Other Passions

A lot of moms I know claim that they don't have any other passions or anything besides their kids. Which usually means 1 of 2 things. 
1. They're boring
2. They just want to feel superior

Kai is one of the greatest joys in my life BUT I do enjoy other things that I share with her.
I absolutely LOVE music. Just about all kinds though I can live without Country.

Lately Kai and I have been on a Blue Grass kick and also just some alt music. (Which is WAAY different then country. If you think otherwise you are misinformed) My mom is from the Eastern part of Kentucky so I know the difference. I grew up on it
She loves when I sing (Never thought choir lessons would help here lol)

We've been listening to a lot of Old Crow Medicine Show. She loves Wagon Wheel. Darius Rucker does a good cover but these guys did the original and we love it.
We also discovered thanks to Pandora the band The Steel Drivers, Trent Wagler and The Steel Wheels, Jack Savoretti, Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros, Ben Harper, Damien Jurado and many more I can't remember at the moment.


I think people undervalue music most of the time and they forget how a well written piece of music can invoke strong feelings of love and sadness.

Our wedding next year is going to be a huge music geek mash-up :) 

Here is the song I am currently hooked on...

Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros "Home"

Disappeared for a bit.

Sorry about that. We've had some HUGE surprises in the past 2 weeks that really threw me for a loop.
I'll make a more detailed post about it later once I've finished processing it.

Sh*t our Moms should have told us!!

I have seen so MANY articles and post about things that either...
1. No body tells us about being Moms
2. Things they shouldn't
                OR
3. Things they did (that really aren't helpful or true.)

Here are the things I wish my Mom, Mother In Law, Grandma or H*LL somebody elses Mom had told me would happen when Pregnant, breast feeding, toddler wrangling and being a Stay at Home Mom.

Here's the biggest lie I have read lately on Babble...
There's always a woman you view as a Perfect Super mom but she'll readily admit to having bad days and the latest poop explosion or other kid related accident.

To which I say BULLSH*T!! Unless you are a really good friend of said Perfect Super Mom she will never admit to anything like that AND she will make sure to make you feel inadequate either about yourself, your child, your home or romantic life. Which if you watch her generally reveals that she's unhappy about some part of her life and usually quite Neurotic or controlling when she thinks no one is looking.

About pregnancy...

I wish some one would have told me that your breasts can start leaking like a sieve starting at like 5 months. I was completely dumbfounded when mine started and it got worse when it rained!
My midwives didn't even think to mention it.


Another thing is that you can have actual contractions that don't hurt and you can have braxton contractions that hurt like a B*TCH.

 About Breastfeeding... (here's my personal thoughts on breastfeeding. Its great if you can BUT if you don't want to or can't it doesn't matter as long as your taking care of your baby don't listen to anyone's opinion. I breastfed for 7 months and then formula fed for 5 months.)

That it can hurt at first but it shouldn't hurt all the time.
That you will feel like a milk cow when using a breast pump.
That getting engorged is almost worse than labor and almost anything can make your breasts leak.
I don't know about anyone else but I had no problems with my supply. I so wish someone would have told me you can donate milk. I would have jumped on that one.

Toddler wrangling...

It would have been nice to know that there really isn't much difference between toddlers and teenagers other than dating. Neither group can control their emotions, they dress themselves ridiculously, they go through phases of loving or hating things regularly, and they throw fits thinking you're ruining their lives.

Oh and how about the fact that toddlers have the ability to demolish a room in like 10 seconds flat after you spent 2 hours cleaning it. And that they can take up 3 times the room they really need in your bed.

Being a Stay at Home Mom...

I thought staying home taking care of Kai would be easy and fun. Holy Balls I was wrong.
No one ever bothers to tell you how lonely you'll get or that at times you'll feel like you're going crazy OR that you'll forget how to have an adult conversation.

I was so lonely and I still get that way. I thought it would be so EASY to stay home with Kai but it wasn't at all. After juggling the changes and feedings and being drop dead exhausted I would have preferred a full time job. Looking back on it I'm glad I did it and I know I will do it with all following children BUT I really wish someone had like " YO that shiz is a lot harder than it looks"

I'm sure I will have many more blogs about this kind of stuff :)

Kai's garden :)

We are about to embark on a quest.

Kai watched the episode of The Magic School Bus where they talk about growing a garden and how plants grow. She has decided that she wants to grow a garden this summer.
Our planting season was delayed due to a very cold start to spring but now its warm and raining almost every day.
Up here the farmers Rule of Thumb is to not plant til after Memorial Day weekend because it should be done frosting over at night by then.
I was surprised and disappointed at our local Menards store's selection of Vegetable plants. It was like half any aisle and not much to choose from. I got some basics and we'll take it from there.
We are going to try our hand at Square Foot Gardening.

PICS to come of Kai helping me :)

The Why of Mommy and Daddy.

