Here we GO!!!

The day has finally come! Since about the end of May we have been busy busy planning for this day. We've planned for this day and the days that will follow over and over and over. I've written pages and pages of plans in my notebook (and still have more to write!). We've calculated miles, planned meals, found campgrounds, booked campgrounds, cancelled campgrounds, planned outfits and details---all of the little details that probably don't matter. We have stressed about it all.

Since we found out in May that we would be moving to Alaska this fall we have been SO.EXTREMELY.BUSY. I honestly don't even want to talk about it because it makes my brain hurt to think about all we have done since that day. We have packed up boxes galore, and then unpacked them when we realized we still needed what was in them. We've talked and questioned how we were going to make this move--what month will we go, how will we get there? Will we fly or drive? Take a ferry or the famous Alaskan Highway? Would Jason go early and then the girls and I go later? How will the weather be? How will we get our pets there? What about the Disney trip we have planned for later in the year, do we cancel it? (HECK NO WE DON'T!). Do we sell our house or rent it? What if it doesn't sale OR rent?

After lots and LOTS of discussing and deliberating we finally decided what would be best for us. We didn't want to be apart, I didn't want to fly, Jason wanted to drive cross country, we couldn't possibly find a decent hotel every night that would accept all of us PLUS our cats and bird--at least not without paying an arm and a leg. So of course the easiest thing to do (by the way, there is NO easy way to do this) was to buy a camper and pull it across the country. Do you know how many times I've regretted agreeing to that crazy idea that was all Jason's fault?

And so it began. We were all super excited to start camper shopping and quickly found the one we wanted--a 32 ft. travel trailer complete with bunk beds that the girls can't wait to put to good use! Along with a camper, we needed something to pull it--because unfortunately, Jason's Altima and my minivan weren't going to get the job done. So we said goodbye to the Altima and after lots of stressing over a vehicle, finally found something big enough to hold all of us AND big enough to pull an 8,000 lb. camper. It's not as kid-friendly as my sweet minivan, but it'll do, I reckon. So we had the getting there taken care of, next up, the house.

We decided it would be best to sell the house so we wouldn't have to worry about renting it out or taking care of it from 5,000 miles away. Anyone who has ever bought or sold a house knows how stressful it is. Especially when you don't have long to do it. First of all, getting a house clean and then keeping it that way with 3 young children living in it is next to impossible. Luckily, my family's beach house was less than a mile away, so we moved over there for a while and that helped a LOT. We had a few showings, and have signed a contract with two different buyers. The first buyers decided after about three weeks that they were not ready to buy a house and backed out, so back on the market it went. About a week after we put it back up, in came another offer, and we are currently under contract again--but not holding our breaths. We are hoping and praying that this one will seal the deal and we will close in mid-September.

In between selling the house and buying a camper and a truck, we've spent our spare time in doctors offices. You see, in order to go somewhere like Alaska, you have to be approved--all of you. So in we all went for physicals and dental checkups. Then we had to have the doctors fill out lots of paperwork and turn it in, and then get it fixed because the doctor signed the wrong line....this took FOREVER. Not sure why it was so hard to get us all in to the doctor and have paperwork filled out but I think it took about two months before everyone was approved! Then we were able to schedule the movers once we were all finally approved to go!

So anyways, that's just a little snippet of what we have been busy doing since May. It has been busy and frustrating. It's been time consuming and boring. My poor kids have been told so many times to be quiet or to go play or to leave us alone. My poor husband has had to reassure me more times than I can count that every thing was going to be alright. I have been a grouch, and impatient and have wondered so.many.times. HOW I was ever going to make it to the next day without completely losing it. And now, I have made it to the day that I've been planning for.
(After reading back through this post before publishing I realized that I had left out a few minor details--so without going into too much detail, there have also been trips to the E.R., minor traffic incidents, flooded laundry rooms, major appliance repairs, etc. I'll let you use your imagination there 😉).

So today, we start the first part of our big trip. Today we are going to start our two day drive down to Disney World, where we will spend a week. After Disney, we will drive back up to North Carolina and get our camper packed up, and then head on to Alaska! We are so excited for this once in a lifetime journey, but are also very nervous. We are trying to stay positive knowing that it will be a very long trip, with long days. Our kids will be tired, we will be tired and our pets will all probably be stressed out. Please say prayers for us and encourage us in the days ahead! We are looking forward to making lots of memories with our little family!

