I am not a Thrifter.

Growing up, I never really went to thrift stores much. We lived in a small town- and when we went to the "city", we would occasionally stop at the local Salvation Army.
My mom would take my sister and I there while Dad took the boys to the gun stores.

And then I married into a family of Thrifters.
My mother in law Linda, and my sister in law Roxie, truly have a talent for it.
They can spend a whole day jumping from store to store, finding toys, shoes, purses and cute clothes.

Every time Roxie is home, we plan to have a Thrift store day. I tell myself-maybe this time I will be good at it and I will find something worth my trip.

It never works.
I do not have the patience to dig through racks and racks of jumbled up clothes.
Inevitably when I do find something that I MIGHT be interested in, its size super-duper-small-would-fit-a-7-year-old.
And the smell. oh the smell.
So, I skip over the clothes, and check out the shoes.
"Oh! here's a cute pair"-- cannot talk myself into putting them on.
WHO KNOWS whose foot has been in there! ew.
so I walk over to the kids clothes.
"Oh, this could be cute..."--STAIN.
"Oh! this...WHAT IS THIS?!"
ugh
So then I head to the books. I normally have some luck in the books.
(because you can never have too many books. especially children's books!!)
So after picking up a few books..
I browse the toys.
Sometimes I find something that is worth taking home and cleaning.
Just the other day I found Kendra a Magna Doodle that she LOVES.

like this one

And then I look over the furniture and the dishes and such.

Every once in a while I'll find something that I can put to use.

But I am not a Thrifter.

(turns out, I get that from my mom)

I wish that I was.

I wish I had the talent that Roxie and Linda do!

but I don't.

and I'm okay with that.

because they find the cute stuff for me.

and on our Thrift days, we have a great time. Filled with Sonic drinks, and lots of laughs.

Kendra enjoying Sonic on our latest Thrift Store Day.









Did I ruin my daughter?

After I had Kendra, I had 6 weeks of maternity leave before returning to work full time.

I have always wanted to be a stay at home mom, and it's still a goal that we are working towards. But its not something we can do right now.

So in my new mama mind, it felt like I had 6 weeks to give my new baby girl my undivided attention.

We did lots of cuddling and snuggling... and didn't leave the house much.

When she napped I would cuddle her and watch Netflix.

Now I have a 15 month old, that fights with sleep, and does best when she's snuggling with mommy and daddy. (I can't say that I blame her... I don't like sleeping alone.)

Her schedule (I use the word schedule very loosely) normally goes as follows:

9:30 nurse to sleep

10:00 lay her in her crib
and on a good night, she wakes up at 3:00 am fussing..
normally I can pick her up and pop a paci in her mouth and she will go right to sleep.

on a bad night, she's up 2 or 3 times and I give up trying to put her in her crib and just bring her to bed with me.

Did I ruin her by holding her so much in the first 6 weeks of her life?

Will she ever be a good sleeper?

Is this just a phase?

I don't regret all those nap time snuggles in her first 6 weeks..

I would probably do it again.

Who am I kidding... I still cuddle her during naps sometimes..

 

Do any of you have babies that aren't good sleepers? What are your tips and tricks?

 

 

That is all.

25 Things I love about my Husband

In honor of Justin's 25th birthday :)


1. He makes me laugh- every day.

2. He is patient.

3. He is the best daddy to Kendra.

4. He works hard.

5. He texts me through out the day and tells me that he loves me.

6. He is level-headed when I am a hot mess.

7. When I'm running short on sleep and having a hard time getting up in the mornings- he sends me a text to wake me up.

8. He can cook/bake/grill and it is always delicious.

9. He always wears Wranglers. (I have only seen him in something besides Wranglers twice)

10. He would give the shirt off his back..

11. He reminds me to pay bills. lol

12. He is respectful.

13. He is hardheaded. (sometimes I hate that... lol)

14. He loves to fish/hunt.

15. He loves Andy Griffith.

16. He collects ball caps.

17. He builds things for me. (Kendra's crib..shelves for my kitchen..etc.)

18. He makes sacrifices for his family.

19. He eats my cooking. lol

20. He is willing to sell his truck to get a family car/truck.

21. He motivates me to be better.

22. He makes sure to faithfully kiss me when he leaves in the morning, and when he gets home at night.      

23. He puts Jesus first
.
24. He is my best friend.

25. He loves me.

What's in my purse

I know the 'What's in my purse" thing, is so last year, but I decided to go ahead!

My bag is a Jennifer Lopez from Kohls. Love it! you can fit a bunch of stuff in it! lol

 contents include: wallet, baby wipes, coupn booklet, sunglasses, glasses case,

Thank you cards from my baby shower in December (oops)

calandar, Promise New Testament

Lotion, perfume, meds,

3 pens, toy car, chapstick, 3 sets of keys?!

bobbi pins, watch...

(see it can hold alot!)

and this is after I cleaned out a stack of recipts, a diaper (one size too small)

gum wrappers (Justin thinks my purse is for trash)

and expired coupons!

Organized! yay!

Lately

So once again I have not been blogging like I want too!
Today, due to some sort of eye infection/allergic reaction, I came home from work and spent a much needed day with my baby girl, resting my eyes in my dark house!

Kendra is growing so fast. It amazes me to watch her learn and discover new things!

Loves her swing! (thank you Kristy!)

she now sleeps in her own room! like a big girl!

she makes lots of silly faces

tonight at her bedtime, she got fussy and cranky like she does, so I tried rocking her with her pacifier, nursing her, cuddling her, everything just made her mad. so, I laid her in her crib, gave her a pacifier, and went to our room.

10 minutes later I hadn't heard a peep, so I went to check on her, and this is what I found.

her blanket pulled up over her head and sound asleep!

this is a first for her, but she can make it a habit if she wants too!!

I snapped this last night. lol

well my little family is sleeping, so I suppose I should join them! night all!

White liver...?

People have alot of opinions/advice/ideas/old wives tales when it comes to babies.
my favorite things I've heard so far...

"Letting her stand up on your lap will make her bow-legged"

             I'm prettty sure that my mother, and tons of other mothers have stood their babies on their laps ,but yet I don't meet too many bow-legged people...

"Letting her stand on your lap will make her have a hunch-back"

once again... I don't know any hunch backs

"swinging your baby, will make her liver white, and then-when she's a teenager she will get on your nerves."

HUH?!!??

what is your favorite tidbit of advice you've been told about your baby?