Fun Friday - Two Truths and One Lie

I stole this from Katie at Keep Calm and Carry On...

I thought I would share some fun facts and a lie about myself... can you figure out which is the lie and which is the truth???


1.  I have been bungee jumping

2.  I was on the cover of a magazine

3.  I am allergic to mosquitoes


Leave a comment and try to guess which one is the lie :)  I'll post the answer tomorrow so make sure you come back and check to see if you're right!!!


P.S. Baby C rolled over two times in a row yesterday!!! :) And I got it on video camera the 2nd time, so I will be posting it on here soon!!!

HAPPY FRIDAY!!!!

Love ~ Aimes

What I'm Loving Wednesday

Linking up with Jamie from This Kind of Love for What I'm Loving Wednesday :)

1.  I'm loving that Baby C rolled over for the first time by himself!!!  Chance said that he did it a few days ago but I didn't see him do it until yesterday! I put him down for tummy time and he rolled from his tummy to his back! He's super strong!!!  I tried to get him to do it again, but he couldn't do it without a little bit of help after that first time. 

2.  I'm loving that I'm finally trying to get my office organized! I will give you guys an updated before and after picture when it's done... it may take a few weeks because we are doing some makeover projects for the office.

3.  I'm loving that I finally got a little sun this past weekend and I'm not ghostly white anymore! YAY!!!

4.  I'm loving these dresses from Old Navy and that they're 30% off right now:

5.  I'm LOVING and soooo addicted to Pinterest!!!! I find myself wasting sooo much time on there, but it's so much fun! If you haven't already joined YOU SHOULD!!!


6.  I'm loving Baby C's chubby little cheeks :)

7.  And of course I'm always loving my sweet sweet hubby!!!

What are you loving this week??? I would LOVE to know so leave me a comment!!!

And if you haven't already, go to my PAGE on facebook and "like" me please!!!

Happy Wednesday ~ Love ~Aimes

Tuesday Tip - Memo Board Tutorial

I'm going to try and do a "Tuesday Tip" every week.  This is to help people find fun crafts, cooking, or other things that I have found useful or have made my life easier.  Each week I will post at least one "tip" and I'm hoping that others will link up and share tips that they have found useful. 

This week's tip is a tutorial for a memo board that I found over at Moda Bake Shop.  This memo board is so precious!!! This is just one of the MANY tutorials you can find on their website.

Do you have any tips for us??

Happy Tuesday!
Love ~Aimes

Saving With Coupons - Printable Coupons, Weekly Deals, and MORE!

Hey Guys!!! I know you've heard sooo much about couponing lately and here's one more thing.  If you're like me then couponing is hard for you.  It just takes SOO much time to do.  I mean, yes I clip from the Sunday paper, but I'm not good at actually going and using the coupons and finding the BEST deals.

Well, I came across this blog that I think will help me A LOT! This blog is great because she posts weekly deals from CVS, Walgreens, and many more stores and shows you exactly how to use your coupons or your extra care bucks.  She also posts other great deals, like Old Navy's 50% off women's knit dresses today!!  It's just a great blog to refer to when you're wondering what you could be saving on!  Go check it out and start saving some money yourself!

Saving Cents With Sense


Leave me a comment and let me know what you think of the website and if you like for me to post things like this! I love hearing your feedback!  And please "like" me HERE on facebook if you haven't already :)

Have a great weekend!!

Love ~ Aimes

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Packing for Baby C

Last weekend was Caycen's first trip to Warner Robins and our first time away from the house.  I didn't realize how much stuff I would have to pack for my short trip.  We stayed from Thursday - Sunday and this is a picture of all the crap stuff we had to bring with us:

We have my bag (green vera bradley bag), Caycen's diaper bag, the brown bag is full of Caycen's clothes, diapers, wipes, and burp cloths, the TJ Maxx recycled bag is full of bottles, formula, and some props for pictures that we were taking, the moses basket was for Caycen to sleep in, then there is the boppy pillow, camera bags, and the car seat.  The only thing missing from this pile was Baby C!

