Christmas at our house.

I think the kids had a pretty good Christmas. I tried to get everything on their list & they looked pretty happy! Wanted to share a few photos.

Christmas Eve-the kids in their Christmas pajamas.

Chloe thought about going to sleep with brother….

But changed her mind and was in our bed as usual. :)

Must do stockings first.

The loot.

The BB gun from grandma.

No shooting your eye out.

Chloe’s turn.

Can you tell she likes SpongeBob????

I got Mom the Pioneer Woman’s Cookbook. Its awesome. I lover her recipes.

THE TRAMPOLINE!!!!!

They loved the trampoline. We still need to get a net for it. Jake also got a scooter, skateboard, and some video games…oh and a PS3 from his “father”…..That’s a whole other post for another day!

Hope everyone had a great Christmas! I got what I wanted, happy kids, a Edward "Twilight" blanket, & some much needed cash. :)

Showing off my Christmas Decor.

I have seen a couple of blogs showing off their Christmas decorations and I decided to do the same. Those who know me know I am a HUGE Winnie the Pooh collector. I have so much Pooh stuff its ridiculous!! So naturally most of my Christmas decorations would also be Winnie the Pooh. I took most of these pictures last year & I am too lazy to take them again this year. Not much has changed. I have a couple of new ornaments, but that is about it.

I have a weakness for snow globes. This one is my favorite. Its actually pretty big, but you cant really tell with this picture.

This is a smaller Pooh snow globe. I am sorry for the poor quality. I suck at taking pictures!

 

Pooh stocking holder. You can tell this one is from last year from the Obama pin  (Yes I am one of those crazy liberal chicks…Shocker huh? you still love me even though I’m a democrat don’t ya? ;)

My Pooh shelf. One of them.

My shelves with Logan’s pictures, his Willow Tree figurines, and my Pooh Christmas plates.  Oh and Logan gets a new snow globe every year for Christmas.

Logan’s Christmas tree. There are a few Pooh ornaments on there somewhere.

Well there was, but I don't see any in these pictures.

We have 2 little trees instead of 1 big one. This is just until Chloe is old enough to leave them alone. So far she has broken 3 of my very special ornaments. :(

A close up of some of the ornaments. A lot of people have “themed” trees. Ours is a mixture of our favorite things.

Logan’s candy cane & the Pooh in the back is just like the Pooh on his headstone.

Sock monkey and ALABAMA ROLL TIDE!!!!!!!

We have a small skinny tree for all of the ornaments Jake has made at school.

Another Logan ornament. I think he has 10 or so. :)

“Its a Girl” ornament I got while pregnant with Chloe. Jake used to be a Spiderman fanatic!

Counting down the days…

Chloe last year checking the tree out for the first time.

My snow men.

My new Eyore ornament. It looks like Indiana Jones is whipping him doesn't it?

There are a few others, but I think I have already posted enough! Hopefully you have not fallen asleep from boredom looking at these pictures. ;) Thanks for looking if you have made it this far. If you have a post like this with all your decorations leave me a link so I can check it out! I love looking at others decorations.

I hope everyone has a

 safe and Merry

Christmas!

Winner Winner!

I have a winner of the 25.00 gift certificate from Apericots giveaway!

Using random.org
The person with the 21st comment is-


Jessica

Woooohooo Jessica! I will be emailing you soon!Congratulations and thank you to everyone else who entered to win. Hopefully I will have more great giveaways soon!!

Apericots-Organic baby clothes review & giveaway!

I am so excited to be given the opportunity to host a review/giveaway for a 25.00 gift certificate to the online store Apericots! I am especially excited since they sell 100% organic clothing for children. All of their designs are printed with eco-friendly, water-based ink because they care about the planet and the kids who play on it. :) They are a baby clothing retailer that focuses on customizable, eco-friendly/organic, high quality products. You can customize or personalize almost any product they offer. For example you can order a cloth diaper, bib, hat, or onesies and print your own custom text or personal photo on it.

Apericots was founded by a group of parents, creative minds and friends that united to form an environmentally conscious and unique alternative to all the lame baby clothes out there.

A few facts on why organic clothing is important.

Conventional cotton farming takes an enormous toll on the air, water, soil and people who live in cotton growing areas. In the United States, 1/3 Pound of agricultural chemicals are typically used in the production of a single cotton T-shirt. (www.organicconsumers.org)

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, seven of the top 15 pesticides used on U.S. cotton crops are potential or known human carcinogens. (http://environment.about.com/od/fashionandentertainment/a/organic_cotton.htm)

During the conversion of conventional cotton into clothing, numerous toxic chemicals are added at each stage - harsh petroleum scours, softeners, brighteners, heavy metals, flame and soil retardants, ammonia and formaldehyde - to name just a few. (www.expectantmothersguide.com)

A baby's skin is more porous and thinner than an adults. That means that their skin absorbs things very easily. Children are at greater risk for pesticide-related health problems than adults. (www.expectantmothersguide.com)

Organic cotton has softer, longer fibers than conventional cotton, so the resulting fabric is softer, thicker, and more durable. Organic cotton is especially great for infants and children. Whereas pesticide and chemically-treated clothing traps heat and prevents skin from absorbing adequate moisture—often causing rashes and eczema on sensitive skin—organic cotton is natural and breathable. Children with allergies particularly benefit, as organic cotton does not have the residual toxic residues that linger on conventional cotton. Even those without sensitive skin find organic cotton more comfortable and kid-friendly. (www.happygreenbee.com)

 

Here is one of my favorite onesies from their store. Don't you love it? :)

Some of their other products-

 

All-In-One cloth diapers by bumGenius

Cloth diapering has never been so easy!
All-In-One cloth diapers by bumGenius offer an industry first - tabs that stretch for a perfect fit. Until now, cloth diapering involved folding, scary pins, an extra cover, or a dizzying array of snaps.
But don't worry, now we have stretchy tabs combined with hook and loop fasteners that make cloth diapering as easy as using disposables. The simple one-step system of our all-in-ones is an ideal solution for families with a child in day-care or family members resistant to cloth diapers! It really is as easy to use as a disposable diaper. Put it on your baby, wash, dry and re-use. No extra steps. No folding. No stuffing. No cover required.

One size fits all diaper.

The one-size-fits-all reusable diaper features snaps for adjustability, stretch fit tabs that hold your baby snuggly, durable velcro closures, a soft lining that wicks away moisture and a waterproof outer elastic gentle enough to keep your baby smiling and the leaks from leaking. And don't forget the great colors.
Each reusable diaper comes with 2 super soft inserts and enough savings to pay for the sitter and a date night with your main squeeze.

 

The folks at Apericots were nice enough to send me a 100% organic cotton long sleeved t-shirt of theirs to review. I immediately fell in love with the feel of the fabric, it is incredibly soft to the touch! The design was really cool, and Chloe looked super cute in it! I tried to get a good picture of Chloe wearing the shirt, but I guess she wasn't in the mood for a photo shoot that day.

Finally got a little smile out of her!

HOW TO WIN A 25.00 GIFT CERTIFICATE TO THE APERICOTS ONLINE STORE!

Visit Apericots tell me in a comment below which item or items you would pick if you won. This is mandatory, you must do this first before you can get additional entries.

Additional ways to win. Please leave a separate comment for each thing you have done below. Also make sure to leave your email so I can contact you if you win. Giveaway ends Dec. 19th, I will announce the winner here  & contact you by email. You will have 48 hours to respond before I pick another winner.

1 extra entry for being a follower.

1 extra entry for following me on twitter & tweeting about this giveaway. Please include @nickelpicklemom & a link to this post in your tweet. You may tweet this once a day for a chance to enter everyday.

5 extra entries for blogging about this giveaway. Please leave a link to your blog post in 5 separate comments.

5 extra entries if you purchase an item from Apericots online store.

 

Good luck everyone!

A little Winter 2009 picture spam!

Wanted to share a few pictures from Winter so far.  We took the kids to see Santa at the Bass Pro Shops last weekend, they got to talk to Santa and make an ornament while we were there. Last Saturday was pretty hard on me (being Logan’s 4th birthday) so Sunday I knew we had to do something fun for the kids.

Chloe would not sit on Santa’s lap…so mommy had to.

All 4 kids with Santa.

Emma

RJ

Jacob.

 

Here they are making their ornament.

Little Miss Emma shooting the BB gun.

Having fun on the 4 wheeler outside.

 

At home making their Christmas puppets.

Random pictures from Bass Pro Shops.

Even though I was sad last weekend I tried to make it enjoyable for the kids. I think I did a good job and it helped me keep my mind of off everything else that I was upset about.

Oh yea and hopefully later on tonight I will my review/giveaway for some awesome organic baby items. Be on the look out! Thanks for stopping by.

New Moon

I finally got to see my LOVE on Friday night!! New Moon was awesome!!!! The only thing I didn't like about it was it seemed to speed through everything, it seemed so rushed. Which I guess normal since its a movie, they cant really cover every single little detail of the book. Other than that I loved it. Daniel and I went with my best friend and her man. It was originally supposed to be just us girls, but we decided the men folk could come too if wanted to...I knew Daniel wanted to go because he liked the first movie. We watched the first Twilight Thursday night just to put us in the "mood" for Friday. Not that I needed to see the movie to be in the mood, lol but hey any reason so see Edward is cool with me.hehe.

Jake was spending the night with his grandparents and Chloe was staying with our neighbor who she just adores. We get to the theater about 45 minutes before the movie was to start & already there were tons of people! I have never in my life seen that many people at the theater. I had already ordered our tickets weeks ago so all I had to do was show them my credit card to get my tickets. Its a good thing I had already bought them because I am pretty sure it was sold out already. I was a bad girl and had to sneak my starbucks Carmel frappachino in my purse. Hey I don't get starbucks very often and I was not about to throw away my 5.00 drink! Daniel went and got a drink and some popcorn (9.00!) while I went to get in line with my friend. There was a huge line with yellow tape..its a good thing she went ahead and got in line for us or we might of gotten really crappy seats.

Oh and get this! Instead of it being theater employees checking our tickets as we walk into see the movie it was armed police officers!! Can you believe that? Are they afraid it will get that out of hand that they needed to armed police men checking tickets on our way in?

We got good seats where we wanted. Now I have to complain about the teeny boopers....I knew there would be a lot of them and I was right. This part was so annoying-they laughed at everything!!!!! Even parts that were no where near funny, not supposed to be funny, and even during serious parts of the movie. It really got on my nerves. The first time Jacob Black came on the screen they all yelled and clapped, the first time Edward came on screen they yelled and cheered. One scene where Jacob jumped out of Bellas window one girl screamed out something really loud. I am not even really sure what she said.

I didn't cry at all during the movie! That surprised me since for one I am a cry baby and I always cry during movies and the second reason is I cried through Bellas depression while reading the book! I mean I cried for a couple of chapters I tell ya. I forgot to tell you I was a HUGE DORK and wore my Twilight shirt to the movie, my friend said it was ok to be a dork about kick @$$ stuff. ;) I wasn't the only person, a lot of girls had on New Moon shirts.

This morning I finally finished reading Breaking Dawn! The book was so good, I could hardly put it down. It did take me a week to read it but that's only because I have been busy with work and other stuff. It was awesome though. I loved it and I loved the ending. I don't think this needs to be the last book...she has got to continue!! I need my Twilight fix!

I have a few confessions to make…

I am obsessed with vampires…

I am in love with a fictional character who’s skin sparkles like diamonds in the sunlight. Is that wrong? Because if it is…I don't want to be right.

I have been obsessed with vampires ever since I was a little girl and I watched “The Lost Boys” for the first time. Probably a movie I should not have been watching at such a young age, but I didn't care. I loved that movie.

Then it was “An Interview with a Vampire” (hello Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise!). After seeing that movie I became obsessed with Anne Rice books. I would read them over and over as a young teen.

After that was “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” the movie. Another movie I would watch over and over. That was also back in the Beverly Hills 90210 show days & I had a thing for Luke Perry.

There are several other really good vampire movies like Van Helsing, Underworld, Dracula, etc.

Well that brings us up to date with my current Vampire obsession. The Twilight series. I was a little late reading the books, but once I started I was HOOKED. It was like a drug & I had to have it! Once I started reading it was all I could think about. My Edward. My beautiful Edward. What is it about him that I love so much? Is it just because its an escape from reality? I don't know what it is, but I love it. So I zipped through the first and 2nd book. I couldn't put New Moon down…read it in 24 hours. I have started on Eclipse, but I have been so busy recently that it has taken me a while to finish it, I should have it read by this weekend. Then I can start on Breaking Dawn…

I went ahead and bought my tickets to go see New Moon Friday the 20th.I didn't want to risk it being sold out. I wont be able to make the midnight show because I have to work Friday, but we have a double date planned for 10pm Friday night. At least I hope its a double date…I still don't have a confirmed baby sitter. If I have to begg and plead with one of my family members to watch Chloe I will!! lol I have to see my Edward! If the movie is half as good as the book then it is going to be soooooooooooooo good!

