Monday, December 19, 2011

Updates.....

And we are alive! I know I only had like 3 readers and they most likely left because I have not written in like 3 months.  Buckle up and here we go...

We moved back to Charleston and it feels so good!  We were suppose to buy a house in Awendaw that was super cute and had been working on the whole thing since July.  It fell apart at the last minute in underwriting.  We were devastated.  I rarely have those "God moments" that everyone talks about, but I had one where the clouds parted and I heard VERY clearly from Him and it was beautiful.  I will write more about this later.

We were staying with a friend that generously let us stay with her for way longer than she should have.  Long story short, we were frantically looking for a place to stay because the said friend was closing on her house!  Thank goodness God had bigger plans and literally saved the day when we found our little abode to lay our heads for the next season.  We will regroup next summer and start over in the house buying process, maybe, if it's HIS timing this time!

Annabelle:  Oh that little joker is on the verge of walking and just adorable as usual!  She chipped her two front teeth thanksgiving weekend.  It was horrible and I had nightmares about DSS meeting us at the dentist to talk about it.  The next week she got 5th disease or slap cheek syndrome.  A quick traumatizing trip to urgent care and we were sent home with orders to let her sleep, give lots of snuggles and tylonal.  She's fine now.  She is talking up a storm and makes me laugh on a regular basis!  Right now she is in a Momma phase.  I don't mind it, it's a first!

Emma Kate:  That little one looks like her daddy and I feel like I birthed my mother in law!  She is just so little and FINALLY a happy baby!  After some serious test, it was just acid reflux and creviced everyday helps make our lives a little more dry and my babe a little more happy!  She loves to lay on her mat and just kick up a storm and swing in her swing.  Just last week she started belly laughing.  It only happened that one time so far it was precious.  Weird, I was on the potty when it happened and the same with annabelle.  Frank was talking to her and out of nowhere it happened.  AB chimed in and started saying "HEEEEYYYYY"... precious!  That girl loves to smile and to be held.  She would be held all day if she could.  I think that she is going to be a momma's girl, I don't mind!  Nursing is going all right, I guess.  It's a daily battle to keep strong about it and to be diligent about not supplementing.  I'm thankful for the encouragement that i have around me and the women that are cheering me along!!  Thank you ladies!

Frank:  That man has some work ethic!  He works so hard, does his internship at the church and still makes time for us Robertson women!  I'm so proud of him and so thankful to have him as a leader of this family!

Dallas:  Finally got his yard.

Me:  Wife, yoga clothes wearing, laundry folder, dishwasher loader, unpacking, over committed and super thankful momma that is lucky if a shower happens twice a week- sorry frank!

Friday, October 21, 2011

Cloth diapering...

$50.00 bill.  That is what it took to buy one big box of size 3 diapers, one big box of new born diapers and a big box of wipes.  WITH COUPONS!
We don't have that kind of money.  So I put on my thinking cap...


~Let's start this out by saying that in no way am I an expert in this field, I'm just learning as I go~

Good, now that we got that out of the way, let's dive in:


We started cloth diapering a few months ago and my sweet friend let me borrow some of hers.  She had taken a hiatus from it and I took full advantage of her untouched stash {grin}.  I had a baby and we stopped for a week or two, but we are now in the grind of it with 2 babes in those cloth diapers.

So many people have asked me what we do and our routine... this is what works for us, but everyone has to find their grove.  It's a big commitment, so find what works and stick to it.

These are the diapers that are currently in our pile:

GoGreen Diapers (they are pocket diapers)

Bunz 'n Roses






Flip diapers (they are insert diapers):
Flip Cloth Diaper Cover & Stay-Dry Insert

Bum genius (pocket diapers):
bumGenius Elemental<br />One-Size Cloth Diaper

G diapers (insert diapers):
sweet bundle with gCloth


Tri-folds with thirsties babe covers:


Check them our here.


First, before you do anything, make sure that both parents (and care giver, is applicable) are all on board, if not, then one person is going to be doing a lot of work!


