Connor's Birth Story

Happy Tuesday!

I had a pretty good weekend. Saturday, Josh worked on his new truck while I got us lunch and went to the store. Sunday, we went to our nephew's birthday party. which wore us all out! And yesterday, Zoey and I hung outside while Connor was sleeping. Zoey never slept as much as he does. He slept almost all day.

Now let's get to why you're really reading this.

Connor Alan: Monday Nov. 28 2016/ 9:28pm/ 7lbs 11oz/ 19.5in

I went in for my 41 week appointment the morning of the 28th. I had been dilated for 4 weeks already, the last two I had been dilated to a 5. I was very irritated, being extremely pregnant and going in just to hear I had no progression. I went in for my 41 week appointment the morning of the 28th. The weekend before my appointment, I felt like I was losing amniotic fluid, but I second guessed myself and figured it was normal. I brought it up while talking to my doctor. She did a test and it came back negative, we went through the routine prenatal check up and options for the next week. She glanced at the test strip again and it was positive. She brought Josh into the room (he was in the waiting room watching Zoey) and told us that I needed to be induced and get him out. I was pretty bummed because I wanted to go into labor on my own. He is most likely my last child and wanted to experience it. I called my mom and told her it was a go. I was so nervous.

We got into the delivery room and Josh had to leave to get Zoey to her Papaw's and get our bags. The nurse told me that I was allowed to eat up until I was given pitocin. Not wanting to eat hospital food, I asked Josh to get a donut or muffin. He left and I got hooked up to monitors. The nurse asked me if I was having contractions... No, just braxton hicks (and if you've read my previous posts, you know I had A LOT of them). She proceeded to tell me that they aren't practice contractions, they are the real deal. I was going into labor! I was so happy. They put off the pitocin to see how fast I was going to progress. My mom and dad got to the room before Josh did and my mom immediately took me out to walk around. I never really had the chance when I was in labor with Zoey. I was either in severe pain or sleeping.

My contractions finally started to hurt on the way back to the room. Josh finally had gotten back and I ate. We pulled out the birthing ball and I bounced on that for a while. During that time, we were all laughing and having fun. Just thinking about it makes me want to cry. I am so lucky I have such a  supportive family. They kept me distracted through the pain.... Until I was given pitocin.

I was not progressing fast enough and they had to move it a long and get Connor out. It was urgent but it wasn't going to be a slow relaxing process. The pain really started coming. They gave me a heating pad that your rubbed to warm up ( it didn't work very long). Josh tried so hard to help with the pain. I had all back labor with a little in my stomach. I waited and waited.. it felt like hours before I got my epidural. Anyone who prefers natural labor; all power to you.. not my cup of tea. I believe I was 7cm by that time. The poor nurse kept turning me to get me into a position to encourage Connor to lower ( he was still VERY high when she checked after I got the devil stick in my spine). She did this for about 15-20 mins and I told her I was a lot of pressure. She checked me and he was right there. I had to refrain from pushing for maybe 5 mins until the doctor got in. He sat down and told me to push. I pushed for about 10- 15 minutes and he was welcomed into the world.

My appointment was at 8am and he was born 13 hours later. He fed for an hour the first time and he latched on perfectly. My parents left and we were sent to a mommy and baby suit. I fed him one more time before I finally fell asleep. Josh was already passed out next to me. I laid Connor in the bassinet and I slept for I think 6 hours. I woke up BEFORE Connor! Have you ever heard such a thing? Not even a day old and he slept for more than 6 hours... He didn't sleep like that for another 2 1/2 months. At 4 months old, he still doesn't sleep through the night.. Or in our room. We sleep in the living room. I'm still stuck on the couch y'all!

So, there is Connor's birth story. That is my fuzzy memory of it. He is my little mama's boy. He is screaming for me now for a bottle and Zoey needs to go potty (she on the big girl potty now).

Hey, Remember Me?

So... my desk and computer are FINALLY set up! Big updates y'all, are you ready for this?

