Need some advice...

Okay peeps, I need some advice. Almost every time Paul or I walk out of the room & lil man can't see at least one of us he either a) Fusses & whines or b) Screams/Cries like we just disappeared forever. I'm sure this partially comes from being a stay at home mom, one of us like always being in the room with him (not on purpose, just because that's how it goes down) & barely ever leaving him with anyone so we can go out, we just take him with us. Today my mom sat with him in the waiting area of the tanning salon while I tanned for FIVE minutes before I did my Mystic & by three minutes, thirty seconds he was screaming! I could barely handle the last bit of time & I got dressed in like 20 seconds, not even playing. I came out, he had tears flowing down his face, my mom handed him to me & he immediately stopped crying &  friggin SMILED!

I think I'm in trouble, y'all!!!!

Everyone says he is spoiled & we need to leave him more often so he gets used to us not being around....

Can you even spoil a five month old?

And I don't want to leave him more often, I'd rather have my little family all together!

What should I do? I need for him to be more comfortable when we leave the room, but how do I change this separation anxiety thing he's got going on? Will he grow out of it or will it get worse? Anyone else had to deal with this?

HELP!

Flashback Friday: Christmas Edition

Clifton Mill 2009

In this pic.....I was still in my first trimester, knowing there was a baby growing inside me but not yet realizing how different our lives would be this Christmas.

A year ago, my life was filled with school, morning sickness, housework, nausea, family gatherings, & more nausea. This year I have diapers, bottles, spit-up, naps, cleaning, family gatherings, more diapers,  & more bottles. A stark difference from my life 365 days ago. Every chore takes a bit longer, every shower is a bit shorter, & every outing is a bit trickier but I wouldn't change it for anything.

I can't believe we are going to be waking up to our son's very first Christmas tomorrow morning. I'm so excited for him, even though he is only five months & has no idea what will be happening. 

I've always been a barely sleeping, early riser for Christmas, but it's Carson's first Christmas! I doubt I'll sleep at all!

Merry Christmas to you all!

God Bless

Wanna see more Flashbacks? Check out Christopher & Tia...

Wordless Wednesday

The Pound for Pound Challenge

Almost two years ago I made a decision to lose a lifetime of burden weight FOR GOOD!

 And lose weight I did.

Over ten months I lost almost 50lbs. and felt uh-mazing! Even though I still I had a ways to go it still felt great not to be carrying that weight around anymore. I was so empowered that I had actually done it, & knew with hard work I would finally be a healthy weight for the first time in my life!

Then on October 27, 2009 I found out I was pregnant! After trying for a year and a half we were FINALLY expecting! 

I knew that I would gain some of the weight back during my pregnancy & I tried to eat most of the same foods I had when losing. However, Carson didn't necessarily want those healthy foods all the time.

Oh no no no, he wanted things like pizza OMG, had to have it at least once a week!, Arby's mozzarella sticks, fried

 chicken, & salty french fries...you think I might have gained a little weight back?

Uh, well you'd be wrong, I gained it all back, plus some. CHYEA. Holy preggo Cow. I know!

Now five months after having my son I have lost 44lbs. and have about 70lbs. more to lose to reach my ultimate goal. Which sounds like soooooo much but I know I can lose it all, it will just take time.

While I'm losing this extra poundage it would be great to give it back in a different form (food preferably) to people who need it right? Well that's exactly what I'm doing, with the Pound for Pound Challenge.

For every pound you pledge to lose through May 31, 2011, the Pound For Pound Challenge will donate 11¢ to Feeding America® — enough to secure one pound of groceries on behalf of local food banks.

You can pledge to lose up to 50lbs or if you don't need to lose any weight you can pledge to maintain your current healthy weight, which is good for a 5lb. donation to a food bank in your area, of your choice. Then once you've reached your goal or the end date of the challenge, just go back to the site & log your success!

I'm inviting all my friends, even bloggy ones, to join me in the Pound for Pound Challenge and give back to your community while losing those few pounds you put on over the holidays or over the past year. <<clears throat>>

 Let me know if you pledge & we can encourage each other!

I pledged 30lbs., how much will you?

New Linky...Outtake Tuesday, join us!

You know all those reject pictures you take that may not be "the one" wanted for that particular post but are definately blog worthy? Cause screaming babies are just as cute as laughing babies! Well while going through all the outtakes of our family portrait session, a little light bulb lit up! Start a weekly link up to see everyone elses oopsy photos, and just like that  Outtake Tuesday was born! They can be of your lil ones, lil furbabies, you, or whatever you took pics of recently. 

So here it goes, ^^This will be the button for your post^^ if I can ever figure out how to do it.

If you can tell me, PLEASE do. I'm still learning this stuff & for the life of me CANNOT figure this out!

Outtakes:

Bring on the outtakes...



Steppin Out Saturday: Family Portrait Edition

This Saturday we stepped out to have Carson's 1st Christmas & our first family pictures done. And holy shnikees was it a loooooong day! First of all, this place was p.a.c.k.e.d, and continued to get more packed the longer we were there. Our appointment was at 1:20pm which might as well have been at 2pm since we waited till about then. It didn't bother me much though, Carson was being super good playing with Daddy while I sat next to them, people watching =)  We ended up being there three hours total, UGH! But we got some great shots & a learning experience on what and what not to do from it all.



Ho Ho Ho....Merry Christmas!

