doggett family

Our Little Walker

2011-05-30T23:36:00.002-05:00

Brayden is finally walking! He started walking on Mother's Day...what a great gift! He is all over the place. He falls a lot but I know that is part of it!

Tasty Tuesday: Healthy Recipes (from Cooking Light)

2011-05-03T23:23:00.002-05:00

Those of you who know me, know I work at Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Mississippi. We pride ourselves on being a health and wellness company. In fact, if it wasn't this company....I would still look like a beach whale. Let me clarify, I kind of let myself go during my pregnancy. I took the saying "I am feeding two people" to the extreme. I would eat Oreos and Samoas before and after dinner. Needless to say, I ended up gaining 47 pounds. Although I am still not to my desired weight (it takes time people...I know my child is almost 14 months but those last few pounds are VERY difficult to shed), BCBSMS allows me to workout while I am at work and educates me on ways to eat/live healthy.

With that said....the editor of Cooking Light and my recipes presented at one of our nutrition classes called "Breakfast in a Bolt." Here is one of the recipes she provided us:

Breakfast: Blueberry Power Muffins with Almond Streusel

Ingredients:
Muffins:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, divided
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup quick-cooking oats
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups vanilla low-fat yogurt (Greek yogurt has more protein and other healthier ingredients)
1/2 cup 2% reduced-fat milk
3 tablespoons canola oil (this is the healthier option of oils without flavor...Olive Oil is healthy but has an added flavor)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 large egg
1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries
Cooking spray

Streusel:

1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup slivered almonds, chopped
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon butter, melted

Preperation:

Preheat oven to 400°.

To prepare muffins, lightly spoon flours into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, oats, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Make a well in center of mixture. Combine yogurt, milk, oil, vanilla, and egg, stirring with a whisk. Add yogurt mixture to flour mixture; stir just until moist. Fold in blueberries. Spoon 2 rounded tablespoons batter into each of 30 muffin cups coated with cooking spray.

To prepare streusel, combine 1/4 cup all-purpose flour, almonds, brown sugar, and butter. Sprinkle evenly over batter. Bake at 400° for 15 minutes or until muffins spring back when touched lightly in center. Cool in pans 10 minutes on a wire rack; remove from pans. Serve warm or at room temperature.

(This recipe was borrowed from myrecipes.com)

***I love this recipe because you can make the muffins ahead of time and freeze them.

Wordless Wednesday: Shubuta/Easter Weekend

2011-04-27T05:45:00.002-05:00

I know Wordless Wednesday is supposed to be pictures only but I have to blog a little bit about our weekend. We had a great weekend in Shubuta at Justin's parents' house. Brayden loves being outside! When we have to go inside, he pitches a fit. Well, Mimi and Pawpaw have a lot of land and tractors, four wheelers, bulldozers, etc. It is an adventurous boy's fun fest! We found out this weekend that our little boy is very adventurous and isn't scared of anything. He rode on everything and when it came time for him to get off the equipment....well let's just say he was not a happy camper. Anyways, he had a blast and loved being at his Mimi and Pawpaw's house!

Here are pictures from the weekend. Enjoy!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Tasty Tuesday: Brooke's Spaghetti Recipe

2011-04-26T22:49:00.001-05:00

Ingredients:
• 1 lb. of ground chuck or ground turkey
•1/2 or less of a small chopped (use more or less depending on how much you like onions)
•1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce
•1 can (6 oz) tomato paste
•1 package of McCormick spaghetti seasoning (my family prefers Thick and Zesty kind but they make one with mushrooms that is good if you like mushrooms)
•Water
•16 oz bag of noodles (you won't use all of the noodles....I usually do half or a little more than half the bag)

Directions:
Brown onion and meet in a sauce pan and drain grease. Add all other ingredients (you need to add water to the sauce or it will be too thick...I usually fill my tomato sauce can with water and add it to my sauce). Cover and simmer on low medium, occasionally stirring for 30 minutes to an hour (the longer it simmers the better but if you are in a hurry, you can simmer for 20 to 30 and it will be fine). Serve over cooked noodles.

Tip:
You can double the recipe and freeze the extra sauce for a quick meal. The sauce is also great when used to make lasagna!

This recipe has been passed down from my grandma to my mom to me and now to you and your family. Hope you enjoy it as much as my family does!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Our flowers and ferns

2011-04-22T13:54:00.001-05:00

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Must-Have-Monday: The Cozy Coupe

2011-04-18T09:54:00.001-05:00

For Must-Have-Monday, I wanted to talk about the cozy coupe. I am sure we all remember memories of us or our siblings riding around in the orange and yellow Flinstone style coupe. I can remember being jealous of my brother because they did not make this cool car when I was that age.

Anyways, Gigi bought Brayden one for Easter. I was not sure about it at first but he loved it! The new style has an extra piece that you can place so if the child is too young to pull a Fred Flinstone, he or she can be pushed by mommy or daddy. I love this new feature! I pushed Brayden all over our neighborhood and he was thrilled! Disclaimer: when it is time for your child to go inside for bed time or to eat or for whatever....your child will not be thrilled. In fact, your child may pitch a fit like my child. Don't say I didn't warn you.

That is all for now. Have a great week!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Sooooo....

2011-04-14T11:38:00.000-05:00

I have majorly neglected our blog. I love blogging. It makes me happy! I was reading Annalee's blog and I love how she has themes for certain days. I think that will help me....plus I now have an app on my phone that helps me write from any location. With that said....since I am writing on a Thursday, the theme is Thoughtful Thursday!

Miss Shelia is who I think of when I think of thoughtful things. She keeps Brayden and she is our gift from God! When Brayden had cradle cap, she worked everyday to grease his hair with oil and pick out the dry pieces with a toothbrush. When he was diagnosed with eczema, she put his creams on him faithfully. She loves him as if he was her own and he loves her too!

Warning (a little graphic): Brayden had his one year shots and he didn't see our normal doctor. He saw a female doctor. Female is important in this story because of what she did. Brayden is circumcised so when he was younger we had to "peel his banana" to keep the skin from growing. Well, I thought we could stop but I was wrong. His skin had reattached so the female doc ripped it apart. Brayden has been in pain from that and his urine irritates it. This is where miss shelia comes back in the story...miss shelia let him sleep at nap time without a diaper. I mean I don't even think I would let him do that and I am his mom! She risked a BIG mess in order to make her lil man comfortable. She is amazing and we are so lucky to have her!

Anyways, have a great weekend!

Pictures

2011-01-09T20:40:00.003-06:00

Me and Just before going out for New Year's Eve

Brayden and his Gigi at Amerigo's

Brayden in his outfit from his Mimi

Our Little Mobile Man

2011-01-05T05:46:00.003-06:00

Mobile Man
On Christmas Day, Brayden gave Justin and me the best gift ever...he crawled. He had been scooting for the longest time, but couldn't seem to get his leg in the right place to crawl. We had come to the conclusion that he would go from scooting to walking. He proved us wrong!
Now, he is all over the place. We have had to baby proof our home. He will be one place one minute and the opposite end of the house the next. We were warned by others that once your child is mobile, your life becomes a lot more hectic. Boy were those people right. Brayden has fallen off our bed twice (I know this is terrible, but both times were accidents). I think it is taking a little while for Justin and I to get our head around what exactly a mobile child means.
The other night, Brayden was in our living room playing. I went into our bedroom to hang-up some dresses. This took maybe 1 minute. I walked back into the living room and Brayden was no where to be found. I looked everywhere and finally found him in our green room chewing on Belle's raw hide bone. It is scary how fast he can get into something and nine times out of ten it is something he doesn't need to be doing.
Although it can be stressful having a mobile child, it is such a fun thing. Don't get me wrong, I have cherished and enjoyed every moment with Brayden, but the older he gets, the more fun he gets. Justin and I both can't believe how fast he is changing and how much more fun and exciting our life is getting.

Clapping
In addition to crawling, Brayden learned how to clap when others clap. It was the cutest thing. He would get really excited and start clapping. Then, he would look at everyone and wait for all of us to start clapping. He is such a happy baby! The only time he gets fussy is if he is hungry or tired.

Christmas
Christmas was wonderful. We were on the road a lot, but it is worth it to be able to spend time with our family. We are so blessed to have so many people that want to spend Christmas with us and our little one. Brayden got so much stuff! He got bath toys, Laugh and Learn table, scooter, phone, jack-n-the-box, jungle slide, walk & play thing, a 3-in-1 sports toy, books, clothes, and so much more. We had to leave some of the toys at my parents' home because we didn't have room. This year he was more excited about the boxes and wrapping paper rather than the actual toy. We had a wonderful time and I can't wait until Christmases to come.

Eating, Ice Cream, and Sweet Treats
Brayden has gotten so good at eating. I have been putting a little bit of cereal in his vegetables and that seems to do the trick. He is also eating some foods from the table such as beans, fish, potatoes, slaw, and other soft foods.

He loves loves loves Ice Cream! It is crazy how much he loves ice cream. He is constantly making the Mmmmmm noise when he is eating it. He grins from ear to ear every time he sees an ice cream cone or the ice cream box. He likes sweets more than salty items. He also likes Gerber puffs and yogurt melts.

24/7 "Daddy" and "Dada"
I am not sure what is up with the words "daddy" and "dada" but Brayden says them all of the time! Yes, I am complaining because I am jealous. I mean would it hurt him to say "mommy" or "mama" every once in a while? Justin will be no where around and he still says the words constantly. He has said "mama," "gigi," and "baba" a couple of times, but he has "daddy" and "dada" perfected.

Gator Bowl Champs
Justin and I went to Jacksonville to have some mommy and daddy time away from the baby. We had an awesome time. We really enjoyed getting to be with each other with no interruptions. We missed our little boy but we needed the quality time. The game was awesome! We beat Michigan 52 to 14. After our team accepted the trophy, they all lined up on the 36th yard to honor Nick Bell. It was very touching. We had a blast but are so excited to be back home with our little boy.

