3 gifts of Christmas....

The three gifts of Christmas.....


Baby Jesus received 3 gifts on Christmas: Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh. When I was pregnant we heard about a friend of my mom's who gives 3 gifts to her children for Christmas and 3 gifts only. At first I thought this was crazy, but then after talking about it Joey & I thought it was a great idea. What a great way to keep CHRIST in Christmas, to bring the religion back, and try harder not to focus on the materialism. ( don't worry...theres not a 3 gift rule for birthdays!)

So we've decided to adopt this tradition too, and teach Adelynn about it as she gets older. Don't fret, we're not mean ol' parents! She'll still get spoiled by grandparents, aunts, uncle, friends and family. But I feel like what a great way to keep it about Jesus??

I've also heard of: 'Something you want, something you need, something you'll wear, and something to read' (which is 4 gifts I guess) but I think that is a great one too! I've never thought hard about the whole gift giving thing for Christmas but being a Mommy now I've truly stopped to think about it. Makes sense to me! So we'll be instilling this tradition in our little family :)

I am SO excited to shop for her- we already got her one thing, it is so tempting to go ahead and give it to her!! but I put it away in the guest room with the other Christmas gifts and am fighting the temptation  I can hardly wait till Christmas morning to see her crawl out and open gifts! Its going to be the best Christmas BY FAR!

7 months.

 

 

(Late again...bad mama)

 

7 MONTHS! 11/12/12

 

Her first birthday will be here before we know it. NOT READY. (but have I already decided on a theme....yep!)

 

Random facts about our baby girl.....

 

-Still 3 bottles a day, and food twice a day!

-Introducting baby signing & sippy cup this month!

-Crawling like a pro and pulling up on EVERYTHING.

-She has stood up a few times holding on to nothing; yesterday she did it 4x in a row! early walker? I think so!

- Favorite game is STILL peek a boo! she can't get enough.

- Sleeping through the night again, finally!

-Her top two teeth are taking their sweet time coming through, I have a feeling that'll be the news for her 8 month post. (she's getting her two front teeth for christmas!)

- Napping 2x a day anywhere from 2-3 hours

- Saying Dada like crazy, and I THOUGHT I heard her say MaMa yesterday...could be wishful thinking on my part.

- Getting in to books, or trying to! Her interest has grown but shes too busy to sit still right now.

- Kicking her feet is her new thing- she kicks everytime you lift her up, shes in the car seat, shes in the excersaucer...kicking away!

- Started "singing" a lot more, when shes just waking up in her crib, cutest thing ever.

- Little missy has officially found the camera/monitor! she looks right in to the camera, it is hilarious! Shes even managed to pull it down in her crib and play with it, so THAT will be moving somewhere else soon ;)

 

Overall she is still our happy girl, laughing always, and busy busy busy all the time. we have truly been blessed with an AWESOME baby girl!

Merry Christmas From The Rickels!

Stationery card

View the entire collection of cards.

Times are tough so I won't be mailing out as many cards as I usually do-- so this will just have to work! ;) I have been SO MIA, new job has been keeping me mucho busy. But Merry Christmas from me and mine to you and yours!!! (even though its not technically December yet....can ya tell I'm excited!?) I'm so excited since it is Baby's 1st Christmas!! *Cheers!*

work & friends.

i have been MAJORLY slacking on blogging. i miss it. life has just been SO dang busy, which is always the excuse but its true.

i started my new job two weeks ago-- so far its going well, i'm still learning of course. i've been a project coordinator before but its different- not only because its a different company but its a Sub instead of a GC, different software, different procedures, etc. its going well and everyone is really nice! i have my own office- WITH A DOOR woo! ;) its added some time to my commute, so it takes me about an hour each way but its really not bad. its just cause of traffic- which isn't fun but i enjoy my coffee and listen to The Bert Show! i get 30 minutes for lunch which has been the biggest adjustment- i used to use my lunch hour to run errands cause i never have time after work. so thats been the hardest part- not too bad huh?

(just call me...corporate kelly!)

we've been hanging out with friends a lot lately-- friday night on the way home from dinner with friends we were both talking about how happy we are to have such an awesome group of friends, everyone gets along, and we're all on the same page in life- which just makes things so much easier. Angela & Patrick are expecting their first little one in January and Ash & Trey have their first due in December (on Joey's bday!). i grew up with P and Trey so have always loved them, but we've gotten closer now that we're all adults and i'm so glad they found such awesome wives. i adore all 4 of them and so does joey :) ash is joey's 2nd wife, and trey is my 2nd husband lol its our running joke and just goes to show we really love eachother! its amazing how alike the 4 of us are, scary actually! P has always been a brother to me and i'm so glad to have him, so blessed to know him, and so happy we're in each other's lives more & getting closer--and Ang has quickly become a close friend who i feel like i can go to about anything. i'm so glad they are in our lives, and consider myself lucky that we get to be in their lives and their new little ones. so excited adelynn will have some insta-BFFs ;)

( trey & ashley!)