Our next chapter

Well, it's been a while! I think the last time I blogged we were just starting our North Carolina chapter. Keely was a baby, Paislee was a toddler and life was just so darn busy! I wish I could say that now I have gotten the hang of this mom stuff and that I'm going to start blogging daily, but that would be a big fat lie! I will say that I'm going to promise to try to blog more often!

Our four years in North Carolina have flown by, and now it is time for our next chapter. We found out in May that the next place we will call home is Anchorage, Alaska! Although we are sad to leave our family and friends, we are very excited to get back up to Alaska. We are also hoping to have lots and lots of visitors over the next four years. If you are reading this, consider it an invitation to come and visit us in God's Country. He truly played favorites when he created Alaska, and we would love to show you around this beautiful place where we first called home after we were married and also where we welcomed our first baby.

We will be living on the joint Army/Air Force base in Anchorage--a first for us, as we have never lived in military housing or on a military base. I for one am VERY excited to be part of a military community. There are so many resources on base for everyone in the family and I can't wait to utilize them all. From what I've seen so far, there are playgrounds galore, fitness centers, bowling, movie theatres, ice skating, snow skiing, libraries, schools and more on base. Jason's work will also be on base, so I'm hoping we won't have to leave very often if we don't want to.

Our adventure begins on September 4, as we head down to Florida for a Disney World vacation. After a week in Florida we will begin our journey up to Anchorage, which we are anticipating will take us about three weeks. I will try and blog more about that later, but now I have two little girls snuggled up in bed with me asking why I'm texting so much :)
XoXo
-Ashley

That's what she said..

I'm thinking an easy way to get blogposts in is to do posts with just quick things that Paislee or Keely say during the day that crack me up. So if you see a post with the title 'That's what she said', just know that it won't be a long, drawn out post, just quick (but definitely cute!). 

Yesterday, Paislee was eating something messy, I can't remember what it was. She dropped some on her nightgown, and of course she freaked. Anyone who knows Paislee knows that she is a little OCD. Jason goes over to her, pinches the nightgown material and licks whatever she dropped off. Paislee goes about her business and a few minutes later says : "Thanks for suckin' it, Daddy". 

To blog or not to blog?

I have been reading so many blogs lately and it's making me want to start blogging again! I must be crazy. I get about 10 free minutes in my day, do I really want to spend those few minutes blogging? We will see :) I will take it one day at a time, and since there is a blogger app, that will make it a little easier. 

This weekend we took a trip down to Myrtle Beach for a 'mini vacation'. It was much needed and we enjoyed ourselves so much! We stayed at my aunts condo, which is oceanfront=perfecto! I decided before we left that we would stay in the entire weekend, and just enjoy each other, and relax. Do beach days and spend good time with each other. We headed down Friday morning and arrived around lunch. We swam in the pool for a little while and then headed out to the beach just for a quick walk before going in for supper. 

This is the only picture I snapped with my phone from that day, the rest are on the camera and that is too much work for now. Baby steps people, baby steps. :) Keely was not a fan of the sand or the cold water, she is also not a fan of her sister when she gets touchy feely--which is often, ha! We had enchilada casserole for dinner-yum! And too many cookies for dessert. 

Paislee enjoyed the views for a while after dinner and then headed to bed. 

The next day we took off to the beach pretty early. The girls enjoyed it and so did we. The condo is at the end of the beach so there is so much great beach that is perfect for kids. When the tide is low, there are 'water holes' which is great because I'm terrified to let them play in the ocean. 

We went in for lunch and then my wonderful hubby stayed in with Keely while she napped and let me go back out with Paislee to get my tan on. We came in and I made spaghetti for dinner, and we enjoyed another night in.

On Sunday we enjoyed another beach day, and came in a little early to get ready and go to the outlets for just a little bit of shopping. Mama was starting to get a little cabin fever and needed to find a new outfit to go with my new red wedges....turns out I didn't find anything which is a good thing because I got home today, the UPS man greeted me in the drive way with them and unfortunately...they looked like hooker shoes :( which made me sad...so I'm going to order them in tan and hope that makes it all better because they are sooooo comfy and I heart them! Below is the picture I sent Jason who was waiting in the car with the girls. I was trying on the shirt but had to put on a pair of white pants to see how the entire outfit would look (with MY white pants that were at home). He responded "you look like a granny"....I didn't buy the shirt. 

