Parents of Preemies Day

These next few days are BIG ones for us. Lincoln turns ONE on May 2nd, his party is May 3 and that same day the boys and I are leaving for Florida with my Family. But what I want to focus on right now is the day after that, May 4th. This day, May 4th, is Parents of Preemies Day. A day fully dedicated to celebrate the parents of Preemie babies. 

Most of you know that almost 3 years ago, Gabriel Lee was born 10 weeks early. After 2 weeks at home on bedrest & another 2 weeks on bedrest in the hospital, Gabriel made his very, very early debut into this world. He weighed 2 pounds 3.6 ounces. He was the smallest little baby I had ever seen before. What was supposed to be the most exciting day in our lives quickly turned scary as we realized that our baby boy was ultimately fighting for his life. 

Those days seem to blur together now... you know the days that I thought would NEVER end. The countless nights in the hospital, the alarms going off, nurses coming in and out, and doctors constantly giving you good and bad news. Yeah, amazingly, those days seem far away now. But those details, those moments that we spent with our baby boy those first few weeks of his life, those will forever be in my heart. 

I remember staring at this tiny human being, hoping and praying that he would be alright. It was terrifying and exciting all at the same time. Terrifying because I didn't know what our future held with this baby boy. Exciting because there he was, MY SON, this tiny little life that I created... I was staring at him. He was the most incredible child I had ever seen. 

A few days after Gabriel was born, he actually lost weight. That was scary... it was a constant battle but I could tell that he was a fighter. He wasn't going to give up. This tiny baby was the biggest fighter ever. We spent almost 4 weeks in our local hospital. It was an early Sunday morning phone call that woke us up... the nurse on the other line said they were life-flighting my baby to Cardinal Glennon because they didn't know what was wrong with him. How could this be? Why were we told he was doing fine? So there we were.... driving as fast as we could to get to the hospital so we could see our baby before he was flown to a hospital 2 hours away. We couldn't fly with him. He wasn't even a month old yet.

That drive to St. Louis seemed like it took forever. But luckily, this hospital, Cardinal Glennon, was amazing. Gabriel started to thrive there. Turns out, he needed a blood transfusion (duh, if you take blood from a tiny baby everyday...you probably need to put more in. But that's a whole different level of aggravation that we won't go into now). Anyway, I remember walking into our new private room and meeting with the doctor and nurse practitioner. I immediately felt at ease knowing that these were the people who were going to be watching over my child. 

We spent about 4 weeks at Cardinal Glennon and every day Gabriel seemed to do better and better. Our prayers were being answered. Our little boy was growing right before our eyes and exceeding all of the expectations. He passed test after test with flying colors. To put it simply, he was amazing. 

I spent a lot of my time blogging while at the hospital. I also found comfort in reading other blogs of mothers who had been or were going through the same journey. It was nice to know that we weren't alone and even better to hear all the stories of babies growing and seeing them on their 5th, 10th, and 20th birthday. One day, that will be my child. I also found a lot of comfort in music. Two songs in particular: George Strait's "I Saw God Today" and "Wires" by Athlete. Both were songs that Jesse and I listened to A LOT during those days. 

Today, as I look at Gabriel I am amazed at how far he has come. He may be a little small for his age but that boy has the biggest heart. He's so funny, smart, talented and handsome. He's definitely going to be a heartbreaker. Sometimes I forget about the tough road that got us here and I have to remind myself to take the time to remember and truly be thankful for these days with my boy. He is the strongest person that I have ever known. To fight such a hard fight in the first months of his life and to be doing so well now is truly astonishing. There are those days when he is driving me crazy and there are the days when he is as loving as can be. I thank God for all of those days... I thank God that I can hold my boy in my arms and know that without a doubt he is healthy & strong. I thank God for our Miracle Baby. 

So, on May 4th, I encourage you to stop and take some time to recognize any and all Parents of Preemies. It's not for the faint of heart...that's for sure. But it's a journey that is truly remarkable. 

