Good things are happening!

Okay, first, it's finally October!!! And I'm not excited because it's now Fall or that Halloween will be here soon, I'm excited because October means my husband will be home from Afghanistan next month!!! YEAH!!!!!!!!! After nearly 7 months of not seeing his handsome face I am SOOOO ready for him to come home!

Next up, my sister will be visiting from Hawaii here shortly! Yes, I am pumped, I haven't seen my sis since March! I can't wait to see her and her cute little baby bump and I'm super excited for the girls to play!

And lastly, GRACIE IS FINALLY POTTY TRAINED!!! Potty training that girl had been my nemesis for the past year, let me tell you, but she finally just decided to do it all on her own! FINALLY! :)

So yes, I'm a happy girl and good things are happening! :)

{The Cunningham Twins}: Potty Training

{The Cunningham Twins}: Potty Training
Way to go Shelly! I'm glad it's going to great for you! :)

School Schmool....

So lately I've been experiencing some hmmmm.....academic uncertainty? academic turmoil? Either way, I'm having issues lol! Not with my performance, or my drive to keep going, but with where I'm going and how I'm getting there and such.
Alright, so to explain my situation a little bit I am finally, just now, this summer, finishing up the very LAST of my prerequisites for nursing school, or at least I hope so! I'm sure many of you know that some schools requirements can vary slightly, but for the most part they're all pretty similar with the exception of a couple classes. So alright cool, in 6 weeks I'll be prime meat for nursing school assuming all my credits from the 3 colleges I've attended transfer, which could potentially be a nightmare! But all that set aside, I HAVE NO IDEA WHERE I'M GOING TO GO TO SCHOOL! Jeff (my hubby) has been in limbo trying to decided whether or not he will be staying in the Marines; this puts me in limbo when it comes to deciding where I will to be going to school. As of right now if I apply to a school down in California where I'm living I won't have enough to complete a program before we have to move. I've even thought of moving back home and going to school up here while Jeff is still in Cali but at this point I'm not willing to split my family up for potentially up to a year and a half just for the sake of school, it just doesn't seem worth it to me and it's definitely not fair for anyone.
Here's my other problem, ummmm....the closer I get to applying to a nursing program the more I wonder if it's something I really want to do??? AWWW!!! lol I've never been one to make up my mind easily. Well the reason I initially wanted to do nursing was because at the time when I went back to school I was a single Mom and really, it just seemed like the logical thing to do. Nursing is a profession that will always be around, decent pay, hopefully benefits?, anyway, it seemed like a good route to take that would provide me with the means to take care of me and my baby, by myself. Nursing was never something I had a passion to do, it just seemed smart. Well lots of things have changed for me in the last 2 years or so, and I'm not saying that I now can just sit on my butt and my husband is going to take care of me (which he would and I don't think there is anything wrong with that and actually, when you're staying home with your kids you're NEVER sitting on your butt!) but that's not the point. You never know what's going to happen and I think it's extremely important to be self sufficient and be able to take care of yourself! Okay I'm going off on a tangent, but I now feel that I can pursue something that really interests me instead of doing something that I felt I needed to do, make sense? The problem is, what interests me? Anyway, case and point, I need to finish school, I won't feel accomplished in my life if I don't. I don't care if I stay at home with my kids until they graduate (which I would be happy to do) and never use the dang degree for as long as I have it! I just want it! lol :)
In closing, I suppose for now I will just be patient and wait until I know when I will be somewhere, FOR SURE, for 2 years, then apply to a nursing program ? and while I'm waiting I'll take the last couple classes I need for my transfer degree and do some serious thinking so that I can hopefully determine what career is best for me!

My New Faves!

Okay, so I love buying baby stuff! And hello, you're buying stuff for you child so it's totally justified! Buying stuff for you kids is selflessness in it's purest form!
The following are items that I have recently purchased that I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE! Frankly, I don't know how I ever did without them!

