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Friday, February 28, 2014

Life With a Teething Toddler...

is interesting, frustrating, NOT FUN!  By the way, if you haven't entered my Shutterfly photo book giveaway yet, there's still time.  It ends on Tuesday!  Go here to enter!

Jo is currently teething.  You would think since she is our third kid we would be a pro at this whole parenting gig and be able to instantly tell that she is teething!  B and Mel teethed by the book.  Their teeth came in in the exact order and time the books said they would.  Jo is one day shy of being 17 months and she only has six teeth.  Two on top and four on the bottom!  So, we've been anxiously awaiting some new white pearls to pop through!  She finally let me look in her mouth a couple days ago and she has one upper canine tooth that is about halfway through!  She is also getting one of her upper incisors, I think!  I have this feeling that for the next several months she will be cutting teeth left and right!

For a week now she has been extremely difficult to get to sleep.  We've always done the same routine with her...put the big girls to bed, give good night kisses, then I bring Jo downstairs while Brad stays upstairs and reads a story to the other two. I change her diaper and rock her for a bit then I put her to bed.  We have done this same routine from the day we brought her home from the hospital so she should definitely know it is time for nighty-night.  For the past week, she will lay in her bed for about five minutes...long enough for us to think that there might be a glimmer of hope that she is falling to sleep.  Then all of a sudden she starts screaming and tossing things out of her crib, beginning with her pacifier.  That is our clue that she isn't going to sleep unless we go back in there, lay her down, put her paci back in, cover her up and close the door.  Then it starts all over.  Some nights it has been two hours before she finally settles down and goes to sleep.

Every night we hope and pray that this will be the night that she will sleep all.night.long.  Some nights she will wake and be up for 3 hours at a time.  She seems ready to go for the day.  No bueno!  We change her diaper, give her motrin then put her back to bed.  For three hours we are going back and forth between our room and hers, putting the pacifier back in her mouth, laying her down, covering her up and quietly walking out the door hoping that she will go back to sleep.  So, on average we are maybe getting 3 hours of sleep a night.  Teething definitely has a way of turning everything upside down!  It's almost like we have a newborn in the house again which makes any inkling of baby fever I had quickly go by the wayside!  On the plus side, she was only up once last night!



It's a good thing she's cute!

She has also learned how to climb!  Something B and Mel never did.  I guess she has to keep up with her big sisters.  B and Mel are good about keeping things that Jo shouldn't have out of her reach, but now she can climb to get where she wants to go.  Today she thought she needed Mel's scissors and markers!

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

A Giveaway From Shutterfly...

If you've followed this blog for any amount of time then you have probably realized that I love pictures!  I love taking them, editing them, showing them off, and displaying them.  B has a nice big scrapbook with several pictures in it from her first year.  A goal of mine has always been to make each of our kids their very own scrapbook for their first year as a keepsake.  Well, Mel came along and I didn't get it done.  I was a little busy taking care of a 2.5 year old and a newborn.  I told myself that one day I would get it done.  Well, five years later I FINALLY got it done all thanks to Shutterfly's Photo Books!
Shutterfly makes it super easy to upload your photos for your project to their website.  They even have an app for all you smartphone users, like me.  All those pictures that usually just sit on your phone can now be easily uploaded straight to your account on Shutterfly making them scrapbook worthy as well!
 A few years ago I even started making a book for each year that is filled with special pictures that were taken throughout the year.
 I even have Jo's first year book finished...I'm so glad it didn't take me five years to complete her's!

Mel's book came in the mail on Monday and she couldn't wait to look through it!  While I was making it she would come in the office and tell me which pictures she liked the best.

Shutterfly has several other great products also.  Visit their website to check them all out.  Their customer service is pretty great too!  Another favorite product of mine are their square magnets.  They are perfect for displaying your Instagram photos!


Now for the fun part!  The nice people at Shutterfly are letting me give a 20 page photo book away to one of you!  Leave a comment with your email address below to be entered for a chance to win a 12x12 20 page photo book from Shutterfly! (you must leave your email address to be entered to win otherwise I won't be able to contact you.)  Giveaway ends Tuesday, March 4 at midnight EDT.  A winner will be drawn randomly and I will announce the winner on Wednesday.

Disclaimer: While Shutterfly did provide me with a free photo book, all opinions and photos are my own.




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Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Project 52 Week 8 {bright} and Week 9 {color blind}...

So I didn't get last week's picture posted.  Surprise, surprise.  I'm sure it won't be the last time that will happen;)

The theme for week 8 was "Bright."  I tried so hard to get a decent picture of a flower in my Valentine's bouquet,  but they just weren't turning out quite right.  I gave up and walked in the kitchen and saw these paper straws setting on the counter and finally a light bulb went off!  Brightness...
 The theme for this week is "color blind."  This is a tough one.  I could have converted any old picture in black and white, but these are the ones that I chose...


Sometimes I wish we could all live more like a child.  So much innocence and love!
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Wednesday, February 19, 2014

I'm Okay With It...

I can't recall if I have shared this particular thing about myself with all of you, but I didn't go to college.  There.  I said it! Why is that so difficult to say sometimes?