Brayden's EEG Test and Results

2010-12-12T01:19:00.004-06:00

So everyone that knows us, knows that we have been stressing about Brayden's seizures. Justin and I were relieved this week when his EEG test day finally arrived. I had to work, because I still can't use vacation until I have been at BCBSMS for 6 months. Justin took the whole day off to be with Brayden. I got off around 11 and we headed to UMC around 12:15. We had to go to the Outpatient Registration desk to fill-out paper work, and then we were escorted to the neurology department. We waited for a short time in the waiting room until the tech came and got us. Justin seemed calm, Brayden was his normal funny and hyper self, and I was a ball of nerves. The tech took us to our room that had a bed with a device with tons of wires coming out of it laying on it. She started explaining everything to us. I kept getting more nervous. She said that she was going to place the wires all over Brayden's head, face, and chest. She would then wrap them so he couldn't pull them out. She warned us that he will probably scream and cry but assured us that she was not hurting him. I asked where I could sit (hoping it could be on the bed with him) and she said on the bed with him. She needed help holding him down while she got everything on him. She was right....he fussed while she was putting the wires on, but after she finished he fell fast asleep. We loved the tech! She had an 18 month old little boy so we compared stories. She made us feel good, because Brayden is still not crawling and her son didn't crawl until 10 months. She said her son didn't start walking until 15 months. Anyways, after the regular tests, she did a light test. She was not allowed to tell us the results from the tests, but she did say that if Brayden started seizing during the light test she would have turned it off. When it was over, it was a waiting game for us. Our doctor called on Friday to inform us that the test results came back normal. Yay!!! We were so thrilled! We still have to meet with the doctor on Monday to review the test in more details and get answers about what he was doing a few months ago. We are so thankful that we have good news! I really don't know what I would do if anything happened to our precious little boy. He is our world! Thank you to everyone who has prayed for us! We love you!

Brayden, Homemade Baby Food, and Pumpkin Spice Muffins Recipe

2010-11-11T19:30:00.002-06:00

Wow! It has been a long time since I posted last. Of course, I will start by updating you on our precious little boy.

Brayden:
Brayden has changed so much. He is now eating from a spoon so much better. He finally cut two teeth and he continues to amaze us. His favorite words to say are "daddy" or "da da." He hasn't even come close to saying mommy or ma ma.

On a serious note, Brayden has been having seizures. Let me back up and explain everything. About 4 or 5 months ago, I noticed that Brayden would do this weird thing with his upper body. I just wrote if off thinking he was just playing. I had no idea it was serious.
We finally decided to talk to the doctor when we noticed Brayden's eyes when he did this. To describe what he does is like this: he lays in the floor and all of a sudden his lower body will go stiff and his upper body will shake. His eyes are the scary part, because they look like he is not there...almost like a staring out into space look.
I called the doctor and he told us to bring Brayden in as soon as possible. Dr. Joe assured us that the seizures were caused by an immature brain and that with an EEG we will know more about what to do. Brayden's EEG is at UMC on December 8. We have to wait that long because there are very few Pediatric Neurologists in Jackson, MS. In fact, I was told that some parents have to wait 6 months so we are fortunate that they got us in so quick.
Thankfully, Brayden hasn't had a seizure since October 24th at 9:30 pm. We are watching him closely and praying that everything is okay.

Homemade Baby Food:
I have started making my own baby food thanks to the encouragement from my friend Katie. It is not hard to make and it is so much healthier for babies. A great website that has helped a lot is www.wholesomebabyfood.com. All I do is first clean, cut, and peel (if necessary) the fruit or vegetable. Next, I steam it (steaming maintains the most nutrients but baking, boiling, or microwaving are other options if you don't have a steamer). Place the cooked food in a blender or food processor (I use blender b/c I don't have a food processor) to puree the food. Once the food is pureed, place it in an ice cube tray to freeze in the freezer. Once it is in frozen ice cubes, take a freezer bag and mark what it is and the discard date. So far I have made butternut squash, acorn squash, sweet potatoes, peas, apples, and carrots.

Well, I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! We are taking Brayden to the park if it doesn't rain. The bulldogs play Bama this weekend so hopefully it will be a good game. I will end with a good and EASY recipe. Enjoy!

Easy Pumpkin Spice Muffins
Ingredients:

Spice Cake Mix (I used Duncan Hines)
Regular size can of pumpkin (I used Libby brand)
1/3 cup of water

Directions:
Take the box of Spice Cake mix and place it in a large mixing bowl. Pour the can of pumpkin and water in the bowl and mix the ingredients together (I used a mixer). Place mix in a muffin pan (my batter made about 16 muffins) and bake on 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

They are delicious, moist, and easy!!!

Quality Time with hubby, Pink Eye, and Updates

2010-10-01T22:16:00.006-05:00

You can tell in the picture above that Brayden has pink eye....poor baby.

Wow! This week has been a crazy week! Justin's parents kept Brayden from Sunday to Thursday. It was very difficult for me, but Justin and I had a wonderful time together. I was fine at work, but I literally did not know what to do with myself when I got home from work. I am used to picking up Brayden, playing with him, giving him a bath, getting things ready for the next day, and so on. One afternoon, I visited Catina, from our church, who just had precious Brynleigh. Brynleigh only weighed 4 pounds and 6 ounces and she was beautiful. When Justin would get home, we would spend quality time together. It was so nice to spend time together and talk without interuptions.....guess what we talked about....Brayden (for the most part). One night, we went to a movie. Another night, we went to Walker's Drive-In in the Fondren District. It was an amazing restaurant and amazing time. I think every item on the menu is the best ever! We both got Filet Mignon and I got jumbo lump crab meat on top of mine. We had a wonderful time together, but we were thrilled to see our little boy on Thursday. I don't think we could stop hugging and kissing our sweet little boy. Justin's mom and my mom both said that now we can see how they feel all of the time when they are away from Brayden.

Now to the pink eye part....I noticed Brayden's eye was looking pink on Saturday. My mom was visiting and she agreed that it looked different. On Sunday, it started getting goop in it (goop= our word for yellow-brownish colored eye stuff). Justin's mom started him on medicine by Monday. Now here is the crazy part...and for all of my mommies and/or mommies-to-be take note of this: PINK EYE IS VERY CONTAGIOUS!!!! I had no idea how contagious this mess was until Brayden got it. Brayden was at our house on Sunday and 4 days later, Justin ended up getting it. I mean this virus or bacteria lived that long in our house and Justin happened to touch one thing and now he has it. I have cleaned everything possible and Justin is constantly washing his hands. Brayden's eyes look so much better, and Justin's eyes are getting better as well. I am just praying that I don't get it!

Brayden is changing so much! He is so precious and so much fun! He is turning over constantly and getting in the crawl position. We just know that he will start crawling soon! As far as teething goes...he is teething but there are no teeth that we can see or feel. Dr. Joe said that his gums are flat, which means any day now we should see teeth. He is slobbering and putting everything he can find (including his feet and toes) in his mouth. He recognizes people and things. He recognizes Justin and me, his Gigi, his MiMi and PawPaw, Miss Shelia, and Anna Katherine (little girl that goes to Miss Shelia's and she lives across the street from us). He knows what his bottle is and goes crazy when he sees it. He also knows what his pink eye medicine is because he starts crying as soon as he sees the bottle. He also has this flirt/shy side....he will look at someone talking to him, smile at them, and then quickly turn his head like he is embarrassed or shy about seeing them. He is also starting to hold his bottle on his own...yay! This will come in handy during those 3 am feedings he is STILL waking up for (BTW: it is a myth that cereal makes a baby full and causes them to sleep through the night)!!!

Tomorrow, Megan from my work, her little boy Parker, Brayden, and I are going to the park. I am not sure what Brayden will think of the park, but I think he will like sliding while sitting on my lap, swinging on the baby swing, and strolling. In a few weeks, we are taking Brayden to the pumpkin patch in Canton. I am very excited about this! They have hayrides and other activities for families. We are going to pick out a daddy pumpkin, mommy pumpkin, baby pumpkin, and Belle pumpkin to carve. Also, my mom (Gigi) bought Brayden his Halloween outfit....he is going to be an adorable little pumpkin. Instead of going Trick-or-Treating for candy, we are planning to just take Brayden by friends' houses to show off his cute costume. Anyways it is getting late so talk to you on the next post!

Doggett Family Update

2010-09-06T20:13:00.002-05:00

Sorry it has been a while since my last post but here is an update on things at our house.

I got a new job at Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Mississippi and love it. The people in my department are awesome!

Football season has started so Justin is so excited! We went to the first State game and we won! It was a lot of fun! Mimi and Paw Paw kept Brayden. I am hoping I will get to make it to a few more games this season but it all depends on if we can get someone to watch Brayden. Justin will go to all of the home games so that will be a good way for him to have some guy time.

Brayden has changed so much. He is saying different baby talk things and one even sounds like Da Da (I am so jealous). He definitely knows who we are now. He cries when we leave him, which breaks my heart. He is rolling over a lot...in fact, I think he is getting ready to crawl, but I could be wrong. We are still having issues with him eating out of a spoon. We are not sure why he is doing this, but he gags with every bite of baby food and cereal. A lot of people say it could be a texture thing so we are going to talk to the doctor about this. Hopefully, it will be solved soon! He is drooling and putting everything he can find in his mouth. We think he is teething, but we can't feel or see any signs of teeth. He has all of the symptoms including fever and fussiness so I guess that will be another question for our doctor.

Also, Brayden has started going to Miss Shelia's house instead of going to a daycare. Miss Shelia was his teacher at his daycare center, but she decided to take a few children to her home. We are so happy because that means less kids and more one-on-one attention. Miss Shelia has always been so great to Brayden. She is going to teach him sign language, Spanish, and do the Baby Can Read program.

Anyways, I hope everyone has a great week! Talk to you soon!

Chicago Trip- Days 3, 4, 5, & 6

2010-08-08T18:09:00.002-05:00

We are back from Chicago! It was a great trip! Chicago is a great city with some of the nicest people I have ever met. Everyone wanted to help and get to know us. I didn't get a chance to update very much while we were in Chicago, because our second hotel charged almost 15 dollars a day for Internet. Here are the recaps of our trip.

