Murder Takes Time

You might not know this about me, but I sorta, kinda, love a good mob story.

I know. I don't fit the image, do I? But I'll let you in on a little known secret: When my bestie lived right off the University of Tennessee's campus, we'd sit for hours in her tiny apartment ordering Japanese food to be delivered, never moving from the couch so that we could watch all of the Godfather movies in quick succession. Then we quoted misquoted them for days and talked about how gangster we were are.

I know you all believe that last statement.

Anyway, I do enjoy reading and watching movies about this culture that is obviously so opposite and foreign from my own.

You can imagine how excited I was when I got the opportunity to read and review a mob story for this very blog. Murder Takes Time by Giacomo Giammatteo follows the lives of friends growing up in Sicilian and Italian families, immersed in a culture that will inevitably push them toward the mob and a lot of trouble. The story tests the lines of friendship, family, honor, love, and work. It forces the reader to choose a side with each character- is this person good or bad? Actions aside, I was constantly evaluating whether this person or that person was good at heart. It didn't matter how many people they had killed.

A good story does that. It takes you away from your normal thought process and presents you with a scenario that you normally wouldn't consider. I love that about reading!

There are a lot of characters in this book. Most have nicknames like the Rat, the Suit, Bugs, and more. At times, the story was confusing for me as so many names were thrown around. I got confused, but that was no surprise to me as typical in-depth mob stories usually have elaborate casts and intricate, numerous relationships. As I kept reading, the characters started to become easier to identify. Don't mistake this for a "typical mob story", though. It's surprisingly loving in some chapters and shockingly disturbing in others. The author knew no bounds.

When I got about half-way through the book, it really started to pick up and I was hooked. I didn't want to put it down, but I often had to in order to re-charge my Kindle...or, ya know, actually parent my child.

If you like mob stories, add this one to your reading list. It could also be considered a psychological thriller, too (which is another favorite genre of mine). Woven into this story of friendship and honor is a love story as well. I recommend it, for sure!

Warning: This book will make you want Italian food for days (if you don't lose your appetite, that is).

More Info:

Author Bio

(Disclosure: I was provided this book and compensation to review. That being said, my opinion is completely original.)

Giveaway Winners!

Thank you to all who entered! Congrats Brittany and Chantal. When you get a chance, email or message me your address and I'll make sure your prizes make their way to you!
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* Also, thanks to everyone who has been checking up on us in the wake of Hurricane Isaac approaching. We're doing well. I'm nervous, but I'm hoping we're far enough north to not be in too much trouble. I'll check in as I can! I hope to be blogging again tomorrow. I want to fill you all in about my mom's visit and hopefully catch up on reading some of your blogs. I took a few days off!

XO,

BumpDate: 25 Weeks

Baby is the size of: a rutabaga?

I feel confident that Baby A looks much cuter, though.

Symptoms: Really, I've felt pretty good the past few weeks. The only thing that I've noticed is that I get out of breath a lot.

Cravings: tomato+avocado, chocolate (always!)

Weight: 132 (according to my scale) I've lost weight which is odd because I certainly don't look like it. I gained pretty quickly with this baby, though so maybe it's just starting to even out.

Sleep: I've been sleeping a little better- when big brother lets me, that is.

Movement: A couple of days I saw him move my belly from the outside. It was the first time. Little A moves frequently!

Stretch Marks: Nope

Sex: It's a boy!

Looking Forward To: Exercising and feeling fit again (and looking it, too!)

How's Big Bro? Well, what day is it? Because some days, he's a perfect angel. Others, he is thrashing and bucking like a crazy toddler. I'm not sure where I went wrong, but this child is spoiled! Bless his little bones. I shouldn't rag on him, though. Apparently, cutting a bunch of teeth at once is tough stuff. Otherwise, he's growing and thriving! Finally, he is in the 20th percentile for weight. I'm so proud.

And just in case you forgot what my face looks like...

It's:

*tired from chasing after sweet boy #1

*sad that my mom left on a jet plane

*SCARED of this hurricane headed our way

Other than that, all is well in Mrs. K and Captain J's world.

Over and out.

Giveaway Opportunity!

Happy Friday, Friends. I can't stay to chat. My mom is in town! Here's Baby K waiting patiently to pick up his YaYa this morning.

Cute little bedhead.

