Confessions of THIS stay at home Mom

Usually I would give a disclaimer about how this post is personal and there are exceptions blah blah... well I am on limited time as my precious baby sleeps so as usual take what you need and leave what you dont...

For the last 10 months I have been at home with no job... I had some complications with my pregnancy, moved, moved again, and now have been staying home with my beautiful baby boy. Sounds great right? Well it is most of the time but every now and again it is awful. So I am going to be honest with you about how I feel.

1. I secretly miss work. I know, I know when I was working I dreamed of being a SAHM but now I miss the water cooler convo, putting on clothes, needing coffee, and most importantly the paycheck. Are we humans ever really satisfied? If it makes any difference I did go to school for 6 years for a profession that I love, so yea I miss work sometimes more than others. I am EXTREMELY blessed to be able to stay home but the extras I took for granted are now gone because we have 4 people living on one income.

Me at my old job

I used to keep my desk messy for my OCD clients

2. I don't have as much time as I thought I would. It would seem staying home there would be plenty of time to cook, clean, blog, craft, organize, workout, and still care for your bundle of joy. Or at least that is the idea I had in my mind. I was totally wrong. With baby J not being in daycare my days are a lot less glamorous. They are filled with poop, puke, tears, mad dashes to pick things up from the floor before they go in his mouth, and praying for a nap. I make sure to get my shower daily and even that is a struggle some days but it helps me feel more human and less machine.

3. I don't manage my time wisely. That whole sleep when baby sleeps is my TRUTH on most days. I justify the naps because I am up all night for feedings and more tears. Realistically I should get more done while he is sleep. However showering, and eating at a normal pace take precedent. Lately he has been having fits before each and every nap. I mean full out crying tantrums when he is just sleepy. Poor guy doesn't realize this is the best time of his life he can simply sleep whenever he wants. So by the time he does drift off to sleep I am ready and more than willing to sleep with him.

4. There is always something to do. No matter if I nap with baby or not I can never get it all done. There is always a mess, laundry, cleaning, or something that has to be done. I cant see how taking away me working and adding a little person has managed to create a house that I can never have all the way together at one time.

5. There is still mommy guilt. With my older child I never stayed home. I was 19 and on the grind to create a better life for us. There was all kinds of guilt revolving around working, and leaving her at daycare blah blah. With baby J I am home and still feel guilty. Guilty because I miss work, or cant remember if it has been 2 days or 3 days since we tried the new food, and did I sweep today so he can play on the floor...

The way I see it being a mom is the best worse job I have ever had. I LOVE my babies but I am not a Pinterest mom. I do not always have it all together, although my husband would tell you different. He swears I have all the answers lol. I am glad he feels that way but I secretly know I am just barely holding it together most days.

So moms of the world do NOT feel bad if your life is not exactly like your mother hood, craft Pinterest board. It is ok to cry, and fail as long as you keep trying.Your children do not have any other mom to compare you too so you stop comparing yourself to others. You are awesome for trying every day.

Honest Diapers- Honest Review

One product I have found myself falling in love with is the diapers from The Honest Company. (NOPE they did not ask me to write this post and I am in NO way affiliated with them.) I am totally using this post to share pics of baby Jaden because lets be honest he is EXTRA CUTE!!!

First how cute is my baby??!!! He could totally be on that diaper case right? LOL

The packaging is cool much like other brand diapers.

I ADORE this baby!!!

I love that the pattern is all over the diaper it is super cute to me.

As you can see my little wiggle worm is moving just fine in this diaper and it moves with him.

Now for what you really want to know, how does the diaper compare? The first two nights in these diapers he peed through. This may be my fault as we are working on a sleep routine and those two nights he went to bed earlier than usual. Once he started going to bed later we were dry in the mornings. I don't have any major complaints about the diaper it did the job. He had a few blow out poops and the diaper kept them contained with no side leakage so that is always a major plus.

The down side is shopping online. I like immediate gratification. When I spend my money I want the item NOW. If this is not a problem for you I recommend the diaper. We got these as a gift from my lovely friend Keana at the baby shower. She also gave us the wipes but I have yet to have a chance to use them. 

What diaper brand do you use? Do you like shopping online?

Wellness Wednesday- Self Love- Guest Post

Hello! For today's installment of Wellness Wednesday I have a guest post. Often times people who are not in relationships start to feel some type of way so this is a post about self love, and giving your self butterflies!!!