Day 3:
Thursday turned out to be a very beautiful day. Brayden and I got ready to go to the outdoor pool. Again, he loved being in the water. I attached a shade that came with his floatie so he wouldn't get burned. He kicked and talked the whole time we were out there. A lady and her grandson ended up coming over and talking to us. Her grandson was adorable! He was 18 months old. His mom was in the same training as Justin so his grandma was taking care of him. We talked and played with them for a while, and then went inside to rest. We were supposed to go to the Rainforest Cafe the night before but the rain messed those plans up so we went this night. The restaurant was in the mall so we looked around at the mall for a little bit. It was huge and very nice. The Rainforest Cafe was great! They had great food, and Brayden loved looking at all of the animals and fish. He was very entertained to say the least. His favorite part of the restaurant was the fish tank. After we ate, we went to the Cheesecake Factory for some dessert. Justin got the Tuxedo Chocolate Mousse Cheesecake (he loves chocolate) and I got the Original Cheesecake (I am plain Jane when it comes to cheesecake). I packed when we got back to the hotel.

Day 4:
Friday was very crazy! Justin's training didn't end until 5 pm, but we had to be out of our hotel room by 1 pm. Instead of waiting at the hotel all day, Brayden and I left without Justin to go to the new hotel. We called a cab and met the nicest cab driver. Thankfully she was nice because it took forever to get downtown. President Obama was in Chicago and Lollapalooza was there as well so traffic was even more crazy than usual. It was so exciting being downtown! There is so much to do and see. Brayden and I checked in and relaxed until Justin arrived. He didn't get downtown until around 6:30 so by then we were starving. We walked around and decided to go eat at Weber Grill. The wait was crazy, but it was a great place to eat. It was late by the time we finished eating so we didn't walk around the city for too long. We went to Jewel Osco to get some snacks and water for Brayden, and then went back to the hotel.

Day 5:
Saturday was the best day of our whole trip! We started the day off walking the Magnificent Mile and site seeing. For lunch we stopped at Gino's East for deep dish pizza. It was very good! We walked around a little bit more, and then went to the bus stop to head to Shedd Aquarium. It was a nice aquarium. It was Justin's first time going to an aquarium and of course it was Brayden's first time as well. After the aquarium, we walked to Soldier Field where the Bears play then we headed back to the hotel. Our friends Ryan and Bekah visit Chicago quite often. We were craving sushi so I called Bekah to find out if they knew of a good sushi place. She told us about Ra. Bekah said it was walking distance from our hotel, but when we asked our concierge about it, she told us that we would need to take the bus or cab to it. We called Ra to find out if we needed to take the bus and they said the same thing. We didn't want to get back on the bus so we decided to walk to it despite what the locals were saying. It was pretty far from our hotel, but the walk was not bad at all. We enjoyed being out in the city....walking allowed us to see much more than if we caught a ride. We got to Ra and ordered one of the specialty popular rolls and the Shrimp Tempura roll (we asked for them to make it spicy). Both rolls were amazing! We even ended up asking them to make another Shrimp Tempura roll. Everyone was so nice there and the atmosphere was great! All of the waitresses went crazy over Brayden. One even asked if she could take him home with her...I told her no...of course. We walked back to our hotel just in time to catch the fireworks at the Navy Pier. They were beautiful! There is so much more we wanted to do in Chicago but time just got the best of us. We want to come back when Justin isn't in training.

Day 6:
Sunday was an early day for us. We left the hotel by 7 am to get to the airport. We were so thankful that we did this because the lines were ridiculous at the airport. Our flight wasn't until 9:30...we got to the airport around 7:30 and didn't get to our gate until 8:45. Brayden ended up doing #2 while we were in the security line. I felt so bad for the people around us. One child asked his daddy why the security line smelled so bad...the dad just shooshed the child. Brayden did great on the plane, again. He fell fast asleep as soon as we got in the air and didn't wake until we landed. Now we are home and back to reality. I have washed clothes and sanitized everything of Brayden's since we have been home. The city was dirty and his toys and stroller and carseat touched all of that filth....I couldn't wait to get to cleaning. Well, that is our trip...I hope everyone has a great week!

Brayden's First Plane and Cab Ride

2010-08-04T13:41:00.002-05:00

Day 2- Chicago Trip

2010-08-04T13:03:00.005-05:00

Today has been a very nice and relaxing. It is raining here so the plan to go swimming outside was postponed for another day. Thankfully, this hotel has an indoor pool as well. Poor Justin has been in class since 8 this morning. We will be happy when his training is over and he can enjoy the trip with us.

Brayden slept like a log last night and this morning. Justin and I couldn't believe it. He woke up at his usual 5 am but went right back to sleep after his bottle. This traveling must have worn that baby down. He finally woke up around 8:30. We played and giggled at each other for 30 minutes then I kicked it into high gear. My goal was to find the pool and make sure it wasn't too cold for my little man. We tested the water temp and it felt great. We headed back to the room to put on our swimsuits, and then off to the pool we went. I bought a floatie at Target for Brayden. He loved it! He had a great time swimming. He kept laughing and kicking his legs and talking. I was so excited that he liked it so much. We swam for a little while but not as long as I had planned due to the water being colder than I thought. After swimming, Brayden was exhausted. Even the ladies on the elevator commented on how tired he looked (and how cute he was...of course). I laid him in the bed and he fell right asleep. I didn't have to rock him or anything. Swimming can wear a fella down!

Tonight we are going to the Rainforest Cafe to eat. We are excited, because we think Brayden is going to love looking at all of the animals and forests. I am not sure about their food but you can't beat the atmosphere when you have a 5 month old (well almost 5 month old) who loves looking at everything. It is so amazing experiencing life through a baby's eyes. Everything is new and exciting. Everyone and everything is funny. Justin and I are so lucky to be able to experience these things with Brayden. Also, it is amazing to see how much a baby brings joy to others. Everywhere we go, people are going crazy over Brayden. This one lady was not smiling at all but when she saw Brayden her face just lit up.

Also, I have more pictures to share, but the Internet is very slow. I will keep trying to post them.

Traveling with a Baby Tips

2010-08-04T02:12:00.002-05:00

As I have said before, I am not an expert mom by any means. I am fortunate to be surrounded by great moms who give me amazing advice. I thought I would post some tips that helped us during our trip to Chicago (see below this post for our Day 1 update about the trip).

Items to Pack that may be Helpful:

Water to mix your formula- (you have to worry about fluoride amounts in your water and when you are traveling you don't always know the fluoride amounts) I usually buy Gerber baby water or generic baby water (whatever is on sale), but I was worried about the jug being too big and bursting in our bag. I ended up buying a few big bottles of drinking water (they are big but not too big for your bag plus the plastic is thicker so bursting is less of a risk).
Shout or some type of stain remover- Brayden sometimes has accidents that leak out of his diaper. These accidents can stain so the stain remover helps until you can get home and wash and scrub, scrub, scrub.
Dish washing liquid and bottle brush- unless you are breastfeeding you will need this to clean bottles, pacifiers, bowls, spoons, etc.
Clorox wipes- I hate germs! I love bringing Clorox wipes with me on trips to wipe down the room (especially the bathroom....toilet, sink, shower or tub)
Newk's or Bulldog Deli or some type of cup of that size- Instead of cleaning your bottle nipples in the bathroom sink, you can put soap and hot water in the cup and soak anything that will fit in it.
Medical Supply Kit- Some suggestions of items to include in the kit: thermometer, Tylenol, gas drops, Benadryl, Band-aids, and anything that you may need if something were to happen
Carseat- Depending on what city you are traveling to, most cities require a child under a certain age to be in a carseat while in a cab. I looked this up before we left and Chicago and New York both require this.

Flying/Airport Security Tips (some of these may be for Southwest only):

Call your airline company before your trip to discuss rules and regulations for babies (Southwest allows you to have your purse as a carry-on and a diaper bag. You can also bring your carseat and stroller on the plane)
Get to the airport extra early especially if it is a busy/big airport. Allowing yourself plenty of time to get through security and the airport will help minimize stressful situations.
You are allowed to bring any size bottle with formula or juice or water in it (I was concerned about this b/c of the liquid rule). Just make sure you are prepared to take all liquids out of the diaper bag for security to inspect.
Brayden was asleep in his carseat/stroller/travel system while we were going through security. They make you put the carseat and stroller (folded up) through the X-ray/conveyor belt machine. We didn't know this so it kind of held us up at security check point. Now that we know, we are going to make sure Brayden is out of the travel system and have everything ready for X-ray (at Jackson airport this hold up wasn't a big deal but at a larger airport people in line may get impatient).
Pack a few extra Zip-lock baggies in your purse just in case you packed something that is considered a liquid.
If you get a flight that isn't full make sure to ask if you can have an extra seat for your baby. Brayden was considered a lap baby (lap baby is a child under the age of 2 who will sit in your lap instead of the actual seat). Since our flight was not full, he got to sit in his carseat.
We brought formula and Pedialyte water (both were already in the bottles ready to go) for Brayden to drink. The most important thing is to keep them sucking and swallowing so their ears don't start hurting. Pedialyte water was actually a lifesaver, because it tied Brayden over until it was time to eat.
Make sure to bring a blanket (it was really cold on our plane and Brayden would have froze), an extra pacifier or a soothing mechanism that works for your baby, and toys to entertain.

Things that We Did Not Expect or Think About:

Our hotel does not have a bathtub. It only has a shower so we are going to have to either give Brayden a spit bath every night or figure something out.
There is no refrigerator or microwave so make sure to bring formula that is not mixed. We knew our room didn't have these items, but we were surprised at how hard it is to find a hotel with them. Some hotels provide things upon request such as: Crib or pack-and-play, microwave, and refrigerator (I would call in advance to request these).
The delays at the airport. Like I said above, the Pedialyte was a lifesaver during this delay. We planned Brayden's feedings around take-off so he was hungry while we were waiting. The Pedialyte will help you prolong a feeding. The water also helped during our landing. It wasn't time for Brayden to eat, but he still needed something to swallow to help his ears.
Travel System was very helpful- We bought a small umbrella stroller but later decided to bring the travel system so Brayden could ride in a cab. It was a lot easier to stroll Brayden rather than carrying him. You will have enough to carry with your luggage and carry-ons and such.

Well, that is all I have for now. If you have any travel tips or suggestions, please share it in the comment section.

Day 1- Traveling to Chicago

2010-08-04T01:34:00.002-05:00

I am going to try to post our Chicago trip ever day so I can keep up with everything. Our first day was spent traveling (I will get to the traveling part in a bit).

