Surprise, YOU'RE PREGNANT!!!!!!

           On November 16th, my husband and I celebrated our 2 year wedding anniversary. We also received a HUGE surprise, we found out we are expecting our fourth child. I love babies, but I remember just last month we were discussing that we were done having kids and were ready to start slowly working on ourselves and getting some "us" time. But here we are in the midst of creating a new life to add to our madness, lol. I mean it wasn't a total surprise because obviously we are having sex but I was also on the depo shot SO that's where the element of surprise worked it's way on into this scenario. Now I guess it wouldn't be so scary if say my youngest was older, but she just turned one and if my calculations are correct will be 2yrs and 9mos when this one is born.


            After the initial shock settled, my husband and I are super excited to be adding a new little monster to our brood. So now is where the nervousness and excitement moves into place. Nervous because the doctor (not my OB) said that because I got pregnant on the shot that my chances of miscarriage are higher than average for my first 12 weeks. Also now I am totally sure that I can play the lead if anyone wanted to remake "The Exorcist" and all I've been able to eat without up chucking is apples, VERY thinly sliced. We are very excited now about this little pea and I'm looking forward to keeping everyone updated how it plays out. 


             Now who else has had a surprise pregnancy?

Hats Galore!

My life has been swallowed alive by hats!!!! I'm definitely NOT complaining though. I've always loved to crochet and now I have something I love to do!!! My husband laughs because I didn't realize exactly how time and energy consuming it would be at first and when I started this little project I got a real bad cold (which I'm still recovering from) and got a little behind. There are a lot of WAHMs out there that I can say I definitely admire for their hard work and dedication. Now that I'm getting over my cold I'm hoping to be able to plan my time better so I can work in blogging and family as well. So my main question in this post is to my WAHMs and even you moms that don't work in the home. How do you balance out your time?

My Newest Adventure

I've always loved to crochet and to be creative. I've always been told "you should sell those". Whether it was my drawings, crochet items or paintings. I've finally gotten up the courage to try. I've recently opened an Etsy shop, which you can visit here ------> Dalilah"s Pretties. I've always made my kids their winter hats and now I'd like to share that with everyone. But I haven't decided to stop there. This year I've also decided to make their costumes (if I can talk them into it). I made my daughter a Bumble Bee Tutu dress and I'll be making a Ben 10 costume for my four year old. It's been quite the experience setting a crocheting schedule and taking pictures of what I've made. My kids have become my models and often time like to wear the hats out and about. I've finally ordered some business cards so when we're out and someone asks where they got the "cute" hats I can give them to people. Ok well my daughter is up from her am nap so I'm off to tend to her. :)

Facebook Status Etiquette

I have a friend who is constantly spouting his political and religious beliefs on Facebook. He has very strong beliefs about politics, religion, philosophy and various other issues in the world and while he has the right to voice his opinion, I honestly no longer care to read his status updates. This month his main focus in 9/11, he will be posting a new documentary and/or news about this horrible event everyday until the anniversary. Now I would like to clarify that I feel that remembering what happened on that day is very important, he on the other hand is a conspiracy theorist and believes it was an "inside job". I'm not sure what bugs me more....having to read his theories or that I feel he is berating the lives lost that day by making his theories seem more important. Do you have a friend or friends that use Facebook to spout their own beliefs about politics, religion....etc? If so how do you handle it? Do you feel it's appropriate for people to do this?


*note: Sorry for the rant. Also I hope I have not offended anyone with this post.

Long Time, No Write....

As most of you have read, I recently had emergency surgery to remove my appendix. It was a very nerve racking and scary experience. I had never had surgery before so the scariest part was receiving the anesthesia. I don't remember much after the anesthesiologist gave me a shot to "calm my nerves". My husband said that when I got back into the room, I was quite loopy and flirty, lol. Since then we have had many things happen and I just have NOT been able to get back into the swing of things. I've lost a few Facebook fans (which sucks) but like most page holders know a lot of people will join solely for giveaways. I'm in the process of planning a special event for the fans that have stuck with me through all of this and haven't un-liked the page after a giveaway has ended. Thank you so much to my fans! I know this is extremely short, but my 4yr old has decided he is Superman and is jumping off of everything!

