Totally slacking, 15 months, & Christmas!!

So yea, I've been slacking on my blog. Life has been a little chaotic for me as of late. But, today Jesse is 15 months old. Gosh, I never thought I'd say that - especially all of those times I was up at 3 am and thought that he would never sleep through the night!

Here's what's going on:

1) My mom and her VA issues (don't even get me started!). She gets done with the Miami program in February and will hopefully find a job. Her HUD voucher will expire soon so she needs to get her apartment before it does.

2) Palm Beach County Mommy Meet and Greet Group www.cafemom.com/group/93051

Come check us out! We've got a bunch of events posted.

3) Christmas!!

It is so much better this year now that Jesse is old enough to have fun with it. He didn't much like Santa Claus when we tried at the Annual Holiday Lights Festival at the Veterans Park on Dec. 6th, but he still loving the lights and the decorations. He'll really love opening what Santa brings him christmas morning. I'm so excited because now I get to watch him experience what I did for so many years.

Here are the gifts 'Santa' is bringing Jesse:

4) My brother is in Afghanistan. Please please please pray for him. The area that he is in is getting bombed daily. He is terrified. He calls me every day (Thank God!) but is crying. He's only been there 2 months. I can't even imagine what it's like there. Please pray for me too so that I may have the words to help him get through this time.

5) Air Conditioning - Randy has been super busy this month. Can you believe it? God is GOOD!! I'm just hoping he'll be able to make time to put ours in before the end of the year so we can benefit from the FPL rebate and the tax credit!

Visit www.randyair.net

6) Babies! Starting next month, I'll have my wonderful friend April's 2 month old, Lily. Atleast that is still the plan for now. There is also a possibility of having another friend's son, Daniel, who is turning 1 this month! Oh, yea, and Randy and I are considering TTC in the next couple of months..LOL

7) Last but not least - I need a substitute in order to become a Licensed In-Home Child Care Provider. I've been praying for God to show me who to ask. Please pray too!

Please pray for all these happenings and that our family would continue to keep our eyes on Jesus, not just during the Christmas season, but all year long. My oh my is it hard. But that is the only way we will be able to pull through hard times and continue to love each other.

Merry Christmas!!!

Routine/Schedule & Meals

I have a routine and schedule (be it a loose one) for Jesse. I started working on a schedule for him when he was about a month old and eventhough it was alot of hard work and alot of stress, it paid off. Now that he's a toddler, the routine is a teaching tool. Here is our routine:

6:00/7:00 am (usually when he wakes up): I come in with a cup (not a bottle) of warm milk. This is my 'trick' to getting him to lay still for a diaper change. I usually change him into his day clothes at that point too. Afterwards, I make him some breakfast. After he eats, I bring him to the bathroom to brush his teeth. He loves that part.

8:00/9:00 am (naps are 2 hours after meals): Nap time. I bring him into his bedroom, turn the sound machine on, change his diaper, give him his 'binky' (pacifier), grab his blanket, sit in the La-Z-Boy with him and a book, and read it to him as we rock. Once the book is done, I lay him in his crib and cover him with his blanket. As soon as I can, I get out of the room. I don't linger and I don't watch him as I leave. He usually cries for no more than 5 minutes, then he's out.

10:00/11:00 am: I go into the room, get Jesse out of his crib, give him a little bit of time to wake up and play in his room, change his diaper, and then bring him out into the living room. Depending on the time, we'll play together or I'll start getting lunch made.

12:00 noon: Lunch. While Jesse plays in the living room, I get lunch made. Then I put him in the high chair and feed him. After he's done eating, I put him back into the living room to play.

2:00 pm: Nap. Same routine as with the morning nap.

4:00 pm: Same routine as after the morning nap.

6:00 pm: Dinner. Jesse eats what the family eats for dinner.

6:30/7:00 pm: Bath. After dinner, Jesse gets to play in the living room while I draw a bath. Once it's ready, Jesse goes right in (of course I undress him first). Bathtime for him is short. Maybe 10-15 min. long. At this age, he splashes alot. So, I wash him and rinse him and get him out. Then it's diaper and pajamas. Teeth brushing comes next. After that, he plays in the living room until bed time.

7:00/8:00 pm: Bedtime. The actual time depends on what time he woke up. About 5 minutes before bedtime, I bring him into the room and do the same routine as with Nap time.

That's pretty much it. Not too exciting or thrilling. This routing doesn't always go as planned.


Meals
The meals I make for Jesse I have gotten from a couple of books, http://www.wholesometoddlerfood.com/, and from my pediatrician. Here are some things I make for each meal. I don't make all of the things listed all at once, but sometimes I will make 2 of them at any given meal.