To read the full story of Gabriel Lee click HERE! 

Weightloss Journey: Advocare 24 Day Challenge

I can't explain how excited I am about this post! I recently ended my Advocare 24 day challenge and I couldn't be happier. I started the 24 day challenge on February 23rd. My goal was to lose inches and 10-15 pounds. I really wanted to kickstart this weightloss, learn to eat healthier and learn what to eat. 

Now, here's my results. Keep in mind that I didn't exercise every single day. I did exercise a lot though. I did Jillian Michael's 30 day shred video, squats and crunches. I lost 10 inches and 10+ pounds. I say 10+ because I fluctuate between 10-12 pounds. I weigh in the mornings. Honestly, pants that were too tight or just right before are not baggy on me. I can wear shirts that I haven't worn in forever. I feel healthier and better about myself already. 

I went the whole 24 days without coffee. I thought this would be the hardest for me, but it wasn't. The SPARK drink that you drink during the challenge really helped me not to crave coffee. I just got my second container of Spark this past week to keep drinking even after the challenge. I also didn't eat any bread or cheese. Now, I eat it in moderation- but very rarely. I made a big poster with my weight loss goals for the challenge and for the year. I also made a poster of what foods I could and could not eat. I posted them all in the kitchen where I would see them everyday. I now drink LOTS AND LOTS of water. Honestly, if I don't- I feel terrible. I feel dehydrated and unhealthy. Water is KEY! 

I have 15 more pounds to go to reach my first goal. We're going to Florida the first week of May and my goal is to lose at least 10 more pounds by then. I know I won't be squeezing into a bikini anytime soon- but I'm getting closer. I still have stretch marks from both pregnancies. I'd like to get rid of them as much as possible- so I've been using Mederma cream and I just bought the Palmer's stretch mark cream as well. Hopefully, they will disappear some more. 

I typically don't approve of diets because once it's over the weight comes back. But with Advocare, I've kept the weight off. It was all about cleansing the first 10 days and then learning what I can and cannot eat. I'm eating a lot healthier these days and again, drinking lots and lots of water. Don't get me wrong, I do indulge some days- but nothing near like what I used to do. I'm so happy seeing the weight coming off and my clothes fitting better that I don't want to slip back into old habits and gain any weight back. I still have a lot to lose but I'm well on my way. I'm determined to be healthier and in better shape. Not only for myself, but for my husband and kids as well. I don't want to be that mom that sits on the bench because she's too fat to play with her kids. So, I'm determined to be a fun, healthy mom that sets a good example for my children. 

Cara Box

Obviously, this post is one that I tried posting from my phone but it never uploaded. So here it is... a month late but better late than never. 

Cara Box is a monthly gift exchange that the lovely Kaitlyn from Wifessionals puts together. This is my second round of Cara Box and I absolutely love it. I've met some great ladies and made some great new friends through this exchange. 

This exchange, I was paired with Kara and Christine from Life with a Side of Coffee (You can see what I sent her over at her blog). I really enjoyed getting to know both of these ladies. I sent a box to Cristina and Kara sent me my box. I absolutely LOVED everything that Kara sent. 

Here's what I got: 

The sweetest card

E.L.F. eyeshadow

Face Mask

Ring Pop

Makeup Bag

Sally Hansen nail Polish (turquoise) 

Essie Nail Polish (charcoal)

Matte Lip Balm (not pictured)

I LOVED everything about this box. The makeup bag is perfect for me to keep in my diaper bag filled with my things. The nail polish couldn't be more perfect. These are 2 of my favorite nail polish colors. Actually, I have turquoise on now. And the makeup,  oh how I love the makeup. E.L.F. is a great brand- since I got this in my box I decided to do some research on the brand. Did you know that this brand is CHEAP and just as good as the higher name brands? Seriously!? I'm in love. The Matte balm stain that I got is amazing. It's the perfect color. I've wanted the matte balm for a while now but just never remember to buy it. So I was super excited to get this. Gabriel stole my ring pop and I haven't had a chance to use the mask yet... maybe one night when I'm kid free I'll use it! :) 

Thanks Kara for my amazing box! I love it! 

