Naptime Blog

With all the craziness going on recently and the hectic schedules my husband and I have to keep, we unfortunately had to give Zappa back. Talk about heartbreak. He was so full of energy that he had accidentally knocked Shaughn down a few time, causing him to get hurt. Kids come first and though I wanted to keep him, I knew what had to be done. I loved the protection that he contributed to the house and how protective he was over this family after a couple of short weeks. His owner was completely understanding thankfully and was supportive of our decision. Well, the upside is that my sister, who fell in love with Zappa first before I saw him, convinced my parents to keep him and they live right next door to Zappa’s original owners which I’m sure they love. I was so grateful for spending whatever time I did with the pup and it gave me ideas for what I want in the future, when Shaughn is much older to play with it. I still get visitation rights which I think he enjoys because he’s always so excited to see me. Have you had a pet that you fell for but just could not keep?

Krystle

Target is super awesome in my book, and I always love browsing their aisles to see what’s new. They get in some beautiful furniture and home decor, no doubt about that. We did our grocery shopping there this time around, and nabbed some good items. My husband came with Shaughn and I this time which is rare, but a treat indeed. We chose Target because Shaughn received a gift card there and it was only right that he got something for himself. He chose a huge bouncy ball, which is fun to watch your husband try to get it out of that awfully built cage they’re kept in, and a Sit & Spin. He’s trying to master the Sit & Spin now and that’s a funny thing to witness. While at Target I spotted in their frozen snacks section Fried Ravioli. I’ve never had them before and would normally not purchase them, but really wanted to try them. It was the Market Pantry brand, Target’s store brand. My husband popped them in the oven and heated up a jar of four cheese pasta sauce…..holy cow were they delicious!  It will probably be a while until I purchase those again, but it was certainly a delightful treat and recommended for those who have never tried it.

Krystle

Let’s just say June has been incredibly way more than I bargained for!

While being a mommy and wife, which we know is a full time job, I needed to get a job to help catch up on some bills that need to be paid so I was applying anywhere and everywhere. Finally I get a call back from a Best Buy in my area, which is one of my favorite stores to begin with, setting up an interview. After the 2 interview processes,  I get hired. I work in their mobile department and so far enjoy it.

The first day working was a Monday, and they scheduled me off on Tuesday. This was a whole new schedule because I also go to school from 9am-1pm and now Best Buy has me working from 2-close. Doing the math, that doesn’t leave me much time with Shaughn or Brent. Well on my first day off, I was involved in my very first car accident, which really messed things up for me since then. My mother in law was in town that week and just completely helped us out with things around the house and with Shaughn since I was literally never home. She stayed for a total of 3 weeks since she had to go back home but having here here, especially during that time, was such a Godsend to me.

I don’t know what I would have done if she was not here. Brent’s in school full time and with sharing a car…I probably would have lost my mind.

I have heard that sometimes the “Terrible Twos” actually start before the 2nd birthday, and sometime they begin closer to the third and maybe after. I wish I knew when to anticipate this so called terribleness. I definitely don’t brag about it but my child is pretty calm, I can’t imagine him being this ball of tantrum throwing disaster that everyone says he will be. He listens pretty well, he doesn’t throw fits anywhere, and is happy pretty much all of the time. He is opinionated for sure, but doesn’t take it to the next level that people have made me fear. I am a first time mom so everything I hear I take into consideration and try to anticipate it when it comes about but this one I am not read for, I know it. I don’t want my sweet little boy to hit me, or break things, or talk back. Is there anyway to avoid it? I need some advice on what really to expect and if every child goes through this phase. I know not every one is the same, but how did you manage your child when they got to this stage?

-Krystle

As I may or may have not mentioned in the past, my hubby and I are huge fans of coffee, more specifically Starbucks. It was our little sinful treat that sometimes we would sneak off late one night and grab a cup to ease our caffeine cravings. Now that Shaughn is older he has cravings of his own! There are things in the house that he absolutely must have like bananas, but now that he recognizes the Starbucks logo he must have a cup of his own haha. What we do, as a little treat, is when we go get our coffees, we will also get him a mini sample cup with the logo of whipped cream. Their cream is amazing and is not super sweet, which I love so I don’t mind giving Shaughn a tiny cup of whipped cream every now and then. It’s definitely not an every day thing, heck we can’t afford Starbucks on a daily basis! Now he will eat his cream with a spoon all by himself. Granted he makes a mess but sure enjoys it and I’m happy too

-Krystle

I am almost always the person who grocery shops in the household and I will usually go with Shaughn, more to give Brent a little break but it’s also fun for me because he is very well behaved in the store and makes shopping easier to deal with. Our most recent grocery excursion took us to Publix Supermarkets where I was able to get some good deals on some items, including their store brand products. Most particularly they were having a sale on their brand of paper towels for a double roll, which was great. I choose the one I want and hand it to Shaughn who’s sitting in the cart waiting, and he will place them into the big area of the cart. He smiles and claps when he’s made it into the cart and I laugh and cheer him on. Publix also has some good specials on store brand items and specialties they make in the store which are delicious. I’m glad I went into the store when I did to grab the deal on paper towels because we always need those in our house!