Anyway, I wanted to drop a few lines to tell you about a giveaway opportunity. There's jewelry up for grabs as well as nail polish and ad space and other goodies you will want to take advantage of. Best part? Low entries right now! Go here to enter and win!

Sweet Little Lies

Creepy K here-

Coming at you on this lovely Thursday afternoon to teach you an important lesson in comparing. Often bloggers are thought of as people others compare their lives to. So, you subscribe to 589 blogs and not a single one of them show the outtakes of the pictures that weren't chosen to be broadcasted to the world? Well, it's not like that around here (obviously, judging by my creepy photo above) which is still edited, by the way. I have an addiction to PicMonkey.

I really had a swell day. I did. Baby K woke up at 0830 and it was glorious. I slept until 8, got up, had breakfast and read my daily devotional before he started to stir. It was absolutely fantastic and a welcome change. I even got to get ready for the day which inspired this post, sort of. Ya see, as I was tediously putting on my face and choosing an outfit, I thought to myself-

Maybe I'll do an outfit post today.

#ootd, if you will.

You know, because people are dying to know what I wore today.

Anyway, as I was getting ready I texted my pal to see if she'd like to meet up for coffee or lunch because I couldn't waste a good outfit. Just kidding. I really wanted to see her!

This is the point where I'd like to say, I had never worn the shirt I decided upon. It just arrived in the mail last week. 

So, I attempted to fix my hair, but it was doing this really weird thing so I gave up. Then I got dressed (for the wrong season) and packed up little man in the car to head to the store and then out to eat with said dear friend. 

Just to show you that things are not always as they seem, I decided to show you the A, B, C's of why I'll never be that blogger that has it all together-

Exhibit A: That button, that precise button the arrow is pointing to came undone during our Walmart trip and I didn't notice until I got back out to the car. Awesome. Oh, but it gets worse. As we were out to eat, the button strikes again and it collaborates with the ONE BELOW IT and they both laugh at me while my pretty black bra is out for all the world to see and my shirt is completely unbuttoned. I really don't know when I'll learn to not buy button up shirts. They just don't work for me.

Exhibit B: I was going to show you my growing belly bump so you could tell me sweet little lies like, "Oh, you look great!" But, clearly this picture shows the truth. This outfit I was so excited to wear looks more like a moomoo. I barely look pregnant in it, just oddly overweight in my middle.

Exhibit C: I just missed the mark with this whole outfit. It's 85 degrees in Louisiana. Leggings are not your friend. In addition, instead of looking fun, relaxed and stylish, I came out looking like a hot mess. Weird hair. Shirt that can't control the girls. Leggings that look like I should be going for a run and working off my massive middle instead of stuffing a cheeseburger down my face as my child crawls around the dirty floor of a restaurant throwing everything he can get his hands on.

Are these things you want in your life? No, I don't think they are.

So, next time you're reading your favorite blogs and thinking you just don't measure up, remember me. Come back to this post and re-read. The blogging world is full of sweet little lies and I can't speak for all of us, but most of my days look a lot more like the outtakes!

But I'll take these outtakes on most days!

Today was beautiful in its own little way.

If You Could Step Into My Head

I know if I write today, it will be too personal. Yet here I am, typing, looking for something to fill my time besides cleaning up toys and washing dishes. I feel uninspired. Minutes ago, I opened the notes I've collected for the personal memoir I'm writing. I don't know if it's something anyone else will ever read, but I want it for myself. I want to finish for my family. Wouldn't it be neat for my boys to have the story of how their parents met to read when I'm long gone? It's just this passion of mine that has taken a backseat to life.

As I said, I opened the book notes to write a little more but it didn't take long for Baby K to crawl over to me, pull himself up, and begin gnawing on my leg. I don't know how anyone works from home with children. Kudos to you. I've tried. I try to write, but I only manage the words on this blog. It's because I can just hit publish and it doesn't matter if I end my sentences in prepositions because this space is just my voice.

I search for acceptance and a feeling of productivity in other ways, too. It's no secret that I struggle with  that nagging feeling that I don't contribute enough to my family. It's amazing what a paycheck- a visual example of work well done- will do for my mood. But how do I force myself to recognize value in saving money? In taking care of the household? In raising my young son?