Normally, I pack stuff and don't worry about what I am packing. This was not the case this trip since Brayden was coming on this trip. I wrote out a list of everything he will/may need. I packed the usual baby stuff, but I also had to pack extra things since we weren't staying in a hotel with a kitchen. We ended up buying Playtex Drop-In bottle specifically for this trip. The bottles are easier to clean since you just throw away the drop-ins after each use. I just washed his bottles and they never touched the sink....yay for me! I will probably post a traveling with a baby tips after this post to help you know what to expect. I really think that being prepared helps make things run smooth.

Now, to the traveling part.... We arrived at the Jackson airport at 5 pm to provide us plenty of time for our 6:35 flight. Everything went great through security. Our plane didn't arrive on time, but Brayden was having fun laughing at his daddy so it was okay. Finally, we boarded the plane, but to our dismay we found out there was a malfunction on the aircraft and a mechanic would have to take a look at it. We waited forever. We had planned to wait until we were going up in the air to feed Brayden so his ears wouldn't ache. Brayden waited patiently and never got upset during our wait. We finally took off after 7. The plane was not full so Brayden got an actual seat. This made me happy, because it is so much safer for a baby to travel in a car seat. He ate, and then slept the rest of the way. He was so good! Our flight attendant brought him a certificate signed by all of the crew and his first set of wings. We landed at 9:05. Brayden woke up and was all smiles. He smiled and laughed while we waited at baggage claim...again...he was so good! We couldn't have asked for a better baby. Once we got our bags, we caught a cab that drove us 45 minutes to our hotel (Midway Airport to Schaumburg takes 45 minutes). Brayden talked, drank, laughed, and slept in the cab.

As soon as we got into our room, I began unpacking us and getting things settled. We ordered a pizza and bread sticks (they were delicious) and just took it easy since we had such a long day. Brayden ate and went right to sleep. It was a long day for him and he did great!

The hotel is very nice. We are staying at the Hyatt Regency in Schaumburg from Tuesday until Friday afternoon. Justin's trainings are at this hotel. After his training on Friday, we will move to the Marriott hotel in downtown Chicago on the Magnificent Mile and stay until Sunday. Since Justin will be in classes all week, Brayden and I are just going to relax and go to the pool. The weekend is when we are going to actual do Chicago stuff. It will be fun....can't wait to post about it! If you have any suggestions on what to do in Chicago, please post a comment.

For My Mommies to be

2010-07-23T12:11:00.002-05:00

I was reading a blog the other day and the mommy had the neatest post. She posted her favorite baby items and the items that she could have done without. I have several people who read my blog that are preggers. Now, keep in mind that I am not an expert mom by any means and every child is different. Just because things didn't work out for Brayden doesn't mean that they won't work out for your child. So here is our list:

Baby Items we LOVE or use a lot:

Swing-This was and still is our lifesaver. Brayden loves his swing. He will sit in it for hours whether he is asleep or awake. We bought the lamb swing so it can be for a girl or boy. It is very soft! One tip I would say is to try to find one that plug into the wall. Ours drains the batteries.
Batteries- You need to stay well stocked in all battery sizes. Trust me on this one. If you don't stock up, you will be thinking of me while you are going to Wal-Mart at midnight for batteries.
Gowns- I know....I know...I had a boy, but all babies can wear gowns. These were lifesavers. The last thing you want to do in the middle of the night is to unsnap and snap a million buttons on your baby. Gowns were so much easier.
Sanitizer pumps- We had one at his changing table, one in his diaper bag, and one in the living room. When you have a newborn, you have to be very careful about germs. Sometimes you don't have time to go wash your hands so this was very nice. Also, for all of your guests that want to hold your precious angel...it is easier to just say, "here let me pump a few squirts of this sanitizer before you hold him or her"....rather than saying, "can you go wash your hands."
Diapers and wipes- When you have a newborn, you can't have enough diapers and wipes. When Brayden was first born only Pampers worked on him. He was so small and had no hiney so all of the others leaked. Now, we can use any kind...my preference whatever brand I have a coupon for. TIP: If you have any friends that don't have babies, ask them to save any coupons for formula, wipes, diapers, etc. They don't need them and will probably throw them away.
Bottles- Of course you know you will need bottles, but I wanted to put this one for a tip. We chose Dr. Brown's bottles. Justin and I had no clue and when you go to Babies R Us and see the bottle aisle, it can be quite overwhelming. We just chose Dr. Brown's because we had heard of the brand. Now don't get me wrong, Dr. Brown's bottles are great and they get the job done. My issue with them is all of the attachments. With one bottle you have five different items to clean and sanitize and even more if you decide to use the lid. So let's put this into perspective during a normal newborn day: 5 items x let's say 8 feedings= 40 things to clean. Not to mention that if you are on the every two hour feeding...you will be feeding 12 times a day. With our next child, I am going with the Playtex drop-ins. They are cheaper and way easier to clean.
Boppy Pillow-Justin loved this more than I did. It is nice to have so your arms do not get tired. I didn't use it when I breastfed, because it seemed to get more in the way than anything. I liked it just for holding Brayden and for company. Some people who visit you have never held a baby in their life. If this is the case, always offer the Boppy. It makes them more comfortable and you more comfortable.
Nipple Shield-I know that is kind of graphic, but it was a lifesaver for me. I was very adamant about breastfeeding my baby. Brayden had other ideas about my boob. He refused to latch on. By the time I left the hospital, I was in tears about the whole breastfeeding thing. (BTW: if it doesn't work in the hospital, wait until you get home where you are more comfortable. I had too many nurses shoving my baby's head to my boob and making him cry.) One day, I broke down and text my friend Danae. She had the same issue so she bought a nipple shield and it worked. It took Brayden about two and half weeks on the nipple shield, and then finally he started feeding without the shield. I was thrilled! I occasionally brought the shield out when my nipples got sore. It helps give them relief so they can heal.
Burp Cloths-You can't have enough of these bad boys. Brayden spit up all of the time. We constantly were going through several burp cloths a day.
Sensitive skin babies-Brayden has eczema so we have to be very careful with what we put on his skin. We wash his clothes in Dreft (save coupons for this b/c it is expensive). We use Aveeno to wash his body and hair. Aquaphor Baby lotion to keep his dry skin moist (this stuff is very thick and greasy so make sure to buy the tub and not the tube. The tube is too hard to squeeze.). For any eczema break outs, we have a prescription but the over the counter cortisone cream with aloe works better than the prescription stuff.

Baby Items that just didn't work for us:

Diaper Genie-Let me first start by saying that I know some people love Diaper Genies...this is fine! I am not one of those people. No matter what level it is...Elite or whatever...it stinks. We have a regular trash can in Brayden's room. If he does number 2, I throw the diaper in the outside trash. No, you don't have to do this with every diaper. Most of the time I would throw it in the kitchen trash and by the end of the day took that trash out.
Bouncy Seats-I don't know why, but Brayden does not like bouncy seats. He will sit in them for a little while but not for long. He prefers a swing over a bouncy seat. Now keep in mind that I have heard of very few children that don't love their bouncy seats. Most babies love it so it may work for you.
Tub seats-I am not sure if this is what you call them, but let me explain what it is and why we bought one. First, it is a mesh-like seat that you sit in your tub and wash your baby. We bought this, because our friend Heidi bought Brayden a duck tub but he can't use it until he is 6 months old. We just wanted something until he could use his duck tub (which quacks by the way...how cute). I placed him in this seat and it started sliding all over the tub. I mean it is hard enough to hold onto your little newborn especially when his seat is sliding all over. You pretty much have to bathe with one hand if you use a tub seat. I ended up going to Babies R Us and getting a baby tub. We love it! Brayden loves bath time, and I can't wait until we can use his duck tub!
Tons of big blankets-We received tons of beautiful plush blankets. Don't get me wrong, I love them and we use them...but you don't need a lot of them. I say three or four would be fine. We swaddled Brayden so receiving blankets work best for that. I would use the big blankets to cover his car seat up when we were in public (b/c of germs), and now I use it to lay over him just in case his swaddle comes undone. I will probably use them more in the winter time, but not in these hot Mississippi summers.

Well, I think that is all for now. I will post more if I think of anything else. If you have any advice or anything that worked or didn't work for your baby, please post a comment about it. Enjoy!

New Beginnings and Updates

2010-07-22T14:11:00.003-05:00

I have been MIA lately but for good reason. Most people who know me know that I work at Hinds Community College. They also know that I have to drive 45 minutes to an hour (depending on traffic) to and from work every day. I have done this for two years. This has gotten old real quick plus having a child who is in daycare 45 minutes away from you isn't a good idea. With that said, I interviewed at Blue Cross Blue Shield and got the job. I will be an ELearning Specialist (in other words or for my husband that still doesn't quite know what I do...I train people and create training materials especially online based training materials). The best part about this new job...drum roll please...it is 7 to 10 minutes from my home. Wow, I am not going to know what to do with myself. I am nervous about switching from education to corporate America, but I am willing to take the risk. Education is so laid back and flexible, but as many people have told me, change is not a bad thing. My new job has a strict dress code. I have to pull the pantyhose out for this one ladies...yes, I said pantyhose. DISCLAIMER: if you see me out and about in Flowood sporting pantyhose...do realize this is not by choice.

Now onto Brayden...oh how he has grown before my eyes. It is crazy to think that a few months ago, Justin and I were trying to console our screaming baby from 6 pm to 3 am every night of the week. Now, he is so much more happy and calm. His tummy troubles are over! Thank you Lord for seeing us through those times. He is talking to himself a lot. He also sings to himself especially when he is trying to go to sleep. I did not know what he was doing until he did it at the doctor's office. The doctor said, "You must sing to him, because he is singing himself to sleep." My heart melted...he is so precious. He smiles 24/7. His head is not bobbing as much so pretty soon I am going to get his jumpy thing out (not sure what to call it) for him to jump around.

