The Good Life

When Matt and I started discussing the idea of having a baby, I knew from the beginning that I wanted to be a "stay at home Mom". Matt wasn't on board with me staying at home until Colton actually arrived. It wasn't that he didn't want me to be at home with our son, he just didn't think we would be able to afford it. During my entire pregnancy, we were on the fence about the subject. Am I going to be able to stay home? Are we going to be able to afford it? Should I go back to work for the health benefits? What are we going to do? How are we going to manage? What daycare? Could Mom watch him part time? The list went on and on and on. Once we got home with Colton, we were both 100% sure that me staying home with our little guy was going to be the best situation for our family. We were determined to make it work! There are so many pros and cons to being a stay at home Mom. The Moms who work a job outside the home say "I would sure love to be at home with m

I was driving down a road in town the other day and I'm 99.9% sure that I witnessed "bullying". I saw three teenage (I'm guessing) boys on one side of the road throwing "things" at a younger (maybe 11/12?) boy on the other side of the road. As I got closer to the situation, I realized that the single boy had his shirt off, was sweating and appeared to be/have been crying. He was walking almost in my lane. I slowed down (almost stopped) and looked over at the other boys and it looked as if they had small rocks in their hands. I looked over at the "bullied" boy and my heart felt for him. He looked at me and I looked at him and it was like time just stopped for a second. I kept driving. As I got just out of site, I wanted to turn around. Why didn't I help him? What could I do? I had Colton with me, so I wasn't going to risk putting him in danger - maybe that was the reason I kept driving. Or maybe those boys were all friends and I totally misr

My crazy, sweet, handsome, expressive, loving, wild child turned 29 weeks old today! I love witnessing the daily growth. He is learning so much every day and I can see the curiosity in his little eyes. It's really so amazing. We started "potty training" last Monday. I didn't expect him to do as well as he has.I really just wanted to get him used to sitting on the potty so that it doesn't freak him out later. This morning was our 3rd morning in a row of pooping in the potty (again, TMI). Maybe we're finally getting a schedule? Maybe it's just luck? Either way, (even though it's totally disgusting) I'm so proud! Colton is definitely on the move now. He's not in a full crawl, but it doesn't matter. He rolls, pushes himself backwards, scoots and wiggles himself all around the room. We now have to close doors and keep stuff off the floor. I have a feeling that once he hits full crawl mode, I'm going to be one very busy Mommy because he i

Today I had a good excuse to try a couple of new recipes I found via  Pinterest . For Matt's birthday (yep, my hubby turned 31 years young today), I made Reese's No Bake Fudge Bars and Crunchy Peanut Butter Mix ! I must say that both recipes were extremely easy to make but I can't vouch for the taste because though my husband is a big fan of the chocolate/peanut butter combo, I am NOT. The Reese's No Bake Fudge Bars had just 3 ingredients and according to my husband, were very tasty! Ingredients 22 REESE'S   Peanut Butter Cups (regular size) 3 Cups Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels 1 Can (14 oz) Sweetened Condensed Milk Directions Line a 9x9 pan with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray Place an even layer of unwrapped Reese's on the aluminum foil (16) Crumble the remaining Reese's in a separate bowl Mix Chocolate Morsels and Condensed Milk in a saucepan over low heat until well mixed Pour Chocolate/Milk mixture over the layer of Reese

This time last year, I was approximately 16 weeks pregnant. When I think back, I remember all the overwhelming feelings of uncertainty, joy, anxiety, fear and worry. I remember how many questions I had and I was so curious about the entire journey. What's it going to be like when I'm 5 months along? What's it going to be like when I'm 8 months along? What's childbirth going to be like? How am I going to know what to do? How is Colton going to interact with family? Now that Colton is 6 months (going on 7 months) old...I still have a lot of questions but I'm actually starting to feel like a real Mom. :-)  Yesterday, we spent the day on Shelton Laurel (where I grew up). Even though he is still too young to really understand where he is, I love taking Colton over there. Just driving up the (what used to be dirt) road to our old house spot brings back so many memories. One of the - many - questions I have is, "I wonder if Colton will get t

Today was Colton's first taste of spinach. As he scarfed down the last few bites at lunch, I was thinking "are picky eaters born or made?". It's interesting to me how some babies, kids and even adults will eat anything and others won't. What makes a picky eater? Is it someone who simply doesn't like certain foods or is it somebody who genuinely can't eat certain foods? According to a study reported in The New York Times , there are "picky eaters" who are people with many food dislikes but the people who genuinely can't eat certain foods are classified under Selective Eating Disorder (SED). After reading numerous stories and articles on "picky eaters", I have learned that there are many different approaches and opinions on the topic. Some sources say not to force foods on children, just let them eat as they want to. Other sources say that it's important to keep presenting the "disliked" item to the child because it t

