Kids Toys Worth Checking Out

I've discovered a brand of toys that I want to have all of and gift to every kid I know. The brand is B. Short for "Just B. Just You. B. You," these toys are available at Target and other retailers.
The packaging caught my eye first. Upon further inspection, I realized the packaging is multi-functional. It is both made of recycled materials and is recyclable, but is also biodegradable. The bags that some toys, including One Two Squeeze and Elemenosqueeze, come in is meant to be kept and reused. I will definitely reuse mine.
Another great thing about this toy company is that a portion of every purchase price is donated to FREE THE CHILDREN, a charity devoted to helping "free children from poverty and exploitation and free young people from the notion that they are powerless to affect positive change." How great is that?!?!
The first B toy I bought was the Wheee-mote control car for a little boy's 1st birthday and the packaging actually turned inside out to create a gift-wrapped box. I thought it was the coolest thing and I was hooked. The other day, when shopping for Amelia's newest toy, I landed on the One Two Squeeze blocks, and she loves them. I intend on buying a variety of these toys for her as she gets bigger and sharing our love for this toy brand with our friends and their kids.
Instead of me spewing out all the information I've discovered about B toys, I'll let you read about the company and its toys. I cannot do it justice and I'm okay admitting it. =) Go here to check it out.

Letting the Light Shine in

Hormones were raging, irritability and moodiness were at an all time high. I had no desire to go anywhere or see anyone. Being in my bed, alone, in the dark, was where I wanted to be. If I didn't have Amelia, I'd of done exactly that everyday. I started fights about nothing for no reason. I had attitude all the time. I was not happy with anything and I thought I was the most horrible mom. I went in search of answers because I knew these feelings weren't normal. I mean, I have so much to be happy and thankful for, yet those were not the emotions I had.....ever.
I looked up postpartum depression, thinking some of my symptoms probably lined up with that diagnosis; however, Amelia was nearly 4 months old and I figured PPD would be obvious from the moment she was born. My gut was right, but I hated to admit it. I was ecstatic that I had found the answer, but almost ashamed that it was postpartum depression. At first I didn't want to tell anyone and only told my mom, my husband, and 1 friend. I felt like it meant I couldn't handle being a mom, but I wouldn't want to be anything else. Talking about it helped immensely. Reading about what I could do to treat it without going on medication made me feel better too. Simple things like opening the blinds and letting the light shine in, spending time with friends, asking for help when I need it, decreasing caffeine intake, being outdoors and staying active have worked well so far. Although I still have my bad days, probably due to my inability to cut out caffeine completely, I get through them. I realize I'm human. And thanks to talking to my friends, I realized I'm not alone. It's way more common than I ever thought and that makes me feel better too.

And we're in!

Holy cow, what a process! Buying a house is a lot of work. We closed yesterday, coincidentally on the day Amelia turned 4 months old. What a way to celebrate...giving our baby girl a new place to live, a bigger place to crawl around when the time comes. As we walked out of the title company, we were both in disbelief, but excited beyond words. We were officially homeowners, and what a feeling that is. We drove straight to the house and pulled into OUR driveway, put the key in OUR lock, and stepped into OUR home for the very first time. We walked through the whole place, reveling at the fact that we could do what we wanted with every wall, every room, and every crevice. I was making mental notes of the work that needed to be done asap and another list of things I want to see done at some point. The yard needs major help. I swear there is a weed as tall as me growing by our back deck. On the inside, we have more rooms to paint than I originally thought. Luckily, the only room that needs immediate attention is Amelia's. Seafoam green doesn't exactly go with the decor of her nursery. Pink is a nice color for all things Amelia, but the master bath is not a place for such a shade. One day we'll get to that and the other random things we want to change, fix, or improve.
Today, after giving a tour of our house to a friend, I stood there, in the stillness of an empty hallway, breathless. Almost in tears, I thanked God for our home, for nothing we have would be possible without Him. Our life has changed forever. Everything has a more positive spin on it, simply because we were blessed with this house. Yeah, we have a mortgage and all the other bills that come with owning a home, but it excites me, no....it inspires me. Hard things suddenly seem easier. Rough spots feel smoother. Life is splendid.
Thank you, God, for our home and the new adventure it brings.

