Boutique this Saturday!! Dec. 5

I will be in a boutique this saturday, Dec. 5, in West Jordan!! (1253 W. Trimble Ln. (9160 S.) West Jordan. (Despite my almost due baby bump!!) This is going to be at my sister's house, which is just off 90th South, and 13th West- just down the street from the Jordan River Temple! It will be from 9am-1pm. My nursing covers will be on sale for $15!! And I also have a few other cool things I am selling! Plus, my sister is selling her clocks, and jewelry. And there will also be super cute designer jeans, and lots of other stuff. This boutique will be a great place to find a great deal for anyone on your Christmas shopping list!! So PLEASE stop by!!!
For more info, visit the Shop Til You Drop blog, or the Facebook event, where you can invite all your facebook friends!!

Help them adopt!!

Meet Shian, Tom, and Gavin! I have known Shian my whole life- or rather, she has known me my whole life. She is one of my sister's best friends, and Shian's younger sister is one of my best friends. (Does that make sense? lol) Anyway, I know that Shian and Tom are wonderful parents to their son, Gavin, and I know that they will continue to be awesome parents to their future adopted child. Shian and Tom are hoping to adopt! If you know of anyone who may be thinking of giving their child up for adoption, please contact them! HERE is their adoption blog, and here is a letter to the birthparents of their future baby:)
Dear Birthparents,

We admire you for your courage to give your child life. We can't imagine the anguish you must be experiencing. Please know that we are praying for you. You will be guided in the direction you should go. We know you will make the best choice for yourself and your baby and find peace in your decision.

Our names are Tom and Shian (sounds like Shan). We have been married for 2 1/2 years so far and look forward to a lifetime together. Because we were both 29 when we were married, we wanted to add to our family right away. That obviously hasn't gone as planned. We have discovered the Lord has another plan for us. While we have not exhausted all infertility treatments, we really feel we have been led to adopt at this time and we couldn't be happier. We know there is a certain child meant to be a part of our family.

We promise to give unconditional love to any child placed with us. We are hoping for a very open adoption where the birthparents will become a part of our family, including letters and pictures, access to our family blog and in-person visits. You will be welcome in our home.

We sincerely thank you for taking the time to learn more about our family. Please feel free to contact us or our caseworker at any time. We are praying for every person who reads our profile and can't wait to meet our birthparents and baby. We love you already.

Tom, Shian and Gavin

Take a second, and VOTE for me!!

I was a little hesitant to enter this "baby bump" photo contest, but the winner will get a new nursery! And since our hand me down crib is...well, not good, we could REALLY use this!! (Especially during the financial crunch we are in!) PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE take one sec, and go HERE to vote for me!!!! I AM PICTURE #109!! Just click over til you see me! Thanks SO much!!:)
(Voting STARTS Friday, Sept. 18 at 7AM, and goes til Sept. 30) PLEASE VOTE!

Discipline and Tantrums

My daughter is starting into throwing tantrums. If she doesn't get her way, and just over other random things. She is 16 months old. My question is, what is your approach to discipline? I am not sure what would be appropriate for her age or within the next couple of months. I have overheard some Mom's say they started "time out" at 18 months. Basically my approach has been to ignore her or not talk to her until she calms down. That seemed to work for a little while, but she has now started hitting to get my attention when I ignore her. She will also throw things and lay on the ground and scream until I pay attention to her. Basically, I just want to know what worked for you. PLEASE leave comments! As I really need some help with this issue! Thanks everyone:)

"Couponing"

So, everywhere I go these days I keep hearing the word "couponing" and how amazing it is.....you know the whole bit about saving so much money per month and getting items for free. I am the type of person who LOVES finding deals. I always shop the clearance section for clothes and baby items. But now that we have moved and my husband is back in school, which also means he will have no job for 2 years......and unfortunately that means we are living on students loans. Anyway, I really want to see what the couponing craze is all about. Does anyone know much about it? I would love to put together a "couponing 101 Course" and put it on this blog. So please leave comments! And e-mail me too (marissa_jarrett@yahoo.com) if you are interested in putting together something like this. I think there are lots of SAHM's out there that would love to learn!

It's a BOY!

The profile
The little feet:)
And the proof.