Rylee Grey Schiff

Ya'll- I thought we were going to make it one year without any major events happening in our lives. You know, like snake bites, hospital stays, etc. Well, that hope was lost on February 15th when Rylee, our sweet puppy, ran away. 

It was a Saturday- just like any other day. I was taking the trash out the front door and came back in. A few minutes later, I realized that Rylee wasn't in the house, so I went back outside to let her in. She was across the street in the neighbors yard. I yelled at her to come back. She started heading my way and then heard something and darted off again. I yelled and yelled for her and went out walking to find her. No luck. I had both boys napping and Jesse was napping as well... so I couldn't go too far. After about 30 minutes of not finding her, I woke Jesse up so he could help me search for her. Again, NO LUCK! I was so upset. Why would she run off? Where did she go? I went out driving around the neighborhood and didn't see her. Went to a few of our neighbor's houses and still couldn't find her. I. Was. Devastated. 

Jesse and I had planned to go out to dinner to celebrate Valentine's Day that evening. We had a sitter coming over- so instead of cancelling, we went out. I was hoping that Ry would find her way back home while we were gone. Nope, that didn't happen. That's when it hit me. Our baby girl was gone. 

I posted Rylee's picture on every facebook page I could find. I filed a report with Illinois Lost Dogs. We had fliers printed at Staples and hung them up all over town. Gabriel and I even went door to door passing out fliers in the neighborhood. We had several "sightings" of her but none seemed to pan out. I went out every single night searching for her- sometimes for over an hour. I talked to the city cops, local dispatch, gas station workers...anyone and everyone I could. My parents went to the pound and called the local dog catcher just in case he found her. It was sad. We all were sad. Gabriel stood at the door almost every day and yelled for her to come home. We kept the front porch light on and blankets outside just in case. That week was soooo cold... I mean, really cold. I hated thinking about our sweet girl being outside in the cold all alone. She's not used to that. She sleeps in our bed in our warm house. She's not an outdoor dog. There were times when I thought she was still probably outside on her own... and then there were times when I thought that someone may have taken her in. That was the worst...thinking that someone may have her and not give her back. It was awful. 

Almost everyone in this town knew that Rylee was missing. When I say that I posted it everywhere... I mean it. Every single day I posted it on facebook. I'm sure people were getting annoyed at all of my posts. haha. While passing out fliers I realized that there were a lot of rude people in this town... but then, I also realized that there are a lot of kind people too. A girl from Benton contacted me one day saying that she was looking for Rylee and may have spotted her a couple streets from our house. This girl didn't even know me, but she drives her daughter around during her nap and drove all the way to Christopher to search for Rylee. I was so thankful and touched by this. She literally went looking 2 - 3 days... how amazing is that? That someone who doesn't even know us would search for our baby girl? (Turns out that the day we finally found Ry- she and her husband were getting ready to go out and look again!) :)) 

It was Saturday when I got 2 calls about Rylee being seen on that same street that is close to us. The final call came around 7 p.m. and someone had seen her running in a yard. It took us about an hour to get out of the door- but Jesse and I packed up the kids and went out to search for her. The yard that she was seen at just happened to be a family friend. My parent's were already there by the time we got there. The lady said that she saw a puppy that looked like Rylee in their backyard sitting in some leaves that morning. It was about 8 p.m. by this time and we searched and searched their yard. But, it was late and we figured that she was probably taking shelter somewhere. We decided to head back home and go out looking the next day. 