I'M MARRIED! October 12th 2016. We haven't had the wedding yet, we're going to wait until hopefully this October. Wedding plans will defiantly be updated on here.

Our baby boy was born! Obviously! November 28th 2016 9:28pm. I was 2 days shy of being 41 weeks. Yes, 41 weeks! He was 7lbs 11oz and 19 1/2in. He is a beautiful little boy. I love him to death! He adores Zoey!

I got my license! Heck yeah! It makes things so much easier on us.

I had the moderate dysplasia removed a few weeks ago! And for the next year, we're going to keep an eye on it.

I think that is about it. Now that there is two little turds in the house (not including Josh), my schedule is going to be iffy until I get into a better routine. I will try my damnedest to post twice a week. Monday/ Friday? Tuedsday/Thursday? I don't know just yet.

3 1/2 years old and these are her trees!!! Am I the only
one extremely impressed?

When Life Gave Me a Miracle!

I sit here writing this.. already in tears. Going through old pictures, shows me how much you have grown up. You have pushed through so many obstacles in life. You went through crying and crying while you were colic, your lactose intolerance, your ear infections, your speech regression, countless nights of running around when you had your nights and days flipped.. You always tried to stay our happy little girl.

I can't believe it has been 3 years since I first held you. You have changed so many lives!

When I look at you, I see a smart, energetic little girl. Curious about everything around you. You get so excited so easily. Waking up in the morning or seeing Daddy after a long day of work. I can't even imagine what you will be like a year from now. You change so much everyday. You have your ups and downs, but I would take all of your downs as long as your are standing next to me.

You are going to be an amazing sister! Learning and teaching each other everything.

Happy Birthday Baby Girl! You are my world!

You Are 3 Today!

My crazy weekend!

Holy moly! I haven't had a weekend like that in awhile. By the time it was all over, my brain was shutting down and my body was not having it anymore.

So, Friday's blog was supposed to be How-To plan a party on a budget. That obviously didn't happen, haha. I didn't get to sit down for more than 20 minutes very much. When I did, I was either eating, passing out or working on something for Zoey. All that matters is that Zoey had fun.

I'm so glad we could throw her a party and my parents could throw her one, too. My family finally saw the true Zoey, because she was home and comfortable. She talked and talked and talked.
Everyone had fun and Josh and I loved seeing how much she has grown and how much she has changed in the last year.

Messy face!

Saturday's party:

 We threw this one and sadly only her Papaw and Grandma showed up. We got all of the decorations at Dollar Tree. It is pretty much the same quality as the decorations you would get at a superstore (like Walmart). Between her decorations and presents, we only spent $21. I got her presents at Dollar Tree too. She is 3 years old, she'll end up breaking or losing everything. Even their toys are pretty good quality. They sell licensed products, like Disney and Nickelodeon. I don't remember them doing that when I was younger. For food, we got everything at Kroger. A lot of it didn't get eaten on Saturday or Sunday.  

Friday, I deep deep (yes, two deeps) cleaned the house. I bleached almost everything in the kitchen
and the bathroom. I even bleached the floors. After Zoey went to bed, Josh and I blew up a ton of balloons and I stuffed it into the hallway, so when Zoey woke up.. she would be surprised with balloons galore! She loved it! Connor was not happy with me that night, haha. I guess I over worked myself.





Saturday, I cleaned up the mess we made the night before. Dishes, swept floors, and put away our
everyday items. Put out snacks and made Zoey's cake. The "party" started at 1 and her grandparents had to leave about 3. We spent the rest of the day playing and of course more cleaning.

Poor Josh and his eczma

Sunday was much better. We went out for breakfast (Zoey's annual birthday breakfast). She had fun, even though she refused to eat. She got upset when we got back home, because she didn't understand that everyone was coming to us and not the other way around. I started dishes while Josh took Zoey outside to take down some ugly lattice. Took a shower and waited for everyone to arrive. My parents and brother got here around 1:30, followed my brother and his girlfriend, then my sister, brother-in-law, nephew, and niece. We all had fun. Laughed, ate, opened presents, and had cupcakes. For Zoey, she wanted to eat all the icing from the cupcakes. She loves all of her new toys . Everyone left at around 7:30.