His little face.
This morning, Car (my husband), my Mom, and I went to my ultrasound! I invited my Mom cause I know she only had an ultrasound with my youngest brother, almost 17 years ago! So I knew she would love it. (And she did:) But the tech told us each bone and organ in the baby's body, before she revealed the sex. I kept seeing a little somethin somethin when she would skim past the bum, and my first thought was "that cannot be what I think it is!" Car, and I were totally convinced that we were having a GIRL! No, not because of the home gender test, but because this pregnancy has been SO much different. I have been SO sick, and SO emotional. Everyone kept saying "it's cause you are having a girl". So we really didn't think there was any other possibility. But WRONGO! This little goober of a boy has been making his mommy sick, and crazy! lol All we could do was laugh when they said it was a boy- laugh at the fact that we were ALL SO wrong!! I have to admit that I thought I would be disappointed if it was a boy, but as everyone says- your true feelings show through when you actually know what you are having. And all I feel is EXCITEMENT! I can't wait to meet this little dude, and see how much different or alike he is to Charlie! His little ultrasound pictures don't look like Charlie's at all really! (they aren't very clear though, either).
Anyway, we are so so excited! And we will be naming him OWEN:) That is another good thing about having a boy. We were dead set on a boy name, but we kept going back and forth on our girl names.
I have always loved the name Owen, and it just makes me smile every time I hear it. Just like the name Charlie:) Another reason I love this name, is because one of my favorite books of all time is "Owen". It is about a little mouse that has a blankie and carries it everywhere! If you know me at all, you know that I STILL have a blankie that I rub the corners off of! I have had only 3 blankies in my lifetime, but two of them sadly are in their grave in my cedar chest because they are just rags. I love the cute story, AND the adorable name!!
We will be meeting this little guy sometime around New Years!! And I can't wait!:)

Nursing Covers only $15 EACH!!!

My Charlie Cloths/ NURSING COVERS are on SALE for only $15 each!!! Plus FREE shipping! (In the USA) Take advantage of this offer, because when they are gone, they are gone!:) EMAIL your order to: rachellelaree@msn.com
Spring posies (far left), Chocolate/Mint Stripes (middle), Yellow blossoms (far right).

Purple/Yellow Cubes (far left), Cherry Blossom stipes (middle), Red starts (far right)

Country Colors (far left), Pink/black polka dots (middle), Sailor (far right).

Baby & Mommy Must Haves

I want to share some of MY Must Haves:) I made myself a baby wrap carrier. And I can't wait to use it with my new baby!

You can carry your baby so many ways with one of these!
Lansinoh nursing pads are my favorite!! They are so thin that they don't bunch up in your bra, but they absorb a ton!!
A bouncer. My son got a lot of use out of this. I intend to re-cover it with cuter fabric for this coming baby.
A spa/sound machine. This saved me many nights, when my son kept on screaming!! His favorite was the sound of the birds with a stream.:) And it was only like $15 at Wal Mart. Great investment!!
A swaddle blanket, or as I like to call it, a "burrito blanket". When my boy started to get really fussy at night, this helped a ton!! I think they are like $10 at Wal Mart.
A nursing cover:) Shocker, I know. When I made my first one, I couldn't believe how much easier it was to nurse at church, or even at my house (if I had guests). I was a lot more confident too, because I didn't have to worry about trying to hold a blanket up with my teeth! (p.s. I sell these! Check out Charlie Cloths!)
A boppy pillow. My baby was a HORRIBLE nurser for the first four months, and this helped a lot, so that I could hold him better, and keep the shield on better. I am in the process of making a new cover for mine, to match the cover that I am making for the bouncer! Cute!
A nipple shield. My husband calls this the "human bottle". That's basically what it is. It totally taught my baby how to latch on, and not only that, but it helps if your nipples are super sore. I LOVE these!!
This nipple cream is amazing! My visiting teacher gave me some when I was struggling with nursing. It's not like the lansinoh, or other brands that are really thick- cause every time I used those ones, I had to rub it in, and it would grab the skin. Ouch! This stuff is really smooth. It's kind of expensive at $10 for a 2 oz bottle, but I am sure it will last me through at least 3 kids!

WHAT ARE YOUR MUST HAVES? Leave a comment!!

Another Sleeping Question

What Time Do Your Kids Wake Up?

My daughter has been getting up at 5:30 am for the day and she also goes to bed pretty late (like 9:30-10:00). Last night I put her to bed at 8:30 and she still woke up just as early. She is 14 months and only takes one nap per day (usually sleeps a MAX of 2 hours) That's why I want to know what time your kids wake up. Is this a normal time for a kid to get up? Because to me it just feels too early.

