2013 photo collage

Shutterfly Wall Art

Shutterfly custom Valentines Day and Mother's Day cards.

View the entire collection of cards.

Good advice about eating

http://www.raisehealthyeaters.com/2012/09/10-things-you-should-never-say-to-your-child-about-food/

I came across this link on Pinterest and thought I would share.

I have pictures to post but taking care of two boys is keeping me pretty busy, who knew??

2 Weeks later

Hudson arrived safely on October 9. This time around everything was so much simpler. We knew when to check in to the hospital and what to expect. Everything flowed smoothly and it was a pretty calm day. He was born at 1:30 pm. He weighed 7lbs 8 oz and was 20.5 inches long. He was able to start breastfeeding in the recovery room after my C Section. He has been a good boy so far. He sleeps pretty well and eats well. He lost weight in the hospital but had gotten back to his birth weight by his one week check up.

Jackson is a great big brother. He loves Hudson and gives him lots of hugs and kisses.

Keith's aunt Carol has been staying with us and helping out since we came home from the hospital. It is really nice to have her here to help out with Jackson since I'm not supposed to pick him up for a few more days.

Is this real life?

Holy shit, I'm having a baby tomorrow!

 I just felt like I needed to get that out there. I am excited, of course, but also a little nervous. With Jackson everything happened so fast there wasn't time to get scared really. Knowing the exact day and time Hudson would arrive made planning things much easier, but also left lots of time for worries and fears to creep in. Deep down I know that everything is going to be fine, both with the surgery and caring for my two babies but I still find myself feeling nervous and anxious.

One of my biggest worries is that I'm not allowed to eat breakfast. This may seem trivial but I KNOW that I get super crabby when I'm hungry and tackling such an important day without food seems like a terrible idea.

I also keep having nightmares that the epidural doesn't work and I can feel them cutting my stomach. Probably another completely irrational fear but it keeps waking me up.

I am worried about my big boy too. I have never been away from Jackson over night. I worry that he'll wake up and be sad without his Mama and Daddy. I worry that I'll be so busy with the baby that he'll feel left out. In the realm of irrational and trivial worries lies my worry about what he'll eat for lunch and dinner without me and what he'll be dressed in for daycare.

So hopefully I get some sleep tonight and have an awesome day tomorrow. Maybe sharing my real and imagined fears will help to clear my mind. Thanks for reading :)

What year is it?

Lately I have been trying my hand at home canning. I want to make Hudson's baby food like I did Jackson's but he'll be starting solid foods at a time when fresh fruits won't be local and affordable. I ran into the same problem with Jackson. I ended up using frozen fruits and some dried fruits. I didn't want to do that this time so I decided to make the purees and can them. 

I read about canning on the internet and found that for baby food you have to use the pressure canning method so I bought a pressure canner. I bought about 20 pounds of fresh, ripe fruit and got to work. It took me an entire day but I ended up with 24 half pint jars of baby food. I did pears, plums, peaches, apricots, and berries. 

On the baby food websites it says that making your own baby food saves money over store bought baby food. I can tell you that I have not saved a cent! By the time I bought the canner, jars, and organic produce I probably could have bought 1,000 jars of baby food. However, saving money is not my goal; I want to know that my baby is eating the best foods I can provide for him. Making my own baby food lets me know exactly what's in the jar and as he grows I can introduce him to lots of flavors and textures that aren't available in the baby food aisle. 

Last week I also did some canning for Keith's grandfather. I did beef vegetable soup and some vegetables. It's been interesting trying new things in the canner. Next year we plan to plant a bigger garden and do some vegetables, soups, and sauces. That'll be no problem with 2 toddlers, right?

New bedrooms

This week we have been working on moving Jackson over to his big boy room and getting the nursery ready for Hudson. We did a dinosaur theme for Jackson and whales for Hudson. I love both rooms, I think they turned out really cute. Jackson has done well with the transition. Sometimes he takes advantage of his ability to get out of the bed by himself but after I put him back in bed he usually stays.

Vacation

On June 16 we headed out for a family vacation to Indian Pass, Florida. Our good friends, the Beachums, went with us. The 6 hour trip took us close to 8 hours. Keith decided that traveling with a baby, a pregnant lady, and a 7-year old was not the fastest way to get anywhere! We had a great week of relaxation and got out of there just before the tropical storm moved in. Jackson really enjoyed the sand but was not a hug fan of the water. We also learned that he hates canoeing. That was a disaster trip, he ended up laying in the bottom of the canoe and crying.

                                                                                                      

Red Snapper

Dancing in the breeze

Playing hide and seek

His favorite part of the beach

snuggling with Mama

waving to the Beachums

Our traveling buddies

Sand is so fun

Waves are not as fun

His preferred way to be in the water

playing in the hose