I actually felt sorry for some of the women out their that have spent about $700 on a fuzzibunz website getting all that they needed.
I'm getting different kinds of diapers, but you aren't going to want to just stick with one brand of diaper. You want to look at your options, for example I LOVE pampers swaddlers, huggies are OK, and I HATE Luvs.(gives Josiah bad diaper rash) It's good to keep your mind open.
I have 2 cloth diapers now and I've got 12 more on the way!(I think)
Seems like a lot but I don't want to be doing laundry everyday, so this is an awesome start!
Soon when I get everything together, I'll make a video for you guys so that you can get an idea of what I'm doing. I'm sure that some of you mommies out there are willing to make a green change like I am. And just think how much $ you'll be saving on your next baby!
So with the new year coming up I'm making my resolution now!
Never buying disposables again!

As Kermit the Frog says-It's not easy being green.
Which is odd because IKEA says that it's easy to be green.
What do you think? ;)

Roller Coaster Ride

These past few months have been hard, but God is getting us through the tough times.
We have been going through things financially and emotionally, but now all that is about to change. I must admit, I have not been fully putting my faith into God like I should, I have not been praying and reading like I used to. God is going to be working into our lives like he never has before, and in the end although is doesn't seem like it, it's going to be amazing and worth it. The ride to get to that goal is going to be super hard. I just want my lady friends to please pray for me, to help me give my husband that support. To help me to have that peace, comfort and faith. To give me support and love through these tough times.
I thank God for my friends and Ben's friends that are standing with us.
Thank you all for praying.
Love Jess.

Button Organization complete

I just used what I had, mason jars and baby food jars for the colored buttons that I didn't have very much of. So pretty, and organized!!!

Buttons, Buttons, Buttons.

So today, I decided to go through all of my fabric craft stuff and organize. My son is starting to get into all of my craft stuff and a baby with contents with unknowns sewing basket=disaster. We only have two rooms in our house. Which is alright for us now, but I would love to eventually move out to a larger place so that I can have my own craft area to call my own. But for now, organization is key to a person who loves to sew/craft alot. I use nearly all my items that I have, and I'm scared to give any of it away for fear of that I will ending up regretting giving up something that I now have to buy for twice as much as I got it for. So my first organizing project for today us organizing my buttons. :)

Cute little birdie tin. 

Most of my buttons are in this large tin. All the ones in this tin was what my grandmother gave to me.

Buttons that I have left to sort.

These are old buttons that came off of shirts, sweaters, jackets from her family. Even some cool army buttons from when my grandfather served in the war. Really cool to look at.

.

 I've sorted then out by color so that I can find the buttons i want much more quickly than looking at a overwhelming heap of buttons in a tin. 

Blue/green, Black, Purple

White(gonna need a bigger jar I think
Brass, Yellow/orange/brown, and red/pink

Close up of the Brass/Shiny buttons.

This is going to look pretty cool on the shelf when I'm done. Then who knows!? Maybe I can pass it down to my daughter or granddaughter. Do you have anything that is passed down to you from your family past? Let me know! I'd love to hear it!

Jess

To see the complete organization click here

No Dinner-Only Baked Goods December.

Let's just say that the last 2 weeks we have been eating out or just eating a can of soup at home.

That time of year where I bake myself to the end of my love for cooking. I swear, my baby is eating a heck of a lot better than me. I've probably eaten enough cookies, candies and chocolates to last my family till the next Christmas season. Good thing I take multivitamins. :)

So today I have decided that Josiah and I are going to take a run down to Roth's and get lots of veggies, and some fruits to snack on so that I'll have that beautiful apple staring at me and haunting me till I eat it. Maybe make a eggplant parmesan casserole for dinner and a green salad? I'll take some low-fat milk to go with it I think.

Too cold to take a run now, but at least I can eat somewhat healthy before the warmer weather arrives. I'll definitely have a challenge ahead of me to get that fat baby love off my midsection. Hopefully we won't be pregnant before summer so that I can have that opportunity to work out. :)

Alcohol and Pregnancy-To Drink or Not To Drink

So I had a nice little conversation about alcohol and pregnancy to a lady on Facebook that just had to say something about my comment.
I do my research so I have a link here that you can take a gander at to help back me up a little.
However, I do want to clear this up with some ladies that are reading this, if you are against it, I totally understand! This subject should be talked about with your doctor or midwife BEFORE having a drink. This is something that I choose to do, just like smoking, I choose NOT to do that during pregnancy, or at all!

Here is my little private message to her, she wanted to make inappropriate and out in public for everyone to see. Well lets just say that I do my research...

