WORKING MOMMY

I survived my first 2 days back to work. I missed my family BADLY and couldn't wait to rush home to see my babies. I'm in a new, less stressful office... So, the transition back to work has been easier.

I'm a Menu Plan Monday slacker... again. Can you blame me though?! This is my first week back to work in 10 weeks! I have some adjusting to do!

This is a short post, as I have quite a bit to do tonight.

- Jessica

OBSESSIONS

Actually, more like addictions...

Magazines and Coffee. I can't live without either. 

I think HockeyStud is annoyed by my magazine habit... He finds stacks of them all over the house. I love them all... RedBook, Family Circle, Shape, Fitness, Women's Health, Parents, Food Network, Real Simple, Rachael Ray, Women's Day... I could continue. In fact, I have an open Parents magazine sitting next to me right now. 


I can't go a day without Kawfee... That's how my hubs says it with his Jersey accent. He and I both love coffee. He likes his black with a little vanilla flavor, and I like mine light and sweet with no flavoring. If I don't have at least one cup in the morning, by about 11:00, I'm feeling it. Headache and all. Mmmm... coffee... 

 - Jessica

FUNNY THINGS

I got a love note this morning...

Translation:  Good morning Mommy I love you in the whole world and I love Daddy, Parker, and I love myself. 

I cherish little things and moments like this. She wrote this for me while I was getting ready this morning and she was sitting in Daddy's sink in the bathroom. I asked her to read it to me, and the translation above is exactly what she said. 



This is a plastic spider that she likes to put on us (head, leg, arm) to scare us. 

She's afraid of any kind of real bug. When she finds a bug she tells Daddy to eat it. She really thinks Daddy eats bugs.



Toddler + permanent marker = 

She decided to decorate Daddy's computer keyboard.



My SON has a pink princess chair in his room that never leaves...

This chair is used by MonkeyGirl to stand on and watch me change diapers. She's very curious. And has to know "He pooped or peed?" If he pooped, she says "Ewww, I schmell it." By the way, as a courtesy I cleaned up the pee on the wall before I took this picture.



And then there's this... It's a little absurd and maybe a little wrong, but it's oh so funny that I had to tell about it...

Since I ALWAYS have an audience when using the bathroom, there's no hiding these...
She says they are feathers. She proceeded to tell Daddy, her grandparents and I'm sure her friends and teachers at school that Mommy has feathers in her wee wee... Wonderful...

- Jessica

NO MENU MONDAY on TUESDAY

I have no menu this week. It's my last week of maternity leave and I am going to try to enjoy it to the fullest. This means we are doing whatever for dinner this week. I can't believe I go back to work on Monday, and I really can't believe how fast these 10 weeks have gone by. Didn't I just give birth to this little man 3 days ago?! In a way I'm kind of looking forward to getting back into the work routine thing, BUT if I had it my way I would NOT be returning. I have to be to work by 8:00am. When I had one kid I would wake up at 6:30 to get myself and her ready to be out the door by 7:30. Now, since I will have to get 2 kids ready, I need to wake up at... Uggghh... 5:30 and be out the door by 7:00 to drop LittleMonster off at Grandma's and MonkeyGirl at school. Gotta leave some time for any mishaps along the way... ya know, the screaming tantrum'ing toddler who won't brush her teeth or has to change 5 times before she has the "right" outfit. 


I'm SO not looking forward to that first day I have to leave him... WAAAAAH!

- Jessica

OH BEAUTIFUL DAY

Florida fall weather is here! It's a gorgeous 72 degree day here in Southwest Florida. LittleMonster is basking in the sunshine seeping through the open windows. He's lovin' it. A walk around the neighborhood, or wherever, is definitely a must today... it's too nice out to pass up. This is my favorite time of year. Picking out Halloween costumes for the littles, painting pumpkins, the beautiful weather, open windows... ahhh... Heaven. 

Every Friday is show and tell at MonkeyGirl's school. They were asked to bring a teddy bear today. Since the weather is so perfect, they're going to have a Teddy Bear Picnic outside and then a Teddy Bear Dance. Too precious. 

Off to enjoy this magnificent day!

- Jessica

NEW TOY and ORGANIZING

My in-laws got us an early Christmas gift... a fancy schmancy DYSON!! This one...

It's insanely amazing... as soon as we got it, I opened it, put it together and went to town. Man, this thing sucks! And it leaves beautiful vacuum marks, which I love! HockeyStud was very excited too. As soon as he got home from work, he had to gave it a try. Our carpet is VERY clean now. We are some vacuuming fools! 



I want my pantry to look like this...

And my laundry room to look like this...

And my closet... I could do some damage in here...

And my playroom... If I had a playroom...

Oh, I could go on and on...   

I definitely have gotten more organized since LittleMonster arrived. Especially with the laundry situation. We have a lot of laundry. Period. I used to do laundry maybe once a week... Now, I have no choice but to do it at least every other day.