When we change the babe, we have a diaper container that was given to us (normally used for disposables) and we take it apart and put the dirty diaper in there.  

  • If there is poop, then flush whatever will drop off the diaper.  
  • If it is wet, then the wipe goes in the trash can.
When I put a new liner in the said pail, I take an old wash cloth and get it fully wet and rung out with vinegar.  I then sprinkle scented oil on the wash cloth and put in the bottom on the liner... on wash day you will be super thankful you did!!



We also have these awesome really thin paper like liners that we put on the girls between the diaper and the skin.  It keeps most of the poop off the diaper.

I wash them all together on warm water and line dry.
When I wash all the diapers, I first do a rinse cycle, then wash a regular washing cycle with soap.

Different diapers you can dry in the dryer others you can't. 
I just line dry all of them to make it easier on myself.  And no, I do not wash them every day!  About every other day, maybe 2 days.  


My favorite diapers (that is what everyone wants to know and everyone has an opinion, so here is mine):


  • I LOVE the gogreen diapers.  They are the best for my oldest.  They have EXCELLENT customer service that responds super fast.  While they are not local to me, they are a small company in CO.  They also are the best for your money... around $8-$10 per diaper.  They do not work very well on my newborn... proof is in the laundry!

  • I also LOVE the flip diapers for when we are at home.  They are super easy as you leave the cover on and just change the liner.  Covers work great on both babes!

  • I like the bum genius diapers but feel like they are a little over priced.  If you can find them on sale or at a consignment store, then yes, get it.

  • For My newborn, I love the thirsties baby covers and we use a tri-fold liner.  I know it's old school, but these are not the Gerber kind and they actually work.  They have these cool "Y" shaped hooks to hold it together.  

  • Gdiapers... I do not like them.  They are at the bottom of the pile and are used only when I wait too long to wash :(  They leak all the time.  They were part of the stash that I borrowed.  My said friend had the same problem and through that it was because she had a boy... not the case.  I even youtubed it to make sure I was putting it on right.  Yes, they are the easiest to find, but it will make you jump off the band wagon really fast out of frustration!


Wet Bags:



I made mine and there are some great tutorials online.  The one that I used, didn't turn out the way that I wanted it too, I will be making mine over when I get a chance.  But I love making them because you can pick out exactly what you want!  If you can sew, don't be intimidated by the zipper, if I can do it, you can do it!  If you are, then email me and I'll make it for you!




Sprayers:
Tried and true, right here.  Tried to save some money and made it ourselves.  Well Frank made it.  It was horrible.  I did what our pre-marital counselor told us, I fed him, let him take a nap and sent him in there... Still he got frusterated.  The actual cost was about $3 cheaper than the ones you can buy and hook up.  But that $3 savings was NOT WORTH IT... just break down and buy the thing!!


In the short month that we have started, we have broken even.  So go and do it and save some muh-lah!!

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Is this a joke...

So I will confess:
I have an eating problem.  There I said it.  No, it's not that throwing up shenanigans that happened in my early twenties.  It's quite the opposite and I cannot stop.  I have portion control issues.  On top of my sweet tooth, I'm in big trouble.  The other night I ran out for a quick errand and there was that AMAZING (proof that there is a God and he wants us to be happy) candy and it was on sale!!

Caramel Creams

It's my favorite, seriously, I could eat the whole bag.  I asked Frank to take them away from me and to only give me ONE when I really wanted one and only one.  I asked for ONE tonight.  He said that they were in the freezer.  I secretly thought, "great, that frozen carmel is going to rip out my fillings... but totally worth it!"

Well that punk did this:


HE FROZE IT!!

The candies are in a ziploc bag and frozen in a smaller container.  That container is frozen in another one... 


Thursday, October 13, 2011

Oh life...