Hello,
This is my view on alcohol and pregnancy.
(posted link here)
Also, they started making this a big deal in the early 70s! Of course they are going to say something about it with all the craziness that went on during that time. I'm not gonna go around suggesting it to other pregnant women, because it can be unsafe to women who do not have complete normal pregnancies.
My midwife needed me to relax, my stress level was going through the roof, which was causing me high blood pressure. She has been a midwife for over 25 years now so I totally trust her wisdom.
Back in the early 1900s they would give sick restless infants a tablespoon of whiskey to help them sleep, so what would be the difference in the womb?
Women in Europe drink like they do when they are not pregnant . So why aren't they pressing this subject in other countries? Is it because Americans screwed up back in the day? Probably.
If you were to ask a doctor and most newer midwives about this, they would be against it...because it their job to have us stay away from what could be a binge and unsafe for babies and their mothers.
I don't want someone judging me (and others) for having a glass of wine once in awhile during pregnancy.
So please, think twice before you go off and tell a lady in public that she is a bad mother for have a drink to relax during her stressful third trimester.
Thank you

I said please and thank you, was I polite enough? She was absolutely rude about this subject matter and glancing at her very ghetto FB page she was a bit younger than me, she is single, and is pregnant.
Status saying "single" is one thing. I have polite, mannerly friends who are single and are wonderful mothers to their children. But having cuss words all over her wall to her "baby-daddy"?(hate that word :/) That is what made me write this message. Maybe she needed a little bit of education in her life. :)

I'm not usually like this, most of you know. My personality is very much on the quiet side of things, but when someone steps out of line to tell me I'm a horrible mommy to my beautiful Josiah, that will bring me out of my shell.

First Christmas of 3

Josiah's first official Christmas, our first official Christmas as a family of 3! Super excited for Christmas this year, so much more fun with a child that knows how to tear apart things like...Christmas wrapping!

This is the first time that Josiah has seen a Christmas tree, and is also difficult for me to put together while trying to entertain him. Thanks to my mom though for helping me put the lights on, and thanks to Bill and Wendy for tightening the darn tree into its stupid stand cause I'm hopeless when it comes to that sort of thing. So after arranging it to where I wanted it, getting the lights on, I finally was able to do something decorative to my beautiful tree! 

As soon as I was finished decorating and cleaning up the pine needles everywhere I was able to get the little man out of his walker, didn't take him long to discover the tree and crawl as fast as he can to get his hands on one of those shiny Christmas balls. For only just a second I got a quick pic of the very little time of him admiring it.

I told him NOT to take down the ornaments and this is the grin I get. Little Turkey! lol! 

There he goes, he HAD to have one!

Haha Mom! 

I let him play with the round shiny ones for a little bit, but then he started eating it. So now he has his own cloth stocking ornament to play with. 

Going to Love this Christmas of a family of 3 and cherish it always.

Jess

Cute Fabric Made Onesi

There is a baby shower coming up on Sunday and I had no idea what to get my wonderful friend for her shower. She has three girls and this 4th one is going to be a boy! yay! So she needs mostly boyish things. This month has been really crazy so far, which part of that means that we are super short on cash. Desperate to find something that she would like for her son I went to Pinterest. :) Oh how I love this site! So many great ideas and all the items that I needed for this project I already had! Yay for me!!!

I was super excited to get going on this so the day after I found this pin, I got to work on it right away. :)

Here is my inspiration...

#1 I didn't have THIS many fabric pieces lying around my house

#2 I didn't have 10 white onesis to do these

 What I DID have was a set of 4 different long sleeve onesis that I got from Toys'R'Us earlier this year during their winter sale right before spring hit, so I got them super cheap! Josiah was too big for them at the time but, I knew that SOMEONE was going to have a baby boy SOMEDAY! Well, I guess I was right! :)

I also had a few fabric scraps that I used for gifts before which I still had some left over.

Also I didn't have this...

But i did have this...

This is the same thing but just in a different shape, I use this to help hem my jean, because of my short self I can never find jeans short enough, if they are a "short" they are too short. So I get a regular and hem it myself. 

Anyways

Here are the results...

Minky soft whale

Soft mink and flannel girrafe

Polka dotted tie.

Here they are all ready to go.

I know that they arent perfect, I'm not the greatest at these sort of things but as I go, I'll get better and better. Best part about this is that I didn't have to go out and buy anything. Really saved me some money, all it took me was some time and love. <3

Thanks for reading!

Jess

Taste Test

It's OK to try all your baby's food.

