"I work out"...well, I used to

Good morning everyone! I have just been thinking recently that I need to make some changes in the way I eat and in the amount of time I spend "working out". I follow several girls on Instagram that are pretty inspiring, sharing their crazy diets and WODs. I am always like,"I can't do that, I have a baby" and "there's no way I could be that strict," so I normally just pass by them and think momentarily about the beautiful bikini bod I could have if I put in the effort then the next picture is usually a bow that would look adorbs on Georgia or something creative like a DIY project and my bikini bod in my head goes away.  Well, this morning one of the fitness bloggers wrote something to the effect of, "big, small, thin, fat, everyone has opinions but the most important opinion is that of yourself. If you are happy the way you are, the just be happy! Don't worry about what others have to say!"  That is not a direct quote, I definitely made it my own because I can't remember what day it is, much less a quote hah. But anyways, it got me thinking. The thing is, I am happy with the way I look, I do feel that I have a nice shape and that I look pretty good for having a baby 3 months ago. Although, I feel I would look and FEEL better if I made some small but manageable changes daily. I would really like to have some muscle tone. Right now I kind of feel like a noodle..just straight legs and arms, no muscles or even fat haha just skin and bones, and I don't mind it, but I'd like some of those Carrie Underwood legs, abs and arms. If only things we wanted came easy, right?? But normally, the things we want take hard work and sacrifices. Waa waa :/  I'm not too keen on the whole hard work and sacrifice thing, but I do believe I can make some small changes that would help me to feel better. While I was deployed, working out was just the thing you did, so I started lookin pretty fit, and I remember how much I liked it. I also remember how easy it was to make healthy eating decisions. Now that I'm a momma, and exclusively breast feeding Georgia, I really feel that a healthy diet is important. Up till now, I've just been hoping that what I eat is okay enough that Georgia and I are both getting the nutrients we need. That is a silly way of eating for me because I'd rather eat Little Debbie cakes and drink Diet  coke all day than actually put effort into my meals. Here's the thing, I'm not about to become some fitness blogger or claim that I know anything at all about fitness or eating healthy, but I am going to use this as a type of diary/log that I'll try and do daily, but that isn't really realistic to do for me, so I'll try. I also wanted to be accountable with someone other than Cade. The way I'll be posting will probably be like a "morning after" type thing, where I share what I've eaten/how I worked out. I hope I can make little daily changes that will help me look and feel better both in body and spirit. I do believe that the way we feel about ourselves can either uplift us or keep us negative, as Satan would have it. I don't know about you, but I don't want to me miserable like Satan, so in order to be the opposite of him, I will try to have a positive outlook on life and myself. I will also be trying to live the Gospel more than I have lately. I know that once I start to make changes, The Lord helps to open doors of opportunity and He helps with the positivity.  I guess you could say I'm starting my New Year's Resolutions now. I will need to make a list still, but I've got two things just in this post I'd like to work on throughout 2014 and the rest of my life! :) Oh, and one more thing, I'm thinking of changing the name of my blog to "Cross My Heart", because I'm just speaking the truth! And it's clever... Hehe tell me what you think! Thanks everyone for your love and support! Here's to knowing that as soon as I start to make changes, all Hell will break loose and trying will be a pain in my patootie! :) love y'all! --Britt

GOOD morning!!