So my last post was a little depressing... but it was real.  It was what is really going on in my life right now.  I cannot stand it when I read other women's blogs and it's all rainbows and fairytales.  I know I need encouragement more than anything right now.  There is this women at our church down in Charleston.  I had this idea in my head that she gets up while it's still dark and reads her bible every morning.  She is always freshly showered when she wakes her kids up and cooks them breakfast.  They then have their day of perfect homeschooling.  Dinner is always ready when her husband comes home from work.  Well, turns out, I was wrong.  I was as wrong as I could be.  It was the most encouragement that I have received knowing that it was a good day for her when she did not wear sweat pants and actually made dinner.  That the TV is one more than it should be and getting up before the kids is a miracle.  Thank you for the grace that was given to me...

On the lighter note, I have tons of pictures on my camera to share of our sweet new baby, but it will not load on the computer and I have not made it a priority to sit down and figure it out.  I will keep moving it on my to do list day after day of the million things to do.  Right now, I must go and feed that little one!

Saturday, October 8, 2011

4 weeks and counting...

Emma Kate turned 4 weeks this week (Tuesday she will be 5 weeks).  She wants to be a great sleeper, but there is gas and spitting up that is holding her back.  This was causing some major pain, so I took her to the Dr. and they gave her some medication to help her out.  Last night was a dream {no sleepy yawn here}.  She was able to go the 4 hours at night between feedings perfectly.  There was no waking up Frank to help me out, or Emma Kate I should say!

I need to be honest, it's been hard.  These sleepless nights mixed with the house to maintain and a now toddler to chase around during the day.  Frank is doing this internship at our church in Charleston and is commuting down there for all day Tuesday and Wednesday... thank goodness my parents have really helped me out, even if it's just to have us over for dinner on Tuesday night and entertain Annabelle for a hot second so I can sit down for a minute.

I'm trying my best to breastfeed Emma Kate.  Can I tell you how hard it is?  It's hard to remember to drink enough water.  It's hard to confine Annabelle for 40 minutes while I feed Emma Kate.  It's hard to not worry that there's enough in there and that she's getting enough from me.  It's hard when you are on a date with your hubby sans kids and a baby starts crying, well, you know what happens.

Last night Frank was giving me a pep talk that he knew was over due and much needed.  He said that all these things are lies straight from hell trying to keep what's the best from our baby.  It took all I had to not start crying, no they were not hormones, they were from that little place in your heart that cries out when truth is told.  It's from the same place when you hear a really amazing story of redemption or healing.  True healing.

Can I tell you how I struggle with the lies that lurk around?  Have you heard about men and the mental rolodex that they have of images that have been burned in their heads?  Well, I'm convinced that women have it too.  Ours is not of images of things we have seen, but rather lies that have been told to us.  Lies either the enemy has put there or of what people have said to us.  I tried to explain this to Frank, but he didn't get it.  In a moment of weakness that rolodex will start rolling of the lies of inadequacy, failure, doubt or even just negativity in general.  There are lies about your self worth and self image (can I get an amen?).  Can I tell you I fight my rolodex every day, multiple times a day.  Let's start with the biggest lie EVER.  When I take a shower and I look at myself in the mirror, I think "no one would ever love you, even frank, look at how fat you are."  Now in my head I know, I just had 2 babes in one year.  In the last 24 months, I have been preggo for 20 of them.  There was a lot of stretching and fries that happened.  Frank loves me, I know it.  His actions speak volumes and he can't keep his hands of me :)  But telling my heart to believe what my head is thinking is the issue.

Can we be honest together as women, as momma's?  Can I confess to you that I'm a terrible house keeper?  Can I confess that if you come over and it's spotless, there was most likely some intense fellowship that took place before you got here and Frank did the running around to get our house presentable.  Can I tell you that the worst part is that I really do want a clean house, I just don't execute the chore list, hardly ever.  Can I confess that I get really frustrated at my sweet husband for not picking up after himself, but I am even worst at picking up after myself.  How can I teach my sweet babes to pick up when I don't do it.  I want to do it all, I really do.  I want to have an immaculate house that has no dog hair and super clean toilets and a spotless kitchen.  I want to be super organized.  I want to show off my closets and filing cabinet, I really do.  I'm looking for the motivation to get there while maintaining the balance of healthy family time.

