My Piece of Heaven

We Fall and We Rise Again...

2017-07-18T22:23:00.000-04:00

My mother told me while growing up everything happens for a reason. I was baptized Roman Catholic. God has a plan in everything he does for us. My life has been a roller coaster; But then again everyone has their ups and downs. No two lives are alike, We are all on our own individual journey.

Death leaves a heartache no one can fix. That moment you realize that your loved one is gone, and there is nothing that change it. My life changed forever on April 27th, 2015. That day was the day he left this earth and earned his angel wings. My loving husband Nathan passed away. I'll never forget the moment I woke up and within that moment my life changed forever. During the hustle of the day, and the turmoil, Nathan was gone and there was nothing I can do; nothing will ever be the same, my normal was gone. Eventually I will find a new normal, but it will never be the same.

That moment etched in my mind when I knew he was gone, gone forever. We had a life planned, a family to raise. Collectively we had 8 children. He had 5 when we got together, I had 1 child. We had 2 children together. We had a surprise child, our miracle, I was 30 weeks pregnant when their dad left this earth forever.

Life is not easy after a loss. Everyone grieves differently, and no one can tell you to stop grieving. Death effects everyone differently. The grief you feel is different from losing a spouse to losing a child. There is no time limit on grieving. Don't ever let anyone make you feel bad for grieving.

Normal will never be the same. Your life will be turned upside down. But you will feel like your falling, but you will rise again...Stronger then ever...With fire inside you.

A little surprise....

2016-08-27T11:23:00.001-04:00

A little surprise entered our lives in December of 2014. Our family was going through a lot. Many family issues plagued us. But in the end it made us a stronger family. There's no other way to say the surprise but to just say it.

I found out I was pregnant. Yes, I found out I was pregnant in December of 2014. After a family issue that caused me to realize my dreaded period was late.

When I brought the subject up to my amazing husband he was completely shocked that I could be pregnant. He concluded that my body was just under a lot of stress due to some health issues with our daughter, and that's why my period was late. After all I had the Essure procedure done in March of 2013, after our last child was born. So the thought I could actually be pregnant was hard to believe, but in reality it was true. My husband and I decided to wait out the month of November and wait till December to test.

The thought then left my mind within a few days. Life was going past us, and yet; inside my body unannounced to me there was a ball of dividing cells creating new life inside. Creating a child that would become a miracle. Life went on on the outside just as normal. Work, kids, bills, it's life, we all know how it goes and works.

Going into the month of December; again I realized my period was missing in action. So I again brought the subject back up to my husband. Who was shocked I brought the subject back up. His response?.... I thought you got your period? Really ? He was in complete utter shock. I waited till the next morning to test, too much going on the night before to test.

I walked in the bathroom that morning, put my little dollar store test on the counter and did my business. No need for gritty details there. Nervous, I was. I watched the test, I watched the test line appear, bright, bold. There it was on the test, 2 pink lines, indicating I was pregnant, with child. A life had formed inside of me. When I thought I could no longer do it.

Everything raced in our minds. What would we do? We were in no position to have another child. But the child was there growing inside of me.

The race was on to find out where this child was inside of me. Remember I had the Essure procedure done. And I will definitely write more on the logistics of that procedure in a later post. The following Monday I went to a local woman's center for an ultrasound to find out where this baby was inside of me. Unfortunately due to the Essure procedure they would not do the ultrasound of me and referred me to the emergency room. So, off I went. Made a few phones with little information to make sure the kids were taken care of while I would be there and my husband was at work. I stopped by my husbands work to talk to him, get support. Then I traveled to the hospital, checked in and waited...and waited...& unfortunately waited even more. Finally my name was called. We all know the emergency room routine.

When the ultrasound tech came in, they did their thing and finally I begged them, I couldn't wait any longer. I begged them to tell me, not to make me wait for the dr to analyze everything and then talk to me. She knew the pain in my eyes. She took a minute and thought, then proceeded to turn the screen towards me and smile. There's your baby hunnie, she said, perfect, happy and content right where he or she is supposed to be in your uterus. While she didn't tell me how far along I was, that's ok. I knew my baby was ok. The doctor finally came back to see me. She confirmed I was pregnant. She said I was about 10 weeks pregnant. 10 weeks, I thought. Oh my god, I really was pregnant. Everything made sense. Constant nausea, tiredness, everything your typical pregnancy comes with. The joys of pregnancy.

I called my husband to relay the news. He was shocked but happy. I was just waiting to be discharged. I wanted to be in my husbands arms more then ever. I needed his safe arms to wrap around me and tell me everything would be ok. That we would be ok. While we didn't know exactly what the future held for us; we knew it would involve one more precious child....

How do you go on?

2016-04-03T23:38:00.002-04:00

Since I have gotten the ability back to get this blog going again; I come back to the question "How do you go on" Just continue to pick up the pieces of life and keep going. Over everything that has happened, I don't know how to do it, I just wing it. Or how do you even explain everything that has happened. Well you have to start somewhere...

As I sit here in this bed alone and reflect on everything that has happened lately; I am so much stronger then I thought. My mother always taught me "God doesn't give you more then you can handle". I didn't realize how hard it is to verbalize the words in my mind right now.

What I can say is that as my family goes on, we have had a birth, a death, and a separation of a family. We have survived many "1st" since then; but the big 1 year that started all of these is fast approaching.

My heart is racing as well as my mind. Maybe I'm not as strong as I thought I was, or maybe I'm stronger then I really thought....

So Long Ago

2016-03-14T09:32:00.000-04:00

Hopefully this blog will finally be back in business. WOW, I just looked at the last post and Wow, over a year ago. Back in March of 2014. So much has changed. While so much is very significant in life, It will take time to get it all out. We have had births, deaths, separations. While no details now in this particular post. Please keep on the look out for what has been going on.

Cloth for All Campaign

2014-06-09T10:24:00.000-04:00

Eleven years ago on June 9th, my life was changed for the better. My gorgeous, amazing and precocious daughter Rebecca was born. She has always been my inspiration, brings out the best in who I am, and without her insightful question “The Rebecca Foundation’s Cloth Diaper Closet” would have never been.