So, as you all know last week was quite rough for Georgia Lynn and I. She was uncomfortable, I was exhausted and the cops were called due to the noise in our townhouse... Needless to say, this first growth spurt took me by surprise. I didn't know what it was at first, I thought, ear infection? Virus? Teething? Am I not making enough milk? Am I a bad mom? What is wrong?? Then I googled it. When I typed in "3 month old" the suggestion at the top was "growth spurt" so I clicked on that and clicked on the babycenter page or whatever. Sure enough! She was having a growth spurt! I didn't realize why she was eating so often, I just thought maybe I wasn't making enough milk, and that was part of it, feeding her on demand helped my body to start producing the nourishment she needed. I thought it was so amazing that my body just knew what to do!  She was sleeping a lot/crying for naps more, but the problem with having a nosey baby is that she didn't want to take a nap for fear of missing something (that's what I'm assuming). She fought naps like crazy but her eyes looked so tired so I held her facing out and she fell asleep like that everytime. My back,of course, didn't appreciate that, my ears sure did.  The days seemed to run together with the constant crying and feedings. I was loosing hope thinking, "this is my baby forever now. I guess I just need to suck it up." I was so incredibly exhausted (which explains the child-like outburst a few days ago) and so was Georgia. So when I finally googled my questions for answers I was relieved to find that what was happening was totally normal and not something serious. It didn't stop her fussing, but it made me more understanding of what she was going through.                                               You may have noticed that I use the word 'was', that's because my little bubbly baby girl is back to herself this morning!! I knew it when she woke up at 6 this morning smiling and cooing at me while I was still waking up. Oh-side note- my sister-in-law mentioned putting Georgia in her own room on one of my Facebook statuses where I was whining about our bad days, and I was like, "but I don't wanna..." Then Cade and I made a quick trip to Target and got my new favorite gadget, a baby monitor that let's you see the baby and hear it!! The other kind of baby monitors creep me out because you get so much interference and here in Roswell, with all the aliens, I didn't want to take my chances....you know, I didn't want to get abducted... We put Georgia in her bed that night and I shed a little tear, but then when I wasn't waking up every five minutes when she'd move, I quickly snapped out of it. With the growth spurt she still wasn't sleeping very well, but when she was in the bed or even in the cradle next to me, her constant moving unknowingly kept me awake. I wasn't really able to fall asleep all the way. So when she woke up to eat, I was much happier getting up and going to her. I think she slept better too because she wasn't waking up when I was moving around in the bedroom or bathroom as I was getting ready for bed. So, back to where I left off, I have been bringing her into our room in the early mornings because I still want my snuggle time with her, and since it's looking like she wants back on her schedule, 6AM to 7AM is mommy and me morning conversation and snuggle time.  When I heard her cooing at me I just was so happy that my girl was back. She didn't have a furled brow, she wasn't screaming at me to fix her, she was just cooing and smiling. Never ever did I think someone so tiny could determine what kind of day I was going to have.                           Here are a few things I learned during little squirt's spurt- 1) it's okay to stay in your jammies for several days (baby and momma) 2) don't yell at the baby...that should probably be a given, but I'm kind of psycho so I learned something 3) The Tinkerbell series of moves on Netflix is actually adorable and the bright colors kept Georgia preoccupied for 30 minutes sometimes 4) my solly baby wrap and baby monitor are the most amazing purchases I could have ever made 5) it's okay to ask for help, I didn't and I should have 6) don't give up, like all things, "this too shall pass.." 7) it's okay to cry 8) patience (obviously there is more to be learned, but I got a little taste, it is a virtue so I know I won't come by it easily) 9) diet coke, Swiss rolls, and water can be breakfast sometimes 10) I love my little baby more than anything in the world and it hurt me to see her so upset.            Now that she's coming out of the spurt, I'm happy the source (for the most part) of her fussing can be determined. We are learning together every day. I'm so happy I have such a cute little girl to learn and grow with. Because Christmas is literally next week, I've been reading Luke, and I started to think about what an amazing woman Mary must have been to carry Christ in her womb. It also made me think of how she might have handled a bazillion diaper changings, growth spurts and feedings.  It has made me want to settle down and really take each day as a new one, one where I can learn and become more of the mother I want to be. But it also made me think, did Jesus even cry? Was He the perfect infant? Did he have growing pains?? Haha.               I am so grateful for everyone's support, y'all truly make my life better by your examples and love. We love you! 

--Britt and GA                                     Here are some pictures from this morning, Georgia is always missing a sock by morning haha also, we had such a good morning, we even went for a walk!

A baby is crying, quick, call the cops!