Awesome Giveaway to share with you all!

I ran across an awesome giveaway on Facebook from Mama B. She is giving away $500 in PayPal cash or an IPad 2! Visit her site to find out more. I know this isn't long, but you just have to check her page out to see this awesome opportunity!


Click here to find out how to enter!

*~Picture Perfect~*

                      As I've mentioned before my little boy has a birthday coming up and I absolutely LOVE to take pictures of their celebrations, but then when I get them developed they tend to just sit in the envelope until I decide to take them out to reminisce. I know lots of people take those memories and put them into scrapbooks. Now you can make your own pages or you can buy kits or pre-designed pages online. I've seen many women who make great pages but no one I have seen does it better than this woman. Her scrapbook pages are absolutely breath taking and beautiful, she truly has a talent. My husbands cousin Amanda has recently started her own work at home business, Memories Made Wright.

                      Her and I are collaborating to do a fun and creative giveaway for you ladies. Tell us your favorite memory from your child's birthday or "birth" day (for you newer mommies). Amanda and I will read through them and pick our favorite. The person we pick will win a pre-designed, personalized 12*12 birthday page, valued at $15. The page will fit a 12*12 scrapbook or shadow frame. Above this post are some examples of what she does and creates. More can be viewed on her Facebook fan page, located here or on her website. Don't forget to stop by her Facebook page and tell her thank you for sponsoring this awesome giveaway. Now come the rules......

1. You have to be a fan of Memories Made Wright and This Mama's Life
2. Make sure to thank our awesome sponsor.
3. Entries will be accepted up to August 5th at midnight MST and winners will be announced Monday,    August 8th.

That's it, not too bad right? Ok well I look forward to reading your stories, I'm sure it will be hard to pick just one. =0)

I would like to brag for a moment......

How many of you often times feel so stressed out with everyday life that you forget to just take a step back and look at what is going good in life? I know I often do. The little things that go wrong often times cast a shadow on those things that truly make life good. Well today I just want to take a moment to give a shout out to the people that make my life so wonderful. I have a wonderful husband, that works so unbelievably hard everyday to make sure that the kids and I are taken care of. My husband does agriculture work and he works LOOOOONG days, but hardly complains. My kids are awesome! My boys are so helpful with housework and the baby and the baby is such a good baby. She never really cries or whines and is such a joy to be around. My boys love to make my husband and I laugh and they are so incredibly smart. I have a great house to live in and wonderful parents and in-laws that are always there if we need them to be. We also have lots of other help and support to keep us going. I feel so lucky and blessed to have the family I was given and the life I am living. Ok I'm done gushing, just had to get it out. I think we need to take each day as it comes and always keep in mind those who are there for us. Who do you want to give a shout-out to?

I'm melting, I'm melting!!!!

So as I've mentioned in previous posts, we just moved to a new town, and our new house does NOT have an air conditioner! I swear there are days when I'd rather sit in the tub filled with ice than even move. My kids are cranky and so am I. I have seriously been lacking on my blogging due to the crazy amount of heat our computer puts off. I don't even watch tv because it makes it hotter. My husband has promised that he will buy us an ac this weekend before I lose my mind. Ok thank you for letting me vent.

Hello my name is.......

MOM. I'm sure I'm not alone when I say that sometimes I feel that Lauren has been sucked up into a wormhole never to return and she was replaced by "mom". My family and I recently moved to a new town, much smaller than the one that we used to live in. We really don't know much of anyone, that being said we don't get much time to ourselves or with other adults. Sometimes I look at my husband and don't even feel like I know him. As I said before, I know I am not alone in this. Hundreds of women and couples feel this way every day. So my question to you is, how do you find "me" time? and also how do you keep the spark in your relationship?

The Winners of the 100 Fan Celebration Are.......

I'm happy to announce the winners of the 100 Fan Celebration.

For the Zippy Doo Custom slot the winner is comment #4: Polly (marytheclean@gmail.com)

Green Mommy Diapers for the Flip diaper and insert, comment #11: Andrea Skoog (andreaskoog at yahoo)

Peek-A-Bootique for the White Ruffle Diaper Cover, comment #3: Jen (jen.a.kaylor@gmail.com). 