While on our trip to Warner Robins, Caycen got to meet his Pop (my dad) and Cheryl (my stepmom) for the first time.  They had a great time, but Pop wouldn't let Caycen sleep so he was a little cranky! :)



Also, Caycen got to spend some time with his cousin Capri too while we were there.  Capri says she really loves her new baby cousin.  She wanted to help me do everything! She helped me feed him and she even helped entertain him while I curled my hair on Sunday... it was so cute! Caycen started to cry a little and I turn around and Capri starts singing "Jesus Loves Me" to him!!! How sweet!!!!

On Sunday we had a little "Drop In" shower for people to meet Caycen at my Aunt Lynn's house.  It was so great to see my family and Chance's family.  Thank you to everyone who came!! It really meant a lot to us that you wanted to meet our little man.  He is so blessed to have so many people that love him already! Here are some pics:



the MAN of the hour



super excited!

Skyler (Caycen's cousin) and Grandma

Hailey (Caycen's cousin) and Ashley (Caycen's 2nd cousin)

me and Taylor (Caycen's 2nd cousin)

Nanny

Aunt Cindy

Aunt Kim

sweet gift from Aunt Judy

Aunt Judy

Cassie (Caycen's 2nd cousin)

We had such a great weekend!!! But due to the hassle of packing so much stuff, I think we will be waiting a while to take another trip haha!

If you enjoy reading my blog, please consider becoming a follower! It's so nice to know who is reading.

Love ~ Aimes

Giveaway!!!

You need to check out the giveaway over at Amy Cornwell Designs! She is giving away 4 prizes for hitting 2,000 followers on facebook! Check out her stuff because you will LOVE it!!!

Go Enter!!!

Love ~ Aimes

What I'm Loving Wednesday

Linking up with Jamie from This Kind of Love for What I'm Loving Wednesday:

What I'm loving this week...


1.  I'm loving that tomorrow I get to have some girl time at the beach with some of my faves while Baby C goes to stay with his Nona.  CAN'T WAIT!!!! :)

2.  I'm loving the necklaces at Divine Stamping's Etsy Shop

3.  I'm loving every moment that I get to spend with my little man!!

4  And of course I'm loving my wonderful hubby!

I would love to hear what you're loving today!!! Share your link or comment here!

1 Month Old Letter to Baby C

Dear Baby C,

I can't believe that you are 1 month old today!!! It seems like just yesterday when Daddy and I brought you home.  The last month has been so wonderful and I couldn't imagine life without you.  This last month has been so special.  We have loved getting to know you.  The best part was getting to see your beautiful face after waiting for 9 whole months!  Daddy and I love hugging and kissing you as much as we can. 

Here are some of my favorite things from this last month:
Holding you for the first time, kissing your chubby cheeks, watching you sleep, seeing you stretch, your sweet little sneezes, giving you baths, giving you lotion massages (even though you hate this), your smell, when you fall asleep on my chest, watching you eat, seeing your sweet smile, when you wrap your hand around my finger, rocking you, singing to you, burping you, when you do your little monster sounds when you're hungry, watching you lay with your daddy, bath time, saying our prayers as a family before bed, spending all day with you, and every little sound that you make!

Some of your favorite things are:
*EATING - you're eating about 4 ounces every 3 hours already!!! (So you eat about 8 times a day)
*Sleeping - you sleep a lot right now, pretty much 2-3 hours after every time you eat!
*Baths - at first you didn't like baths, but now you love them!!!! You don't even cry anymore when we get you out and dry you off
*Being held - you do not like to be put down
*Boppy Pillow - if you are put down you don't mind sitting in the boppy pillow too much
*Car rides - you LOVE going for rides in the car, you get your best sleep on these rides
*Sleeping on your stomach - even though you only get to do this like once a day during a nap because the doctors say you need to sleep on your back
*Cuddling with Mommy and Daddy
*Listening to Daddy play the guitar - you fall asleep to his sweet songs


You have had LOTS of firsts during your first month... here are some of your firsts:

First sponge bath - at the hospital at 2 days old

First real bath - at home at 2 weeks old

First restaurant - Longhorns at 5 days old

First store - Babies R Us at 5 days old

First time sleeping in your crib - 3 weeks old

First trip to Jalapenos - 3 weeks and 2 days old

sleeping next to our table at Jalapenos

First Church service at Savannah Christian - 3 weeks and 4 days old

walking to the church

in front of the church - it's under construction in the front right now

sleeping during worship :) - told you one of your favorite things to do was sleep!