Then recently a friend told me about a series on HBO called True Blood. I don't have HBO so I ordered the first disc on NetFlix. Wow, the show was nothing like I had expected! Way more adult oriented than Twilight, but really good. Daniel and I were instantly hooked on this series, so we just finished the 4th episode and can hardly wait for the next disc to arrive so we can get our Sookie Stackhouse fix.

Then I hear from another friend that the books are great as well, but a lot different than the series. I couldn't help myself and went on Amazon today & ordered the box set. Not a bad deal either. Got the 7 book box set 33.00 + 3.00 shipping. So that's just a little over 5.00 for each book. They should arrive sometime next week and I am debating on whether to start Breaking Dawn or the Sookie books….

I wanna do bad things to you…

Lafayette-my favorite character, he cracks me up.

Then today I hear there is a show in CW called the Vampire Diaries. I have heard of it, but never watched..I am told I MUST watch it as well….Great! Just what I need, ANOTHER vampire obsession to add to the already ridiculous list!

Well I better sign off….Edward is calling my name.

Adult Halloween party.

Well I shared the kids Halloween pictures, but forgot to post pictures of the adult Halloween party Daniel and I went to at my best friend Ambers house. I didn't really have a costume at first because I was not willing to pay 40-50 bucks on something I was only going to wear one night so I was super excited when I found my costume at the thrift store for…….1.98!

I was so excited! Of course I had to hit the party store and buy all the accessories to go with it, but even then I think I might have spent 10.00-15.00 on all of that.

 

Like it? Yep I was a “sexy lady cop” ;) Not too bad for 1.98. Since I was a cop we thought it would be funny for Daniel to be my inmate. Oh and was it funny!

Check this picture out! How funny is that? You see the look on his face? He doesn't look too happy does he? Well seems I was using a little too much “excessive force” pulling his hands back & I had my high heal boats in his back! He wasn't enjoying this pose!

Here I am with my friend Amber (the pirate winch) and my other friend Casey (the geisha)who is also Ambers sister.

Another picture of me and Amber. I don't know what was up with the orange streaks, but it looks pretty cool!

Showing off a little leg here…;)

Ambers boyfriend Steve (another pirate).

I love this picture for some reason. I just have a silly cutesy look on my face.

Towards the end of the night. My eyes are looking very tired. LOL that's from a few too many Jell-O shots & having gotten up at 5:00 am that morning to drive to Chattanooga for the day (still working on that post & will have it up soon! Having picture problems). Don't worry, Daniel was the designated driver so I could have a few drinks and have a fun night out with my girls.

Oh here is one of my mom at work. She was also a lady cop!

FEEDING YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM

Helpful ways to feed your immune system.

FEEDING YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM

Some tips on boosting your immune system. Thought this might be helpful since it is now cold and flu season. Daniel has been sick with H1N1 (possibly me too), but thankfully Jake and Chloe have been fine. They eat pretty healthy, get lots of healthy fluids, and plenty of rest. We don't vaccinate against the flu for personal reasons so I try to do all I can to prevent it by other means. I have been pretty lucky Chloe has been sick once in her 22 months on this earth. She had a double ear infection at her 1 year WBC, ironically about a month after she weaned from the breast. Other than that she has been healthy as can be. I dont recall Jake being sick once this year....so far he has had perfect attendance at school! Fingers crossed they keep it up. I started both of them on Elderberry last night & we are taking probiotics as well. They love it! Jake asked for his as soon as he walked in the door from school. I know a lot of people have been sick recently & I hope you all get to feeling well soon!

My trick or treat crew.

Wanted to share a couple of pictures from last night. I cant find the battery charger for my camera so all these pictures were taken on my phone! No not the best..

I carved us a pumpkin.

The kids made some Halloween cookies.

 

We also made some Mummy Dogs.

Jake was a “mac daddy”. He thought he was a gangsta.

RJ was Mario.

Bat girl Emma.

My little Tulip fairy.

Crazy boy!

The kids had a great time. Chloe did really well. It only took her 2 houses to get the hang of it. After that she was running up to the doors with the rest of the kids & holding up her basket. After she got her candy she would say thank you & bye bye. She looked adorable in her little outfit & wish I had some better pictures than I do.

I am working on a post with pictures from the Halloween party Daniel and I went to last weekend and my trip to Chattanooga,TN.

Pregnancy and infant loss Remembrance day.

Please remember those who have lost babies today. Light a candle for them. I will be lighting a candle for my 3 little ones (2 miscarriages and Logan), my nephew Tristan, my good friends daughters, and other babies who had to leave this earth too soon. I love and miss you Logan and you will never be forgotten.

Light your candles at 7 tonight and there will be a wave of light all across the world....




http://www.october15th.com/

Do I really have to wait this long...

For more Edward? Darn...

Chloe and Daddy on the Ninja!
Hey everyone! Sorry I have not posted in a while. I have been sick with pneumonia & the Internet at home has been awful! I am looking for a new provider...



Not a lot going on right now..I am so looking forward to Fall. I want to take the kid to the fair & the pumpkin patch. :) Fun times.



I have to run, but I will update more this weekend I hope. Everyone take care!

Thursday Thunks.

1. Your thoughts on truck drivers?

I love the ones I work with (I work in the transportation dept at work). Most are very kind & respectful.

2. Did you hear Michelle Duggar is pregnant for the 15th time? (but that will be kid #19 if you lost count....)

Oh yes...lucky her to have so many babies & no losses....

3. Have you ever done something to hurt someone intentionally... just for the sole purpose of hurting them because you thought they deserved it?

I have. Not proud of it. When you hurt sometimes you want the one that hurt you to feel the same way you do.

4. Is there anyone in your life that when you go to their place of residence, you just walk in without bother knocking? Does anyone just walk into your house without knocking?

Most people do knock when they come over.

5. Whats in the trunk of your car? Do you even have a clue? I don't have a trunk. I drive an Expedition. I think the stroller is in the back & some jumper cables.

6. When you go to a family holiday get together (such as Christmas or Thanksgiving), about how many people are there?

10-15.

7. What is in your kitchen sink right at this very moment?

A couple of cups...its not too bad right now.

8. You go to a store to buy an expensive item... say $150. You pick up that item and a couple other this n' thats. You get to the register and the expensive item rings up at $40. The cashier doesn't seem to notice and tells you your total. Do you go with what they say and pay it or do you question the price difference? You know you would question it if your $40 item rang up at $150....

You know I would probably say something. I don't think I would feel right about it.

9. Do you fold your underwear or do you just toss it in a drawer?

Not much to fold! I usually just bunch them up and throw them in the drawer.

10. There is a Harley-Davidson giveaway. Chances are $100 and they are only selling 250 tickets. Do you buy one?

If I had an extra 100.00 to throw around (which I never do!)

11. Who is your favorite Disney character? Winnie the Pooh of course.

12. It's September - most of the weekly sitcoms/dramas are starting new seasons again. Which one are you most looking forward to?

I cant remember when Greys comes back on, but it needs to hurry!!

13. You are at a grocery store and are on your way out to your car with your cart full of grocery bags. On your way to your car you see a black kitten in an empty cart. What do you do?

Oh gosh. Probably get it & try to find it a good home. I personally don't want a kitten, but someone might.

14. Is there anything that you do for a hobby that you are asked to do for friends/family that most people would hire a professional to do? (example: cake decorating, fixing cars....)

not that I can think of........

15. Are we there yet?

Almost.

I have become so lazy at trying to come up with good titles for my blog posts…Do you mind if I don't title this one? I knew you wouldn't.

So what's new with you? Not a whole lot going on around here….Same ole same ole for the most part..I did get to go to this event called “Babypalooza” that is held here in Birmingham every year. You may have one in your area as well. Its pretty much this huge expo type thing where hundreds of companies (mainly baby & kid type companies) set up booths and they usually have info about their company, free samples, and most of them give you a chance to win one of their products or sometimes even money. Then you have to ask for “baby bucks”. Baby bucks look like monopoly money & they come in 1’s,5’s, & 10’s. You HAVE to ask for the baby bucks to get them & at the end of the expo they have an auction where you can bid on items & buy them with your baby bucks.

So Chloe and I go with a good friend Amber and her kids. I make sure to hit every single booth. I enter all the giveaways & ask all of them for baby bucks. Did I mention nearly every single booth was giving away free food? Before we even got in the door we were given a bottle of Vitamin water, a small personal cup of Blue Bell ice cream, and a snow cone! Mind you we got there at 10:00 am. Once we got in we got this cupcake that was to die for from a local bakery, locally made fresh doughnut holes, and lots of other yummy goodies.

My friend Amber and I get all the baby bucks we can. We had over 400.00 combined! I had my heart set on the 4 Disney on Ice tickets. I was outbid & they sold for over 500.00 baby bucks. After they auctioned off a couple of items I really was not interested in or didn't have enough bucks for we played Baby Bingo & I won!! :) I was so excited. I won a 150.00 gift certificate to a local photography company called Blink Photography. You can visit their website, she does awesome work. I cant wait to get the kids pictures made.

Well it starts to get time for me to go because I have to take my mom to work & I have to leave before getting to spend my baby bucks. I leave them with my friend and head home. I get almost home when I get a call from Babies R Us. My name was selected to win a prize!! I could choose from a huge basket full of miscellaneous baby items or a breast pump, of course I picked the basket since I am not nursing any longer. I had to get my friend to grab the basket for me since I was too far to turn back. So I have not even gotten to see the basket but Amber told me its heavy & huge. :) On top of that I have a huge bag of different swag & neat stuff they were giving out.So I fared pretty well at the Babyplooza this year.

Oh and nearly everyday this week I have gotten some great mailbox goodies. I received my stainless steal compost pail I won, I got a nice bottle of facial moisturizer that was sent for me to try out & then give the company my opinion on it. It feels really good on my face, I don't know who makes cause its in a plain bottle…I have a few guesses though. Last week I got my SKOY cleaning cloth from myEARTH360.com. Its really neat & replaces up to 15 rolls of paper towels! Now that is green. If you visit myEARTH360.com and order something use the code CUST09 to get 10% off your order.

I won the book “The Secret Life of Bees” from Holly & it came in the mail. Cant wait to read it, thanks Holly! The same day I got the book the t-shirt came in I won from Crazy Baby Clothing.

Isn't it cute? If you know me you know I love skulls (especially pink skulls) and I have several outfits that I can wear when Chloe wears her shirt. I am going to get her a tutu to match the color of the skull & some black leggings and Chloe will be the cutest little punk rock chick ever!

Oh and because I am a bzzagent I was sent a full bottle of Burt's Bess acne facial cleanser and a bottle of spot treatment to try out & spread the word about them. OMG. The facial cleanser is da bomb. My face has never ever ever felt as good as it does after I have washed it with this cleanser. No joke. I love Burt's Bees products anyways and have been using them for years. I thought the Burt's orange essence facial cleanser was the best, but nope not even close to this stuff. I love the avocado butter hair moisturizer & the carrot lotion. Heck I love every product of Burt's I have tried so far. Oh and they sent me several samples to give out so just let me know if you would like for me to send you a sample.

Exciting thing happened today when I got home. Our chickens were out of the pen so we had to chase them down and get them back in. Pretty comical thing to watch. I am sure the neighbors were LTAO. When we got them in we found 5 eggs! This is the first time they have laid eggs! 2 were broken, but that happens. They are so cute and brown, cant wait to eat ‘em up.

Well I think that is all for now. Don't forger to enter my 250 custom greeting card giveaway. 2 winners will be chosen Friday morning. You could use the for all sorts of things so go ahead and enter!

Have a great night everyone.

Peace

Nickel Pickle Mom

Giveaway! 250 Custom greeting cards from Digitalroom.com! CONTEST CLOSED

The Holidays are right around the corner. Wouldn't it be nice to be able to send out beautiful custom greeting cards to friends and family? Another neat idea would be if you are having a baby you could send these out as birth announcements maybe you are throwing some sort of shower or party you could send out custom postcards.

Today I am giving away-

250 7 x 5" Greeting Cards (Half-Fold); 10 pt Cover with matte or gloss Coating

Full Color Outside and Blank Inside (4/0)

Shipping Must be Paid by Winner. Offer Valid for UNITED STATES SHIPPING ONLY.

If you would to win here is what you have to do-

For one entry tell me in a comment how you would use these should you win.
(This is mandatory and you must do this first before you can get extra entries)

You can any or all of the following and please leave a separate comment for each thing you have done & leave me your email address so I can notify you if you have won.

1 extra entry if you follow my blog.

5 extra entries if you blog about this giveaway & please link to this post & leave me a link to your blog post.

1 extra entry if you follow me on twitter.

1 extra entry if you tweet about this giveaway & include @nickelpicklemom in your tweet.


2 Winners will be chosen on Friday September 4th. I will need to hear back from you that day with your mailing info or I will have to pick another winner.

Thanks for entering and good luck everyone!!

*****************CONTEST CLOSED**********************

Winners are-Heather22 & Brenda! Congrats!!!

Crocs Buy One Get One Free. (click below to order)

Crocs Buy One Get One Free. Mix and Match From Over 30 Select Styles AND Get Free Ground Shipping. Applicable on selected discontinued styles & colors. While supplies last.
Click yellow words above you order your pair and get another pair for free!
Crocs Buy One Get One Free. Mix and Match From Over 30 Styles AND Get Free Ground Shipping!