In celebration of Rebecca we are officially launching our Cloth for All campaign (#cloth4all) designed to break the stigma surrounding cloth diapers. Its purpose is to help teach the world one family at a time that today’s cloth diapers are simple, safe, and environmentally responsible not to mention “OH! So cute!”. We truly believe that regardless of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, economical background or geographical location, anyone can cloth diaper.

We put the our team to work behind the scenes reaching out to some amazing companies that we wanted to do a HUGE giveaway celebration for the launch of our campaign and our brand new website. The immediate and overwhelming response from sponsors and bloggers was more than we expected. These amazing companies believed in what we are doing and were 100% on board for celebrating this event by providing some incredible gifts that we will happily pass along to you.

For this giveaway we will have 1 grand prize winner with a total estimated retail value of $1000.00. Be sure to follow this blog and The Rebecca Foundation’s Cloth Diaper Closet Facebook page for updates.

<3 Amanda La Bell
Founder and Executive Director of The Rebecca Foundation's Cloth Diaper Closet

Entry -Form

Disclaimer: This giveaway is open to the US and Canada only and to readers 18 or older please. The winner will be emailed and will have 48 hours to claim their prize or another winner will be drawn. The participating bloggers and TRFCDC are not responsible for prize fulfillment.

5 Reasons Why I Choose to Cloth Diaper

2014-05-29T22:44:00.000-04:00

When Hubs and I decided we wanted to make our family complete with one last child; I started researching money saving ideas for our new bundle of joy. I stumbled upon cloth diapers, I knew very little, but I was very interested. Once I read more and more; I was hooked on doing this for our child. I wish I would have cloth diapered Toddler A. Now, how was I was supposed to approach Hubs about this, HAHA, I just dove in and said "Hey, what do you think about cloth diapers?" I showed him some pictures and articles and he said "OK" OMG, Really it was that easy, I thought it was going to be hard to convince him, but it was way to easy.

When when we found out I was pregnant, and people said well start buying diapers now, and start stocking up, we said "No, thank you, We will be clothing diapering Baby M" Oh you should have seen the looks, and the comments. I remember when my niece came to visit, and we both changed our babes, and she said "I cannot believe you do that, its so gross" I said no its not, Baby M rarely gets a rash, and only leaks if i forget to change him ontime (Yes, sometimes it happens) I said how can you resist these cute prints. I wish I could have converted her, but she was dead set on them being gross, thats ok, but what do you think was on your mothers butt as a baby or me for that matter my dear, Yup, Grandma cloth diapered. Or what about 100 years ago...Yup cloth diapers...Now granted cloth diapering has changed from 100 years ago, when there was prefolds and little plastic pants, Oh how we have evolved :)

The #1 reason why I cloth diaper is the money savings aspect of it. Think about it really, It can cost over $1200 to disposable diaper your baby in just the 1st year alone. Now some kids are not fully potty trained until at least 3 years old, and possibly 4 years old. Do you know what I could do with $1200, yup, pay bills, or put it away for a rainy day...Nah, Id pay bills. So instead of wasting $7.00+ for a pack of diapers that may or may not last me a week, I choose not to, and use these adorable print cloth diapers that serve there purpose as a glorified poop catcher.

The #2 reason why I choose to cloth diaper is less diaper rashes. Most cloth newbies don't realize that microfiber should not go against your babes skin, and that is where 90% of rashes come from In my opinion. Other times it could be the type of detergent you are using, or possibly not using enough detergent to wash them, so they aren't getting as clean as they should be. There are over a million reason why babies get rashes, but one thing I do know is Baby M rarely gets them.

The #3 reason why I choose to cloth diaper is less waste. Yes, I am going green a lot lately. With having 5 kids, I do my best to be wise with all my choices, and I hate waste and trash. Do you know how long it takes for just ONE disposable diaper to decompose???? No one knows the exact answer, but it takes an estimated 250-500 years for just ONE disposable diaper to decompose!!!! That is insane, to think that all those diapers used on my 4 previous kids have not fully decomposed...EWWWWW

The #4 reason why I choose to cloth diapers is the fun adorable prints!!! Oh my, if you think it, its can be a print. From superhero prints to character prints to flowers or animals, the sky is the limits with cloth diapers, If you can dream it, it can be a cloth diaper print. Baby M's theme is Camo, you better believe we have one Its Kawaii Camo print. Hubs loves Superman, Yes, we have one of those too, it is a JC Trade.

The #5 reason why I choose to cloth diaper is how versatile they are...Disposables are made one way, one fit, one cut style. But wait, Not every baby is the same size. With cloth diapers, sometimes you will try several types and not all fit each baby the same. There are AIO's (all in ones) which is like a disposable, but not. There are fitted diapers, Pocket diapers, AI2's, Hybrids, Covers and prefolds. You will find what works for you and your baby the best. My stash consists, of pockets mostly. Some fitteds, I have 1 AIO, and some prefolds and covers. I used to hate pockets, but I have grown to love them. In the beginning we used prefolds and covers. I generally trifolded the prefold, now if i use them, i doeither a jelly roll fold or the angel wing i think its called.

There are 5 reasons why I cloth diaper Baby M. I have tons more reasons, but those are my top 5 reasons.

Here is Toddler A and Baby M. He is sporting a Thirsties Duo Diaper in this picture. Its not the one I want to show off, but Facebook is driving me crazy looking for the exact picture I want to show.

Explanation for lack of posting....And upcoming posts....

2014-05-19T22:42:00.001-04:00

Here is my other reason besides being tired for not blogging a lot and yes, that is changing, but here it is...

Yes, that is my entertainment center. Excuse the mess. But do you see how the laptop and TV have the exact same screen on them??? Yes, our laptop is hooked up to the TV, and that's how we watch movies or TV shows. We do not pay for cable. We have access to Hulu Plus and sometimes streaming from other site. So its a huge pain in the rear to disconnect everything and pull it down along with the cooling pad. Then when I'm done blogging i have to put it back up there and reconnect everything, plus restarting the laptop, or else the laptop screen will not display on the TV. Yup big pain in the butt....But right now its not in the cards to get another computer right now.