Monday was rainy and gloomy so we went to barefoot landing and walked around the little shops and had lunch at Joes Crab Shack-which was yummy :) 

We came home, had leftovers for dinner and started cleaning so we could head home in the morning. Jason and I were in a cleaning frenzy when we heard the sweetest giggles ever. We ran around to the other side of the bar to these two sweet girls playing--not fighting but PLAYING. It melted my heart <3. 

We had an eventful trip home today, maybe I will blog more about that tomorrow :)

Sorry for the boring post, getting back into the swing of things!

Recipe Blog

Hey Ya'll!

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas! Just wanted to let ya'll know that we have a new blog for recipes now. We are down in NC visiting and Jason's family has a family recipe book and we decided to put it all in blog form so it would be easier to update and keep up with. Hope you guys follow and enjoy :)

The Name Game

Ya'll, naming this second baby has been a pain in my @$$!!!!! We cannot agree on anything, and the few we can agree on, I'm not in LOVE with. Jason wants to keep the "Lee" sound in the name. I need some opinions:

1. Keely Reese
2. Analise
3. Analee

Jason doesn't like the spelling in 2 & 3 because of 'Anal'. Really? Do ya'll think people will REALLY make fun of her for that???? I don't want to spell it Annalise because I feel like people will be more inclined to shorten it to Anna, and I don't want it shortened to Anna. If WE decided to call her something shorter at home, like we call Paislee "Paise"--(Pays)--we would call her "Lise" (Lease).

Our other option is Keely--(Key-lee). I like Keely. Don't necessarily want to spell it that way, but it seems like every other spelling looks weird, or can be mispronounced. I've even seen people think it's Kelly. Weird, but whatever.

We had Brynlee on the list-but I'm not crazy about Bryn, and it's getting too popular. We also had Britlee, a name Jason chose a loooong time ago--before Paislee was born, and I HATED it, but over the last couple of years it has grown on me. Everyone seems to think it's super weird though, maybe it will take a couple of years for it to grow on them too? :)

If we have to go with another "lee" name, I don't want it to be too 'out there' and like we are just trying too hard to find another lee name. I think it could get tacky and with Analise and Keely it's not too out there and they also go well with Paislee.

Jason, Ashley, Paislee and Keely
Jason, Ashley, Paislee and Analise

What do ya'll think?? And if you think Analise--any middle name suggestions??

Thank you bloggy friends!!
XOXO,
Ashley

Lindsay's Visit to Maine

Lindsay got here last Saturday around noon and leaves Sunday. We only have one more day to adventure out and explore Maine. And of course, tomorrow it is supposed to be 75 degrees out and B-E-A-utiful! All week it has been cold--in the 50's, and the first 3 days she was here it rained :( Here is a summary of her trip so far in pictures :)

After we picked Lindsay up from the airport, we took her downtown for a 'Welcome to Maine' meal at 'Portland Lobster Co.'. None of us had Lobster though ;)

Sunday it rained a llllll day. We sat around for a while, then me and Lindsay went out shopping for a little while. Monday it cleared up for a little while so Lindsay, Paislee and I drove up to Freeport to the outlets. While there we shopped, ate lunch at Johnny Rocket's and had to get Whoopie Pies, the official dessert of Maine, at the famous 'Wicked Whoopies'. Lindsay meant to get the chocolate chip Whoopie, but got the vanilla bean instead, and I got the peanut butter. Yum!

Then we went to L.L. Bean--just because you have to go to L.L. Bean when you come to Maine. Lindsay made some friends while we were there....she fits right in!

Tuesday we had yet another lazy day because it rained alllllll dayyyyy. Wednesday we got a super early start but not because we wanted to :) Jason was presented an award at work so we got up to watch him get that, then his boat left--with him on it :( So we headed to Ft. Williams to see the Portland Headlight. 

Love this picture that Lindsay snapped!

After the lighthouse we headed to The Lobster Shack so Lindsay could get her some Lobster. She ended up with Lobster stew...

...and then climbed down the rocky Maine coastline for some pictures.

Yesterday we were going to drive up the Maine coast to a small coastal community. Then we changed our minds and decided to drive to the mountains to do some leaf peeping. Then we changed our minds again, and decided to have yet another lazy day...do you see a pattern here? We LOVE lazy days :)  This is Lindsay and her favorite member of the Mozingo family...

and the yummy dinner we cooked--Ranch House Porkchops, with garlic parmesan mashed potatoes and green bean casserole--YUM-O!