My next organizing project: Toys. Lots of toys. I need to tackle this house of toys and baby things. Badly. In fact, as I sit here in my living room, I see... a coloring book, a teddy bear sitting next to me on the couch, an easel, a ladybug beanbag chair, a broken ukulele, a baby swing, a boppy, a couple burp cloths, 2 pieces of plastic bread... I'm embarrassed to continue. My house is definitely lived in, and we have fun. I will get there... eventually. 

- Jessica

MENU PLAN MONDAY... ERR WEDNESDAY... IN THE SICK HOUSE

I had every intention of doing a Menu Plan Monday post... on Monday. Then, the little man got sick and my attention went on him, obviously. He has this nasty wicked cough which is his only symptom. Went to the Dr. today and they just called it a "virus" for now. First big sister was sick, then Daddy, and now the baby... if one is sick it's guaranteed the rest will get it as well. As for now, I'm not sick... But, I. Am. Tired. Between the cool mist humidifier humming in my ear all night, LittleMonster coughing so hard he gasps for air which scares me, MonkeyGirl hacking up a lung, and HockeyStud coughing and moaning... Yea, you get it. 

Now on to Menu Plan Monday Wednesday...

Monday - I can't even remember if I ate.

Tuesday - The in-laws came over to cook for us... Phew!

Wednesday - Roast pork with black beans and brown rice. 

Thursday - Whole wheat english muffin pizza with mini turkey pepporoni

Friday - Soy chicken wings, brown rice, squash

Saturday - Possible date night?! If not, it'll be mini meatloaves with mashed potatoes and green beans

Sunday - Chicken stir fry with noodles



P.S. I need one of these...

- Jessica

OUR FAMILY'S NEW ADDICTION

We recently purchased a Playstation Move, which is like the Nintendo Wii except better, in my opinion. You just hook it up to your Playstation 3, and off you go! It comes with a camera, 1 controller and 1 game which has several games on it. These are the controllers...

I am a pro at Bocce Ball...

 

HockeyStud is a pro at archery...

And we got MonkeyGirl the coolest game called EyePet...

Since there's a camera, it really looks like there's a monkey running around your living room on the screen. It's too cute!

There are new ones coming out called SingStar Dance and Dance Dance Revolution and I SO cannot wait to make a fool of myself! 

- Jessica

SOMEBODY FEED THAT CHILD!

My poor child never gets fed, so he had to suck on his arm because he was SO hungry... the end result...

This silly boy gave himself 2 hickeys!! I ultimately ended up feeding the poor kid... 

Because he does get fed... ALL the time (one of his many nicknames is Milk Monster) he's getting chubby little rolls on his thighs. I love those little chunkies.  HockeyStud says he has hockey thighs already and has told him he is going to be skating before he learns how to walk. We better start saving now for future dentist bills...

Have a beautimous weekend!

- Jessica

I'M BAAAAACK!

So... I've been busy, to say the least. To give a quick update on the past 5 months (wow, I'm such a blog slacker!) we had a beautiful baby boy on 8-9-10. Cool birthday, huh?! He was 8 lbs 10 oz and came out peeing! I had a scheduled c-section, since I had a previous c-section. The recovery was amazingly faster than the first. It really was a pleasant experience. We cried and laughed and smiled as Tom Petty's I Won't Back Down played in the background as he was being pulled out of me. When big sister and baby brother met for the first time, it was pure sweetness... so I've been told. I didn't get to actually see it, but Daddy did, and he recorded it. She was in awe. It was even more magical when she got to hold him for the first time. The look on her face is something I will never forget. She was a little scared, but oh so tender with him. 

The 4 day hospital stay was wonderful. My nurses were great and we had quite a bit of visitors, which we loved. I cried on the way home from the hospital... it was just bittersweet. And then stopped crying and started laughing because we stopped at Chick-Fil-A... who does that?! We do... we were hungry. 

7 weeks after his arrival and I'm back in my pre-pregnancy clothes and 5 pounds away from pre-pregnancy weight. Not that I'm bragging... I'm just pretty proud. It took me about a year to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight after I had MonkeyGirl. Even though I complain that I don't have the same body I had before I had him, I'm still pretty damned proud.

Wow, I look ridiculously HUGE! This was about an hour or so before I had him.

So, 7 week old LittleMonster is doing beautifully. He's the most handsome little man I've ever seen. For the most part, he's a good sleeper. I've only been peed on about a dozen or so times. I've been spit up on everyday. He's a spitter... and he's on soy formula because he was having problems with lactose. That soy formula smells like instant potato flakes... yuck! My handsome baby boy smells like potatoes... constantly. No more newborn baby smell. 