Howdy.

Hey everyone! Wow I went from having about 16 followers (most of whom I know in one way or another) to having 63 followers! Wow. I hope that you will stick around even though most of you came just to enter my two giveaways. I will be having some more exciting giveaways here pretty soon so keep a look out for those.

I wanted to introduce myself to my new followers and tell you a little bit about myself. My name is Nicole, I am a 26 year old mother of 5. My son Jake is 10, my son Logan lived about 33 hours after birth (he passed away due to a fatal birth defect called anencephaly) you can read about his story here, I have a 19 month old daughter named Chloe, and 2 step children who are 4 & 5. I lived half my life in Florida and moved to Alabama when I was about 10. When I turned 18 I bought a house out in the country & I love it here. I have a little garden I love working in & a couple of chickens. I work full time outside of the home & I am engaged to a great guy named Daniel.

I practice attachment parenting, also a huge advocate for breast feeding & I do not support CIO, or spanking in our home. We co-sleep and try keep are life as natural as we can....We are huge Alabama football fans (cant wait for football season!!) ROLL TIDE, we enjoy going to concerts, and just being laid back and having fun with our kids.

So now that's out of the way feel free to comment and let me know about yourself if you are a new follower and leave me a link to your blog if you have one so I can follow you too!

I did pick winners for my 2 giveaways and they were both contacted I just have not had time to post about them.
The winner of the rug giveaway was -Joell and the winner of the 30.00 Kroger gift card was Darlene. Congrats to the both of you. I hope you enjoy your gift and please let me know when they arrive.

Again I have a couple more exciting giveaways lined up I just have been so busy & my Internet has been acting a dang fool I just have not been able to post them. Maybe I can work on that tonight!

Thankful for all my new followers and I hope you all will stick around.

Have a great night.

Peace.

Goodies goodies goodies, I love getting goodies =)

I love sharing awesome mail box goodies I have been getting. Makes me feel all giddy inside ( I know its doesn't take much these days ;) )

First I got the Pillsbury Simply Cookies prize I won from Confessions of a psychotic housewife.

Cute huh?

I also signed up for a research thingy and a major brand of baby products sent me 2 bottles of baby wash to use on Chloe for 2 weeks. After 2 weeks I have to take a survey and then I get paid 15.00 for participating. So 2 big bottles of baby wash and 15.00 just for using them and taking a survey is pretty sweet in my book. :)

I got my 30.00 Kroger gift card from myblogspark & one of my lucky readers will also be getting one. Be sure to enter my contest. Winner will be picked Friday morning. Oh and the kids rug contest will also end Friday so hurry and enter if you have not already.

I got an email today letting me know I had won a stainless steel compost pail from Trying to stay calm.
Its pretty neat that I won that considering I do compost everyday & I have just been using this old plastic cookie jar I had around the house. This will work much better & look a lot nicer sitting on my counter.

Oh and one last thing! I won AGAIN over at OrganicgreenMama!
This time I won some SKOY Eco-Friendly cleaning clothes.

I think that's all the goodies for now...I do have a few other things to share...I made some awesome peach turnovers & racked up on some sweet thrift store items I wanted to share as well, but the house is a mess, the kids need dinner, and I cant sit here all day.... :( Maybe later tonight.

Oh and again I have 2 giveaways going on right now you must enter!!! They end Friday!!

Peace out.

Would you like a 30.00 Kroger gift card??

CONTEST IS CLOSED. WINNER WILL BE POSTED SOON!

Well than I am the chick to see!

The very cool folks at General Mills, PepsiCo., & Myblogspark have sent me a 30.00 gift card to use during Kroger's Mega savings event which is from August 16th-Sept. 2nd. They are also going to send one of my lucky readers a 30.00 gift card to use during the mega savings event!

If you are not familiar with this promotional offer, here is how it works: when you buy 10 participating brands (see list below) and use your Shopper Card at check out you instantly save $5. And there is no limit on the number of rewards per transaction! Look for the double yellow tags in-store

Participating brands include: AMP Energy, Aquafina, Betty Crocker Baking Mixes, Betty Crocker Fruit Snacks, Cascadian Farms Cereals and Bars, Cap'n Crunch, Cheerios, Cheetos, Chex Mix, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Cocoa Puffs, Dole Juices and Juice Drinks, Fiber One, Fritos, Gatorade, Golden Grahams, Green Giant, Hamburger Helper, Life , Lipton Tea, Nature Valley, Old El Paso, Pepsi family of 2 Liters, Pillsbury, Progresso, Propel, Quaker Instant Oatmeal, Quaker Chewy Bars, Starbucks, Sobe Life Water, Totino's, Trix, Tropicana, Yoplait and MORE!

Here are some great examples of different product combinations for breakfast, lunch, dinner or anytime that are at a great price point:

• Breakfast: Cheerios, Quaker Instant Oatmeal, Pillsbury Toaster Strudel, Tropicana Orange Juice and Yoplait


• Lunch: Nature Valley Granola Bars, Cheetos, Fritos, Progresso Soup, and Gatorade


• Anytime: Betty Crocker Baking Mixes, Tostito's Chips & Salsa, Totino's Hot Snacks, Pepsi 2 Liters


• Dinner: Hamburger Helper, Green Giant, Pillsbury, and Lipton Ready-To-Drink Tea

I don't have a Kroger here locally, but there is one very close to a friends house and I will be traveling there this weekend to see how much I can save! If you know me you know I am all about saving money! Especially since I have a lot of mouths to feed. :)

So this will be a quick contest, I will pick the winner on Friday morning. That way you can get your gift card quickly and get to shopping!

To enter leave me a comment telling me how much money you think you could save during this mega savings event.

For additional entries please do all or as many as you would like of the following. Please leave a separate comment for each thing you did.

1 extra entry if you are a follower.

1 extra entry if you follow me on twitter.

1 extra entry if you tweet about this giveaway. Make sure to include @nickelpicklemom in your tweet.

I will announce the winner Friday morning. I will email you & since we are on a time crunch if I don't hear back from you by Friday afternoon I will have to pick another winner.

Good luck everyone.

p.s. Thanks to everyone who has entered my rug giveaway!! I am blown away by the amount of comments, I am over 120 now I think. Pretty neat huh? :)

Giveaway!!!!! CONTEST CLOSED.

CONTEST CLOSED. GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!

Hey everyone! Hope all is well.

Well today the great folks at All Children’s furniture are letting me giveaway this really cool rug to one of my readers!

Isn't this rug neat? It would be great for a boy or girls room or if you happen to have a play room you could put it there instead. I know my boys would have out there little hot wheels cars all over this rug & have a blast pretending to drive across the country. Its 3’3” x 4’10” & a 49.00 value.

I have been browsing the kids furniture section and they have tons of stuff for infant & kids rooms! There were so many toys & other things I know my kids would have loved to have. Check them out and see for yourself, they also have a huge selection of “eco-friendly” toys and kids furniture.

Would you like to win this cool rug? If you don't have kids yourself do you know a kid who would like this in their room? If so then you should enter this giveaway!

Giveaway open to US & Canada residents only.

1st and mandatory entry, you must do this first before you can make your additional entries- Visit the website - http://www.allchildrensfurniture.com/ and come back & tell me what other item of kids furniture you would like to have.

For additional entries do any or all of the following and leave a separate comment for each thing you did.

2nd way to win-Follow this blog. (1 entry)

3rd-follow me on twitter. (1 entry)

4th-tweet about this contest and make sure to include @nickelpicklemom in your tweet. (You may do this once a day, one entry for everyday you tweet).

5th-Blog about this giveaway and link back to this post and kids furniture (use the word kids furniture to link to the website please) You will receive 3 additional entries for blogging!

Winner will be chosen by random.org and will be announced on Aug.22. I will contact the winner via email and you will have 48 hours to respond.

Good luck!!!

Birmingham area readers!

Hi there! Well my fiancee Daniel was laid off from his job over a month ago and still has not found anything. He has been putting in apps everywhere, going to the unemployment offices, temp services, and even trying to find side work on craigslist. No luck. He's been doing tune ups & cutting yards for extra money. Our bills are getting behind (nothing serious, but I always stress when this happens), we have 4 kids (plus my mom), the kids had to have school supplies, school clothes, and my job is cutting our hours back. Anyways this is just a shout out to anyone who might be reading from the Birmingham,Al. area. Please let me know if you know of anyone who is hiring or just needs work done. Daniel is an auto mechanic, but will do anything at this point.

He had a few jobs that looked like they would work out, but for one reason or another did not. One was too far to drive for the money & would have cost him too much in gas for the little bit they were paying.....I am trying not to stress out & we will be OK I just figured putting the word out on my blog would not hurt. :)

Have a great day.

p.s. Keep your eyes out for some giveaways here in the next couple of weeks. :)

Hey everyone! Hope all is well. I am writing this post using Windows live writer. Um its awesome! So much easier to post pictures and things. Try it out! Tomorrow is the first day of school for Jake…4th grade. We had a rough year last year so I am hoping this year will be much better! We’ve got all the school supplies (the list was over 100.00), clothes, shoes, back pack ,and snacks. Just have to get him there on time. He has been staying up to all hours of the night all Summer so its going to be an adjustment to get him back to bed at a decent hour. Everyone in the house went through a round of the stomach virus this past week. It came full circle when my step-kids got it today…..Glad its all over.

I have a couple of pictures I wanted to share! Here are a couple of the veggies and the chickens. We have a few veggies still popping up, there is a banana pepper, some peas, and that yellow bud will be a squash( those got a little late start). Can you believe how big the chickens have gotten?? Still no eggs..it will be a little while longer before they give me any of those. I cant wait though. :)

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We took the kids to the McWayne Science Center yesterday to do something fun for Jake’s birthday. It was a blast. So many neat things to do there.

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This weeks mailbox goodies!

Well its been another good week for mailbox goodies! :) Today I received my silicon 6 muffin pan by easy bakeware at I won from The Grocery Geek.
Isn't it cute?

Just a few minutes ago the the Schwans delivery man showed up with my free box of cookies I ordered. Right now the first 500,000 new customers receive 10.00 in free food! They deliver it right to your door! Sweet huh? Click here to get in on the free food & see if they deliver in your area. When I ordered my 50 count box of frozen chocolate chip cookie dough it said I owed .04, but the delivery guy said I didn't owe anything. :) You can use me as a referral if you order anything, just put in nickelpicklemom@gmail.com.

Earlier this week I received my package full of Fuji's EnviroMAX batteries I won from Green Organic Mama. There were a ton of batteries about 30.00 worth.

Fuji EnviroMAX batteries bring long-awaited peace-of-mind to consumers who “live green” when choosing consumable products. The batteries:

• do NOT contain poisonous cadmium, lithium, or mercury
• are packaged with recycled paper and fully recyclable PET plastic.
• can be harmlessly disposed of through normal waste systems
• do not contain ingredients harmful to the environment
• are landfill safe as they degrade
• equal or exceed performance/longevity of major equivalent brands
• offer outstanding performance at an affordable cost
• ozone-depleting compounds have been eliminated in the production of Fuji EnviroMAX batteries

I also got a splenda sample & a couple of coupons.

Oh oh and the best thing I got in the mail was from one of my online mommy friends & she sent me a nice goodie box full of Bare Essentuals makeup! Have you tried BE? Oh man if you have not you must must try it!! They sell it at Sephora and on QVC. Just remember once you try it you will be hooked and might devolpe quite a habit for it..I had lost my kabuki brush and my skin reverupper while on vacation and Kelly was nice enough to send me some she had extra of plus some blush, a prime time (omg I am in love with that stuff), and a couple of eye shadows & small smaple foundations. Thank you so much sweetie!!!


Anyways I think that is about it..Cant wait to see what I get next week. :)

Take me back to 2004 (and some tata talk)

Tree hugging, dirt worshiping, all natural hippie chick.
Jake dancing.
This is Jake and I at the Bonnaroo music festival in Manchester,Tn. Its a 3 day music festival with mostly hippie bands like The Dead, Phish, Bob Dylan, The String Cheese Incident, and other type bands like that. It was so much fun. This was before Logan died...before life changed as we know it. So happy and carefree. We were just being free spirited hippies. :) Man it would be nice to go back to those days...Life seemed so much easier. Just pack up the family and drive hundreds of miles away to see our favorite bands play.You meet so many different types of people at these shows. Real people. The type of people you don't often run into in your everyday life. I miss it. So many wonderful memories spent out on the road. A lot of people gave us flack for carrying Jake around to some of these shows, but he had a blast! You should have seen him dancing around to all the music, that is something you wont catch him doing now. Haha, 10 year old boys get so embarrassed! Not 5 year old boys! They don't have a care in the world other than Spiderman & Hulk. Just wanted to share a little sneak into my past....Maybe one day I can do those things that I used to love again.........


Oh and I almost forgot that its World Breastfeeding Week!