-Krystle

One night my son was playing along in the house when he hit his head pretty hard on a piece of wood from our computer table, and started crying a lot. Shaughn isn’t a cryer really and if he hurts himself he will get right back up and dust it off, but this time it hurt and you could tell.  I rubbed his head and he calmed down. There was a little bit of a bump afterwards but he was fine and his behavior was fine and normal.

Two hours later was his bedtime and he went to bed easily like usual. The next morning he was just very strange while I was getting ready for school. He was wimpering and laying anywhere I put him crying. I placed him on the bed while I was changing and he was just limp almost. Very very odd behavior and unlike him. The first thing I thought of is the night before and how he hit his head. Hoping there was no connection, I wanted to be sure and take him to the ER, so I called out of school and went straight there. They brought us in right away, started asking questions about losing conciousness, etc. I told them he didn’t lose consciousness and he wasn’t throwing up he was just very odd and for it to be the next day after that head injury I wanted to be safe. The doctor comes in, with an attitude that he thought I was a loony, and asks me “So you brought your son on because he’s misbehaving?” I wanted to cry! Of course I did not bring him in here because I can’t discipline my child, I brought him here because he has no behavior. I have been with my child every day of his life and know that not once has he ever acted the way he did that morning. He then asks me what I wanted to do and informed me “we could do a cat scan but he will be exposed to radiation which can stunt his cells” Right, because that’s what I want to hear. My mother called her friend in NY who is a doctor and reassured her that having a catscan would eliminate the question of any head trauma or brain swelling and that it wasn’t going to be damaging to him. I thought this over and decided to go with the catscan. Thank goodness, everything came back normal, but its better to be safe than sorry, especially when it comes to my child.  Have you ever had an experience like this where it seems the pediatrician has poor bedside manner or made you feel like you were going nuts?

-Krystle

We always wanted a family dog that would grow up with Shaughn and us and just be a great addition. We came across a 4 year old Border Collie named Zappa, who lived next door to my parents. He is fully trained, wonderful with Shaughn and loves to swim. Zappa has been everything we were looking for in a family pet and when we found out his owners were looking for a new home for him, we thought it was good timing and for us to adopt him.  My husband , I can’t tell if he really likes the idea of having a dog or not, he doesn’t say much and I’m left to try and read his mind. So far it seems to be working out well and now I start a job on top of school ,  so I personally won’t be spending as much time with the 3 of them as I would like but hopefully it can still work out. How did you go about finding the perfect family pet for your home?

-Krystle

Even though it’s a day most get off from work, and is usually associated with barbecues and perhaps some alcoholic beverages with great friends and family, one must also take the time to remember why we celebrate Memorial Day.

Taking a little time to show appreciation for all our men and women in the armed forces and some who gave their lives for this country. Whether you support the war or not, men and women are still over there fighting for us as a country and risking everything they have.

This year, we honored my husband for the time he served with the Air Force and had the traditional burgers, ribs,& beer cookout with my family. It was a beautiful day out, so we were able to take advantage of the pool and cool down. I tried to keep a patriotic theme, and I think it worked out well! I hope everyone had a great day!

Krystal

Every few months, since Shaughn was born, I would go through all of his clothes and sort out what he could fit into at the time and what he would grow into within the next three months and keep them in his closet until he outgrew those “3 months from now” clothes. I’ve been keeping it up so that anything I grabbed from his drawers or closet I’d know would fit him at the time.

Now as he’s very comfy in 18 month clothing and is wearing some of his 24 month and 2T, it is that time again to sort through and put all the things he no longer fits in into his storage bin filled with other clothes. The good thing about him growing into all these clothes is that my sister in law had given us tons of clothing our nephew grew out of which are all 18 months and above. I grabbed that huge bin and began sorting through what needed to go in the washer and what would be perfect for cooler weather as there were a lot of jackets/sweaters, warm clothes, and even a cute windbreaker.

While going through this bin, we found a Halloween costume of Yoda which is too adorable, especially since the Spike channel had a Star Wars marathon all Memorial Day weekend that we watched. Shaughn grabbed the headpiece and tried to put it on so I helped him and put it on the right way. He had a big smile on his face so I put the rest of the costume on to see how it looked. Still a little big, but he really liked having the headpiece on, even the next day he was running around upstairs wearing it.

I’m so sad that he’s outgrowing everything because he’s not my little peanut anymore, he’s becoming a mini man, but at the same time I am very thankful he is growing up so wonderfully. At least we have a lot of clothes to last him well into his 3Ts thanks to our great families, and family friends!

Krystal