Today we had lunch at the Portland Pie Co...

It was DELISH!

Then we ventured over to downtown Portland and walked around and checked out shops and food. Mostly food. We stopped here...

and had some of these. Lindsay had the vanilla with blueberry icing and I had the red velvet with cream cheese...

Less than 10 minutes later we stopped here for ice cream :)

Then we finished our walk with a stop in front of the harbor to see all of the yachts and sailboats. We headed home, had a very light supper--since we ate ALL day, ha! Now we are going to bed so we can get up early and head to the beach for our last day--this will be a Maine first for me too :):)

XOXO,
Ashley

Since I can't be there....

I'll just pretend..

Happy Labor Day Weekend, ya'll!

XOXO,

Ashley

Hello Fall

I welcome you with open arms! I thought I would never want to see summer come to an end by the time I FINALLY got down to NC to real summer weather, but after 2 months of that--It's easy to say that I am happy to see fall coming :)

We are already enjoying perfect days here in the mid 70's and cool, crisp nights--the ones you want to leave your windows open on--when your husband is home and you're not too scared :)

I'm looking forward to my good bud Lindsay coming up in October! I'm going to show her as much of Maine as possible and she is coming during the perfect time! This is Acadia National Park--one of the places we plan to visit while she is here!

 This is the fall wreath I am working on :) This isn't 'mine' but one I am using as inspiration--isn't it cute? Minus the ugly owl ;)

 This is what comes up when you google "Fall in Maine". I wasn't here last October, when all of the leaves changed so I am super excited to see it this year--isn't it BEAUTIFUL??

 And this, my friends, is who my darling baby is dressing up as for Halloween. No, not Minnie the Witch, just Minnie Mouse :) Ordered part of her costume yesterday ;)

Is it too early to start putting up Fall decorations? Too bad, mine are half way up! You can do that when no one ever comes to your house :)

Fall also brings easy cooking. Jason is a huge fan of soups--Vegetable, 15 bean soup and chili are usually served weekly or every other week in our house through fall and winter!


We officially have less than a year left here in Maine, and I want to make the best of our time left here, and also the few months I have left as the mother of just one little angel :) So we have lots planned, to make the most and best of our time together as a family of three :) :)

What are your favorite fall traditions? Foods? Decorations? Happy Fall, Ya'll!

A message from Paislee..

Can I vent?

I know, to have not blogged for a while and then come on here to vent is kinda annoying but I gotta vent to someone :)

So as most of you know, I post about my couponing on facebook. Sometimes I post pictures, sometimes I just post a status update. Numerous times I have had someone post a negative comment about couponing. Can I ask, WHY?? I don't think any of my followers have ever posted anything negative (although you may be thinking it :)), but let me just clarify on here.

First of all, sure, I may be a loser for cutting coupons every week, and saving tons every week--I get it. I know most people have jobs and can't "sit around couponing all day long". I can't either. I don't go to work every day but trust me, my job is very tiring and I never get off work. When I do get a break it's right now (naptime) or around 11 p.m.--after Paislee is in bed and everything is picked up and I am ready for bed. THAT is when I cut my coupons and plan my trips. I got in bed at 11 p.m. last night and sat up until 12:30 planning today's shopping trip. And, I take Paislee with me, so coupon shopping isn't an easy or very pleasant experience ever, but it's worth it :) So no, I don't have all day every day to sit around and coupon. Third, if ya haven't noticed, I'm buying NON FOOD ITEMS. Toothpaste, toothbrushes, laundry detergent, body wash, shampoo, razors, cleaning supplies, etc. These things DO NOT EXPIRE!  

People have made comments like: "Why do you need so much toothpaste or toothbrushes?" ---Because I will use them FOREVER--really? Can you ever have enough? Do you really need to ask me that stupid idiotic question??? Especially when I am getting these things for FREE? And no, I am not going in and buying 50 items at a time and clearing the shelves, ruining it for every one else.

So what is it with people? Why do they get SO pissed when you post something like this on Facebook? Can anyone tell me? Probably not, because none of you have been the ones asking this question and you are probably thinking--why is she ranting about this crap? I just don't understand why people are so mean and negative about every thing you do, especially if it's something you work hard at and get excited about? Again, none of you have done anything that I have talked about, I just wanted to vent about other 'stupid's' out there :)

Since I started couponing on June 6, I have spent $213.75 on $723.87 worth of products that we will absolutely always use, and will not go to waste. We are stocked up on almost all of our personal hygiene and cleaning products for 1 maybe even 2 years.