The BOB! And get your mind out of the gutter, I'm not talking about a battery operated boyfriend, I'm talking about the best stroller on the planet! :) I love this jogging stroller! I got the Stroller Strides, Fitness Stroller by BOB and I cannot say enough good things about it! After months and months of countless hours researching jogging strollers on the Internet I decided on the BOB and I couldn't be more happy with my decision. This thing is light, easy to maneuver, super high quality, doesn't jumble your kids around, HUGE canopies, pretty much go read the reviews, they're all true, the BOB is fantastic! They're are a little spendy, but in my opinion worth every penny! I have a jogger that I bought when Gracie was little for a reasonable price and for a lack of better words it's a piece of crap :) You get what you pay for with jogging strollers. Whether you're a runner or a walker, I'm convinced this stroller can't be beat! (They also have single strollers for those of you with just one baby and offer all kinds of accessories to go with them like an infant car seat attachment bar! Cool huh?) The Britax Frontier 85 Booster Car Seat! First off, I love Britax! I also own the Britax Marathon convertible car seat which I got for Gracie when she was around 8 months old that Charlotte now uses! But back to the Frontier, this car seat is awesome because it goes from harness to booster! I'll never have to buy Gracie another car seat again! In harness mode this bad boy hold up to 85lbs and in booster mode holds up to 120lbs!!! Aside from being extremely cute, it's top notch quality and is one of the safest car seats out there!

Awww...the ERGO!!! My new BFF! I don't know how I ever went without it! I really wish that I would have had an Ergo when Gracie was a baby! I used the Baby Bjorn when Gracie was little and also used it with Charlotte until I saw the light and bought this one! What a difference! SO COMFORTABLE and functional! It's really easy to put on and can be used 3 different ways, front, back, and hip and I love the sleeping hood! Great quality aaaand, my favorite part, it holds up to 40lbs! I put Gracie in this thing, nuff said! lol

Where do I begin?

I may just be the worst blogger EVER! Seriously, I think it's been 2 months since my last blog! So, to all my 6 followers, lol, I will try to be a little more consistent! Alright, now that it has been so dang long, what the heck do I write about!? This one may be all over the place!

Okay, for those of you who don't know, my hubby is in Afghanistan :( but the good news is that we almost have 2 months down out of a 6 month-ish deployment! I miss Jeff so much it's crazy! Obviously he is always on my mind and I am always missing him but there are certain times during the day when I miss him extra!

Here's a couple:

-When I drink my coffee in the morning, Jeff and I both LOVE coffee and drinking it has always been "our thing", I want my coffee buddy back, I'm tired of making coffee for one!

-When I look through our DVR list (recorded shows), Jeff loves the hunting channel and always records his favorite shows, it makes me miss him extra bad every time I see "Eastman's Hunting TV".

-After the girls go to bed, self explanatory, I'm lonely without him.

These are just a few, he's constantly in my thoughts and prayers and I absolutely cannot wait until he comes home! I miss my baby!

Boob and Potty Training Update!

Charlotte is no longer breast feeding and I now am an A-cup lol! I actually weened her off the breast about a month and a half ago and went strictly to pumping, I stopped pumping right at 6 months and let her drink up all the frozen milk I had saved which lasted about 2 weeks. So baby love is now on formula, it's bitter sweet, but I was ready. I had my goal of 6 months and I'm happy I reached it! She actually received breast milk for 6 1/2 months so I passed my goal by a tiny bit! Breast feeding was definitely more of a challenge with Charlotte than it was with Gracie and I wish that I would have had the drive to nurse longer, but I just didn't :( Hopefully my next baby won't be such booby baby!

Gracie is still not potty trained lol, that's my update on that issue! One day, one day it will happen!

I bought my first cookbook!

Hungry Girl 1-2-3 by Lisa Lillien, this book teaches you how to make "The Easiest, Most Delicious, Guilt-Free Recipes on the Planet". Ya, going to McDonald's every time I don't know what to make doesn't suit me or my love handles so I figured I better learn how to get my cook on in a more low-cal, low-fat style. My metabolism has been good to me thus far but I know it won't last forever so time to get cookin! Get it? lol

6 Month Check-up!

Miss Charlotte had her 6 month check up today!!! Can you believe it? 6 months old! Time flys that's for sure! Charlotte is doing fantastic, happy and healthy!