As you may know I am a big lactivist! Breastfeeding is something that is very important to me. I did not nurse Jake when he was born because well I was only 16 & just would not even consider it. I didn't have anyone encouraging me to do it & as far as I can remember the only person to ever suggest breastfeeding was the nurse who was helping to stitch me back up after my c-section. I don't really have a good excuse for why I didn't do it, I just didn't. Now that I am older and I know all the wonderful benefits of breastfeeding I really wish I would have done it. When I was pregnant with Logan I really wanted to nurse him, even after we found out he was sick it was important to me to at least try and nurse him. I did try, but he was not able to get it down. I hand expressed as much as I could into his mouth.

The when I was pregnant with Chloe I was bound and determined I was going to breastfeed this child & I wanted to do it AT LEAST 1 year & then after that I was going to let her decide when she wanted to wean. Well it didn't quite work out that way....For some reason or another I just figured nursing would come natural & that I didn't need to educate myself all that much about it. I figure you put the baby to the boob, they eat, the end. Well anyone who has nursed a baby for any length of time knows its not that easy. There are a lot of things you need to know about nursing. Then someone gave me this stupid book called "Baby Wise". Man I wish I would have never ever read that stupid book! It gave me awful advice on nursing. I know a lot of people swear by that book & love it, but I just don't see how it worked for those who nursed. The two don't mix well. Ditch that book and read Dr.Sears breastfeeding book! Best advice ever!!!

So my first day nursing Chloe went really well. I thought. By the 2nd or 3rd day my nipples were bleeding & I nearly cried every time she would nurse. It was so painful. Little did I know that its not supposed to hurt that bad! Chloe had an awful latch! Had I done my research before she was born I would have known that. That is something that can be easily fixed with a little help, most hospitals have lactation consultants there to help with things like that. Then because of her bad latch she was not getting enough of the good milk, you know the milk comes in stages and the good rich stuff comes in around the end of the feeding called the hind milk. She was not getting enough of that & was not gaining enough weight. The pedi wanted me to supplement with formula. I was so upset. I didn't want Chloe to have any formula! I wanted her to be 100% breastfed for the first 6 months until we started giving some solids. I did supplement a little bit, but not much. Instead I got the Dr.Sears book & I started talking to my friends online who had nursed. There is a site called kellymom. Lots and lots of wonderful info about nursing.

Once I finally researched everything & found out what I was doing wrong we were able to move forward & Chloe started gaining weight. It didn't hurt anymore & I enjoyed it so much after that. I thought we were at the end of our problems....Well it wasn't. I had to go back to work after 12 weeks. I didn't have the money for a pump until the week that I went back to work so I didn't have any stash built up in the freezer for Chloe to have while I was at work so I was forced to give her some formula while I was away at work. Once I got my pump I didn't have the best luck with it. I would pump 3 times a day, but I was not able to get quite enough for her to eat the next day. So she got mostly pumped milk while I was at work, but did have to have a bottle or two of formula. It wasn't the end of the world, but its not the plan I had. I tried the best I could. I took fenugreek, and proscription meds to try and increase my supply.

Remember when I said I wanted to breastfeed til Chloe was at least a year old then see where it goes from there? Well at about 11 months Chloe weaned herself. I guess my supply had gotten so low that it just wasn't enough for her anymore & she just started to refuse the breast. I was very upset about it. I know now I did the best I could, but wish we could have nursed longer. So my advice to any mother who is thinking about nursing or is currently nursing and having a hard time. Do your home work! Before your baby is born visit kellymom & read up about everything. Join an LLL in your area, join an online breastfeeding support group, educate your family on the benefits of nursing your baby because their support will mean a lot. Daniel was very supportive of my wanting to nurse Chloe. It was awesome because I have heard horror stories of husbands and other family members being hard on the nursing mother causing her to quit due to the lack of support.

Wow I didn't mean to write so much!

Did you breastfeed? Did you have any troubles? If you could offer any advice to a new mother what would that be? Fondest memory of nursing your baby? Mine was when I would come home from work and the first thing I would do is grab Chloe, sit in the rocker, and nurse. It gave us a chance to reconnect with each other after being away from one another all day. I loved that part of the day. :)

Breastfeeding Can Save 1.3M Children Annually, WHO Says To Mark World Breastfeeding Week - Kaiser Global Health

Breastfeeding Can Save 1.3M Children Annually, WHO Says To Mark World Breastfeeding Week - Kaiser Global Health

About 1.3 million children's lives could be saved each year by teaching new
mothers how to breastfeed, but many women do not receive help and stop trying,
the WHO said on Friday ahead of the start of World Breastfeeding Week, which
runs from August 1 through August 7, Reuters reports. "Less than 40 percent of mothers worldwide
breastfeed their infants exclusively in the first six months, as recommended by
the WHO," the news service writes. Constanza Vallenas, a WHO medical officer in
the Department of Child and Adolescent Health and Development, said women "don't
have the practical support" to help them get their infants to latch on properly
and find a technique that prevents pain and discomfort. Vallenas said the
problem exists in both rich and poor countries, and she called for "more
assistance in hospitals, health clinics and communities for new mothers who need
information and help," according to Reuters (MacInnis, 7/31).
Raising the
global breastfeeding rate to 90 percent could prevent the deaths of about 13
percent of all children under the age of five in the developing world, she said, VOA
News reports. "It gives the nutrients and the immune factors that are
important for protecting infants against the most serious infections they can
get, which is diarrhea and pneumonia," according to Vallenas. "It also protects
against malnutrition. The recommendation we have along with UNICEF is that
infants should be exclusively breast fed, meaning without even water until six
months of age. And, from there on to continue breast feeding with appropriate
complimentary foods until the age of two years or beyond" (Schlein, 8/1).
This year, World Breastfeeding Week focuses on breastfeeding's "ciritcal
role" during emergencies, the U.N. News Centre writes. In a statement, WHO Director-General Margaret Chan said, "As part
of emergency preparedness, hospitals and other health care services should have
trained health workers who can help mothers establish breastfeeding and overcome
difficulties." Chan added, "Emergencies amplify the risk of infant and young
child mortality. With appropriate action, we can protect these precious lives
through one of the most 'natural' of all life-saving interventions" (8/1).
In related coverage, Xinhua published an article featuring comments from Joan
Younger Meek, chair of the U.S. Breastfeeding Committee (7/31), AIM/allAfrica.com reported on activities in Mozambique (7/31)
and the Times
of India published an article that includes details about the practice in
India (7/2).
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Sweet!

I have already mentioned that my new kick is entering giveaways & getting freebies. When everyone has gone to bed I get to cracking on entering contest, I cant help it. I am addicted at this point. I know I am a dork! hehe.

Well today I find out I have won 2 things! From Green organic mama I won a variety pack of EnviroMAX batteries & includes a mix of sizes in AA, AAA, C, and D in Super Alkaline, and AA and AAA Digital Alkaline (MSRP $30.00)!

The second thing I won was from The grocery geek & I won a Easy Bakeware Red Silicone Muffin Pan !

Oh and dont forget to check out my giveaway blog!

Have a great day. I am off to eat Sunday dinner with Jake who is FINALLY back from vacation! I picked him up from the airport and so glad to have him back at home. We are eating fried chicken, rice, gravy, green beans, mashed potatoes, and tomato. Good ole Southern soul food. YUM.

Day at the Birmingham Zoo & the clubhouse.

I can remember my grandma bringing me here when I was a little kid. Right here behind this pond is where the flamingos used to be.

Chloe driving the tractor.

Daniel, Chloe, and I visited the B'ham Zoo last weekend. Jake is on vacation in Florida with his grandparents and RJ & Emma went to the beach. We figured it would be a nice time to take Chloe to the zoo while it was just the 3 of us. We don't get to do things very often without the other 3 older kids, so it was a nice little change for all of us.
They had a children's petting zoo with lots of little farm animals, Chloe thought the geese were funny.
There was also an area where you could feed the lorikeets nectar. It was really neat because they would come right up to you and hop on your arm, shoulder, leg, & even your head!!

They are so colorful and beautiful.

As you can tell Chloe is very excited to be feeding the birds. One tried to follow us out the little feeding area!



We are making a little clubhouse for the kids in the trees on the side of the house. They are always playing right there & we had this wood that was just laying around not being used.

Chloe is Daddy's little helper.

Its not finished yet & there is not a whole lot to it, but I think the kids are going to love it! If they use their imagination they could have a blast playing out in their clubhouse.

Mailbox goodies

I have gotten several goodies in the mail these past couple of weeks. The first thing I received was my yo-baby yogurt pack I won at Nicole's Nickels. I used several of the coupons last night at the store. Chloe loves that stuff!

Then Thursday I received my coupon for a free pint of Starbucks ice cream I got off facebook. I got the caramel macchiato & it is oh so good!!

Last I finally received a letter from the March of Dimes telling me how to redeem my 30.00 Macy's gift card for raising over 500.00 for March for Babies. I was kinda getting irritated because I had not received it yet. I mean I didn't raise the money just to get the gift card, but it took so long I just figured they forgot to send it to me.



I have filled out several request for free samples so I should be getting them in the mail in the next couple of weeks.

I just wanted to share some of the goodies I have gotten! Its always a nice surprise to get something in the mail other than bills & junk mail! Did any of you get anything cool in the mail lately?

p.s. Miss. Chloe "SpunBOB" She is so goofy. :)

16 and pregnant.

Has anyone seen this show on MTV? I think the title pretty much explains what its about. Last night I was watching an episode about this 16 year old girl who was pregnant who had decided to put her baby up for adoption. Her boyfriend agreed it was the best thing to do since neither one of them were in any position to raise a baby & they wanted better for their daughter. Neither one of their parents supported their decision which I can not wrap my brain around. If my daughter became pregnant at 16 & told me she was not ready to have a baby (which she would not be) and said she wanted to place her baby up for adoption I would fully support her choice. Now I would probably be a little sad that I would not get the chance to know my grandchild, but happy that they will be with a good family. I cried during the entire episode. You could tell how hard it was on this young couple to hand their child over to someone else, but they knew in their hearts they were doing the right thing.

I just kept thinking about how brave this little girl was.

Most people know I became pregnant with Jake when I was only 15 & I had him when I was 16. It was so hard on me. I don't know how I did it. When everyone found out I was pregnant abortion was the only thing anyone would say, I even called an abortion clinic but never showed up because it just didn't feel right. The father told me he would leave me if I didn't abort, I was crushed!! I thought he loved me, I thought we would get married and be a happy little family. I was so dumb & naive for thinking this. Ends up he did not leave me, but he pretty much made my life a living hell the remainder of our relationship. I wish now he would have left me & I would not have had to put up with all the crap he put me through. I love Jake to death, but I was not ready to take care of a baby. I had no idea how hard it was going to be on me....My youth was gone. There was no more going out with friends having fun, no money to buy cute new outfits because the I had to buy diapers and things for the baby.

My mother nor my father were around to help me out. There was no financial help from anyone. I had to work while I was still in high school. It became too much for me to handle and I had to quit school. Something I regret to this day. No one wants to hire someone without an education. I got my equivalent, but even that was hard to get because I had to work and take care of a baby. There were times I had to work 2 & 3 jobs and would not get to see my son for days because I had to work so much to support us. No one else was going to. Do you think I got a cent of child support? Nope. Because I worked so many jobs I was not eligible for things like food stamps or welfare. It was all on me to take care of everything. Jake's first 5 years were by far the hardest.

Knowing how hard it was on me to take care of a baby at such a young age I would not want any of my children to go through what I had to go through. I will make it a point when they are old enough to tell them how hard it was. I want them to know there is plenty of time to have children after they have gotten an education & are financially stable enough to take care of one. I don't want to be the 32 year grandmother! That is how old I would be if Jake had a baby the age I had him at. That is not that far away. Condoms will be available in this house. Agree with it or not that is how it will be. I am not naive enough to think my children will wait til marriage before having sex. That would be awesome if they did, but a little unrealistic to expect it to happen.

While I do not regret having my son I do wish it would have been when I was a little older and a little more mature. I would have finished school, ditched the loser boyfriend who would not work, went to college, and gotten a good job, THEN started a family. I love Jake to death and thankful for him everyday. We have been through so much together, life has dealt us some pretty crappy hands these past 10 years but we got through it all some how....

I see young girls wanting to have babies and it upsets me because they have no clue! First of all the financial part of having a child is huge. Now most teenagers do not have insurance that covers maternity they will have to get on state funded insurance. Right off the bat the public is having to pay for your pregnancy. Then there is formula, I don't know of any teen mothers who breast fed their babies & formula cost well over 100.00 a month, not a lot of teens can afford the price of formula so will have to get on WIC so again the working people are paying to feed your child. If you are still in school or have to get out and get a job someone will have to watch your child, daycare is about 100.00-150.00 a week! That is a lot of money!! I didn't even get into the cost of diapers, doctor visits, meds, clothes, etc.

Babies require a lot of time and attention. Forget me time, its all about them from here on out. I had to return to school a few weeks after Jake was born & I would be pretty darn tired after getting up every other hour to feed him....I would be exhausted at school. My friends would want me to come hang out with them or go out, but I couldn't. I didn't get to go to prom. In high school wearing the latest fashion was very important to most girls, but I could not afford to buy new clothes or shoes, my baby had to have clothes he came first. His father was of zero help to me. He never changed diapers, feed him, or got up in the middle of the night to tend to him. I just want young girls to know babies are not little dolls you can play with. Having a baby is life changing. A good life change if you are ready and able to take on the responsibility of having one, unfortunately a teenager is neither ready or able.

