"The E-Card"

This E card. I mean seriously?

 

Whoever made this and all of the women reposting this with captions like.

Grow a pair & STFU (the worst I've seen)

or

I'm not trying to stir anything here up here but I feel this way on a daily basis

or

AMEN

or

SAHM should try this and then complain

 

all of those captions infuriate me!

This e card infuriates me!

 

I totally get that people think SAHM's are just lazy women that don't want to get a job.  I have heard from not only my own husband but others that what I do (or their wife does) is no walk in the park... It's hard. It's exhausting.  It's draining. 

That they strong, responsible, respectable husbands and dads wouldn't want the job of staying at home with the kids. 

 

A stay at home mom has no set hours.  We don't get sick days. We don't get "breaks" from our kids.  We don't get the socialization.  We don't get paid in any cash form.  We don't get a lunch break. 

We don't get nor want someone else raising our children. 

 

I'm not saying that a full time working mother likes the fact that their child is with somone else for the majority of the day.  All I'm saying is I worked at a childcare facility for 3 years before having Maddux and after practically raising numerous children I knew I didn't want that for my own. 

I knew I was the one that wanted to teach my kids to walk.

I knew I wanted to be the one to potty train my kids.

I knew I wanted to be the one to teach my kids their ABC's & 123's.

I knew I wanted to teach my kids to tie their shoes.

It's simple if you are able to stay home with your kids it's a no brainer take advantage of it but it's not for everyone.  I understand competely that some people choose to work and that's fine just don't bash on SAHM's when they need a chance to vent just like you.

 

Overall, I think this E Card is rude and so disrespectful. 

 

 

Personally I prefer this one. ;)

The Bad Days.

We all have them right? I've had one I just spent the last 20 minutes laying on my laundry room floor in the dark in tears-- totally normal... Right?  I needed it. I needed to cry.  Even if it wasn't the first time today. 

 

My baby toddler has turned... he has for the most part always been a happy baby, an easy to please baby, a fun baby, a self entertainer (at times) Overall,  a dream baby! 

The past couple days this has been the opposite of my child--the complete opposite!

 

 

He's mean.

He's unhappy.

He's complicated.

He's needy.

He's whiny.

 

Let me tell you it's tough dealing with him I even have Jayce home with me and it's still hard. When one of us tries to sneak away to catch a break he won't have it because that's of course who he thinks he wants or needs at the time.  I'm not trying to complain but these days just suck.  These are the days that no one wants to deal with.  These are the days that you wish time away. These are the days that you feel like your crumbling.  These days make you question all of your parenting techniques.  These are the days where you wonder if you can handle anymore kids.

 

But then you always remember there is a tomorrow.  That these moods don't last forever. That things could be a lot worse. 

 

After I have that good cry... I look at all my pictures and remember that perfect baby I'm blessed with.  I remember we all have bad days, even them.  I remember I wouldn't trade even these bad days for anything.  I remember that I'm lucky to be his mom.  I remember I can handle anything & every day is a new one. 

 

& hopefully my baby is back to his normal self soon.  I miss this face.

My Etsy Shop:: Spread the News

I haven't done much advertising lately & I haven't focused a ton on building my shop

But I'm getting more and more into it & want to watch it grow & build.

 

If you would be interested in possibly having a giveaway or even showcasing one of my products on your blog please email me-- the product would obviously be free of charge to you for your advertising!

 

Also, If you offer sponsers on your blog and think my shop would fit your readers needs please feel free to email me as well!

 

email

ashlee.spreadthenews@gmail.com

 

or

 

ashlee.storyofus@gmail.com

 

Now onto the products I offer

 

 

Invitations

 

Disney Cars Invitation

Found Here

 

 Dinosaur Invitation

Found Here

 

Dr.Seuss Invite

Found Here

 

Mickey Mouse Invite

Found Here

 

 Pastel Birthday Invite

Found Here

 

Train Invite

Found Here

 

 

 

I also offer custom wedding favors.

 

I create personalized CDs & CD covers.

 

I offer these in 2 different ways--either you can DIY & I just create the Cover and email you the high resolution file & you print and do everything on your own

or

I create the cover, print the cover, create all the cds and assemble all the parts & ship you the final product.

 

Here are some examples of ones I have created::

 

front....

 inside...

 front...

 inside...

 front...

 inside...

 front...

 inside...

 

 

Please take a look at my shop!!

Just click here!!



Time to Shop:: Current Deals!!

Here are some of the deals I have came across so far this week!!

Enjoy!! :)

*FREE* FabKids 3 piece designer outfit

They have sizes 2-12 available!!

First CLICK HERE and set up account.

Then CLICK HERE and enter your email.

Enter your info, select your outfit & just pay shipping of 7.95!