17 lbs 3oz

27 inches

Also, I know I am due for a more in-depth post! I will be posting soon, I promise! I just finished up a 9 page research paper so as you can imagine the last thing I want to do is write! :)

My Big Girls!

Baby Charlotte.....
Holy cow! My little munchkin turned 5 months old April 3rd! Time is flying! Before I know it I'm going to be getting the senior citizen discount at Denny's! ha ha My little Charlotte is growing, growing, growing, I feel like in just these few short weeks she's made tons of progress. This little girl is a rolling over machine! Pretty much, if you lay her down, she's rolling over. She even tries to roll over when I change her diaper and rolls over onto her tummy to sleep! I know I know, you're supposed to have your babies sleep on their backs but well.......I don't, I've actually put both my girls on their tummy's since they were a couple weeks old. Charlotte is pushing herself up with her arms really well and can rotate herself while on her belly and the girl scoots! We started cereal about 2 weeks ago and she's doing great! I'm not quite sure as to when I'll start baby food, but I'm sure we'll give it a try in the next couple weeks. Charlotte has recently started going to bed between 8-9 (which I'm lovin!) and for the most part sleeps through the night, she's not much of a napper during the day but thats fine with me as long as she sleeps at night! She loves her toys and loves to be talked to, it's her favorite! She's super smiley, very talkative, and I just love her! All in all she's a super happy easy going baby, I love watching her grown and I can't wait to see how much she has grown at her 6 month appointment!



Miss Gracie....
Gracie looks like a 4 year old and she's not even 3 yet lol! She's so big!!! Last time she was checked for height and weight she was 32.5 lbs and over 3 feet tall! She's talking a ton, like she is never quiet, seriously ha ha but I love it. She's counting really well, knows a ton of colors and pretty much blows my mind every day with how much she is learning, she's my little sponge! We were looking through a book together and I said "Oh look at the bird" and Gracie said "No Mommy, it's a parrot!" (It really was a parrot) Okay smarty pants! She sings and dances all around the house, pulls all the cushions off my couch, jumps on them, does somersaults off everything and jumps off all kinds of stuff. Gracie pretty much gives me at least one heart attack a day! She's a wild woman! She doesn't like her dolls or the cool new doll house I bought her, yep, she just likes trucks and pretty much anything that is for a boy! She does however like makeup and my deodorant. She hasn't been napping very well lately, it's a fight everyday to get her to take a nap and to go to bed. Those of you who know Gracie know that this is very out of character, the girl is usually like clockwork! She thrives off schedule and I have always been very regimented with her but with going back home 2 times in the last 3 months, it messed her up big time! So for now, especially with Jeff getting ready to go to Afghanistan, I've kind of thrown the schedule out the window and we'll get back on the train after he leaves. I still have not been able to potty train this girl!!!! Gracie has ZERO interest in the potty! I've tried everything to get this girl on the dang toilet, stickers, treats, potty charts, 3 different potty chairs, any kind of reward you can think of! I've tried being stern with her and just making her sit there, I've tried putting her in pull ups and panties awww...the frustration. I've set a timer and taken her to the bathroom every ten minutes, I mean I've tried it all! Folks, I have put some serious effort into potty training her and it's just not happening! (mind you I'm running around my house trying to get her on the pot with a baby on my boob!) It's insanity! So Gracie needed a physical for preschool (which she started about a month and a half ago and she loves it) and pretty much when I told her pediatrician about our potty training issues she told me that Gracie just doesn't want to do it and to lay off of it for a month or two then give it a go again. So for now, I've backed off and I will try again after Jeff leaves and when Gracie adjusts to having her Daddy gone :( At this same doctor appointment we learned that Gracie's tubes in her ears have fallen out, not wonder she had 2 ear infections in 3 weeks! So the doc referred us out to ENT and we have an appointment April 23 so we'll get the scoop on her ears then. With 2 ear infections so soon after her tubes falling out I won't be surprised if she has to get a second set put in, my poor baby :( Gracie has proved thus far to be one wild, stubborn little mama but I wouldn't have it any other way! I love her to pieces and I am so proud to be her Mommy!

