Kay's 18 Month old Update

Hello lovelies! I know I haven't been blogging very much and it's because well, my lupus has been kicking my read like no other. I don't know if it's due to the weather change or is it because baby Kay has been more active then ever but let's just say boy do I need a nice spa day or a day to myself to rest. I'm glad I got a day last weekend when hubby was off that he took the kids to visit family and I was able to stay home due to still recovering from a cold and flare up I just didn't feel right visiting any one especially when there is babies around. Me as a mom wouldn't want anyone coming to visit my home sick to spread their germs so I just thought it wasn't appropriate. Who else thinks this? I really hope I'm not the only mom who thinks oh my goodness germs!!!

I'm hoping that as Kay almost enters her second year in less then 6 months that she calms down a tiny bit. She really is a handful but such a delight too! I feel like she hit the terrible twos early! Is that even possible? My other 3 never really had terrible twos so this is new to me. It's true what they say that no child is alike and Kay has brought on a totally different parent experience into our lives. She's lovable but stubborn. She's expressive and demanding. Hubby says it's because she's me and I laugh because she has all my little traits meshed with his and I can't help but to stare at her and think wow this lil girl really is a blessing and to think she almost passed during her birth.

Everyday we sit and try to practice some letters and words on her lil writing tab that she likes to draw on. Then I pick two books and read to her and leave them for her to flip threw once we are done. So I really try to incorporate some time with her everyday no matter how much pain I am in. She loves to sit and watch me cook and if I'm in the kitchen or daddy in the kitchen she's right there in the mix! She doesn't like to sit a lone during dinner even if it is in her own table and chair so Lily or Ethan tend to take turns to sit with her which is really sweet! The older kids are super helpful with her and love to play and spend time with her. I didn't doubt them and knew they wouldn't be jealous even though they are older and there was another person taking a bit of time away from them and I am glad. They all stick together and are very loving despite their lil petty arguments over the Xbox which is typical at their age.

 So I hope you enjoy this little 18 months update of Kay! I am now in the works of trying to see wether to do a blues clues theme or a Mickey club house theme since those are the two shows she's currently obsessing over. Im going to keep it small again and let it just be us and close friends. I guess when October comes around we can really know what theme I went with, stay tuned for that in my future blog! Take care and stay blessed!

 Xo, Vanessa

Kay's 1st Birhday Party!

I never thought this day would come where my precious lil figher would have made it and be here to celebrate her first birthday.
At first we had this big bash planned in NYC but due to the husbands schedule it wasn't possible so I had to cancel her cake that I had order from @CCXCD  (instagram gofollow her please) whch in turn made me feel so terrible because one she's a friend and two it's hard runnng an at home business tryng to support a family,

I still decorated not very much the day of her birthday and got her her own personalized huge cupcake for her to smash into (which she did't) and a regular cake for us,

Later, a good friend of mine who has now turned into one of my best friends in such little time DEE told me she deserved a party and volunteered to be her god mother of water which is the spanish tradition that people who do santeria (with craft) do but I dont practice it! I just did it to give her that honor ]because I am a true christian threw and threw. She has her original GOD parents but they couldn't make it to the baptism.

Back to Kay's brthday, I searched Pinterest and decided I needed to do something different and not a generic party. I opted for the sing song "you are my sunshine" which I sang to her while he was in the NICU and because it is the same song my sister in law Zizi (not her real name for privacy) sang to her oldest in the NICU as well. So I wanted a piece of them with us especially since they live in a different state.

Let me tell you how PINTEREST is amazing and I could have been one of those let me just print this crap out type of moms but nope! I sat there and created her banner and other little stif  my cricut machine (which is the best machine ever and cant wait to upgrade to the Expressions one.

I had chocolate number 1 lollipops done by @BYPOISINIV (follow on instagram) and  I was grateful for her donation and she even did KAY in the flavor of cake batter which I kept for myself so me and Kaylee can enjoy together.

Below are some of my favorite photos. Enjoy!

