A weekend of fun

I am going to be truthful and tell you that since Carter was born it has not been easy!  I know everyone said that having more than one child was tough, but dang, I did not believe just how tough it was going to be!  Even though it has been a rough 9 months we are starting to see the light.  Let me give you a little background.  Ever since Carter graced us with his presence I have had little to no sleep!  The child just did not like to sleep through the night or during the day.  After about 7-8 months of him waking 4 - 5 times in the middle of the night and sometimes more I stopped telling myself that this would pass soon and he is only little once and all of that good stuff that you try to tell yourself to make it a little better!  Well, a little after 9 months I decided to wean him off the breasts and started giving him formula during the day.  The little stinker started sleeping through the night!!!  It wasn't instant and it took a few weeks to really get the routine going, but I found that if Dustin got up with him in the middle of the night he would go back to sleep almost instantly and he would sleep the rest of the night.  After probably a week of that he hasn't been waking much during the night.  Occasionally he will still wake up, but I am starting to see a real routine developing in our lives!  I FUNCTION MUCH BETTER WITH ROUTINE!!  I am the type of woman who really works well with a routine and when things aren't in routine for me I feel like my life is in complete chaos.  SO, for the last 9 months I have felt like my life has been in chaos.  Ok, it's not that bad, but still.  You get what I'm saying, right?  I am sure that we will still have many sleepless nights because lets face it we have children.  At the moment though I have finally found sort of a routine and life is slowing down just a little bit for us to enjoy it!  For example, I can now travel somewhere even if it is just to the store without Carter crying the whole way(he HATED his carseat and screamed the whole time he was in it).  I can now put him down anywhere from 8-8:30 and know that he will more than likely sleep all night!  I know that I can nurse him in the mornings when he gets up anywhere from 6- 7 and I can get another hour of sleep maybe.  I know that he will more than likely take 2 naps depending on when he got up.  That's another thing he didn't like to do before.  My newborn would not sleep during the day for naps.  at 3 months of age he would only sometimes take one nap a day.  Although most days it was 2.  He only took 3 naps when he was still in the newborn stage and that was only if I put him in the swing.  I know the he will be hungry every 3 hours still and that now I can give him solids with his food.  Anyways, all of this to say that life is getting much easier and better for us.  It has been a rough 9 months, but I think(fingers crossed) that I am seeing the light at the end of the tunnel as far as rough baby stage.

This weekend has been one of the best weekends we have had as far as smoothness goes with my little family!  It truly has been a great weekend and I hope we can have many more like it with our TWO boys!  On Friday, I started the weekend out by taking the boys over my friend Megan's house to let them play!  We always love going over there.  Not only does mommy get to talk with an actual adult, but Dex gets to play with her two boys!  I know that he has a great time and so do I.  Even Carter seemed to have a great time.  Saturday evening Dustin and I decided to go up to Monte Sano state park with the boys and do some hiking.  Camping is coming up here in about a month so it was a good chance to test out hiking with both boys!  They both did really well for their 1st hiking trip.  Carter was strapped to me in the Ergo baby carrier and Dexter walked.  I will say though that if we are going to walk any kind of considerable length that we will have to get a carrier for Dex too.  On the way back he started not wanting to walk anymore.  After our hiking adventure we decided to stop at Chik-Fil-A on the way home and eat dinner.  It was great because they weren't crowded and Dustin and I got to eat peacefully while Dex played.  Carter sat happily in the highchair eating yogurt drops. Later that night Dex and I had a movie night and watched Penguins of Madagascar and ate popcorn. Sunday, we decided to go to our gym's pool.  It was a lot of fun and both boys had a great time.  Carter really enjoys the water, but it took a little bit for him to warm up to it.  Afterwards, we hit up our local frozen yogurt shop for a yummy post swim treat! Carter enjoyed Strawberries and Kiwi.  I have been really happy with how this weekend has turned out.  It really has been a smooth one for us considering the last 9 months have been kinda rough.

Not every moment of the 9 months has been rough and we definitely have had some great times with both boys!  I love my little family and all the stuff that we do with not only our small little family, but with the grandparents and extended family as well!  I know that it has been a little difficult at times, but spending time with family and growing together in closeness is the most important thing.  Even if it is difficult with 2.  One day I will look back on all of these memories and I won't care about the lost sleep or the stressful days in the car.  What I will care about is how close we are, and how we have these memories to share with each other! I will care about the moments in my kids lives where they look back and say mommy/daddy did this with me or mommy/daddy played and loved on me even when they were tired or worn down.  Just that in and of itself makes it so much better than it already is!  