Good afternoon everyone! I am about to share the story of my day. I hope you all enjoy! Here goes.. Today was going to be a bad day, I could feel it in my bones. Georgia had another (that would be three) sleepless night and that meant I had another sleepless night. She woke up with a scowl on her face which quickly turned into crying then screaming. I became her pacifier, because the plastic/silicone thing just wouldn't do. I was okay with that since it was keeping her quiet. She fell back asleep and so did I. Not an hour later, she was up and crying again. I had to start getting ready as I had told the Sister Missionaries from my church that I would be more than happy to go out with them today. I put Georgia in the bouncer, got a shower and then started to do my hair. That is when Hell broke loose and there would be no survivors. I listened to her scream for about 15 minutes, but you know when they are screaming each minute that passes seems like an hour. I tried to feed her- screams, I tried to change her- screams, so I put her back down and put on my clothes. Of course I was frustrated and I loudly said, "I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO, PLEASE TELL ME SO I CAN FIX IT!" And held back the tears of my own as I just couldn't handle it. I picked her up and held her while I did my makeup (talk about multitasking...Gisele would understand ;) ) Then I started to get Georgia dressed and I hear a knock on my front door...... It was........ THE COPS!!

Yes, a neighbor of mine had called the cops on me!! They said, "One of your neighbors called because they were concerned about the safety of the baby." I invited them in and of course the day I get the cops called on me my house looks like it has imploded, literally every drawer, cupboard, closet, nook and cranny had exploded into my living room/kitchen. It was awesome. So there I am, crying because the cops are standing in my front room and I feel like a complete idiot. I was humiliated, embarrassed, discouraged, and upset, to say the least. They left with some encouraging words, like "It's okay, we've all been there," and "Don't let the screaming get to you, everything will be okay." But I was NOT okay. I went back upstairs and called Cade. Luckily, he was on his way home from lunch so he could quickly save the day. When he got home, I was in the bathroom where I was dry heaving..Not really sure why I felt like I was going to throw up, but this is my day.... anyways, he comes in and asks about what happened, I tell him and I just feel defeated. I feel like the worst mom in the world. Cade tells me I'm the best and I change into comfier clothes and put clothes on Georgia... Oh yeah, she was just in a diaper this whole time..... my day... So, I call my mom we talk a little, she tells me to forget about it and by this time Georgia is asleep, and my mom tells me to take a nap with her. We go upstairs, I again become a pacifier and we watch Tinkerbell on my phone. I couldn't just "let it go" that's just not me. I decided to bake some cookies and write a letter to my dear, concerned neighbor... Now, your probably wondering how I know which neighbor it was, but by process of elimination, I know who it was. I baked the cookies and while they cooled I wrote this letter:

Dear Concerned Neighbor,

I apologize for the disruptance myself and my 3 Month-old daughter caused you this morning. Thank you for assuming the worst and calling the cops. I really appreciate the added stress you added to my already hectic day. I have seen that your children are out of the Newborn stage so you have probably forgotten the frustration one can have when there seems to be NOTHING you can do to stop the screaming.

I understand my words of frustration were spoken to loud and I will work to be more patient. Thank you for calling the cops. It really helped me to step back and re-evaluate how I handle the stress of being a first-time mother. Because of that call, it has inspired me to be an even BETTER mother! So I truly appreciate it.

I hope you can also learn that when your children are bouncing off the walls at 2&3 AM, we can hear it. Also , when your husband/boyfriend/partner yells, "SHUT UP!!" we hear that too.

So I guess we all learned a little from your phone call to our great city's law enforcement this morning. If you ever feel that maybe things on my side of the wall are getting a little crazy, please feel free to stop by or leave an encouraging note.

Please enjoy these cookies :)

Thank you again!

It may not be the most grammatically correct letter I have written, and I just learned that disruptance isn't a real word, but I think I made my point. I was going to be angry and hurt by the whole situation, but I decided that there is nothing I can do about it now, except move forward. Georgia is still incredibly fussy and I have her in the baby wrap, strapped to me so she won't cry, but tomorrow is a new day, so we will see what happens. Now, to laugh at myself and look back on this day as a learning experience. Of course I made a copy of the letter to put in Georgia's baby book. Don't worry, I plan on remembering this for the rest of my life! Have a great evening! I love you all!! -Britt

This Mothering Thing

I found this quote on pinterest and was inspired:

I am 6 weeks into this whole "Being a mom" thing and I have had so many different emotions. I have already doubted what I'm doing and how I'm mothering Georgia. I realize, the doubting won't stop, but I do feel a little more comfortable in what I'm doing today. I have read about "Attachment Parenting", I'm guessing that is more of the route I'm taking with Georgia. I didn't have the "Natural Birth" but I am nursing Georgia and she co-sleeps most nights.