 My senior year of high school was pretty much normal.  I made decent grades.  They could have been better, but they could have been a lot worse.  I would have taken any English class over Math any day! My friends were busy on the weekends filling out scholarships and trying to figure out which college best fit their interest.  I tried to jump on the band wagon with them.  Really I did, but it just didn't appeal to me.  I didn't know what I wanted to do with my life at the time.  I considered going to beauty school because I have always been obsessed with hair and make up.  I also thought about attending a community college and obtaining a degree in business.  The community college sounded a bit more promising for me because I didn't want to be away from home.  I know!  What senior doesn't like to be away from home for more than one night?  This girl!  Even church camp made me extremely home sick!  My parents never once forced me to go to college.  My mom always said, "Why force her to go when she doesn't want to?  She may just end up coming back home."

I had a job as a receptionist at a salon in our small town and I absolutely loved it!  Hence my previous statement about going to beauty school.  I was perfectly content working there and decided to stay there until the next opportunity came knocking at my door...which I was hoping wasn't any time soon.  Graduation day came and went and, honestly, I couldn't wait for it to be over. I was ready to move on!

The summer ended and most of my classmates went off to college and I was still in our little ole town working at the salon.  I was perfectly fine with it.  Then that opportunity came knocking at my door.  The one I was secretly hoping wouldn't come.  Thanks to a friend I was offered a job at a medical provider's office in the big city of Indianapolis.  In October of 2003 I began working as a Customer Service Representative taking orders from doctor's offices and hospitals.  If a patient was released and needed some type of medical equipment such as, oxygen, walkers, wheelchairs, etc. they called us.  I made sure the patient qualified per insurance guidelines and then I verified that they actually had medical insurance.  I spent countless hours on the phone with insurance companies, which I'm now glad that I did because I actually understand insurance!

So, here I was 18 and driving to Indy every day for an 8-5 job making money that seemed like a lot to a girl fresh out of school. Plus, I had medical benefits!  I will admit, the first few weeks were extremely difficult and I didn't know if I was ready to be thrown out in to the real world, but I stuck it out and I am so glad I did.

I had B in 2005 (Did I mention I graduated in '03, got married in '04, and had a baby in '05?  More on that later.)  The whole "not going to college thing" never once bothered me until I went to preregister before delivering B.  A question on one of the forms was, "What was the highest level of school completed by the patient?"  I had to answer 12th grade...high school.  Now, I know this is probably just for statistic purposes and hopefully the doctors and nurses didn't look down on me because I didn't go to college, but why does that matter?  Is my ability to take care of this baby going to be less than someone who does have a college education?  Why does society make us feel like if we don't go to college, then we are less of a person?

B will occasionally bring up college every now and then.  Thanks to Toy Story 3 for introducing that to her:)  She is already saying that she wants to live at home forever.  Now, I for one, hope that she doesn't live at home forever.  B is a lot like me and won't stay anywhere over night unless it is at a family member's house or her best friend's so the thought of going away for a week or two at a time completely baffles her.  We try to explain that as smart and outgoing as she is, she will probably change her mind and decide to go to college and will love it...maybe a little too much;), but that's hard for me to say because I never had the college life experience and Brad went for about 2 years then came back home to farm because that's where his heart was.

I can't look into the future and, believe me, sometimes I wish I could, but right now I know that I am pretty content with my life even though I don't have that college degree.  I may decide I need to go back to school someday, but right now I'm glad my parents didn't force me to go because I might not be where I am today!


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Monday, February 17, 2014

Project 52 Week 7 {focus}...

The only thing that keeps this girl focused for more than .5128 seconds these days is a You Tube video of the Peterson Farm Brothers.


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Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Wordless Wednesday....

I think I may have posted this pic before, but I came across it as I was ordering pictures from the last year.  Yes.  I said the last year.  I am horrible at ordering pictures.  They stay on my computer forever.  Every year I tell myself that I am going to be better about ordering pictures, but I always fail.  This year I will do better...I hope!  Anyway, I love this picture...the life of a child.  So care free.  And look at that blue sky and green grass.  I miss green grass!  Happy Wednesday!
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Friday, February 7, 2014

Project 52 Week 6 {Paradise}...

The theme for this week is paradise.  Most people might consider paradise to be the beach, the big city, or even enjoying a cool beverage pool side in 85 degree weather.  This is my kind of paradise...
Nothing but corn fields for miles and back roads to take you wherever you want to go!
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Thursday, February 6, 2014

Under Construction

My blog is going through a makeover at the moment! Please hang tight as some changes will be made. Some links and images may not work at the moment. Do check back soon to see my new look! 

Thanks!

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Thoughtless Thursday...The Many Faces of Jo...



Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Valentine Puppy Chow...

I thought puppy chow was something that was only made at Christmas until I saw a recipe for Valentine Puppy Chow one day while browsing the wonderful world of Pinterest.  You add red velvet cake mix to add a hint of red color, while also adding the flavor of red velvet which makes it taste a little different than the traditional Christmas one.  I made a few changes to the recipe.  The original recipe called for cream cheese and milk, but you had to keep it in the fridge, so I left those ingredients out and it turned out just fine.  I highly recommend making this for your Valentine;0)

Monday, February 3, 2014

Craft Time: Valentine Heart Wreath...

I've never been a big fan of Valentine's Day.  It's one day a year where we are supposed to express our love to our husbands, fiancees, kids, etc.  Shouldn't we do that every day?  Why do we need a "holiday" to remind us?  So, I've never really been one to decorate for Valentine's Day, but this year I'm kind of enjoying it.  This has been such a looong cold, snowy, dreary winter so I thought some splashes of pink and red would brighten our spirits a bit.  Well, it did and I love how these look hanging in our living room!


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