I Bet You Are Gonna Win $540 Million on Friday Night

It makes me sick to think that someone is probably going to win the new world record $540 million Mega Millions jackpot tomorrow night. And if someone doesn't win it, the jackpot amount is just going to keep rising exponentially until someone's numbers does get picked. That's a lot of money to be randomly placed into someone else's pocket.

What is even more sickening is that you just bought a ticket and feel somewhat hopeful that your numbers might actually get drawn. After all, it is possible. Right?

With sincere hope and uncrushed dreams lie many, many wonderful plans brewing in the minds of each and every ticket holder.

Debt Free at last! No more student loans, house payments, car payments, etc!
Eliminate the debt burden for your family and friends!
Travel plans to see the world!
Change the world for the better!
Pay for all of your children to go to college!

It sounds nice. You, ticket holders, even have some funky blissful buzz running through your veins. You are 200% energized by the endless possibilities and amounts of money about to be tossed in your hands. You could fricken' bathe in that money you are so exhilarated! Wow! Wouldn't that just be everything you have ever dreamed of and more!? IT WOULD BE JUST FRICKEN DANDY. PERFECT. wow.

So when tomorrow night comes around just remember, it could be YOU. YOU, DEAR TICKET HOLDER #XX9X9XX. YOU COULD WIN $540 MILLION.

But when those precious numbers get read aloud on the news... don't come crying to me like a baby when not even one of your numbers were chosen.

Because I told you so. 

 

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:P

Yep. I am bitter and in a huge pile of debt thanks to student loans. Yep. I want to fund my children's college tuition because it sucks starting out in the real world with $60,000+ in the hole... in a poor economy. Yep. I bought my mega millions ticket. Yep. I am going to win.

Mr. & Mrs. Wedding Pictures!

Now that it has almost been two months since our wedding day [February 4, 2012], I think it is time to post our beautiful pictures. Today I put all the hard copies in an album and updated our baby albums too. I feel so organized! After posting my wedding pictures online, the only thing wedding-related left to do is send out thank you cards... (Don't make me feel anymore guilty about that! I already do!! :/) I think out of all the wedding planning and wedding stuff I have done, the thank you cards are the most difficult task. We have all our cards already but just the thought of figuring out where to send one to what address makes me procrastinate... and procrastinate some more. It's not like we aren't genuinely thankful for everyone who attended our wedding and gave gifts, because we are definitely thankful! We received so many wonderful gifts and without our family and friends, our wedding would not have been as special. So while you all wait for your cards... (They are coming VERY soon!) just know we are grateful that you care so much! THANK YOU!

All the pictures displayed here are taken by Sara Berends Photography. 

 

 

 

 And they lived happily ever after...

Someday Our Babies Will Grow Up & Read Our Blogs

Do you want your children reading your blog when they get older?

My baby is only eight months right now but I can't help but wonder how she will react when she reads through my blog. I don't plan to delete it so it should be out there forever...

Not everything on my blog is necessarily nice or appropriate. I have my complaints about motherhood along with all the joys. I may have some things my daughter would even find disturbing. Children don't necessarily like to hear about their own birth stories or embarrassing topics with their mother and father.

There is always the possibility that your children will feel really special and loved. I've included many personal stories that pertain directly to them. I'm not great at scrapbooking, nor do I enjoy it so I'm hoping my blog will make up for that a little... a lot!

I'm blogging because I feel that it is special to be a mother. And not simply a mother... but a mother to my daughter Miss A (and our other future children...???). I'm also blogging because it is fun. Along with my personal stories of family fun and baby milestones, I enjoy writing articles on how to help other mothers based on my own experiences.

I would really love to see a blog or diary of my mother's experiences through motherhood, particularly with myself since I was her first child. It would be interesting to see all the challenges she went through and compare them with my own.

Overall, I think my blog will be a unique gift to my daughter/children when they get older. If it they don't appreciate it, they will probably appreciate it when I pass away... [Not that I enjoy thinking about that!] Nonetheless, it will be a nice learning manual for my daughter if she chooses to become a mother herself.

