Rollin' Rollin' Rollin'!

We have been living in a whirlwind lately, which is my excuse for my recent blogging absence. Actually if I were to be more literal, we are living in a dustbowl.

Welcome to the Texas Panhandle Ya'll. We have beautiful days here full of wind and dust and allergies. :) Yummy. Obviously the big move is taking place. Baby and I are spending some time in the Panhandle with my Momma while the Baby Daddy is settling into the new job in the Permian Basin. Hopefully we will all be together very soon, because we all think we are just dying without one another. And all of our stuff is in Cruces sooo... we still have a lot of crap to do.

We have had quite the challenges since getting here. First Baby Love became really sick. It started as teething, then it moved to an ear infection, then he had an allergic reaction to his antibiotics, and now we are dealing with a diaper rash thanks to the effects of antibiotics. Phew. It has been a long two weeks. We also learned a few things about teething... for example... those Hyland's teething tabs are not FDA approved and contain Belladonna which is a controversial herb that can be toxic and Hyland's has had recalls over large levels of Belladonna used in their products so we won't be using those anymore. The best medicine we have used so far is snuggling and a cold carrot, and we would rather do basically anything other then spend our time teething.

Then to top all of this cranky baby business off my truck decided that it was time for new front brakes. I knew this day was coming but I was trying to postpone it for as long as possible. Thankfully I have a Dad with a shop, now if I could only get him off the road long enough to help me change everything out.

Baby is growing so fast. Now weighing in at 16.5 lbs. he has learned how to use his new exersaucer, imitates noises and faces, sits up, pushes himself up, and is really thinking about crawling, his eye/hand coordination is amazing and he has worked his way through the yellow veggies, has tried apples and bananas, and is about to start on the greens. I can not believe that he is almost six months old. Where has the time gone already?

Also, I recently got my Ipsy March Glam Bag in...

So... I loved everything about this bag except for that nail polish. Textured nail polish just isn't my thing. I tried it out and at first it was kind of cool because my nails looked like a robin's egg but then it immediately began to ship off and my nails looked funky. Like I was wearing rhino lining around. Also taking off that polish was a Beeotch. However, I fell in love with that Pixi primer. So much so that I now have a Pixi mascara and Pixi foundation. My skin loves it. It feels amazing. I loved the Be a Bombshell eye shadow, (Those are kind of my evening colors.), and of course, what about bareMinerals could you possibly hate?

I have a secret.

So I promised in my last blog that I would be delivering some new news about myself and my little family. I guess it is finally time to let everyone in on our big secret. Are you ready?.....

I am NOT pregnant.

Ok that's not the big news but I think that is pretty important information. Actually the real news is that we are moving. We are packing up our belongings for the eleventity billionth time and we are moving. Where? You ask? Ugh... Texas. I am not going to say which part of Texas yet but I am going to tell you that Baby Daddy got a big oil field job and we are out of here. I know you have one important question on your mind... But Vern what about college? Not to worry, I am now a distant student, finishing up my last 21 credits online. The only thing I have wanted for the past ten years was to go to school at NMSU and receive my degree and I am not letting a little distance stop me from that. I am not so excited about living in Texas but I am super excited about having a new adventure with my little family. Also I am super excited that Baby Daddy won't be stressing out every week. Let me tell you, owning your own business is rough. Especially in our ah-mazing economy. People are so over spent the last thing they want to do is build a house. Thanks a heap Obama. Anyways... That is my news. Oh.. also, this is all happening next week. :)

Here is a picture of a cute baby. It will help you forget that I just said I am about to be a Texan.

Changes

So.... I would just like to say that having a kiddo of my own has changed me 100%. You see, before my precious Baby Love came along I could read about crimes against children, I could watch the news, I could leave my house without a care in the world, I could get up every morning and not worry about a thing, but now, that has all changed. There have recently been days when I have seriously considered getting rid of my Facebook because people are always posting stories about little tiny babies dying and parents neglecting their children and when I see them... I literally get sick to my stomach. I can not even describe the feeling that comes over me. I was watching a Nat Geo documentary the other night on bison because up until now I have loved every single little National Geographic documentary I could get my paws on, but the other night while watching this documentary I had to turn it off when a wolf pack took down a calf. I seriously wanted to cry over a baby bison and it's poor mother. Am I crazy? This is pretty much going to ruin the career I was planning out for myself y'all. I will never be able to work with Juveniles again.