Have a happy 4th of July! My husband will be home in the morning and I am off to NC--see you soon!!

XOXO,
Ashley

15 Months

I felt like the monthly updates were getting to be too much, especially since (hopefully) Paislee is probably going to stop growing and changing so much so quick this second year of her life--SO, I decided to do an update every three months for her second year :) So here goes!

Paislee, you are 15 months old today! You are 31.5 inches tall, and weigh 21 lbs. 12 oz. You are wearing size 4 diapers, size 5 shoes, and 18 month clothes. You have 5 teeth, soon to be six! Two on the bottom, three on top, and your fourth one on top about to cut through any day now. You have been drooling terribly with this tooth. I have never noticed much drool with your other teeth, but this one has brought on a slobber fest! I don't mind, you are happy and it doesn't seem to be bothering you too much :)

In the past three months you have gone from a baby to a toddler, and the many changes in you are unbelievable! You are now sleeping in your crib every single night! You go to bed around 10 p.m. and wake up between 5 a.m. and 8 a.m....I know, that's a pretty big gap in your wake up time--I prefer closer to the 8 a.m. ;) You are completely weaned and taking it very well! You love cows milk now, and seem to have forgotten about mama's milk :) I am so so SO happy this was such an easy transition for you, I couldn't have asked for anything better! You are also eating much much much better now that you are weaned. You won't touch veggies with a 10-foot pole, but you will eat any fruit I put in front of you! Your favorites are strawberries, blueberries, kiwi and bananas :) You also eat chicken nuggets, hot dogs and grilled cheese numerous times a week. I know, bad mama! But I give you what you will eat! You also LOVE raisins, the yogurt covered ones! Sometimes you eat the whole thing, sometimes you suck the yogurt off and spit the raisin out. It drives me nuts because I find raisins EVERYWHERE! Little stinker! You only drink cows milk and water, and love them both! You also love strawberry yogurt and usually eat it every morning for breakfast.

You are becoming less and less attached to mama, which is good because I get a little more free time to myself--just don't take it too far! I am enjoying a little more freedom and being able to leave you with friends to go on a date with daddy every once in a while, but I want you to always be my sweet sweet girl!

You LOVE your big kitty sister. You call her all day long---"Sesssssiiiiiiiii!!!". Anytime you get a snack or something to eat you call her and find her so you can share with (tease) her! Ha! She is starting to love you more too! I hope you two will be BFF's!

Mornings are hit or miss around here. Some mornings you wake up ILL as a SNAKE and I can't hardly stand to be around you, other mornings you wake up and we go lay in my bed and you talk to me for a while. You say "walk?" "Sesi!!!" "Mama" "Dada" "Milk" etc. etc.....makes me wonder what you dreamed about because you are still half asleep :)

You are into EVERYTHING! I thought I had it bad when you were a baby--boy was I wrong! I am exhausted by the end of the day from chasing you alllllll day long! You LOVE to go outside so we do that numerous times a day!

Your talking skills blow my mind! You are so smart and your doctor agreed at your 15 month checkup. You can name more than 20 animals and make all of their sounds. You recognize 3-4 colors and can say them. Your vocabulary is out of this world, you can pretty much say anything I tell you to say. I can't believe you are mine!.....yes I can ;) Where else would you get those brains? ha!

I love you so much little girl and can't wait to watch you grow--slowly---over this next year (and for many more to come!). You bring so much joy to my life and you are one of my best friends--I hope that lasts forever and only grows stronger every day!

XOXO,
Mama

Not Quite (but almost!) Extreme Couponing

As some of you may know, I have a new addiction hobby! Who knew that couponing was SO much fun and didn't inform me?? I have been collecting coupons for 2 weeks now and already have a ton, and I can't wait to use them all! I'm not that great yet, I still spend more money than I would like, BUT I save more than I spend, EVERY TIME--so I'm happy! Here are the deals I have gotten this week!

