Life as I know it

2 years and 6 months

2011-11-02T17:02:00.000-07:00

Today Matt and I have been married 2 years and 6 months.

2.5 years and so much has changed. I love you more than ever Matty. We share such a blessing with our little family. Thank you for working so hard for us. You are an amazing daddy and husband.

Jacksons turned 2 months old

2011-11-02T16:52:00.000-07:00

I can't believe my little baby is 2 months old. Time goes way to quickly.

My little Jackson is 2 months old. The poor thing had to have his shots but he did great!
Jackson measured in at 12 pounds 2 ounces 70th percentile and 23 inches long 50th percentile!

My little bug moves and talks more and more every day.
Jackson is in size 2 diapers and has been for awhile. They fit a lot better and we don't have nearly as many messes. Jackson loves to be held, he also loves his night time routine with his daddy. He is such a joy to our little family. It's amazing to see how his development grows all the time! I love him so much!

2 months of picture love!

Sleepy baby

Yay happy baby!

Ok mommy I'm done taking pictures now.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-11-02T14:41:00.000-07:00

Before the baby

After the baby!

Jackson's 1st Halloween! Pepe le piu

2 months old

2011-10-24T22:39:00.000-07:00

My baby boy is 2 months old today. I can't believe how fast time goes by.

Long days, short years.

I cherish every minute I am with you my baby boy. I love you with all my heart.

Sleepy happy baby on his 2 month birthday

My Husband

2011-10-24T22:19:00.000-07:00

There is a song that best describes my husband it's Ronnie Dunn's Cost of Livin'

Cost of Livin' Video

Everything to know about me
Is written on this page
The number you can reach me
My social and my age
Yes I served in the army
It's where I learned to shoot
Eighteen months in the desert
Pourin' sand out of my boots
No I've never been convicted of a crime
I could start this job at any time.

I got a strong back
Steel toes
I rarely call in sick
A good truck
What I don't know
I catch on real quick
I work weekends
If I have to
Nights and holidays
Give you 40
And then some
Whatever it takes
Three dollars and change at the pump
Cost of livin's high and goin' up.

I put Robert down as a reference
He's known me all my life
We attend the same church
He introduced me to my wife
Gave my last job everything
Before it headed south
Took the shoes off of my children's feet
(From: http://www.elyrics.net/read/r/ronnie-dunn-lyrics/cost-of-livin_-lyrics.html)
The food out of their mouths
Yesterday my folks offered to help
But they're barely getting by themselves

I got a strong back
Steel toes
I rarely call in sick
A good truck
What I don't know
I catch on real quick
I work weekends
If I have to
Nights and holidays
Give you 40
And then some
Whatever it takes
Three dollars and change at the pump
Cost of livin's high and goin' up.

I'm sure a hundred others have applied
Rumor has it you're only takin' five

I got a strong back
Steel toes
I'm handy with a wrench
There's nothing I can't drive
Nothing I can't fix
I work sun-up to sun-down
Ain't too proud to sweep the floors
Bank has started calling
And the wolves are at my door
Three dollars and change at the pump
Cost of livin's high and goin' up.

My husband works so hard for our family. He shows me everyday that he loves me and he loves our son. I fall in love with him more and more every day.

Thank you lord for my amazing husband.

It's all about learning

2011-10-21T15:38:00.000-07:00

When you become a mommy you learn a whole lot like....

to type one handed while holding a baby
to change a diaper in the dark in the middle of the night
to kiss sleep goodbye
how to make your baby smile
that laundry is now a daily habit
and to cherish a shower

I'm in love with my baby boy. I can't believe he will be two months old on a few days!

Wordless Wednesday From My iPhone

2011-10-19T17:31:00.000-07:00

My Pumpkin Baby

Starting fresh...

2011-10-14T21:17:00.000-07:00

Ok so it's been a long vacation from my blog so I am starting over.

This blog has been something I have been wanting to do but I had no real passion or direction. Since my ~~little~~ very long break my life has changed SO much and I now know what this blog is supposed to be about. This blog is supposed to be about what I have wanted and known I wanted since I was a little girl and that is being a mommy and a wife and the learning process along the way.

I have known my whole life that I wanted to be a mom and a wife. Some people know what they want to do career wise since they were little. I have never been that person, until I realized that the job I have always wanted was to be a mommy and a wife. I guess I just felt like I could never say that out loud. I have also learned that when I am ready to have a career outside of the home I would like to be an rn, preferably at a children's hospital.

