the mom diggity | Archive | February, 2012

Archive - February, 2012

this day

February 29, 2012 in marriage is awesome with 9 Comments

On this day, 4 years ago I changed my name.

I became a wife. I stood hand in hand with the man of my dreams and promised to love him forever. We had no idea what was ahead for us, but we walked into our future excited. We were together, and that was the best way to go through life. Together.

We didn’t do a big fancy wedding, but it was perfect for us. We drove go-carts at our rehearsal dinner and laughed with our friends. We were surrounded by hundreds of people who love and support us.

It was the perfect celebration of our love.

Over the years we have learned how to love each other, and how to serve each other. We are learning every day how to do that better. I will serve this man and be his bride until the day that I die.

Brook, I love you with everything in me. It’s a joy to be your wife. I’ve had the privilege of standing by your side through good times and bad, and will continue to be there through it all. Thank you for loving and cherishing me. I feel even more loved today than I did on that beautiful day. It’s an honor to be your pride and joy.

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All photos taken by Prints Charming Photography
(an incredible photography team if you’re in the OKC area and looking for a photographer!!)

being blessed

February 27, 2012 in blessings, joys of motherhood with 2 Comments

Motherhood is hard. DUH. It is by far the most exhausting thing I have ever done. It’s also the most rewarding and enjoyable experience of my life. Sometimes I find that it can be so easy to focus on the hard times, and let the exhaustion take over. Right now, I’m very worn out. Brook has had the flu for the last 3 days, I haven’t felt well in over a week, Jessi is cutting her 2 year molars and Zoey doesn’t sleep. Needless to say, I’m beat.

But do you know how blessed I am? INCREDIBLY. My husband loves and adores me. He’s crazy about our children. I have two perfect and healthy little miniature humans. I’ve recently joined an amazing group of women who are some of the most encouraging and honest people I’ve ever known. Our leader is encouraging us to write 100 things we are thankful for every 2 weeks. I love this. It gets kinda tough once you list the obvious things, but it has pushed me to see the blessings in the little things.

All that to say, I’m going to share some of these things with you and encourage you to look for the little blessings in your every day!

Ten Blessings of the week:

Chai Tea – I’m not a coffee drinker, but I looooove chai. I have a cup every morning, and usually another during naptime to refuel

Sidewalk Chalk – Spring is coming! I’m loving playing outside with the girls.

Rest – My mom came over yesterday to help with the girls and I got TWO naps. Praise Jesus!

Snuggling Toddlers – Jessi is teething, and that means lots of snuggles.

Dryer – I love having a dryer to fluff my clothes so I don’t have to fold them right away!

Library books – Free books are so great and Jessi learns new things every week.

Stickers – Providing hours of toddler entertainment.

Swings – Even big kids need to swing every once and a while. So carefree.

Encouragers – People that get me through the tough days.

Baby sunglasses – Come on. That just makes you happy!

she hates sleep, and therfore hates me.

February 23, 2012 in parenting rocks, zoey b with 13 Comments

I’m officially eating my words and thoughts. Jessi was a total freak of nature. When she was 3 weeks old she was sleeping 8pm-4am and waking to eat and back to sleep until between 8-10am. By about 8 weeks, she was sleeping 12-14 hours every night. She never wakes in the middle of the night. She has always been a fantastic nap taker. For the first 4 months she would nap in her swing and then started napping in her bed with no problems.

I thought this was normal. When I heard other parents talk about issues with getting their kids to sleep I thought SURELY they were doing something wrong because my perfect parenting was working wonders on my perfect baby.

And then I had Zoey.

She will be 6 months old next week and sleep is a nightmare for this one. She’s done pretty well with napping in her swing (until the last few weeks), but you better not even try to lay her down to sleep or she will bust your eardrums with screams.

And nighttime? Let’s just say I’m beyond beat. 8 times she has slept through the night. EIGHT. In six months. Most nights she wakes 3-6 times. Lately I can usually get away with one feeding, but that still means I’m being woken up way too many times. And getting her to go to bed? Don’t even get me started. Right now I’m writing this after having tried walking her, rocking her and on and on for over 45 minutes and she’s still fighting me. I finally just put her down and am letting her fight it out because I’m about to LOSE MY MIND.