Back in October of 2008, Scout (our German Shepherd  ) became a part of our lives! We got her when she was just 6 weeks old and she has been a member of the family ever since. Scout was born here in Tennessee but she made the move with me to Indiana and back. She has been by my side through all the ups and downs over the past 5 years. Yes, she is just a dog...but I can't imagine life without her. For those of you who are dog lovers/owners, then you understand what I mean when I say that my dog understands my moods and can sense my feelings. I'm amazed at how Scout handles different situations. Whether I'm stressed, happy, sad, whatever...she gets it! Once we moved back to Tennessee, we moved into the basement apartment of my parent's house. Scout went from being a mostly indoor dog to a mostly outdoor dog (only coming in to sleep). During the latter part of my pregnancy, I started spending less time with Scout because I knew that once Colton arrived, I wasn't go

I'm always asking questions, doing research and talking to other Moms, searching for answers to the famous question "am I doing the right thing with my kid?". I'm learning that there is no one answer to that question - it all depends on your kid. Of course I look at the growth charts and see where Colton falls, I look at the updates on milestones to see if our little guy is hitting those close to the "norm". But as I grow in my role as a Mom, I'm find myself asking another question "what is normal anyway?". I've been tossing around the idea of starting the Potty training  journey for about a month. How early is too early to start? Of course there are many controversial talks over this topic - and I don't feel that one is more right than the other, it just depends on the parents and the child. Yesterday, I was at my Mamaw Bishop's house and she showed me an article in The Asheville Citizen-Times   about potty training. I found th

Boogers - everybody has them. Some pick them out, some blow them out, some sneeze them out but no matter how you go about it, we all get them out (you can try to deny it, but you do it too)! I think boogers are gross, but they actually have a job. Here's a little bit of information for today... Our nose and sinuses make approximately a quart of mucus (snot) every day. Mucus protects our lungs (had no idea it did this until I did some research) because when we breathe air through our nose, we collect dust, pollen, germs, etc... (this I did know). If all the stuff we breathe in through our nose actually made it to our lungs, they could get infected or irritated making it very hard to breathe. The snot helps trap the stuff and keep it in our nose and it combines with the hairs inside. To make a long story short the debris in our nose gets dry and clumps together and wah-lah we have a booger! The reason I'm on a booger "kick" today is because Colton has had a lot of

I took Colton in for his 6 month Vaccines  today. I never like having to take him in for this visit, but he is always such a trooper. Since we lost our insurance when I decided to be a stay at home Mommy, Matt and I are not currently covered (sigh) but Colton is covered under TennCare . I'm so thankful for this program and the way it's set up to help people who are in need - it's such a shame that this program (and others) is abused more often than not! ANYWAY, even though Dr. Woods can remain Colton's doctor, there are some regulations - one of those being that she is not allowed to administer his immunization shots. Under the TennCare program, we go to the Greene County Health Department for Colton's shots. I guess some could complain about how inconvenient it is to go to the H.D. for shots and then schedule a whole separate appointment to see Dr. Woods, but I don't really look at it as an inconvenience (at all), I look at it as a blessing (Colton is getting

As I was in town running a few errands today, I stopped by our local Ingles  grocery store. If you've ever been to the Ingles on the Asheville Highway in Greeneville, Tennessee then I'm sure you have noticed the service from the employees. If you haven't noticed the service, it could be because people tend to notice BAD service more than GOOD service - which is sad. The folks at "our" Ingles are (in my opinion) top notch. At our Ingles, the majority of the "check out" clerks are young people, either high school age or maybe a little older. A lot of other places I go, the young people are just "there" doing their job. Not at our grocery store! These kiddos (young people) are so polite. They strike up a conversation with me, they ask "how's your day?", they ask how I would like my items bagged, etc... Every time I'm in the produce section, I seem to run into the same "stocking guys" and they always have a smile on th

It's really hard to believe that we have made it to six months with Colton - hooray. Not that I'm rushing him to grow up, but it's a big sigh of relief knowing that we have made it through the "critical stage" of his infancy. At six months, Colton is rolling from belly to back and back to belly - he even surprised me one day and rolled across the entire living room like a bowling ball. It's no longer a surprise to me when I put him in his crib on his back and find him on his belly in the morning. At times, he can get up on his little knees and try to rock but it usually ends in a plop back down on his belly. While trying to get the motion of crawling, he pushes himself backwards more than forwards, but at least he's getting exercise. Colton now has two bottom teeth completely through (yay) and two top ones on the way in (ugh). Sitting on his own for short periods of time, eating actual "meals" and drinking apple juice/water mix out of a "

A college friend of mine, Carrie ( www.carriewithchildren.com ) posted an article about her couch. The story was about it being her first "big girl purchase" as an adult. The couch was brand new and when she brought it home, nobody was allowed to drink on it, eat on it, etc..., it was to stay "new"! When Carrie had kids, the focus of importance changed from the couch to her children. To make a long story short, her couch now doubles as a place to sit and a playground for her kiddos! I got a blanket at Kohl's  several years ago. It was originally an "expensive", down filled, throw blanket but of course with Kohl's Cash,  coupons and the every day Kohl's deals, I got it for much less. I always kept the blanket on the back of the couch as more of a decoration than a blanket (which is such a foreign idea to my husband). Matt would try to use it and I would always say "make sure you don't get that dirty" or "let me get you anoth