I didn't get to sit down just yet. I cleaned up toys and tried to convince Zoey to lay down for bed. After I got her to lay down, it took about 10 minutes for her to crash.

Then, I was finally able to sit down. I looked at my phone for about 30 minutes. I grabbed my pillow and blanket and laid down on the couch. I don't remember after that. I woke up at 2 in the morning in bed... Other than being in excruciating pain, I was super confused. It took me a minute to move an inch. I eventually managed to get out of bed and moved back to the couch.

Zoey came out this morning rearing to go. She went from one toy to the next. Now she is laying next to me, I think she is warn out like me. I'm trying so hard to make this post sound good. If my sentences are choppy and confusing, I'm so sorry. haha. I'm sure many of you understand. One of those, zombie days. My brain doesn't want to function today. My body doesn't want to exert any energy. Thankfully, I had enough energy to coffee.

So, is it going to be a lazy day? Yes, it is. I'll get up for Zoey, but that's about it.

And, she wants to get a bath.. So, that means I need to wrap this up and get her cleaned up.

Zoey's Bestfriend (my review on the Fire Kids Edition Tablet)

Morning time with the tablet. 

Back in Feburary my parents decided to get Zoey a Fire Kids Edition Tablet from Amazon. Of course, when they first told me, I thought "she doesn't need yet another screen that she is glued to". Then I did some research on it. I mean, come on! A 2 year old with their own tablet?! That's quite young.

There are parental controls that lets you set everything! From time limits to educational goals! There are tons and tons of apps and shows. All of it is educational! You've heard about Zoey and her stubborn side. She won't respond to you if she senses that you are trying to teach her. I am being completely serious. With the tablet, she thinks it's just a game she gets to play or a show she gets to watch. There is no pressure for her to learn (at least that's what she thinks).

She even learned all of the primary and secondary colors on this thing!

It comes with a thick and rubber case that keeps it nice and safe. It's like if you wrap yourself up in a lot of bubble wrap and jump off a cliff! Trust me, I'm a doctor! No, but being serious...don't... just don't.

It has a 2-year worry-free guarantee. So, if your child or significant other makes you made and you chuck the tablet out the window into on coming traffic; you can replace it with no questions asked...By the company... CPS might have a few questions, though.. So, don't do that, either...

The feature that finally made me decide to let them get it for her was, Amazon FreeTime Unlimited. When you set up a profile on the tablet for your child, you get all of the age appropriate shows, apps, games, and books (10,000!!!) for free, for a year! Yeah, I know. My parents only paid $99. That's the most inexpensive tablet I've ever seen.

You can choose what color case you want. They have blue, pink, and lime green. Lime green is my favorite, but my parents HAD to go with pink.

I know this sounded very "infomercial...ly", but I do really love this thing, and so does Zoey.

Quiet time before bed with the tablet (if she makes it).

Happy Labor Day!!

How was everyone's weekend? Did you go swimming? Have a cook out? Did you be lazy? Did you drink and drive LIKE I TOLD YOU NOT TO DO?!

We literally did nothing Saturday. I didn't really like it, but Josh really needed it, so I let him. I just did a lot of work on the computer and drew a bit. Of course, we played Halo with my Dad and brothers until 1in the morning. Sunday (yesterday), we put a few coats of paint thinner on my desk. Let me just tell you, it is a pain in the butt! We thought there was only 1 color on the desk, but NO! Not only purple, there is also white and blue! I'm starting to wonder if there is even a wood finish under all the paint. I just want my computer set up!

 Josh cut the grass, because he refuses to let me haul my big baby belly around the yard and mow. We put up pictures on the wall, finally. Put the letters up on her door and some pictures on her wall.