I’ve had a migraine for the past 24 hours that I can’t beat. I’m absolutely exhausted. I have no energy. I just want some rest without having to go stick a paci in a mouth 12 times.

This is what I get for thinking I rock at parenting.

wordless{ish} wednesday: big girl bed?

February 22, 2012 in wordless wednesday with 5 Comments

A couple of days ago I posted about moving Jessi into a big girl bed.

Well, we went ahead and took the plunge.

I think it’s going to work out really well for her.

Plus, she says it’s super comfortable.

Linking up with some Wordless Wednesday friends
The Paper Mama, And Then She {Snapped}, 5 Minutes for Mom,
Jenni from the Blog & Angry Julie Monday

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Don’t forget about the $40 Gift Certificate Giveaway to Jaxon Jill Designs!

jaxon jill designs {a giveaway!}

February 21, 2012 in stuff i love with 46 Comments

************THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED************

So, let’s be honest. I’m not fashionable. I live in sweat pants and my hubby’s tshirts. I wear things that I know I shouldn’t. And due to my lack of fashion sense, I have to count on my super fashionable friends to tell me how to dress.

Kristina from Jaxon Jill Designs is one of those people. She’s aaaaaadorable (like in an annoyingly beautiful kind of way that you want to punch her in the face for being so adorable). She is super sweet and an amazingly genuine woman. She makes really incredibly beautiful babies. AND she makes some stinking cute things! Basically the perfect woman!

Remember that shirt you see on Jessi ALL THE TIME because it’s my favorite and one of the only shirts that fits her right now? Yeah, Kristina made that. Oh, and the bow too of course.

And these infinity scarves I am obsessed with? They are new in her shop! I wear these alllll the time (probably committing another fashion no, no?). Playdate scarf? OK! Girls night out scarf? Yes, please! They are super soft, and also warm! Zoey is convinced I wear them so she can snuggle them. That darn cute little snuggle bug.

GUESS WHAT?!?!?! To celebrate the launch of the Spring Line, Jaxon Jill Designs is giving away a $40 Gift Certificate to one lucky reader!!!

Check out some of the lovelies from her new line!

MANDATORY ENTRY:
Go visit her shop and comment and let me know what you might use the gift certificate for.

ADDITIONAL ENTRIES:
(leave a comment for each entry!)
(1) Like “The Mom Diggity” on Facebook
(2) Follow me on twitter!!
(3) Like “Jaxon Jill Designs” on Facebook
(4) Tweet this giveaway (must include @momdiggity), you may copy and paste this: “Jaxon Jill Designs released the Spring Line and I entered to win a $40 Gift Certificate from @momdiggity! Enter here: http://wp.me/p14UOo-2oi”

This giveaway will end at 11pm CST on Wednesday, February 29th and winner announced here. The views here are strictly out of my brain, and of course based on my quality fashion. Duh.

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talk me off the ledge?

February 20, 2012 in jessi girl, parenting rocks with 13 Comments

I’ve been planning to keep Jessi in her crib until Jr. High, but over the last few days I’ve been having these crazy thoughts of moving her into a big girl bed. Her crib is super high, so I doubt she’ll ever be able to climb out. So we can’t really count on her telling us when she’s ready, it’s up to us to decide.

She’s just getting so big and I’m obsessed with showering her with things she doesn’t need I was thinking it would be so fun to surprise her for her birthday with her new big girl bed! The only thing that really concerns me is the fact that she’s upstairs by herself. We have a gate at the top of the stairs, but is is bad to put a childproof door handle on the inside of her door so she can’t get out at night?

I mean…come on. How cute is this?? Since her room is already a “rockstar” theme, I doubt I’ll change it until the girls move into a room together and something like this would be so stinking cute!

Source: Target

When did you move your little one? Should I hold off and wait until she’s at least in 5th grade?

brain spit up {and “beg” for sponsors}

February 18, 2012 in blogging, our life with 13 Comments

Ok, I need to sit and write. I always feel a little better when I get my words out, a little brain spit up if you will. And it helps to put things into perspective. I’ve talked about it some, but we as a family are in a bit of a tough place. We recently had to put a hold on our adoption, and that hurt my heart bad. God has put us in this place for a reason, and I know that there is an incredible plan for us.