Monday, September 19, 2011

Happy Birthday Annabelle


Happy Birthday Annabelle!
( I have a box of tissues next to the key board, not kidding!)

I can not believe that I am typing those words out!!  Where has this year gone sweet one?  We have had the time of our lives with you.  You have challenged us, stretched us and made us laugh harder than we ever thought was possible.

You are seriously the funniest baby that I have ever met.  Once you figure out that something is funny, you keep doing it and it's precious.

I loved you the second that I saw you in that ultrasound room.  You were so tiny, but I knew our Maker had great plans for you.  I loved you even more when we found out that you were a girl.  I felt like I could know you more.  Gosh, then when you were born and our eyes met for that first time... it was over!  I knew that I was toast.  I just loved you so much and promised myself to protect you forever, no matter what.  You were beautiful.  Our Maker had done well!



Over the last year, there have been some challenges.  Living with your sweet grandparents that took us in.  It was hard.  I had no idea what I was doing and was under the microscope.  It was hard.  We eventually got back on our feet and moved into our first home as a family of three and it was beautiful.  We hung out, ate, talked and lots of playing.  I love it.  You learned to sit up, eat solids crawl and all of those milestones the first year.  I have cried with you in my lap while my depression set in.  You held me.  We held each other and it was beautiful.
We have learned so much from you.  You have taught us to laugh even more that we already do.  You have taught us what  good snuggling is (when we can get it and you aren't too busy).  You have taught us the excitement of meal time and we LOVE how you are so NOT picky!!  Thank you thank you thank you!  Can you please continue down this path??


Sweet baby, thank you for loving us so unconditionally.  You have brought us so much joy and joy to those around you!  You make everyone smile and people stop us constantly to tell us how beautiful you are and how sweet you are.  I just smile because I know and I'm SO SO thankful!
You became a big sister way to early.  Not even one yet!  You have done great and have been so brave. I'm sorry that I can't hold you all the time like I use to, thank you for being patient and trying to feed our "babo".


So here is your updates:

  • You can say, mamma, dada, babo (baby) and Abbey (thank you frank and sisters!!)
  • thank you, please, up, dallas, all done, more and some other words that I'm not really sure what you are saying, but you say them all the time.  These group of words are more the sounds and you don't annunciate them, but you know how to say them at the correct time!
  • You are still in size 3 diapers and we are sorta cloth diapering... we took a break when E.K. got here.
  • You are in 12-18 month clothes!!  What the heck... i was just packing up you NB's it feels like last month!
  • You are getting more and more confident every day on standing by yourself.
  • You love to walk around either holding on to us or the furniture... eek!

I love you sweet baby!  I can not wait to see where this next year will take you!

All my love,
Momma

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Emma Kate

Here is the story of how our sweet Emma Kate got here:

The Robertson's
Monday, September 5th (labor day!!) started like every other day at the Robertson house.  Frank left for work before the sun was up and WAY before these Robertson women are up.  I decided that today was the day of cleaning.  I cleaned and cleaned, well as much as you can when you are 38 1/2 weeks preggo.  Laundry was well on the way, the living room was vacuumed, the kitchen was clean and the master toilet was clean.  I sat down for a few minutes to give the braxton hicks contractions a break (and myself).  I realized that I hadn't felt E.K. move very much.  I sorta panicked.  Side note: She did this the week prior and was MORE THAN FINE!  I immediately called the office and told them what was going on.  They told me to wait an hour, after that they told me to high tail it to the hospital to find out what was going on.  So I left dinner in the crackpot and Dallas in the bathroom.  Thank goodness one of my sisters was home and available, so I met up with Frank and Amanda and dropped off AB.
I got all hooked up to get monitored... I was 3 cm and 30% effaced.  I kept telling Frank that I felt like I had to go to the bathroom and he said, "You mean to tell me that we are at the hospital because you have to take a sh*&?"  I started laughing so hard, I could not control myself.  The nurses came in to see if we were okay.  They told me to go walk around for 1 hour and come back.  So we did.  Stopping along the way while my so called braxton hicks contractions passed.  We get back and they check me, 4 cm dilated and 100% effaced.  It was official, I was in labor.