I Miss My Sister

So I really really really miss my sissy :( and Lily, Lydia and yes, Tyler too! My sister, her husband, and my two beautiful nieces recently made the move to beautiful Hawaii (courtesy of the Marine Corps) and it just hasn't been the same here without them. I miss watching Lily and Gracie tear up my house and fight over the same toy. I miss watching Lydia roll all over my floor and then having to pick my shedding hair out of her toes lol! (PS...I'm not gross, I do vacuum ALL THE TIME, I just really am losing that much hair.) I miss mine and Lindsey's walks and sometimes jogs and how we would online shop together ALL DAY! I no longer have my junk food buddy, we can always talk each other into eating like crap! lol Trust me.....lots of pizza has been ordered and lots and lots of cookies have been made up in here! Although I must say, Jeff has done a pretty good job at picking up the slack, maybe I'll lose some weight with both my sister and Jeff being gone??? Anyway, here's to you sissy and your new adventure, may it bring many memories! I've loved being able to spend so much time with you and the girls! MUAH!!!

Braces, Boobs, and Hair

So as I was setting up my blog account this morning I was thinking to myself, "What the heck am I going to write about once I get this thing set up?" So I figured I would just go with the first 3 issues I had this morning!

My New Grill lol.........

First issue this morning, my super cool new braces! My braces weren't just an issue this morning, they're pretty much an issue with every meal I eat, so as I was eating my breakfast this morning I couldn't help but notice that with every bite more and more of my cereal was getting stuck in them and the more I was thinking about how I can't wait to get these bad boys off! I've had them on for almost 2 months now and I am getting used to them and my teeth are actually moving pretty fast! It's getting easier and easier to eat and every day I am getting better and better at popping the food that gets stuck in them out with my tongue! Pretty cool huh? Although having braces when you're almost 26 kinda sucks, it's not all that bad. One cool part about them is that if you eat something yummy (like chocolate) there is always some left over for later, just when you think "awww....dang it, all my chocolate is gone, I wish I had some more" BAM, surprise!!, a little extra piece of deliciousness was left on your bracket! I don't know about you, but thats enough to turn my frown upside down! Besides the occasional soreness and food getting stuck in your teeth it's a manageable situation with big rewards!

Leaky Boobs....

Next issue of the morning, MY WHOLE LIFE REVOLVES AROUND MY BOOBS! Seriously! Charlotte is the ultimate booby baby and Oh...I'm a dairy farm! I'm convinced that if I had triplets I could adequately produce enough milk for all three of them. When I was pregnant with Charlotte I knew that I would breastfeed but never had a specific time as to when I thought I might stop, well by the time Charlotte was about a month and a half old I had it in my mind that I would only nurse for 6 months; however, it seems that Ms. Charlotte has different plans for me! For the last month or so I've been gradually introducing more and more bottles of pumped milk to her, it's been all good, she takes bottles like a champ and I got her to the point where I was only nursing her 2-3 times a day. At this point I thought that I would attempt to completely stop nursing and just pump as I still wanted her to have the benefits of breast milk I just didn't want her on my boob anymore. Well, ya right! Charlotte went a day and a half with no boob and then all hell broke loose! There was no consoling her, I tried everything! So finally, I nursed her and instantly, she was fine. So long story short, I no longer have a goal of nursing for only 6 months, I'll slowly try to wean her, keep doing what I'm doing, and maybe one day when the time is right, I'll be able to reclaim my breasts back! (Just pray for me that's it's before she turns 1!)

Issue 3.....HAIR!

OMG! What happened to all my signature luscious, pretty, curls? Lately my hair has been nothing short of a hot mess! It's terrible, limp, lifeless and just not pretty! My hair just hasn't been itself :( I'm sure it doesn't help that half of it has fallen out, but come on! I'm finding myself straightening it more and more because of it's yuckiness. Products that I have always used just aren't working anymore and I can't help but wonder if any of this is the result of pregnancy. Either way, whatever the problem is, in attempts to fix it I finally broke down and ordered a starter set of Ouidad, a hair care line made especially for curly hair. It should be here sometime next week so here's hoping that this stuff works! I'm tired of looking like a crazy person with my out of control hair!