I’ve been battling with whether or not to get a job for a few weeks. I have a hard time not helping financially support my family. My husband assures me that I do MORE than enough for our family. But we are stretched right now. And it’s REALLY hard for me to admit that.

What gets me through? My husband is happier than I’ve seen him in a long time. I’m overjoyed that he loves his job and new career. I pray that this will be an awesome thing for him, whether it’s long term or short term. I also pray that they move him up quickly so we don’t have to worry about this money junk anymore!

I’ve been trying to figure out how to make some extra cash to help out by working from home. I have a few ideas of things I might be able to sell, but other than that I’m not sure what else to do. Basically it comes down to the fact that my passion is my girls. Being a mom is my dream job. I love spending my days with these tiny humans, and the thought of even being away from them a couple of days a week makes me break down in tears. I would rather cut back and be as frugal as possible and get this precious time with them. I know they will grow up so fast, and I selfishly want every second with them.

Anyone have any great ideas for making money from home?

Um, with that being said….interested in sponsoring us for March??
Handmade shops can get an ad spot for as low as $8 a month!
Email me for more info if you’re interested! If you want to do a 3-6 month spot, I offer discounts as well! Can’t wait to chat with you!

zoey’s sweet potato adventure

February 16, 2012 in zoey b with 4 Comments

We started solids with Zoey yesterday! She’s been eying our food for a few weeks now and we could tell she was getting ready for it. We started her with sweet potatoes. I just cooked a sweet potato, and mixed a little formula with it to make it nice and runny. She was sooooo excited about it!! The majority of the food ended up on her, but she did great for her first time!

And incase you’re interested, here’s video of the experience. It was house cleaning day so let’s ignore how nasty I look. Feel free to jump ahead to around 2min to see the toddler shove a spoon down Z’s throat and try out the baby food herself.

Hooray for solid food!

Now Mommy won’t eat a meal for a few months until I can throw table scraps at her.

wordless{ish} wednesday: snow much fun!

February 15, 2012 in wordless wednesday with 2 Comments

We have had an amazingly warm winter, but finally got struck by cold this past week. We got a little bit of snow, so Jessi woke up so excited and itching to go play! We bundled up, and enjoyed a little snow!

By the time the girls were up from their naps, all the snow was gone! Thanks 50 degrees! I can handle a few hours of snow and back to sunshine!

Linking up with some Wordless Wednesday friends
The Paper Mama, And Then She {Snapped}, 5 Minutes for Mom,
Jenni from the Blog & Angry Julie Monday

schardein & co salon {a giveaway!}

February 14, 2012 in stuff i love with 22 Comments

****THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED****

A day at the salon is one of my favorite things. It’s so relaxing to get out of the house and sit for a few hours. Love it! I’m thrilled to share my salon with you. I’m obsessed. Schardein & Co Salon is seriously one of the coolest salons I’ve ever set foot in. I love the set up of the place. Each stylist isn’t stationed at a specific place, and they move around all over. There is just a big group of chairs, and it creates such a fun atmosphere. I’ve gotten to chat with so many of their stylists and customers because of this unique set up.

Not to mention the fact that they are a top 200 salon. The stylists do continuing education all the time, so they are up to date on all the latest stuff. No mullets going on there! Unless I missed something and they are back? Let’s hope not.

My stylist? She’s awesome. She knows her stuff. She sits and talks things over with you before you start. I completely trust her, I mean come on…I let her dye my hair brown! That’s not something I do without a crazy insane amount of trust.

After having Zoey, I hadn’t been to get my hair done in 4 months. Can you say YUCK??

Holly took me from nasty to FABULOUS!!!!

GIVEAWAY TIIIIIIIIME!

Because I love my salon so much, I’m thrilled to team up with them and offer you something!! One lucky reader will win a free styling session with my stylist Holly. Maybe you’re looking for a new salon? This is a great way to check it out!

MANDATORY ENTRY:
Leave a comment and tell me what you might use the free style for if you win!
Have a big event or just want to look pretty for a night out? I wanna know!

ADDITIONAL ENTRIES:
(leave a comment for each entry!)
Like “The Mom Diggity” on Facebook
Follow me on twitter!!
Like “Shardein & Co Salon” on Facebook
Tweet this giveaway (must include @momdiggity)

***You must be local to win this giveaway, Schardein & Co Salon is
located in Oklahoma City, OK***