(joey with his second wife ash, and me with my second hubs trey!)

(P and Ang-- and baby Faith!)

( the two pregos! cousins, 5 weeks apart! Ash/Amelia and Ang/Faith!)

i miss britt so bad-- i got so spoiled seeing her everyday at work, eating lunch everyday. i miss her :( we text and email as much as possible and hang out with the guys every chance we get. she came to see adelynn on Halloween, brought her a card/candy/toy- i thought that was so sweet. shes been there from the day i found out i was pregnant so its been cool to have her there with baby from day one. just goes to show how much she loves my daughter, and that speaks volumes to me. b and i have been friends since 9th grade, went off to college together, live in the same neighborhood, worked together, our husbands worked together- i am so glad this friendship has lasted. she is so important to me!

(Baby and Aunt B on Halloween!)

my gfbf Vik- i am so dang proud of that girl its not even funny. i dont get to see her as often as i'd like, mommy/wife/life/work keeps me busy :( i miss her and our coffee dates. when joey was deployed vik was my other half and i saw her on the reg! she is doing amazing, as i always knew she would. graduated, working full time at gwinnett medical as a surg tech-- i couldnt be more happy for her! her bday is coming up and we're doing our tradition for the 4th (or is it 5th?) year in a row! dinner, twilight tshirt, movie! sad its the last movie in the series :(

(my pretty gfbf and her pup, RIP Jun!)

Neen, my neen! she and i have been sisters since 5th grade! she got married in Sept. and her, J, and shell bell moved out here to loganville- couldnt be happier! life keeps us both busy so i don't see them as often as i'd like, but shes the friend that we can pick up where we left off no matter how much time has passed. she has kicked ass in life, and i am so proud of her.

(my neen and J after saying' i do' !)

i guess this blog turned nostalgic huh? just feeling so thankful for our friends, and all these awesome people in my life.

adelynn is going on 7 months old, jeesh her first bday will be here before we know it!! she said Da Da yesterday and hasn't stopped! joey grins so big every time and cant get enough :) its pretty dang cute. i've been trying to figure out what i want to get her for christmas!! SO FUN!

lots going on. but for now i'm hittin the hay. hubs is watchin the falcons (am i the only one who could care less about football??) and i'm dreading the work week starting! weekends need to be longer! so i'm signing off for now and going to relax for a bit before sleep! really hoping i can get back to blogging more- i enjoy it, whether people read or not- I LOVE it. so hopefully i'll be back :) for now i'll leave ya with some cute pictures from baby's first halloween!

*cheers!*

6 months.

Running a little late with this one....whoops! 6 MONTHS! HALF A YEAR! I cannot believe it.

At 6 months.....

-17 Ibs 13 oz
-26 inches
- 2 teeth
-2 naps
- 3 bottles
-CRAWLING all over the dang place, shes a quick one!
- Pulling up to stand on everything, and so proud of herself every single time. She smiles at me like "look what I did Mommy!"
- Self soothing like a champ; got in to a bad habit of rocking her to sleep (selfishly, I LOVE IT) but after about a week we got her back to self soothing.
- Bed time is anywhere between 7 and 8:30.
-She smiles and laughs at everything, has started "talking and singing" to herself and LOVES TO PLAY!


All in all, as always-- shes awesome :) SUCH a joy, so happy, and I just adore her more than anything in this world!!

I took her monthly tutu picture in the same onesie and headband from her very first one at 4 weeks, just to compare :)

Ch Ch Ch Chaaaanges...

Well, a LOT has changed since my last post. I've been slacking big time the last month on blogging, things have been CRAZY!

First the biggest change-- I start a new job soon. CRAZY. I was with the same company for almost 3 years,  I was comfortable there, comfortable in my job. I'm so proud of how far I came-- I started there as a front desk receptionist, but in my time there managed to get moved to 3 different positions. I assisted Accounting for a while, then was a Project Manager Assistant, and finally a Project Coordinator. For someone like me who did NOT graduate college, and only having experience as a receptionist, this is a huge success for me personally. Leaving was a hard, emotional decision. I feel like its a private matter as to why....so I'll leave that one alone.
BUT, this new job will be great for our family. Finally some benefits-- lord knows we need health insurance! (don't worry, baby has it) Its been SO LONG since we've had insurance, who knew I'd ever be so excited!? The fact that I'm starting this job as a Project Coordinator, really makes me proud. Maybe its not a big deal, but for me it is. I'm not starting off at front desk, reception, or as a secretary and having to work my way up. I'm starting right where I want to be. I'm nervous, like the first day of school-- all new people, new company, new procedures to learn...its intimidating but I see it as a fresh start. I'm looking forward to starting, and being seen as an adult- finally. NOT a kid! I'm going to get all new, PROFESSIONAL clothes, and really try to start off on the right foot!