My world feels so different in so many ways now. On August 24th my husband and I welcomed our son into this amazing world. It has been an amazing journey and learning experience. My little baby boy is 7 weeks old. He grows so fast and is strong and very cute. Seeing the love between me and my son is amazing but being able to see the love my baby boy has for his daddy makes me cry. Tonight I got to witness it first hand. My husband came home from work, we had dinner and it was time for little man to eat. My husband gave him a bottle and after that bottle he snuggled up on his chest and was so content I started to cry it was just too beautiful. He currently is happily laying on his daddy lounge chair.

I have so much to tell everyone. I feel like everyone deserves to know how my husband and I ended up together because it's a true testimony about how god works in amazing ways. I also want to tell everyone about my labor story and then of course I want to tell everyone about my amazing son.

So I am going to start by introducing my amazing little baby boy.

Jackson born August 24th

newborn picture

7 pounds 4 ounces 19 inches

I have many many many more photos to share but I won't overload you just yet. I hope everyone has an amazing weekend. xoxo

staycation

2011-05-22T21:41:00.000-07:00

This weekend the hubby and I had a staycation at home. We decided to save some money and instead of having s vacation where we would have to spend money we decided to stay home and vacation there.

We slept in, we cooked at home, we went to the pool, we ate yummy food, took naps, and watched movies!

Best staycation we could have had.

Pregnancy update:
I am 26 weeks pregnant! The baby and I are doing great! 14 weeks of pregnancy left!

Current obsession: eating ice lol
Current fear: Childcare and how we will afford it.
Current dream: going back to school to get a job I actually like and to spend as much time as humanly possible with my baby boy after he is born!

Current baby clothes we have:

From my little sis in my sorority

From my sorority sis Caroline

From my lovely friend Julia

From my sister

From Grandma who is already spoiling this little guy!

Loves of my life: my amazing husband, my precious baby boy & last but not least god.

Something I tell myself every day: let go and let god.

somethings are great and somethings are not

2011-05-16T17:44:00.000-07:00

Some great things!
Saturday afternoon I had the pleasure of celebrating a friends graduation from a masters degree program! I am so proud of her and so happy to be able to celebrate her graduation and her engagement!
My lovely friend had food I am obsessed with right now: pizza & del taco. Yes they are some of the pregnancy foods I am truly obsessed with. Thankfully they have been nice to me and not packed on extra pounds through this pregnancy.

Saturday night we went to my favorite restaurant for my birthday dinner. I had a great time with my friends and family! I think it was one of my funnest birthdays I have ever had there (which is hard to do being that I have been going to this restaurant since I was 3 years old.) Friends that I don't always get to see were there which made me so happy!

Some not so great things.
I haven't slept in two nights due to a jaw problem I have. This has been something I have suffered with for a long time but thought I had the pain under control. I haven't had this much pain in over 5 years. I woke up crying because it hurt so bad and only went to work for two hours today. I luckily was able to get a little nap in today but am still exhausted.

Something great!
It's my birthday tomorrow!

Something that's cute!
My cat is obsessed with me the more pregnant I get. He won't leave me alone and when I'm home he lays so close to me he is touching me. It's so silly. I feel like he knows something is coming but doesn't know what it is yet. Poor guy has no idea whats coming.

It's May!

2011-05-03T22:17:00.000-07:00

Hello friends!

Baby news:

I am 23 weeks pregnant!

We made our baby registry this weekend! HOLLY COW it took 4EVER! I think we were at the store for four hours! We even had to take a break for lunch because mommy and baby were getting very hungry and didn't want to bite daddys head off lol! By the end of our adventure our feet hurt and we were very very tired! We vegged out the rest of the day and forgot to eat dinner because we went to the hot tub instead so I ended up making pancakes at 10:30 at night. They were very yummy!

My cat is obsessed over the baby clothes! Its driving me crazy! He knows he cant be near them so any chance he gets he tries his little heart out! UGH!

In other baby news I thought I had finally picked out the baby bedding! I was so happy with the design I had made. It would have been custom bedding and so sweet but reality hit and I decided that a baby does not need bedding that costs $500 that will be puked, peed, and pooped on by my precious bundle of joy. So reluctantly I made a decision with my hubby while making our registry to go with a very cute monkey theme.

Yesterday May 2nd was our 2nd anniversary!
I was the perfect anniversary! We had a very yummy dinner. After dinner my hubby took me to a place called the top of the world. For people in the So Cal area its an amazing site! When we got to the top of the world you (which is the top of a mountain) you can see the whole valley on one side and then on the other side the ocean! It's SO amazing! It was a gift that was truly priceless! After taking my breath away my hubby found my favorite frozen yogurt! We had the best and most amazing anniversary!

The pictures I have do not do the top of the world justice. They are from my iphone.

The Valley

The Ocean

obsession

2011-04-27T19:18:00.000-07:00

I must say I am truly obsessed with etsy.

