Lets take 6.

As most of you know, Hudson hasn't been the greatest night sleeper that ever was... but I've come to realize this was all my doing.
He wasn't waking up because he needed to wake up, he was waking up because I continually give him bottles throughout the night, and it had become habit!
Starting last tuesday, I started not giving him bottles, first few nights were pretty rough and then I dropped him off at my parents, and he slept through the night. Now, it's night six, and still no wake ups!
PRAISE GOD!

So, now I'm working on C now. At almost twenty-eight pounds this kid does NOT need to be waking up for food, in-fact I realized that when he gets up in the morning his diapers are barely wet, so this must mean that he wakes up just to snuggle, and goes back to sleep.

Last night, he woke up at 10:30, so he ate.. then he woke up again around 2:30 to eat, I fed him... and I heard him stir around 4, but I let him just whine, and what did he do? Go back to sleep and slept until 8!
This is UNHEARD of.... He's usually up every hour from 7-11, and then every two hours after that. He's 6 1/2 months old... and doesn't need the food anymore. He eats 1/2 cup of solids before bed, and both breasts...

Anyways, I'm still on my sleep solution journey, and I hope to get there soon as Glen is gone during the week for the next 3 months..

All I have to say is: I feel AMAZING TODAY!

Day 10.

It's day ten of my new healthy living lifestyle, and I'm really finding that I enjoy every bit of this. Yes, sometimes I sit back and think.. I could really go for a ____ . But then I remember how I felt after eating that. Unhealthy, bloated and guilty. Always guilty.
It's been a long process for me to get to wear I am. It took me loosing weight unhealthily when I was eighteen, working out thousands of calories, and getting borderline diabetes, to have two beautiful boys... to eating out every day of the week for two months straight, to get me to realize that I want more out of life.
I want a real life.
I want to be happy in my skin, with who I am. It doesn't matter the number on the scale, it really only matters how I feel.

I've since kicked my diabetes out the door, and I probably won't ever go back there... no, I won't ever go back there.
I'm on day ten of my new lifestyle and Glen is even adopting it. He's excited that I'm somewhat forcing him to eat well.
He goes up North and works five days out of the week, and comes home for two. Those two days excite him, and in his words " I know that when I come home I will no longer feel sick. You make such good food honey "

Reading labels, and making everything from scratch is now part of our regime. I will not buy packaged food or let anything persuade me. You might say, isn't that a bit extreme? Maybe, but right now it's best for my family and I to stay on track.
We're allowed a treat once in a while, but in the last ten days.. I've not taken that treat yet.

There you have it. My ten day Journey so far. I've lost FIVE pounds ( and probably more, but my lovely red friend has stopped by for a visit )
Stay tuned for my weight loss Journey.

It's a new year, for a new me!

It's 2012, and this means a new Jess Morris! In the last 4 years my weight has been up and down, and my health has been all over the place.
More important than my jeans fitting, I would love to be more healthy through and through!
My parents got us a Kitchenaid Food Processor for Christmas and I've been using it everyday. Making everything from scratch. Casey is even eating all organic meats, veggies and fruits, pureed of course!

I also joined myfitnesspal.com! I find it's really helping me keep on track. I made my food diary open to all of my 19 friends- and counting.
I'm on day 3 of my new eating lifestyle and I feel great!
In the last 4 years I've complained of my body constantly, but I've given myself this body. I eat whenever I'm stressed, upset, sad..or happy. Really ALL the time.
I'm finding different alternatives to this emotional eating pattern by doing more DIY projects, being more creative with my kids, and being more proactive about myself!

Look forward to sharing my success with you in weeks and months to come! I made a goal for myself. If I get back down to 135, we'll be buying a family dog.
This won't be likely ( haven't been that number since late 2008... ) But, here's for positive thinking and high spirits!

Yes, I know.. this is the WORST picture of Glen and I. Why did I keep it? Not sure... but this is a motivational photo of me, I'd love to look like that again!

Designing a Wall Empire around a letter.

Okay, so I thought I would write a blog because so many of you were asking how I made my wall decal. It was quite a easy but long process. Here are the basics.

First I bought a "M" from Walmart, they're in the craft section and cost 4.99. CHEAP.
Second, I bought a large photo frame. Depending on the size of your letter, you will need it quite large so it will give plenty of room to frame your letter.
Third, go to your local fabric store and pick out a fabric of choice.

I taped the fabric inside of the frame, and then put the frame together. I then hot glued the letter in the middle of the frame onto of the glass, and waalah!

It's a awesome unique piece that you can keep interchanging to your decor, and it costs under 25 bucks!

How To Have A Baby In 2 Hours!

As I've not really posted how long my birth was and how it went here's my mini story.