I think it all looks really good. We still have a lot more to do before Zoey's birthday party on Saturday (which I'm also working really hard on). I feel kind of bad, because the only ones that are coming to her party are her grandparents and maybe her Uncle and Aunt, due to the fact she could go into labor at anytime. Holy roll on sentence, Batman. Thankfully her other grandparents (my parents) want to have a separate party. I guess, it's a blessing in disguise, since she doesn't do well with a semi-large crowd. And no, it's nothing personal against Josh's family, my family just doesn't get to see Zoey much and they are going to find the best date to throw a party for her.

I got some, not-so-awesome, news. When I took my glucose test, I also had to get my thyroid levels checked. I got the results back on that... But first, I'll give you a little back story if you don't know.

Over a year ago, I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism. In other words, my thyroid was barely working and that means my metabolism was pretty much non-existent. I was put on medicine (Synthroid) and I could tell my metabolism was started to boost. Five months later, they rechecked and it was still low. They bumped up my dosage. Another 5 months later (last weekend), checked my levels and.. still... low. They decided to bump up my dosage again.

I'm starting to think, it will never catch up. I'll be on this medicine forever. I have to take it every morning, before I do anything. I can't eat 3 hours prior and I can't eat an hour after taking it. I have gotten sick so many times, because my stomach wasn't completely empty.

Okay, Okay. I don't want this to be a negative post, lol. Back to my Sunday. After we got everything put up, Josh grilled out burgers! I don't know know why I never thought of this idea, but if you have a large mug (coffee mug/soup mug), you can make an almost perfect round patty! It made it so much easier and faster. I hate packing the patties. With the mug, it only takes me a few minutes to make 5 patties. The More You Know! I also made mashed potatoes (all that Zoey eats these days) and green beans. It was yummy, lol. 

Today, we are going over to Josh's Dad's house. A Labor Day get together. It is probably just going to be the three of us showing up, maybe his Papaw. It should be fun, it usually is. Swimming might happen today. I'm too warn out to swim, but if I have to get in with Zoey I wouldn't mind too much.

I have to get up and get laundry done and get everything ready to go. You know, adult things!

Make sure you follow me on Twitter, Facebook, and/or Instagram, to see how much we are going to have.

Disney Princess Lettering

Elsa and a snowflake, Aurora and a rose
Tiana and the "Wishing Star", Belle and books.

(Oh my gosh, I just watched a commercial for CarMax! I couldn't not stop laughing, "...because people don't like that")

Zoey's bedroom is themed around princesses and Disney princesses. I want to get her all the stuffs!!...but obviously, that costs money. What could I do to make her room the way I want it?! You make it of course! I got the letters before Zoey was even born, I painted them pink and brown (nursery colors), but it looked like

I had a lot of fun with this project. Between painting, drawing, and a couple comical moments. In the end, it looks super cute.

So, that being said; let me tell you my process.

I got the lettering at Hobby Lobby. They are wooden and have a hole in the back to hang on nails.

Original look

They start out as white, so it is easy to get the perfect color shade you want.

1. Painting Letters

• I used some acrylic paint that I already had laying around. 
• I did have to mix colors, but mixing colors isn't that hard. Just mix a little at a time until you get the color you want. 
• I chose blue, pink, green, and yellow/gold
• I didn't even bother painting the back. No one is going to see the back, so why waste the paint

Painting it gold

2. Drawing the Princesses

• I drew them on a separate piece of paper. I didn't want to take the risk of messing up and ruining the whole letter. 
• I stayed with the traditional colors, but you can venture outside the box and make it your own.
• Not only did I draw the princesses, but I also drew an item that is associated with them.
• Once I drew and colored everything, I glued them onto the lettering. I kind of regret using super glue, because it discolored the pictures, but that was really the only thing that I had to use. I could have used a glue stick, but that never sticks for long. 

3. Shaping

• I tried two ways of doing this.
• I lined up where I wanted the princess to be, carefully turned it over (you could tape it down as well) and outlined where I was going to cut the excess paper.
• Then I glued the paper on first where I wanted it then cut it along the edge of the letter.
• Both were about the same difficulty. Even though I outlined it, I still had to trim in when i glued it on.
• MAKE SURE YOU GLUE THE PAPER IN THE RIGHT SPOT!