Sunday morning I was up with the boys when the doorbell rang. It was our dear family friend, Kitty. She was on the same street (15th Street) and saw Rylee sitting in front of a barn just down the road from the house we searched at the night before. Jesse was still asleep but I couldn't wait... I had to know and I had to go Immediately! So, I packed the boys in the car and headed that way. And GUESS WHAT!? There she was... sitting in front of the barn just like Kitty had said. She was sitting there in the sun just like hey, here I am. I was SOOOOOOOO excited. (Keep in mind...this barn was surrounded by a fence... and it was very muddy). I jumped out of the car and ran up to the fence and yelled for her. She just looked at me. (I had read that dogs that are lost for an extended amount of time will typically be hesitant to go to anyone...even their owners). I kept this in mind and knew that it may take her awhile to come to me. I yelled and yelled for her to come to me. After a few minutes, I got back in the car and backed up a little. I got out again and tried to figure out how I was going to get inside this fence. That's when I looked back up and saw her crawling out under the fence. I ran and picked her up. RELIEF and HAPPINESS doesn't even begin to explain it. I took her to the car and the first thing Gabriel said is "Look, there's Ry-ree!" 

It had been a week since our girl was home. She was very skinny and cold. Her nails were long and she was very dirty. As soon as we got home, I took her to the bedroom and woke up Jesse. Of course, he was excited too! Then, it was bath time. The hair around her butt was NASTY- to say the least. It was all matted and gross and poopy. DISGUSTING. So, it was a very, very long bath that required a lot of scrubbing and cutting hair to get her better. She drank a lot of water and ate a lot of food this day. Gabriel and Lincoln were so happy to have her home... Rylee was worn out from playing by the end of the day. I have never been so happy to have Rylee back in our bed as I was that night. 

In the week that followed, we still had a lot to do with Rylee. Her butt looked a little infected, so my Dad gave us some medicine to put on it. Luckily, it cleared up. My dad also helped us cut her nails down. We gave her a haircut and fattened her up as much as we could. :) 

I am soooo happy that she is home, safe and sound. I refused to give up until she was home with us. Through this whole ordeal, I learned how many lost dogs there are... just around here. It's crazy. Rylee is like family to us, just like all these other lost dogs are family to their owners as well. I hope and pray for all of the lost dogs safe return. 

Passing out fliers

The morning we found Rylee!

Catching Up- Lincoln is 10 Months!

Well, here we are again... a month since my last update. In my defense, I have posted several posts from my phone app... however, they obviously didn't upload. UGH! So, there's a lot to write to get caught up. 

First off, Lincoln was 10 months old on March 2nd! I can't believe that he will be one in less than 2 months! ONE! Where in the world did the time go!? So, here's what our little "ninja" baby has been up to. 

On February 24, Lincoln took his first Official Walking steps. Since then, he's been walking everywhere. Literally in the past 3 weeks he has gotten so much better and has taken off soooo much more. He's walking from room to room, getting up on his own, and even trying to climb the stairs. I'm so not ready for this! These boys sure do keep me busy on a daily basis. I"m still in awe that Lincoln is already walking!! 

Some more news: 

• He has 3 top teeth (2 middle and the one to the right) and  his 2 bottom teeth. 
• Wearing 9-12 month clothes (mainly 9 months) 
• Graduated to a big boy carseat...still rear facing of course. 
• Loves to watch Mickey Mouse, Curious George, and Monsters, Inc with his brother
• Enjoys bath time and climbing out of the tub
• LOVES to eat and eat and eat! 
• Favorite foods: Bananas, applesauce, hotdogs, spaghetti
• Still drinking formula
• Poops... A LOT!
• Size 3 diapers
• Laughs at Rylee all the time
• Likes to play with the iPad when his big bro lets him 
• LOVES to play with his big bro
• Says "MAMAMAMAMA" 
• Also says "HUH" hahaha 
• Enjoys being outside
• Laughs all the time 

9 Months Young!

Lincoln is 9 months old!! I can't believe that in just 3 short months he will be 1 year old! Where has the time gone? It seems like just yesterday I was pregnant waiting for his arrival! I hate that my boys are growing up so fast. Anyway, here's what Lincoln's been up to...