To Brighten Your Day

A Child's Angel

Once upon a time there was a child ready to be born. One day he asked God: "They tell me you are sending me to earth tomorrow, how am I going to live there being so small and helpless?"GOD replied, "Among the many angels, I chose one for you. She will be waiting for you and will take care of you." The child said"But tell me, here in Heaven, I don't do anything else but sing and smile, that's enough for me to be happy." GOD said "Your angel will sing for you and will also smile for you every day. And you will feel your angel's love and be happy." The child continued, "And how am I going to be able to understand when people talk to me, if I don't know the language that men talk?" GOD said "Your angel will tell you the most beautiful and sweet words you will ever hear, and with much patience and care, your angel will teach you how to speak." The child then asked, "And what am I going to do when I want to talk to you?" God assured, "Your angel will place your hands together and will teach you how to pray." The child then asked, "I've heard that on earth there are bad men. Who will protect me?" God replied, "Your angel will defend you even if it means risking its life." The child said, "But I will always be sad because I will not see you anymore." God said, "Your angel will always talk to you about me and will teach you the way for you to come back to me, even though I will always be next to you." At that moment there was much peace in Heaven, but voices from earth could already be heard. And the child in a hurry asked softly: "Oh God, if I am about to leave now, please tell me my angel's name." God's response...."Your angel's name is of no importance, you will simply call her 'Mommy'."

By: Erma Bombeck

CUTE IDEA

I have been looking for things I can do with Kaylee to help progress her learning. She loves books and I think they are a great learning tool but I also wanted something a little different. I searched around and found these MEAL MATS. You can put them on your child's high chair while eating and basically they can go anywhere because you laminate them. Click HERE to check them out for children ages 12-24 month and click HERE for children ages 6-12 months.

Happy Mother's Day!

Wow, sorry this is so late! Life has been crazy around my house these days. But I want to wish all of you a Happy Mothers Day! I hope you all got spoiled rotten:) It is the hardest job in the world but also the most rewarding!



Also, I am attempting a "healthy living plan." No, not a diet! I hate that word. I really want to be a healthier person. I eat out WAY too much, snack a lot, and I have a MAJOR sweet tooth. I have always been a firm believer in exersizing and have pretty much stuck to a routine since Kaylee was born. But I want to change my eating habits. Especially since being home most of the time I have notices it is SO much more tempting to snack all day long. Before when I was busy at work and school I really didn't have time to snack. I barely had time to eat! So, I have a question for all of you......what are some healthy snacks for me? What do you all think of 100 cal packs? I have never tried them. And what about those Quaker Rice Cakes? Are they any good? I just hate spending money on snacks I either won't like, or make snacking habits worse.

Gender Prediction Test??

I saw this gender prediction test at Walgreens a couple weeks ago. I have been reading up on it, and people are saying that it's 94% accurate!! It's pretty expensive though- $35. (At least I think it is. lol) Do you think it works? Should I give it a try?? They say you can find out as early as 6 weeks pregnant!! I might give it a shot just in case:) Would you do it!??

I'm expecting!

I (Rachelle), figured I would share this awesome picture of myself:) jk But I am expecting baby #2 in December! My kids will be exactly two years apart! We are so excited!:)

Host a party, get a FREE NURSING COVER!!

My little NURSING COVER business, Charlie Cloths, is trying to expand it's roots! If you would like to host a nursing cover party, IN UTAH, you will receive a FREE nursing cover!! Email me at rachellelaree@msn.com for the details! Anyone can do it!!

My baby won't eat...

anything that is good for him! I admit, I am not the best at eating healthy either. But when I give him fruit, he won't eat it. When I give him mac n cheese, he won't eat it. When I give him anything that is even remotely nutritional, he won't eat it...

BUT HE WILL EAT...
Candles, and wax of any kind...Crayons...another waxy treat...
And last but not least, I caught him guzzling KY gel!!!! What the heck is wrong with this kid??! (I called my husband, who is a chemist & knows a lot about ingredients and formulation of products such as these, as soon as I saw him doing this, cause I thought I was going to have to get his stomach pumped or at least call poison control, but I was assured that KY gel is made to be edible. Thank goodness!) (Although that's just gross.)

Diaper Rash Continued, The Cure!

After my whole experience trying to treat Kaylee's diaper rash, I thought I would share what I learned. I know a lot of you probably are already very familiar with what I am about to say but I know I have been clueless on most things like this since my daughter was born.

2 weeks ago I picked my daughter up from the sitter's and she had a horrible diaper rash. She has really sensitive skin and even 10 minutes in a soiled diaper can give her a rash. I treated it with EVERY cream I could buy over the counter and that didn't work, so I tried taking her diaper off and letting her play with no diaper for 2-3 hours, still nothing. In fact the rash started to get worse. I called my doctor and she told me it had most likely turned into a yeast infection. She prescribed me some Nystatin, which is an anti fungal cream about 2 days ago and since then her rash has gotten better everyday.