Hey readers of Kismet and Kilograms I am Alexandria Walker from Hughes, AR and I blog over at Almost Unfiltered at 30. I've been running for about four years now. I'm currently in the process of becoming a certified running coach! What I plan to do with this certification is still in the planning stages but it will be awesome! I will run my first marathon in 2015... My first time announcing that! Running is my sanity! When I'm tired I run. Stressed! I run! Upset! I run. Running is my go to... Favorite running quote: "Want to change your body, exercise. Want to change your life, run!"

Self-Love…Do you get butterflies from your reflection?

For many of us, love has different meanings but the ultimate concept is the same.  Someone that makes you feel good by caring for you in many ways i.e. emotionally, physically, mentally, and spiritually.  Have you ever met someone, fallen in love and the mere sight of them give you butterflies?  Now, have you ever looked in the mirror, fallen in love, and the mere sight of YOU gives you butterflies.  My point is it is easy for us to love others but we often have a hard time loving ourselves.  When I say love I mean truly loving ourselves.  Taking time out to make ourselves feel good, look good, and caring for us emotionally, physically, mentally and spiritually.

When I look in the mirror I really get butterflies.  I know the girl that I used to be and the woman that I’ve become.  Let’s take a moment to focus on physical care.  Taking time out to care of your physical being is very important in self-love.  I tell my family and friends that healthy friends are fun friends.  I don’t mean it to be condescending so let me elaborate.  How much fun can you have with your family and friends if they plagued with ailments.  This hurts! That hurts! I feel like this or that! It is our responsibility to take care of ourselves.  Be in the best shape for you… My go to physical activity is running.  Running helped me to get to loving myself… Truly loving myself.  I was the skinniest out of shape person ever.  Now, I’m in the best shape.  When I see my reflection in the mirror now I get butterflies just the way I get butterflies when I see him.  I want the best for me just like I want the best for him.  The best for me means taking care of me.  Loving me.  

My love for running will not be the next person’s love.  Find what physical activity that you enjoy and do it.  Be physically fit… Get butterflies when you see your reflection in the mirror.  Physical characteristics are not enough alone to make us love ourselves but it is a great place to start.  Make a commitment to yourself, family and friends to love yourself enough to work hard at becoming healthier through physical activity.

If you want to connect with me more you can find me in the Facebook group I AM HER (women only sorry fellas), on Instagram, or on Twitter.

Saving Money on Books While in College.

 I was contacted Campus Book Rentals to do an informative post on their services and that of Operation Smile.  If you remember I did a post about Operation Smile a while back highlighting all the wonderful things they are doing to serve children who otherwise would not be able to receive medical care.

However I want to use this post to focus on the service of campus Book Rentals. (This ties in to the love theme because who doesn't love to save money?)

Let me highlight for you why you should consider using Campus Book Rentals:
-save 40-90% off of bookstore prices
-free shipping both ways
-can highlight in the textbooks
-flexible renting periods
-21 day risk free returns
-THEY DONATE TO OPERATION SMILE WITH EACH TEXT BOOK RENTED!!!!
                    
This means instead of paying full price for a book the professor may not use next semester (which means the bookstore will not pay you that much when you sell it back) you can rent it, highlight in it like it is your forever book, then send it back! All while saving money and helping needy children. As a parent to two beautiful children that last perk would be enough for me to consider using this 
program.

In case I have bored you and you need a visual check out the video of it all works.



If you are interested in learning more go here and it gives you a detailed instructions on how to rent from Campus Book Rentals.

* I was compensated for this post. All information was received via the sites linked. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*

Wellness Wednesday- Self Love- Link Up

Today I am linking up with The Real Texas Housewife  and the rest of the Just Us Girls for a Valentines Day love post.

Since it also happens to be Wednesday and I'm trying desperately to stick to a schedule today we will talk about SELF LOVE. I am a firm believer that you cannot truly love someone else or accept their love if you do not love yourself.

So what is self love? Self love goes beyond being satisfied with the image in the mirror although that is a part of it. It includes accepting yourself flaws and all. Knowing that you will make mistakes but pushing forward and continuing this journey of life anyway. It means understanding you will never be perfect because no one is and not even Beyonce and Oprah have it all together all the time. If that definition is too vague let me give you some things to practice in order to increase your self love.

1. Learn to say NO. No one can do it all. If you already have plans or are feeling stretched to thin, say no. It is perfectly ok to focus on you and not take on "just one more thing."