**There is NO obligation to purchase outfits monthly from FabKids after you grab you introductory offer. Each month FabKids will pick out an outfit for you (or you can choose your own outfit) and they’ll notify you one week before your outfit is shipped. You can choose to skip the month (must be within 7 days of receiving your monthly outfit pick via email) or you can cancel your membership and you will not be charged either way.**

Magic School Bus Complete DVD Series ONLY $29.99 Normally 79.95!

CLICK HERE to snag this deal!!

This is a GREAT deal from Amazon!! Best Buy sells this same set for $90!

**If you do click on this and it says that it is only on sale for 59.99 look to the right where it says other buying options and it will show you that amazon has it currently for the 29.99 just click that one to buy**

Horton Hears a Who ONLY $3.99

 CLICK HERE to get this deal!

Amazon has Horton Hears a Who marked down to ONLY $3.99!!! A great Christmas gift or stocking stuffer!!

Dr.Seuss' The Lorax ONLY $3.99

CLICK HERE to get this deal!

This is another awesome deal from Amazon!


50% off EVERYTHING at Carters & Oshkosh! Plus an additional 20% with Code!

Carter's & Oshkosh are offering 50% everything!!

Plus get FREE shipping when you $50 or more!

Also,

save an additional 20% when you spend $40 or more!

with code

CARPRABA3

25% off EVERYTHING at The Childrens Place

Head over to Childrens Place & take an extra 25% off everything with the code

THANKS2012HP

Show & Tell Monday:: Gobble Gobble!

This week I'm linking up with Becky at From Mrs. to Mama for Show & Tell Monday!

I haven't linked up to this post since I just recently came back from my break!

So if your dropping by for the first time let me take a second and first of all thank you for stopping by & second let me tell you a little about myself!

I'm a twenty something momma with a 20 month old son, Maddux, I'm married to my very best friend & high school sweetheart, Jayce.  I'm a SAHM that does a little etsy shop on the side! We are 16 weeks pregnant with baby #2 aka Mystery baby! I love the blogging community and finding fellow momma's-- it's so nice to find people you can relate to and understand what each other are going through! Thanks again for stopping by!

 



Let's get to these questions!

 

1. Tell us about your family traditions for Thanksgiving
We have a pretty simple busy day filled with food & family get togethers!


2. Tell us about your favorite foods
I get SO excited about the turkey! I enjoy all of the food but the Turkey is by far my favorite!  This year I'm making a pumpkin roll and oreo truffles for our get togethers!


3. Show us a picture that reminds you of this holiday

2008

 I came home from school for Thanksgiving & that's when Jayce popped the question!!

4. Tell us, do you wait to decorate for Christmas before or after Thanksgiving?
Growing up we always decorated the day after Thanksgiving since moving out I procrastinate... A lot! I think it's the hassle of getting everything out--I'm not sure because I LOVE Christmas so I wish I loved the decorating part but that's probably my least favorite! Hubs is a grinch when it comes to decorating too! He always complains and asks why we HAVE to put up a tree--yeah, it's that bad!


5. Tell us what you are thankful for this year
This year I'm thankful for the health of my family, the miracle of finally getting pregnant, my crazy amazing toddler, my responsible loving husband, the worlds greatest parents, my home, the little things in life that so many don't get the comfort of enjoying & a wonderful church home! I'm sure I could ramble on and on about this I think the older I get the more I feel blessed!

I hope you all have wonderful week!!

Are any of you going Black Friday shopping?? If so what's on your shopping list??
I go every year even if I don't need anything!! :)
I love it!!

Family Pictures 2012

Here are our family pictures we got this year (in October).

We went with a newer photographer & I was really pleased with how they turned out!

Have a great week everyone!! :)

 

 

 

Halloween 2012:: UP Costume-- Carl

This year Maddux was the old man "Carl" from UP! His costume was the easiest-- I only wish he would've let me get a better picture of him!

I love homemade costumes! I think they look so much better than the store bought ones last year Maddux was a ocotopus!
CHECK THAT OUT HERE

 

 

The idea came from HERE

 

 

I'm going to give you a list of all the items we used & where we purchased them from!

 

Costume Specifics

White dress shirt: Target

Brown Pants: Old Navy

Suspenders: Amazon

Bow Tie: Children's Place

Shoes: Walmart

Coat: clearance item at Babies R US-- Info below

Glasses: Build-A-Bear

Balloons: Walmart-- Info below

Cane: Homemade-- Info below

 

 

The Coat Info::

Since we live in Indiana we really wanted to make sure Maddux would be warm on Halloween but we didn't want him to lose the look of his costume so when my mom saw the coat on clearance at BRU we knew it would be perfect!

 

The Cane::

As you can see in the pictures above the cane was homemade-- my parents actually put this together for us! They purchased pvc pipe from home depot and cut it to madduxs height then connect the pieces spray painted it black & then they added the tennis balls to the end! It was a simple DIY that again I felt really tied the outfit together! :)

 

I don't know what made me go into Build-A-Bear to look for glasses but I'm SO glad I did! They fit his little toddler face perfectly! I hated how all the other glasses were falling off his face & he hated it too!