The only issues we are having with BDog (what Justin calls him) is spoon feeding. If you are a mom and you read my blog and have advice...please comment b/c I need advice big time on this one. He ate cereal from a spoon fine one day. Since that day, it has been downhill big time. He gags and cries with every bite. I am not sure why I am calling it a bite b/c every bit gets pushed out by his tongue. I mix two tablespoons of rice cereal with some of his formula. I even add baby food fruit. He still doesn't like it. My friend Kelly talked on her blog about Clark (her little boy) eating up a storm. She said he loves sweet potatoes. I tried just sweet potatoes...he gagged even more. I am not sure what I am doing wrong. Am I not holding my mouth the right way? I even give him cereal in between his bottle feedings because most people say it is not good to spoon feed when babies are hungry.

The last issue...SLEEP or Lack there of again, if you have advice on this issue send it my way. Our son has the craziest sleep schedule in the world. A good night for us is when Brayden goes down around 9 or 10 and sleeps until 5 in the morning. This night is a rare occasion. Brayden never sleeps past 5. No matter if he has been up all night, our little man will be alert and happy at 5 am. This is okay until he decides that he wants to wake up every 1 or 2 hours. We have tried the cry out method (our doctor made us)...it does not work. Here was my conversation with our doctor:
Me: Dr. Edwards, Brayden is still not sleeping at night.

Dr. Joe: Really? Are you letting him cry it out?

Me: Well..you see...our child doesn't stop crying.

Dr. Joe: What do you mean he doesn't stop crying?

Me: I mean that you told me he will stop after crying for 1 hour...our son cried for two hours and never stopped. I try to look at the positive side of this doc, when he gets older he will never give up and be a very determined athlete, student, or whatever he decides to be.

Dr. Joe: Well, you have to realize crying has never harmed a child. He will live no matter how many hours he cries.

That was my answer. Well, I know crying doesn't hurt a child, but when my baby has swollen eyes from crying for two hours straight...I put my foot down. I just can't do it. I keep thinking to myself, one day he will be a sleeper, and then I read on facebook how my cousin's two year old still is not sleeping. I guess people were not lying when they say that when you have children you can say bye bye to sleep. I can see it now, Brayden will be 18 and I will still be losing sleep, which brings me to a funny/psycho mom story.

Justin and I were talking about something and all of a sudden Brayden and cell phones came to my mind. Here was the convo:

Justin: talking about something that had nothing to do with Brayden or cell phones

Me: Oh my gosh, hold that thought, honey...we have something more important to discuss. When should Brayden get a cell phone?

Justin: Not saying a word...just looking at me like I was insane and wondering why we had to discuss this while our son is only 4 months of age

Me: Well, I thought maybe when he started driving, but when he is younger he may want to go to the mall and I need to be able to contact him.

Justin: Honey, we all know that you would never let Brayden go to a mall in Jackson, MS...you will have him in a bubble.

Me: My point exactly! You see I want to buy him a cell phone with a GPS chip so I can know exactly where he is at all times soooo...if I see that he is at the mall...I can call him and tell him to get his booty back at home. So my point is that we shouldn't wait until he starts driving. I say middle school or maybe even earlier.

Justin: Poor Brayden

Me: What? I know what you are thinking...I am not going to be a psycho mom. Psycho is not the word for it...I am going to be an overly cautious mom. Oh gosh, I am going to be psycho...poor Brayden! I just don't know how to not be psycho.

Yes, you should feel bad for my child/children. I hope they don't end up hating me. Maybe I will become more relaxed and less of a worrier as I get older.

Justin, Brayden, and I are headed to Chicago the week of August 3rd. I am so excited! Justin has training so Brayden and I decided to tag along. I am nervous about the plane ride and traveling in general with a baby. I have read everything from car seats in cabs (yes they are required) to bring Playtex disposable bottles so cleaning is easier to babies ears on planes and so on. I should be an expert after this trip. I will blog about it when we get back. I have rambled enough...have a great weekend! We are off to Shubuta to visit Mimi and Paw Paw.

Kiddie Pool Pictures

2010-06-23T19:37:00.003-05:00

Kiddy pool time, cereal time, and daddy away from home

2010-06-23T11:52:00.002-05:00

This weekend Justin and I decided to get Brayden's kiddy pool out that my grandma bought him. Brayden loves bath time so we just knew he was going to love his kiddy pool. Boy were we wrong! We put him in it on Saturday and he cried the whole time. I blamed it on him being tired and the water being too cold. We decided to try it again on Sunday. Sunday was better, but he still was not the biggest fan. I think he will enjoy it when he gets a little older.

We also started cereal this weekend. We put Brayden in his high chair...and can I say how adorable he looks in his high chair. He looks like a little old man....so cute. Anyways, he was pretty hungry and I was not making the cereal fast enough. When I finally got it made, his daddy fed him. He didn't really know what to think about it at first. He finally got the hang of it and ended up falling asleep he was so full. By the way, I will post the cereal and pool pictures later....I don't have them on this computer.

This week, Justin has been out of town for work. It has not been too bad, but I will say that I appreciate everything Justin does for me. I really don't know how single women do it and I respect each one that does it. Justin always helps me out by either holding Brayden, keeping him happy, feeding him, changing him, bathing him, getting him to sleep, etc. He is an amazing husband and daddy. I depend on him so much and anything I ask him to do...he does without question or fuss. I take him for granted, and when he goes out of town, I realize how much I take for granted. He is amazing, and I can't imagine him not in my life or Brayden's life. Since he has been gone, I have found a new way to hold Brayden's attention while I get things ready for the next day. I put him in his high chair and placed toys in front of him. Now, keep in mind that he can't really pick things up but he loves looking at things. He just stared at the toys probably thinking man I wish I could get my little hands on those things. I sent the pictures to Justin and he said that one of the toys looks bigger than he is. The pictures are above...aren't they so cute?!?!?!? He is so funny! He is starting to really like looking at things. I used to lay him down on a mat on the floor when I wanted to get things done. Now, I have noticed that he does not want to lay...he wants to sit up so he can see everything. I can't wait for the day that he can sit on his own. I am thinking about purchasing a Bumbo seat. I have heard a lot of good things about them. Anyways, check back in for the pictures from his kiddy pool and cereal adventure! Have a great week!

I stole this from someone else's blog.....

2010-06-03T15:34:00.003-05:00

In this moment...I am ready to go pick up my baby from daycare

Outside my window...I hear students yelling at each other (Hinds Community College for you)

I am thinking...about what to make with the ground beef in my fridge

I am thankful for...my husband and little boy

From the kitchen...I am not sure what to make tonight....any suggestions using ground beef???

I am wearing...a gray shirt with a scarf to accessorize it

I am creating...training materials for next week

I am going...to see Train on the coast with my husband

I am reading...not really a reader....I am reading blogs...I am a little obsessed

I am hoping...for a great weekend in Jackson

I want...my mom to have a wonderful birthday

I am hearing...air conditioner, computers, and students

Around the house...is a mess because I have an infant, full time job, and zero time to clean

One of my favorite things...is kissing Brayden's chubby cheeks

A few plans for the weekend...going to Jackson, TN and celebrating my mom's birthday....oh and I get to enjoy the best sushi in the world at Sakura....my mouth is watering just thinking about it

Growing up is fun to do.....

2010-06-03T08:45:00.003-05:00

I had to post about my little boy and the progress he is making. First, let me start out by saying that I always thought I would want him to stay a newborn, but I was wrong. Don't get me wrong, I cherish his newborn days, but they were rough to put it lightly! When a baby is first born, all they do is sleep for the first week (I would say). One day they wake up and Fussy Magee enters the world. Brayden had colic so he was fussier than most babies. Everyone kept telling us to just wait until he turns three months. Well, he is almost three months and he is so amazing! He is smiling, cooing, kicking his legs, SLEEPING, and just so much fun. If the third trimester wasn't so bad, I would ask the doctor to keep our next baby (not anytime soon guys) in there until he or she was 3 months. I have tears in my eyes at this moment just thinking about how adorable and fun he is. I can't wait for the years to come. Last night and this morning was so cute, because every time his daddy would talk to him he would smile. That is all it took was a simple "Hello Brayden" or "Whatcha doing fella" and he grinned from ear to ear. He get this energetic movement going with his feet and his arms that just cracks me up. His eyes get really big and he just lays on the bed kicking and cooing. We are so lucky and there is so much more joy in our lives now that he is here. Every moment with him is priceless!

On another note, Justin took Brayden to the beach without me....yes....without ME!!!!! I had to work on Memorial Day (yes I work at a college that doesn't observe this holiday for some odd reason) so the Thursday before the holiday I was talking to Justin and our convo went like this:

Justin: Gosh, I really wish we could go to the beach....I mean I could take Brayden and you could get a relaxing weekend to yourself

Me: Well, why don't you go (thinking he would never go for this)

Justin: Okay, great! Let me know by the end of today so I can let my family know we are coming

Me: Wait....wait.....no I mean I don't know if I want you to go with my baby. I was just saying that because I really didn't think you would go (thinking to myself oh gosh what have I done...also thinking the most horrific things about Brayden getting hurt...I am ridiculous at times)

I got off the phone with Justin and immediately called my mom. I just knew she would help me out with this situation. I knew she would say that it wasn't a good idea, and then I could call Justin back and tell him No way Jose. Well, I was wrong. My mom thought it was a great idea. In fact, she told me that I should feel lucky to have a husband that wants to spend time with his little boy and give me a break to relax. Ugh!!! I do feel lucky, but my baby is going to the beach for the first time without me. What if he gets burned? What if he miraculously starts walking (at 2 1/2 months) and walks into the ocean and drowns? What if a huge wave comes up and wipes out the whole beach? Yes, I know I am crazy!

Needless to say, he went to the beach and was perfectly fine. I cried a lot while he was gone, but I am so thankful that Justin got to spend time with him. He is a wonderful daddy, and I am the luckiest woman in the world! Justin said that he loves the water, which we kind of already figured that because he loves bath time. He said that he was crying and Justin put his feet in the water and he stopped. I had a list of rules that I sent with Justin, but the two main ones were (1) Do not burn him...in fact do not let him get an ounce of sun and (2) take tons of pictures. Here are some pictures for you to enjoy!

