Love the Holidays!

The holidays are officially upon us! I love everything about it... the hustle and bustle, Christmas music, the weather, and the atmosphere in the air! I am officially off of work and school for the holidays and couldn't be happier. I have already baked two pumpkin pies, cupcakes, and completed 95% of my Christmas shopping list. I cannot wait for the local radio station to begin playing Christmas music! Maybe we will even get some snow this year :)

My poor little Gunner is recovering from a long period of being sick. He developed strep throat over a month ago, and we just couldn't beat it down even though we used four different antibiotics! While on the final antibiotic he contracted a stomach virus so it was tough trying to keep down the antibiotics along with fever reducer and liquids. Yesterday, Gunner had a follow up doctor appointment with a new set of problems: a weird, dry rash on his stomach and upper arms as well as loose stools. I was worried the strep hadn't completely gone away, but the strep test was negative, the rash was diagnosed as eczema, and the loose stools were attributed to teething. I definitely have a lot to be thankful for as my little boy is now running around like a maniac and obviously feeling much better.

This evening we are driving to Broaddus, Texas to visit my mother-in-law and sister-in-laws. I know they are excited to see Gunner, especially since we weren't able to visit the weekend before Halloween because he had strep throat. I'm looking forward to the peace and quiet that comes along with our visit to Texas. There's something to be said about occasionally not being at home where you feel you have to be cleaning, cooking, or doing something at all times!

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Thursday Favorite Things!

My Thursday Favorite Things!

For my Thursday Favorite Things (graciously hosted by Katherine's Corner) I have chosen to talk about a most favorite hobby of mine. I absolutely LOVE to Belly Dance! Everything from the music, the choreography, the costumes, the performing... I could go on and on! I started Belly Dancing 9 months ago with Ameelah's Belly Dance Studio when I decided I desperately needed a hobby - My home, work, and social life (or lack thereof) was totally stressing me out. Having just had a baby, and practically becoming a shut-in, my self-confidence had taken a pretty big hit as well. I've taken dance as a child and in high-school/college - ballet, jazz, and lyrical - but nothing satisfied my desire for the unique, creative, and versatile styling that Belly Dance offers! Not to mention, it is a great workout! The teachers are wonderful and extremely talented, and it has given me a goal to work towards - also something that I have desperately needed. And so it came to be that there has been no greater outlet for me than Belly Dancing - It is the best thing that I have ever done for myself, and I encourage ALL women to become actively involved in a hobby, be it sewing, cooking, dancing, making bows, karate, pottery, cycling... just anything! I am living proof that just because you've had a child or simply because you've become an adult, you can still have fun! Don't ever lose yourself in the monotony of every day life!

The Mommy Wars

Ever since I had Gunner, I noticed that there is this "Mommy War," waged between women. I was reminded of this as I nonchalantly browsed through Facebook and happened upon a Babycenter status post informing fellow mommies about the Gerber formula recall, which by the way is an involuntary recall - apparently the tub of formula is giving an  "off" odor. I, being a glutton for reading (but not participating in) internet drama just had to check it out because this happens every single time formula is mentioned. The women who strictly breastfeed are making remarks along the lines of, "See? That's why I breastfeed! Breast milk has never been recalled," and the formula feeders are getting on the defensive as to why they don't breastfeed and highlight every single problem they ever had while breastfeeding. I was appalled at how both sides were treating one other. Some of the breast feeders were calling out formula feeders for not trying hard enough, not to mention the thousands of times "formula feeding cannot even compare to breast feeding" was mentioned. I find this amusing because most formula feeders DO realize that "breast is best." I actually saw a post saying, "Instead of making excuses as to why you failed at breastfeeding, why don't you support us who do?" And then cue the formula feeders calling the breast feeders "breastfeeding Nazis" and so on and so forth.

Why can't we all just get along? I theorize that both groups of women are doing this because they are seeking validation - Validation that they are doing the best they can for their children. And guess what? They ALL are! Breast feeders want a pat on the back for the sacrifice they are making for their children. Yes, it is a sacrifice. Monitoring every single thing that enters your mouth, breastfeeding in public which is actually frowned upon by some ignorant folks, shutting yourself in a room to either pump or feed your child if company is present, not to mention the possibility of pain, and the constant fear of a dwindling supply. It is hard work! I totally get it. I was one of those who did not succeed at breastfeeding, and I was totally heartbroken. This is where the formula feeders come in.