Now of course the kids don't really play a major part of why i don't blog all the time. But Yes, it is much easier to blog after they go to bed. The house is quiet and I play Pandora on my phone, while I sit on the couch and blog. Its kinda of soothing.

I have a few upcoming blog posts. One of them being my monthly volunteer hours for The Rebecca Foundation. Which will be titled "Why I choose to Cloth Diaper", another post is going to re-visit Family Routines, I know ours has changed since the last time I wrote about ours. And I would like to do a post focusing on our family, being hubs and the kids. Maybe even a "How we met post" Haven't quite decided just yet, how i will work that one. And I am still working on the 2nd Chapter of Mr Max's life :)

Ok, its late, and I got 2 blog posts in tonight, time to relax and watch a movie and wait for Hubs to come home from work, and I have work in the morning

Made from Scratch

2014-05-19T22:28:00.002-04:00

I don't cook from scratch very often, with 5 kids to feed it tends to get hard to cook daily from scratch. But this past weekend was my weekend off from work, i got a wild hair up my booty and decided to make lunch from scratch while the kids were at church.

On the menu this past Sunday for Lunch was Homemade Tortillas and re-fried beans, Bean burritos!!!!

I found a great recipe for homemade tortillas from this great website

http://stewartship.wordpress.com/2012/07/13/homemade-tortillas-made-16-for-50/

And re-fried beans are easy to make whether you do it from canned pinto beans or dry beans. Except dry beans takes longer then canned beans. But since i started this on a wimp i used canned beans. And just added 4 cans of pinto beans to a big pot on high to start, i used all the liquid in the cans except one, and next time, I'm only doing liquid from 2 cans. It did take awhile for the liquid to cook out. Add your favorite seasonings and let them get to a good boil them cover and set on simmer, and every so often mash them babies up. Use whatever you have, a fork spatula. A potato masher works the best, but since I don't have one, I used a cup, it worked just the same and better then a spatula which is what i normally use.

They loved it, but my husband did not, because his job was to roll out the tortilla dough and make the tortillas. i cooked them up and did the beans, then made the burritos for the kids. They were a big hit. They loved them. My tortillas looked nothing like the picture, but they were yummy. Lunch was a great success!!! Now onto dinner.

Dinner was just as good. i decided to make pancakes from scratch, and I wish i would have checked my flour situation after making the tortillas from lunch because i probably never would have made homemade pancakes because i had to make them stretch and my kids can eat a lot!!!! But they were full and that's all that matters, and I was shocked they were full.

Here is the website i used for the pancakes. It is an egg-less recipe. But not because i don't like eggs, we definitely love eggs around here; But i used all the eggs making homemade egg salad earlier in the week.

http://www.egglesscooking.com/2011/06/27/eggless-pancakes-recipe/

It was a big hit. I will definitely use this recipe again. Just making sure i have plenty of flour on hand because my kids love pancakes.

Cooking for my family takes skill. There are 7 mouths to feed. Regardless of if the hubs is at work, he likes to come home after a long day at work and open the microwave to find a plate made up for him of whatever we had that night for dinner. We really have to make our dollar stretch. Making sure I provide healthy by filling meals. And sometimes its easy to make a huge pot of rice, throw in some canned meat, and some veggies and serve it up, its quick and easy. they are still getting the protein they need, but they are also getting a hearty filling meal and believe it or not, they love it, and even more when i throw some brown gravy on it too. Those nights are lazy nights when i don't feel like standing in the kitchen for at least an hour cooking, and its actually easier then spaghetti, which is another quick go to meal in this house.

I have nothing against homemade from scratch cooking, but it does not fit well with my family. Honestly crock-pot cooking is the easiest with my family. I can make up all my meals on shopping day, and then freeze them. Put them out the night before and toss it in the crock-pot and let it cook all day while im at work or out running errands and when the kids are all home from school, dinner is done, minus and side items or possibly pasta to go along with dinner.

Welcome Baby Max

2014-05-16T23:22:00.000-04:00

About 6-7 weeks after the lose of our Angel baby; We were surprised to know we were pregnant again. We were thrilled and ecstatic but somewhat reserved as we had just experienced a lose. We were very cautious in announcing the baby as we were still mourning the lose of Angel.

At our first appointment the first thing to do was make sure this was a new pregnancy or not. So my fave Midwife brought in the portable ultrasound machine, turned that sucker on and we saw our little bean. She measured our little gummy bear and It was a new pregnancy. If I had possibly been pregnant with twins and lost one and kept the other the ultrasound would show in the baby's measurements, but this little bean measured right on track for 9 weeks along. So definitely a new pregnancy. We were given a due date of 12/16/2012. Oh lord, now we will have 4 birthdays in December.

My pregnancy went very smoothly. I didn't have any serious issues. They did some genetic testing that I did not have with Toddler A. I found out I am a carrier for Cystic Fibrosis. I was shocked. I did speak with my sister about this, and she told me in her last pregnancy with her little Baby Z, that she found out she was a carrier as well. So in trying to put together which parent we got the mutation from we determined it was our dad. How easy was this figure this out...We are actually half sisters, we share the same dad, different mom...Thankfully after my husband was tested, he tested negative. So testing stopped there, because the chances of Baby M being born with Cystic Fibrosis, with only 1 parent carrier is slim and rare.

One of my biggest concerns in this pregnancy was that I did not a repeat c-section. Unfortunately Toddler A was a c-section 4 years prior. Our hospital did not support nor allow VBAC which is Vaginal birth after cesarean. So we were on the hunt for a hospital that would allow me to attempt this. We found that Holmes Regional Medical Center in Melbourne, Florida, would allow me to do just that.So next we were on the hunt for a Dr in Melbourne that would take me as a patient, as time was running out. I chose Hibiscus OB/GYN, Dr Wagaman. Oh how I love this woman, She was awesome, We were so happy we switched to her.