Laboring
I'm not going to lie, I was a little disappointed.  I had in my mind what labor was like, and this wasn't it.  I envisioned that Frank would drive me to the hospital (not myself) and we would get out and walk in together and have our car seat with us and our bags.  That my house would be all cleaned and have fresh linens on the bed waiting for my sister to sleep in while she watched my babe.  In reality, I just had my purse and hadn't even showered or anything.  In reality, my baby got dropped off in public with no pants or any in the diaper bag for that matter.

We checked in, the sweet lady gave my an IV and got it dripping good so I could get my epidural.  Fast forward a few hours, Emily made it to us and got the dog, the car seat and some other things for us.  No dinner in the crackpot... I was so mad!!  Fast forward a few more hours and the pain was unbelievable.  I could not take it.  We got the anesthesiologist in there to up it.  Turns out, the labor was happening so fast that medicine could not keep up.  Our sweet nurse checked me and was like, her head is right there, do not push, I need to get everyone.  We got all set up, we looked at the clock... it was 2:23 am.  I said, I bet she will be here by 2:35am.  The Dr.  said, why wait to long?  At 2:26am, Emma Kate made her appearance.  She was beautiful and MAD!  Weighing 7.14 lbs and 21 inches long.

Meet Emma Kate
What I loved about it, they bathed her, measured her and did everything in the room.  We waited for the epidural to wear off, I went potty and we were off to the recovery room for some sleep.  By 5:30am we were off sleeping.  The rest is blurry due to extreme exhaustion.

First Bath.


The next morning, Emily and AB came to see us and to meet Emma Kate.  AB wasn't really sure about her at first, but then was really liking her.  She calls her "babo" for baby.  It really is precious.  Frank has taken the week off and goes back on Thursday to work.  It has been awesome having him home, bonding as a family and not to mention the obvious of having extra hands around!
AB meets Emma Kate
Unsure of all the hype and why the whole family has cameras out!!
AB talks about the "babo" non stop and is constantly looking for her.  Just this morning, we were having breakfast, just the two of us and she was just talking away about babo and dadda.  I have no idea what else she was saying.  So precious.  There have been some challenges as well.  The fact that there are two babies in our house under 1 year is enough.  AB has suddenly started waking up in the night around 11 or 12 as well as some behavior issues.  We are not sure if it's just her age or jealously, but are working on them.  She is so big compared to Emma Kate that it is sometime hard to remember that she is just a baby herself.
There are some serious baby kissing going on at our house!!


Welcome to our family Emma Kate!  We love you so much already and are so excited where were are going as a family... you are only going to make this journey that much better!!


Thursday, August 18, 2011

1% change... household

I have wanted to do this for a while and finally found my whits and did it!  I made our own laundry detergent!

I got the recipe here.

It' so easy.  Go to the store and buy the goods:

In a mixing bowl, shave the whole bar of fels naphtha.  Add one cup of both the washing soda and borax.

Mix and add to the pretty jar.

For each load, you use one tablespoon, so grab an old one from the kitchen.

Let your husband be amazed at his clean clothes!


Now that you are done, here's to laundry day that won't seem so lame.  Now, if only I had a fun way to fold and put away all that good smelling laundry!


Wednesday, August 17, 2011

A Birthday, anniversary and an update...

Warning:
Super long post with lots of goodies for pictures!

Happy Birthday Frank!
Yesterday that is!!
I'm so excited to celebrate yet another birthday with you!  They seem to just get better and better, right?  I hope that you enjoyed your gifts and dinner out with the family.  The gifts seem so minor to how we really feel about you and to celebrate your new year that way did not seem grand enough.  I'm really looking forward to celebrating this season next year when I'm not large and in charge!!  We'll have a glass of wine with NO sides of hormonal, okay?
I'm so thankful that your mom raised you the way that she did and sharpened you to become the man that you are.  I pray that this year will be your year to shine, that you will become an even better leader, provider and family man that you already are.  I know I don't tell you enough, but thank you for all that you do for us.  We are so thankful that you leave the house each morning so early to go and work hard and provide for us!  We are so thankful for you.  We are also sorry that we can't keep it down when you are trying to sleep past 8am on your days off.  Somehow you always wake up right when it's getting fun, sorry!!