I didn't know they had such cute stuff for little boys on there! There are a few things I want but am gonna wait to get until I get closer to having baby Haney.

Only 5 more days until my 2nd wedding anniversary! I married the love of my life on May 2nd and now we are having a precious little baby boy!

Happy Tuesday!

2010-12-14T10:13:00.000-08:00

Everybody in my office is gone at a conference. I am literally the only one for our company here right now. A nice little change :)

I would first like to say Happy Birthday to my Big Sis Robyn!

I am in an really good mood today!

We are approaching Christmas! I can't help but think of the waking up Christmas morning at my mom's house with beautiful decorations and a huge tree. My mom would always make it extra special. I remember there being Santa foot prints from the ash from our fireplace. She always knew how to make things special.

For some reason this year I keep thinking of her house. It was the house I grew up in. The house I loved. The house I would want for my kids to grow up in. I will always have pictures of that amazing house in my mind. My moms house is gone now and in its place a new home with new memories. It almost makes me less sad knowing nobody else can be in my house (selfish but after my moms passing there are some things I get to be selfish about). I will find some pictures of my moms house to share with you soon!

On that note, Matt and I have to find a new place to rent. Such a bummer but we can't deal with the condition our place is in any more. Our landlord refuses to fix anything and it has been over a year. So we are on the look out for new places that won't break the bank! If you have good websites to find rentals please let me know!

Happy Tuesday! May god bless you today!

Who is shopping for a cause this year?

2010-12-10T00:05:00.000-08:00

If you are shopping for a cause this year please check out Poppie Lane which you can find on Living By Faith

By shopping on Poppie Lane you will be helping bring baby Tucker home to be with his family!

Check out Laurens amazing blog and see her journey to bring Tucker home from Ethiopia!

Cold Hands, Warm Hearts

2010-12-06T23:43:00.000-08:00

It's finally the day I have been waiting for!

I get to share my goodies that I received from my new blog friend MaryHelen!!!

I was so excited to participate in this blog exchange! It was so much fun!

My package arrived and I could not wait to open it!!! I was tempted to wait but I couldn't contain myself and opened my package! It was wrapped super cute and contained SO many cute goodies! Here are some pictures of the amazing gloves, the adorable little bag (that had Burts Bees lip goodies!!!) {I love lip gloss}, an adorable note pad, and hot cocoa!!! LOVE EVERYTHING IN MY PACKAGE!!!

Weekend Recap

2010-11-08T21:29:00.000-08:00

Things have been crazy!

Friday night I had dinner with one of my lovely friends Nikki. We met in Pasadena and had a great dinner and some yummy drinks. After we decided to go see my other half working at the bar. We surprised Matt, hung out with the guys, and had some fun!

I always wake up when Matt gets home from working at the bar.

He got home really late 5am. I was like what?!? Come to find out some very dramatic things happened after Nikki and I left. There was a fight (thats normal, happens all the time) but what happened next is just mind blowing. A man that was at the bar got in his car drunk trying to hit some of the guys involved in the fight and ended up hitting one of Matts friends. He is still in the hospital with a broken pelvis OUCH. I wish him a very speedy recovery. He is in my prayers. Im truly glad that he is still alive after being hit by a car.

Saturday I got to see my sister, brother in law and nephews! I hadn't seen them in awhile so it was super nice to spend a little bit of time with them!

Saturday night we went and celebrated Matts little brothers birthday. Happy Birthday Danny!

Sunday we headed down to Huntington Beach for dinner with some of our amazing friends!

I love that I got to spend time with my hubby all weekend. He makes me fall in love with him more every day

Today I started my run/ walk program! It's the start to something new and I love it!

Blog News: Cold hands Warm Heart

2010-11-04T18:50:00.000-07:00

So exciting!!!

Two amazing bloggers are doing Cold Hands, Warm Hearts swap!

Go sign up! You have until November 11 or until the 100 slots are filled!

Wednesday

2010-10-27T09:36:00.000-07:00

Happy Hump Day!

Today I will be grateful that I have a job.

Today I will be grateful I have a good marriage.

Today I will be grateful we have a home to live in.

Today I will be grateful I have a family and friends that love me.

Today I will be grateful for my life.

I will be positive today. I will figure out my hopes and dreams. I will be a positive influence as a women in this world.

Have a good Wednesday everybody.

xoxo, J

Monday

2010-10-25T21:39:00.000-07:00

A total case of the Mondays today!

I had an amazing weekend! Thursday night my friend Michelle got in from Florida!
Here is a breakdown of our weekend!