In the meantime, I have two weeks at home to play SAHM with my baby girl :) I'm really enjoying this time with her, its going to be hard to leave her again. (As I'm typing this shes sitting on my lap just watching!) She is FULL BLOWN teething so its been a rough few days, but we're hanging in there. I hate hearing her cry, it breaks my heart. And she seems to have developed a  bit of separation anxiety at night time- she wants to be held. and LORD do I LOVE holding her :) But as soon as I put her down she stands right up in her crib! We're working on it :)

Speaking of that-- we've had quite a few milestones here lately!

4 months: She started scooting
By 5 months she was FULL BLOWN CRAWLING! In the same night she stood up in her crib, and when we went in there to lower it we stuck her on the floor and she took off crawling!
Now she is 6 months and ALL over the place, she also can pull herself up and stand, she is so strong! AND...we have TWO teeth!

A lot happened all at once, she is growing so fast. She also had her first plane ride! We flew to Baton Rouge to visit Joey's family- she did amazing. She didn't cry at all, she was so laid back and really went with the flow. We had a couple rough nights there but I think its just cause she was over stimulated and hardcore teething. But overall she did awesome.

I can't get over how fast shes growing, it really does fly. Even with the teething she is so smiley and happy. Has so much fun playing, and crawling all over us. She is just HAPPY. Even with things being rough at night here lately, she is amazing. But maybe I'm just biased ;)

I'm looking forward to my new start work-wise. I still wish I could be home with her, but for now I'm content with whats going on. I think this will be just what we need, and be a fresh start all around.

No time for pictures-- miss adelynn is ready to PLAY! We're stayin' in our PJs all day and just going to lounge around and PLAY. Soaking up this time with her :)

Till next time..... ;)

drug addiction.

Zoloft? a drug addiction? you wouldn't think so!

Lordy lord-- this drug saved my life after I had baby girl, I was quickly diagnosed with a severe case of PPD so I NEEDED it. However...it's now become impossible to get off of.

You can see my PPD story *HERE*

I was put on the generic form of Zoloft, Sertraline. A low dose of 50mg I took once a day. It was like a light switch, it totally saved me. I was told I was required to be on it at least 3 months otherwise I would have a very likely chance of relapse.

Those little blue pills saved me. But, its very bitter sweet.

After my 3 month mark I decided to wean off. For a few reasons:

1. I had no insurance so it would be $25 every month for it

2. My Rx had run out (convienent) and my OB will only renew it if I come in to see her, which would cost me $78 out of pocket.

3. I eventually want to have another child, and there are TONS of studies on birth defects because of taking zoloft while pregnant.

4. I've never consistently been on meds and never really wanted to be.

So I decided to wean. It is a 4 week process (recommended by my OB)

Week 1 : take a pill every day

Week 2: take a pill every 2nd day

Weeks 3: take a pill every 3rd day

Week 4: NO MORE PILLS

I have failed, miserably...twice. The side affects are unbearable. For me they consist of the following:

Dizziness

Racing heart

Nausea

The 'shutters'

All flu like symptoms

It was impossible to go through all this while being at work, then coming home to my family. I was worthless. At one point I literally laid on the damn floor in my office, and I did NOT care who saw me. You know when you were in college and would get super drunk, and the room would be spinning? and it would be worse when you closed  your eyes? and the only cure was the 'wall trick' where you'd lay down, close your eyes, and put your hand flat against a wall? No..? Was that just me? (well p.s. it totally works!) THAT was how bad I felt, and I totally did the wall trick.

I think I've probably messed myself up even more by trying to get off of it twice, back to back. My chemicals are probably all kinds of imbalanced! I called my OB and spoke to her and a nurse, asking for help/suggestions...I was told I was doing it the right way and I just needed to suffer through it. amazing.

So my game plan now? Get back on it. Dish out the money for me to go in, see OB, get her to give me a little piece of paper and be on my way. Frustrating! BUT I think I need a break from the weaning business. Its too awful to keep feeling this bad all the time- been dealing with it for 2 months with zero success! I'll stay on it for a while before trying to wean again, but I really do want to get off of it eventually.

Don't get me wrong, Zoloft saved me from my PPD and I'll forever be grateful for that. If you need it, its a wonderful thing! Just be prepared to be on it for life, or go through hell trying to get off of it. I know people who have been on it for YEARS because they haven't been able to wean off of it. Sad story.

If anyone HAS tips to wean, do share- I'd love to hear them! In the meantime...heres' to my addiction ;)