I enjoy cloth diapering because I know how much money it saves us every month. Recently, I started making cloth diapers in order to save even more money, but even as I accomplish these tasks it doesn't feel like enough. When I clean the kitchen for the zillionth time, it's only a chore. I don't strap on an apron and a smile and think about how I'm taking care of my growing family.

What does it take to make these things feel more important to my life?

I love that I get to stay at home with my boy. I can't imagine leaving him with someone else, only to get him back in time for bed. It would break my heart. Still, I want to do both. I want to make money with an actual job. I want to write and sell my articles again. I want to type with one hand and sew diapers with the other. I want to be supermom and I'm not her. 

I'm not her at all.

I'm stuck in this house. I'm stuck in this state. I'm stuck in limbo- wanting so desperately to cherish every single moment with Baby K, but also wishing my time away when we're in a different state and out of the Army lifestyle. Today, a wise woman of God posted on my facebook that this was just a season of my life.

And seasons are temporary.

Praise be to God.

Yesterday, PWOC (Protestant Women of the Chapel) started back for our fall semester. I was torn between which class I wanted to take. There are so many that interested me. After writing this, I realized that God has placed me exactly where he wants me. I chose a class called The Resolution for Women. It's supposed to inspire women to resolve to become "purposefully feminine, surprisingly satisfied, and faithfully His."

God is so awesome. His plan is always so much better than my own and I trust Him. Now, that's a good feeling.

Susie Homemaker

I've tried three things out from Pinterest lately that I wanted to share with you today. The first one I'm so incredibly proud of so don't bust the ole bubble and tell me how bad my sewing sucks...

because I know it does.

But that doesn't matter. What matters is this is only the 3rd or 4th item I've ever tried to sew and I'm definitely still learning. And well, everything I've made is functional and that is something to be proud of right?

I found this pin:

Source: verybaby.com via Mrs. on Pinterest

And got to work on my very own diaper out of t-shirts. Obviously, I didn't follow directions to the T, but it turned out alright.

You can call me Susie Homemaker, if you want.

The other thing, I tried out was this pin floating around Pinterest:

Source: eighteen25.blogspot.com via Mrs. on Pinterest

Here's how mine turned out-

I love, love, love it! Blurb is easy to use, but it's time consuming for good reason. You'll want to customize every little detail of your book. The book I created is a collection of letters I've been writing to Baby K since he was born in addition to his birth story. It is so special to me and I hope one day it is to him, too. It turned out so great!

Lastly, I made the wine bottles wrapped in twine.

Source: momtastic.com via Mrs. on Pinterest

I liked the result and it look less than five minutes. Score.

What about you? Have you completed any Pinterest Projects lately? Do share.

Linking up with:

How NOT to Compliment a Pregnant Girl

There are ways to compliment a pregnant girl and there are ways not to. Allow me to fill you in, in case your mind is boggled.

(This blog post is brought to you by a recent trip to the local Walmart.)

Baby K and Captain J were off searching for baby water and beer while I'm perusing the egg section hoping to just get what we "need" and get out. I'm pushing the cart over to the refrigerated section. I've got on a shirt that is fairly tight because I still have that odd fear that people don't know I'm pregnant and they just think I drink too much. Anyway, the eggs are located in an aisle with a cold section so I suppose my belly was quite hidden from oncoming buggy pushers.

I glance up and I see it. That look, ya know? The one where a possibly creepy mid twenties fella is totally checking you out. "Awkward", I think. And I avert my eyes because I mean..helloo, I'm huge. Oh and I'm married ;) As I keep going toward the eggs, I round the corner of the refrigerator and then I know he knows I'm pregnant. He watches me as I look for eggs except I can't concentrate because OMGah, quit staring! Then...

THEN!

He comes over to me and says, "How many months are you?" When I respond, he isn't listening at all and he goes right on to the next thing he wanted to tell me-

"I just want to say you are beautiful. Absolutely gorgeous. You look great."

All perfectly nice things, but when you're staring at my quickly growing chest that I'm already self-conscious about I find it hard to believe you mean it. I smile and say thanks, grab a box of eggs, and get the heck outta there just as Captain J finds me and we move on to a different area of the store.

Creeper is EVERYWHERE.

We were there for 5-10 more minutes and I saw him at least 3 more times. Each time, he was completely oblivious to J and my other child. He was just smiling and staring at me.

And I got home and my eggs were mostly broken. I didn't check at the store because I had been so flustered.