I have talked to a few moms that had their babies around the same time as me and I started to feel insecure about my mothering. Georgia is not on any kind of schedule, we don't have any routines and I hold her all the time. I'm actually buying a baby wrap today so I can wear her. Some people would say I shouldn't hold her so much and that she shouldn't be sleeping in my bed. I have never been someone who does what everyone says I "should" or "shouldn't" do, I've kinda always done my own thing. So when it comes to parenting, I'm not surprised that I'm not doing what the majority thinks I "should" be doing. Maybe I am making it harder on myself by doing what I feel is the best for Georgia and not what the books say, but yesterday when Georgia looked right in my eyes and cooed her first coo, I knew I was doing something right. I started to cry and just kept telling her "Thank You" because she had made me feel confident in being her mother.

To be the mother I know I want to be, I have to stop comparing myself to other mothers who may have it all together. I am grateful for those good examples though. They help me to know that there are so many different ways to raise a baby- as they say "It takes a village..." I am grateful for my mom who tells me I'm doing a great job. She showed me that there isn't just one way to raise a child, each one is different. I love watching this little girl grow and change. I love holding this little person. I know this time is short, I am going to stop worrying about whether or not I'm doing it "right" and cherish all the time I have with her. I won't be a perfect mother,but I can be a good one. :)

Happy Birthday! (This is going to be a long one...)