Thursday night: Toi Thai and a drive through Hollywood :)

Friday: Coffeebean. Did makeup for a wedding. Ate In n Out for lunch. Drove by CBS Radford in Studio City. Drove down to Hollywood through Crescent Heights. Saw Hollywood and Highland: Kodak Theather, Walk of fame, Chinese Theather, Forever XXI (LOL), Roosevelt Hotel, etc. Sprinkles cupcakes. Drove the 101 in rush hour. Dinner at Sagebrush Cantina in Calabasas.

Saturday: Drove to the Hollywood sign. Went to a super secret beautiful park in Hollywood. Saw Omar Epps in his Rolls Royce next to us. Saw the studio the hubby is working at. Passed by UCLA. Drove through Brentwood. Venice Beach. Huntington Beach. Ate dinner at Ruby's on the pier in Huntington. Went to a bar in Hollywood. Jauquin Phoenix was right next to us in the bar. Went to Tattoo Mania. Bed after 3am.

Sunday: Watched a movie. Disneyland. LAX. Dinner with Aunt Jackie, Uncle Bill, Bernadette and D.

Our weekend was crazy busy but amazing!

Seeing my husband with our nephew at Disneyland was amazing. He is so ready for us to have a baby. I can't wait until we have our own bundle of joy.

xoxo, J

So EXCITED!

2010-10-07T16:42:00.000-07:00

I just got great news! My beautiful friend is coming to visit me from Florida!
She will be here for the weekend of October 22nd and I can't wait!
We are going to go explore Southern California and have a lot of fun!!!! I have SO many ideas for us!

Beautiful

2010-10-06T17:17:00.000-07:00

This blog post is amazing.

Please read and pass this on.

http://laurenalexis1.blogspot.com/2010/10/with-love.html

I cried the whole time I was reading this blog post.

xoxo, J

Thinking...

2010-10-05T23:06:00.000-07:00

I am wide awake. This is common for me when I have a lot running through my mind.

There are so many thoughts I have been having recently that I have found it hard to get on here.

First, I have been researching nursing programs. I have finally decided that for everything I want out of a career it would be a good fit for me. I have never known what I wanted to do with the exception of being a mom. It has taken me a long time to figure this out.

I started figuring out what I wanted in a career through a therapist I used to see. She was able to help me focus on what was important to me and what I would want from a career. Now I am terrified I won't do well in school. I have been to college and always avoided science classes at all costs. I will now have to go take 4 science classes to get into nursing school. This scares the crap out of me!

Second, BABY.

My heart wants a baby. My logic says to wait. My husband wants a baby.

My heart still breaks over the loss of our pregnancy in July. I think every day how I should be pregnant and getting bigger with a baby. I think about our baby every day.

Now I know everybody that has kids always says you can't plan everything, everything will always work out and that there is never a good time to have a baby.

WELL my brain is going crazy with all of this. My heart aches every time I see a baby. When I see my husband holding or playing with a baby my heart drops. I can't help feeling what I feel but I am a planner or at least I always try to be.

My brain always has this picture with a timeline in it of where things should be and what age I should be at doing certain things. Now most people I know will say (I say it also) expectations are planned disappointments. Nothing goes as planned. I know I've REALLY tried in the past. I try and try to not have this time line in my brain but somehow it always creeps back in.

There are a few reasons I want to wait on having a baby.
1. Money shortage
2. Nursing school

Ok maybe not a few maybe only two reasons... hmmmm.... I'm puzzled now. Oh wait and my job sucks. I can't imagine being gone from a new baby 5 days a week! (This is another plus of nursing. 3 12 hours days is full time)

The reason I want a baby. My heart and my husband both want to start a family. Matt is the love of my life. I want nothing more than to start a family with him. I know with him our family regardless of how much money we have or what we do will be perfect.

Matt knows every day I think about a baby. He told me today he wants me to get pregnant (my heart melts).

Awhile ago I got a fortune cookie I keep in my iphone case that says "Forget the doubts and fears that are creeping into your heart". When I got this Matt looked at me, I knew then what he was thinking without him saying it. BABY.

I need to do some praying about this. Please feel free to leave comments with helping words or what you think.

xoxo, J

The week

2010-09-23T09:15:00.000-07:00

Well this week has been really rough.
My job is really wearing on me. I don't deserve to be worn down every day. My anxiety is at an all time high and I hate it. I have started looking for a job and hopefully I will find something soon. Please keep me in your prayers.

Last night Matt and I were supposed to go to the premier of Modern Family. Matt ended up working 13 hours and there was just no way we would have been able to make it. So we had a date night at BJs instead and I'm so happy because I was spending time with the love of my life!

Labor Day weekend at Pismo Beach

2010-09-16T22:11:00.000-07:00

For Labor Day weekend we got to go camping on the beach at pismo! There were so many people! We had a big group with us and had the best time!