Here is the run down on HB and me :)

I am an only child that was raised in a Military household. My Mom is ex Army and my Dad is an ex Marine. My parents did the best they could.
Recent advancements in the psych study shows the mental wear that soldiers go through and how PTSD affects them.
Both my parents like many veteran's were extreme alcoholics. I am beyond pleased to say that my Dad has been sober for almost 5 years and my Mom for 12 years.
It was a long awful road getting to this point.
I fully credit my pregnancy with Kai to repairing my relationship with my Father. He is an AMAZING grandfather and Kai adores her GrandPop.

My Mom is in therapy for her PTSD. I'm hoping through my blog to help bring more awareness to how PTSD can affect families and relationships.
My pregnancy actually damaged my relationship with my Mom because she was jealous, possessive of me and paranoid that I would leave her.
We are now working on repairing it with her therapy.
She is a great Grammy and Kai loves spending time with her. They bake cookies, sew doll clothes and plant flowers together.
NO matter the issues her and I have I will never deny Kai the chance to know and spend time with her.
I think it is petty when the child is punished for something they have no part in.
His Mom and Step Dad are awesome. Kai has been blessed with fantastic grandparents and I have been blessed with awesome (I use that word a lot) In Laws. Kai also is lucky enough to have a living Great Grandpa (my side) and 2 Great Grandmas and a Great Grandpa (HB's Side). She also has Great Aunts and Uncles AND Great Great Aunts and Uncles. I can't wait to do a family pic this summer :D
HB is the youngest in his family. He has 2 step sisters and 1 brother who passed away. His brother committed suicide when HB and I were 16. He was only 19 and I believe did it because he lost hope among other things.
I don't think there can be enough awareness and help for kids, teens and young adults that think there is no hope for them. I have been there and its a terrible place to be.
Once HB is done with school and we buy a house we want to become Foster Parents specifically targeting At Risk Teens that no one wants to take in anymore.
I can't wait to share all of our journeys with on here to give Hope.
I have so many hopes for this blog and for it to help bring more awareness to these things.

What did you just say?

Kai has entered the cursing stage getting mad and I know its MY fault because when I get mad or hurt I turn the air blue.

Its so hard sometimes to not laugh.
She has a teddy bear that is larger than she is. She was trying to move it so she could lean against it and read. It tipped over on her while I was cooking dinner and HB was doing homework.
Out of no where we hear her tiny voice ring out

"SON OF A BITCH! GET OFF ME!!"

Well since Teddy doesn't speak english (or at all) he didn't move.
While I'm dying in the kitchen where she can't see me she then tops it by yelling

"DADDY HELP ME!!! GET THE SON OF A BITCH OFF ME PLEASE!!!"
HB and I are rolling on the floor.


There has been some interesting things coming out of her mouth lately.

She is very into Jake and The Neverland Pirates. She told HB yesterday that he was Mr.Smee and that she was Captain Hook. Then out of no where she ran over and wrapped herself around my leg yelling "And Mommy is Easy!" O.o
HB died laughing and told her "No she's not!" (gee thanks hon)
Kai was totally confused and then repeated herself 3 more times til I understood she was trying to say that I was "Izzy" not "Easy" (thank god) I wouldn't want her announcing to a grocery store or something that Mommy was "Easy" lmao

She has also been telling us that she is Chicken and that Mommy is Cheese. I'm not sure where that came from.

Also every time we laugh she demands to know "What is so funny?!"
And if we call her anything like goofy, goober, booger, silly etc she counters with "No I'm not! I'm a little girl!" Thank you Captain Obvious. And there is no telling her otherwise.

But you ate it yesterday!

Lately we've been going through a picky eater phase around our house so much so that I am ready to pull my hair out.
Kai refuses to eat anything green she won't even drink green juice lately. I'm not sure whats up with that and now its extended to veggies.
I LOVE veggies. I am very close to being a vegetarian except that I really like chicken and fish. SO the fact that my child doesn't like veggies is really blowing my mind.
PLUS I am worried about her getting all the vitamins she needs though I am hesitant to start pushing vitamins on her.
Her pediatrician says she is perfectly healthy and to not worry but that's easier said than done. I've had her drinking V8 Splash cocktails lately

HB and I decided that we want to be healthier overall and since Dec had been half-assing it. I managed to lose 15 lbs and am almost back to my pre-pregnancy weight. Since we made the choice to postpone our wedding til next July I decided to really hit it hard.
I'm excited because my Bestie and I are going to do a 10k walk/run next month :)

Bring on the smoothies. I have been testing out smoothie on HB and Kai. Non so far have gotten the toddler seal of approval but I have discovered some tasty ones and some that taste like lawn clippings.


Here's one that I experimented with and LOVE:

About 1 to 1.5 cups of Dole Diced frozen Strawberries

I did 3 wedges of watermelon but its was about 1.5 cups of seedless watermelon (Fresh)

I peeled and sliced a medium cucumber round wise and put 5 slices in the blender.

3/4 cup of Mango Mandarin Sobe coconut water.

2 big tbs of Yoplait Vanilla Yogurt.

It made enough for 2 servings. I was hoping since it wasn't green that Kai would drink but NOPE. I guess we're on a strawberry strike now too.