Oh, well. At least I can count on older generations to come through. They just don't make em like they used to, do they?

A man in his seventies or so got behind us in line to pay. He struck up a conversation with us about Baby K and the one on the way. He spoke of his own children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren with a huge smile on his face. He talked about how he still carried photos of each of them when they were young babies and that we should really cherish this time- this beautiful time in our lives. He told Captain J that he was a blessed man to have such a nice young boy and a wife pregnant with another little one on the way.

That conversation left me smiling for days.

We are lucky.

And you know what? Maybe egg guy wasn't so bad. I suppose what he said is better than hearing, "Oh, I thought you were due any minute!" from the little old ladies at church.

Ouch.

24 Weeks with Baby A

Cup Runneth Over

My grandparents are special people. With a blended family, I'm lucky enough to have many grandparents in my life and I feel so blessed Baby K has great grandparents to spend time with. Mimi and Papaw came to LA for a quick visit. They were already in New Orleans for a vacation with friends and so they decided to make the four hour drive over to come see me, too. I was delighted!

We had the best day.

Okay, I can't speak for them. I mean, all we really did is sit around on my couch and catch up and then head to dinner, but seriously y'all...it was one of the best days I've had in Louisiana. It felt so good to have them here and to see them both connecting with K. He LOVED them. Usually it takes awhile for him to warm up to people, but not that day. He hadn't seen them since he was four months old, but he was smiling and laughing and playing within minutes of seeing them again.

Mimi helped fix my pesky sewing machine.
Papaw took K for a walk around the 'hood.

It's little things like these that make me miss the familiarity and closeness of home.

Baby K was so good all day. Even at a late dinner (for him), he was so sweet to be around. Maybe he was just happy to see some one's face other than my own! Whatever it was, I felt like the day was perfect.

Captain J even got to come out of the field for a few hours to shower and go to dinner with us!

Cup runneth over.

Copy Kids

Moms of small, picky eaters will want to read this post!

If you've been reading long enough, you know I'm a bit of a psychology nerd. I majored in Psych as an undergrad and quickly fell in love with learning because everything was so interesting. Forget practical application, I just thought it was a heck of a lot better than going to math and physical science classes for that other degree I wanted once upon a time. Anyway, as I got older and progressed through the program, I started conducting my own research. I started to believe that there really was something to this- the way humans react and learn.

I remember the famous study by Bandura in which he used Bobo dolls to study patterns of aggression and social learning. Look it up if you have no idea what I'm talking about- it's interesting! In it, he found that children do tend to model behaviors based on what they've seen by other children and adults. In addition, many other research projects focus on the influence that media can have on our attitudes. I've always been intrigued by this and one of my own experimental research projects focused on this very thing.

Still, if you had asked me a week ago if I could teach my one year old to eat a larger variety of foods by simply letting him watch a DVD, I'd have said, "Probably not."

Enter Copy-Kids Media.

I was contacted to review a DVD by fellow mom Cai Dixon. She noticed that her daughter was more likely to eat fruits and veggies if she saw other children doing the same. This revelation came to fruition in a DVD where toddlers are enjoying eating various foods.

Baby K is a little fussy about his foods. He gets in a routine and wants to stick with that in every aspect of his little life. Handing him new food usually results in a toss to the floor. And that's exactly what he did when I handed him an avocado shortly before viewing the DVD.

I cut the avocado in half and placed it on his tray. He isn't a huge fan of avocado. He readily ate it when mixed with a banana, though. Always, always it was pureed. I wasn't very hopeful, but I stuck the DVD in our computer and suddenly he was transfixed to the screen in awe of the other tiny human who was eating an avocado like a champ! Within a minute of watching, Baby K was doing the same. I couldn't believe it.

Could.not.believe. it.

I thought it was likely a fluke so next I switched it to the tomato section of the DVD. K has never had a tomato before but after watching the other kids enjoy it, he did too.

I am so pleased with this DVD. I can't wait to try the other foods listed which are: bell peppers, cucumbers, carrots, broccoli, oranges, bananas, raspberries, strawberries, apples, and blueberries.

The DVD has won numerous awards and was approved by the USDA and added to their Education and Training Materials Database for pre-school nutrition!