Enjoy!

I never thought it would be this hard

Who ever thought that it would be so stinking hard to get out the door with a toddler and a 3 month old!!!!  Let me set the scene for you.

I had plans to go over my friend Megan's house to see her and to let Dexter play with Max her little boy. After I fed Carter this morning, I was hoping that he would go back down for a few more hours of sleep(he usually does after his morning feeding), and I would be able to take a shower real quick  while both boys were asleep.  No such luck.  While I was feeding Carter, I hear Dexter get out of bed.  That was okay because I could turn on the tv and he would be fine while I shower.  Well, I finish up feeding carter and guess what.  He decides that he has no interest in going back to sleep.  Off to the living room we go where Dex is saying I want an apple and Carter has no interest in playing by himself this morning (he was still sleepy).  I "fix" Dex an apple and put Carter in the swing.  YES!  he's going to stay in there with no trouble and I can take a quick shower.  After the shower I hurry and get dressed then quickly get Dex dressed while Carter is still napping in the swing.  Then, I hear Dex in the living room yelling so loudly.  I said, Dex what are you yelling at and he said, Carter so he wake up.  By that time Carter was already woke up by the screaming Dexter was doing.  I get Carter out of the swing and I take him in the bedroom to change his diaper and clothes so we can leave.  I get him changed and almost ready to go and he spits up all over himself.  Not just a little bit, but a lot.  So, I have to change him again.  Then, I take him and go to put him in his carseat and up comes some more spit up all over me and him.  I then have to change me and him.  Ok, I got Carter changed then I got changed and I put him in his carseat and buckle him up.  He starts screaming, because he HATES his carseat.  I knew it was getting feeding time, but I was hoping I could make it to Megan's before I fed him.  I needed to get out the door.  Ok, I grab all the 'stuff' and put Dexter in the car and crank the car.  Yes, I'm almost out the door!!!!  Go in to grab Carter and I look at him and he has spit up all over him and the carseat!  I clean that off and think to myself oh, I'll just change him at megan's.  I'm praying by that time that he stops screaming and maybe goes to sleep for the ride over.  THEN, I go to look for my phone and I can't find it anywhere!!  I look in all the places that I was in the house and in the car and it's nowhere to be found.  Finally, I just throw my hands in the air and said forget it I'm not leaving the house today!!!!  I turned the car off and got Dex out of the car and Carter out of the car seat (he was soaking wet with spit up - I had to change him again).  WHEW!

While typing this out I may be chuckling to myself just a bit because it seems so chaotic and like something out of a circus act.  In the moment I was overwhelmed and in the end I caved and just stayed home!  I have been trying so hard to get out more with the kiddos lately and it isn't fun.  I want to get out for the sake of our mental health and being cooped up in the house all day, but some days it just isn't worth the fight.  Carter does not like his car seat and Dexter is a very active little boy.  He just can't sit still for long.  Everytime I look back at how difficult it is sometimes when I am trying to get out of the house I laugh a little on the inside.  I guess if I didn't it would drive me mad!  :)

Enjoy!

Tonight I rocked my baby to sleep

Tonight I rocked my baby to sleep.  I haven't been able to do this since he was a baby.  Dexter is really hard to put to sleep some nights, and here lately that means most nights.  Dustin usually lays down with him, because I am to uncomfortable here lately to be tossing and turning with him.   This used to work okay and Dexter didn't give us much trouble falling asleep.  However, here lately, he has been fighting sleep well past 11 o'clock every night.  It has been getting really old considering Dustin has to work in the mornings and he's the one laying down with him.  Tonight I heard Dustin getting Dexter in trouble for not laying down, etc. so I decided that I would give Dustin a break.  I sent him to bed and told Dexter he was to not get out of his bed.  About 5 minutes later he starts hollering I need go pee pee.  We get up and go potty then back to bed with the same instructions.  While I am in the kitchen cleaning up supper I hear his door open.  So, I start to go towards his room and by that time he has already climbed back into his bed and started crying.  When I get in there he says he needs to wipe his nose and he wants daddy.  I wipe his nose and tell him that daddy is in bed and he needs to go to sleep too.  I then return back to the kitchen and I hear Dexter still crying.  After about 5 minutes I decide that I will go in and calm him down and explain that he needs to go to bed and that it was bed time.  Well, I get in there and get him on my lap where he automatically places his head on my shoulder and is crying.  So, instead of this talk I was going to have with him I just decided to hold him.  I then turn him around and hold him like a baby with his head on my arm, and I rock him.  It was such a sweet moment because he had his arm draped across me like he didn't want me to let him go (pull at my heart strings).  As I was rocking him so many emotions just flooded me.  I guess it was because I could feel the baby moving inside of me and then I had this (giant) toddler in my arms that I love with everything in me.  It was so special because I knew that very soon things will never be the same.  In a very good way they will never be the same.  Soon after I feel Dexter start to relax and he drifts off to sleep in my arms.  It was such a special moment for me.  I can't remember the last time I was able to rock him to sleep.  My baby is not a baby anymore.  He is a toddler and I know that time will not stop for me or anyone else so I need to cherish each and every moment that I can get with this boy!  Same goes for everything in my life.  It's so strange how I have only been a mother for 2 1/2 years, but I feel like I have been his mother forever and more.  I love him more than words or actions could every describe.  I love my little family and they bring joy and peace to my heart in good times and bad.  I am so blessed and very very very thankful for it.

