Surprise

Last week was rough to say the least. It started out ok before I realized Gianna was sick. Sure she was sleeping a lot but besides a little runny nose she had no symptoms of being sick. So I chalked it up to teething or a growth spurt. Then when Wednesday roled around I figured it was something else. Poor girl, the dr said her ear infection was horrible

And amoxicillin doesn't seem to work for her. Since Wednesday night she seemed to be in worse pain than the precious days. Every night at 1am she was up and it would take hours to get her back to sleep. Of course her crying and screaming woke up Ethan so I had two screaming babies to try and comfort and get to bed. And Gianna now gets extremely jealous if I'm holding Ethan when she wants to be held. Cue major meltdown. So when Friday rolled around I was ready for the weekend and laying around in my pajamas all day

Friday morning rolled around and I got an unexpected call from the hubs who told me my day would be getting better. However he wouldn't tell me how so. An hour later he calls and as we are talking I hear a knock on my door. Now I'm in my pajamas with spit up all over them and since I had been up since 1am with two sick screaming kids I def didnt look my best. And I def didnt want to open that door. But I did and to my surprise my brother and his girlfriend were there! They had rented a car and drove from Wi to visit me for the week. I was so glad to see them!

We've had a blast so far. Saturday I was able to go shopping and for the first time in 2 years I bought non maternity jeans and clothes in my normal pre baby size! I also treated myself to new makeup. Sephora you get me every time. It was so nice to have help with the kids and hang out with them

The rest of the week they are helping me finish projects around the house. The back splash, updating Giannas room into a big girl room and adding more decor to Ethan's room are all on the agenda. And hopefully figuring out exactly how to convert out dining room into a playroom that's both adult and kid friendly.
We will see if we get it all done. And Gianna of course is loving all the attention. They last saw her when she was a year so she has changed a lot since then

Here are some pics from the weekend











Where did my baby go?






Tomorrow is my 29th birthday! I'm loving the fact that I will have babysitters so I will be able to go out to dinner with friends!


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Once again

Once again we are sick. It started our with Gianna. Since Saturday she has been whiny, fussy, clingy and sleepy. She has pretty much slept all day this past week. Wednesday she woke up with a huge rash after nap time so off we went to urgent care. Luckily the rash is viral but she has a horrible ear infection. Sigh

What's really hard is that she is getting mad and jealous of her brother. Since she isn't feeling well she wants to be held all the time and if I'm feeding him she throws a fit. I feel so bad. And she won't sleep alone at night. So I've had her, e and two dogs in my bed for the past few nights. Talk about uncomfortable!

Last night G woke up at 1 and didn't fall back asleep until 6. At 830 she woke up. Not going to lie I heard her lean over and say Mommy and I pretended to still be asleep. It didnt work. So now we are all laying in bed watching a movie and I'm drinking a strong cup of coffee

Oh did I mention that E has a fever this morning. With two kids the sickies are never ending

However as exhausting as having two sick kids are the camping out on my bed and all the extra hugs and squeezes I get are priceless. I wouldn't trade them in for anything




























Happy Friday everyone

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Happy Bday hubby

Happy birthday babe. Maybe one of these years we will be able to celebrate it together. Until then I just want you to know how much I love and miss you. You are such an amazing husband and father and I thank god every day for putting you in my life. I honestly can say I love you more now than I did on our wedding day. My love for you has grown over the years and our life together just keeps getting better and better. You have given me two amazing gifts and watching you with our two children makes my heart swell. They are so lucky to have you for their father. I can't wait until you are home

Until then, I will leave you with a message from our son

The kids and I are off to Pensacola for your birthday surprise. Which of course will be mailed to you shortly!

What I'm looking forward to!

- My husband coming home! I'm so over this deployment and can't wait for it to be over. Homecoming preparations are already in the works. I ordered a welcome home banner from build a sign. Your first sign is free. You just have to pay shipping and handling



- Putting these on my porch.


Ill take the view too! The hubs has been wanting to get rocking chairs for our porch and that is what I'm going to get him for his welcome home present. I can easily envision us spending time out there every night this summer after putting the kids to bed

- Seeing this movie tomm.



My friends and I all got babysitters and in lieu of spending valentines day with our hubby's are going to dinner and a movie

- Going on our first family vacation to one of my favorite places on earth.



Sanibel island Fl. I sent in our deposit yesterday and have been daydreaming about sandy beaches and the warm sea breeze all day

- reading this book


And receiving the many other books I ordered off amazon.