I only had one entry for the beautiful bows from Sally Stitches, and that winner would be: Ragan (raganashleyb@yahoo.com)

Since no one entered to win the Crown My Baby 50% off a purchase, I will choose a random winner later this evening. Congratulations to all the ladies who played. Please email me at themcfamily5@yahoo.com with your info so I can forward it to our sponsors. Thank you again and Congrats!

Because Every Child Deserves a Voice.

                             

 I'm sure we have all been keeping up to date on the Casey Anthony case, hoping she gets what she deserves. I, personally, feel that the justice system has failed, we have an innocent little girl who will never get to live her life to the fullest and a "mother" who just didn't seem to care.  When I heard they said she was innocent, my heart sank. To imagine the horrible way that little Caylee must have felt, wondering why or HOW her "Mommy" could do this to her. In light of all of this, I would like to tell you about a Non-Profit that is dear to my heart. I volunteered for a little bit, but not nearly as long as I wish I could have, with CASA. Court Appointed Special Advocates or CASA, is a non-profit agency that provides a voices for abused or neglected children. They provide everyday people with the skills and knowledge they need to be a voice for these children. As a CASA volunteer you spend time with the child, probably more time than the attorney or social worker can. You also are able to talk to the child's family, doctors, teachers and anyone else that plays a role in the child's life and you report back to the court. They are absolutely wonderful and even if you have no experience with the court system, they provide you with the training and resources you need to be an advocate for a child in need. If you are interested in learning more or in volunteering, you can do so here.


                                I know this is a short post, and I really wish I could type more, as this is such an important topic to me. But my three babies just woke up and are wanting breakfast. I hope that you take the time to even just visit the website and maybe some of you will volunteer. I really wish I could get back into, but unfortunately there is not a chapter near my town. Thank you for taking the time to read this. 

100 Fan Celebration.

Ok due to the crazy Facebook giveaway rules, we will hold our celebration here on the blog! The pictures of items that are up for grabs are in the 100 Fan Celebration folder on my Facebook page as well as in the contests and freebies tab on here. We met our goal and now you can feel free to comment! To enter you will need to:

-Like the sponsors page
-Thank the sponsor for sponsoring our celebration
-Leave one comment under this post for EACH item you are entering to win, please include your email.
-Please make sure to name the item you want and let me know you liked the sponsors page.

I will count comments for each item and the winners will be chosen via Random.org. I will post the winners in a blog post as well. I will hopefully be adding some sponsors to the giveaway as we go so I'm looking forward to that. =0)

Sleep Deprivation

My husband and I have always co-slept with our kids til they are about one. But lately I have been having this horrible nightmares that one of us has suffocated the baby so I wake up, what feels like, a hundred times a night! I'm constantly checking to make sure she's breathing, that we're smashing her little arms or legs. I think it may be time to move her to her room but man I'm scared. What if she falls out of the crib? Gets one of her legs stuck  in the slats? Oh the lists of worries goes on. Ok well I'm done with my morning ramble, doesn't quite make for good reading, but if you have any advice, please feel free to leave it.

Wanted: Liberation from my Mommy Body

                   I told myself when I decided to sit down and write this that I would be honest........not only with myself but my readers as well. I've always struggled with my body image and self-esteem. Seeing my body as something beautiful has always been a difficult thing for me. I've always been short, had big legs that were mismatched from my body and I've always been kind of awkward. After having children that struggle has become more of a battle, a war within myself. I have yet to lose a lot of my pregnancy weight, in fact I've put some weight on. Mostly in part because I've created such an elaborate love affair with food and also because in some ways I've given up. I look in the mirror and see a disfigured belly from the three different times it's stretched and un-stretched, breasts that sag due to breastfeeding and that space between my thighs that used to be somewhat cute and never touched, now it does. Oh, and how did I forget the stretchmarks that seem to cover all the parts of my body that are supposed to be beautiful.