Oh yes that's me 40 weeks ready to go. We did have a false alarm on 12/12/12. Little man was just practicing for the big day. Our last appt was on 12/17/2012, We were basically told that if he doesn't arrive by 12/23/12 to be at the hospital at 6am on 12/24/12 for induction. We had tried everything to get him out. Long walks, heck i was even walking to Walgreen's or even the electric company to get this kid out, but he was just so comfy. We tried sex, NOTHING, He was comfy and was not budging for nothing!!! We even tried the dreaded Castor Oil with zero results.

On Friday 12/21/12 was my last day of work. Hubby was also ill and i was catching his sickie germs, not good when i was about to have a baby. I went to Walmart later that night and got the last of the chicken in the deli and I was craving jalapeno poppers, So you better believe I grabbed them too, and went home. At the time the only kids we had in the house was Twin N, Older T was at a friends house, Twin E was also at a friends house, and Toddler A was at his dads house. I ate my glorious food and went to bed...Her comes the middle of the night with the nasty braxton hick contractions, that were just frustrating me. I did get some sleep and woke up in the morning on 12/22/12 in tremendous pain. I started timing contractions, and sure enough those bad boys were coming regular. I continued to time them, and it was getting a bit intense. Now I have to tell you that this was supposed to be the day we took Older T and Twin N and E to their Bio Moms house, Hubs looked at me and said what do we do, I said well we could get into the van and see how far we get, he said yea, we would get as far as Melbourne.

Hubs Brother B showed up and said Uh...She doesn't look so Hot, Oh thanks I appreciate that Dude....Then our neighbor J showed up, and he said oh let me grab the phone, you need to call the dr, shes in full blown labor. Brother B rounded up the kids, and took them until things got figured out. Hubs talked to the midwife, and she said lets go, get her up there. And thank god it was our favorite midwife on call. So we called hubs Mom, and said "Its Go Time" and wouldnt you know since it was sooo close to Christmas; Traffic was torture, but she made it to get us. She helped me with my breathing on the way, and ended up putting the hazard lights on and put the pedal to metal and said if we get pulled over, you make it look like that baby is gonna come out in the car, HAHA.

We did make it to the hospital in plenty of time, thankfully; No Baby M was not born in the car. I was checked in about 1pm-ish. My water still had not broken. But i got hooked up to the glorious monitors, and time to wait. Everyone know what happens in labor....They broke my water around 7-8 centimeters.

Well I went from 8-10 centimeters in 12 minutes, HOLY Crap are you serious. Your telling me i did it!!! And wait I did not have an epidural or anything, just a shot a stadol to ease the pain, but I still felt EVERYTHING!!! Unlike my Epi with Toddler A. So now I have to push. Lets go, lets push this baby out. I had my Mother in law on my left and Hubs on my right! I can do this. After 2.5 hours of pushing Baby M was born.

Baby M= Maximillion Lee-Wayne Frazier was born on 12/22/12 @ 10:29pm. He was 8.4lbs and 20.5 inches long.

Unfortunately when they broke my water, they noticed meconium in my water, which meant Baby M had a bowel movement. So there was a possibility that Baby M had swallowed some, but since there was no distress on the monitors at the time, there was no rush to get him out. Well when Baby M was born he was not breathing well at all. We were all very nervous, It felt like a lifetime for him to cry, I was so scared something was really wrong. Finally he cried, but it was weak. It was found that Baby M did swallow meconium. They gave me the horrible news that he was being taken to the NICU, my whole world had coming crashing down. My baby was leaving me. How could this be, my pregnancy was perfect compared to Toddler A. How could this be, what did i do to deserve this.

And what was even worse was that since i had developed a fever in labor, that broke immediately after birth, I was not allowed to hold Baby M till i was fever free for 24hrs. The next day they told me I could see him after 3pm, You better believe I was counting down to that moment, and The nurse came in at promptly 3pm and checked my temp and said with a smile "Are you ready to go see Baby M" Oh My God yes, Lady, lets go as I am dragging her out of the room

Baby M, my angel

Mommy and Baby M

Hubs and Baby M

That day that we got to finally hold Baby M, is when we found out exactly what was going with him. He was born with a collapsed lung, better know a pneumothorax. And hopefully it would correct itself with the next day. The lung corrected itself within 2 days. But then poor Baby M contracted Congenital Pneumonia and had to be treated with antibiotics.

On Christmas day They asked for permission to perform a Spinal Tap to check for meningitis. Which we agreed to. Regardless he had to be treated with a 10 day antibiotic, but they were going to give gim credit for the days he was already on the antibiotic. So as long as the 72 hr results for the spinal tap were negative for meningitis Baby M would come home in a week. Again i thought what did I do wrong to deserve this. My baby was so sick. The worst part of all was that it was Christmas Day and my baby was not coming home. I was being discharged, but my baby had to stay. I would never wish that on my worst enemy. The feeling to leave the hospital without your baby is heartbreaking. The hospital did let us stay one more day; we left the next day.

We did visit him only once, because we were on one income at the time, and were not able to afford to drive the 45 minutes to the hospital. We called the NICU 2x a day, because they had 2 nurse shifts, So we got a report on his progress from his day and night nurse. And thankfully everyday Baby M was on track to be discharge on 1/2/2013. Oh the day came, I was so happy to wake up and re-leave my swollen full boobs of yummy delicious milk for Baby M that i was pumping and I had been stock piling in the freezer. I called the hospital as soon as Toddler A woke up. They said Yes, he still being discharged, but the doctor was not there yet. We couldn't wait, we left at 10:30 am for the hospital, I wanted my baby!!!!

Baby M getting dressed in his coming home outfit, bought by my mother in law...Almost there, he was fully fed, which is the golden ticket to breaking out of that joint!!! Just waiting on papers to sign.

Here we go, already to close this chapter of Baby M's life, and start writing the next chapter in the Book of Life. We left the hospital and got Baby M and Toddler A in the van and headed up to Sanford to get Older T, and Twin N and E from their Bio Moms from Christmas vacation.

Now if you made it to the end, I commend you :) In the next week or 2, I will write a post looking back on Baby M's 1st year of life, and then another post regarding Baby M's current health issues.