Carson had his first visit with Jolly 'ol St. Nick yesterday &  he L-O-V-E-D him. He was such a big boy just sitting on Santa's lap & looking around at everything & as you can see we got a big grin out of him!

I have to admit that I secretly wanted him to totally freak out so we would have a hilarious piece of nostalgia, but just a teeny tiny bit  

Hi, my name is Britney and I want to keep my kid healthy.

If I could, I'm pretty sure I would put Carson, my husband, myself, & even miss Daisy the pup in a plastic bubble to avoid the sharp corners, choking hazards, and yuckies lurking around every corner. Wouldn't it be a sight to see a whole bubble family out for stroll in the park? bahahaha. But of course I can't do that, or can I?

Being a new mom you will undoubtedly get mommy advice & It seems that every mom, young, old, having one or twenty children, believes they know the best and only way to raise a child. 

"Advice" I have been given...

Waiting till he's six months to transition to the crib in his room? "You'll regret it, he'll be sleeping with you till he's 12"

Don't pawn him off every chance you get, so you can go out? "You'll never be able to go anywhere because he won't want to stay with anyone else but you."

Need to run to the store & don't want to drag him out in the cold just for a quick trip? "Wherever I went my babies went."

Not giving him a four month old mashed potatoes, gravy, or deviled egg? "Well you had those things when you were a baby and you're alive aren't you?"

Having to vacuum everyday because the snow, dirt, and muck get tracked in from the porch? "You can't protect him from all dirt!"

Think having friends and relatives wash/sanitize their hands before holding him will help to keep him from getting sick? NOPE, you're terribly mistaken. 

 

I am totally aware that Carse will probably get sick this winter, it's gonna be a long one. we live in ohio, winter could last until May. But I do believe as his mom it is my job to keep him healthy as long as possible. I know there will be sick people wherever we go & they may sneeze & blow their noses in the vicinity of my baby, maybe not even washing their hands afterwards, gross. I've even heard that a little exposure to germs is beneficial for a little one's immune system. Which is fine, but it's not like I am scrubbing every inch of my house with straight up bleach...I'm vacuuming the floor for Heaven's sake!

I know that everyone is just trying to help. Their opinions about how I am doing things however are just that to me, opinions. I may take their advice & use it or I may not. I truly appreciate every piece of it too...until I am suddenly the "most over-protective parent" they've ever seen when I know I am not.

Long story, short...if I want to wrap my kid in bubble wrap to keep him healthy for one more day.

I WILL. Because he is my kid.  =)

{photo via}

 disclaimer: if you are anyone you know has ever given me parenting advice this post is NOT directed towards you. It is merely me writing a post about what I have experienced since becoming a mom. I really do appreciate ALL advice, whether I take it or not

too tired to hang...

Our friends Bob & Amber came over yesterday so the boys men could play video games and they could see how big Carson has gotten since they saw him last. We all played on the floor with little man, sang with his moo cow which Paul has now named "Cow Ripkin", & caught up on life chat.

 It seems that Mr. Carson was tired of the grown up jib-jabbing 'cause we soon found this....

Bahahaha...our little mister was too tired to hang & fell asleep sitting in daddy's lap.

So presh, i love my baby!



Steppin' Out Saturday

hey ya'll...I've been wanting to do a Steppin' Out post for awhile & today is the day! Oh yea, we did it, we got out of the house & managed to capture it on the ol' picture taker =)

Momma's Outfit Deets

Top: Motherhood Maternity (yes, a maternity shirt)

Tank: New York & Co.

Jeggings: Walmart

Boots: Marshall's (not shown)

Headband: Walmart

Necklace: push gift from hubby

Carson's Outfit Deets

Hat: Walmart

Onesie w/ mock thermal undershirt: Tartget

Jeans: Old Navy

We stepped out to Target yesterday to pick up an Xbox Kinect as a Christmas gift to ourselves, & some other random things. It was a cold, wet, nasty day but we made the best out of it & I must say it we had a blasty blast!

Check out more Bloggy Momma's steppin' out....

It's The Holiday Season

Whew! These past couple weeks have been insane jam-packed. Leading up to Thanksgiving thoughts of all the trips we had to take, the many germy, gross eager loving relatives that couldn't wait to touch my healthy little baby, and all the goodies I had to bake bombarded my head & made me crazy nervous. Everything was going to be so different this year with little one here. And of course I was freaking out for no reason. We had a wonderful holiday with all of our family, there weren't any baby or mommy meltdowns & I didn't even follow everyone around dousing them in purell, bahaha. 

My sister & I couldn't miss out on all the black friday deali-o's so we were out at 3:30am with all the other crazies. Kohl's opened at three, we thought the inital rush would be in lines by the time we got there at 4ish, WRONG! Tash & I grabbed some things, tried to find the end of the line which just so happened to wrap around the entire friggin store & was 2 1/2 hours long! Needless to say we weren't waiting in that thing so we hid our bag of goodies in the kidlet section behind a rack of clothes, went to the mall, then came back later to a much much shorter 20 minute line =) We met up with our parents & my grandma for some OhMiGosh yummo breakfast at Cracker Barrel, even better...they paid, thanks mom & dad! We finished up at Menard's & Wally World and all in all I'd say we scored some great stuff.

Finally, this weekend after buying yet another, yes I said another new tree <~~~long story... we put up Carson's first Christmas tree, which despite not being able to find our topper, turned out pretty well.

Carson's 1st personalized ornament

I seriously can't wait until Christmas now!