I've been loving life as a mother of 2. Never would I have thought that I would be 24 and be married with 2 kids. Love it! My husband is an amazing Daddy. He is so good with MonkeyGirl, but to see him with this tiny little, precious, helpless being... ahhhh he makes my heart melt. My boys have a bond already... a VERY strong bond and I love to watch it grow everyday. It's a beautiful thing... 

Oh! And an update on the organizing situation... I am slowly but surely getting there... emphasize on slowly... Promise to write as much as possible! No more month+ breaks!

- Jessica

BABY UPDATE

At the moment, MonkeyGirl is cutting up one of my Pregnancy magazines (with safety scissors). This is her new found "thing". The baby has been kicking me uncontrollably today as HE has been lately (Yes, it's a BOY!!!), but HockeyStud still hasn't been able to feel him. He puts his hand on my belly when he's moving all about and HockeyStud says "All I can feel is my pulse in my hand". So, no luck just yet. 

My last Dr. appt I had an ultrasound that screamed BOY! There was no denying I have a little boy in there! We could tell right away. The ultrasound tech said "Oh, there's his pickle!" Yep, there it was, and I shrieked with excitement and laughed so hard I jiggled my ultrasound goo coated belly. We saw him wiggling all around and stretching his tiny legs. He opened his mouth wide like a yawn, but the Tech said he was taking a big gulp of fluid! Yum...   I talked to my Dr. appt possible dates for the scheduled c-section. My due date is August 15th, which is a Sunday, and they don't do c-sections on the weekend so he said it will most likely be the Monday before. If that's the case, his birthday would be August 9... which would be 8-9-10... Cool!   All of our family and friends are ecstatic that we're having a boy! MonkeyGirl, on the other hand, didn't believe us. She was convinced she was having a little sister. She's warming up to the idea now, and today she even told her DayCare teachers that she was having a little brother. She seems to be very excited to be a big "stister"... For now, anyway. 

- Jessica

MORNING RAMBLINGS...

I had 2 dreams last night... The first one I had the baby. I went in for a c-section (which I will have to have for real) and out came the baby! I held it and kissed and hugged it... but had no clue what "it" was. The sex was unknown, like it is right now. The second dream was strange. I was being trained to teach English in space... Hmm... interesting. 

As I write this I'm sipping on some hot tea, MonkeyGirl is sitting next to me eating pancakes and drinking milk, Blue's Clues is on in the background, and HockeyStud is sound asleep upstairs (since he was up til 2am playing a video game called Call of Duty... we'll save that for another post). This same scenario goes on every Saturday and Sunday morning on the weekends HockeyStud isn't working. He will get up in about an hour or so, take his shower and come down for some "kawfee". I love it... it's so predictable and I look forward to it! 

There's a huge sale at this store called "Bump" today. It's a maternity store, but they are having a consignment sale of all baby gear/clothes/maternity clothes. People bring in there gently used items and WE buy them! My wonderful mother in law told me about this, so we are going today at 11. She's been to the store a couple times in the past 2 weeks and they let her in the "secret room" where they stored some of the gear people have brought already. She got a Graco car seat, brand new, only used once for $40, a Jumperoo, high chair, play mat, and bouncer! Can't wait to go today to see what else they're going to have.   When I was pregnant with MonkeyGirl, I wouldn't dare buy anything "used"! I wanted the best of the best for her, brand new and top of the line... Ohh, how foolish I was then. Now, the less expensive the better, which usually means used, and that's perfectly fine with me! 

Later this afternoon, we will be at the Rink! Have a beautiful weekend!  

- Jessica

WHEN MONKEYGIRL BECOMES SKATERGIRL

Let me start off by saying... YIPPEE!!!! It's Friday!

MonkeyGirl plays many parts... And SkaterGirl is one of them. She's in love with ice skating... She loves to watch it (we had an ice skating watching extravaganza during the Olympics) and she loves to actually do it. Her interest started about 6 or so months ago when it happened to be on our TV, she went crazy... Saying "I wanna do dat, I wanna wear pretty dresses, I wanna spin like dose pretty girls." Since HockeyStud has been skating for 33 years (yep, that's many more years then I've even been alive... Love you babe!) and has spent almost his whole life on the ice, he said let's take her! The first time we took her was freaking adorable! She put on her skates, like Daddy, and held his hand while she learned to walk in them. Before we knew it, she was walking all by herself! Then she gets on the ice... Daddy held her hands and her little legs looked like noodles. Then he would pick her up and zip around the ice, her hair blowing in the wind and a HUGE smile on her face. She did accomplish going in and out with her skates by the end of her first session. After a couple more times on the ice, she can now just hold one of Daddy's hands while she holds on to the side of the rink. Ohhhh, I am one proud Momma! Sometimes she skates at home. She will put 2 books side by side on the floor, one foot on each book, and "skate" around on the carpet.