Before I became a parent, I was the perfect parent. I planned on strictly breastfeeding - formula feeding was NOT an option. It was actually to the point I was pretty snotty about it. I planned on making all of Gunner's baby food, cloth diapering 24/7, reading one book per day, teaching Gunner sign language, NO daycare, you name it, I had my plan set it stone. Now that Gunner is here, the only thing I do now is the cloth diapering. I would even consider it "semi" cloth-diapering because when we travel, I prefer to use disposable. I try to read to Gunner, but he doesn't sit still enough to listen to the entire story, so I probably read him one page of a story per day. Every two days or more if he is being fussy.

Being a mom has definitely humbled me, particularly in the area of breast feeding. I expected it to come naturally to me; hell, I'm a woman! That's what these suckers were designed to do! After 3 weeks of pain, bleeding, and crying (both me AND Gunner) until 5 am, I decided to pump. I pumped for 3 months, but my supply got worse and worse. I eventually switched to formula completely, and unfortunately I'm still ridden by guilt today. So what do the formula feeders want from other women? I would say more sensitivity. We are not bad moms because we formula feed. Gunner just turned one and is now drinking cow's milk, and reading some of the awful things I read brought me back exactly one year ago to all the problems and regrets that I had when I decided to formula feed.

What is the point to this insanely long post? It doesn't matter whether you breastfeed or formula feed, use disposable diapers or cloth diapers, have a natural no-meds birth or an epidural, feed your child homemade baby food or jarred food, vaccinate or not vaccinate. Guess what? Either way, in the end your baby is having his basic needs met. As long as that baby is hugged and kissed and feels loved, why are we nit-picking with one another? Who are we to judge what another parent does? We should be supporting each other through this journey! Parenthood is hard enough! At the end of the day, I think we all deserve a pat on the back!

The Terrible Ones!

I've always heard other parents mention the "Terrible 2's" stage that their toddlers have gone through, but they somehow failed to mention the "Terrible 1's." Gunner has been having temper tantrum after temper tantrum, and he seems to have this mental checklist of things he shouldn't do and does them. Right. After. The. Other.

First he runs to the curtains in the living room and pulls on them (once it actually resulted in the curtains coming down), then he will grab Eric's computer headset and beat it on the floor, then he crawls into the kitchen and dumps out all the dog food and water, then he grabs Kleenex from the tissue box, scatters them about, and then finally tries to pull down all the decorative items on every table in the house. Repeat this over and over again, and we have a typical day in the Jordan house. He has also been pickier about his food, he only wants yogurt, bread, milk, and green beans, and he will flat out refuse his sippy cups - He throws them at me! Not to mention the constant crying and clinginess! I am really hoping this is just a phase because I may end up needing to be committed to an insane asylum! Not really, but it is pretty stressful to deal with. I'm sure the huge bump on the right side of his lower gums sure isn't helping.

And people are seriously wondering why I don't want anymore kids? I love my little Gunner to death, but sheesh!

How the time does fly!

It seems like only yesterday my little man came into this world. He will be 4-months-old soon ... Today I started bawling at the thought of my little guy growing up. I want to freeze him at this age so I can always snuggle him and see his face light up when I enter the room. There is always the negative nancy in me saying this won't last forever. Soon I'll be the bane of his existance, a background noise always telling him what he can and can't do. It almost makes me sad. But for now, I will enjoy my little enjoy my little fellow and not worry what tomorrow will bring. He will always be my precious little man! ♥

Kidgets Brand Diapers = AWESOME!

Eric and I received a variety of diapers during our baby shower - Huggies, Pampers, Parent's Choice, Luvs, Fisher Price, Target's Up & Up, and Kidgets. It has really given us the opportunity to try out and see which ones we (as well as Gunner) like best. Among our favorites include the generic Parent's Choice and Up & Up brand because they don't turn into a gelly mush and leak, but our most favorite brand that we have tried is the Kidgets brand from Family Dollar! No Joke! Gunner tends to wet his diaper frequently, so it was nice not having to change his clothes for the umpteenth time because his diaper leaked. After trying them out, I read some reviews on them to see if others have had the same positive experience with them because I couldn't believe they were dollar store diapers, and I read a ton of great reviews! A lot of them compared the actual diaper to Pampers diapers with the elastic waste of Huggies which is a great combination! AND they are super cute! The diapers are even cuter at $6.50 for a jumbo box of 50 :) ... When I run out of the gift diapers, I will definitely be supplementing my cloth diapering and traveling with Kidgets!