Old man winter

Ugh I am not ready for winter and I have a feeling it's going to be a bad one this year. I hate the shoveling, ice, cold, deary days and dirty snow. Now I have a baby to bundle and carry with me...did I mention I hate winter ?!

I guess I should think of some alright things about season, you know a little Ying and yang for this post. I like seeing the snow flakes falling especially when they look sparkly. I like warm cozy sweaters and comfort foods. I like how quiet it is outside at night when the snow falls, did you ever notice that ? Hmm that's all I can think of for likes.

I better get ready for old man winter because he is knocking on our door.

Giving Thanks

I know Thanksgiving was a couple days ago but I am just emerging from the food coma ! I am thankful everyday for my family and friends, for a roof over my head and food in my belly. In this post I would like to get into how thankful I am for my 2 daughters.

Recently my Doctor had told me I was lucky to have Gina because I have poly cystic ovarian syndrome otherwise known as PCOS which can cause infertility. I was diagnosed with it right before I got pregnant with Gina funny enough. 

Gina will be 6 months old in about a week and she is perfectly healthy. During my second ultrasound where they determine the sex of the baby is was shown that I was missing a vessel in my umbilical cord ( called a 2 vessel cord ) it was an artery. I had many ultrasounds after that to make sure she was growing, apparently with a missing artery the fetus may not get all the nutrients she needs and therefore would not grow or gain weight. I was also told she may have Downs Syndrome, we decided not to do the amniotic test only because I was afraid of miscarrying. Doctors told me she may be small person or not gain weight but Miss Gina showed them all ! She is perfect and healthy and I am thankful for that every single day.

My oldest daughter Jewelia was an easy pregnancy, no issues. But Jewelia has had it rough, she has gone there many surgeries throughout her 14 year life. It all started when she was 6 months old with ear infection after ear infection that's when her Dr decided to put tubes in thinking she would outgrow it...guess what she did not outgrow it. Every year till she was about 8 years old that's when he decided to do T tubes which last 3 years. Let's just say Jewelia is on her second set of T tubes, poor kid still has not outgrown ear infections. The tubes were nothing compared to the spine surgery she had 2 years ago. Jewelia has scoliosis meaning her spine is curved, her curve was severe and if it was not corrected her spine could have crushed her heart. This was such a scary time for us. The surgery was done at Children's Hospital in Boston and they were amazing, her Dr installed rods, hooks and screws into her spine, it was a 6 hour surgery..the longest 6 hours of my life. She came out okay in the end. She is such a strong person and I am so grateful for that, it takes a strong person to go through all of that. I am thankful to have Jewelia she is healthy, strong and perfect to me. 

Like I said I am thankful for my babies everyday but wanted to give them both a little shout out, showing you how strong willed my girls are, like their Mom !

Love baby clothes shopping !

I got a coupon in the mail from Carter's the other day, a pre-black Friday sale and let me tell you I scored big time ! In addition to 50% off the whole store I had a coupon for 15% off my purchase or 20% of my purchase of $40 or more. I made out like a bandit getting all the cute jammies I needed for my monkey girl and an adorable pair of leopard print boots. I would wear them if they came in my size. Check them out for yourself....

I love scoring great deals and I do love me some Carter's clothing. They seem to fit Gina perfectly. If you have little ones go on in and check out there 50% everything in the store sale !

How does she do it ?

I have no idea how some people are able to do work from home or keep up the house and cook every single day with a baby alone ! Right now I am staying at my parent's house while I look for an apartment and someone is always around to entertain the baby while I do something, something as simple as eat or shower. However my family is vacationing so I am the baby's only form of entertainment and she is not fond of playing herself ( guess I spoiled her ) Everything was fine and dandy during the work day because we are usually alone and I have a plan of action for that time; morning nap I do dishes, wash bottles and pick up the house, afternoon nap that is when I shower. In the evening that's when the baby entertaining by others comes into play ! 

Today was a whole new ballgame well this evening was, while I was trying to make dinner she wanted me. I put her in her bounce chair and gave her some watermelon in her mesh bag thing which allows the baby to suck on a piece of food without chocking on it. After 15-20 minutes she was done and starting whining. The recipe I was making was by all means not complicated but it labor intensive, chopping, and stirring. ( I made enchiladas suisas from www.allrecipes.com ) By time I got it into the oven she was ticked !! After getting her taken care of and pulling the food out of the oven it was time to put her to sleep for the evening, meaning I would be eating a very cold dinner. Oh well it was still good. Guess I never realized how hard it is being alone without anyone to entertain Monkey Girl. We will figure it out.

A little Secret...

I am a sweeper, as in a sweepstakes sweeper ! I love entering sweeps and contests. I have yet to win anything significant but I have only been doing it for a year. Just today I won a mini Pink dog from Victoria's Secrets. Doesn't sound like much but it's exciting. I love the instant win games, collecting points from products and using the points for sweeps. I will it a big one ....someday. Maybe a car or a trip ! 

There is an awesome page I follow on Facebook called Sweeties Sweepstakes, if you are into sweeping or want to then def go "like" the page, they also have a secret site that you pay a yearly fee but they post different more winnable sweeps. Good luck to my fellow sweepers !

Orajel One Dose Cold Sore Treatment

Dum duh dum dum I woke up with that tingly warm feeling on my lip this morning, now I only get maybe two cold sores per winter..why I get them I don't know. Anyway I was recently sent a sample of the orajel one dose cold sore treatment from www.mysmiley360.com . So I gave it a whirl, when I get these suckers I want them gone and gone fast !! That's what happened literally one dose and poof gone. What I really love is the fact that I didn't have to touch my mouth in order to put the meds on, it's on an applicator. I highly recommend it.

Election Day

I am proud to say I went out and voted this evening, my father and I go together every election year. This year by far has had tgee largest turn out in my precinct !

I have been glued to the TV awaiting results, but way too tired for any official announcements.. I have to remember I have a 5 month old to get up with !

With that being said, good night. And we shall find out in the morning who will be running our beautiful country. God bless America.

Influenster

Influenster is another fabulous site that I wanted to let you all know about as well. It's all about the consumer hey that's me and you ! They send out what they call "voxboxes" and you try out the product, go back to the site and let us know what you think. I haven't received a box yet so I cannot give you a full blown account of what I think but when I do get a box you will be the first to know...I promise. They recently relaunched their site so go and check it out !
http://www.influenster.com/