You gotta make sure it tastes alright!

I make most of Josiah's baby food and all of it is delicious! 

Even his snacks that I get from the store every once in awhile are yummy!

Note: pic was taken in summer of 2011, I just let him go at it!

Christmas Tunes

It's OK that you were playing Christmas music WAY before the season!

I mean listen to the words, so uplifting and beautiful!

Num. Num. Num.

It's OK to eating a ton of Chocolate Chip Cookies before dinner when they come right out of the oven!

(Yes, that's whole milk, not very diet efficient I know)

Especially because its the Holidays!

Indulge a little, you can work it off in the Summer, that's what its for!

Hey, It's OK!

It's OK to leave your baby in pajamas all day long!

Especially if they look super cute in thermals!

I miss this...

I was looking back at some of the photos of Josiah when he was just a newborn,

and I just want to point out some of the things that I miss that I want to experience over and over again.

I miss the smell of leftover milk that got left on his face(gross? I don't think so)
I miss how he looks all swaddled tightly in his blankets.
I miss the late night feedings that in which I hated at the time and took for granted.
I miss watching him just look at me.
I miss the silly new faces that he made everyday.
I miss how he used to fall asleep on my chest.
I miss how he would sleep anywhere and everywhere.
I miss the super tiny pajamas that I would keep him in all day.
I miss rocking him to sleep in my cradled arms.
I miss the newborn cry.
I miss watching him sleep while holding him.
I miss him NOT moving all the time.
I miss hearing him breathe by my bedside at night while he was asleep.

I loved all these things and more, and I took so much for granted. I didn't even think about how precious this all was to me till now. As a mother, I love to watch him grow and learn new things everyday. Although I miss these things, they were wonderful while they lasted and I can't wait to do it all over again. Speaking of which, my baby drive is starting to get to me. All these new moms(and moms again) having these beautiful little angels is making it difficult. However, I cannot wait to meet their newborns! I can't wait to see the little pink things that Britney has Ruby wearing and I'm excited for Chara's girls to meet their new little brother Titus. Both coming in December! Hopefully these new babies will help with my crazy drive!

"lightbulb"

So I just realized that this year for Thanksgiving all the family is going to be together for dinner for the very first time. Ben's entire family and my entire family is going to all be together. Both his older brothers are coming into town and for even the Barrows family that's a rare treat.

So we'll have my parents, my brother, my sister....His parents and his three brothers....and then our family!
That's a grand total of 12 people! I still haven't decided if I should make another batch of rolls(24) or not....maybe I'll do just a half batch?
Funny thing this is we'll have two sets of twins in one house and also two brothers named Thomas in the same house. haha!
Yes, both his mom and my mom had twins and both Ben's younger brother and my younger brother is named Thomas! They are even great friends that go to school and hang out together!
My crazy, but wonderful family.
I am so blessed to have in-laws that treat me like their own daughter. Siblings that I'm super close too, and parents that would take care of me if anything happened to my family.

What are you thankful for this Thanksgiving? Is is the roof over your head? Food in your belly? Your family?Let me know! I love to hear your comments!

Busybody

For the last few weeks that's all I've been doing!

Keeping busy to pass the winter time up to get closer to Christmas. 

Experimenting is my specialty! I really do think that I have a gift in this sort of thing, I made apple butter for the first time in my life and just by researching what other people have done I've make my own recipe of apple butter. It is delicious! I think that I have eaten an entire loaf of bread with the darn stuff, good part about my recipe is that I don't add any sugar! That's right, no added sugar. The apples provide all the natural sugar that you need anyway, you just need to spruce it up a little with some apple type spices. I always make a lot so that I have extra to give out as Christmas gifts, and then the canning process comes into play. :)
Also, I have been trying to find ways to save gifts for Christmas this year, which isn't easy. If you have met my family, you'd understand. I always want to get something for them that they'ed really want and/or put to good use. Older boys are so stinking hard to shop for, I can deal with my husband, but dads that purchase what they want, and brothers that don't play with matchbox cars anymore get really difficult. I have found some solutions for them, but it definitely won't be cheap.
Thanksgiving is coming up in a couple of days and apparently, since my moms bought me a standing food mixer, I've been voted to make homemade dinner rolls. Haha! Very funny considering I have never made homemade bread in my LIFE! So I've been looking up the best recipes for that and I'm going to give it a go tomorrow. In case they don't work out, I'll just buy some on the way. ;)


Jessie's Easy Apple Butter Recipe-Crockpot!