This was my first couponing trip. I spent $40.97 and saved $87.61! The total would have been $128.35 without any coupons or my RITE AID savings card. I know it doesn't look like a lot of stuff, but it's expensive stuff and it's stuff you use everyday! Those razors are $10 razors! The infant Motrin (which we go through like toothpaste in this house) is normally $6 a bottle--both bottles cost me $0.00! I bought enough body wash this trip to last Jason the rest of the year :) I am not picky when it comes to razors so this should be enough razors (with what we already have) to last BOTH of us the rest of the year! I plan to stock up on things like this anytime I find a good deal. I read somewhere that you should never pay for toothpaste or toothbrushes because it's really easy to get them both for FREE, so that's what I'm going to try to do from now on :)



This is from my second shopping trip and I totaled it up and lost the paper with my calculations on it so I will go from memory for this one :) The 2 bottles of dish soap were .5 a piece :) 3 of the toothpaste's were FREE. The 2 boxes of Excedrine were FREE :) The Tide spray was $1.99, the 2 big mustards were .98 for both of them. The M & M's were FREE. I paid ~3.00 for the razors (originally $6.99) and got the two packs of diapers, two Crest toothpaste's and 2 bottles of shampoo/conditioner for ~$15.00. I was satisfied :) :) I usually don't use Pantene because everyone who has ever cut my hair has warned me of how bad it is for your hair, but I couldn't pass up such a great deal (AND I made some extra money off of it, otherwise I probably wouldn't have bought it). We will see if I like it when I use it :) So anyways, approximately $21.00 for all of this stuff! And diapers ain't cheap, honey!

And today, I bought 4 6-packs of Bounty paper towels, and got them all for $6.36 TOTAL! A 6 pack of Bounty paper towels up here run about $6.99 per pack. That's $28! I got 2 of the packs for $2.09 a piece (with a $3 off coupon) and then I had 2 1.00 off coupons in addition to my $3 off coupon, so the other 2 packs were only $1.09! That makes me a happy girl!

Sorry if this post bored you to death, but everyone wants to know more more more about couponing so there you go. If I can do it, YOU can do it. UNLESS you are like I USED to be and want the coupons handed to you. You gotta go get the Sunday paper and clip the coupons and do a little work. They ain't gonna fall in your lap, drag you to the store, fill your cart up for you, and pay for you. It takes a little work but the end result is DEFINITELY worth it!

Happy Couponing!

XOXO,
Ashley

Diets. Blah!

I know everyone feels the same way as I do about dieting. It sucks! But it is time for me to make a lifestyle change, not just go on a diet. I am worried that now I have had my thyroid surgery, I am going to have problems with my weight, so I need to go ahead and get it under control, along with my HORRIBLE eating habits. I have ALWAYS eaten WHATEVER I want, WHEN I want--and not eaten healthy. I don't really know of many healthy recipes besides just grilled chicken or plain veggies so I need your help!

I am open to anything really, diet shakes, snack ideas, recipes, workout regimes, meal plans, etc. I don't want to spend a TON of money, and don't want to make recipes with 1,000 ingredients, especially weird things I've never heard of. I will replace meals with smoothies or shakes if I need to, but I need something quick and easy to do--not something that takes a lot of time to make, or time to keep up with. Like I said, I am open to anything!...haha..I just re-read that paragraph and I guess I am ALMOST open to anything :)

Just shoot me some ideas--what you do, what has worked for you in the past. I am even open to taking diet pills--here's my hand, smack it and tell me no no and move right along--I've taken them before and they worked wonders for me! And I am done breastfeeding, so it's my body I can do what I want to! hehe :)

Thanks in advance for all of your awesome tips that are going to give me my high school body back!

XOXO,
Ashley

Leaving on a Jet Plane

I know, I know. What an original title.

Mama is leaving us today to go back to North Carolina. She has been here since the Saturday before my surgery and I may have cooked 3 meals since she's been here. I usually cook every night. I have folded ZERO loads of laundry, changed MAYBE 5 diapers. Let's just say that the woman will be missed and things will go back to normal around here :( Unless of course I can milk Jason for a couple more days :) It hasn't been 2 weeks since my surgery yet, therefore I am still not allowed to pick Paislee up. Doctor's orders! I know, that sounds terrible coming from a mom. I should enjoy bath time, and putting her in her car seat...and I do! But I also do it ALL the time, and am enjoying this nice little semi-vacation :) I will be glad when I can pick her up and carry her around and rock her when she's tired...I do miss that :)

Just blogging since Paislee is asleep on the floor and not in my arms, trying to pick up good habits even if what I blog about is boring!

Hope everyone has a fabulous weekend! Jason and I are thinking about driving about 3 hours north to a town called Bar Harbor, and visiting Acadia National Park for the weekend. We will see if that or lounging around the house taking turns napping wins!