Upcoming Product Review and Possible Give-Away...

2014-05-16T22:00:00.000-04:00

Oh what's this you say....An upcoming review and possible give-away, Yes you read that right. I know its been forever since I did anything like this, but I need to get back into the swing of things with this blog. So i definitely have a product review coming, and a possible give-away.

The product I will be reviewing is the new Soft Cup for women. This is totally something new for me. I started with regular ole pads, and I hated them, felt like a darn diaper, and no one wants to feel that when they are at school or work, No bueno.....Then I started using tampons, I actually loved them. Could never feel them, changed them every few hours, Was able to swim without an leakage, bascially tampons solved all my pad problems...Love it....

Well after Baby M was born my period drastically changed. It turned horrid actually. Bascially I will go through pads and tampons combined within an hour or 2. That totally sucks, and makes my life a living hell to say the least. Work became stressful, but I would leak so bad, I would have to go home and change my clothes, or the cramps were so bad, I went home period for the day.

I havent had the chance to venture to cloth pads, but a better alternative to chemical pads, money issue there. But i did some research and discovered Soft Cup. And they had openings in their blogging/review group, and I snagged up that slot, You bet I did...

They sent me a nifty little package. I wish i had a picture of it, but since im writing this so late at night. My little package is in my room where Baby M is sleeping, and No one goes in there while Baby M is sleeping unless hubby and I are going to bed....You never wake sleeping Baby M at night, he gets grouchy, and no one wants a grouchy Baby M.

HAHA Ocsar the Grouch, Yup, Baby M can definitely be Oscar the Grouch...Ok, Ok, enough on grouchy Baby M, Back to the point of this post...Soft Cup...Unfortunately mother nature has not been kind to be lately, and hasnt given me the full ability to use soft cups on a consistent basis, enough to review it fully and honestly. But I'll be damned if the next time she rears her ugly head, I will have a review up and ready :)

Congratulations to my Daughter Tara

2014-05-16T21:43:00.001-04:00

So my daughter Tara has been wanting to do cheer leading since she was in 5th grade. It was one thing she couldn't stop talking about trying out for when she started 6th grade. Originally she went to Storm Grove Middle, but when her dad and I moved out of their zone, She was moved to Gifford Middle. At first her father and I did not want her going there, but to the area the school is located in, but the school has has an A+ grade for the past 11 years. Once she got there and started she absolutely loves it. Yay!!!!

So Tara tried out for cheerleading in 6th grade going into 7th and unfortunately she did not make it :( We were all upset but I told her that it was ok, and she could try out new year and look at all the experience she gained while trying out, she was uneasy, but I reassured her that she would shine next year.

So here we are 7th grade going into 8th grade. Try outs came around. She did the 2 day cheer clinic that the coach offers to help the girls get ready for try outs if they choose. Coincidentally try outs were on the same day they were going up to their Bio moms house for the weekend/Mothers Day. So she had the link to check the site later that night and i did as well.

Well I tried to check the site while I was driving home from Sanford, but I was unable to focus. Eyes go on the road!!! No worries, no accidents :) About a 1/2 hour after I got home, and got Baby M to bed, She calls me from her Bio Moms phone and asked me if i had a chance to check the site, and I said "No, i tried, but I havent been able to yet" she screamed I made it!!!! I made the Spirit Team!!!!

OMG!!! Im so happy and proud of my baby girl. She did it, She made it,

Now here comes a fun filled summer and new school year of practices, pep rallys, games, and competitions.

Here is Tara, One of the newest members of the Gifford Middle Spirit Team Cheer leaders. Tara in her shirt that she wore the following Monday to school along with all the other members of the Spirit Team and Competition Team to let the whole school know they made the team!!!!

Lack of Blogging

2014-05-16T21:12:00.001-04:00

Wow, Lately I have really been slacking in the blogging department. Things in the Frazier household have been very busy lately. I haven't been busy with work unfortunately but definitely busy with the kids, and hubby's work.

I have been very tired lately. My fibromyalgia has been kicking my butt lately. Busy life reaks havoc on my fibro. But I definitely have some great news in the family and also some bad news. But screw the bad news for now, and honestly its not bad news, just not considered the greatest news. Regarding Baby M's health.

Hopefully I can get my butt in gear and just suck it up and blog at least 2x a week.

The Rebecca Foundation

2014-02-23T15:54:00.003-05:00

As most people know we started to cloth diaper our toddler D when we started trying for Baby M. Through lots of Internet research I came upon a site called "The Rebecca Foundation" It was started by Amanda La Bell in the name of her eldest daughter Rebecca. Helping low income families be able to cloth diaper their child or children, by supplying them with a diaper loan package for up to 1 year.

I started my adventure with them by applying for their program. I received a response and was put on the "On the line" program waiting for my application to be accepted. Shortly before Christmas 2013 we were taken "Off the Line" and went through the process of getting our diapers, and in early January 2014 we received our diapers.

We received 10 diapers varying from fitted diapers to pockets with inserts included. We also received several fleece liners a wetbag, and cloth wipes.

All packages that are sent out vary due to how many different types of diapers each chapter has to lend out.Not everyone receives the same thing in their diaper package.

The foundation also helps Military Families who choose to cloth diaper as well. You can learn more about Operation Fluffy Bums by visiting this link Operation Fluffy Bums

To apply for their regular program Please visit this link Domestic Application

The run solely on donations, If you have any diapers you no long need or diapers that need fixing. They would be willing to accept these diapers and fix them up for their applicants. They also have a program where you can sponsor a family, to help with the financial part of sending these diapers out to families in need. To find out if you can help out the foundation please visit this link Giving

Please visit the Rebecca Foundation if you are family in need of cloth diapers or want to sponsor a family in need of getting diapers please visit The Rebecca Foundation

Back Again :)

2014-02-23T15:04:00.001-05:00

Yay My Piece of Heaven is finally back in business. We have full internet again on our laptop and I am fully able to start the blog up again. Everyone has missed alot.