Off my soap box now.......

Some Panama City Beach pics.

Jake on the beach. The water was beautiful.

Chloe was not too into the ocean, but had fun playing in the sand.

Us out on the beach at night. It was so nice and peaceful.
Getting ready to leave. Chloe wanted to ride on the luggage cart.Passed out on the 6 hour drive home.

We met these folks out on the beach. They were trashed! Poor girl has drunk too much jager....Somebody please promise to stop me if they see I am headed towards being so messed up I don't even know someone is picking my head up so some strangers can take pictures of me!

Freezer pickles

Tonight I made freezer pickles with a bunch of the cucumbers out of the garden. Here is the recipe if you like sweet type pickles.

2 quarts cucumbers sliced thin.
1 Med onion sliced thin.
(Vinegar Solution)
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup vinegar
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. celery seed

Bring vinegar solution to a boil in pan.
Cool solution.
Pour over cucumbers & onions & let stand for 1 hour stirring occasionally.
Put in plastic containers and freeze.
Enjoy.

These are my .50 shoes I bought at a yard sale a few weeks ago. A lady at work tried to buy them from & offered up to 20.00! I should have sold them, but I love them! I wear a lot of skull things because I am weird like that!
Oh and look at miss priss...she thinks she is too cool..well she is! :) Tantrums are in full swing this week!

Oh and I have another blog (3 total!) Its where I blog about all the giveaways I enter. You get an extra entry if you blog about it so I made a seperate blog for those. Here is the link http://nickelpicklemomfinds.blogspot.com/ check it out. Lots of giveaways listed daily. It pays off! Look what I won! http://www.nicolesnickels.net/2009/07/winners-yo-baby-yogurt-and-kernel.html Yo-baby yogurt! Chloe loves that stuff.

Weird like his Mamma.

Me-Man those Philly rolls were good!
Jake-Did you know that if you smoke a salmon (like smoke a cigarette) it will give you a fake beard?
Me-Oh really son? Where did you hear that?
Jake-Oh nowhere. I just know.
Me-LMAO.

Bad News...

I just found out that my fiancee has been laid off from his job. This could not have happened at a worse time..My job has cut back hours and we are no longer receiving raises, money is very tight, and we have 4 kids to take care of, and I also support my mother....On the bright side our bills are pretty low. My house & car are paid for and all we have to worry about are our utilities, food, and gas. School will be starting back in a few weeks and we have 2 kids that will need supplies ( we usually have to spend 100.00-150.00 in supplies for one child) and school clothes. If you will please send lots of p&pt our way in hopes he finds something very quickly. I think I can swing it til he finds something on what I make & I am going to take mom out to put in some applications for a weekend job. Things will be very tight & I know we will get through this, but it will be hard....I have been through worse than this.....

We have..

Some veggies! Its not much, but its a start! I am so going to make some bread & butter pickles tonight! Oh and I have been dying for some fried green tomatoes!

Always the ham!

Ewww! What's that face about Chloe?

Have you ever seen a more beautiful face?

I just wanted to update with a few new pictures of the kids. I have really missed my laptop and I am making up for lost time! Its after 1:oo am and I really really need to be in the bed getting rested up for my sale tomorrow, but instead I am catching up on my facebooking, myspaceing, bloggering, and all the other things I have not been able to do at home these past few weeks.

We have been spending a lot of time at the lake & in the swimming pool, both the kids are turning into little fish. I love it, I grew up around the
water. We were always swimming or doing something on the water. I love that my kids are also getting the chance spend lots of time in the water and really enjoy it.

Not wanting to get into that ring!

Jake with his ridiculously long hair! Oh and Grandma made him get a trim this weekend. It was really long!

In case you have not checked out Logan's blog today I won a makeover and it looks awesome!!! I love it. So check it out and let me know what you think.

One good thing about my laptop not working is I have had lots of time to spend doing things I need to be doing instead of goofing off on the Internet reading 20 million blogs! So this weekend was weekend #2 of no laptop. I got so much done!



Lets see I worked really really hard in the garden. I mean really hard. I have the blisters on my hands to prove it! Tilling dirt by hand is some HARD work. I had to get a few more things planted. Then I made to mix in the organic compost & poop from the chicken pen. We planted some snow pea seeds a few months ago, but not enough! I was only able to pick a handful of peas! So I just tossed em back into the compost pile & planted some more.



The tomato plants are doing really well, onions are coming up, I got a ton of peppers, squash is looking good, it will be a while on the watermelons & pumpkins. Oh and still waiting on on the okra, carrots, green beans, and cucumbers to come up. Gardening is really really hard work. Its gonna be worth though in the end when we have all these yummy homegrown organic veggies to eat on.



What else did I do? Oh yea I cut most of the grass! The lawnmower has been broken and and the grass was getting ridiculously high! It was to the point I would not let the kids in the back yard to fear of snakes being back there. So Daniel finally got it going and cut grass for like 30 minutes, quit, came inside, layed down on the couch and said it was too hot to cut grass! Ugh so freaking lazy!! So I wait until Chloe goes down for a nap and I ask Daniel if I will be able to crank the mower and he says I should be able to. So I go out and finish cutting the grass. Man the back yard was so tall. I didn't care I wanted that damn grass cut! Well I have about 30 mins or so left to cut when all of a sudden Daniel runs out and tells me to let him finish. Apparently my mom went inside & jumped all over him because he was inside being lazy while I was outside cutting grass. Haha, I love my mom.

I wanted Daniel to cut the grass, but by that point I just wanted it cut & I didn't care how. I mean it wasn't all that bad, I got some sun & I feel like I lost 10 lbs in water weight (wouldn't that be nice) from sweating so much. So anyways its cut.Finally.

Chloe and Emma played in their little kiddie pool while we worked in the yard and garden. Best 8.00 I ever spent!


So I am hoping my laptop will be fixed when I get off today. Interneting on my blackberry stinks! There is a way to blog from it, but it was confusing it I got frazzled trying to figure it out.

I did pick winners for the giveaway last week, they were contacted, I just never got the time to post about it. So the winners were Jessica & Ashley! I know both of these mothers from a few mom discussion boards I have been posting on since before getting pregnant with Chloe. Both are super sweet Tenn. girls! We email daily & they helped me so much when I was breastfeeding Chloe and had a million and one questions! So congrats to both ladies you should be receiving your packages in the next day or two.

If my laptop is ready after work I will update with some new pictures of the kids and the garden.

Holla.

Well well well....

Well first of all I am a little disappointed in my giveaway response. L You would think that when all you have to do is leave a comment to get some free smelly good stuff I would have gotten a little bit more than 4 people to comment LOL….I know I only have a few followers on this blog, but I have 20 followers on Logan’s blog and several visitors throughout the day…So o-well that just gives those who took the time to enter a better chance. J I am going to maybe wait until Monday to pick a winner just to give others a chance to enter. Or I may just say screw it and announce one this afternoon. You never know what I might do.hehe. J So I doubt I will do anymore giveaways if I cant even get my handful of followers to join in….

Onto what is going on with me. I have been having a rough last couple of weeks. I have been really down in the dumps. Things with D and I were getting pretty bad there for a little bit & there for a little bit I was almost positive we were going to split…It wasn’t anything big (it never is). No one cheated; no one lied or did something behind the others back. It was just a combination of little things. This drives me nuts! I hate arguing over stupid dumb things that do not matter. If I am going to argue, get emotional, & cry I want to be over something serious. But it never is. Which I guess some would say that it’s a good thing that we don’t have serious problems, but I just HATE HATE HATE that he does this to me. I try to ignore it and just let it go before it blows up, but it’s like he can not stand for me not to bicker back to him.

I am trying so hard to make this relationship work. I want so badly for us to have a good relationship because Chloe deserves to have a mommy and a daddy together who love each other. We have already screwed that up for our other children by splitting with our ex’s. I just don’t know how much longer I can do it. I am starting to think there is something wrong with me. Why can’t I make a relationship work? Is it that I am getting into relationships with the wrong people? Am I doing something wrong? I just want to be happy. I don’t want to start over again in another relationship. I deserve to be happy; my partner deserves to be happy. Is that too much to ask in life????

To top things off my mother is going through some type of really bad depression. I came home the other day and she was sitting on the couch crying. I asked her what was wrong and she said she didn’t know. Every since that day she has been really down & upset. She used to have really bad depression problems when she lived in Florida, but since she has moved in with us 17 months ago she has been doing really well. I am so worried about her. She does not have insurance because she stays home & takes care of the kids while I work. I can’t afford to take her to the doc and pay for the medication she needs to have. We have been looking for a mental health clinic that can help her out, but everywhere we call they either won’t call us back or it’s a 60-90 day waiting period before they can see her. I have to figure something out quickly. If I have to get a second job so that my mother can see a doctor and get the help she needs then I guess that is what I will have to do…It’s a shame this country does nothing to help the mentally ill. It’s not so bad that I fear leaving my children with her because she says they are here reason for getting up and living everyday. When I come home the house is clean, the kids are feed, and everything seems to have been ok. I wish there was something else I could do to help.

So I know this post is totally depressing! I am so sorry. It’s just how things are at the moment. Want to hear the good news????

Ok so the good news is I am going back to school! J The industry I am in (auto remarketing) is so rocky and things are not going great…We are not getting raises anymore, we can’t even get 40 hours a week right now and I just feel like I am going nowhere. So I am going to take a 10 week course to become a dental assistant. I know its nothing fancy or anything I will make a huge amount of money doing, BUT I have researched it and right now in Alabama dental assistants are in high demand and can often times get a job with a dental office before they even graduate from the program. I am excited about it. Like I said I won’t make a huge amount of money doing this, but I will make about 6-7k more a year than I make now. So wish me luck that I do well in this program & that I am able to get a job with a nice office here locally.

So that’s all I’ve got for now, the kids are all doing well. Chloe is becoming more of a stunt girl everyday. That child knows NO FEAR. She has the scratches, bumps, and bruises to prove it! Jake is still looking like a cross between a long haired hippie and a long haired EMO kid. He DOES NOT want his hair cut! I don’t mind the front so much because it’s in style and I think it’s cute, but we have got to do something with the back. It’s ridiculous! Next month he is going on vacation with his grandmother to Florida and I know she will have a cow if he goes down there with his hair long, so in the next week or two I have got to convince this child to get at least a trim.

So that’s all for now, hope everyone is well and again please enter my giveaway here & at Logan’s blog.

Love,
Nickel Pickle

P.s. Here is the Hannah Montana pillow I made for Emma (that girl is Hannah Montana crazy right now & she is only 4!!!!).

I have been MIA..

Sorry I have not been around much. I have a lot going on in my life....Stuff I don't want to get into right now. Some good, some not so good. Anyways I will get into all that later. I do have some good news! I am going to have a little giveaway today! woo hoo!

Its nothing much, but something to let my readers (all 10 of you! LOL) how much I appreciate you all. So here it is-IN CLEAN WE TRUST.

Bath and Body Works® Anti-Bacterial
In Clean We Trust
Coconut Lime
Verbena
The best way to fight germs, hands down! This Anti-Bacterial set
includes 8 oz. Deep Cleansing Hand Soap, 1.7 oz. Foaming Hand Sanitizer and a 1
oz. PocketBac™ Deep Cleansing Hand Gel.
Our original, classic Coconut Lime
Verbena is a tropical scent, inspired by an island breeze of luscious fruits and
crisp citrus
Key fragrance notes: Zesty Lime, Kumquat Peel, Mandarin,
Muguet, Sheer Coconut Water

I am soooo scared of germs! I wash my hands all the time. I love B&BW antibacterial line. All you have to do to win this set is leave me a comment and tell me what your favorite Bath and Body Works scent is(I love sweet pea). That's it!

You can leave an additional comment for another chance to win if-

You are a follower.

Winner will be announced Thursday night or Friday morning. Good luck!

RIP little chicken..

Who knew chickens could fly?

Apparently they can.

We have the chickens in a large fence type thingy, its about 10 or so feet high & they have this wooden coupe they sleep in its about 3 feet tall. So I guess one of them hopped up on the coupe and thought she would be smart and fly OUT of the pen! Never mind the fact there is a dog living next door that stalks the chicken pen like no ones business.

His name is Chance. Wonderfully sweet dog. Gets along great with the kids. Chloe loves this dog. All the kids love this dog. He is pretty much a big ole baby. BUT he is a dog.

So anyways we were going out to feed the chickens yesterday afternoon when we see something white in the yard. Its one of our chickens! Then we see Chance grab the chicken and all that is left is a pile of white feathers. He carries it off into the woods before we have a chance to stop him. So there was nothing we could have done. One of the chickens is gone, it sucks but shit happens.

Chloe and I go for our daily walk down the road and I look up in the neighbors yard and there is Chance! With the chicken! Ripping it to shreds! There were white feathers flying everywhere! I didn't really want Jake to know what Chance had done so I didn't tell about it when it first happened. He is very sensitive and I was afraid he would get upset about it. Right as I see Chance eating our chicken here comes Jake running up to me. He looks at Chance with a confused look..I go ahead and tell him what is going on. I tried to tell him its not the dogs fault & to not be upset about it. He is just being a dog.