                    Sitting here, writing this is difficult but I need to do this for me..........and for her. My sons have a strong, confident role model in their lives, I want to be that for her. I don't want her to grow up and look up to the 95 pound pop star, I want her to look up to me. I wand to be the strong, influential woman in her life. Even if I never fully regain my pre-children figure, I want to love my body, for once feel beautiful in it. It has sheltered, birthed and nurtured three wonderful kids and the stretchmarks and weight are testimony to the lives it has created. I want my daughter to know that no matter what her body looks like, that she is beautiful and that she will be strong and I want her to learn that from me.

Bee Changed Micro Suede Diaper Review

            Like most baby product companies,   The Little Bee Co. was started by a mom determined to provide a quality product for her child. I recently received the opportunity to try the Bee Changed Micro Suede Cloth Diaper. I received this diaper in Japanese Cherry Blossom, which is an absolutely beautiful shade of pink.

         
            The diaper comes with two microfiber inserts that snap together, a feature I found convenient for stuffing purposes. The inner lining of the diaper is very soft so I'm sure my LO found it to be quite comfy on her bottom. The prepping process was by far the easiest I've encountered. You simply wash once in hot water with a little bit of cloth diaper detergent then tumble dry. I first used the diaper overnight because my daughter is a heavy wetter and normally leaks through her usual "night time" diapers. I was very impressed in the morning when I woke up and there were no leaks, not even the slightest bit of dampness around her legs. It was incredibly easy to find a good fit around her waist with this diaper, but it did leave deep, red creases around her thighs. Now I can't say for sure this is because of the elastic on the diaper or because she has extremely chunky thighs. I have since used it multiple times during the day to see how crawl-worthy it is and how it withstands, ahem, blowouts.......again a success! Another thing about this diaper that I thoroughly enjoy is the "Wrap and Go" feature. You can snap the tabs together to allow for mess elimination or if you have a baby with a tiny waist you can use it to snap over.

"Wrap and Go"

            Overall, I believe this diaper is every bit worth the try. The price of these diapers are quite a bit cheaper than FuzziBunz OS and the same price as BumGenius 4.0 OS, but every bit as quality made. To say the least, I am extremely impressed with this diaper and would love to add more to my fluff stash. I would like to add that a quality I like about The Little Bee Co., is it is a philanthropic entity as well. For every diaper purchased from them, they will donate a diaper to an orphan in need. Great company, great diaper, great mission. This is a diaper I would highly recommend. =0)


*Note: After following some advice from the creator, I re-aligned the lower snaps on the diaper to better accommodate my daughters thighs and no red marks! Thank you Jona!

Preschool Panic!

So I'm sitting at the playground with my kids, talking to another mom when it suddenly hits me.........My son is starting preschool! I'm not really sure what scares me most, how he'll behave or what I'll do with the extra time. I'll admit neither me nor my oldest son were prepared for preschool and I was a helicopter mom, I don't want to do that to my soon-to-be four year old. After the initial panic set I realized I have done nothing to prepare him for this momentous occassion. So I searced the net and got in tune with my previous teacher self and compiled a list of ways to prepare your child for that first day.

-Get Your Child Involved: Interaction with other children his/her age is the best way to get them ready. Play dates, playgrounds, children's museums. Anywhere that they have to interact, share and play fair is a great place to prepare your child.

-Talk About What To Expect: Make sure to let your child know what to expect from school. Don't tell them that it's all going to be okay because they are bound to run into some trouble those first few days (especially if they're not used to being without you). Find and read books about starting preschool together.

-Build A Strong Good-Bye Routine: Make sure to let your child that you WILL be back to pick him/her up. As a former teacher, some good advice that will make it easier for both your child and the teacher, Don't linger. Say good-bye then leave, saying good-bye then hanging around only makes it harder for your child when you do go.

-Read Everyday: Building those listening skills is key. Reading helps your child sit and stay focused, this will come in handy  for lots of activities done in preschool class rooms.

-Get Creative: Get your child in tune with his/her inner artist. Paint (with brushes, sponges, fingers and toes). Play different kinds of music for your kids to paint to, getting creative can help your little one relax and express themselves.

I know it's a little early to worry so much about this but preparing early is never a problem. I'll add on to this list and repost the closer we get to school starting. Do you have any suggestions or ways that you prepared your children? Please share with us. Thank you for reading and I hope this helps.