Lily @ the candy/gift table

The background. Banner said you are my sunshine. Used a wooden letter kay and also cut out lil sun bursts from the cricut. Used a long rectangle tabe close to aceent it and made yellow bows so you wouldnt notice the tape (always try to hide those) & used the kind of ribbon you use for balloons to twirl it and have it hanging for a pink accent.

Her table before the cake. Her name in chocolate done by @bypoisiniv via instagram thank you once again for the donation. i placed flowers around the able and one in a vase with rock. Then  found that print out on PINTEREST 

another close up

  I used  a basker for the lollipopsand wrapperd a ribbon arond it. also place anoter vase with a floer on it. The treat bags I wanted them in yelllow but couldn't find em sosettled for pink. Again I cut out the K via my cricut and decided that her age ONE should be on clouds. Placed a newborn photo I had taken when I started photogtaphy of her with her father's police hat and badge.

Notice the bird cage? I cut out a bird on a swing from my cricut as well.

Remember its the lil things that counts to make things POP.

Kay loves our friend David who always shows support and love forher.

side view of the tabe

chicken wing bar by steven. hot sauce,  bbq and regular and they were delicious and ALL gone.

Kay enjoying some rice.

Franie & Dee kay's 2nd God parents

me &my baby and i couldnt get a good picture with her because she was wired.

table with the cake that dee & frankie bought

all the kids with the bithday girl Kay & I LOVE this photo of all the silliness and happiness in it.

Frankie & Dee had the honor to blow out her frist year birthday candle

She got th first cut of the cake of course

Yummy cake!

I am glad that Dee has nothing but genuine love for kay.

]

Dee's daughters and Lily in the middle.

Kay got surprised by her original and first god mother thats why she looks confused because they havent seen eachother in a fewweeks.

Kay's christian church god parents Grace and Jay.

That is all hope you enjoyed the photos and the lil ideas that you can use if you use this theme

Take care 

Repurposed Baby Formula Can To a Wipe Container

My latest quick baby project is super cute and easy that just anyone can do it!
I save my daughters formula cans because you just never know when you might need em.
Low and behold I needed a wipes container since the box of pampers wipes that came in the mail weren't resealable and having them in a ziplock bag wasn't making me happy at all!

I put my thinking cap on and was like OMG I can use the formula can to place the wipes in em!
Mind you I did this without the help of PINTEREST. Ha, I feel real proud right now. And I hope other mommies that have this trouble can find my solution and redo what I did.

Below are the photos with some details. ENJOY!

Empty Formula Can.

Wipes.

Used cardstock paper to wrap the can. Some ribbon for decoration. Vinyl for the sign.

Cut an X slit on the top enough for the wipes to pull threw and NOT dry out.

Finished Product!

Note:Only half of the wipes fit in the can so place the other half in a ziplock air tight bag so you can refill this can once you are running low.

Kay's baby station. Doesn't it look great and pretty next to her bins of CLOTH DIAPERS!?

Hope everyone enjoyed this post.

Spring time

Spring is tomorrow. Even though the weather is gloomy and rainy I decided it was a great day to do Kay's spring photos. I used my new cricut machine for the banner I hang in my dining room and used it for the props even though lil Kay wanted nothing more than to chew it all. Im glad I invested in this machine! Enjoy the photos. Xo, Vanessa.

The mommy milk lactation cookie recipe

I'm a breast feeding mom. I wanted something that will help keep my milk supply up plus be healthy for me so my milk can be even more healthier for baby. If you're a breast fed dint mommy I highly recommend you to make this cookie. There's tons of other recipes and ways you can do it. This is the version I enjoyed best for myself. Make a batch freeze half and bake the other half. Try to eat two cookies a day :) enjoy the recipe xo

The ultimate mommy milk cookie recipe 

1 1/2 cup flour (whole wheat or regular)

1 3/4 cup of oats (not the instant one)

1 tsp baking soda 

1tsp salt

1 cup flax seed

3/4 cups of peanut butter

3 tablespoons of yeast (brewers)

1/3 cup of water

1 tsp cinnamon 

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar (I used light brown)

2 tsp vanilla (you can even use almond)

2 large eggs (I used organic)

2 cups of chocolate chips

And 1 cup nuts of your choice but I didn't add that to mine

Pre heat oven to 350

Combine flour, baking soda, sienna on and salt in one bowl

In another larger bowl beat peanut butter, butter, sugar (both of em) vanilla and yeast, flax seed and water till creamy 

Mix in eggs.