- Warm weather, summer clothes and day trips to the beach


What are y'all looking forward to

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Our First Family Vacation

With the hubby coming home in a few months I went into major vacation planning mode. He will get a month of leave this summer and we knew we wanted to do something or go somewhere just the four of us

This will be our first vacation taking the kids. I am so excited. At first we debated about going home to Wi but quickly squashed that idea. As nice as it would be to see family, we need our own family time. M needs time to readjust to being back, and to adjust to having two kiddos. Not to mention bonding with his son whom he has only spent 2.5 weeks with

We also knew we had to stay somewhere within a decent driving distance. A 10 hour drive tops.

I suggested Sanibel Island Fl. I have gone there numerous times with my family and love it. It's so beautiful. Although we have amazing beaches here in Destin I wanted to go someplace we hasn't been. Someplace that we can't drive to every day. So I called a few places and booked us a condo in sanibel. I'm so excited to spend a week at the beach without worrying about havig to drive home and let the dogs out or about driving back and forth to the beach. One week of uninterrupted family time together! I can't wait

Has anyone ever been to sanibel. Any tips on traveling or vacationing with little kids?


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Happy Valentines Day

I am

I am...

-not breastfeeding in this pic although the way E is holding my dress it looks like I am. I do however, breastfeed and plan to until E is 1. Give or take a few months before. Gianna weaned herself at 9.5 months we will see if E does the same

I am an army wife

-SAHM who does not miss working. There I said it. I have no desire to go back to work for quite some time. I love being able to stay home with the kids, although there are days they drive me crazy

-addicted to coffee. Well creamer, my coffee mug is more than halfway filled with creamer and than a little splash of coffee. I can't stand the taste of black coffee

-an avid reader. These days my stack of books consist of mostly parenting books. I'm a sucker for them

-afraid of thunderstorms. And tornado's. The worst part of living in Fl is the lack of basements.

-a beach bum. I can spend every day at the beach. Especially given a good book and a fruity drink. Although these days my beach day consists of shovels, sand pails and babies

-anxious. I have horrible anxiety and am just know doing something about it. I worry about everything and always jump to the worst case scenario. I hope my kids don't inherit this trait

-addicted to reality tv. Bachelor, Real housewives and teen mom are some of my favorites

-addicted to Pinterest and social media. Can't get enough.

-a wanna-be photographer. I just need to learn how to use my Nikon!

-a blogger because I wanted to find a way to document my life as a newlywed. Now this hobby has turned into so much more. I have met some amazing people through my blogging journey and love that I have an online journal for my kids to read one day

-honest. Sometimes too much so

-a talker. I love talking and can talk someone's head off. One of my new years resolutions is to talk less and listen more

-a planner. I like to have my days all mapped out with activities. I keep 5 planners and write in them all. I am learning to just have pj days at home where all that matters is snuggling with my kiddos

-a total mom. Watching the grammy's the other night I realized the sad fact that while I can sing and dance the hot dog dance on Mickey Mouse clubhouse I barely knew who any of the bands or singers were at the grammy's. Oh well. One day I will be cool again. Until then hot dog, hot dog, hot diggity dog

Your Child's Personality

Before I had kids of my own I never really thought much about their personality. Not in regards to them having much of one as babies anyway. I mean all babies do is eat, sleep and poop right. Gianna certainly fit that mold. Sure she had her moments where we could get a good giggle outta her and the occasional smile but it wasn't until she was about 6 months old that her personality really started to emerge. Then I had Ethan and this little man had a personality from day one. While extremely fussy and cranky I said he was also an old soul. He would just stare at everything, taking it all in with a serious look on his face. And from about one month on this little man had the most expressive facial expressions I've ever seen on a baby. He babbles and gurgles more than Gianna ever did and especially lately has become such a smiley, happy baby.

It wasn't until I came across these books though that I realized that the way Gianna and Ethan were as babies and are today are all a part of their unique personalities. And according to these books there are five main types. The books I'm talking about are Secrets of the baby whisperer and secrets of the baby whisperer for toddlers by Tracy Hogg. These are some great books

The author classifies babies and toddler's into 5 main personality types. OF course she states that a child's personality is constantly changing and a child may fit into one, two or even all five types depending on the day. She also states that we should never classify a child as any one type and use it to make excuses. Such as oh she's a touchy baby so she's shy. That's why she acts like that. If your looking for a good read on babies or toddlers I suggest picking up one of these books.

In the meantime here are the five personality types and some of their traits

Angel- Very social. Immediately comfortable in groups and can fit into most situations. Devs language earlier than peers and is clearer in making needs known. Go with the flow. Adapts well. Baby's cues are easy to read. She feeds, plays and sleeps well and usually doesn't cry when waking up.