4-5lbs of apples-all sorts    I used Honeycrisp, Gala, Fugi, and Green.
1/4 tsp ground clove
1/2tsp allspice
1tblsp cinnamon
1/3 c water

You can add more different spices-make it your own! I prefer a more apple taste with not-so-much spice

peel and core apples and cut into chunks
throw into crockpot with water and spices or you can stir this in a separate bowl (I didn't think there was a point, it's all going to be blended together in the end anyway.
Set your Crockpot onto high and let your house smell wonderful, cook apples till they fall apart!
Use a blender to make the apples into a nice sauce.

Here is another nice recipe that is more "butter like".  -I prefer more saucy, but some like buttery better.

http://changingmydestiny.wordpress.com/2011/10/08/crockpot-apple-butter/

Enjoy!

Shopping Spree success!

So today from 12-5 we had a shopping spree where various people sold various items, all proceeds went to the Grace House Foundation.
I had a great time getting to know people! One of the ladies next to me was selling miche bags, and I had to buy one. A diaper bag one actually, these bags of all different shapes and sizes can be one bag with different looks, shells is what they called them. I'm so excited for mine to come in to use it!
The things that I was selling were actually selling! I was surprised! I even had people ask if I had a business card(really!), as well as if I took customized orders. Unfortunately because it was my first year doing this and I had a 8 month old I had to take care of I didn't have enough time or enough finances to do what I wanted to do. Next year though I'm starting extra early, and now I know what I NEED to sell to actually make some money!
I was happy how it turned out though, now that I got my name out there and now that I'm known for making wreaths and selling canned goods. The ladies will probably be back next year to give it another go. We will also have more time to get the word out so that more people can come and see what we do, and maybe just hang out and talk with us ladies!
Daddy had Josiah all day and with the little man being sick and all he was well behaved and didn't give Dad any problems whatsoever! I'm glad things turned out well today and I look forward to more of these events in the next years future!

Viral Conjunctivitis

So this week I have to deal with my baby having viral conjunctivitis, let me tell you something, that is not something you want to have to deal with. My poor baby looks so pitiful, he was more of a trooper than I was going to the doctor to be checked out. Here I am driving and bawling my eyes out because I felt so bad for the little guy. He was handling his situation a lot better than mommy was. 

His poor eyes are so red and puffy, along with that icky, goopey yellow stuff is coming out of his eyes it is so sad. I really wish that he didn't have to go through this. I feel so guilty because I have no idea how he got this stupid virus, I feel like that I failed as a mommy because this happened to him. :( 

Thank God I have a wonderful husband.  He came home with a eye drop prescription for Josiah, he also brought me my favorite candies and a bouquet of flowers. That's just what I needed, a pick-me-up. Thank you babe! I never felt so down in my life, yet this thing happens to children more than we think. I guess the Doc says that this sort of thing is very contagious. So until his yellow goop is gone from his beautiful blue eyes, we The Barrows will be keeping out little man from people, don't need to be spreading it from person to person. Hopefully this clears up soon, cause I don't like this one bit.

http://www.babycenter.com/0_pinkeye_11283.bc

The Season Of Giving

Please join us Sunday, November 6th for an afternoon of holiday shopping that gives back to those in need!

Proceeds to benefit the Grace House Women's Shelter.   http://www.womenatthewellgracehouse.com/

Where: Creekside Golf Club Ballroom

            6250 Clubhouse Drive

            Salem, OR 97306

When: Sunday, November 6th

           12-5pm

I, myself will be selling homemade Holiday wreaths, very simple, very homemade Soy candles, and fabric flower accessories. 

More things being sold...

Jewlery-Avon-Miche Bags-Pampered Chef-Partylite Candles-Gourmet Foods-Home Decor-Dessert Gift Baskets-Xyngular Health and Wellness.

Desserts and beverages will be served and there will be a raffle! 

Chilly House? Time to start up my fireplace!

So I finally decided that it was time to start it! All the neighbors around us have started lighting theirs, but I just didn't think that it was cold enough to do that yet.
So here I am, being lazy, Josiah is napping downstairs and I'm enjoying myself with a cup of hot apple cider, reading a good book with the warmth of the fire by my side.
I can't wait till the Holidays, as they get closer and closer, I get more and more excited.

Josiah's first Halloween:
I have a monkey outfit that I got from a Carter's store a few months back, they were super cheap and I couldn't pass up the $10 complete monkey outfit. Now all I need to do is make some sort of warm shoes for those cute little feet of his. Hopefully we'll be lucky enough to keep up the trend of the dry Halloween nights like the last few years.