    

Rockin the Green

I finally ordered some Rockin' Green laundry and cloth diaper detergent. I ordered the Hard Rock 2.0 in Rage Against the Raspberry (smells delicious) It arrived just in time as I had a couple of diapers that I was convinced were ruined. We had gone on a road trip and I was not able to rinse the poo off of the diaper in a timely manner. There was a hard build up on the diaper that would NOT come off. I took the Rockin' Green and made a paste that I scrubbed into the liner of the diaper. Then I let it soak for 20 minutes, after a cold, a hot and a second cold rinse the stain and build up was GONE! The only sad part is that due to the second rinse (in my opinion) I could no longer smell the scent, no biggie though.  I must admit I went a little crazy afterwards, trying it on the stains on my carpet, dining room table chairs and the interior of my car. Everything looks good, it may not have removed all the stains, but man it really faded them. I'm so impressed with this stuff, I think I'm now a loyal customer. I placed a second order already with Rockin' Green directly this time and can't wait to smell it. =0)

And the winner is............

Comment #17, Sara Perkins!!!!!! Congratulations Sara, please email me at themcfamily5@yahoo.com with your shipping information. I sincerely hope those of you who didn't win choose to continue to be a fan on Facebook and follow the blog. I'm hoping to have many other contests and giveaways in the future. Once again congratulations Sara!!!

In the spirit of summer!

Summer is here and most of us are gearing up for our family vacation. Got the kids packed? check. Your sanity? Hmmmmm not so sure. Here are some tips that can hopefully keep your kids at bay during those long car rides.
 -Stop at the dollar store and pick up some little knick knack toys. Whether it's a slinky,coloring       book or puzzle it's bound to buy you a little peace of mind.
 -Have games lined up that kids usually enjoy like I Spy. A great one my MIL taught me is Robot. You tell the child to move like a robot in various ways then say you are going to turn the robot off. My oldest son was quiet for 30 minutes pretending to be a turned off robot.          
 -Lastly, my husband invested in a portable DVD player which is only used in the car during the trip, once we reach our destination it's turned off and we enjoy our vacation as a family.

Beauty from the Earth helps spread the word.

As a person who has struggled with depression on and off this story touched home for me. A makeup company is helping to raise awareness about the seriousness of suicide. It's a topic often times avoided amongst parents and teens, but one that should be discussed more often. You can now purchase two new colors from Beauty from the Earth ( http://www.bftecosmetics.com/ or their blog at http://beautyfromtheearth.blogspot.com/ )
 to help spread the word and, of course, you can also visit http://www.zachsfriends.org/ to see how else you can help. I feel so very sorry for this families loss and pray that we can get the word out and help young teens realize that they aren't alone. Thank you for taking the time to read this and I hope that you will decide to contribute.

GroVia Review

Well both my lil' ones are down for their naps so I finally have a chance to post this review. I'd like to first state that I have not been compensated in anyway to do this review, the giveaway in this review is being provided by myself and is not associated with GroVia or Facebook in any way.

I would like to start by giving you a little history on the start of the company that manufactures the GroVia AIO diaper, The Natural Baby Company. Like most cloth diaper companies it was started by a mom of course. Her name is Kim Ormsby and she started it all in her laundry room in 2008. I'm so very happy that she started this company, because after using the GroVia AIO diapers for one whole day and one at night, I'm in love. I truly wish that I had known someone who used them before I chose to CD this way I could have spent most of my money on them. Ok enought with the history lesson though and on to the review.

For me the prepping process was long compared to my other cloth diapers, but very much worth the wait. Before the first use it is recommended that you wash and dry them a total of five to six times to increase absorbency.The covers come in some very adorable colors and prints. For my daughter, I ordered the AIO in Cosmos, Owls and Mod Flowers. The AIO's are designed to fit babies 10-35 pounds. As some of you probably already know and as you can see in the picture the liner has a snap on it that you snap the doubler onto. The liner is actually sewn onto the cover so there is no stuffing or snapping on that part.  I like that the closure snaps on these diapers are different from the other diapers I own. 