There are many more firsts to come and I can't wait to see them all!!!

You have been such a blessing in mine and your daddy's lives.  I am looking forward to all of the fun times ahead.  I love you Caycen!!!

Love,
Mommy

Breastfeeding Story

A few weeks before I had Caycen a friend of mine, Emily, did a week of breastfeeding stories.  Of course I didn't have a story yet because I was still pregnant.  At the time I didn't really read many of the stories because I was reading books and just kind of getting ready for breastfeeding.  I knew it would be hard, but I wasn't at all prepared for how hard my next few weeks would be with breastfeeding. Once I was going through it I went back to Emily's blog and started reading all of the stories.  It really helped me to see that there are so many people that had similar issues that I was having with breastfeeding.  So now that I have a story to tell, I would like to tell my story just in case it can help someone else.  So here goes:

The first hour in the hospital Caycen was hungry and ready to eat.  I was so excited because Caycen latched on immediately and fed like a pro.  While in the hospital everything went great.  I fed him when he was hungry and it was so easy.  The day before we left, a lactation consultant came by to check on us and see how we were doing.  She watched as I fed Caycen to see if he was latched properly and she said that he was doing perfect.  I was so happy with my little man. 

The next day we went home and I continued nursing him all weekend without a problem.  I noticed my nipples were started to crack, but I knew that was normal.  By Monday is where my story starts to change.  My nipples were beginning to get really sore, which again I hear is normal... but by Monday night I was trying to nurse and there were SHOOTING pains going through my breast and into my stomach when I was nursing on the left side.  I tried to push through the pain, but after a few minutes I burst into tears and just couldn't bare it anymore! I knew that Caycen wasn't done eating, but there was absolutely no way I could make it through the feeding with the pain I was feeling.  I cried and cried because I felt horrible.  My mom was staying with us at the time so I went and woke her up.  I was crying my eyeballs out and my mom thought something had happened to Caycen, but I explained that I was in so much pain that I couldn't breastfeed him.  My mom assured me that it was fine and that I could supplement with formula.  I HATED the idea because I wanted to be good at this breastfeeding thing and do what was best for my baby.  But I went along with it and we fed him a bottle and I pumped. The next day I continued to pump and give him breastmilk that way to give my breasts a little bit of a break. 

On Tuesday, I started to wonder why I was so achy and I decided to call the hospital to find out if it was normal for me to feel like I was.  The nurse told me to stop taking my meds to see if I was developing a fever and if it got over 100 degrees then I needed to come in and get checked out.  Sure enough, a few hours later I had a fever and had to go to the doctor the next day.  They told me that I had mastitis in my right breast and had to give me an antibiotic to get rid of the infection.

Well by now my nipples were in HORRIBLE shape! They were cracked and bleeding and it was just disgusting! I called the lactation consultant at the hospital and made an appointment to go in and get checked out. In the meantime I was pumping and not having to give Caycen any formula.  When I went to see the lactation consultant she was ready to see what was going on and had planned on watching me breastfeed Caycen to make sure he was latching on right... but once she saw my nipples she said "Oh no, we're not putting that baby on those breasts. Your nipples are horrible"... I felt AWFUL!!! I mean, I was hoping that she would tell me "yeah, that's normal, I've seen worse"... but no... my nipples were "horrible" and she confirmed it.  So instead of nursing they called me in some prescription cream to put on my nipples to help them heal faster.  She told me to pump on the lowest setting until my nipples were completely healed, then I could start nursing again.

4 days later my nipples were MUCH better and I was excited to start nursing again.  I was so scared that Caycen would forget how to nurse after taking the bottle for 5 days, but he latched right on and everything was great.  It didn't hurt at all.  So I nursed him several times in a row, then about the 4th time I nursed him I got those shooting pains in my left breast again.  The right breast was perfect and didn't hurt at all.  I thought that maybe it was just because it was still soon and maybe my left breast still needed a little break.  So I pumped a few times, then nursed a few times.  I realized that my left breast kept getting the shooting pains if I nursed about 4 times in a row... so the next couple weeks I just nursed a few times a day and I pumped the rest.  I was getting more milk than Caycen needed so I would store some in the fridge and I always had a little more than what I needed.