First Thanksgiving:
Both sides of the family live in town, so therefore we have to go to both houses to celebrate. Josiah is now at the age that he can finally eat just about everything and can feed himself really well. Watching him taste the different foods that he doesn't normally have is going to be quite the experience.

First Christmas:
This one makes me the most excited of all! He'll be about 10 months old, and with the rate he's going at mobility wise he may be walking by that time. My very determined little man. :) Definitely won't be a problem for him to get his gifts unwrapped.

Saved Instagram Pics

I figure that I better put these in another place, besides Facebook and my IPhone.

Toothy Grin!

I used to do this to my hair a lot! Decided out of the random to try it again, I think I like it!

Date night with Hubby! At Best Little Roadhouse, I havent been there before til this pic.

Dimple LOVE!

Waiting for Daddy outside Toys R Us, got him a new, big boy car seat(not in pic). Transitions from rear facing, forward facing to booster!

Autumn love

So Sunday we went up to Hood river for their yearly harvest festival. His parents and us that is. Perfect weather, cool creative things to look at and good snacks! It was a good day, then afterwards we went up to the Portland hospital to see Bens cousin. She just had a beautiful baby girl, so was so little I had forgotten how easy babies were to carry at that age. Josiah got to meet his great aunt Chris, second cousin Julia and third cousin Jadalyn.
When we got home and was finally able to get Josiah down for a real nap, he wouldn't sleep for anything on the trip in the carseat because he is incredibly sensitive to light and sound. He only slept for maybe a total of an hour and a half the entire day, and this kid still wanted to climb mountains!(stairs)
Well anyway, with an overtired baby, my sister still was willing to come over and stay the night with me and keep me company we even made some homemade soy candles together and they turned out looking and smelling great!
These days waking up I get to sleep in till as late at 10:00! Now that is awesome! I was needing to catch up on days of lost sleep for some time, and my son is willing to cooperate and let me do so. Going on with our late start days, I don't really feel like doing anything anymore. I'm still sometimes in my sweats, fed Josiah some breakfast, with little chunks of fruit I can come up with for him to feed himself. Now I settle in this big couch and watch netflix. I don't care if the laundry is piling up anymore, and don't care about the dishes as much.
However, I feel bad sometimes for my husband when he gets home because there are those rare days where I have to wait for him to get home just so that I can get a shower in. He is so wonderful at forgiving me for not having dinner perfectly ready for him on the table and for not having the house clean for him. I just get so exhausted by just watching my son play, is that bad? I don't want to be that lazy mommy and wife that sits at home all day, eats bon bons and watches soap operas. I want to be the mom that gets out and plays with my kids at the park and take them to exciting events. I don't feel like I am living up to that standard. I know that my son is only 8 months old and I still have a lot of time to do all those things. I just feel guilty, I think that me being lazy sometimes is bad!
I need to get to the part where I think that I'm qualified for a day off every once in a while. I need to remind myself that its totally ok to let things go every once in awhile. My husband doesn't care just as long as he can eat SOMETHING when he gets home. I love a man that loves leftovers! Maybe the change in the weather is part of the lazy effect that I have. Eventually I'll get my butt into gear. Probably not till after mid-November though, then everything will hopefully be back to normal. Anyhoo-Happy fall everyone!

Using Rhythmic Birth Control

Not only do disappointments happen but the fact that stupid things happen at the most inconvenient time is the most irritating to me.
I just gotta let this out.

The last few weeks or so Ben has been working a lot! So much in fact that I was needing some TLC in the intimate department. (wink*)
Then finally the day that he decides that he wasn't tired and he was going to actually be his 'normal' man self. I start my period! Really?! I wasn't expecting this till next week! I usually have terrible cramps beforehand for an hour or so before their is any, well, you know.
ARG! I haven't been this frustrated in a long time! Now we have to wait another week, and because we do the rhythmic birth control I have to be timely with what my body is doing. Difficult but not impossible and much better than the oral contraceptives in my opinion.

Why did I chose this method? Because the cost of birth control, the extra hormones and depending on something that I easily forget often was not worth it--from my point of view anyway. We used to do the withdrawal method (man pulls out before ejaculation), and we did that method for two years married before we got pregnant. We did, however, get pregnant by accident, we consumed a little alcohol and had a little bit too much fun. ;) Which is a great way to make a baby! lol! We still do withdrawal method, but only during ovulation.
Also, if God really wants me to have another baby right now, nothing is going to stop him from doing it. Even if I did do every birth control in the world correctly He is in control. All birth controls say 99% effective, so how does that 1% turn out?
My midwife did tell me to wait at least a year before even trying to have another baby, because of a medical reason. We want a healthy second baby, so to follow these orders are important to start another chapter of our lives. So we are extra careful, and we are not having intercourse as much during ovulation. I know my body really well and know when I'm ovulating as should hopefully almost every woman know their body this well too if you have regular periods.