Since HockeyStud works every other weekend, we go to the Rink on the weekends he is off, both Saturday and Sunday, for about 2 hours. She gets all dressed up in her little tights, skirt, sweater, and gloves (globes as she calls them). She's so proud once those little skates go on her tiny feet and she walks around in those things like she's been doing it for 10 years... Even though she's only been walking for 2 years! We haven't been to the Rink in a month, since 2 weekends ago we were in Key West for HockeyStud's birthday (WooHoo!). So, we are going this weekend and I am very anxious to see how she does after a month-long break.

I absolutely love that she's so eager to learn and is so interested in something pretty unique at this young age, but the part I love the most is that she's learning from someone she cares about and looks up to and loves so much... Her Daddy. We will support her in whatever she wants to do, even if she decides ice skating isn't for her, but for now, she loves it and we will encourage her to continue!

Here are some pictures from the first couple times in skates...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Be on the look out for an update on her Ice Princess adventures from this coming weekend! 

- Jessica

TIME CHANGE

The time change always messes me up. For at least a week. We tried to go to bed earlier, but when the alarm goes off at 6:15am, I'm completely exhausted. Not sure if it's because the Baby is sucking the life out of me, or the time change, or a combination. HockeyStud has to get up at 4:30am on the days he works... well, actually his alarm goes off at 4:27 (not sure why he has it set to this?).  I don't know how he does it, especially with the time change. I don't think he knows how he does it either. I get MonkeyGirl up at about 6:40am. I go in her room, wake her up, turn her lights on, pick something out for her to wear, and then she insists on coming into our room and getting dressed on our bed. The other morning she looked out the window, at the dark sky and said, "Mommy, it's not wake up time, it's night night time." Ohhhh, how I wish. I tried to explain to her that it was morning time but it was just darker out. So, she came up with "Oh, so the clouds are covering the sun." Yes, my sweet MonkeyGirl... that's exactly what it is. She is just as confused as me when it comes to the time change. Her normal bedtime is between 8:00 and 8:30, but now... it's an hour later. We are working on this...

This morning I had to wake up extra early since I had to get bloodwork done. I don't like taking time off work to do these type of things because I would just have to stay late at work another day to make it up (I work 8-4). I was at the Lab at 7:00am, getting poked. It was pitch black out, that's not normal. Nothing to worry about, just routine prenatal bloodwork. Speaking of prenatal... We go for an ultrasound next Wednesday, the 24th, to find out the sex of our Baby!! Ahhhhh, I'm so flipping excited!

The only thing positive about this time change is that it gets darker later, which I enjoy.  

- Jessica

ABOUT YOUNG MOMMY

Updated on: 9/20/2012.

I'm Jessica, 26 years old, mommy to 2, full-time worker, part-time student, and dedicated wife. My kewl little girl, Morgan, is 5 years old and she is our world. She's so funny, has a personality bigger then she is, is obsessed with ice skating and organization (have NO clue where she gets that from).
 

My husband, Bobby, is not Morgan's dad, but she calls him Daddy, he treats her just like his own... according to her, that is HER Daddy, and she is HIS little girl! I got pregnant with Morgan when I was freshly 20 years old, I married her father 4 months after finding out we were expecting. I married for all the wrong reasons...because I felt it was the best thing to do at that time. We did not have a good relationship/marriage. I left him a month shy of our 2 year wedding anniversary. It was the best thing I have done... for me and my precious little girl. 
 

Bobby and I met at work, we both work at a Sheriff's Office. He is a Deputy and I am in Legal (my first and only job, have been there 10 years!). He is so handsome, understanding, patient, sweet, kind, and such a gentleman... the list goes on. I know, sounds sappy, but it's the truth! We have a little boy together, Parker, who was born in August of 2010!  

I have an extremely close relationship with my mother. She's very supportive of me and my family, she gives the best advice, she's such a wonderful grandmother (Jammie). She and I work in the same building, so I get to see her everyday! I try to be "put together" as much as I can everyday, hair, make-up, a decent outfit, but there are some days I can't even make it out of the house with matching shoes! I'm obsessed with learning about organization. I've never been organized. I want to be so bad, I'm trying! My mother is organized, my 5 year old daughter is organized... but me, not so much! It really is my dream to become organized one day. I love to cook and meal-plan.I go to school part-time, for a Paralegal degree. I take 2 classes a semester, which I can hardly handle at times, but I do it. I'm very grateful to have what I have at such a young age.

After reading and enjoying so many other Mommy Blogs, I started this because I didn't find many blogs about or for young mothers. We (young mommies) go through the same ups and downs as other "older" mothers, maybe even more so since we had to give up quite a bit at such a young age for our children, NOT that I'm complaining! Regardless of your age as a Mommy, I have much admiration and respect for all of you (especially those who are way organized!!)Needless to say, I LOVE my life and wouldn't trade any part of it for anything.