To start off this post, I'd like to tell everyone how grateful I am to be a woman. When I first saw the little rose pedal in my undies(about 14), I was scared, but I also knew that it meant that I could now make a baby. When I married Cade, I knew my dreams of becoming a mother could finally come true. (I promise I didn't marry him just because of his help in baby-making) I didn't want to wait forever to have a baby, however, the time Cade and I spent as husband and wife was important to me, so we decided we would wait for a little while before bringing a baby into the world. Life happened and I was deployed, I vowed that when I got home, I would fulfill my dream. When I returned home, I stopped taking birth control and Cade and I decided to "see what happens." Well, for three months, nothing did. I was discouraged, thinking maybe we weren't cut out to be parents, what if I couldn't have kids- things like that. One day I was driving home from the store and saw a car with a bright pink sign in the window, "Babies for sale!!"- no just kidding, it said, "Shih Tzu puppies for sale!!" So I pulled over and called Cade, when I set eyes on Chewie (our first born) I fell in love. My husband heard me gasp through the phone when the falling happened. I said, "I'll call you back" and ran to the puppy. (This was November of last year) I bought Chewie and brought him home. The next month, I became pregnant.
I missed my period in January and my extremely sore boobs were what tipped me off to take a pregnancy test. Sure enough, TWO LINES!! I only took one test, that was good enough for me. The next nine months were awesome! We moved to Roswell, NM in January, where living in a hotel for two weeks proved difficult in the early stages of pregnancy. Although my morning sickness was hardly anything, being cooped up in such a small place was not my ideal situation. Once in our apartment, things got better. When I entered the second trimester of pregnancy, I felt even better than before. It was like I wasn't even pregnant, although the picture from the ultrasound proved otherwise. #bellypics started to become more fun to post because Georgia had started to show herself by growing up and out. The third trimester hit like a ton of bricks. I was exhausted everyday, if I sat down, most likely I'd fall asleep. The belly had taken over and bending over was a no-go. Driving was painful, Georgia loved to sit and stretch out, what I'm now guessing was her left foot, since that is the leg she stretches now, all up in my ribs. I had heartburn/indigestion when I'd drink water... It was not my favorite three months, that is for sure. The last month was a test. I could break down at the thought of anything slightly stressful.. I felt huge, I felt tight, I felt uncomfortable... Every week that passed I secretly hoped would be my last pregnant week, until week 39. I couldn't believe I had made it that far, I felt so huge and thought Georgia was ready! Thursday came and went then Friday we had pictures taken of my ginormous belly and I was grateful she had waited. Saturday we had a date night, we went to a movie. Sunday we went to church, me waddling around, everyone asking, "When? when? when?" and me just going, "Any minute now!"-insert fake smile.. Monday, woke up, nothing new. Just blah, so I cleaned a little and went and walked around Target with Cade because, "This might be the last time we walk around Target all by ourselves," which Cade replied, "Good, I hate Target.."
SOOOO HERE COMES THE GOOD PART.....
Tuesday- 0130: I go pee and find that I am loosing something.......and I was like, uh, this is weird...
0730: "UH, I'm bleeding."
0800: Phone call placed to Momma, no answer, phone call placed to dad, tell him whats up, he tells me, take it easy.
0840ish: call Doctors office and talk to a nurse who sets up an appointment for later that day, "Just to see where you're at."
0900: Lay back down and try to sleep, processing what is happening.
0901: Get up because I can't sleep..
Cade had decided to stay home from work, because, "Baby, maybe?" he played video games while I continued my internal explosion of "what-ifs" We get ready and go to the appointment. The doctor tells me I'm at a two, while he is doing this all of a sudden, I'm going, "OW, OW, OW!" and he tells me, there, that should help you out a little... Cade asked him, "So, how long before she has the baby?" The doctor replied, "oh not till the weekend. She still has a ways to go." Cade and I ran a couple errands and went and had lunch at Subway, all the while my contractions are getting more and more "hurty" (yes, that is the word I am going to use..) We came home and I was in a lot of pain. So I took some little naps in between contractions. By about 8pm, I was extremely uncomfortable so I decided I was going to take a bath, try to relax, drink a big cup of ice water and go to bed.
2230ish: (1030pm for those nonmilitary time inclined ;)) I woke up with a very very hurty contraction and was standing up and then it passed and had to go pee because the contraction had made me feel like I needed to pee, and then I stood up and had another hurty contraction. I walked back to the bed and had another contraction. I told Cade, "You know when you said, 'You'll know when you need to go into the hospital' well, I know, I need to go!" So, I put on a bra and some sandals and had to stop halfway down the stairs for a contraction, then again at the bottom, then again once outside then again when I sat down in the car. We turned onto the road for the Emergency Room and got pulled over. Of course. I was having a contraction so when the Police Officer came up to our window and Cade said, "My wife is having a baby," it looked legit. (one of our break lights were out). So I walked in and signed all the paperwork, so much for "Pre-registration"..... ANYWAYS...
2330ish: I was in a gown, checked, at a 3 and having contractions one right after the other. They waited an hour, said they were keeping me and then asked me about pain meds...
NOW, if you know me, you know that I have always said, I want to try to have a baby naturally. I think my body knows what to do and it will take care of itself. I want to experience having the baby, I don't want to be numb. So, in this case, I was still, like, "weeeeellllll...." another hour passed (so its now about 0130 WED) and I was like, "okay, I want an epidural." SO they had to call the anesthesiologist (because there wasn't one there, she was on-call).
0300: I was checked (now a 6), prepped and given the epidural.
0315: I wasn't feeling the contractions.
Cade asked, "So how long until the baby?" We were told probably around noon later that day. We were like, okay.. The only thing was, was I had gotten the shakes real bad when I started having active labor and they continued throughout the rest of the labor and delivery and it made it very difficult for me to relax.
0500: I started to feel a lot of pressure. I asked the nurse if that was normal, she went and got my nurse. My nurse checked me... "You're complete! The baby is right there, I'll go call the doctor."
0515ish: The doctor came in and broke my water, which popped, literally like a water balloon, it was really funny. I started to feel the urge to push almost immediately. The nurse had told me how to push earlier but I had completely forgotten... It went in one ear and out the other so she had to coach me through the first contraction. I got the hang of it.
-I HAVE FAILED TO MENTION WHAT MY HUSBAND'S REACTION HAS BEEN THIS WHOLE TIME.... I tell him at about 5 that he needs to wake up and get the computer ready so we can facetime with my mom. So he got up plugged in the computer and laid back down. When the doctor came in, I told Cade to get up because it was go time like now. So he just got up and tried to connect the computer, when that wasn't working I said forget it, we will just do it on the phones, he couldn't figure it out. He didn't say hardly two words this whole time, he was just pointing at things. He was in shock and it was pretty cute seeing him so dazed and confused. :) We got my mom on the phone just in time for me to start pushing.
20 minutes later......
Georgia is born!!! The moment they sat her on my chest I just saw fingers, they were, all ten, coming right at my face. It was amazing.
Now, it is one week after that amazing, life changing day, and I could not be more filled with joy. My dream of becoming a mother has come true. Georgia Lynn is the happiest little newborn. She has been such a blessing in our life just in the short time she has been here. I could not imagine my life without her and am so happy that I am able to be her mother. I hope that y'all enjoy our "birth story." It was a perfect day that I will never ever forget.