My Life in Boxes

Boxes. They are everywhere, walls of them, filled with our life. It feels like there is still so much to pack, but I only have so much time. I try to take advantage of the times when Amelia sleeps, but she's doesn't always nap for extended periods of time, and I don't always feel up for packing every time she's asleep. So, here we are, 5 days away from our anticipated closing date, and I feel less than prepared to move. We are wanting to close early, actually this Friday, because weekends are better suited for big moves than Monday evenings. We are waiting on the bank to finish up the final underwriting and who knows if it'll be done in 3 days. We can hope!

A Tutu for Amelia

A few of my friends have made tutus for their daughters in the last few months and they always turned out so cute. So last night, I made one for Amelia. Its made of tulle in 3 colors and I think it turned out great! I tried it on her this morning before Matt went to work and took a few pictures. For now, it swallows her up and it looks like she's sitting on a huge pile of tulle, but it will make for some very cute professional pictures soon enough!! She's getting soooo big!

I'll post more pictures when Amelia actually fits in her tutu.

Next Step on the Road to Home Ownership

There is so much more involved in buying a house than I ever thought. We had the inspection, which for the most part showed minor home improvement sorts of things, but we opted for the radon test as well. It showed the presence of higher than normal radon in the basement over the duration of nearly 3 days. Just when you think you're past the hurdles, there are more. We had to decide if it was something we were willing to pay for if the current owners would not. Lucky for us, they said they'd fix it, so by closing, we'll have a fan system installed in the basement to push any radon right out.
All the paperwork was signed to get our financing underway and were told the next step would be to get homeowners insurance. I called a couple places yesterday in search of the best deal. If it means leaving State Farm, we will.
Oh my gosh, I'm so excited to move. I honestly feel like this apartment dampers my spirits. We felt cramped here long before we ever had Amelia. Her birth just made it that much more obvious that, house or not, we needed to find a bigger place, a place to start fresh. Even though packing and moving is a lot of work, I've always enjoyed "starting over." Even rearranging furniture creates a new atmosphere for me, so the impending opportunity to put furniture in new rooms, decorate new walls, paint, and buy new furnishings is an overwhelmingly pleasant thought. I can't wait to get out of here and have a new beginning in our first house. Yay!

Army-Bound Twins

Last year, Matt's twin brothers shared the news that they were joining the army. It has been a long time coming. Since high school, it was something they felt a calling to do, but they took different paths first. They are both firefighters, Mark is a paramedic, and Mike is an EMT. They are two of the most selfless guys I know, always giving of themselves to make sure everyone else is happy. They'd give you the shirts off their backs if they thought you needed them. When they told us of their plans, Matt and I were so happy for them; however, it wasn't something that excited every member of our family. Its understandable though...we are at war and joining the army when you'll actually have to 'fight for our country' instead of being safe on U.S. soil doesn't set well with anyone. But I couldn't be more proud to call 2 people my brothers. Even knowing they will be sent across the world to fight for people they don't even know, they want to go...they HAVE to go. The drive to do this has never left. They are following their hearts and doing what they feel they've been put on this earth to do. And if it wasn't enough to join the army, their goal is actually to be Special Forces and I know that they'll make it.

It dawned on me the other day that I'm gonna miss the heck out of those guys. We don't see them as often as we'd like because we don't live in the same city or state, but any time we are together is always a good time. I was told recently that they said Amelia is the only reason they don't want to go, but is also the main reason they are going. They want to make this world a better place for her to grow up in. How sweet is that?!?!

They leave March 17th, on St. Patricks Day. I will look forward to traveling to Atlanta this summer so we can watch them graduate from boot camp and see them off on the next leg of their amazing journey with the United States Army.

(The photo above is from a party that their cousin, Lauren, also pictured, planned for them. The entire Fiocca family and a ton of friends came to show their support.)