XOXO,
Ashley

A day I never thought would come

Paislee has now been sleeping in her crib for over a week and is fully weaned. She had her very last feeding last Monday night, and went in her crib last Sunday night. The first night in the crib was rough--she cried for 45 minutes, then finally gave up and went to sleep. We sat in front of her crib the whole time. She woke up twice that night, and pretty much every night the first week. Saturday night she slept the whole night without waking up, and has ever since. She has not asked to nurse, I think she thinks about it every so often and gets a little antsy, but other than that she acts like she doesn't even know what a boobie is! Well I won't go that far, we don't say the 'B' word in this house anymore, ha! And she definitely isn't allowed to see them!

I never thought this day would come! I am SO proud of her, and how easy she handled this big transition! Easier than me! I still am up most of the night going in and checking on her, but we have ordered a security system with TWO cameras so soon I will be able to lay in bed and watch her every move :)

Just a little motivational post on how me, Jason and everyone else NEVER thought this day would come, especially without blood, sweat and tears, but we did it and with no blood, no sweat, and very few tears--just how I wanted to do it!

It seems like everything with motherhood has been this way so far. There have been things big and small that have came along that I thought "how will we ever get through this?" or "I will be stuck living like this for the rest of my life!"...ya'll know, you have been reading and encouraging me through it all! It's a hard job, the hardest one I've ever had (I know, I haven't had many!) but it is SO worth it at the end of the day and all throughout :) I never thought of the little things that make a Mama SO happy and proud. Here are a few we have been experiencing lately:
--When Paislee wants something she says "Peeeeeaaaasssee!!!"
--When you give it to her she says "Dank dew" (Thank you)
--She welcomes medicine with open arms!
--She eats RAISINS--and enjoys them! YUCK!
--She is a bedtime hoarder. Seriously. She grabs anything she can fit in her arms and wants to take them ALL up to her crib. She wants milk AND water. She wants 3 baby dolls, a kitten, and Minnie Mouse, a regular sized pillow (mine) and one of those pillow pals. Her crib is stuffed and it is hilarious. But it makes her happy so I am all for it :)

*Thanks Ann, for talking me out of my hiatus. I do want to document all of this stuff that goes on, I just don't get to do it as often as I would like. This post took 3 days to write ;) So I will write when I can :)*

XOXO,
Ashley

Cutest.Outfit.Ever.

Thanks Mrs. Ammons :)

Blogging Hiatus

What? You mean I wasn't already on a blogging hiatus?? Yeah, I was. But now I am making it official--makes me feel less guilty for not blogging on a regular basis.

I don't know how other moms blog on a daily basis, much less moms to more than one child, but I just can't find the time to do it! Paislee is down for her nap and I am catching up on my shows--this is the only time of the day I can get on the computer without her screaming and wanting to climb all over me to get to the computer to destroy it. And honestly, I don't have anything exciting to blog about. I post all of my pictures on facebook because it's easier, and all of you are on facebook so there is no reason for posting them here too. So bye bye bloggy, at least for a while. I will still log on to read all of the blogs I follow, because sadly, other people's lives are WAY more exciting then mine :) I will probably post from time to time when I have extra time in my day, or when something exciting comes my way, but other than that--don't expect to see any posts from me for a while :)

For those of you who don't know, I have decided against doing the radiation treatment for my Grave's Disease, and am having surgery instead. I meet with the surgeon tomorrow, and will probably have surgery the second week in June. Thank you to everyone who has sent thoughts and prayers my way--I really appreciate it :):)

XOXO,

Paislee's Birthday

A little late, but here are more pictures from Paislee's party. I know most of you have seen them on Facebook, but I have some bloggy friends who aren't on Facebook, so enjoy :)

Two weeks?!

So, my doctor called yesterday with my lab results and told me that I have something called Grave's Disease. There are 3 treatment options, ALL of which require immediate weaning. I thought I had some time to wean, because from what I read I could take one of the medications while breastfeeding, but my doctor said I should only be nursing once a day if that, and if I was still nursing, Paislee would have to have routine blood tests because there are chances of liver failure for her (and I) if I am nursing while taking this medication. I just can't take that chance so my only other option is to wean her. That would be okay, if I could take it slowly for her and I and give her time to adjust, but my doctor wants her weaned in TWO WEEKS so I can get started with treatment ASAP. Does she know how hard that is? I don't even know where to start. Prayers appreciated :)