So a brief run down on what everyone has been missing. Is we did get pregnant again, We welcomed Baby Max into the world on December 22nd, 2012. On a side note I will be making separate posts on everything to catch everyone up. We moved! Hubby got a great job and a new promotion. We welcomed our closest friends new baby on February 19th, 2014 Baby Tre. I am so happy to have internet back, Im sure all bloggers would understand.

Coming Back Soon

2014-02-18T17:03:00.000-05:00

So for the past almost 2 years I haven't had a steady internet connection in order to keep this blog going; but in a few short days that will change. We are getting internet back in the house again. YAY!! I have so much to update and tell everyone about things that have happened...Just a few short days....Mobile blogging is not fun, that's why Ive been gone so long.

Mobile Blogging

2012-04-24T10:03:00.001-04:00

So due to unforeseen circumstances I will be trying my hand at mobile blogging. Why u ask? No internet at the house currently, but I still seem to get a decent connection without my fast wifi....

Hopefully everything will work out right. Still waiting on the lights to review, they should be here hopefully by the end of this of week or early next week. Then I have a yummy new product on it's way to review & offer a giveaway as well. So these products will be my first crack at mobile blogging

Join the Bright Starts Ultimate Baby Shower Giveaway

2012-04-22T19:28:00.000-04:00

Bright Starts Ultimate Baby Shower Giveaway

Bright Starts, Mom to Bed by 8 and Iowa-Mom is excited to present the Baby Shower Event from May 7th to May 28th. This is a free blogger event and accepting signups now.

Join the Bright Starts Ultimate Baby Shower Giveaway event today, grow your readership and offer one amazing baby shower gifts giveaway!

Finally Working Again.....

2012-04-18T13:55:00.001-04:00

I am finally working again....YAY!!!!! I have 2 jobs actually. Working part time at Lenscrafters, and part time for H&H Cleaning, where I clean one of the local Wells Fargo banks in my area. I am enjoying both jobs. The bank job (hehe, I said bank job...OOO) is 6 days a week with Sunday off. I can go anytime to clean after 6pm, just have to be out 11pm. It's really easy...A monkey could do it, LOL. I really enjoy Lenscrafters. I was excited to get that job. I am not only just looking for a job, but finally get a career under my belt. And bank cleaning is not my career, that is just easy money. But Lenscrafters, I can easily turn into a career.

First off, if I was a licensed Optician, I would be getting better pay. And considering I wear glasses/contacts, and almost my entire family wears glasses or contacts...Why not. I love the new styles of glasses.

I definitely have some upcoming posts for everyone. Some are hilarious and some are serious. I am still running my Prenatal Giveaway, if you haven't entered yet, do so, by going here. There are still 11 days to enter!!

Upcoming Things...

2012-04-07T00:01:00.000-04:00

Things here have been stressful, but no need to bother anyone with my boring life details. I do have an upcoming review of String Lights I will be be doing once they arrive. Also will be doing a review of a new Cloth Diapering product as well, again once I receive the products and try them out, I will put up the reviews. I am still doing my Prenatal Giveaway, Link here

You do not need to be pregnant to enter the giveaway, I will never restrict my giveaways to types of people, Now if I have to restrict it to US or Canada it will say so in the post. But back to the Prenatal giveaway, again you could be Trying to Conceive or have a friend who is pregnant or Trying to Conceive. Remember taking prenatals while Trying to Conceive helps aid in the conceiving process as you are actively readying your body to carry a successful pregnancy.

And I definitely have an update to do about my job situation; But I want to save that for another post.

Now off to get the kids off to bed, get some cleaning done, and then back to the computer for some me time...

Bedtime Stories

2012-04-03T15:24:00.001-04:00

Do you have specific bedtimes you read to your little ones at night?? We have 3 read to our smallest; Goodnight Moon, Love you Forever, and Spot goes to the park. Those are his 3 favorites. Although he loves the Dr Suess books, they are long to read for bedtime.

Goodnight Moon was written by Margaret Wise Brown, an american's children's book. It is a highly acclaimed children's bedtime story. It is about a child saying goodnight to everything (as written by Wikipedia).

"In the Great green room, there was a telephone, a red balloon and a picture of The cow jumping over the moon....You know the story. I have been reading Andrew this story since he was about 3 months old. It has became a huge favorite of his to read at bedtime. If he wakes up in the middle of the night, he will ask for me to read the story to him before i lay him back down in bed. I can read the story without the book, and when he is half asleep is the only time I can get away with reading the story without the book or else he will ask and bed for the book because he loves the pictures.

Goodnight room, Goodnight moon, Goodnight cow jumping over the moon....We got to the point where we handed him the book a year or so ago and let him turn the pages while we read the story. Nathan and I had a system of reading it. He read one page and I the other page, and continued till the story was over.

Goodnight stars, Goodnight air, Goodnight noises everywhere....

Love You Forever was written by Robert Munsch. It tells the story of the evolving relationship between a boy and his mother. I cannot read this book without shedding some type of tears somewhere while reading it (as written by Wikipedia).

A mother held her new baby and very slowly rocked him back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. And while she held him, she sang: I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always, As long as I'm living my baby you'll be.

My mother read this story to me when I was a child. I remember my mother holding the book and reading it to me. And I too remember my mother shedding tears while reading the story me as well. I didn't buy the book for Andrew till he was over a year old. And starting reading it shortly after. It took him awhile to get into the book. He does sit in my lap for bedtime stories. When I read these parts of the stories "very slowly rocked him back and forth, back and forth, back and forth" I do rock him back in forth while I am reading it.

When the son came home that night, he stood for a long time at the top of the stairs. Then he went into the room where his very new baby daughter was sleeping. He picked her up in his arms and very slowly rocked her back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. And while he rocked her he sang: I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always, As long as I'm living my baby you'll be.

The last book Andrew asks for his "Spot Goes to the Park" It is written by Eric Hill. It is an small interactive book.

This book actually belongs to a series of books that Eric Hill wrote, that was later turned into a popular children's animated series on television (as written by Wikipedia).