Breakfast - 1 scrambled egg with cheese, a plain or wheat bagel with cream cheese and Polaner's Strawberry Preserve (I use this because it is only sweetened with fruit juice - not sugar!), a blueberry bagel with cream cheese, oatmeal with pureed fruit and/or vegetable, YoBaby or LittleBlends yogurt

Lunch - Organic Peanut Butter (I buy the Smucker's brand) with bananas sandwich (I take 1 piece of wheat bread and make a half sandwich), Peanut Butter and Strawberry Jelly or Apricot Jam (Polaner's brand), Deli Meat (turkey, ham, chicken) and American Cheese sandwich, String cheese "cheese stick" cut up (Jesse's favorite!), sometimes I'll feed him left over dinner from the night before too

Dinner - Some family favorites are:


Chicken Fettucine Alfredo (I cook a whole chicken in the crock pot on low all day then shred it and use about 1/2 for the meal and save the rest for chicken salad sandwiches the next day, I cook about 12 oz. for fettucine noodles and drain, add 1 stick of butter and 8 oz. of whipping cream over same burner on low heat, and add Parmesan cheese until desired flavor)


Meatball Subs (New Fave!) - Made meatballs from scratch - http://busycooks.about.com/od/groundbeefrecipes/r/easymeatballs.htm , warmed up some pasta sauce, mixed the cooked meatballs with the sauce, put them on a sub roll and added mozzarella cheese. Super easy and both Jesse and Daddy loved it!



Baked Tilapia with Rice and Vegetables - I found some big bags of frozen Tilapia at Walmart. I put enough for dinner in the refrigerator the night before. I bake 1 filet for Jesse and the rest I put Creole Seasoning on. I bake them at 350 for 20 minutes. I make brown rice in my rice cooker and I make some vegetables.

More meals to come....

Dave, my hero

Please, do yourself a FAVOR if you haven't already, and to go www.daveramsey.com. The man is a genius. Randy and I have started his program and are on our way to becoming debt free!!! I am even putting my mom on this program and she hardly has any money. But everyone NEEDS to have a plan! That's all I'm saying.

Thoughts for the day

As a way to relax, I like to be in the car by myself and listen to really loud heavy metal music ie. Norma Jean, ZAO, Demon Hunter, etc. There's really no other way I like to escape. I'm not a big TV person - eventhough I do indulge on Real Housewives (any city will do) and Project Runway (one day you're in, the next day you're OUT!) Haha...But I digress. Don't get me wrong, I love my child and LOOOOVE being with him and spending time with him. But at the end of the day I am wiped out and need some 'ME' time.

In other news.....the President got a Nobel Peace Prize? I guess. Whatever. I think it's too soon. They should've waited a few more years. If things don't work out the way Obama intends, then the issuers of the 'prize' will be kicking themselves in the rear.

OH - and Joel Osteen is on the cover of Success mag (thanks to Brunjes for making it known to me). That guy makes me sick. Someone needs a good dose of humility! Hey Joel - read the book of Job!!!

I am sooooo loving FPU by Dave Ramsey. I have become enthralled by finances. Haha...I am such a Nerd! I've never been more excited about finances in my life! And now I'm DVR'ing his show on Fox Business Network.

Juggling Act

As many of you know, my mother lives with us in our 2 bedroom/1 bath home. She is a 30 year army vet and has Fibromyalgia. So, it goes without saying, she has many issues. I am also a Girl Talk Director with Palm Beach County Youth for Christ and I work about 10-15 hours a week, if possible. With that, I'm calling/emailing volunteers, donors, and girls. Plus, I'm facilitating small groups and leading atleast one a week. I am also in the process of becoming a licensed in-home child care provider. Then, my husband has his own air conditioning business. Atleast once a week I run over to his shop for something. All of these things need my attention on top of me keeping up on housework and grocery shopping - all while taking care of my active toddler.
All I can do is take one day at a time and remember that the Lord doesn't give me more than I can handle.

Jesse 1 year

So, I've finally decided to take a stab at blogging. I know, I know - I'm a little behind the times I guess.

Anyway, Jesse turned 1 this past weekend. How does this change things? Well, for one, I've had to face the reality that my 'baby' isn't one anymore. He walks and runs everywhere and is very independent. Just like mom and dad, I guess. So, while I'm trying to figure out how I can still adapt to parenting (I'm sure it's a growing process for both of us!), I also need to provide the educational, emotional, physical, and spiritual support he needs. And who said that stay-at-home were just "housewives". It's a heavy load to feel all of that responsibility on yourself. I'm so glad that I can rely on others and their expertise - especially our Heavenly Father!

It also seems that alot of my friends are already onto having their 2nd babies. I must admit, I'm jealous. I love children and want to have more and more. But I have to keep in mind that my family is not any one elses family. My husband, Randy, works very hard and wants the best for us. He wants to wait. I need to respect that. He is the head of this family and it is incredibly important that I support him and be an example to Jesse, eventhough he is only 1. I am committing myself to being a Godly Woman more importantly than anything else.

My journey on becoming a Licensed In-Home Childcare Provider will be coming to an end soon. I've finished all my courses necessary and now just have to take the Infant and Child CPR class. Then I'll be sending my application for licensure off the DCF. I'm very excited because this means that I will be able to legally watch children in my home. If you've been contemplating this and live in the state of florida, here's the website - www.myflorida.com/childcare
**Please, if you know someone who is watching children in their house without being licensed, let them know. There are extreme legal consequences!!**