I am serious when I say that I bought EVERY single cream on the shelves. I want to cry when I look at the massive amounts of money I spent on creams. To save all you other Mom's out there the trouble, I have listed my top 3 diaper rash creams. Even though Kaylee's was a yeast infection,these creams still helped with the redness and the pain. And on her normal rashes they seem to get rid of them the quickest.

My number 1 choice in Balmex. It really does reduce redness in just one diaper change!

My # 2 choice in Aveeno Baby Soothing Diaper Rash Cream. This one really helped with pain, not as good with reducing the redness though. Also it smells really nice and cleans off your hands easily as well.
My #3 pick is Bourdeaux's Butt Paste. Everyone recommended me this cream, so I must admit I was expecting a little more out of it. The main thing I liked was there was absolutely no smell. And it cleans up easily. Also works for pain and redness, but not as much as Balmex or Aveeno.

Well, there you have it! My thoughts on Diaper Rash treatments!

Read more about Yeast Infections in Babies Here. This is a really good article from babycenter.com about signs, symptoms, and treatments.

DIAPER RASH!!

What worked for you? I need some serious help on this one! Oh the joys of having to leave your kids with a sitter......grrrr! Anyway, she has a really bad rash and I have tried every cream out there......seriously! HELP!

Eat Your Veggies.......

My question is about snacking and eating for kids. My daughter is almost one and starting to eat more meals with us. I am having a hard time coming up with meal ideas that are healthy for her. I also have the same problem with finding snacks. I would love to start her eating habits off right, but its hard because I am not the greatest eater in the world:) I would love any advice on snacks and meals that are healthy and enjoyable for kids!

Bottle Weaning and a Request

My daughter is almost 11 months old and I am starting to get worried about bottle weaning her. She is SUPER attached to her bottle and she is resistant to drink from sippy cups. I have been trying to give her water/juice in her sippy since she was 7 months and she just won't have a thing to do with it. If anyone has tips on how they got their kids to drink out of sippys let me know and I would also love to hear tips on bottle weaning.

And my request is for our blog authors. I was hoping to make this blog a bit more personal. I was hoping that all blog authors could e-mail me a pic of themselves and a little blurb about themselves as well. Probably about a paragraph long....about how many kids, if you work, are in school....things like that. Then I was going to post the pics and description on the sidebar of this blog. If you are not comfortable thats ok. I just thought it would be kinda fun and make this blog more personable. Anyway, my e-mail is marissa_jarrett@yahoo.com. Thanks ladies!

COUGH REMEDIES!

My daughter has a cough that is keeping her up most of the night. I have taken her to the Pediatrician and she says its a virus, so I need to wait it out. But if anyone knows of some home remedies that could help with her cold (besides a humidifier/prop her up at night) it would be MUCH APPRECIATED! We could both really use some sleep!

God Bless You Little Gracie......

So, I have this thing for finding heart wrenching stories/families/situations.....whatever you want to call it through blogging. It seems I have run across quite a few through the media, friends or family. I like to donate what I can to help to the cause. Usually they are just asking for prayers and in my opinion your prayers can never be too long.

I had been meaning to post a link to the Gledhill's family blog......which then turned into "Gracie's Blog." But I never got around to it. I have been following it for 6 or 7 months. I was particularly intrigued because my Mom used to work with heart transplant patients at Primary Childrens Medical Center in SLC (where Gracie was at most of her life). And because she had big brown eyes just like my daughter. And I just thought the family was an incredible inspiration and example to others.

Here's the story. Little Gracie was born with a severe heart defect (can't remember the name, it says on her blog). She had open heart surgery when she was 4 days old. She continued to have problems and it was eventually decided the only treatment was a heart transplant.

When we left for our vacation a few weeks ago, the last I read on Gracies Blog was that she did in fact have a donor and would be receiving a transplant in the next 24 hours. Then I got busy with life and haven't checked it until today (I kinda figured she would have been fine). My heart is aching right now just writing this, but unfortunately Gracie's body did not accept the heart (they aren't sure of the exact reasons yet) and she passed away on March 2nd. She was only 11 months old. Almost the exact age as my little Kaylee.

Please keep Gracie's family in your prayers. And read the blog too. I promise it will touch your heart. Her family is so strong and such faithful servants of our Heavenly Father. They know that they will see her again one day. What a comfort that must be to them.