Blog Stalking

2010-05-19T14:23:00.004-05:00

So.... it has come to the point that I feel the need to discuss this topic. What is Blog Stalking you ask? Blog Stalking is when you read someone's blog without them knowing it. How do they not know? Well, in the blog world there is a gadget called the Blog List, which is where you are supposed to list the blogs you visit/read. I visit way more blogs than I list on my blog list, which means I am stalking the unlisted blogs.
I really don't know how it happens. It is almost crazy at times!!! I will go on a blog of one of my friends, and then all of a sudden I am on some random person's blog who I don't even know. It has gotten to the point where I know these people who I really don't know. I feel the need to visit their blogs daily in order to find out what is going on in their daily lives. I really think I have a problem. Some people I stalk are people I actually know, but I am not close to them. I even stalk people who I used to not like and now I love them (I know I am a crazy person). One day, I am going to get up enough nerve and post the blogs I visit on a daily basis.....that way my two readers (Abs and Meg) can join me in stalking them as well. Anyways, I had to get that off my chest....have a wonderful day!!!!

Brayden Smiling

2010-05-13T15:56:00.002-05:00

As most of you know, I went back to work this week. It has been okay. I miss Brayden so much. My grandma came to stay for the next two weeks because Justin went out of town. She is so great with Brayden. She talks to him all of the time. He is just now starting to smile. Above is a picture she took of him smiling. How precious is he?!?!?!

The Doggett Family Update

2010-05-12T13:22:00.007-05:00

It has been a long time since I have blogged. I am going to try to keep up with it, but we will see about that. Anyways, we have had a major change in our life so here goes nothing.

Finding out about our little miracle
One day in July of last year, I felt really funny all day. I went to sleep the night before around 9 and slept until 11 the next morning. I should have been well rested, but for some reason I still felt exhausted. I don't know what made me do this, but I decided to just take a pregnancy test. I did not even think I was pregnant, but had one and thought I would just use it up. I have been told most of my life by doctors that more than likely I will not be able to get pregnant without help from fertility drugs. To my amazement, I looked at the stick and I was pregnant. What?!?!?! I could not believe it. I called Justin and his reply was, "Are you kidding me?" I said, "Yes, I am kidding you...I just thought hey let me call Justin and play a joke on him....NO!!! I am not kidding you!" To be on the safe side, Justin made me take 2 more tests (we didn't want to get our hopes up for nothing). Both of those tests showed positive as well. Yay!!! We are pregnant....it was such an amazing feeling. We chose Dr. Kara Brantley to be our doctor...she is amazing! We had our first sonogram at 6 weeks and heard the heart beat and from that moment on, we were in love. The baby's due date was supposed to be March 29 (I will get to why I said supposed to be later on in this post).

1st Trimester
My first trimester was not too bad. I did not get morning sickness, but I was exhausted all of the time. When a pregnant woman tells you how exhausted she is, this is what she means....try to imagine taking 6 Benadryl and trying to function during the day. The first trimester is over before I even knew it.

2nd Trimester
During my second trimester, my exhaustion got better, but I started getting migraine headaches. The migraine headaches lead to me being very nauseated a lot! I ran to the bathroom so many times. I even threw up in my office....couldn't make it to the bathroom in time.
My favorite part about the 2nd trimester was finding out what we were having. We were so nervous that day. Our sonographer asked Justin what he thought we were having. Justin said, "A girl." The sonographer circled an object on the screen and asked, "Do girls have this?" He shouted, "It's a boy?!?!?!" We were thrilled. We couldn't believe it. We decided to name him Brayden, but Justin was in charge of the middle name. He wanted to keep it a secret. All I knew was that it was between Erik (Justin's middle name) or Everett (Justin's dad's, brother's, grandfather's, and so on down line middle name). By the 20th week, I was showing big time!

3rd Trimester
I thought the first trimester was exhausting, but I was very wrong. The third trimester is the worst trimester of all. I was a whale! I not only had gained 40 something pounds, but I was so swollen. By the third trimester, the only thing you can think of is when is this baby going to get here. I was constantly counting down the days. Rolling over in bed or walking down the hall took more effort than I was willing to give. To make matters worse, Brayden was sitting on my bladder so I had to get up every hour to use the restroom.
On March 4th, I had a doctor's appointment (beginning in March I was supposed to see the doctor once a week). That day my blood pressure was really high. They sent me down to the lab to get some blood work taken. The doctor decided that I needed to be admitted into the hospital. I was monitored and had to urinate in a bottle for 12 hours to determine how much protein was in my specimen. That night I was allowed to go home, but I had to return with the specimen the next day. On March 5th at 3:00 pm, the doctor called to tell me that I had preeclampsia and I needed to have Brayden early. The next week, Brayden was going to be 37 weeks so she said that would be a good time. She wanted me to come to the hospital on March 9th and I would be induced on March 10th.

The Big Day
Justin had to work on March 9th (it was busy season...poor thing) so I drove myself to the hospital and arrived at 3 pm. They admitted me and the fun (sarcasm) began. I can honestly say that one of the worst parts about labor and delivery (for me) was the IV. The nurse couldn't find my vein so she had to dig and dig and dig. I started crying because I thought if I can't handle this...how will I make it through tomorrow. They immediately start you on fluids to keep you hydrated and they continue those fluids until well after you have had the baby. My friend, Jamie, came to stay with me until Justin got off work. After Jamie got there, Dr. Brantley came in and inserted a balloon to help me dialate because at this point I had still not dialated or thinned out at all. She also gave me cervadil to help start the thinning process. I started having contractions. They were not too bad at first, but after so many they start to get very old. I asked for a pain reliever to help me sleep so they gave me Stadol. The only thing that medicine did was make me nauseous...it did not help me sleep at all.
Around 6 the next morning, the nurse came in to wake me, but she didn't have to do much awaking because I had not slept at all that night. She asked me if I wanted to get an enema and I chose to have one. It was not bad at all...I worried but I recommend it to anyone. She then isntructed me to take a shower and wash with this certain type of soap that prevents infections. After my bath, the nurse started me on pitocin. I was very nervous, because I thought I was going to immediately start having bad contractions. I was wrong. I just kept having the same ones from the night before. Dr. Brantley got there around 7:30. She checked me and discovered that I was 3.5 centimeters dialated. Woo hoo!!! Next, she broke my water around 8 am. I was nervous about this but it is not bad either. It is just very warm and wet. About 30 minutes after my water was broke, I felt it....my first bad contraction. I was fourth in line for an epidural. After five very bad contractions, I asked for Stadol. The stadol did not help so I don't know why I even bothered. In fact, all it did was make me very loopy. Finally, the doctor came in to give me my epidural. He made me lay in a fetal position and before I know it...I felt zero pain. It was not bad at all! A little before 10 am (yes 10:30 am...woo hoo not a long labor at all), the nurse checked me and I was at 8.5 centimeters. She said that it is time to push. I couldn't believe it. My mom was in labor for 23 hours and I have only been in labor for less than 3. I start pushing and around 11 she called Dr. Brantley down. By the time Dr. Brantley got there, Brayden had moved back down and my pushing went from being great to nonexistent. The funny part was that my nurses would say, "You are doing a great job....keep it up...." then they would look at each other (as if I couldn't hear) and say, "She is not even pushing." After 30 minutes of pushing, Dr. Brantley made the executive decision to CUT OFF my epidural. What? Cut it off? I panicked....I started begging her to just vacuum him out. I was so scared. Thankfully, she didn't listen to me about the vacuum thing. They turned off my epidural and the second I felt pain we started pushing. I pushed and within minutes Brayden was crowning. It was the worst feeling in the world at that point....then I find out I have to hold off on my pushing until Dr. Brantley could come down. When you don't have the epidural, you feel this extreme pressure and feeling of pushing....it is not a great feeling when you have to force yourself to not push. I was screaming telling them to hurry and that I can't hold it anymore....I have to push....I have to push....I can't hold it. I know this is graphic, but I was definitely feeling the ring of fire!!! Dr. Brantley finally arrived and one push later, my precious angel popped out. That was the best feeling of relief in the world. Brayden Everett Doggett born at 12:27 pm (only 4 hours and 27 minutes of labor). I remember being stitched up and hearing Justin say his middle name. I yelled, "Did you say Everett?"...it was so cool to finally know his full name.

My Gift from God
The first time I laid eyes on Brayden was amazing. He was so beautiful. He had looked at me and my heart melted. I could not believe that Justin and I had made him. It is an instant love and bond that no other person can share. He is the apple of my eye. I can't imagine my life without him it. Being a mommy is the best gift God could ever give someone. I love the way he smells, the sucking noise he makes with his mouth, the way his mouth moves when he has his paci in it, his eyes, his feet and toes, the way his hair fuzzes up in the back, his fingers espcecially his thumb, his smile, his lips, his kissable chubby cheeks, his little booty, the way he looks when I turn him over during bath time (so funny), how he makes every outfit the cutest outfit in the world, the way his eyes slowly open and close while he is feeding, okay I love everything about him to say the least.

My Husband
Justin has been the most amazing husband and daddy through this whole experience. While I was on maternity leave, he took turns with me getting up with Brayden. I was off work and could take naps during the day and he couldn't but he chose to still help me. Brayden got colic at 3 weeks old. He would start fussing around 5 pm everyday and then around 9 pm he started his blood curtaling cry and did not stop until 1:30 or 2 am. This can make a sane person go insane. When I would be at my wits end, Justin was always there for me. He would take Brayden and calm me down. I cried a lot and Justin would always make me feel better. I couldn't have done this without him. This experience has brought us so close. My favorite thing in the world is to watch Justin hold Brayden. You can see the love and amazement in his eyes. Many times Justin is the only one that can get Brayden to calm down. This makes Justin very happy. There is nothing in the world that is more precious than a daddy and his little boy.

Well that pretty much wraps things up. Nowadays, we are busy cleaning bottles, changing diapers, and enjoying watching Brayden change before our eyes. He is two months now and he has started to smile a lot. I can't wait to see what the future holds for our little family.

You say tomato and I say.....