I have heard some stories from friends taking hormonal pills, diaphragms, or any other kind of thing that's out there and some not-so-good things happen. Infertility was one of the biggies. For instance on of my friends...she was taking oral contraceptives for 6 years non-stop to help regulate and have lighter periods, now that she is married they want to have a baby. She stopped taking it nearly 1 year ago, and they are still trying, her periods are even more irregular so ovulation is difficult to detect.

That is just one story out of the many others that try and fail to have babies. I feel bad for them, because although the risks are small, there is still that slight chance. Have you seen what could possibly happen if you take medical bc? Blood clots, mood swings, nausea, Palpitation(heart beating rapidly randomly), Decreased calcium retention(osteoporosis?), weight gain, Depression(rare, but still). This is just a few mishaps and for only short term consumption. However long term - possibility of gallstones, decreased resistance during flu season. There is more but I don't want to take the time to get it all down.
But yeah, that is just my intake on this subject, and if it works for you to take oral contraceptives go for it!

I'm not gonna go out there and protest against medical means of birth control. Some women find these means better for them, which is OK. Some women have emotional reasons, and some have medical, which is scientifically better for them by a doctors order.

My husband and I have faith in God that he will bless us with the perfect amount of children at the perfect timing. Happy marriage=happy family! :)

Josiah's first pumpkin patch!

It was such a nice day out when we were at the farm. Sunny with a nice autumn breeze, perfect!

Next time will be 100xs better though, because then Josiah will be 1 1/2, walking and actually get more involved. He just was on Daddy's shoulders, or in my arms the whole time, good times but he's a super heavy kid now and we got so tired of carrying him around. All he did was mainly look at everything and when I tried to present him to the cute animals, he just wanted to pull their ears or eat whatever they were eating. lol

We were going to get a pumpkin but then I decided not to just because I can get one alot cheaper at a supermarket than the pumpkin patch. However, I insisted on at least getting some super yummy apple cider, then Ben insisted on getting the huge gallon size. Yeah that sucker is still in my fridge. So yummy though! 

I got some pics of the cute animals, the cows were so adorable laying int their pens.

Sitting on Daddy's shoulders, drooling, eating his hair.

My what blue eyes! I love this pic, and nothing was done to it. All natural lighting and everything

Pumpkins!

Too many days of no sleep=no good

On top of everything that I have to finish before November, my son has decided to wake up 3-6 times a night. This has been going on for about a month now, I don't know if it's because he just started learning how to pull himself up, or maybe he's growing?
I did read an article about the ages of infants and their sleeping patterns how they change so easily by just the fact the baby is learning new things. Learning to pull themselves up was mentioned.
Hopefully this will pass soon, I really don't know how much longer I can take of this. Not sleeping much I mean.
I was very prepared to wake up every 2 hours a night when he was a newborn, but this, I was not prepared.

Tomorrow finally the three of us is going to have a much needed family day, I've probably seen my husband a total of 10 hours the last 4 days and this time together is something to definitely look forward too.
He is excited to hang out with his son too, which is such a sweet thing to hear from daddy. :)

Pics will be posted from Josiah's first pumpkin patch! Super excited!

Too much to do, so little time, and with a baby!

Yep, the simple life just got kicked up a notch!
I have a ton of things to do before November, there is a fundraiser going on for the Grace House and having booths with different items selling different things.
So the things that I have to finish before that day is...
All the candles that I have to make into the used baby jars, I have SO many of them to do, at least 100 I think
Fabric flowers that come in the form of either a headband, brooch, or hair pin.
Holiday wreaths in which I make from ribbon and other decorative items.

So I have the ingredients for everything, except for more scent options for the candles, and everything for the wreaths. Like I said I have a ton of things to do!

This kind of stuff is going to be made very homemade, and rustic. Recycled baby jars made into mini candles? why not? Probably only going to sell those little suckers for about $1 a piece cause another lady is selling partylight candles, and I don't wish to be a competitor.
Fabric flowers made from recycled shirts, sweaters, and scraps of fabric? Yes! Those will be sold super cheap too!
Holiday wreaths, not so recycled. :/ My mother actually took the liberty to put on the bulletin  that I was selling wreaths, so I have to just make a few for selling. I was going to sell canned jams and jellys but again, another person is already doing so.