I do not even remember where we got this book. I believe it was a hand me down book from friends, or possibly somewhere else. But Andrew loves the book. It is very short, so it is normally the last book I read, but he begs for me to read it first, but I always save it for the end. It is not a pop up book, but there are parts of it where Andrew can flip up a cover and see something new.

Come, Spot. What are you doing? (under a flap), I'm getting my ball. And drew always points to blue on the ball saying "That is my favorite color mommy, BLUE"

These are Drew's favorite bedtime stories...What are your children's favorite bedtime stories???

Still Searching for work....

2012-04-02T21:40:00.001-04:00

So on March 22nd my seasonal employment with Hale Groves ended until November later this year. I was one of the few kept on as long as possible. Wondering what I did there?!?!? Originally, I took from order for Hale Groves, but then I was moved to the Internet department; where I answered incoming emails for Hale Groves, and also was on Live Chat. In the end, I was mostly Live Chat and did some extra marketing work.

I was so sad on my last day, I had to get all my stuff...But my manager said he put my paperwork through to HR, and I was eligible for rehire for the upcoming season, I will be contacted when season started again. Also possibly there will be summer work for me too, so my manager asked if he could keep in touch with me over the summer. YAY!!!! I applied for my unemployment last Monday and I got my determination letter in the mail today, of course I was approved, YAY, that will help out tremendously.

Even before I applied for my unemployment I was filling out job applications, and even more now. I have been on a few interviews, but nothing concrete yet. It has definitely made things hard, but we are getting by. Rent is paid, food in the house, electricity and water are on, kids are happy and that is all that matters. Everyone now a days goes through rough patches with the economy being so bad lately.

Lately Nate has been getting upset with the amount of time I have spent on the internet, but its not like I'm on Facebook or Castleville or my blog ALL day, Mostly I am filling out job applications or searching for jobs to apply too. Plus with his sleeping schedule he has no room to talk, LOL. But he is the only one working in the family and I am busting my booty to find another job. Right now even if I only find part time work, it's better then nothing at this point. He wants me to go back to serving and although I want to as well, I don't know if I really want to go back to serving. I almost want to go back to office work for awhile. I think I need a change of job scenery.

I have a few draft posts I am working on, not ready to publish just yet. I sent in a survey for a review of a child's toy, I hope I get it. Still have to finish my post on Hazing and Bullying, plus my Birdie's Playhouse post....So much to do on the blog, with not a lot of time in the day to do it all in.

One thing I have been thinking of doing, and a general rough day by the hour of how our day around our house goes. It can get quite interesting...

So I am off for now...Going to go work on the blog drafts and check out Craigslist for some more job posting...Toodles for now....

Perfect Prenatal Giveaway

2012-03-31T01:32:00.000-04:00

I am so happy to be doing my 1st ever giveaway. And what makes me even more happy is that it has to do with pregnancy. I am giving 1 lucky winner a bottle of Perfect Prenatal, by New Chapter.

New chapter Prenatal is a whole-food multivitamin; That includes whole-food folate that is specifically formulated to nourish both mother and baby. Taking a daily multivitamin is more like an "insurance policy" that covers the nutritional gaps that are left by a less then optimal diet. Here is direct link for more information on the New Chapter Perfect Prenatal

One thing I do like about this Prenatal while reading over the information I noticed this prenatal can be taken anytime of the day even on an empty stomach. I remember trying to take my prenatals in the morning, and it made my morning sickness worse, tried during lunch and that wasn't any better either. I was only able to take my prenatal right before bed. This can make any momma comfortable about taking their prenatal.

Upon looking over their website their offer all types of supplements for men and women. But also Probiotics, and Therapeutics. Take a look at what New Chapter has to Offer. Also take a look at Best Price Nutrition and see what else they can offer you or a member of your family. You will not be disappointed.

Now on to more about the Giveaway. Again you getting 1 bottle of Perfect Prenatal, By New Chapter. This giveaway is for anyone. You do not have to be pregnant to enter. Remember even if you are Trying to Conceive, starting to take a prenatal daily is recommended my doctors to help in the fertility process. Since this is my 1st giveaway, the entries are low. Good Luck to the winner. Go to the Rafflecopter below to do your entries.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Hale Groves

2012-03-29T09:16:00.000-04:00

Do you love Oranges??? They are the premier fruit from Florida, my home state. All kinds, Valencia's Navels, Honeybells, you name it, Hale Groves grows it right here in beautiful Indian River County Florida. Not only Oranges, but Grapefruits, and other delectable treats.

Hale Groves was started by Mr. Steve Hale. When he was just a student in college on Spring Break he visited Vero Beach, Florida. He met an elderly man, who showed him his mail order fruit company; Mr. Hale became intrigued. After he graduated college in 1940 with a Mechanical Engineering degree, he was sent off to war, he completed his service in 1946. He then packed his wife and 2 kids up and headed back to Vero Beach, Fl. He started a small fruit stand along Highway US 1, their shed is where they packed the fruit, and their home was their office. Their first customers were just a small list of friends and family. From there the list grew, and they are now the leading company in the fruit industry.

Hale Groves is very unique in their process. When you submit your order, the fruit is still on the tree. Hale Groves does not use cold storage of any kind to store fruit waiting to be purchased and shipped. Everything is fresh from the groves. While you are looking over what you want to purchase, in their groves, the Grove Manager is constantly checking the fruit for the perfect conditions to pick the fruit. If it's not just right, they will not allow any fruit to be picked; They wait till it is just perfect, then they will allow fruit picking to be done, and orders will be filled. That is the #1 reason why the fruit is not shipped at the time the customer requests it. They need to be sure the fruit they are sending out is absolutely perfect!

Not only can you find Oranges and Grapefruits at Hale Groves. But they also sell fruitcakes, Brownies, Key Lime Pies, Florida Stone Crabs, Candies, Honey and Jellies. Everything they have is delicious. I grew up receiving this fruit at Thanksgiving and Christmas time. I always knew there was something good when that Orange box appeared. Now granted I also grew up have an Orange Tree in my backyard; But at the holidays it was nice getting their fruit. I vaguely remember getting pears at Thanksgiving, and Oranges for Christmas.