Cai Dixon has generously offered up another copy of the DVD for one lucky reader. Please use the Rafflecopter form below to enter for your chance to win!
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(Note: I received a copy of the DVD and offer to provide this giveaway. No monetary compensation was given. All opinions are my own and may differ from yours.)

The Great Formula Battle of 2012

Some days are just hard despite what all you do to make it otherwise. Take today for example. It started a bit earlier than I would have liked but I woke up in a good mood and happy to scoop my little man out of his crib to start the day. He, however, was not as pleasant as I was pretending to be. I mentioned earlier that he is pretty upset to have his world rocked by the absence of formula in his life. It's an understatement really. We're not really functioning without it.

I changed his diaper and noticed it didn't feel wet at all. It had been on him for about 10 hours at that point. Slightly worried, I went to the kitchen to make him a bottle of whole milk. Of course, he wasn't having it. I then tried soy milk. Nope. Nada.

(I've tried everything everyone has suggested- half formula/half milk and even less than half, milk with chocolate or strawberry, soy milk, almond milk, toddler formula- everything)

I gave him his breakfast which he readily ate and we packed up to go on post for a play date with some other Army Wives and their children. He was in a good mood while we were there and it wasn't too hot so my worries momentarily went away as he seemed to be fine. When he started to get fussy an hour later, we left. I knew he was tired. He was sweating a bit so I gave him some juice because I thought that was at least better than no liquid at all. He wouldn't take that either.

We drove home and he was very fussy when we arrived. I was so worried that he was getting dehydrated that I broke down and gave him his old formula that the doctor told me to stop giving him. Through tears, he finally drank that. I was crying. He was crying. I ended up feeding him like a baby. sippy cup in hand, one year old spread across my pregnant belly, and glider chair in motion, I rocked him until he drifted off to sleep.

I'm so stressed over this. I don't know why I can't be a laid back mom.

I don't know if it's the hormones or what, but I'm an emotional wreck today. I've cried three times over this and I'm wondering if there's even a reason to worry myself. Aside from being unhappy and few wet diapers, Baby K seems fine. I got to hang out with other moms today. I got a few things done on my To Do list, and I even took a nap. I prayed and felt comfort. I'll have family here in the morning. Things are good.

Why is this one thing affecting me so much?

It's just so frustrating when I finally get in the groove of this whole motherhood thing and then a new stage rolls around and I'm thrown for a loop again. I know I should get used to it. I mean, hasn't the Army been preparing me for this all along? They tend to turn our lives upside down at least once a year with either various schools, deployments, or moves. You'd think I'd be used to this by now. But motherhood, I suppose, is just a totally different ballgame.

What you thought you knew about yourself might not really be true.

And today I'm reminded that I'm not as strong as I thought I was. Excuse me now. I'm off to go find my big girl panties (and possibly drive back to the store for the old faithful formula that K will take). I don't really know what else to do.

You've got questions, I've got answers...

Howdy, partners. I'm a little la-la-loopsy today. My mind is jumbled and my freshly mopped floor is stinky. You see, I'm elbow deep in the middle of trying to switch Baby K from formula to milk and he hates it. HATES IT. What little milk I can get him to take, he ends up spitting back out on the floor. This is why I don't mop! It was so lovely just yesterday and now NOW it's back to square one. This is why I'm coming at you with a post that doesn't require much thought or formatting or whatever! It's that time that I take all of your questions you've asked me recently and answer them as honestly as I possibly can. If you've got a question for a later post, feel free to leave it in the comments section or email it to me. I enjoy doing these from time to time. 

The following questions are from an Anonymous commenter:

1. What will you be naming the baby? Well, it's not a huge secret, but I'm not really ready to share on my blog yet. I just think about when my boys are older and their peers have access to the Internet- will I embarrass them by talking about them here? I try not to use names here, but sometimes it just spills over and I suppose that's okay, too. Send me an email and I'll tell ya! ;) If not, here are some hints: It's a biblical name that starts with an A.
2. How old were you when you started blogging? I started blogging periodically in college. It was only on my Myspace account, though.
3. How is your pregnancy going? It is going well. It's strange how much faster this one has gone compared to when I was pregnant with Baby K!
4. Who is your best friend? I've got a couple. I'm a lucky gal.
5. When are you due? December 7th- Pearl Harbor Day! That was actually the first thing I thought of when I was told. Weird or not?
6. What is your middle name? This sort of goes back to the first question so I'll be vague. Many people think my middle name is Sue. It's actually not, but it's really close!

