I'm back!

It's been a while since my last post. 

     Taking care of a 7 month old is very tiring!!!!!  I am just getting over a monster cold that I had for two weeks it seems. I was lucky today and got some extra rest. Any new Mother knows that the "extra" rest does wonders. Even if you keep waking, what seems like every 10 minutes to the sound of your baby crying in the next room with his Father. 

     Well here is a quick update. Landon has gone through his first teething stage! 

     OH MY GODS!!!!!  Boy was that hard for us all. Haha We all have been there and know the pain.  It's not only painful for your child but for you as well. The non stop crying... Cries like you never heard before. It hurts to know there really isn't anything you as a Mother can do to relive your childs pain at that moment. The best thing for you both is to get them to take a nap. I had tried everything. I gave him the cold teethers, I gave him Tylenol and the teething tablets, I tried breastfeeding him and nothing worked. He cried and turned beet red! I wanted to cry too. The only thing that seemed to work was a little nap. Even if it was just for ten minutes. So I rocked him to sleep. Oh he resisted for sure but once he woke up he was feeling  much better. The poor baby.  Now he has two pearly whites, and those tiny teeth are SHARP!  

     Brandon started school again so I'm home alone with the baby till ten at night during the week. One day I will look back on this chapter and reminisce. Ha Ha Just like the birth right? We seem to block out the pain and remember the good times. I'm certain that is why so many woman have more than one child. We forget the crying, the sleepless nights, never having any time to yourself, going to the bathroom really is a break, never having a hot cup of coffee, oh I could go on and on.  In the end it seems to make it all worth it when you see your baby smile and hear that cute little laugh.  

     I cant believe that in a few months my little baby will be one! Time really does seem to be sucked into a blackhole. Brandon and I used to joke that we couldn't  believe that two hours had passed. It felt like thirty minutes for us.  In the beginning it was very tiring. More so than now. We (mostly me) were in a constant loop. Like that movie "Groundhog Day". I would change Landon, then straight to feeding him which took forever. He would drink his milk soooo slow. He would fall asleep while feeding too.. I had to keep tapping on his chin to make sure he got enough. No one wants a "Skinny" baby. So after I fed him I had to change him again....and it just seemed like it never ended. I was so happy when I finally got him to sleep through the night. Thats when I can SHOWER!!! Oh I bet if you are a Mom you are laughing a little right now. Its amazing to just stand under some hot water for more than three minutes and not have a baby screaming for you. 

    All in all.. I love my little boy. I love being his Mother. One day I hope he realizes that Mommy almost lost it. Maybe he will read this when he gets older and understand that I did my best. Wow did I just say that? I used to hate it when my Mother said that " I did my best". My response during a fight while a pre-teen would be " well that wasn't good enough". I guess its pay back time !!!! Hahaha  Oh and Thank you Mom for not Killing me!!!  I now see how hard it is and I respect you more now than ever.   

    Well here are some pictures from the past few months......

Landon's first time eating food at four months old.

He is wearing the outfit Cindy made for him.

  His first Christmas!

First time we went on a walk with the stroller.

He is wearing the same jeans Daddy did when he was a baby.

First time he STOOD UP in his crib. Six months old.

Trying to eat the cup! Haha

He has gotten so big! 

      I will do my best to update this blog and not go five months without logging in again.  I hope you enjoyed the quick update. Take care and until next time. Be Happy and Love the ones you have to the fullest.  

How to make an Eyeball Wreath for $4.00

Eyeball Wreath

Here is how I made an Eyeball Wreath for $4 from the Dollar Tree and a hot glue gun. 

 All you need is a pack of large Foam Balls, small foam balls, googly eyes, a wreath and a glue gun. I was able to find all of the items in the above picture from the Dollar Tree. I was on Pinterest one night looking around and I saw someone had done a Eyeball Wreath but it cost them much more to make. I knew I could pull it off for just a few bucks. It may not have turned out like something that lady Martha would have done, but hey mine only cost $4 dollars!!! Cant beat that. 

Its so simple to make. The only reason it took me 20 minutes to do mine is because you have to hold the balls in place for a minute so the glue can dry. They have a little bit of weight to them. 