I think that I'll call my little private company "The Lil Homemaker" just for the heck of it! Hey maybe I'll make a few bucks off this little thing that I'm doing. I'm kinda anxious about it. :)
So all that and a baby to take care of, along with keeping up with the housework and having a hot dinner on the table as much as possible for my man.

Actually my husband is being such a sweet heart and we are eventually going clothes shopping for me! Not the goodwill items mind you! And I am such a goodwill junkie! He looked at me and the clothes that I was wearing one day and he just decided that my outdated clothing will not do for a wife of his! I deserve better he says, aww. I love him!

Philippians 4:13

What's that you say...

is on my sweater? Many things I tell you! Spit-up, snot, drool, food, formula, diaper cream, crusty snack leftovers, a little bit of my lunch. That's alright, I'm blessed enough to have plenty of clothes to change into. :) The love of being a mother...not minding the fact that my child's life is all over the front of my nicely prepared outfit.
However, it does get a little annoying when my church outfit, favorite pair of jeans and/or new white shirt gets some kind of red sauce on it. I will eventually learn my lesson. :) No touching baby right before going out on a date with my wonderful husband, or at least wear a very over sized apron at all times until after stepping out the door. Oh the good times!
I love my baby and he is growing so fast, pulling himself up, getting into things he shouldn't typical boy. Pretty soon he'll be walking and I won't be able to catch the little booger. He is going to be 8 months old in a week! OMG

Things are overwhelming lately but I think that with the help and grace of God I will be able to handle it. For I don't think that he would give me something that I couldn't handle.

Too much time has passed...

So anyway, yeah, its been awhile since I posted. I've just been kinda busy working on a few things, like making a TON of fabric flowers, wreaths and hair accessories for this fundraiser craft fair for my mothers Grace House that she has been working on. So I've been busy at being BORED, I guess you could say.

The days turn longer as my husband is constantly working and seems like that I don't see him as often as I use to, and out of my frustration I end up being the nagging wife because he is gone all the time. I definitely need to be working on that part, and be patient as he works hard for his family and I don't think that I give him nearly enough credit for it. Also, our old red car has just recently been totaled so we are officially a one car family. Which is making my days even harder because I can't get out of this darn house unless I drive Ben to work, and most the time I don't wanna do that because of gas and he sometimes gets out of work late, and when he does work really late at night I don't really want to wake up Josiah just to go pick up daddy then I would have a grouchy baby all the way there and back. To take up more time of the day, I would totally walk, if I didn't have a baby that I had to walk everywhere with, I don't quite trust this wonderful Oregon weather that we have. So with a chance of rain that comes rapidly around the corner, walking with a 7 month old-not so wise. So on a side note, if you all could be praying for me to have patience and to be that wife in Proverbs 31 that I need to be. Just having a little bit of a rough time right now and I need that little extra boost of prayer from my lady friends out there!

However the upside of things, fall is here! My favorite time of the year, I love the colors, cold weather attire(scarves, cardigans, comfy sweaters) and the knowing fact that the holidays are just around the corner.

Happy October! Halloween is just around the corner and I can't wait for my son's first Halloween celebration!
Love you guys-Jess

I need to vent!

This is the best place to vent, cause then my husband has the choice to read it or not. Here it goes!

It is so stinkin hot in my house, I don't like staying at other peoples houses for a long time otherwise my little man gets cranky from not getting his naps on time, and he likes it better at home, like I do. It's suppose to get to nearly 100degrees today so Josiah and I are trying to hang out downstairs as much as possible. Next year, we are NOT going to go without an AC again. I don't care what it takes.

Next...

My living room is in need rearranging cause its bugging me not having enough floor space for Josiah to get around. The other reason why I have been trying to rearrange my living room is so that Josiah isnt constantly trying to eat the electrical cords, get close to the brick fireplace and push all the buttons on our electronic stuff. Every time he touches anything that has a light or makes noise seems to get reset somehow and I don't know how to fix it until Ben gets home. Then I get blamed for not watching him 24/7. Really? I can't stare at him all day long, I actually do things around the house ya know. I really do cook dinner in my 90 degree kitchen. I really do mop the floor on my hands and knees in this bizzare weather.

Ok I'm done venting now, I'll stop complaining about the things that could be. Let's just say that I'm definitely looking forward to the cold weather again. Never been much of a hot, summer person anyways.

For the grandparents.