- drinking out of his soppy cup
- walking behind his walk behind toys
- eating everything
- Favorite foods: sweet potatoes, corn, applesauce
- Favorite Snacks: Cheerios, crackers, yogurt bites
- crawling EVERYWHERE!! (Still our little ninja!)
- loves playing with big brother
- enjoys taking his big bro's cup away from him
- loves bath time and crawling out of his tub
- saying "momma & dada"
- likes Curious George & Mickey Mouse
- sleep patterns have been wayyyy off his past month
- loves to be held
- likes to listen to music when helping Mommy cook

Dear Lincoln, 

I can't believe how fast these past 9 months have gone by. You're growing up so fast- but luckily, you still need your Mommy. I love watching you and your brother play together. Sometimes h
Gabe gets mad when you take his cup away and pull his hair... But then he will come over and kiss you on the forehead and say "oh be be" and that just tells me that you boys are going to be the best of friends. You crawl everywhere... And you're super fast! You're definitely going to be a little athlete. This past month you have really gotten off track with your sleeping patterns. This has made for some very, very long nights. Although I'm exhausted and a little aggravated that you sometimes stay up until 4 a.m.- I do love those long nights that I get to spend cuddling with you. These are the moments that I'll never forget. You are definitely a Momma's boy until Daddy comes home. Then... It's all about daddy. That's ok- I like that too. You are so fun and full of life. I'm looking forward to watching you grow up and being able to see you and your brother become even closer. You and Gabe make me smile every single day. You both make the sleep deprivation worth it. I love you, dear son.

Love, 

Mommy 

Anniversary Dinner & Weekend Away

Well, last week Jesse and I celebrated our 3 year anniversary! Can you believe it? 3 years!!! I know for some that doesn't seem like very long at all, but for us and everything that we've gone through in the past years- this is an accomplishment & something to be proud of.

One song that comes to mind when I think about our anniversary is Shania Twain's "You're Still the One." You know- the opening lines... "Looks like we made it- look how far we've come my baby. We might have took the long way- we knew we'd get there someday. They said, I bet, they'll never make it but just look at us holding on. We're still together - still goin strong." .... And then there's the chorus..." You're still the one I run to- the one that I belong to- you're still the one I want for life. You're still the one that I love- the only one I dream of- you're still the one I kiss goodnight. You're still the one." (Is it bad that I just recited that out of memory?) Anyway, after everything that we've been through a lot of people would probably or have probably said that we didn't stand a chance. We had 2 choices: walk away from each other or fight like hell and come out better and stronger. And that is just what we did. It hasn't always been easy- heck, I'd be lying if I said it's been a fairy tale. But one things for sure... We've learned a lot and we've learned how to lean on each other. 

So, 3 years was definitely something to be celebrated. A premature birth, family issues, snake bite, job loss and another baby have only made us learn some tough lessons and have helped us to realize what truly matters most. How did we celebrate? 

Well our anniversary was on the 22nd- a Wednesday. So of course Jesse had to work. I planned a homemade meal for him for when he got home. I cleaned the house (i.e. I picked up the millions of toys) and sent the boys to Mama & Papa's- then I got to cooking. I had trouble deciding what to cook because Jesse absolutely LOVES steak and I don't. So I wanted to make something that we both really liked. I decided to make the first meal that I ever made him while we were dating: Chicken Parmesan. Along with the chicken I made  Red Lobster biscuits and of course you can't have chicken parm unless it's over a bed of noodles. So I made spaghetti noodles with garlic & olive oil sauce topped with toasted breadcrumbs. For dessert I made Red Velvet Cupcakes along with Homemade Red Velvet Ice cream ( recipe came from Kaitlyn at Wifessionals). 

Jesse got home late that night- so I kept the dinner warm until he got home. It was delicious. And the ice cream- oh my goodness- you have got to try it! 