Alright so here we go. 

 Glue the balls on to the wreath. Try to stagger the sizes while making sure you cover all the gaps. Hold each ball in place for 30 seconds or so. The glue needs to dry a little due to the weight of the balls. Keep in mind you want to use a small amount of HOT GLUE because it melts the foam. Try to keep the glue out of sight unless you are going for that "Rotten Eye" look.

Now that you have got your foam balls on, here comes the fun part. Glue on the googly eyes on. This doesn't have to be perfect. You want the eyes looking in all directions. 

 I know mine has gaps..... I was on a budget and could go to the Dollar store for the third time just to buy more foam balls. We have to drive a few miles to the nearest store. So this was gonna be "good enough" for my family. Hahaha!  I wish I would have spray painted my wreath black before I started. 

Well I hope you enjoyed this quick and cheap craft for Halloween. Try it and let me know how yours turned out. 

Happy Halloween everyone.... Until next time.

Dollar Tree Finds.

Decorating the baby room with things I found at the Dollar Tree

Well the other day I went to the Dollar Tree to buy a few things for a craft I am working on for Thanksgiving. While there I found some cute stickers and wall art for just a buck each. You really cant go wrong for a dollar. If it didn't look good, oh well! 

 The stickers are from Main Street Wall Creations. I was thinking they would grab his attention even if they weren't the same theme.  The fish cutouts are from Teaching Tree. It came with six different Sea Creatures.

This is what I did with each of them. First off is the Dragon. I placed it above his crib so it looks like it is swimming. Turned out kind of cute. What do you think?

 I placed the animal stickers above his changing table. Figured it would help keep him occupied and would cut down on a few kicks here and there while I try to change a fussy little boy.

I just love these. Now when I lay him down for a change he rolls his head to look at them. What a score these were. Plus if he gets tired of them, I can easily pull them off and replace with something else. 

Then finally I put the Sea Creature wall cutouts behind the rocking chair. I thought he needed something to look at while over my shoulder. Figured a white wall wasn't stimulating his little brain quite enough.  He just loves turtles and cracks up when he sees this one. A babies laughter should be bottled and sold for millions. Its the best thing on Earth.

All in all I think it was a great way to spend $3.00 plus tax.  I had fun  decorating and the best part is I can change it very easily. 

Thank you Dollar Tree.

Our Great Adventure!

Our move from Bakersfield to the Coast.

With a one month old!!!!

In a bumpy Uhal......

Our home for 2 1/2 years in Bakersfield. It was built in 1913. Hardwood floors, claw foot tub ( oh how I miss that tub) and built-in display cabinets. We had many memories in that place. I shall never forget it. This was our fist Apartment together. I wish we could have stayed but a change needed to happen. Our son was born and neither of us wanted him to be raised in Bakersfield. The heat, smog and crime were the major factors for us to move. So we set out to find a place near the coast. For months we tried and tried. All while pregnant mind you. Every Monday we set out for our trips. Time after time we were turned down by Landlords because I was Pregnant. A few even said it to my face, others on the phone. I guess I could have sued about 7 of them but chose to take the high road. Finally when Landon was one month old we found a place in Atascadero.  Not or first choice but someone finally said yes!!! OMG, we thought.  The next day we signed the papers and handed over the money...a lot of money! By now my savings was just about dried up. We had just enough for a Uhal and gas.  It took us 3 days to pack up the Uhal. The last two days we didn't sleep.  It took us that long to pack a 27 foot Uhal because we had Landon to take care of all by ourselves.  I wish we could of had someone to watch him even for a few hours. Would have been a major help.  Anyways... Once we packed what we thought would fit..(4 fish tanks! I forgot to mention) we set off to our new life.  

That thing was a beast. 

 

Poor Landon head was shaking the whole 2 1/2 hour trip. I felt so bad but there was nothing I could do! 

Off we went! Poor Brandon had to drive that HUGE truck while trying not to kill us or falling asleep. We were running on fumes that day. We needed SLEEP soooooo bad. We got delirious.