The textbook baby- The predictable baby. Fairly easy to handle. He does everything on cue and reaches all milestones right on schedule. He can play on his own for a little bit and will smile when someone smiles at him. Though he has cranky periods he is easy to calm.

The touchy baby- Ultrasensitive. Flinches at loud noises. Blinks or turns his head from bright lights. Cries for no apparent reason. Gets fussy easily, especially if too many people have held him or after too many outings. This baby likes to suck a lot. Naps and nurses erratically. Anything can throw this baby for a loop.

The Spirited baby- This baby emerges from the womb knowing what she's like and dislikes. They are very vocal and may even seem aggressive. Her body language tends to be jerky. If she starts crying and the crying isn't interrupted it's like the point of no return.

The Grumpy baby- The old soul. This baby is mad at the world and lets you know it. These babies may hate baths, and dislike being changed. Grumpy babies tend to get very angry and their cries are long and loud

After reading these books and taking the personality quizes I have determined that Gianna is an angel/textbook baby and Ethan is a touchy baby. After Ethan was born I would get frustrated wandering why he wasn't like his sister as a baby. But after reading this book and learning more about his personality it has helped put things into perspective. Different babies react to and handle things differently. You can't expect them to be the same.

I love my angel and touchy baby!

Earth's best giveaway

Hey everyone!

I have an awesome giveaway to share with you. Two to be exact. In yesterday's post I told you all about Earth's best. An all natural, and organic baby food company.Today's giveaway is Earth's best organic yogurt puffs!

Some information about Earth's best organic yogurt puffs
-Combining the delicious flavors of fruit and the wholesome goodness of yogurt, your children will get the calcium and vitamins they need for healthy growth without the fuss. No need to worry about cup holders or mess along the way. Yogurt puffs are fortified with six B vitamins, vitamins A & E, Iron, zinc and Calcium to support healthy growth. Yogurt puffs make a great, easy and healthy snack for your little one. I'm giving away

One lucky reader will receive a pack of the blueberry yogurt puffs and peach yogurt puffs.

Entry details

1. Be a follower of my blog or become one (1pt)

2. Leave a comment on my blog (2pts)

3. Share this giveaway via twitter or facebook (3pts)

4. Write a blog post about this giveaway (5pts)

I will close the giveaway friday! Good luck

Earth's Best

I had this post schedule awhile ago and found it in my drafts. Dang blogger. Better late than never I guess

I'm officially an Earth's best Blogger and I'm here today to share with y'all some information about this amazing company. From the day my daughter was born I became more conscious about what we as a family eat. Instilling healthy eating habits in my kiddos is very important and from birth on I know that that is up to me. Before it was time for her to start eating rice cereal or oatmeal I researched different brands and products. I chose Earth's best because they are organic and make their products with only the purest of ingredients. From 5 months on I only used Earth's best products. I made my own baby food initially but when I did buy baby food from the store it was all earth's best. And when she hit 9 months on the earth'sbest food pouches were a big hit in our household. Not only did Gianna feel independent eating them all by herself but at that point in my pregnancy with number 2 I could give her a food pouch for breakfast and call it a day. I didn't have to worry about preparing her a really healthy meal because I knew she was already getting one!

Some information about Earth's best
Earth's best is the only organic brand with both jars and pouches
Earth's best Organic provides "better for baby" products with the purest ingredients, so parent's may nurture their baby with the utmost confidence.
Parent's can learn more about available products, the organic and natural difference, nutrition, feeding information and more at www.earthsbest.com or through the Earth's best Facebook page and Twitter handle: @Earthsbest

More about Earth's best quality promise
Earth's best produces food with the highest degree of attention to quality and safety. Each ingredient is tested for pesticides and potentially harmful residues. NO product is releases until their quality assurance department approves laboratory results, ensuring we meet the strict standards for organic certification.
-Earth's best organic infant formula contains no toxic chemicals or heavy metals. Ingestion of which may compromise long-term immune system development.
-Earth's best organic infant cereals provide an excellent source of iron to aid early physical and neurological dev and restore the iron depletion that results after birth
-Earth's best organic baby juice comes from fresh pressed, undiluted, single strength juice. It is not from concentrate
-Earth's best organic produce does not expose infants to the higher level of contaminants found in conventional produce
Earth's best jarred fruits provide an excellent source of vitamin C to aid the absorption of iron and help fight infections

So there you have it. Next time your at the grocery store be sure to stop in the baby section and check out Earth's best for yourself. Any company that provides products that are safe and healthy for my kiddos is one that I want to buy from. I feel better knowing that I am feeding my children something that is made with all pure ingredients and is good for them

Stay tuned tomorrow for an exciting giveaway from Earth's best

Has anyone tried out Earth's best products? What is your favorite?