2009-06-19T15:01:00.002-05:00

I thought I would share with y'all our tomatoes!!! They are so yummy! I am very proud of us for being able to grow so many...especially because this is our first time. Funny story about our very first tomato....Justin picked the first tomato and it was not quite ripe enough. He placed it in the window in our green room. Well, for those of you who do not know, this room is Belle's favorite room. The sun shines through the window to make it warm and cozy for our little angel....not to mention the fact that the window is short enough for her to view the neighbors outside. Anyways, getting back on track...Justin and I let Belle roam in the mornings while we stay in bed. Usually, she will roam for a few minutes, then come and whine for us to let her back in the bed. This particular morning, she did not whine at all. Why you ask....well our little angel got a hold of mommy's first tomato and ate half of it. Now, every time I eat a tomato, she is in my face sniffing and begging for a slice. She is so cute and such a healthy eater!!!

Softball Tournament

2009-06-07T19:02:00.003-05:00

Justin's softball team played in a tournament this weekend and won!!! They played five games and won all of them. Here are some softball pictures to enjoy (these were taken by a photographer).

More New Furniture

2009-06-07T18:50:00.002-05:00

Our ottoman came in on Wednesday! It was so big that we had to do some rearranging in our living room. We really like the new look of our living room. We also put a table in the green room to make it even more comfy.

Our New Furniture

2009-06-02T02:03:00.001-05:00

Recent Pictures of Belle

2009-06-02T02:01:00.002-05:00

The Doggett Household Update

2009-06-02T00:25:00.004-05:00

It has been a while since I posted, but at least it is not as long as last time. So many great things have happened to us over the past few weeks. FYI: These are in order of occurrence. First, we bought a new car! It is a 2009 Silver Altima, and it is so nice. It has bluetooth capabilities, XM radio, six-disc CD changer, dual air control, leather/heated seats....okay you get the idea. It is the nicest car we both have ever owned. Although this is our car, I conveniently get to take it to work all of the time.

The next exciting thing that occurred is that I got recommended by a coworker to join a distance learning training committee. This committee is kind of like having a part-time job, because I get paid for all of the work I do....So what exactly will I be doing?!?!? I will be creating online training classes using HTML and CSS code to train online instructors on how to teach online courses effectively for Mississippi State Board for Community and Junior Colleges. State Board controls all of the community and junior colleges around the state of Mississippi so this is a great opportunity. In addition to creating the courses, I will also be facilitating some of the courses. I will be working with some great people and this will be great experience in my line of work.

Also, we have been wanting to get new living room furniture for a while, but we wanted to wait for the right opportunity/deal. Miskelly's had a Memorial Day sale so we decided to go see what they have. (Side note: If you want to see our previous furniture, go to past blogs to view pictures......and of course the new ones are up above) We ended up finding a couch, love seat, ottoman, and recliner. We decided to purchase all of them, and make these purchases be our anniversary gift to each other. We have a unique living room with too many entrance ways so our love seat ended up not fitting. This was no big deal, because we needed something for our "Christmas Tree Room/Green Room/Belle's Sunroom." The furniture looks so good, and our home is finally complete! The ottoman was on backorder so we should be getting it by the end of this month. Justin's recliner may not be the prettiest piece of furniture (I think it looks like a gorilla's hand), but it sure is the most comfortable chair we have ever seen. Belle even loves it...when I can't find her, I look at her daddy's chair first and 9 times out of 10 she is curled up on it.

Last but certainly not the least, Justin passed the CPA exam!!!! He got his final test score in on Saturday and we were both thrilled! He passed the exam within the given timeline, which means instead of him having to pay money and retake exams he already passed....he now gets a bonus, pay increase, possible promotion, the thrill of not having to study ever again, and CPA after his name.....Justin Erik Doggett, CPA....it looks so good next to his name!!! I am so proud of him! We were already planning on grilling out, but after the great news, we decided to add a few more mouths to feed. We fed Mike, Sarah, Chris, Brittany, and Josh. Our menu consisted of barbecue chicken and pork chops, sweet potatoe casserole, corn casserole, baked beans, and garlic bread. We ate, congregated, the guys watched basketball, then Mike, Sarah, Justin, and I played Guitar Hero. Justin was on drums, Mike and Sarah switched between guitar and bass, and I sang (surprisingly...no windows broke while I sang).

Some minor/fun things that are going on in our life.....Justin's obsession with Lost has finally convinced me to start watching it and now I am obsessed (hence why I am still up blogging at this hour), Justin is playing in a softball tournament this Saturday (this really is neither minor or fun but Justin had tendenitous in his foot but it is starting to get better), the girls in our small group have started having "Girl's Night" so the girls came over our house tonight to watch the Bachelorette, and Belle is just as cute as ever...she is growing up right before our eyes and she loves being outside. She got a kiss from a huge black lab (Jack, Mike and Sarah's dog) and she had a playdate with Annabelle (W.L. and Candace's 8 week old dachsund).

Justin and I were talking last night, and we feel that God has been so great to us over the past year. Without him in our life, we would be lost. Things just keep getting better for us. Just when we get an opportunity to be worried about something, he gives us a reason not to worry. Well....I am headed to bed so goodnight and have a wonderful week!

GSJ

2009-05-14T22:01:00.002-05:00

This Sunday my little brother will graduate from high school. This upcoming event has brought back some great memories of watching him grow up. Therefore, I decided to blog about some of the memories so they can be shared with others.

Before Greg was even conceived, I would pray every night for a little brother. I did not want a sister...just a baby brother. My prayers were answered on October 4th, 1990, when my mom gave birth to Gregory Stuart Jones. Gregory came from a Tennessee football player (my dad's choice) and Stuart came from the doctor who delivered both Greg and me, Dr. Mary Stuart. He was such a precious baby! He was jaundice so the doctor told mom to put him in INDIRECT sunlight. Well, mom thought she said in DIRECT sunlight so Greg got his first sunburn at a few days old. I remember being told that I could only hold my brother sitting down. This upset me, because I wanted to hold him standing up and walk around with him. With that said, every time Greg laid down for a nap, I would sneak into his room and hold him standing up. He was such a happy baby and he loved his pappy and blanky.

As he got a little bit older, he started acquiring some unique qualities. One of these unique qualities was his love for vacuum cleaners. Yes, you heard me right....vacuum cleaners. If we went to someone's house, his first question was if he could see their vacuum cleaner. He even got two vacuum cleaners from Santa one year. He couldn't pronounce his "SM" sounds so the word "smoke" sounded like "foke" when he said it and "smart" was "fart" to him. He loved riding in the car! When he got into the car he wouldn't make a sound. He would just look at all of the scenery and take everything in his little head. When it came time for soccer and T-ball, Greg was more interested in day dreaming or pulling up his socks than he was actually playing sports.

Now, my little brother is growing up, and while one chapter in his life is closing, another one is opening. He is graduating with great grades even though he had a full time job all through high school. He has a great head on his shoulders, and is an amazing chef....I hope he opens his own restaurant one day. I am so proud of him...he has accomplished so much in such a short time. I will end with a list of things about my thoughts of my brother.

Moments when Greg made me:

Proud- when he got his Eagle Scout. That is a major honor and I am so proud of him for staying with it and accomplishing this great goal.
Happy- when he came to visit me at my new house in Brandon. He did not get to stay as long as we would've hoped but he is coming back!!!
Impressed- when he owned his own business and when he cooked for mom and me
Feel loved- when he cried about me getting married and leaving for our home for good
Sad- when he left my house in Brandon
Mad :-)- when he is being stubborn
Honored- when he was in my wedding...he had some major roles and he did them so well.
Helpful- when he wanted me to help him learn his vocabulary words for a final exam in English
Laugh- when we mess with Dave....especially when he starts telling his stories and Greg acts like he is falling asleep
Scared- a few nights before my wedding when we went to Hart's Bridge Road
Relaxed/Content- riding in his truck listening to music
Stressed- when he backed into my father-in-law's truck at Thanksgiving
Blessed- when I think of how great of a brother I have and how blessed to have so many great memories together.

I love you, Gregory Stuart! Congratulations on graduating!

A Few more pictures from Friday night!!!

2009-05-06T03:52:00.002-05:00

Sorry it has been so long....

2009-05-06T03:15:00.005-05:00

I haven't posted in forever, because I could not think of anything interesting to blog about. I pondered over what to blog about tonight and a couple of things came to my mind.
This weekend was amazing! Justin and I came to the decision that we are always on the go and never stop to just hangout with each other. This sparked our weekend plans. This past weekend we had a date weekend. We wanted to relax and not plan too many things. Justin and I are like two peas in a pod when it comes to liking sleep and watching TV shows. Therefore, we got caught up on some much needed sleep and watched TV shows.
My favorite part of the weekend was on Saturday when we went on a picnic date. We chose to go to a park near the reservoir. The weather was perfect, and we ended up having an amazing time. Belle went with us (of course), and she had a great time as well. She is our little vacuum cleaner, because she eats everything she can get in her mouth! She ate two yucky cigarette butts and someone's old piece of chewed gum.
Also Friday night, we attended Hinds Community College's employee appreciation banquet. I was excited that Justin got to hangout with my coworkers and get to know them better. We had a good time, and the food was delicious!
This weekend, we are going to Shubuta for a wedding and for Mother's Day. The weekend after that we are attending another wedding, then we will be attending my brother's graduation (tear).
We are loving our church and our small group. We both feel like Pinelake is the perfect fit for us. Our church and small group just finished the Jaded series and we are now beginning the Relationship series. I am very excited about the Relationship series! Our small group is so supportive and every Sunday night we get closer and closer. God has been so great to us and he continues to do wonderful things for our church and our relationship as husband and wife.
Last but not least, Belle is as cute as ever! She has gotten so much longer. I have a confession to make....every dog chooses the alpha of the house, which means that dogs love both owners but they usually have one they favor the most. Well, Belle's alpha is her daddy and not her mommy. She is crazy about him and it is so cute. If Justin is anything like he is with Belle when we have children, I will be the luckiest wife ever. He is so good with Belle and even taught her how to rollover last month. She always sleeps on Justin's chest or as close as she possibly can to him. Sometimes I wonder how she doesn't get smothered by him because she is so close. Justin is already not a morning person, but he is even worse since Belle came along. We can't wait for summer, because she loves going outside and getting fresh air. She is just adorable (as usual).
Well, that is all for now....I will try not to wait as long next time! Have a great week!