Have I mentioned ...I HATE MOVING!!!! 

I am still trying to get things in order. It has been a Month now! Hahaha Oh I will never move with an infant again. Nope! You will have to pry my dead hands from the door handle. 

Well sadly our tanks went from this 

TO THIS!!! In a Matter of hours we lost EVERYTHING. Thousands of dollars and hard work down the drain.  Oh it was so sad! We don't know how, but after we set up the tank and took a nap. We woke to a horrible smell.  Death! Salty Death had taken over our new home. We quickly ran down stairs to find the Horror.

Everything had died. All but that single lonely tough red crab you can see in the bottom center of this photo. I cried. Brandon was very upset!!! This is his hobby and he does this for a living. So I guess it was also a blow to his ego.  We did everything by the books but yet it failed. Well there is always a silver lining to everything isn't there?  He gets to start from scratch. Oh JOY! Well I told him we have to do it SLOW this time because we have Diapers to buy now...hahha

All and all, we love our new place. Its so beautiful here.

Our First Family picture in our new town. At the Morro Rock.

Our first sunset as a Family.

Home Sweet Home!

Stay Tuned... There is more to come. 

Thank you for reading our journey.  =)

Getting through the first month!

The first few weeks as Parents.

It wasn't easy!

I can't believe it has almost been one full month since we brought our little monkey into this crazy world.  It has gone by so fast. I know you hear that from every mother, but now I know it is TRUE! Every day he changes little by little. Our son is the most precious thing on earth. We are very lucky to have him in our lives even though we never get any sleep. (Those days are long gone) The OBGYN was supposed to test me for RH factor. Come to find out I am RH- and my son could have died while in me at any time. I was so upset to find this out. All he had to do was give me a shot to give him a chance. Well my son is one tough cookie we have found out! He made it through my body trying to fight him off, the week stay in the NICU and he made it through the first month in my care. Haha , poor kid. Landon and I have yelled at each other, cried together and exchanged a few smiles. This first month has been stressful to say the least, but we made it! I couldnt ask for a better baby. He sure is a cutie pie. Everyone so far from family, friends to strangers all say he looks like "a little man". I think it has to do with the serious look he always has on his face and all that hair on his head.

This is what he looks like most of the day when hes awake. "Mom feed me" "Mom change me" "Mommmm!!!!!!!!!"  "No dont lay me down"  "Hold me...not like that"

(oh boy)

Throwing a fit!

We went on our first trip as a family to Morro Bay. That was a rough trip because he just had been curcumsised that morning. Poor guy, but we need to find a place to live and had to go. He got to meet some of the family while we were there. 

Lacy and Eric before they got Married.
(Oh and while they were changing him, he peed all over the couch)

Randy and Landon.

Cindy feeding him his first meal at a restaurant. 

His first Dinner (passed) out! @Woodstocks in S.L.O

He got to meet his Grandma Patterson for the first time. She seemed so happy to see him. She traveled all the way from Kansas to Bakersfield. Its crazy how good he is for everyone else but in my arms he is fussy. Naughty boy! 

Nap time with Daddy... they both had a long day.

Whats this? Daddy changing a diaper?

His first time over at Grandma Nordstroms. They just woke up from a nap.

He finally noticed his mobile for the first time! Oh man I was so happy.  Today he held on to his pacifier while sucking on it.. he kept pulling it out and shoving it back in. Omg I wish I had a camera near me to capture this moment.

Daddy says he is a "Baby Football"

Feeding time with Mommy. I love that little guy..even when he cries at 3 am!

He got to meet the Patterson Family finally.

This is Brandon's Aunt Teri and Landon. You can tell he is a Patterson for sure in this picture.

Great Grandpa Patt , Daddy and Landon. Brandon was so proud.

Great Grandma Geanie and Landon

Great Grandpa didn't want to let him go. <3

Silly face!

This is my favorite picture of him so far! <3 

Look at those BLUES! 

His hair is starting to get thinner sadly. He was born with a full head of hair and a redneck MULLET! Haha it is so darn cute. Well this Monday we are going to the coast. I will post more picture when we get back.