Starting at 37 Weeks pregnant I had my first S&S (Stretch & Sweep), my doctor was happy to tell me I was already 4cm dilated and thinned quite a bit.
This gave me hope that baby was going to come out, then! (Hudson came out at 38W1day...)
So, after my sweep I went home, packed our bags, cleaned our house from top to bottom... and waited..waited.....woke up in the morning and still waited.
Okay....so, 2 days after that contractions started, and were regular, but came in and out and died out.
Next week at my 38 week appointment I also had a S&S done. This time I was 6cm dilated, and Casey was completely dropped. She was sure that I would have him in the next couple of days. I was still having contractions almost constantly... so she made sure she was on call.
I waited....next week at my 39 week appointment, still at 6 cm dilated and very thinned...
40 week appointment, she did my LAST stretch, and that night I started to get BAD contractions, I woke Glen & Hudson up around 3:30 am, thinking that this wasn't it.. but I should just be safe... we diddle daddled around the house for the next 30 minutes getting food, pillows etc...
Got to the hospital around 4:15, I was upstairs getting checked at 4:35

Nurse left to call my Dr and was going to send me home as I was still 6cm..... as soon as she left I went and sat on a ball, and I heard a crack and a drop... then the contractions were so unbearable I wanted to die.
I went in sat in the shower for the next 20 minutes so they could take my blood.... at around 5:10, I crawled onto the hospital bed, and I asked them to check me. From 4:45-5:10 I went from 6-10 cm.
I told them I had to push, and Casey came out in TWO pushes.... His head, was 105 percentile, but he was only 8 pounds.

My perfect 8 pound baby boy was born at 5:19 AM, and was snuggled in my arms.
I asked to go home 2 hours later, and we were sent home at 1 pm.

Well, there you have it, my story.
If you want to have a baby that fast, I would advice you get pregnant when your first child is 6 months old!
Casey came out so fast, we didn't have time to take photos. My mom got there right before he came out.

I'm breaking up with Cloth.

After thinking about this for months, but keep pressing through, as a family, Glen and I have decided to sell off our cloth.
This by no means was a easy choice for me. I'm addicted. Not only because there are such cute prints, but I love washing them, hanging them, having them on my cute boy bums, and not to mention it's so good for our Earth!

Having one in cloth is great. Hudson went through 6-8 cloth diapers a day.. add a newborn into the mix and they go through 10-12 a day.
I was washing 45-55 diapers every 3 days. That would require me pulling them all apart, washing them, and then stuffing them for about a hour..
for the last 4 months, the cloth have been neglected. We've been using them, but they wouldn't get stuffed, leading to frustrating to not just be able to pick up a diaper and go.
We had dirty diapers all over our laundry room, and still do. To pull them apart, and put them into a wet bag just seems like a lot of work, when you're hauling two kids around... don't judge until you've been there. Because I did.

Last night we broke down, after discussing this for the past few months, and we bought a box of Pampers Dry Diapers ( box of 180 for 29.99 ) That should last us over a month.
Cloth has to be changed much more frequently. Casey can wear a BG 4.0 for 2 hours, max.. he eats every 1 1/2 hours, so liquid is always pumping through him. I can get 4 hours out of him from a pampers. So much more worth it. Especially if we go into town, I don't have to worry about him peeing his pants.

This is a very hard choice for me as I stated above. I love cloth. But I will be selling my entire stash to make things easier for us right now. LIfe with two under two is hard, and adding cloth to the mix is just crazy.
We plan to start cloth back up when Hudson is potty trained ( hopefully in the next 4 months )... I will be buying a stash of Grovia's.. no stuffing, and they are much trimmer on my chunky monkey!

Thanks for reading my thoughts, and I just wanted to say sorry if I have passed judgement to you. Cloth is not for everyone, and as much as I've been a advocate for it, and still want to continue, we're choosing to stop temporarily so I can have much more needed time with my little men.

I'm BACK!

It's been oh, 8 months since my last blog?
My little love, Hudson, broke my last laptop. Not to self: Don't even leave a computer on the floor..
Now, I'm back in the grove and will be blogging again.
Spicy blogs, and my food adventures..

So what's happened since I left you? We had a beautiful baby boy, and we named him Cason Stevie, but we call him 'Casey'.
We moved into a gorgeous home right on the ocean, and Glen is now in school, part time!
Hudson still has no words but he's a BUSY boy. Very active and smart. He can turn on and off any electronic device.

Glen and I have both picked a night of the week to pop open the recipe box and make new and challenging meals. Also on saturday night we put the kids to bed and have a late dinner. We usually make this night all about appys, wine and dessert. We aren't do anything that night as we can barely get off the couch after eating.

Life is really fantastic, and we are really enjoying all the blessings surrounding us. Our 1 year anniversary just passed us, and what did we do?
Went and sat in Starbucks, childless for a hour and a half ( this was all the time Cason would give me before I had to come back home and nurse him )

I promise to keep motivated and keep updating you, weekly, if not daily.

Stay tuned for some awesome recipes and some spicy posts!

It feels good to be back!