Our New Guest Room

2009-01-17T01:58:00.002-06:00

Since I have not posted in a while to our blog, I decided to post pictures of our new and improved guest room. When we moved into our new home, we just used my stuff from my apartment in the guest room. I had that stuff for about five years, and I was getting tired of that look. I really like chocolate brown and blue so I decided to search for things that fit that description. We are on a budget so I did not want to spend a lot of money on the room (especially since my apartment stuff was in perfect condition). I got our comforter for only $35, the drapes for $24, and the accents were either ones we already had or ones we bought with our Pier One gift cards we got for Christmas. I love the finished product, and I really love the fact that it did not cost much money at all.

Christmas at the Doggett's Home

2008-12-07T20:08:00.002-06:00

Our home is finally ready for Christmas! Justin grew up with a real Christmas tree and I always had an artificial tree. We both decided to get a real tree this year and buy an artificial one after Christmas. We went to a local Farmer's Market and picked out a gorgeous 9 foot Fraser Fir Christmas tree. I enjoyed the experience so much that we have decided to continue this tradition every year. Next year, we are going to go to the actual farm and cut down our tree. Next, we got decorations and began decorating the tree and mantle. We decided to take it easy on the decorations this year, because we were starting from scratch. You can't see Justin's stocking very well but it has his name on it like mine. How have you decorated your home? Post a comment about Christmas or to just give us a Christmas wish. Merry Christmas!

Callie "Belle" Doggett

2008-11-27T01:14:00.006-06:00

The newest member of our little family is a precious Yorkshire Terrier named Callie Belle Doggett. We call her Belle, and she is our pride and joy. We bought her from a breeder in Louisville, MS. Belle stole Justin's heart and that is why we chose her out of the other Yorkies. She loves to play and watching her run is the cutest thing in the world. Everyone who meets her just adores her. We took her to my parents house for Thanksgiving and my mom and brother were depressed when she left. Now, we can't wait to pick things out to put in her stocking for Christmas. Her stocking is in the shape of a bone...so cute!
Belle's Favorites:

Place to sleep- as close as she can to her daddy
Toy- her bear and pig
Place to play- when we first got her she loved playing under our table but now she plays all over the place
Food- her treats called Nature's Recipe
Moment- when her mommy and daddy come home to play with her
Place to visit- her grandma's house (she loved it there)

Extraordinary Women Conference

2008-11-09T19:53:00.002-06:00

As most of you know, I attended the Extraordinary Women Conference at First Baptist Church in Jackson, MS. The conference was amazing! Over 3,300 women came from all over Mississippi to worship God.
Friday night kicked off at seven with a praise band then Chonda Pierce spoke. Chonda is a Christian comedian that opened our eyes to stop judging others and start helping others in need.
Saturday we were up early and at the church before 8 in the morning to see the Children of the World Choir. They were adorable! These children along with millions of others are orphaned due to AIDs. Only 14% of Christians give money to help these children, because of the stigma AIDs has in this world. This was very sad to hear especially because these children did not choose to be orphaned. Then the praise band opened up with several songs. The next speaker, Karen Kingsbury is a best-selling author who had everyone in tears when she read her book "Let Me Hold You Longer." The next speaker was Angela Thomas and she was very inspirational. Thelma Wells was the last speaker. She was great and spoke on how God is the way to success. Finally, Mark Schultz gave an amazing concert. He is a great performer and in Abbi's words, "He is very humble." My favorite song he sang is "I Am." I am posting the lyrics below. Have a great week!

I Am
I AM the Maker of the Heavens
I AM the Bright and Morning Star
I AM the Breath of all Creation
Who always was
And is to come

I AM the One who walked on water
I AM the One who calmed the seas
I AM the Miracles and Wonders
So come and see
And follow Me
You will know

chorus:
I AM the Fount of Living Water
The Risen Son of Man
The Healer of the Broken
And when you cry
I AM your Savior and Redeemer
Who bore the sins of man
The Author and Perfecter
Beginning and the End
I AM

I AM the Spirit deep inside you
I AM the Word upon your heart
I AM the One who even knew you
Before your birth
Before you were

chorus

Bridge:
Before the Earth (I AM)
The universe (I AM)
In every heart (I AM)
Oh, where you are (I AM)
The Lord of Lords (I AM)
The King of Kings (I AM)
The Holy Lamb (I AM)
Above all things

chorus:
Yes, I AM Almighty God, your Father
The Risen Son of Man
The Healer of the Broken
And when you cry
I AM Your Savior and Redeemer
Who bore the sins of man
The Author and Perfecter
Beginning and the End
I AM

Justin's Birthday and more

2008-11-04T14:15:00.003-06:00

Yesterday was a special day because it was Justin's 26th birthday! I asked him if he wanted me to cook dinner or go out to eat. Since he had been craving Chili's chips and salsa, he decided to go there. We invited Mike and Sarah our friends/neighbors. Justin got a chicken sandwich with corn on the cob and I got a Caesar chicken pita with french fries. Oh and of course, our favorite, the bottomless chips and salsa. We had a great time! After dinner, Justin and I went home and I watched him play PlayStation 3. Justin's birthday gifts included a black State UnderArmour polo, a State leather wallet, softball pants, blue tooth earpiece for the PlayStation, $100, two pairs of pants, and three work shirts. He was probably the least excited about my gift but he needed more work clothes so that is what he got.
Other news that is going on in our life:

We got an alarm system
I passed my comps...Wow, what a relief!
Justin is going home this weekend
I am attending the Extraordinary Women Christian conference this weekend

Have a great week!

Our Jack-O-Lanterns

2008-10-28T22:44:00.001-05:00

Carving Pumpkins

2008-10-28T22:30:00.002-05:00

We decided to carve pumpkins tonight! I was very excited because Justin had never carved one. I went to Kroger and bought two good size ones. I wanted to make this activity something fun for the both of us! Therefore, when Justin had the idea to make his an MSU themed one, I was thrilled with his great idea. He was nervous about his drawing skills so he asked me to draw his design for him. I decided to make mine a traditional Jack-O-Lantern.
When we finished, he was unsure about his showing up, but I told him to be patient and he will see outside. We went outside and lit our candles and the smile on his face was priceless. He was so excited about our pumpkins and told me that he had a lot of fun. We both stood outside hoping that one of our neighbors or someone would drive by and admire our creations. We want to continue this tradition and one day make Jack-O-Lanterns with our children.
Well, that is all for now! We hope you all enjoy our pictures. Happy Halloween!

Our Bedroom and Bathroom

2008-10-28T22:28:00.002-05:00

Our Living Room

2008-10-28T22:24:00.002-05:00

Justin wanted to make sure that I got a picture of our (his) TV. We get more compliments on that TV!

Guest Bedroom and Guest Bathroom

2008-10-28T22:22:00.002-05:00

Our Office/State Room, Front Entrance, and Green/Christmas Tree Room

2008-10-28T22:18:00.004-05:00

Our Kitchen

2008-10-28T22:09:00.002-05:00

Our New Home

2008-10-28T22:05:00.002-05:00

My Family's Visit to our new home

2008-10-28T15:18:00.002-05:00

The Five Love Languages

2008-10-28T14:19:00.002-05:00

When we first got married, Abbi and Joel Oakley gave us Gary Chapman's book The Five Love Languages. Let me just say that this book changed our lives forever. If you are dating, married, a mother, father, sister, brother, or have any kind of relationship/friendship, we recommend this book to you.
The book explains how every person male or female speaks a different love language. In order for us to communicate and carry a relationship, we must understand and learn how to speak each others love language. I will admit that at first we were skeptical of this books impact. We were unsure of what this book could do for a newly married couple. This book is usually the last resource a couple turns to before divorce. However, we both gave it a chance and ended up loving every page the book had to offer. I was worried about Justin not enjoying it, but he liked it just as much if not more than I did. Gary Chapman puts the words in more of a male perspective so the male reader can relate to the material. Women can relate to the material because we are concerned with being loved and feeling loved, whereas men primarily want to be respected.
If you want a great book to read or know of a couple getting married, we recommend this book! If you have read this book or any other great book, please feel free to add comments to this post. Now, we are reading Men are Like Waffles, Women are Like Spaghetti by Bill and Pam Farrel.

Pictures of our nieces, nephews, and Justin playing softball

2008-10-28T09:30:00.005-05:00

Weekend and Our Sunday Night Visitor

2008-10-28T08:58:00.004-05:00

Friday night, we spent a quiet evening at home. Justin had just finished his third section of the CPA and was exhausted from studying all week. I made my homemade spaghetti and we watched Criminal Minds. Our niece, Anna K. was celebrating her first birthday so I made a jalepeno and corn dip that night to take to her birthday/tailgate.
Saturday morning, we got up and decided to grab Chick-Fil-A before heading to Starkville. We wer late for the birthday because we forgot to grab Anna K's birthday gift. The birthday/tailgate went well. We got to see our family, Mrs. Fredna, Mr. Teddy, Kimberly, Bob, Jason, Laura, and our nephews and nieces. For halloween, Conner is going to be a skeleton, Owen is going to be the tin man, Harper is going to be a Southern Bell, and I am not sure about Anna K. I will try to get pictures and post them! The game was cold and we played terrible as usual! I just wish one year we would have a good team. When we got home, Justin read the sports forums about Croom. I think he responded to one but I am not sure. He is really disapointed in State this year, and he was not the same at the game on Saturday. He just was not as in to it as he used to be. For his sake, I hope something changes with our team!
On Sunday night, I was walking by our big window and spotted a mysterious car outside our home. I got Justin to pause his game of PlayStation 3 to see if his 20-20 vision could get the car's license plate number. I flipped on our front porch light and the vehicle started and the driver drove off to the back of our neighborhood. If anyone has been to our home, they know that this traveler was not lost and should not have been outside our home. We live in the back of our neighborhood and it takes some searching to find our home. We walked to our police officer neighbor's home to report the crazy car. He called it in and then told us that it is rumored that the previous owners were drug dealers.
Wow! Are we not the luckiest people ever?!?! Anyways, I called ADT to get an estimate on an alarm system. Hopefully, the mysterious car got the hint and will not be back. The police officer said the person probably saw my fall festive decorations and was scoping out our home to determine if the druggies still lived there or if someone else resides there. Thank the Lord for fall decor! I knew I loved my fall flag for more reasons than the fact that it is just beautiful!