This was going ok... it was definitely a pain to keep pumping because you have to wash bottles and all the pumping gear every time you pump... that was annoying.  BUT Caycen was getting all breastmilk so I was happy. 

Well... the day before Caycen turned 3 weeks old I started to develop a fever again and this time my left breast was REALLY painful and felt like it had a knot in it.  It was also red in the spot where the knot was... I knew I had mastitis AGAIN! I called the dr. the next day and they scheduled me to come in that afternoon.  They checked me out and I was right... MASTITIS AGAIN... UGH!!!! I was so over it!  I told Chance and he told me that he understood if I wanted to stop breastfeeding. 

I thought LONG AND HARD about this... I finally came to the decision that I was tired and ready to start Caycen on formula.  I know people are going to think "oh she just gave up", but believe me I TRIED... I took it very hard and felt horrible about the decision, but I do believe it was the best decision for my situation.  As soon as I forgave myself for giving up, I was so relieved.  I gave Caycen what I could and I tried my hardest to keep going.  I think that by turning to formula, I made feeding Caycen a lot less stressful for myself and for Caycen.  They say that if you're stressed out then the baby can sense it and in turn the baby will be stressed as well... I'm sure that Caycen felt it every time I breastfed him and was in pain. 

Breastfeeding was definitely a great bonding experience and I would tell anyone having a baby to at least try it.  I may not have had the most successful breastfeeding story, but I'm so glad that I tried it and gave my baby what I could for 3 LONG weeks.  Caycen is thriving, has gained lots of weight, and is such a happy baby, so I know I did what was best for him and myself.

I hope that my story can help someone, especially if you're struggling with the decision to breastfeed or not. Know that breastfeeding IS TOUGH, but every one's experience is different.  It is completely up to you! Don't let others influence your decision because only you know what is best for you and your baby.

Thanks for reading! I love hearing your comments!!!

Love ~ Aimes

Post-Pregnancy Body

When I started my blog, I wanted to write so that I would remember everything that I went through as a pregnant woman.  I wanted to be able to go back and see the journey of my pregnancy, especially when I get pregnant again one day and can't remember what I should be going through at what month.  Now my blog has become sort of a journal of my life and things that I love.  I want to remember all of the things that Caycen does when he's little and I want to be able to show that stuff to him later.  It has been so much fun journaling about the things that are important to me.

I have also recently realized that my blog is a great way to help other women as well.  I have had several friends tell me that they are pregnant and love reading my blog and getting a glimpse of what they might go through.  I am super excited about all of the ideas that I have for this blog and ways that I can help others.

Since this blog is supposed to help others I have to be completely vulnerable, so I decided that I would post some pictures of my post-pregnancy body.  Now I have always been a little self-conscious about making sure that I am bikini ready year round and in shape, so this is not like me to show anyone what I look like when I'm not feeling great about my appearance.  But I'm doing it anyway... I know that when I was pregnant I was so interested to see what my body would look like after carrying a huge baby around for 9 months and having my skin stretched to the limit.  I did searches and I couldn't find much, so I want to show others my pictures in case they are curious.

So, I thought that I wouldn't gain TOO much weight during my pregnancy... but I was WRONG!!! Until about 2 weeks before my delivery I had gained about 35 pounds (the doctor said she didn't really want me gaining more than 30).  Then all of a sudden I gained 10 more pounds the last 2 weeks (supposedly all water weight because I was swelling so much)!!! Yep, a total of 45 lbs!!! WOW! Not what I expected at all!

They never weighed me after giving birth at the hospital but the day that I cam home I weighed myself... I only lost 10 stinking pounds!!! 7 lbs and 14 oz of that was just Caycen, so only a couple more than that is what I lost.  How was this possible??? I was so confused.  I heard so many people say that they lost like 15 or 20 lbs right after giving birth, which is what I was COUNTING on! 

Well I was still super swollen for days! I was so swollen and retaining so much water that if you were to barely tough me it would leave an indention.  Some of my family members came to visit me on the Sunday after I had Caycen, which would have been 5 days post-delivery.  They kept saying "wow, you are so swollen and you don't even look like yourself".  Trust me, I didn't FEEL like myself either. 