*Thanks for the great questions, Anonymous! If you want to email me, I'll send you names and such :)

I was nominated for the Liebster Award again by two lovely bloggers: Mrs. Duh and Ramblings of a Southern Bell. Here are the questions they asked:

1. What did you want to be when you grew up? I wanted to be a social worker, then a pharmacist, then a professional student. I don't recall having childhood dreams of jobs because I never wanted to grow up! Once I realized it was inevitable, the jobs mentioned were on my radar. For the record, I don't want any of these things anymore!
2. It's movie night, what movie genre are you out to see? I suppose it depends on who I'm with. I love a good scary movie, but most of my pals will not go with me to see any of those.
3. What is your go-to recipe when you have people over for dinner? Umm, maybe husband can chime in here. He likes to entertain and cook more than I do. He's always trying something new when people come over, though. Lately, we've experimented with Cajun food when company is over, taking advantage of the local spices and such!
4. What website do you frequent the most? Probably facebook.
5. What is your favorite sport to watch? Football
6. How about your favorite sport to play? Basketball or tennis
7. What book do you recommend? A Discovery of Witches
8. What do you love most about your hometown? It's small and homey! It makes you all warm inside.
9. If you could give $100,000 to any charity, which would you choose and why? I'm not sure. I'd likely choose one that benefits children, though.
10. What is the origin and meaning of your first name? Supposedly, my name means "alert"--ha! It comes from a phonetic form of initials.
11. What chore do you hate doing? The dunk and swish. You cloth diapering folks know what I'm talkin' about! Gross.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1. What is your favorite childhood toy? Do you still have it? Oh, I don't know. I had a talking Bubba doll. Remember those? I think it's still in my parent's attic somewhere.
2. What was your favorite cartoon as a kid? I don't think I liked cartoons much. I was the Road Runner for Halloween one year so we'll go with that one!
3. Would you ever be brave enough to eat a banana, peanut butter, and mayo sandwich? (sounds gross...but I swear it isn't. If you're from the South, you've had one! lol) Umm? I'm from the south little lady, but I have not had this concoction. I'd be brave, though if money was involved.
4. What was your favorite activity as a kid? I liked to read, ride my horse, do gymnastics
5. Letters or email? I like letters, but I use email more often for convenience.
6. What is your favorite scent? Oh, my! I found the yummiest Scentsy scent the other day that I've been warming all over our house. It's Sweet Pea and Vanilla. Love it!
7. Camping or The Ritz? Both have their places in my life! But I do love a good ole camping trip.
8. Did you have a nickname as a kid? What was it? Nothing that stuck.
9. What one item from your life do you wish you still had? I used to have a pretty penny saved up in my bank account as a child. I wish that was still around!
10. Do you watch reality t.v.? Yes, I can't help myself. I watch many of those types of shows.
11. What is your favorite sound? Baby K's sweet giggle

Thanks, again for all the questions y'all. If you want to answer these questions, too then I choose you for the Liebster Award!

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Current giveaway: The Juppy Review and Giveaway

An Evening of Firsts

I don't know how many times I can post about doing the only thing there is to do in this town and still miraculously keep y'all coming back to hear more. I'm sorry. I really am. But this evening was special to me and not just because I ventured out in red lipstick...

No, it was more than that. It was an experience, now frozen in time by the photos, that I can look back on and savor. I can drink it in and recognize it as one of the last times my baby still looked like a baby. Many of you have said it during the last few weeks-- that Baby K is starting to look more like a toddler and less like the squishy baby I see him as. I see it, too and while I'm so happy to see him growing before my very eyes, I'm a little saddened, too. This boy, my whole world, is growing up!

Captain J and I hopped in his truck and took the little tyke to the park for a stroll. To our surprise, we pretty much had the place to ourselves. There were no kiddos rowdily playing themselves out on the last few days of summer. There was the occasional exerciser, but they were gone in a flash. It was just us- the three of us.

Eager to take advantage of the playground equipment, we took Baby K over to check things out for the first time. We went sliding! And swinging! And playing, oh my!

An evening to remember, for sure...