Gradually beat in flour mixture from the first bowl 

Mix in chocolate chips and nuts if you opted to use nuts as well

Add oats slowly 

Make em into balls 

(We had to mix it with our hands cuz the batter was a but too tough for a whisk and I don't have a mixer)

Place balls onto baking sheet and press down a bit with a fork. 

Bake for 12 mins. 

I baked enough for a few days cuz I'll be eating two a day. And froze the other batch I didn't use for when I run out. 

Let me know if you tried it. God bless xo

That's what they will look like ;) 

My first week with cloth diapers

I had my beautiful little miracle on october 27th. She finally got to come home with us on November the 1st. I am excited to share with you all my first week of my experience with cloth diapers with her. The first day I was like oh man what did I get into but then after that I got the hang of it after about 15 diaper changes in a day. I couldn't believe it myself that I was really adament to continue and to not get discouraged no matter how many times she had the poo storms (thats what we call em now). First off if you want to consider it please please please do your research on what would work best for you. My research went from PINTEREST and to a number of blogs that gave tons of tips. Then i went to YOUTUBE and really viewed as many videos on how to cloth diaper (prefolds) and the tips that the mommy's on there gave which were really useful. My husband likes the pockets AIO (all in ones) because its easier for him to handle (of course!). I prefer the prefolds with the thirstees covers because I like the folding techniques. I use the charlie banana bamboo disposable flushable liners to place em in the cloth for easy clean up of the poo (trust i highly recommend for you to get these flushable liners!) Everyone is different so buy both if you're interested and see which works best for you. I have 30 prefolds with 8 covers. I have 3 snappies and have ordered some cloth diaper pins that still havent arrived. I have 6 charlie banana's size xs which wont fit her soon and I have 8 regular all in one pockets which i will be needing more very soon and hope to have a massive stash of em because the colors are simply cute. I have a bucket for the dirty cloths filled with water and I let them soak till the next day when thats when I wash em. You can wash em every other day depending on how big the stash you have on hand. Since my baby breast feeds I use half my stash and wash the other half thats dirty. DO NOT DRY IN DRYER! Hang dry em always if not you will ruin em. I use the arm and hammer sensitive or the ALL detergent clear and free. Below are the photos I've taken of the whole experience. I'm by far no expert and I am still learning but I am happy with my decision and I am here sharing my experience with you all. xo.

i prefer this method above

this type of method didnt work for me because it leaked its better to wrap em around the baby

these are what all in ones pockets look like

 i loved this picture so had to add it

this is what a normal laundry of cloth diaper looks like from a day of use

after soaking in the bucket for a night i dump it in the washer sink rinse em again and throw it in the wash

these are the two detergents that i use (i also coupon so they are practically free)

thats all for now hope i helped xo.

Kaylee's Journey- my labor and delivery story

October 26 I was scheduled to be induced due to issues I was having that I won't go into details with because it is personal. 

It was a cold fall morning and as we drove to the hospital I was excited and nervous. The past 9 months were hard and was beyond different than my other three children.

The doctor checked me and I still hadn't dilated so she explained my cons to the induction yet we went with it to end my suffering due to fibromyalgia and herniated disk.

18 hours of an up and down roller coaster. It was a very devastating ride that I wish never to go on again or wish it upon anyone else. I had dilated to 6 cm when suddenly her heart began dropping. They took off the pitocin had me change positions and stopped the epidural. Then they had me on oxygen without removing it because my oxygen level got dangerously low and I felt like an elephant sat on my chest. 

Around 1 am they said let's get ready to push. Something in me felt wrong. I told the nurse something's wrong. The doctor persisted I push because it was time but yet I was severely exhausted and couldn't really catch my breath. 