The fruit doesn't have to be in season to order it, You can order anytime of the year and it will ship when harvested, or you select that perfect date you want to receive it.

Check out the bottom of my blog for a link back and a special code for savings off your 1st order. Or Click here

Are you a Morning Person?

2012-03-27T10:03:00.000-04:00

You would think with 5 kids running around my house that I am morning person....NOPE, I definitely am not a morning person. One of my good friends posted a great link on Facebook the other day and I finally have time to share it with you. I will attach link, but also give my take on these steps.

The article is from Circle of Moms. if you haven't been there yet, Please check it out. The article is called 7 tips for becoming a morning person. Here is the link to the actual article http://www.circleofmoms.com/article/7-tips-become-morning-person-03316

Step 1. Resolve and Stick to a New Wake up Time. Now essentially what they are staying is if you want to start getting up @ 8am, set the alarm for *am, but "Don't hit the Snooze button" If you do, you know you will go back to sleep, and either sleep through the snooze the 2nd and 3rd time around or just completely sleep through and then not wake up till the same ole time you always get up. You body will eventually adjust, but you have to get up.

Step 2. Start your morning with coffee, If your not a coffee drinker, some can start the habit up. I was never a coffee person till my son was born, but I learned quick that it helps wake me up in the morning when he was an early riser. After he turned a year old, he wasn't much of a morning person. So I can sleep in, but with my older kids (stepkids), I do get up early, but my downfall is I crawl back into bed when they get on the bus. It just looks so comfy. If you feel you will never been a coffee drinker, there are other ways to help get you going in the morning. Maybe get a hot shower, or Go for a job in the morning. A great way to get your heart started, then come back to get that hot shower to cool you off.

Step 3. Keep Fatigue at Bay by staying Busy, You have to stay busy; Or fatigue will hit you, and it can over power you, But do not let it. Wake up, get your coffee. Are their dishes that need to be done from the previous night? Did you not get the toys picked up from the previous night either? Those are just 2 things to keep you busy. Maybe start that laundry that never gets started till Noon or later....See I know the wheels are turning in your head thinking of all the things you could get accomplished if you just stuck to getting up earlier in the morning.

Step 4. Play during the day, Not at night. I know it might be easier to sit on the computer and get those things done that you normally do after the kids are in bed, but try doing those in the morning, get them done now. As the day goes on write a list for the things you want to do tomorrow.

Step 5. Try Melatonin. Some do not know, but our body actually produces this naturally. Ever wonder why babies sleep so much. The abundance of Melatonin they have in their system. Our whole life we make it, but as we get older our body doesn't produce as much as when we were born. But they make supplements that contain Melatonin to aid in what our body does not produce, to use us sleep. Actually my parents both take this nightly for as long as I can remember. I also did as well when I was in my teens.

Step 6. Adjust your Schedule Gradually. So instead of changing your bedtime from 1am, to 10pm, do it slow, the first night go to bed at 12:30am, then the nest night maybe 12:15am or 12am. Every night go to bed a little earlier until you reach your goal bed time.

And last but not least Step 7. Take a Multi-Vitamin. Now I actually do not take a multi vitamin, but Nathan does. He takes Centrum Multi-Vitamin, for men under 50. It is also designed to support enegry and help protect against Stress. Which is something he needs. Nathan carries a lot of stress with his job. They promote energy and help us get a good start to the day.

There you have it. 7 tips to become a morning person. The article is a great read, and there are more featured articles on the site that are a great read as well.

Busy Morning...

2012-03-26T13:08:00.000-04:00

Wow, We had a busy morning in the house today. Woke up @ 8am to get my older kids on the bus. Then got dressed, woke up little bug and got her dressed for school/daycare. Then woke up monster man to get him dressed and ready for his appointment @ the doctors. Told the little ones to wake daddy up to say goodbye before we headed out.

Stopped by the gas station to get gas, the van was on empty. Sometimes we run it dry. Gas was $3.85 a gallon...Holy Crap!!! Gas is getting expensive. Little bug arrived on time and went on the playground before class started. Then off to the doctors to get monster man in to see his Pediatrician. We arrived right on time. YAY for Mom's super driving, LOL

Had to pay a few co pays. Got him back in the room, he weighs 31.6lbs, WOOHOO, Way to Grow Monster Man!!!! The reason for his visit was last Thursday night he was complaining of an earache, and I'm thinking on here we go again with that, he becomes a horrible bear when he gets an ear infection. Friday it was still bothering him, but his dad said he didn't complain of it hurting all weekend while he was there, but still went to the appointment for the reassurance. She checked him out and thankfully his ears were clear!!! YAY, she checked to see if his 4 year molars were possibly coming in, and sure enough he has some swelling in his gums where his 4 year molars should come in, so that was probably the cause of the pain. She stated it might become more frequent as they come in, but just monitor him, and if I had any questions to call her. She is an awesome doctor!

One appointment down, 1 to go!!!!

My appointment was reassurance that my body had a natural miscarriage and no intervention was needed. Which Nathan and I were positive that is exactly what happened, but I needed that reassurance and had questions, that no matter how much research on the internet I did, i would rather confirm those answers with a medical professional. I peed in my cup to do the pregnancy test. The nurse asked me a series of questions, that included How many pregnancies I have had, including live births, miscarriages and abortions; My last period, when the miscarriage started, etc....The doctor came in, and stated my pregnancy test was negative which was good, he did an exam, also a pap smear, since I was a little overdue for one. She stated my miscarriage was complete, no medical intervention needed. YAY for my body doing it correctly. I asked him if I can ovulate without have my period after a miscarriage and he stated yes, I told him I suspected I ovulated a few days ago, he replied with my cervix looks as ovulation possibly occurred. He said if my period doesn't show within 2 weeks take a test, if it is positive go ahead and call the office and they will schedule an appointment for me to see their new OB/GYN, she is new and wonderful. I agreed. He stated we can start trying again when we feel comfortable. We were not actively trying, but not necessarily preventing, just going with the flow. He told me to continue to take mt prenatal.

I was happy with the appointment. And now we are going with the flow for a few months...