Anyways... on a lighter note...look at my kid...

Have you ever seen anything cuter? Eek! I just love this little boy, and how cute he looks in his little cap! Also, he looks just like his Daddy right here which makes me fall in love with both of them over and over again. Every day it seems like he flip flops between the two of us. Some days I can see me, some days I see Joseph. My little perfect combo of the two of us. See what love made? God is good my friends! Life is good!

Also... I have big news coming up soon that you are going to want to hear about. I'm just waiting for the green light and I will be blasting it here. Stay tuned, big things are in store for my little family!

Momma Splurges

So lately I have gone a little crazy.. and what I mean by that is that I have gotten in touch with my feminine side. I didn't even know that was possible y'all. Let me tell you what happens after having a baby boy.. and yes... I realize this baby boy is only four and a half months old and there isn't much he can get into but I am already getting part of the effect. What I mean is... boys are smelly and dirty and it's even worse when they have a Daddy who thinks it's funny. I was recently peed on and the kid laughed hysterically at my reaction and his Daddy responded with... "That's my boy." and I was like... "O' Hell. And so it begins..." So then I thought, "I am going to do something for me!", Because I live in a house with 5 boys if you count my fuzzies who are all boys.

So the first thing I did was:

I signed up with Ipsy! I recently had a Birchbox but after receiving a million foil packets (ok not really a million but a bunch) I decided to shop around when I came across a vlog on Youtube comparing Birchbox to Ipsy and then... I was sold. It cost $10/month and you get "deluxe samples" or in this case, full size products shipped right to your door. I priced my glam bag this month and these products would have cost me $50 if I would have purchased them out right. So score!  If you love the products you can go to Ipsy's website for deals in which you can buy these products for a discounted price. Basically I am addicted, this is my new crack.  (and by the way... they come in makeup bags! Not some dumb box you will just throw away!) If you are interested below is my link in which you can use to sign up and get your own bag and if you use it you are helping me earn points so that is pretty awesome too. Also... if you allow Ipsy to post a link on your Facebook you get off of the waitlist sooner and trust me, it's worth it.

Veronica's Ipsy

 

But then my Darling Husband must have realized that I was in need of a little TLC because he contributed to my craziness for Valentine's first by getting me this...

This is a Diamond Candle! Inside each candle is a ring worth, $10, $100, $500 and up to $5000 I think. Anyways, They are soy candles and man!, They smell delicious. This candle was called Desire and smells like a man's cologne. Mmmm so good. I was almost more excited about the smell than the ring.

Speaking here is a photo with the ring. Sorry if that is hard to see but my instagram is being dumb for some reason. Anyways... The ring was worth $10 but it was super fun waiting for it to burn down and brownie points to the hubs for remembering how badly I wanted one. Here is the link to the Diamond Candle site. I think they are worth every penny!

Diamond Candles

 

And then my husband bought me a Bath & Body Works gift card with $40 on it which was awesome because I have been saving up a few $10 coupons and so I came home with this:

2 hand soaps, 4 signature shower gels, 1 signature lotion and the most important item aromatherapy lavender and chamomile sleep lotion, my all time favorite. Basically I live for B&BW! And I tried a new signature scent this time, Cashmere Glow. It smells like heaven, seriously. Now, I only use B&BW shower gel because I wait for rare occasions like this and I stalk up like crazy but really other shower gels kill my skin but these for whatever reason do not. The aromatherapy stuff was something I discovered right after I learned I was pregnant. My mother in law bought my first bottle of it and since then I have been totally hooked. I live in it every night and as soon as I put it on Baby Love snuggles right up to me and is out! So anyways, after my gift card and coupons I only paid $8.49 for all these goodies.

 

Then came along Jamberry:

This is one of the coolest products ever. So... my friend posted a facebook party not to long ago for Jamberry and of course I was busy carrying my kid around and not paying attention and then my little sister Steph was like, "Hey! I become a consultant for this cool new product." And now I am hooked. I even have a Jamberry party going on, on Facebook right now. So let me tell you... Jams are basically like stick on nail polish that you can get in all kinds of designs, non toxic, last for WEEKS, are basically the most amazing thing ever. I may never buy nail polish again. They even make them for little girls! I am so in love. So if you have not joined my Facebook party, which you should, but if you have not you can still purchase your own through my party until the 22nd of February by using this link...