Thanks for reading! -Britt

Labor Day meltdown

(For your viewing pleasure, our poor puppy in his cone of shame so he doesn't lick his stitches.)

My sweet sweet husband decided that we would use our holiday to get caught up on all the little chores around the house. I was in complete compliance. So, as planned, we slept in a little and then once out of bed, we made the bed and headed downstairs to start the chores. The day started off great, Cade was making breakfast while I was peeling the covers off our couch cushions, so I could wash them of course.  I took the covers to the washer, turned it on and went back downstairs to vacuum out where the cushions had been. I did so, and as I did I started to randomly get upset. Let me just say, our vacuum is awful. We got it when we first got married and it was awful then, so you can imagine how it is three years later... Even more awful. Anyways, I am vacuuming and getting more and more upset about how awful the vacuum is. I finish and sit on a chair and just continue to internally make this huge deal about how awful the vacuum is. Then I start to think about bringing the baby into the house where I've just pushed dirt all around and she is going to have all these allergic reactions because of how dirty the house is. I start freaking out because I'm realizing that any day really we could be bringing home this little living creature that will be ours forever and I started to think about how she has to come out of my hoo-ha in order to get here and then I freaked out about that and then I was like, if she were to come right now my legs haven't been shaved in like a week and they would be prickly and I wanted a mani/pedi before I had her and that isn't done and I haven't showered today and my hair is dirty and oh my goodness, I'm going to have a child!! I'm going to have a living, breathing, little, baby girl! And I just start crying and crying and crying. 

Cade looks over and is like, "what's wrong??" And I'm just crying. He comes over and hugs me and then gets back to finishing up breakfast, because, this mental breakdown, all those thoughts, literally elapsed within five minutes. I got over my little cry-fest and sat down to eat breakfast. Cade asked me, "so, what's going on?" And I just start to tear up and then start crying about how freaked out I am..... Cade just kind of giggled and told me everything was going to be okay. I drank my orange juice, satisfied with my husband's loving words of support. 

I have been truly blessed with such an amazing pregnancy and I'm kind of scared for it to end. I am uncomfortable, yes, and I've had some of the worst heartburn/indigestion I could ever imagine, but other than that, I have been happy and healthy. I could not ask for a more awesome experience. To actually enjoy this time has been such a blessing. I am excited to meet our little bundle of genes but I'm also anxious and antsy about it. 

I hope you all got a little laugh from my meltdown this morning, because I am finding it very amusing. Thanks for reading! love, Britt

Georgia Lynn's Nursery REVEAL

I can't even describe how happy I am about this space! I love everything about it!! Now, I just need my baby girl to be here so I can put her in it! I feel like I have kind of connected with Georgia in a different way, because throughout the whole process I was constantly thinking of her. I'm happy that I was able to do a lot of little DIY projects to make the room unique and special just for Georgia Lynn. I also love all the things that were given to us as gifts, including gift cards, that made it possible for me to make this a perfect space for Georgia. It's all in the details!! I hope y'all enjoy the pictures!

-Love, Britt