2. Find the positive. Life will throw you curve ball after curve ball, and give you lemons when you have been begging for oranges. You have to learn to roll with life. Maybe you secretly are allergic to oranges and the universe is trying to help you out. So take the lemons and make lemonade. Or if you are like me make a mimosa with the lemonade!

3.Know that it is ok not to be ok. Sometimes you have a bad day. That is perfectly normal. Life will not go EXACTLY how you want it all the time. There is nothing wrong with having a bad day. The problem is turning that bad day into a bad life. You must learn to move on from past mistakes, failures, and heartbreak.

4. Focus on what you do have. Often we look at the life of celebrities or even our more well to do friends and we get dare I say it...jealous. We start to question our own lives and wonder why we are unable to take those trips, have that job, get married, wear those clothes, make money from our blogs, or whatever it is. When really having it all is a myth. You don't see the work they put into their marriage or the sleepless nights creating blog post. While you may not be living the fanciest life I am sure you are blessed in many ways. The most valuable things in life are the people you have in your life and the love you have for your loved ones.

I'm no fool I know material things are great and I would love to take a trip to somewhere tropical twice a year but that is just not the life I have right now. So since I want that life I have to love me enough to go after it. If you don't like it change it!

Image from Google

What do you do for self care? How do you take care of yourself?

Monday Mimosa Love

How is it February already? Seriously I was just pushing out my baby boy and deciding if I would post him to social media, next it was New Years and now its February? Wow time is passing by! How is everyone doing on their resolutions? This month on the blog I will be doing a love theme. So all month I will work to create post about some type of love. Lets start with the Superbowl mimosas I made and Loved lol....

 I'm still breastfeeding so I needed something light. I immediately went to Pintrest and the possibilities are endless. So here is how I did mine.

I made the traditional orange juice and Champagne mix first. I love fruit garnish on my drinks so I added grapes to my flute and topped it with a pineapple. I really wanted a strawberry but I didn't have any.

Next I tried it with lemonade. This was great. I will suggest though get the juice with no pulp. I forgot to specify this when my niece went to the store. It wasn't a big deal for me but hubby instantly said "hmm it has pulp in it."

A while ago (like before baby number 2) hubby and I went to brunch where they served unlimited mimosas and one of them had beer in it. So who would I be to deny myself my family the full experience. LOL! Come on I'm the same woman that gave away alcohol shots at her baby shower. Of course I would try it with beer. I liked it. My mom noted that it gave a more "alcohol like taste" she was not a fan of the "sweet girly drink."

One thing to keep in mind is to serve it cold. I noticed when the champagne got a little warm it was not as good to drink.

Judging by this gif of me I really enjoyed myself. 

Does adding couple shots make this post relate to love? If not let me add I will be having a mimosas for Valentines Day sense it was a hit. 

Clearly this was taken before that awful call to throw the ball...

Have you ever had mimosas? Do you enjoy them? What are your favorite ingredients??

Wellness Wednesday- Postpartum Depression

Mixed emotions, depression and anxiety are a part of giving birth for most women. Of course there are those that say they never felt sad but whatever to them. This post is not for you. 

Postpartum depression (PPD) is mild to severe depression occurring after a woman gives birth. It typically occurs within the first three months postpartum, but can happen right after delivery and up to one year after birth. PPD is different from the baby blues as it is long lasting. Baby blues are natural reaction to such a major life change and the symptoms usually fade within two weeks.. 

While there is no single cause for PPD there are several factors involved. After having a baby there is a significant drop and change in your hormones. Other factors contributing to PPD include financial strain, life stress, difficulty feeding the baby (for breast feeders), a baby with colic, and lack of support. Also of note those suffering with depression or having suffered with depression in the past are at greater risk for PPD.

 Postpartum depression symptoms may include:

• Loss of appetite
• Insomnia
• Intense irritability and anger
• Overwhelming fatigue
• Loss of interest in sex
• Lack of joy in life
• Feelings of shame, guilt or inadequacy
• Severe mood swings
• Difficulty bonding with your baby
• Withdrawal from family and friends
• Thoughts of harming yourself or your baby

If these symptoms persist for more than two weeks or begin to interfere with your ability to care for your baby it is time to seek help. You may start by calling your OBGYN and they may make necessary referrals.

Postpartum depression is a REAL thing. If you happen to be one of the women who has/had this struggle SEEK HELP. There is no shame. Never let anyone make you feel like a bad mother for having this disorder. I would say it takes a better and stronger mom to admit to having PPD and seek help. Remember you can not be the best for your family if you are not well.