Then the next day I noticed that most of the swelling had gone down... so I JUMPED on the scale and had lost 10 lbs overnight!!!!! I was SOO pumped!!! So that was a total of 20 lbs down by 6 days post-delivery... that was more like it :)  I don't have any pictures of my belly or anything but you can see in these pictures how swollen I was in the face and all:

Over the next week I was dropping about 2 lbs a day and by 2 weeks I had lost a total of 30 lbs.  What was I doing?? Well, I was breastfeeding/pumping and I didn't have much of an appetite so I was eating very small meals.  Oh and one thing I feel has helped a lot with the shape of my belly is the belly wrap I've been using. It pretty much works like spanx, it holds everything in.  You can find the one that I purchased off of Amazon HERE.  I HIGHLY reccommend it!

At about 3 1/2 weeks post-delivery I was down 35 lbs and I think I have pretty much hit a halting point because I haven't lost any weight in a few days.  Here are some belly pics of me from a couple of nights ago:

My hips are definitely a lot bigger, I have that line still that most pregnant people get (linea negra) - apparently it goes away within the first year, and then I have some stretch marks on my lower stomach (boo!!!)

I have about 10 lbs to go to get to my pre-pregnancy weight, but I want to lose a little more than that to be honest. So here's my plan:

1.  Since I can't start "really" working out until after my 6-week check-up, I will be going on little walks with Caycen.
2.  I am not going to count calories, but I am going to keep my portions small-stop eating when I'm full and eat healthy snacks throughout the day.
3.  I am going to start working out after my 6-week check-up with a walk/jog routine, abs at home, and lots of stretching.
4.  When I feel like I'm back into shape I am going to start the Insanity program again (I did this last year and I loved it!!!).  The workouts are killer but sooo awesome!!!

Hopefully I can do it! I will keep everyone posted on my progress :) Wish me luck!

Love ~ Aimes

Lately...

Well, I have a few things to post about so I decided to do it all in one post...

Anniversary
I didn't have a chance to post about this yet, but June 21st was mine and Chance's 3rd anniversary! We have been together for 6 1/2 years, but married for 3 of those.  God blessed me so much when he sent me Chance.  I couldn't have asked for a better husband. 

shortly after we started dating (started dating March 25, 2005)

The day I married my best friend! (June 21, 2008)

The traditional gift for the 3rd anniversary is leather... I got Chance a new leather wallet, Chance got me a couple of really cute watches (I picked out) and then he surprised me with a this leather bible for Caycen with Caycen's name engraved on it (he came up with this all on his own!!!).  What a great daddy!!!

Caycen's first real bath
We gave Caycen his first real bath a few days after his "stump" fell off of his belly button.  He was 2 weeks and 1 day old for his first bath.  Daddy washed him while mommy held him up in the water.  He really enjoyed it once he got in the water and got used to it, but he cried like crazy when he got out (I'm sure it was because he was cold).  I rubbed lotion all over him, which he didn't really like either, then put him in his cute little p.j.s for bed. 

caught sleeping in the bed with Daddy!

his cute little ducky outfit!

Caycen's first holiday
Caycen's first holiday was the 4th of July.  He was 2 weeks and 5 days old on his first holiday.  On the 4th of July Caycen went and stayed with Nona and Papa Ray in the morning while mommy and daddy went to the beach.  This was our first time away from Caycen.  We only stayed at the beach for an hour and half and went back to pick him up.  We went home and took a little nap.  Then that night we went back over to Nona and Papa Ray's to eat dinner.  Papa Ray grilled out and we had a good time.  Aunt Brooke and Uncle Chris were there along with all the dogs, except Sugar and Cooper (it's kind of hard to take them now that we have Caycen).  We had a great time!  On the way back home that night we saw fireworks while driving through downtown, but Caycen was asleep.  Next year maybe he will get to see some fireworks :)

My little stud muffin!!!!

Born in the USA!

Daddy and his watermelon

Caycen wants to be like his Papa Ray

Our little family of 3 :)

I hope you all had a wonderful 4th and are enjoying the summer!!!

Love ~ Aimes