The fabric on the cover is very soft and doesn't feel hard or like plastic and the liner and doubler are both very soft as well.  The cover is also very stretchy which I'm sure my daughter who is a bit on the chunky side can appreciate. I really like that the washing instructions are so simple compared to other brands, no multiple wash cycles or extra rinses required (a handy feature for a busy mom of three). So now I guess I should tell you about personal experience, this diaper definately stood up to my daughters test. She is a new crawler and we had no leaks whatsoever. We also braved it and traded it for our usual overnight diaper, again, no leaks!  After using this diaper I can honestly say that I'm in love with them and look to purchase more in the future. And now for the moment, I've truly been looking forward to......the giveaway details!!!!!!!!

To enter you must:

-First and foremost, you must "like" the Facebook page.

-Then, subscribe to the blog

-Lastly, comment on this blog entry as this is where I will count the entries and pick the winner.

Once the page reaches 50 fans, I will pick the winner via Random.org by comment number (I hope that makes sense). I hope that if not chosen people will not unlike the Facebook page ot unsubscribe to the blog as I plan on having more giveaways and contests in the future. Thank you and spread the word so we can pick a winner.

"Blog Warming" Party

Hello all! I am in the midst of planning my Blog Warming Party. I already have a few sponsors for giveaways so stay tuned and don't forget to subscribe to the blog as well! Talk to y'all soon.

Cloth Diaper Confusion

I am still in the infancy of my transition to cloth diapers so I'm constantly looking for different brands, types etc. During the time I was researching I got mixed reactions from people that I asked from "It's easy", " I love it" to "Why would you want to deal with all that extra work?". I have a few brands in my stash now but still have yet to make up my mind as to what my ABSOLUTE favorite is. I've tried the Flip diaper system which is good for maybe just sitting around at home, but I would'nt take them on long trips. My reasoning behind that is the inserts bunch and when my daughter poos, it gets all over the cover which then leads to that cover being only a one time user. I've tried multiple pocket diapers including BumGenius, DryBees and FuzziBunz. Now I do have to take this opportunity to say that I love the pocket diapers especially the FuzziBunz, the only downfall is the price. They can be quite expensive and are one time use diapers. I just recently ordered GroVias from Earth Angels Diaper Co. while they were on special for Buy three get one free. I will be doing a review and giveaway on this diapering system to celebrate getting my blog up and running. Once I'm done with the prepping process for the GroVias that I am keeping, I will post a review and details on how to enter to win the other one. Thanks again for reading and talk to y'all soon.

It's B-A-N-A-N-A-S

So this is my first review (unfortunately no giveaway on this one though). I would like to state that I have not (nor will I) be compensated for this review. I am doing this for informational purposes only. The Baby Bullet, as some of you may already know purees food turning it into yummy goodness for your little one. The Baby Bullet comes with the power base, a large batchbowl, two short cups, a spatula, a flat blade and a cross blade, two stay fresh resealable lids, a batch tray (for freezing food), six date dial storage cups, tray, a pocket nutritionist book and lastly a user guide and cook book.

My initial thought upon opening the box is that it was just a small (yet super cute) blender. The first night we  got it we made banana puree and to explain how I did so, I'm including the recipe.

      You need:
              -One whole raw banana
              -1/4 cup water
      You add both of the ingredients into the short cup ( I sliced the banana), twist on the cross blade then          puree until you achieve  the proper texture.

This recipe filled three of the date dial storage cups. The feature I really like about these cups is you can show the date you made it to ensure the freshness of you little ones food. I instantly fed my daughter one of the servings and she LOVED the fresh bananas. Overall, I believe the Baby Bullet is an awesome product for parents interested in making their own baby food. Well thank you SO much for reading! I'm really hoping to improve my review skills, any suggestions are greatly appreciated. Thanks again.

First Official Post!

Hello! I'm Lauren, a stay-at-home mom and creativity junkie. I'm truly hoping to get this blog up and running but my computer died and I'm posting from my phone. In this blog I'll be talking about my adventures in marriage, my creative ventures and my new found love for crunchy parenting. I'd love to eventually incorporate reviews and giveaways into my blog so please stay tuned, subscribe and be patient with me. Thank you!