Happy 3rd Anniversary
today!



My my how far we've come, amen?  AMEN!  I love you more today than I did the day that I married you!  I still cannot believe that you chose me to spend the rest of your life with or to be the mother of your children!  That you trust me and believe in me enough to stay at home and raise this crew of little ladies. Do you know that I pray over you when I'm wiggly at night and get up for the 1235321323544 time during the night to go potty?  I'm sorry for torturing you for the first, at least, 2 years of marriage with bad cooking.  You've been a good sport~
Remember our day?  Remember how sweet it was?  Remember how rainy it was?  Do you remember me telling you what Alli told me as my dad and I were about to come and meet you at the alter?  She said, "rain on your wedding day is a sign of fertility!!"  HAHA!  Maybe that was our sign for hyper fertility... we should have known!  Remember how much fun we had dancing and laughing on that day? Remember our new clothes and how good we smelled? 

Remember the cupcakes and the food?  Ahh, the food!!  Remember riding in the limo and how tired we were?  Do you remember what I whispered to you right before we signed the marriage license?  Remember how happy we were that day?

Here's a recap of the last 3 years of marriage:
1.  Got married, honeymooned in the Appalachian mountains.  Lots of firsts for me; hiking, winery, Biltmore, fishing and a real vacation :)





2.  Went to Nicaragua 


3.  Been on numerous trips including Atlanta, Texas, Nashville and VA.



4.  Gave into your "need to nurture something."  That was a load of crap and I should have stuck to my guns and gotten a turtle or a fish!
5.  4 months later, AB was made.
6.  Then we had her!

On the way home from the hospital!

7.  3 months later, we find out #2 is on the way!
8.  Emily gets married.
So, here's to you Mr. Robertson:  I hope this year is full of happiness, little trials, much harvest and for love, no more babies... at least for this year :)

11 Months and counting!
yesterday that is!!

Happy 11 months AB!  You have survived out parenting and I'm so proud of you!  Here's what you are up to:
  • You are crawling all over the place and pulling up on everything.  You are working up the courage to let go while you are standing but are so nervous about it.
  • You have not been a good sleeper lately... boo!  Waking up several times a night, what's up with that?  Can you puh-lease stop?!?!
  • You got your third tooth, the upper left front tooth.  The one next to it looks like it's coming in any day now.
  • You talk non-stop.  And based on the length of this blog, I wonder where you get it from.
  • We found out this week that you can suck through a straw... so big of you!

  • You weigh in at 19.78 lbs. and I have no clue how tall you are, sorry!
  • You love to laugh~  Your new favorite thing is for us to talk in your mouth.  You open up real wide and put your mouth to ours so that we can make noise in there.  You think it's a riot!
  • You are now in 12 months bottoms and 18 month tops.
  • You are trying so hard to say "Dallas" and haven't quiet figured out that I'm momma and daddy is dadda.  You do say both quiet often through.  
  • Funny story:  The other day, dadda got home for work and walked in and said "hey".  I responded with a "hey" and you came crawling around the corner with a "hey".  The "hey's" were all drawn out southern "hey's" and we all got a good laugh.
  • You will eat ANYTHING!  Current favorites:  Hawaiian bread, strawberries, toast, avocados, any fruit really, sauteed veggies, spaghetti and pot roast.
  • Almost every night you take a shower with daddy.  You guys play on the floor of the shower and you love it.  He wraps you up and passes you out.  I love the few minutes that you let me snuggle you, I soak it up!
I love you sweet baby and cannot wait to celebrate your 1 year with us!!
Love,
Momma
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