This past weekend the real celebrating began. We were off for a night away- kid free! It was well needed and so relaxing! We left Saturday afternoon and made our first stop at Jimmy Johns! I mean, who doesn't love some JJ!? (I must confess- we ordered this wayyyy to much when we were in the hospital with both boys). Then we headed up to Fairview Heights for the evening. We checked into our hotel room (complete with a jacuzzi) and the headed out to shop. Now I love those thrift shops so of course we headed to Goodwill first. I was on strict instructions to not buy any toys. I know, depressing! However, I walked out with some pretty good deals. I got the kids some clothes, an ice cream maker for $4, and some new shoes. I got a pair of Gianni Binni shoes for $6 that I wore that evenig and a pair of Jessica Simpson heels for $3. I plan on doing a Pinterest project with the JS ones and glittering the bottoms. Jesse's not a fan of Goodwill so he went out to the car and took a little nap while I shopped. It's always better this way since he follows me around and makes me feel like I'm on a schedule. Haha. 

Next we were off to Savers! This store is like Goodwill on crack. Jesse needed some new clothes... Bad! He would disagree but trust me, he did. So, I of course went through the racks and grabbed things that I liked and that he might like and then I let him decide what he wanted. Surprisingly, he only decline one shirt. He also picked out some pajama pants and sock hats. Ok now here's the best part... All of the things he got were like brand new. Seriously they didn't look like they had ever been worn. Even better? This store gives a military discount of 30%!!! So, we ended up getting him a ton of things for $60! Seriously you can't beat that! Especially since we would have spent just that much at the mall on like 3 things. 

After shopping, we headed back to the hotel to freshen up and to go to dinner. We decided to go to Joe's Crab Shack since neither of us had been there in a while and seafood sounded really good! We sat at the bar for about 30 minutes waiting for a table. The food was delicious! Probably my new favorite place to go to up there.

We were going to go see a movie at a theater that serves you drinks and food at your leather reclining seats. However, the movie playing wasn't something that either of us really wanted to see. We were stuffed and decided to grab some wine and just head back to the hotel and relax. Around 11:30 we were hungry and didn't want to get out- so we had some pizza delivered to our room. One full night of sleep with no kids. Did I mention that it was amazing? I really needed to catch up on sleep. 

The next day we headed to the mall to do a little shopping and then we had lunch at Lottawatta Creek. As always, the food was delicious!! But I must say, I enjoyed

Joe's more this time! Then we headed home to see our boys. It was a fabulous, well needed weekend. 

Chicken Parmesan

1 large Chicken breast per person

1 can of spaghetti sauce

1 box of Angel Hair pasta 

1/4 cup olive oil

1 spoon minced garlic (use fresh garlic if you have it) 

1/2 bag of Mozzarella cheese

Breadcrumbs 

Grated Parmesan

Directions for chicken

Mix about 1 cup of breadcrumbs with 1/2 cup of grated Parmesan. Set aside. 

Beat chicken so it's thin and flat. 

Coat chicken on both sides with breadcrumb and Parmesan mixture.

Put in oven safe pan and bake at 350 degrees for about 30-45 minutes or until juices run clear. 

Take out and pour spaghetti sauce over chicken and top with mozzarella. Put back in oven until cheese is melted.

Directions for noodles

Cook noodles of choice according to directions on box.

Meanwhile, heat up 1/4 cup of olive oil with 1 spoonful of minced garlic in another pan. Once garlic is fragrant, pour oil over small strained into a bowl to get if of garlic pieces. 

Once noodles are cooked stir in infused olive oil.

Line baking sheet with aluminum foil and pour about 1/2 cup of breadcrumbs. Toast for about 3 minutes in 350 degree oven. Be sure not to burn. 

To serve:

Spoon noodles onto plate and top with toasted breadcrumbs. Place chicken on top of noodles. 

Serve with garlic bread.