 

 

The Balloons::

We used about 15 balloons! We blew up them ourselves with the helium tank we then tied them to the ribbon and attached that to a clip that made it easy to attach or take off of him when getting in and out of the car.  Other costumes I saw simply had the balloons attached to something else that wasn't part of the outfit and they would sit them in the pictures but I wanted people to get the full effect whenever they saw him so this is what worked for us!

How we announced Baby #2 aka Mystery Baby

Like I said earlier this week we found out on Hubs bday so I wanted to make it special for him! I had been thinking I was pregnant the previous weeks but hasn't mentioned it a whole lot because all the months of having AF come it was a let down and I tried to not get myself or anyone else to excited! I had also taken a pregnant test the week prior with it coming up negative which lead me to believe that August wasn't our month.

Well fast forward to hubs bday I wake up and decide to pee on the stick because I was suppose to start that day! Well much to my surprise I see 2 lines! I instantly call the doctor they say I can come in for blood work so I rushed down to the doctors with Maddux at my side to get this blood done as soon as possible so I can get the results back so I can tell Jayce all the specifics when he got off work that afternoon!

We go down get the blood work and hubby calls and wants to grab a quick lunch with us in about a hour or 2 so I run to Walmart and grab some plain white shirts and some fabric paint markers and go home on a mission!

I made a shirt that said::
only child EXPIRING May 2013

Luckily I got it on him as hubs was pulling in the drive way! He got out of his truck and walked over notices his shirt held him up and read his shirt and looked at me and was like seriously? Then they spun around jumped up and down that sort of thing! A truly special moment that I will forever remember and cherish!

I personally wanted to hold off announcing it to most of or family and friends but it was his birthday and he was proud so that wasn't the case he wanted everyone to see Madduxs shirt! We went over to my parents even though my mom already knew due to my uncontrollable excitement and needing to tell someone! We also had dinner with Jayces parents and siblings that night so they all found out and to top it off he posted a picture of him and Maddux on Facebook so it was quickly announced to everyone the day we found out I was only around 3-4 weeks!

baby's first picture!

*around 7 weeks*

 

baby's second picture!

*9 weeks 3 days!*

Maddux-- 20 Months!

My last update of Maddux was 11 months! Can't believe how much has changed since then... I mean I thought he was full of personality and fun then but oh em gee this child is a hoot and forever changing and growing it's just so much fun! :)

Stats

Weight: 30 lbs

Diaper Size: 4

Clothes Size: 24 months or 2T

This was Maddux on Halloween

We celebrated his second Halloween & he was Carl from the movie UP!

I will do a post on his costume soon! :)

Maddux is talking allllll the time

he is starting to say 2-3 word sentences

such as

Hi Mommy!

or

I don't know!

his vocabulary is awesome his doctor was impressed at how well he's talking!

His favorite toys are::
Stuffed animals

his car slippers

balls

He also loves playing with his cousins!

Maddux is a complete joy at this age.

He's busy and demanding but so much fun!

It's so much fun watching his imagination go wild!

We love this little boy with every ounce of us and thank God for him daily!

 

 

How about you guys? Any of you have kids Maddux's age?

Wedded Bliss Wednesdays--Fathers

click the image above to go connect with others and participate too!

 

Today I'm linking up with Allie & Kay for Wedded Bliss Wednesday! This is my first time participating in this link up since I just started blogging again! As soon as I heard of this link up I knew I had to get involved because marriage is something that I am extremely passionate about and have very strong beliefs about! So, lets get onto this weeks questions!!

 

 

1. What is/will be your husband's best trait as a father?
Jayce is a really caring person.  He is 100% committed in everything he does. He makes parenting completely 50/50 which is how we believe it should be, so having him be so involved makes it so nice and I think our kids will be able to look back on their childhood and have both parents in all of their memories which a lot of people don't get because the father was always working to provide for the family--which is understandable I'm just glad our kids won't deal with that.

2. What is/will be your husband's favorite thing to do with the kids?
Jayce looooves to play with Maddux! He likes to play anything sports but his favorite thing and Maddux's is when Jayce gets him (tickles and kisses him) Maddux is so obsessed with this that a few times a day Maddux will just lay down on the ground and say "get, get" which obviously means he's telling Jayce to get him! It's the cutest thing for a mom to watch!

3. How does/will your husband help out with the kids?
Jayce is really hands on. I normally don't need to ask him to do things he just does it! Jayce only works Friday-Sunday so he is home all week with us which is a huge help! He is best at occupying Maddux while I get things done around the house or cook!

4. What do you hope your children learn from their dad?
I love the person Jayce is he is simply the best person I know! He had a different childhood so he knew from a young age what kind of person an parent he wanted to be and he has became that and so much more! I want to see Jayce in all aspects of my kids! He is a very passionate and responsible person but nothing is better than his fun loving personality!