Veronica's Facebook Jamberry Party

 

And clicking on Veronica's Facebook Party at check out.





 

And my last little splurge (which was actually pretty much free) in which I have not taken photos of because it's not in yet was... a new pair of Calvin Klein jeans from Twice. Twice has this great deal going on right now where if you download their new app they credit you $10 and since I just sold a bunch of useless crap on ebay I made up the 2.95 difference and bought those babies.

 

 Phew...

 



One more milestone...

Today was the day, we let Baby Love have his first taste of solids, rice cereal that we made from scratch. I have experienced all kinds of reactions to this by the way. While the older generation says, "What took you so long?" The younger generation says, "Already? To soon!" I was thinking this morning that sometimes I feel like we are just going through a bunch of fads. Once upon a time people breastfed, then they didn't, and now people are doing it again. It feels like the same thing when feeding solids. I decided though that what I wanted is for my Baby to basically tell me when he was ready. I also picked a pediatrician who thought this way. So yesterday we went in for our four month shots and I talked to the doctor about what we have been experiencing. A month ago we were on a pretty relaxed schedule as far as feedings went, this month we are eating 10 to 12 times a day. (I am exhausted! I feel like all we do is nurse these days.) He has doubled his birth weight, he has started trying to sit up while he is in my lap, if he is sitting at the table with us at dinner time he stares and opens his mouth and basically he just never seems to be full. So we tried solids this morning and... he was not impressed with his rice cereal! After he ate though he didn't seem to be interested in nursing for awhile and went right to sleep. I think it was much needed for both of us.
I feel like this whole thing is bitter sweet. While I am having a lot of fun watching him grow up, at the same time I am thinking... "Can we just slow this down? Please?!" He has learned and grown so much in four months. He has also taught me a few lessons. For example, here I was dead set on the idea that he wasn't going to be interested in solids until he was at least five months old. Psshhh... kind of like how I was dead set on a natural birth. I should just stop making plans.
Also... our pediatrician said yesterday that he still seems to be a couple of months ahead in both physical and mental development. She was very surprised at how strong he is and how interested he is in books, and also that he is a noisy little talker. Seriously, the boy talks to us constantly. I think it has a lot to do with us talking to him all day long and the amount of reading we do. :) We read in our reading Tipi, We read while we rock, we read off of the kindle, we read before nap time, we read all day long! I try to read about 7-10 books a day, I am determined to have another little reader in the house. (Baby Daddy hates to read. He only "reads" waterfowl magazines. Imagine that.) Anyways, there I go making plans again. I have probably just jinxed myself.

Today's events

I have spent most of the day glued to my TV and computer while snuggling my tiny Baby Love and watching the news on the shooting that took place in Roswell this morning. Funny thing happens once you become a parent. It sounds awful to say this but before Baby Love, when things like this happened I would think, "Those poor people, that's awful." and then I would go about my own way not putting much thought into it until it became a crime that I was researching for a term paper or talking about in class. This morning though I immediately felt protective, hurt, and scared for all the people experiencing this. People that I do not even know. I also began to think about my own child's safety. Homeschooling my child is an idea that I have suddenly began to warm up to if we are ever in a place in which this can be possible. With all of the things that are going on in the public education system I feel like sending him into it would be a disservice to him. As I am looking down at his sweet little sleeping face right now I wonder what it's going to be like in a few years when we have to start thinking seriously about this.

I have to say though, I feel absolutely awful for the parents of the two children that were shot. However, I also feel awful for the parents of the shooter, they lost their son today. I know that some people are going to think that I am crazy but I still remember that it was this little boy's choice and not his parents to commit this act. I am sure that society is going to look at them and wonder if they knew something was wrong, if they were somehow involved in the reason that their kid made the decision to do this, or if they were even actively involved in their child's life. No matter what the case, I feel for all of them.

So many projects!