So I had to tell Chances owners about him having chicken for dinner...They were pissed. Apparently Chance is quite fond of poultry and this is his 3rd kill within the neighborhood. I cant say much my old dog killed the neighbors goat & they called the police on me. Yea, my dog had a police report filled against for the murder of a goat. Only me.

So I had to clean up all the bloody feathers out of my neighbors yard. You would think the drama would end there. Oh no.

D resets the desktop because it would not sign on to the Internet. Well after that the computer is acting all kinds of crazy. Everything we try to turn the computer on it will get half way there then shut off and start over again. We fooled with it for a while, ran some test, did some other stuff, etc. We have to format the hard drive!! ALL of my pictures are on that computer!!! All of Logan's and Chloe's pictures are on that computer!!!! I have most of them on my photobucket account, but not all of them....

So I lost everything last night. I don't know what caused it. I am asking all my friends and family to please email any and all pictures you have of my kids. :(

Kick butt Friday!

What makes this Friday so kick butt you may ask????? Well for starters its a beautiful day here in sweet home Alabama! My tempy thingy says its 82. Then I get this email from my mom its says " baby call the que (that would be 103.7 the Q) you won tickets to 3 Doors Down tonight". Heck ya! I never ever ever win anything!!! I enter every single contest there is to be entered at the Q and I finally won something!! The 3 Doors Down concert is tonight and Staind is also gonna be there along with 2 other bands, I dont think I know them. I am wondering if my winning has anything to do with this picture?

That’s me with Ace & TJ from the Ace and TJ morning show. I know they are on several stations in the South. I got a chance to meet them at the Crawfish Boil last weekend. Oh wow I never posted about the Crawfish boil. We got to see Filter, Everclear, Katy Perry, The All American Rejects, and Snoop Dog. I will post some pictures at the bottom of this post. It was awesome.

What else was kick butt about today? On my way to go pick up my tickets the radio played "Mother" by Danzig!! I freaking LURVE that song! The radio NEVER plays Danzig. I guess they were playing it for Mothers Day so hopefully I will hear several more times this weekend. They also played some pretty kick ass songs by Rage against the machine and the Smashing Pumpkins. Love both bands, radio never ever playes either one. Don’t ask me why. Needless to say I got to JAM out on the way to the big ole salty HAM (Birmingham).

The most kick butt thing of all????? This weekend is mother’s day and I get to spend it with THE BEST KIDS IN THE WORLD. I have 5 of the best kids ever. Jake, Chloe, Logan, and my step kids RJ & Emma. Of course Logan won’t be there in person, but hopefully in spirit. Another wonderful thing is I get to spend it with my mother. I have not gotten to spend a mother’s day with my mom since I was 9. My mom is wonderful and helps us out so much around the house. She moved in with me last year so she could watch the kids while I worked. I don’t know what I would do without her.

So to all my Mommy friends "Happy Mothers Day". To all my friends who are TTC so they can be Mommies too-GOOD LUCK & my fingers are crossed...I know it will happen for you!!! Don’t give up your dream.
Here are the Crawfish Boil pictures.

Here is Filter.


Here is Everclear.


Snoop Dog!!

Oh and p.s. Look for me Sunday on the LOTD Mothers Day post. http://listoftheday.blogspot.com/ LOTD is the funniest blog I have ever read!!

Spank out day.

I wrote a blog post about why we don't hit our children. So today is National Spank Out day and I encourage everyone if you do use cor pal punishment to stop just for today and think about other ways you can discipline your children without violence. If it works for today then why not do this everyday? I will admit I am a "former spanker", I had Jake when I was very young and I didn't know any better. I have not used spanking or hitting to discipline for several years. I have noticed a positive change in his attitude and behavior. I will admit there have been time when I have thought to myself "if I could just give him one good spanking he would do better". I know that was just because I was frustrated and over whelmed. If you have time today spread the word about spank out day! Small defenseless children to not deserve to be hit.

Ten Reasons for NOT Hitting Children

Physical punishment increases the
risk of child abuse. It is easy to hit too hard and cause injuries like bruises,
broken bones, welts, and nerve damage.

Physical punishment erodes trust between a parent and a child.

Physical punishment, when administered regularly, is related to a
worsening of behavior rather than an improvement in behavior. It increases
antisocial behavior such as lying, stealing, cheating, bullying, assaulting
siblings or peers, and lack of remorse for wrongdoing.

Hitting children transmits a pro-violence attitude. It teaches that it
is acceptable to hit persons who are smaller and weaker.

Fear is not an effective way of teaching appropriate behavior. Fear may
lead children to obey only when the person who hits them is nearby.

Children who are frequently hit often grow up with childhood memories
of anger and resentment.

Children are often hit for behavior which is not "bad" behavior but
rather behavior which is related to needs for attention, nutrition, sleep, and
exploring.

Hitting a child for misbehavior means the caretaker loses an important
opportunity to teach a more appropriate behavior.

While hitting a child may stop a misbehavior for the moment, other
methods like time out, reasoning, talking, and implementing non-violent
consequences work as well or better and do not have the potential for harm that
hitting children does.

Better alternatives exist. Children learn best through teaching,
discussing, and observing adults who model responsible, caring and
self-disciplined behavior.
http://www.stophitting.com/index.php?page=10reasons2

Ten Guidelines for Effective Discipline of Children

The goal of discipline is to teach children acceptable behavior.

Whenever possible, teach children what you want to see rather than punishing them.

View children's misbehavior as a mistake in judgment. It will be easier to think of ways to teach more acceptable behavior.

Never hit or shake infants. They do not know right and wrong. They do not misbehave on purpose. They need love and protection, not punishment.

Create a safe environment for children. Baby-proof the house.

Distract or remove infants and toddlers when they are doing something they shouldn't be doing.

Provide order and consistency. Whenever possible have regular times for meals, studying and bedtime.

Give toddlers and preschoolers age-appropriate choices and consequences.

Establish family rules that are appropriate for children's ages.

Keep them few in number with clear and reasonable consequences for not obeying.

Develop a trusting relationship with children by protecting them from harm, by being honest and trustworthy, and by exhibiting predictable and mature behavior.

Children need to hear more good things about themselves than bad things. Offer praise for appropriate behavior. Praise will increase that behavior.

Adopt a "no-hitting" attitude. No one has a right to hit anyone else in the household...that includes hitting children for misbehavior.

http://www.stophitting.com/index.php?page=10guidelines

March for babies 2009 pictures.

Well we had a great walk and I am finally getting around to posting photos. Once again I have to thank all the wonderful people in my life who sponsored Team Logan. We were not the winning family team this year, but that is OK the winning team was a family to a preemie and they raised over 4000.00! How wonderful of them!! I don't feel so bad we did not win because they had several family members there to raise money and walk with them. I on the other hand didn't have anyone from my family there with me this year. I was a little sad no one from my family was able to come out this year for us, but I understand people are busy and times are hard on everyone. Hopefully next year will be better and more of Logan's loved ones can come support us in this very worthy cause. My best friend Leslee had planned to come out and walk, but she became ill the night before and could not make it. So it was me, Daniel, Chloe, Daniels ex-wife Samantha, and Daniels kids RJ & Emma. How funny is it that none of my friends and family were able to make it, but my fiancees ex-wife wanted to walk with us? I am happy that we have the type of relationship where we can do things like this together and its not weird or awkward.

Another thing is the wonderful support I got from my "online" friends. Several people I have never met and only know them from support groups and other mom boards I post on sponsored us and that is where the majority of my sponsorship came from. I know I have never met any of these mothers in real life, but they are amazing. I cant thank them enough for all they have done to help me get through the rough times I have had these past few years. I feel closer to some of these women than I do to people I have known in real life for several years. So I hope you all know how highly I think of each and everyone of you. I hope one day we can all met each other because I want to give each and everyone of you a huge hug for all the love, support, kindness you all have shown me. You know who you are! :)

Here are a few pictures from the walk. The only thing I was a little upset about was the organizer this year made no effort to speak to the family teams. The last 2 years we have walked the organizer always made an effort to talk to us, ask us about Logan, and given us several items from the March of Dimes. I don't need to be given anything because that is not why I do this, but you know its the family teams that should matter the most. We usually have a reason and a story behind the why we are walking. She was too interested in the business that were there with their teams.I am thinking about writing her an email about how I feel

Daniels ex-wife Samantha.

The annual Creek bank festival was the same day as the walk there at the park and there were several booths set up with crafts and yummy food! I bought some pure Alabama honey (made right here in my town), some homemade goat cheese spread from a booth set up by a local farm. Chloe stole some strawberries from them.lol. I also bought some fried apple fritters, cream cheese pound cake, and a few other food items. We bought a few plants from a lady, she was so sweet and gave us a Japanese Maple tree that was about a year old for Chloe.

Chloe did not feel that well, but she did great.

All the kids on the fire truck.

Chloe with the fire dog.

RJ & Emma with their balloon animals.

So it was a beautiful day and Logan was heavy on my mind. I miss him so much. I am so proud we were able to raise 535.00 in his memory. I will do this walk for my son until I am too old and crippled to walk.

March for babies walk is in the morning!!

So my walk is in the morning and I am so excited!! I cant wait. We were able to raise 466.00!! I have so many people to thank!
My fiancee Daniel.
My Aunt Sharon.
My cousins Bob & Linda.
My sister & Logan's Aunt Jackie
Logan's Aunt Heather.
Daniels Aunt Suzanne.
Daniels mother Remona.
Daniels life long friend Angela.
My good friends April & Leslee.
My wonderful friends-Brenda,Karyn,Jessica H.,Ashley,Caitlyn,April,Michelle,Stacy,Melinda,Jessica M.,Raelynn, Holly, Laura & Shannon.

I hope I didn't miss anyone!! Thank you thank you thank you! All this would not be possible without all of you! I love you all so much. I have never even met half of you, but I consider you all my very good friends. It kinda makes me sad that some of my friends in real life who were there to met Logan while he was alive and know how much this means to me have not even asked to walk with me (much less sponsored me)....I know a lot of people are busy or whatever, but this is really important to me. This is one of the only things I can do for Logan. I am not mad at anyone, just a little sad that I get more support from friends I have never even met in real life seem to care more about this. Again I am not mad, just wish I had a little more support from some.....I was actaully surprised to raise as much money as I have, times are tough and money is really tight for a lot of people. It means a lot to me to know that even with times being as hard as they are there are still people who care & have huge hearts. Ok now I am tearing up.....

Here are a few pictures from our 2007 walk. I didn't walk in 2008 because I was huge and miserably pregnant with Logan, but my friend April walked for him. :) I was not able to get any pictures of my 2006 walk. It was just me and Robert.
Aunt Heather, Me, Daniel, Aunt Hope, & Jake.

Granny in the middle. She is wearing a shirt with Logan's picture.

We are all so proud to win favorite family team for "Team Logan".

The finish line. Look at the face Jake is making! Priceless!


Its not to late to give if you would like.

Love,
Nicole

Update of Emily's case...

We have good news! The scum bag has been indicted! Two counts of capital murder and one count of sexual torture...

Here is what was in the paper...Its hard to read and think about sometimes. I dont want to imagine Emily being tortured or hurt in any way. I had one of D's good friend defend this scum bucket the other day. I wanted to puke. I dont care how well you thought you knew this person, he is not the person you thought you knew! He is a cold blooded killer who killed my friend, a little girls mother, a mothers daughter, a sister, a good person! I dont have to argue with anyone. The facts are plain as day pointing the finger right at him. He will get his. I know this all sounds like crazy talk. I get upset when I talk about it.

Moody man indicted by grand jury
David Atchison 04-10-2009
PELL CITY
— A Moody man was indicted on two counts of capital murder and one count of
sexual torture in the death of a Leeds woman.
Michael Brandon Kelley, 28,
was indicted by a St. Clair County grand jury for the capital murder and sexual
torture of Emily Lynn Philips Milling, 23.
Kelley was indicted on two counts
of capital murder, one count of capital murder during a kidnapping and one count
of capital murder during sexual abuse. He was also indicted by the grand jury,
which convened at the St. Clair County Courthouse in Pell City last week, on one
count of sexual torture.
Kelley has remained in the St. Clair County Jail
without bond since his arrest in November.
Kelley, a truck driver, was
apprehended in California and brought back to Alabama to face charges stemming
from Milling’s murder. The suspect was initially charged with murder, but the
grand jury upgraded the charge to capital murder.
If convicted, Kelley could
face life in prison without the possibility of parole or death by lethal
injection.
Authorities allege Kelley brutally beat, tortured and strangled
Milling to death in his mobile home.
During Kelley’s preliminary hearing,
held in January, Leeds Sgt. Detective Renee Reaves testified blood stained items
were seized from the suspect’s mobile home, vehicle and a garbage bin at his
father’s business.
Reaves testified it was when the inside of the mobile
home was sprayed with luminal, a substance that makes blood stains glow in the
dark, that she knew that was where Milling was brutally attacked and killed.
“The entire trailer glowed,” Reaves said on the witness stand.
She said
there was blood splattered from the baseboard to about eye-level along the wall
of the hallway.
Reaves also testified that a man who worked for Kelley’s
father saw the defendant dump plastic bags into a dumpster at his father’s
business on Markeeta Road at about 7 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 16.
Milling’s nude
body was found off Markeeta Road.
Reaves testified that blood stained
clothes believed to belong to Milling and Kelley were found in bags removed from
the dumpster as well as a sleeping bag, wash cloths, towels, a silver necklace
and a 16-18 inch toilet plunger believed to have been used to sexually assault
the victim.
Reaves said Kelley never confessed to the murder.
She said
surveillance video from a Leeds nightclub shows Milling leaving with Kelley, but
she never returned, even though Kelley told authorities he took her back to the
club.