Enjoy!

Lets get real

I am 36 weeks pregnant.  Today I am feeling like crud.  This past weekend I came down with a small cold, and the effects are still lingering around.  Stuffy/runny nose, head feeling woozy, congestion, and Saturday night I even ran a small fever.  I have heard an old wives tale and read stories of so many women coming down with cold like symptoms before they went into labor... hmmm..  I'm going to test that theory out.  You'll have to wait around to see if it comes true.  I had Dexter 1 1/2 weeks from now.  He was born at 38 weeks.

The closer it gets the more nervous I am getting.  I had to be induced with Dexter for medical reasons so I don't know what it is like to go into labor on my own besides my pre-term labor with him that had to be stopped.  I keep wondering if I will go into labor on my own and if so when will that happen.  Will I go past my due date and have to be induced.  Will my water break at home before labor actually starts (usually this doesn't happen).  I keep wondering if my labor this time will be painful.  I have been having braxton hicks contractions for a while now and they are painful.  We are talking take my breath away and lets stop talking at the moment painful.  I had them with Dexter, but they were never really bad like that. I'm also nervous because I know that I will want an epidural and my last one caused me to have a spinal headache afterwards.  I don't want to feel that pain again.  If I remember anything being horrible after the birth of Dexter it was that.  I can't begin to describe the pain I went through and also the emotional pain of not being able to take care of my little one for the first couple of days afterwards.  At least with this one I will know to take the blood patch right away.  I'm still scared.

Status update with this pregnancy is that things have gone a lot better than they did with Dexter.  Besides a few hiccups along the way it has been a great pregnancy.  I also realized last night that so far I have gained 20 pounds or so less so far with this pregnancy than I did with Dexter.  I know that has a lot to do with the swelling.  I swelled so bad with Dexter.  I gained a total of 47 pounds with Dexter and he was born a week and a few days from where I am now.  With this pregnancy I have only gained 22 pounds so far, but I still have 3 1/2 weeks to go.  The thing that shocks me is that with this baby all I have wanted is sweets and sour stuff(candy) throughout the pregnancy. My main meals have always been on the healthy side.  However, with Dexter my snacks were always strawberries and grapes.  I ate much better with him and gained a heck of a lot more weight too.  This pregnancy has definitely showed how different each pregnancy can be.

No, we do not have a name chosen yet.  We have a few we're tossing around.  We may not even make a decision until after baby is born.  Who knows.

Last night I made another one of my favorite recipes.  I was craving pasta with an alfredo sauce.  I made the mistake of making homemade chicken alfredo one time and now whenever I go to wanting some the alfredo in the jar just doesn't do it justice. Since I was craving it I decided to make some last night. Find the recipe Here .

I do not make this recipe exactly like it says.  Instead of using dried tomatoes I use cherry or grape tomatoes and just saute them a little before I saute the mushrooms.  I also do not use artichoke hearts.  If those things appeal to you then go ahead and make it like it is.  It still tastes amazing either way!
  

Enjoy!

Quick dinner

Hello.  It has been a while so to fill you in Dustin and I are expecting our 2nd child here in 4 short weeks.  These past few weeks I have been so exhausted. With that being said, I have found that at the end of the day when it comes time to make dinner I just stand there and stare into an open fridge and think what can I do that will be really easy and fast. Tonight while I was staring into the fridge I found some chicken breasts that I was going to cook for chicken pot pie, but I decided that was to much work.  Instead, I decided to just cook them up and serve some sides.  If you are looking for a quick delicious chicken meal this is it.