So I've been trying to figure out Christmas gifts already, and the thought of how much I can only spend is going to be difficult. However, I did find something that was FREE, becuase I already had the ingredients in my kitchen. I wanted to mainly make some really cute memories of my son for the grandmas especially. So this is what I made.

That's right salt dough handprints(and footprints:)) Which I believe that I should get an A+ for the effort. With most of you knowing exactly how my son is, it is nearly impossible to keep him still not even for 10seconds worth! lol.
I will add more to these, maybe some gloss to make it shiny and I'm going to paint a cute little saying in the back of my little masterpieces. I was reading on one of my favorite sites (Pinterest.com) that the lady that made them left them the way they were. So maybe I'll just leave them be, we'll see. I'll probably post what I do with them as more cheap crafty projects will be on there way to be made.

Life of a full time mommy. Part 1

What does taking care of an almost 7 month olds schedule look like?

This is actually a list of times for both my moms and whoever else may babysit him. Just easier for me to write what I do every day, so that they have an easier time taking care of him. He is one of those types of babies that are really scheduled oriented.

Update of Josiah’s 7 month schedule:

 (schedule may change periodically in causes of new learning/weaning to older baby things)

 6:30-7:00   eats a 6oz bottle, wake up if he sleeps in longer than 7:15.

7:30-7:45   eats baby cereal with peaches, bananas, or applesauce.

9:00   lay down for morning naptime

12:00-1:00   wakes up from nap(if he goes longer that’s ok it’s his most important nap that he needs, if he does sleep longer than extend his playtime to a later naptime unless he seems like he’s ready) he gets a 6oz bottle/sippy (learning to transition)

1:30-2:00   gets a veggie meal, fruit for dessert (add baby cereal to thicken)with 2oz juice from sippy.

3:00-4:00   give 4oz bottle and lay down for naptime.

6:00-6:30   wake up from 2^nd nap(if nap was as short as 30-45min that’s ok) feed dinner meal of veggies and either yougurt or fruit for dessert(add baby cereal to thicken)

7:00-7:30   Bathtime

7:30-7:45   Last bottle before bed-8oz- if he dosen’t finish that’s ok.

8:00   Read him a book while eating or after he’s done than its bedtime!

If I need to go out and run errands. I usually do so right before a naptime(he’ll sleep in his carseat if he’s tired enough) or during the hours that he plays. But not in the middle of the times that he needs to nap or eat. Otherwise the end results are a cranky Josiah. J

 Notes of change:

So there you have it, my day of being a full time mommy, and I love every second of it!

I love funny baby faces!

My son is the cutest things I have ever laid eyes on, click on the link below to see why!
http://www.facebook.com/v/2323840864864

My baby is growing up!

I can't stand how much he is learning everyday. I need him to slow down ALOT so that I can embrace the moment of my son's infancy. He's crawling, talking and getting into everything, my husband and I have to keep a close eye on him otherwise he'll be into something he shouldn't. I still need to get locks on my cabinets, something to protect his little head from the brick fireplace and a swinging gate for the upstairs. OIY! He keeps me busy though, a good kind of busy.

I keep thinking about wanting to be pregnant again, so my mind is in a million places at once. I want to wait til next year to try again, but I don't know if I can wait that long. :) With all the babies that are being born around me, I'm getting the fever if you know what I'm saying.
But I'll be patient and let God do the planning of the bird and the bees.

Lately my husband and I have been talking alot about Josiahs future, deep down in my heart for the longest time, I've always wanted to homeschool our children. I think that I have to much of a fear of public school will ruin my precious angel. But Ben made a point of Josiah being a good witness to friends at school, he can be a good example for the disrespectful teenage boys of the future age. I don't know what to think still, I'm still a little scared. I probably just need some time to get over it and have God work through me. Anyway, now that I have vented to my blog I've included a video of my adorable son talking to me in the morning over his bananas and oatmeal breakfast.
p.s. I'm trying to get him to say mama, before dada beats me too it. I think its working! haha. Enjoy!

http://www.facebook.com/v/2319936927268

Josiah's first Zoo trip.

We had so much fun at the zoo, our friend Jamie came with us to hang out and walk around to look at the animals too.
With it being Josiahs first experience he did surprisingly well, he didn't fuss a whole lot, and when he did we just took him out of his stroller and carried him. He got a closer look at the animals when we did that anyway.
Daddy had so much fun, showing his handsome son off to all the ladies. It was great!
I even have some great pics of my favorite animals too.
Enjoy!



Proud daddy showing off his son

Giraffe

Zebra

And my favorite animal, Elephant