Baby wearing!

Adventures in babywearing has asked everyone to post their baby wearing pictures. Here is Chloe in her wrap. She had been in it a while so it was staring to get loose and its not the best picture but its kinda hard to take a picture when you are wearing a 25 lbs toddler! Post your baby wearing picture too!
She loves to be worn and its great way to be close to your baby and have 2 free hands to do other things.

My cuddle bug..

I just wanted to share a few new pictures of my cuddle bug Chloe. I call her my cuddle bug because she sleeps right next to me every night in my bed & we cuddle close to each other all night. I wouldnt have it any other way. Well anyway she is getting so big and I just thought I would share a few new pictures of her.
She is such a Daddys girl.

One day this child will walk.

Her new favorite thing to do...play in the dirt!

Oh and here is big brother! I love his hair.He thinks its so cool..emo cute!

Oh look!! BWEEBS!!!

No more pictures Mommy!!

Getting down and dirty!

Our future garden.

Its time to start our garden. I am such a nerd now I am actually getting excited about gardening! WHO would have thunk it? So I am on this big kick about eating healthier, more organic, more locally grown veggies, less antibiotic & hormone filled animals. When I think about all the crazy crap that is in our foods, going into our bodies and our children's bodies it scares the hell out of me. I get to thinking about all the people I know who have had cancer and all the babies I have known that have died of birth defects,cancers, other unknown causes, all the kids with learning problems & autism & it makes me wonder how much of a role did the food we eat have to do with this?? I have been doing a lot of research on diary and milk. Its pretty scary as well so no more diary for us. Chloe is on rice milk and rest of us drink soy milk. You would be amazed the difference I have noticed in us all since the switch.

A few weeks ago I was in the grocery store looking for some yummy fruits and veggies and I noticed almost all the fruit comes from South America! It made me angry that we can grow just about every fruit right here in America(except bananas) and the grocery stores are selling produce from other countries who use pesticides that have been outlawed here in America. That is it! I will not buy any more produce unless it is grown here in America (organic if available and locally grown if at all possible). I will not put anymore chemicals in my children's bodies than I have to. I don't make a lot of money and really organic is not all that more expensive than non and isn't a few extra dollars worth the peace of mind knowing its better for you & YOUR children don't have to eat all those outlawed pesticides? I know its just a no brainier for me.

So here comes the part where I tell you all about our garden!! I know you have been on the edge of your seat wanting to know. So first thing we have been working on our compost pile for a while now. He have a bucket in the kitchen & that is where all of our veggie and fruit peelings go & other things like egg shells, coffee, and tea bags. We mix it with leaves & dirt in a spot in the back yard. That right there is the good stuff that will get those veggies growing good! Daniel tilled a huge spot in the back yard and now we need to mix in all the compost and I have to get the soil checked to see what if anything we are lacking. Its going to be huge! See picture above.

Oh did I tell you about the baby chicks?? Chicks man! Chicks! So we went to tractor supply and got the whole get up for raising baby chicks so we can have fresh organic eggs & chicken!


Are they the cutest thing or what??







Yes they live in the kitchen until it gets warm enough for them to go out. We will keep them in here until they start to get too big then we will build them a larger area in the backyard for them to roam around. I want to go ahead and get a laying hen so we can have come eggs now & I am going to get some more chicks next week now that I know what to expect!
Oh and Chloe is already saying "chickens"!

So this is what we have the seeds to grow so far-
corn
Lima beans
broccoli
cauliflower
lettuce
peas
beans
squash
cucumbers
tomatoes
pumpkins
watermelon
okra
onions
carrots
basil
SPINACH
cabbage

I know I am probably forgetting something, but its late and I am just going off the top of my head....
Yes I am a total dork and turning into a country girl! haha! I am really excited about it and I know it will be a lot of work, but I am ready & cant wait for the harvest when we have all these yummy veggies to eat. The best part is I will be saving all this money and have peace of mind knowing this food was homegrown without all the chemicals!!

Thank you!!!!

I just wanted to go ahead and say thank you to the wonerful people who have already donated to the March of Dimes in memory of Logan. I just signed up for my walk about a week ago and I am already past the half way mark to my goal!!!!

If you look over at my widget I am already up to 180.00. This is amazing. All donations so far have been made online.

So a big ole thank you goes out to-
My Aunt Sharon
My cousins Bob & Linda
My friends-Brenda, Karyn, Jessica & Caitlynn.
and
My sister Jackie.

I love you all and I am so thankful for every penny. It means so much to me & just wait you will have a little thank you from me in the mail soon. :)
*kisses* & ((hugs))

My next tattoo & healing wounds.

The lotus flower.

I have chosen to get a lotus flower as my next tattoo. What is a lotus? The lotus is a flower that starts off at the bottom of a pond in the mud. It slowly grows up towards the waters surface moving towards the light. Once it reaches the surface of the water it turns into a beautiful flower. Its a flower that grows in the mud....To me this is a symbol of my life.

My childhood was the mud. I experienced abuse, abandonment, and saw things as a child no child should ever ever have to see. As a teen I rebelled, did crazy things, didn't care what I did. I abused drugs and alcohol, and got involved in selling drugs. I didn't have a Mom or Dad around to show me to act or guide me in the right direction. I found my father dead on the couch one morning when I was 14. I got pregnant at 15, had a baby at 16. After I had my son I changed my life for the most part. I really think my son changed my life. I might have ended up in jail or dead had I not gotten pregnant.

I loved being a Mommy! I tried to be the best mother I could. I went through a lot after Jake was born.

Fast forward 6 years. I was married to a wonderful man who treated Jake like his own son & we wanted to have a baby of our own. We have 2 early miscarriages & then we lose Logan to a fatal birth defect. I go through another really bad time after Logan died. My husband and I split. The non dealt with grief is too much & we crumple.

Fast forward 3 more years. I am happily engaged to a great guy, I have a healthy 13 month old daughter, Jake is nearly 10, 2 wonderful step-kids, and for the most part my life is pretty good. I have a good job that I enjoy, I have a home, car, and pretty much anything I might want or need. Life is not that bad. I don't need drugs or ass hole men to make me feel ok anymore. I get high on seeing my kids laugh and play. I have been through a lot to get to this ok place.

So in a way I feel like I grew in the mud and have come up to the top as a beautiful person. I cant imagine my life being as bad as it was when I was younger. I know it can always get worse, but seriously I think I have paid my dues. I have had enough hardship, pain, suffering, and grief. Its time for me to enjoy life.I am content in waking up every morning, going to work, and coming home to my little home with my wonderful children. The only thing that could make my life more complete would be for Logan to be here with me. I hope that he is with me in spirit & is proud of the progress I have made.


My wounds are not as raw..they are still there but they are healing quite well.

WHAT ATTACHMENT PARENTING IS –THE 7 BABY B'S

Attachment parenting is a style of caring for your infant that brings out the best in the baby and the best in the parents.

7 ATTACHMENT TOOLS: THE BABY B'S

1. Birth bonding

The way baby and parents get started with one another helps the early attachment unfold. The days and weeks after birth are a sensitive period in which mothers and babies are uniquely primed to want to be close to one another. A close attachment after birth and beyond allows the natural, biological attachment-promoting behaviors of the infant and the intuitive, biological, caregiving qualities of the mother to come together. Both members of this biological pair get off to the right start at a time when the infant is most needy and the mother is most ready to nurture (see Bonding)

"What if something happens to prevent our immediate bonding?"

Sometimes medical complications keep you and your baby apart for a while, but then catch-up bonding is what happens, starting as soon as possible. When the concept of bonding was first delivered onto the parenting scene twenty years ago, some people got it out of balance. The concept of human bonding being an absolute "critical period" or a "now-or-never" relationship was never intended. Birth bonding is not like instant glue that cements the mother-child relationship together forever. Bonding is a series of steps in your lifelong growing together with your child. Immediate bonding simply gives the parent- infant relationship a headstart. (See "Birth Bonding")

2. Breastfeeding

Breastfeeding is an exercise in babyreading. Breastfeeding helps you read your baby's cues, her body language, which is the first step in getting to know your baby. Breastfeeding gives baby and mother a smart start in life. Breastmilk contains unique brain-building nutrients that cannot be manufactured or bought. Breastfeeding promotes the right chemistry between mother and baby by stimulating your body to produce prolactin and oxytocin, hormones that give your mothering a boost.

3. Babywearing

A baby learns a lot in the arms of a busy caregiver. Carried babies fuss less and spend more time in the state of quiet alertness, the behavior state in which babies learn most about their environment. Babywearing improves the sensitivity of the parents. Because your baby is so close to you, you get to know baby better. Closeness promotes familiarity. (Click here for more information on Babywearing)

4. Bedding close to baby

Wherever all family members get the best night's sleep is the right arrangement for your individual family. Co-sleeping co-sleeping adds a nighttime touch that helps busy daytime parents reconnect with their infant at night. Since nighttime is scary time for little people, sleeping within close touching and nursing distance minimizes nighttime separation anxiety and helps baby learn that sleep is a pleasant state to enter and a fearless state to remain in.

5. Belief in the language value of your baby's cry

A baby's cry is a signal designed for the survival of the baby and the development of the parents. Responding sensitively to your baby's cries builds trust. Babies trust that their caregivers will be responsive to their needs. Parents gradually learn to trust in their ability to appropriately meet their baby's needs. This raises the parent-child communication level up a notch. Tiny babies cry to communicate, not to manipulate. (See Crying and Cry it Out)

6. Beware of baby trainers

Attachment parenting teaches you how to be discerning of advice, especially those rigid and extreme parenting styles that teach you to watch a clock or a schedule instead of your baby; you know, the cry-it-out crowd. This "convenience" parenting is a short-term gain, but a long-term loss, and is not a wise investment. These more restrained styles of parenting create a distance between you and your baby and keep you from becoming an expert in your child.

7. Balance

In your zeal to give so much to your baby, it's easy to neglect the needs of yourself and your marriage. As you will learn the key to putting balance in your parenting is being appropriately responsive to your baby – knowing when to say "yes" and when to say "no," and having the wisdom to say "yes" to yourself when you need help.

MORE ABOUT ATTACHMENT PARENTING

• AP is a starter style. There may be medical or family circumstances why you are unable to practice all of these baby B's. Attachment parenting implies first opening your mind and heart to the individual needs of your baby, and eventually you will develop the wisdom on how to make on-the-spot decisions on what works best for both you and your baby. Do the best you can with the resources you have – that's all your child will ever expect of you. These baby B's help parents and baby get off to the right start. Use these as starter tips to work out your own parenting style – one that fits the individual needs of your child and your family. Attachment parenting helps you develop your own personal parenting style.
• AP is an approach, rather than a strict set of rules. It's actually the style that many parents use instinctively. Parenting is too individual and baby too complex for there to be only one way. The important point is to get connected to your baby, and the baby B's of attachment parenting help. Once connected, stick with what is working and modify what is not. You will ultimately develop your own parenting style that helps parent and baby find a way to fit – the little word that so economically describes the relationship between parent and baby.
• AP is responsive parenting. By becoming sensitive to the cues of your infant, you learn to read your baby's level of need. Because baby trusts that his needs will be met and his language listened to, the infant trusts in his ability to give cues. As a result, baby becomes a better cue-giver, parents become better cue-readers, and the whole parent-child communication network becomes easier.
• AP is a tool. Tools are things you use to complete a job. The better the tools, the easier and the better you can do the job. Notice we use the term "tools" rather than "steps." With tools you can pick and choose which of those fit your personal parent-child relationship. Steps imply that you have to use all the steps to get the job done. Think of attachment parenting as connecting tools, interactions with your infant that help you and your child get connected. Once connected, the whole parent-child relationship (discipline, healthcare, and plain old having fun with your child) becomes more natural and enjoyable. Consider AP a discipline tool. The better you know your child, the more your child trusts you, and the more effective your discipline will be. You will find it easier to discipline your child and your child will be easier to discipline.

Ultrasound Day July 2005

That morning, so happy & excited.

We finally find out if we are having a boy or a girl.
I really wanted a girl...
Ultrasound tech not saying much..
She says it *might* be a boy, but she is not sure...
I was kinda sad, I really wanted a girl.
Sent back to the waiting room...
I write Logan Quinn on our tape.
Our baby has a name.
Then called into the Doctors office.
Kinda weird, but ok...