The Juppy Review and Giveaway

I've been wanting a Juppy for a long time so I was delighted when I was contacted to review and keep one of my very own! The Juppy is a baby walker that is parent assisted, requires zero assembly, and it is made of 100% cotton so that it's easy to wash. It's very convenient, too as it will easily fit into a diaper bag or purse.

When I got The Juppy in the mail, I wrapped it up and had Baby K open it on his birthday the following day. I know- Mom of the Year right here. Anyway, my boy likes to be walked around in the morning. It's almost as if he needs to get his morning energy out of his system before he can even bother with breakfast. I, on the other hand, prefer coffee and lots of stretching before I bend over and hurt my back while walking my little ball of energy all around our house. The morning after his birthday party was no different. I was happy to see the baby walker among his other gifts in our dining room. Still in our PJs, I got my little man all zipped in and ready to go. That part was so easy, by the way.

At first, Baby K was not having it! I plopped him down on his bottom and let him feel the straps and see what was on his little frame. He crawled around for a few minutes while I watched and then we tried again.

Voila! He loved it! He was giggling and smiling like he does when he's proud of himself. In The Juppy, I think he felt like he was walking more independently. It felt so much better on my back, too. My pregnant body gets tired of bending all the way over so the straps were a huge help to me as well.

This baby walker is different from others because it helps to build confidence and teaches them balance. It's also very affordable and has the option of being personalized! I chose not to have Baby K's name on it because as you know, I'll soon be using it to help teach Baby A to walk in no time at all. Would you like a chance at winning one?  Follow the Rafflecopter instructions below:

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Offer open to U.S. and Canada only please.
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(I was contacted to review The Juppy and was provided one by the company to give away as well. No monetary compensation was given. All opinions are my own and may differ from yours.)

It must be a Monday

(Not much to say this lovely Monday morning- not here anyway. I'm guest blogging over at Local At Last if you want to check that out! I'm dishing about a certain military spouse stereotype that I don't particularly like. Leave some love over there and let's get this conversation started! )

Also, here's a glimpse at what my nails looked like last week. I know you were dying to know. Just grab two colors and a tiny paint brush and get to creating!

I thank Pinterest for my new obsession with nail polish. Furthermore, I credit them with the fact that I even have nails to paint. I used to be a biter.

Can't wait to see what kind of searches that gets me here on this ole blog. I need a break from people landing here by typing in "fat girls with stretch marks and belly button rings." I mean c'mon people. I have neither of those things...anymore. And well, I'm not fat I'm pregnant! Hmf. 

Quick someone cheer me up!

Oh, there. That did it!

A girl can dream..

Sunday is a day of rest, isn't it? I'm not sure why K didn't get that memo. He's finally asleep after being up since 5:23am. I know because I rolled over, grabbed my phone to check the time, and cried a silent cuss word in my brain. He has been so upset all morning. He doesn't have a fever, though so I'm at a loss as to what is going on. Maybe he just misses Daddy. I do, too.

I wonder why I'm not running straight to bed to try to get some shut eye, too. I'll surely regret this decision soon. I just have so much on my mind. My list of things to do keeps growing, but they all seem so unimportant in the grand scheme of things that I keep procrastinating. My back hurts and it's the Lord's day. Those are my excuses.

I've really really been getting that Fall twitch. You know the one. Everyone starts yearning for pumpkin spiced lattes, pretty fall leaves, and sweater weather. Two out of three of those things are pretty nonexistent here (pretty leaves and sweater weather) so unfortunately I have to live vicariously through everyone else. Many of you have been posting on facebook that the weather is soo cool and forgive me, but that's just not something I want to hear. Sure, I shouldn't complain. Last year at this time, it was 118 degrees. Now, the highs are in the low nineties. Still, I get mad when you say you're cuddled up under a blanket or having a bonfire outside. I'm pretty sure if we tried to light anything on fire out there, three parishes would burn up.

Source: beccabae.tumblr.com via Mrs. on Pinterest

 I want to be thin and wear pretty fall things...

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I want to leave Louisiana and move to a cabin nestled in some mountains and read good books and sip hot cocoa...

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And take long, uninterrupted, peaceful bubble baths here...

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and retire for the day with my no-longer-in-the-Army man here:

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A girl can dream.

Meanwhile, I better get to making this house presentable. A clean house does wonders for my mood!

Source: habituallychic.blogspot.com via Mrs. on Pinterest