I pushed and pushed and baby wouldn't crown or come down. 

I began to cry as I heard her heart stop several times and they told me last try to push if you don't do it we have to do a c section because baby is in danger. I said she's not going to come I'm pushing something's wrong. 

I looked at Steven with tears and just wept and told him let them save her. 

They wheeled me off running because baby heart dropped and stopped and would go then stop. 

As they prepped me for the c section I felt a cloud over me, a misty cloud. 

I suddenly lost every lil bit of strength I had. I said where's Steven? The nurse rubbed my head and said he's in his way. 

Little did I know while he got prepped to come into the operating room my daughter was struggling to live and he was struggling to stay strong and hoping he didn't lose his girls.

As they proceeded to open me up I felt super cold, nothing the nurse did even with a warmer kept me warm. 

Kaylee didn't cry when they pulled her out. 

The cord was wrapped tightly around her neck.

My doctor said that explains everything. 

Steven stared into my eyes and said she's out. I was like what she means that explains it, what is she talking about why isn't she crying? 

They put her on the table and everything got so foggy I just couldn't focus. 

I couldn't bare to turn my head and hear that she wasn't crying so I just stared off into the fog and wanted to slip into. I whispered please god let her cry.

I closed my eyes and I cried and suddenly my baby girl cried, and I heard her and every hopeless feeling that was about to engulf me just vanished, 

I turned my head and saw her long arms and legs moving about, and he looked at me from where she was and he said she's beautiful you did it babe.

Weighing in at 7 lbs my baby was here. Her brush with death left and so did the foggy cloud. 

Little did I know I had lost 1/3 of my blood. 

They continued to examine her and didn't bring her to me. They notified him that she needed to go to the nicu.

I felt my heart suddenly get heavy and that fog come rolling in again. They brought her over to me I gave her a kiss and off she went to continue her battle while I fought my own.

He stood by me and comforted me. I felt strange on so many different levels of emotions I couldn't even grasp hold of an emotion.

As they took me into recovery I just wanted to see my baby. I had to wait two hours to visit her in the nicu for only a few minutes. I wouldn't see her again for another 12 hours. 

Those 12 hours were the longest because that's when they notified us about the cord and how she swallowed some of her own feces that had affected her breathing.

The following three days she struggled to transition from womb breathing to real air breathing. Seeing my baby that sick the first day felt like my world tumbled but I couldn't lose faith nor hope. I started the has tag on my Instagram #prayersforkayreyes. Seeing only lil results from fellow followers and friends was also an emotional toll. 

No one knew why I asked for this because it was all too soon to say.

I didn't want to announce anything then have to announce bad news to anyone so I didn't post her photos into after her first day of grave danger and we knew she was off oxygen and was going to survive. 

I never lost hope in kaylee. I stood by her side and regardless of having had surgery 12 hours from having I managed to be with her regardless of my pain, regardless of my exhaustion. I refused to not let her see or feel my love. 

The second day was hard, they had out her on a feeding tube threw her nose. I felt like why must she go threw more? I was angry because that delayed her release out of the nicu with all her results coming back well, seeing her with more wires was not what I needed to see.

Seeing her smile and hearing her cry was more than enough to fuel the energy I needed despite losing so much blood that they wanted to give me a blood transfusion yet I refused because I knew it would just take more time away from her. 

The third day I guess she got tired of being weak that she took it upon herself to pull the feeding tube off. They gave her a bottle and she proved em wrong by devouring it. And now I know that she's just as much a fighter as me! 

My breathing will never be the same I lost ten percent of it, my blood will recuperate with a good diet and gods help. Yet my happiness has tripled in size because god let my baby girl live and let me live as well to be the perfect mother and best mother for her. 

This was our journey. Our story.... Kaylee and mommy, fighters together till the end. 

Before  everything took a toll for the worse

How she looked after being born and her brush with death.

12 hours later!

Second day another turn 

Third day fully recovered. With much prayers and mommy never leaving her side. 

Thank you all for reading our story and for taking the time to get to know US.