Doc says "We found a serious birth defect."
I think Oh well its probably something to do with the babies heart.
They can do surgery & everything will be fine!
Anencephaly.
I have heard of anencephaly before..
This is not good.
My baby doesn't have a brain.
Induce labor now or your baby might die before birth, maybe live a few minutes.

Now we drive home...
How we got home I have no idea.
It was the worst drive home I have ever had.
I am starving.
How can you eat when your baby has no brain!!!
Everyone is waiting to know if we are having a boy or girl.
Instead of calling with the sex of our baby we get to tell them he will die soon.

Scared.
Mad.
Sad.
I pray.
I beg.
I bargain.
I plead.
I cry.
I wail.
I scream.

THIS IS BULLSHIT!!!!!!!!!!!
Maybe they are wrong..

What did I do to deserve this?
I LOVE THIS BABY!!
I feel him kick everyday!
Why me?
Don't tell me I was chosen!
I don't want to be chosen!
I want my son!!

Confused.
I dont know what to do.
There is no way I could carry this baby4 more months.
What would a baby look like at 20 weeks?
I need more info.

Googled images make me want to puke.
My baby looks like that!
I cant handle this.
I need to know more.

I need a mothers story.
Oh my goodness, that baby is beautiful!
He lived for a week?
My baby might live after birth?

I have to have that!
I don't care if it is 1 minute.
I have to hold my son alive.
That is it.
I will carry my son to full term.

By Nicole Courtney. Mommy to Logan Quinn.

Why we dont spank our children.

(I posted this in my myspace blog & didnt get a response from ANYONE! I guess most people are ok with spanking...sad. :( )
Anytime I mention to someone we don't spank or hit our kids we get looked at like we have 2 heads or something. People just can not believe that we could discipline our children without violence. If you know me & have been around me & my kids you know that my kids are very well behaved. All of them (except Chloe she is only 12 months old) are very well behaved and respectful. Of course they do act up from time to because they are kids & that is what kids do. They all say please, thank you, yes mam & sir, and excuse them selves when they burp or fart around others. I cant say the same for a lot of other kids I have been around.

I want my kids to behave because they know that is what we expect & that is how we have taught them to act. I don't want them to behave because they are afraid that Mommy & Daddy will hit them if they do not do what they are told. If an adult makes me mad or does something I did not want them to do I would never walk up to them & hit them for it, so why is should it be any different with small defenseless children?? Spanking shows that it is OK to hit people. It shows kids that it is OK for a big person to hit a little person Then we wonder why little Johnny is in trouble at school or preschool for hitting! So what is his punishment for hitting? He gets hit! That just does not make sense to me at all!! Violence begets violence. You tell a child that it is bad to hit, but when they are bad you hit them?

I have seen people hit & spank children as young & younger than Chloe. Do you honestly think a infant knows why the hell they are being hit?? They are way to young to understand the reason for being hit. Even being slapped on the hand. An infants hand is a tool for exploring.

Psychologists studied a group of sixteen fourteen-month-olds playing with their mothers. When one group of toddlers tried to grab a forbidden object, they received a slap on the hand; the other group of toddlers did not receive physical punishment. In follow-up studies of these children seven months later, the punished babies were found to be less skilled at exploring their environment. Better to separate the child from the object or supervise his exploration and leave little hands unhurt.

I just can not even imagine hitting Chloe for any reason. Just thing about it breaks my heart. She is a small defenseless baby. She does not know right from wrong or why she is not allowed to touch certain things in the house.

*r

The I hear a lot of people say that it is OK to hit because God said so. You know the whole "Spare the rod spoil the child" verse. Well I am not Christian so that wouldn't apply to me anyways, but what does that even mean??? When really a rod is something used in Biblical times to guide sheep not hit them. So I would interpret that to mean if you don't guide them & show them by example then you are spoiling your children. I promise you my kids are not spoiled at all. Jake has never once "thrown a tantrum" because he didn't get what he wanted. I see parents tell their kids they cant do or have something & then all hell breaks lose! They whine, cry, hit, and are just plain out brats. So to get their kids to stop the parents give in. I have never done that. Jake knows if Momma says no then Momma means no. If he ask me again the answer will be the same. He may not like it & he may go sulk about it, but I stand my ground. I don't write this because I am on some kind of high horse & I think that my kids are better than anyone else kids, I don't think I am a better mother than anyone else either. I just see a trend with hitting kids. Jake has been hit several times by other kids & doesn't even know who to act about. He doesn't understand why another child would hit him. He is not around any type of hitting so he just does not get it.


I just dont think spanking works. For those who do spank ask yourself does it really work? Do my kids act better because I hit them? Or do they continue to act out just as much?

Would you consider a different form of discipline & just see if it works? All of my kids know that if they are bad they will either go to timeout, they will have something taken away from them, or they will be sent to their room to think about what they have done. It really works!!

Before Christmas break Jake was having a really hard time at school. He was not paying attention, he was goofing off during class, and he was distracting other kids at school. His teachers told me that he is not a discipline problem, but he is just not doing his work. I was told by several people that if I just gave him a good ole spanking that he would do better. I refused. I started spending more time with Jake when I got home from work, helping him study, watching how he does his homework, and I took all his favorite things away from him until he does better in school. He is slowly doing better, I am afraid he may have ADD. I have watched him try to do his homework & it is almost as if he can not help but to get distracted. So why would I hit my kid for something that he can not help?

Please let me add that I do NOT think that if you spank your kids that you do not love them so please dont get all huffy about it! I know you love your children as much as I love mine!!!

I updated Logans blog...

I want mothers to be able to find Logan's story online if they have recently found out their baby has anencephaly. I may move all my post about Logan over there or I may just copy them & keep them here as well. So that is my task today. I am hoping to have it full of info & links if someone is looking for info or support with anencephaly.
Here it is...I have moved a few post from here to over there. I have enjoyed working on it today. http://loganquinn.blogspot.com/

Peace.
Obama.
One Love.
Nickel Pooh.

Just a quick note to say

OBAMA BABY!!!!!!!!!!!

I have more to say, but it will be later today. =)

Where did that come from??

A few minutes ago I was just sitting here reading an email from a mother who is about to deliver her anencephalic baby & she was trying to figure out how to explain to her young daughter that her baby sister is not going to live. Then out of nowhere I just burst into tears & crying hysterically(I am sitting at my desk at work mind you)....



Logan died nearly 3 years ago & yes I miss him dearly & think about him often,but I dont cry like I used to. Now when I think of Logan I smile because I feel so blessed to have had the chance to know & love someone as special as him. I am so much more at peace now...I didnt think I would EVER be here. I thought I would forever be this sad, pissed off, grieving mother that I was. Then Chloe came along & of course no one could ever replace Logan, but she did help repair the giant hole that was left in my heart from losing Logan. When she was a newborn I would look at her & think of Logan & I would cry...I was also very hormonal at the time. Around July I always get a little sad as it is close to the time we found out Logan was not going to make it.



Other than that I have been ok...



Then I read this email & I am all of a sudden thrown back to 3 years ago when I was trying to explain to Jake(who was 6 at the time) why his little brother who he had wanted so badly could not live outside Mommys body..that his head was broken. No one should ever have to explain something like that to a 6 year old!!!! I dont know if I will ever understand why me? Why was I given a baby that could not live? What did I do to deserve this? I know I have done a lot of dumb things in my life, but I have always been a good mother. I have always put my son #1.

Questioning something I will never know the answer to. Always wondering where my son is. I dont know what the afterlife is like... I would like to think he is still with me in spirit. Or that he at least visits me from time to time.

October is Infant and Child Death Awareness Month

And October 15th is pregnancy & infant loss rememberance day.

Take a few mintutes to remember the ones in your life who have lost babies....Let them know you have not forgot..it could mean the world to someone.

The Angel Teddy Bear Foundation - Provides teddy bears free of charge to hospitals for miscarriages, stillbirths & neonatal death. Sign up to become a volunteer! http://www.angelted dybears.org/ index.html

The Shining Light Fund - Free Mother's Birthstone Bracelets (these are gorgeous!) http://www.shiningl ightfund. org/

http://www.namesint hesand.blogspot. com/To find out more about having your child's name written in the sand please see the bottom of this page.

http://www.nowilaymedowntosleep.org/

I love this time of year!!!!!!!!

The pumpkin patch is the best!! We took Chloe,RJ, & Emma (Jake was at Grannys & thinks he is too old for all this anyways). It was so much fun. I think I get more excited than the kids & I want to make sure we go every year. Chloe was wonderful (as always). Here is Little Miss Priss & her Daddy. Chloes first little pumpkin :)

She was so excited to be sitting with all the pumpkins!
Chloes new favorite face. She squints her nose up, purses her lips, and breathes in & out really fast. It cracks me up! I LOVE THIS LITTLE GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!
Baby girls first time getting dirt on her hands....I am surprised she didnt try to eat it!
Mommy & baby girl. I ♥ this picture. I couldnt ask for a better daughter.
List of things we did at http://www.grandolepumpkinpatch.com/ -

1. Pony rides - RJ & Emma. Emma chickened out at the last minute & demanded I remove her from the pony!

2. Petting ZOO- I went in with the kids & we feed a cow, goats, sheep, alpaca, chickens, and a few other farm animals.

3. Inflatable park-Paid 5.00 for RJ to run around & not get on 1 thing!

4. Pumpkin Patch hayride-We all rode a covered wagon out to the pumpkin patch & we got 3 pumpkins.

5. Trawtor rides- all the kids rode. I stood on the side & took pictures.

6. Face painting- Emma got a frog painted on (will have to uplaod pic).

This is from my myspace blog..posted over 2 years ago.

Sunday, July 16, 2006

long post, & sad one. :( Current mood: sad I posted a few pictures in my album. Mine & Roberts memorial tattoo pictures & a picture of Logan. July 21st will mark one year since we found out our baby could not stay with us. I was 20 weeks pregnant & I had an ultrasound scheduled for that day, I was so excited I was finally going to find out if we were having a boy or girl. I wanted a girl sooo bad, I just knew it would be. Well while having the ultrasound we were told that the baby looked like a boy, I wasnt happy. We got done & a few minutes later the Dr. called us into his office, he told us that they had discovered a pretty serious birth defect. I thought he was about to tell me something was wrong with the babys heart or something & that they could just do surgery & everything would be fine. He said your baby has anencephaly, missing most of his brain its incompatable with life, 100% fatal, he wont live more than a few minutes,hours,maybe a few days, more than likley he will die before he is even born. We were given the option to abort or carry him to full term. I didnt know what to do, I wanted for it all to be one big mistake or nightmare. It wasnt though. This was really happening & there was nothing I could do about it. No way to save my baby. That was one of the worst days of my life. I had to tell my six year old son that his baby brother could not come home with us to live, he would have to go to heaven after he was born. He didnt understand, hell I didnt even understand why such a horrible thing had to happen to me, of all the mothers why me? Of all the people who abort their perfectly healthy babies & I wanted mine & yet I couldnt keep him.Of all the mothers who abuse their children why couldnt I have a baby & I would never abuse it, never hurt it, would give them more love than anyone else. I decided to carry to term & I am so glad I did. I got to spend 33 hours with Logan alive in my arms. He was so beautiful & I will never forget his precious face. I am missing him terribly bad today, I guess thats why I am writing all this. It has been almost 8 months since he died & I think about him constantly. I cant stand to even look at babies. If I see a little boy around Logans age I have to fight back tears, I just have to look away from them. It has gotten easier but the pain is still there, maybe one day it wont hurt so bad.

Excuse me. Do I have something on my chin??

This picture of Chloe crack me up. She has such a wonderful personality. So fun & always smiling =)

The Beach Baby!!

We took Chloe for her first beach trip this weekend. Well she was less than thrilled.lol. She did ok. I breastfeed on the beach for the first time ever. Daniel was kind of shocked I would just feed her in front of everyone like that & I told him some of the girls bathing suits showed more boob than I have showing.

I got her out in the water for a few times, but the water was a little too cold for her. Its probably a good thing I didn't keep her in the water much because lots of people were getting stung by jelly fish.

Chloe did love the pool!

Here at the beach:

My Logan...

Logan died of from anencephaly over a year and a half ago. He was dx with this fatal birth defect during my 20 week ultrasound. I was told his brain & most of his skull nt devolped & that he would more than likley be miscarried, stilborn, or at most live a few minutes or hours.I had the choice to carry him to term or go ahead and terminate the pregnancy.After some thought I decided I wanted to carry him to full term. I had bonded with this little one so much, I wanted to spend as much time as possible with him.
I delivered him via c-scetion and I spent over 33 wonderful hours with him alive in my arms. I wouldnt trade anything for the time spent with Logan. I miss him so much everyday. I think of him all the time. I have spoken with several other mothers who have had to go through the pain of losing their baby to this awful defect. It makes me angry we have to go through this.Its really not fair at all. I dont know what kind of afterlife there is, but if there is one I cant wait to see and hold my baby boy again.

I have got a water baby!

Chloe LOVES the pool!!! I am so glad too, we are a water family. Hope she does this well when we go to the beach on the 4th of July.


Its so cute when she splashes around & a little bit of water gets on her chin & she tries to lick it up with her tongue.