Does anyone think differently? Does anyone feel it is a bad idea for their children to read their blog? If so, what have you written about that makes you feel that way!? ;)

How To Soothe A Teething Baby

Your baby is screaming!

She's not tired. She's not hungry. She has a clean diaper. She's not thirsty... sick... itchy... scratchy... She is one healthy, well cared for baby girl. WHAT IS GOING ON?

Through all this crabbiness & pain your baby's first tooth finally cut through!! Oh... This is why she was screaming... Duh?! 

Finally at eight months my Miss A has one little tooth on her bottom gums! No wonder she was being a little crabby butt lately. It's painful!

Let me share with you some of the ways we help to soothe her little baby gums.

Haha.. this is too funny!

Patience is the first key to comforting your baby. While I don't have a lot of it... I struggled to find a little more during this rough time for my baby. It was necessary to repeatedly tell myself why my baby was crying more frequently... that way I could give sympathy for my little one who is in pain and can't help but cry out. 

I fill Munchkin Food Nets (post) with ice cubes and frozen fruits. Awesome, natural, and instant cure! We bought a bag of frozen peaches and let her drool all over it happily.

I also put ice water in her sippy cup with a bib... She is messy and usually soaks her clothes but it's great because it stops her from yelling.

I tend to forget to put Miss A's teethers in the refrigerator but they work wonders! She only uses hers at room temperature, but they are still somewhat soothing. I definitely recommend using those. After all, you can't walk down a baby aisle without finding an endless teething selection. Find some bright colored ones! ;)

You can also use Baby Orajel, which is a cherry flavored teething pain medicine recommended by Miss A's pediatrician. It seems to soothe her gums pretty well. She also likes the taste and is happy when I rub her gums with the gel.

If worse comes to worst, you can always give Baby Tylenol. (Always ask your baby's  pediatrician...) This helps the pain within about twenty minutes. I try to make this my last resort... just because it's always better to cure your problems without medicine if possible. 

She loves her Nuby

If you don't know whether your baby is teething or not... just watch out for high levels of fussiness & DROOL. If you see the excessive drool, be on the lookout for TEETH! They are bound to come soon. And for those of you still breastfeeding... beware! ;)
[No offense... I wish I was still breastfeeding!]

teethers

I Gotta Wear Shades!

Look at our GUCCI and DOLCE & GABBANA shades. :P

 

First Bike Ride

Since the weather has been unbelievably nice this March (80 degrees & up!!!) we decided to buy some bikes! We found two great deals on Craigslist. Bill got a tan & black Giant bike in excellent condition and I got an almost brand new blue Schwinn mountain bike. My mom bought us an InStep Bike Trailer for our baby shower present before Miss A was born. We have been so excited to use it! It took a little while to get everything situated... air in the tires, trailer set up and hookup, buy bike locks, buy new tube for one trailer tire...

Miss A didn't mind the wait... She played in the shade and felt the grass for the first time :)

Classic Miss A Scrunched Up Face

 

Once we figured it all out, we strapped Miss A in with her water filled sippy cup and a dozen toys and were on our way! 

IT WAS A BLAST.
Refreshing & Free.

Close up on Miss A!

Miss A zonked out on the way back... You'd think she was the one biking ME around!! Silly baby.

This was probably my biggest workout I've had since Miss A was born... yeah! We went up some big hills... I'm more than okay with that though! We plan on taking many, many more bike trips around the city this summer. If we can figure out a way to transport our bikes, we will bike around elsewhere--- trails and new cities. Miss A liked her first ride though she did end up crying towards the end when the sun hit her face... we gotta figure out a way to block the sun too. We haven't bought much summer clothes or a new sun hat yet for her since it's only March... I'm fearful the weather will change on us and a blizzard will come... unlikely? I'll knock on wood...

Anyways, for the most part she had fun and even laughed when we first started biking. :) As she gets older, I'm sure she will grow to enjoy it more and more.




Our bike trailer is a cheaper model but it works great! Very easy to assemble & supports 2 kids up to 50lb each. Also, very safe. We made it over many big bumps just fine!

:)