Baby Daddy and Ti the Terror have been away from home most of the week and this just so happened to be the week that Baby Love experienced his very first cold. On top of that, I ended up with it also so, this week has been anything but fun for the two of us. However, I can gladly say that we survived even though I felt like having a panic attack every ten minutes. A stuffy, fussy, very uncomfortable baby makes for a very stressed out Momma. I have a very hard time handling situations in which I can not fix. This next week should be equally interesting being as how we will be alone for it also and I have recently realized that I rely on Baby Daddy a lot to give me a much needed break at the end of the day.

So now that the holidays are over I have a new list of projects going on. I am sure if you are a Facebook friend you recently saw my last COMPLETED project. I say completed because I have about a million unfinished projects.

Isn't it just the cutest thing that you have ever seen? I discovered that in order to get things like this done I have to enlist my Mom which actually works out really good because we had a lot of fun putting it together and even though I can come up with the vision, I am not always that great at putting it together. Also, she has my Grammy's super amazing sewing machine so... :) 

And little Thunder Britches loved it too! I can not wait for him to be old enough to appreciate it. Baby Daddy thinks that I am crazy by the way.

  Baby Daddy: He is 3 months old! He isn't going to know what to do with it. He can't even walk or crawl yet.

Me: Did you have an imagination as a child? Did you find anything fun? Jeeze.

My poor logical husband.

 

 

Speaking of imagination... so I felt inspired today to snap a few pictures of Baby Love's nursery after a Facebook and long time friend made comments about how much she loves his nursery. :) I wanted Baby to have a room that could grow with him and for now I think that it is complete, for awhile anyways. When I found out that I was pregnant I immediately went straight to pinterest with a few ideas that I had already had in mind and started gathering more so that I could build my kiddo an amazing room. As a kid I always had really cool bedrooms. My bedroom at the ranch was all about science and space, I had telescopes and microscopes and glowing globes and stars on my ceiling, until I turned into a preteen girl and then my walls began to fill up with Johnathan Taylor Thomas and Elvis posters. My room in Capitan was full of tie dye, black lights, blow up furniture, door beads, and strobe lights. Anyways, as a kid, my room was always my sanctuary and I want my children to grow up with bedrooms that they can appreciate and that will spark their imaginations. ( I was also obsessed with building forts and tents as a kid which is where the Tipi idea came from, a little childhood imagination left over.)

 

It also pays to have a husband who is a talented contractor. I am constantly conning him into building or fixing something for me. Like the fox shelf in this picture. The side of the shelf are fox silhouettes. So cute! I also appreciate some very dear friends who sent us the wall decal that goes over his crib! The first time I saw that decal I knew we had to have it!  

I have been very blessed to have family and friends that have been able to pick up and understand my vision for this kiddo's nursery. I love all of the toys and décor that he has been given.

You see that dresser? It was one of the greatest deals of my life. I found that dresser in a thrift shop after looking for a six drawer dresser for a reasonable price for months. It originally had a price tag of $43 on it. Then I realized that the manager of this thrift shop was a person I had previously met when I worked at the hospital. I ended up talking them down to $20. Then when I went to pay for it I found out the NMSU students received a discount. I ended up paying $14. I then convinced Baby Daddy to sand it down for me and I repainted it with left over paint from Baby's room. Pretty sweet bargain.



I also have some amazing little camo letters that spell out baby's name. They were sent to me from a very special lady that I have not hung up yet. They will probably be going over his closet door but I'm not allowed to hang things in this house. You see, I married a perfectionist that runs around with his tape measure and level. To avoid arguments and so all blame is placed on him if something is not level or spaced correctly, I have relinquished all rights when  it comes to hanging things. I just point and wait for him to figure it out. :)

 

 

Also this week, my obsession with Fairy Gardens and houses has been refueled by my Momma. For Christmas she... ugh... I mean Santa Claus brought me the cutest little fairy garden kit.

 

You may remember how I once built this super cute fairy house...

But then some Labrador...

 

ATE it!

(I was also allowed to believe that something else had happened to it. It was a year later before Baby Daddy finally fessed up that his dog had eaten it.)

Now however I have once again conned Baby Daddy into building something else for me... a new fairy house! It seems only fair. I will be posting pictures of it as soon as we begin the process. I also sent my mother off on another fairy house related task. Wait till you see what we come up with!

 

Anyways, I'm off to cuddle a tiny baby! (And get away from one Bad Kitty with Beary, Beary sharp claws who thinks its funny to attack me from under the table!)