First I started off by taking my chicken breasts and placing them between saran wrap and beating them with a meat tenderizer (the flat side).  This flattens them out and cuts the cooking time way down.

                                          (Before)

                                                           (After flattening)

I season my chicken breasts on both sides with a cajun seasoning (pictured above).  Then, I place them in a searing hot pan for about 2 minutes on each side to brown them up.  After they have been browned on both sides I pop them in the oven on 350 for about 10 minutes or until they are done.  It really depends on how thin you beat your chicken breasts down to.

After they have cooked I will take some sliced colby/monterey jack cheese and place on top and let melt and add bbq sauce on top of that.  It is delicious!  I have found this is my go to recipe when I have chicken breasts that I don't have a plan for.

This is Dustin's plate.  I had already started eating mine when I realized I didn't take a picture of the finished product.  I realize I served two starchy sides, but didn't realize until I was 1/2 way through cooking them and didn't feel like fixing something else.  Normally, I would serve some kind of green to go with the mashed potatoes, but who cares as long as it tastes good, right?  

I hope that you decide to make this for yourself one day because it is really easy and quick.  You could also put a variety of other cheeses on top.  I just happened to have the colby/monterey jack cheese on hand so that is what I used.  

Enjoy!

Felicia Inman

Christmas

Hey, everyone!  Yes, I know it is October and we haven't even got past Halloween yet, but Christmas has been on my mind for a few days now.  Now is the time that I start thinking about what to get everyone and what I am going to cook and so on.  This year it is making me a little sad because I am torn.  For the past two years Dustin and I have packed up and went down to Gadsden and was able to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas day with our families.  This year I am not so sure that is going to happen.  As our little family has grown it is coming the time where we want to be able to wake up on Christmas morning in our home and watch Dexter as he sees for the first time all of the gifts that "Santa" has brought him.  I remember when I was little on Christmas morning my sister and I would always wake up super early, because we were just so excited that Santa had brought us some presents.  We would creep into the living room to take a peek and when we would see all the gifts around the tree it would make us so excited.  It was the happiest feeling.  Then, we would go in our parents room and wake them up so that they could come see all the gifts that "Santa" has brought us.  I want that so badly for Dexter.  I know that he could do that anywhere we stay, but I want that special moment to be in our home.  Is that too selfish of me?  It's these times when I am having to make these hard decisions that I HATE living so far away.  Christmas is not too far away and it will be here before we know it.  There is so many things that I want to get Dexter that I don't even know where to begin. Of course, he won't get EVERYTHING, but a few things won't hurt.  :)  Y'all wish us good thoughts as we try to decide whether this year is the year we start our little family tradition of Santa on Christmas or just wait till next year when he actually knows what is happening.  I'm torn, because of the distance.

Has anyone else started thinking about Christmas? What are some of the things that your little ones will be getting?  I'm thinking the Crayola 3 in 1 Easel for Dexter along with puzzles and a few other things.  He loves the Easel that Kelly has.

Felicia A. Inman
 

Going back to school

As those of you who know me I have a paralegal degree and I am a stay at home mommy!  I had the best job I could have hoped for in the career I chose, but after Dexter was born my husband and I decided that it would be best if I stayed at home with our son.  During this process we have been contemplating what the future would hold.  Would I either A.  go back to work once all of our children were in school or B. go back to school to get my bachelors in something that would have a higher pay grade.  After much thought we have decided that I would go back and get my Bachelors in Education and I would teach some type of Science.  More than likely Biology. This is definitely not set in stone just yet, because I am still exploring the choices and praying about what it is that I am supposed to do!  I love Science, but is it the path I am supposed to be on?  I keep asking myself what it is that I am supposed to be doing and I just don't know the answer.  This is what I do know!  I am really good with people!  I do well talking to others and I hope that my communication skills will be able to help others in whatever field I choose. Which is more than likely Education.  I start this summer with my first class!  I am debating between taking a math course or some Biology.  I guess it will depend if I can get my Biology from Gadsden State to transfer.  For some reason it did not transfer and I have got to find out why.  I would hate to have to re-take it.  Less money out of our pockets!  Wish me luck people and if you have any advice please feel free to offer!