And to think I was sitting here complaining because Kaylee has the flu........now all I want to do is hold and rock her all night.

Life truly is fragile. Hug and kiss your babies more than usual today...and all your loved ones for that matter. Isn't it wonderful that we have the opportunity to be with our families forever?

here is the LINK: http://thegledhillfamily.blogspot.com/

Just For Moms!

Copy and Paste the following Code into your blog as a cute way to link back here!! (Add a gadget in your sidebar, and paste the code into the HTML/Java Script section!)

<center><a href="http://justformoms2008.blogspot.com/"><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UniuAFvwKN8/SZ3pyZssfgI/AAAAAAAABLI/nZo5PeWhsrQ/s1600/50pixels.jpg"/></a></center>

Thanks Rachelle!

My friend Rachelle created this header. Isn't it cute? I LOVE it! She has also created a link button that you can put on your blog that will link to this one. I just have to give her rights to do that. I am planning on doing that today so look for that button in the near future.

In case you forgot, Rachelle is the one who has the "She's Crafty" website. There is a button to that blog on the right hand side of this blog.

She is so talented!

Motherhood and Friendship: How Baby Changes Everything!!

This article is very interesting. I know I can definitely relate. It is so true having a baby does change the dynamic of your friendships. This article gives some perspective on that. The author is Veronique Vienne. Click here to read it.

Ideas

Since Valentines Day is just around the corner I wanted to share a few ideas I have seen. They are all cute and the best part, they are inexpensive.

The first idea I got from Rachelle's blog called "She's Crafty." Notice I now have a link to her blog on the right hand side of this blog. Click here to see the exact post/idea I am talking about. Way cute!I would highly recommend checking out the rest of her site for some other great ideas.

I also found this site. Click on it to find some awesome deals to restaurants. I got a $25 gift card for $10. All you need to do is enter your zip code to find the deals in your area.

And the last thing, if anyone wants or knows someone who would want a link/button to their site/blog on this blog let me know. Right now I have the I read Nie Nie button and the She's Crafty button, but anyone is welcome just let me know.

Ok, I promise this really is the last thing. I am looking for someone to create a custom design for this blog and also a custom link button. Let me know if you are interested! E-mail me at marissa_jarrett@yahoo.com

Hi There!

Hi! I am Marissa's friend, Rachelle. We danced together in college, and just came back in contact! She told me about this blog, and I am so excited about it!!
A little about me...
I am 23, I have one baby boy, who is 13 months old. I am from Salt Lake, and I love to dance, sew, scrapbook, and be creative! (Marissa's last post had two of my craft sites, and they are also in the side bar!) I like to goof off, and watch chick flix! I HATE to clean the bathroom, and try my hardest to bribe my husband to do it, but usually end up doing it myself with a grimace on my face. I serve in the Young Womens. I love the gospel! I miss my girlfriends and having a carefree existence, but would NEVER change my life now that I know what it is like to be a Mom! I am already baby hungry.

Anyway, the reason for my post...
I need a little advice. No, I am not planning on getting pregnant any time soon, but I do want to have another baby maybe sometime next year. Here is where your advice comes in. I have a good friend who has been married for over four years and can't get pregnant. She gets really sad and upset when others around her are blessed with pregnancy, and I am SO scared to get pregnant again, because I feel like I would offend her and maybe hurt our friendship. What should I do!!? I HATE hurting other people's feelings, and I realize that I worry way too much about it, but sometimes I just can't help it! Any suggestions???

Cute Craft sites!

This past week I have been so Lucky to come back in contact with an old friend that I used to dance with a few years back. She is very creative and makes the cutest crafts. She has two websites that I just had to share because they are so cute! I have also given her Author rights to the blog, so you may start seeing some posts from her, at least I hope so!

The first is:

http://charliecloths.artfire.com

This site has variety of items for sale and all at decent prices. She makes everything from flower headbands, aprons, nursing covers and lots of other things.

http://rachellescraftcorner.blogspot.com

This blog shows pictures of all the other things she makes. Everything is so cute! You need to check it out, it will be worth it:)

Teething.....

My daughter is almost 9 months old and still has no teeth. She has been waking up at night lately and she seems to be in pain because her bottle doesn't help. I feel bad giving her Tylenol or Motrin every night. And sometimes I wonder if it really is her teeth bothering her since this has been going on for almost 2 months and still no sign of a tooth. Does anyone have any tips on teething? Or know the signs of teething? I am just in need of some sleep and if its not her teeth then I would want to try letting her cry it out. Any advice would be helpful. Thanks!