Baby Scarlett

   A certain blog was recently brought to my attention that is so inspirational that I can't stop smiling and crying at the same time.  Butterflies.  It's the story of Baby Scarlett and her parents, Chris and Brandi.  This sweet little baby was diagnosed with a brain tumor at 2 months old and has been fighting with everything she has for the past 4 months. She just celebrated her 6 month birthday on Saturday and gave her parents a smiley, giggly day despite being in the hospital after surgery #7.  Surgery #8 was scheduled for today, along with another MRI.  I'm waiting to see an update post to see how it went.
   I admire her parents as they fight along-side their baby girl and provide the love and support that she needs.  I experienced 4 days of hospitalization when my 6 month old had pneumonia and thought I was going to go crazy!  Baby Scarlett has been in the hospital for a total of 73 days so far, almost half her life! I feel like a big pansy for even thinking I had it rough!!
   It's amazing how little everyday hassles make us so upset and we feel sorry for ourselves or get angry that we were inconvenienced, yet this little girl has a smile on her face and a giggle for her daddy.  Not to mention that her mom and dad manage to just be thankful for every day that they have with their precious baby girl instead of feeling sorry for themselves.  I'd like to say that I could be that positive if I were in a similar position, but I'm afraid that I wouldn't.  You have to be a strong person with a lot of faith to endure something like this with a smile on your face.  I can only hope that I will never be faced with something like this, and if I am that I could be as strong and brave as Chris, Brandi, and Scarlett.
   After following this story, I cherish every moment that I have with my own 2 babies, and hold them a little tighter.

It's the thought that counts.... right?

My poor husband decided to cook spaghetti the other night.  I thought, sure, I could use a break.  But when I went into the kitchen to fix a plate I saw that he had cooked an entire HUGE box of spaghetti!  It would only be the two of us and our 4 yr old son eating it.  Too bad we only had 1 jar of sauce or we could have fed the whole neighborhood!  Then I noticed that there was spaghetti sauce all over the stove.
It's the thought that counts....... right?

Aunt Elaine's Taco Soup

1 1/2 lb ground beef, browned
1 small onion, chopped
2 cans stewed tomatoes
1 can Ro-Tel
1 can Ranch style beans
1 can kidney beans
1 can black beans
1 can corn
1 envelope taco seasoning
1 envelope Ranch packet seasoning

Combine all ingredients in large pot
Bring to boil, lower to medium heat, cover
Heat for 30 minutes at a low boil, stirring frequently
Simmer for 1 - 1 1/2 hours on low, stirring occasionally

Best with either corn chips or cornbread
Sprinkle with cheese and sour cream

Enjoy!!

Love my fluff!!

While pregnant with my daughter I noticed a friend on FB talking about cloth diapers and how excited she was about them. At first I thought, "GROSS!!!" but the more I saw her posts the more intrigued I was.  She would talk about how she loved getting "fluffy mail" and was pumped when she got to hang her diapers out in the sun.  I finally messaged her to get some info.  At first I was a bit overwhelmed, there are so many different brands and types of cloth diapers, not to mention tons of acronyms that I didn't understand!  But I found a local store, Green Bambino, that held a Cloth Diaper 101 class and signed up right away.  My husband was SO not on board but agreed to go to the class with me. We went and both agreed to give it a shot, I bought my first diaper while there, a small Lilac Bottombumpers.
From there we were hooked! I got a small stash ready, but had to buy some smaller diapers when she was born because I had mostly OS (onesize) dipes.  We got a small variety of types/brands at the advice from the store owner because every parent (and baby) has their own preference.  I have a few that aren't my faves, but work okay for laundry day.
Overall we have spent about $600-$700 on cloth diapers, which seems pricey until you compare it to about $2000-$3000 for disposables from birth to potty training!  I could absolutely make do with what I have until my daughter is potty trained, but I'm sure I'll buy more just because they're so darn cute and fun!  There is also the environmental aspect, which is tremendous.  Each year in Oklahoma County, babies produce more than 102,000,000 disposable diapers that end up in landfills. (taken from Green Bambino's website), and also they are WAY better for your baby!
When I found out that my friend Cherie @ Journey through Mommyhood was expecting, I was SOOOO hoping that I could convince her to cloth diaper.  She happened to get a TON of disposables for her baby shower but said she might give it a try after those were gone.  Well, he is 5 months old and she's just now running low, but decided to do a trial.  Today was her first day and so far she loves them (her husband even willingly changed one!), and I really hope that she continues to love them because they really are so much fun!

Feeding the masses

Funny how my 8 month old tries desperately to feed herself and my 4 year old suddenly decides that he's jealous  enough to need help eating!  We let Aubrey eat Cheerios and various finger foods, but that's just not enough for her. She keeps trying to grab the spoon when we feed her, we have to fight her to keep her hands out of it!  But Brayden is missing the attention so he keeps asking for help saying that it's too hard to eat by himself.  You just never know what's going to surprise you today!