Bahaha! Did that really
happen?!

NO! I glued the paper upside
down!

I did something a little extra and stamped the first letter of every princess at the top just for poops and giggles.   

It is so cute! Zoey loves them so much! 

Have fun making them everyone! Bring out your inner child!

For more DIY, click here.

Yes, Aurora is upside down. 

Beyond Scared!

" Ice Ice ____"

I know I scheduled Wednesdays as a "no post day", but tomorrow is going to be a busy day for me! I'd rather post one today, than not post another one till Friday.

I've been practicing my "art skills" the last couple days... I.. just understand why my hand won't do what my brain wants it to do. Last night I was working on head shapes and they kept coming out crooked. Either the jaws weren't aligned or one side of the face was flatter than the other. I can't seem to get it parallel.

Oh well, "practice practice practice". I know my next theme and I'm super excited for this one and I'll probably do it more. "Draw a Song". Close your eyes, put headphones on and just listen to music. What story do you play in your head?  What colors do you see? Who do you think of when the song is playing?

Okay, so to the the post, haha.

I love Zoey to death and she is my special little girl. She really gets to be a handful, though. If she can get me all worked up... what is it going to be like when Connor gets here? She is so intrigued by Connor now, but he is just kind of a concept to her. She doesn't know what's coming. She might think, "Connor is going to come stay with us and leave the next day". She isn't great dealing with change. She tends to act up, gets an attitude and she gets clingy.

I have been trying to teach her how to help me. Either, doing it herself or having her fetch me something. If you read the post about my concerns about her, you know she doesn't do well with instructions. If not, go check it out.

She is surprisingly gentle with fragile things. So maybe she will be gentle with Connor... but what if she isn't... My brain!! My anxiety!! Why do you make everything so complicated?! Thankfully, I will have the time with Connor in the hospital and then Josh will be home for about a week when we come home... That's making me think of babysitters for Zoey. Ah! It doesn't end.

Josh wants to get a SECOND job! Don't expect the house to be very clean. It won't be. I'll be busy with Connor's clustering feeding or dealing with one of Zoey's "I want" fits... But, I know in the end, I won't want it any other way.

I have 9-12 weeks left to figure everything out. By the way!! I am 28 weeks today. If you want to see my baby bumps, check out the "Pregnancy Updates" page.

Busy Sunday Rants

Happy Sunday!

That is a bowl.. on her head..
I don't know either...

Morning:

It has gotten to the point in my pregnancy, where I have to get up in the middle of the night and move to the couch. The pain in my hips and pelvis are almost unbearable. Not being able to sleep on my stomach, because there is obviously a baby in there. I can't lay on my back too long, because my back starts to hurt and I start to lose my breath (even sleeping with two pillows). My only option are my sides. Back and forth, back and forth. It is a lot of work moving from one side to the other, while pregnant a lone. Then you put pain in the mix...

Men or women who have not been pregnant... Imagine if you over worked yourself and your core muscles are weak and sore. Now lay in bed switches sides every 30 minutes.

In the end, it is all worth it, because here in about 10 weeks (I'm sure I'll deliver at 37-38 weeks), we get to meet Connor, our sweet baby boy.

Right now, I'm sitting on the couch, looking up at the TV and back down at the computer screen. Zoey is on the arm of the couch playing with my special Minecraft figurines, that Josh got me for Christmas and my birthday. I can hear her pretending the "baby" fell and got hurt, then the "mom" asking, "are you okay?", then the baby answering, "Yeah". It's the same thing every time she plays like this. I move my focus back to the TV, where Dexter is yet again trying to cover up his secret life.

Back to the computer, I start clicking at the keyboard again.

Afternoon:

You know.. I love making breakfast for my family, but it takes freaking forever!

My anger level is through the roof! We have been trying to get furniture over here for a few months now. We are so unorganized without that furniture! Well it is because Josh's dad has back problems, knee problems, and not to mention smokes 2 packs of cigarettes a day. He can't help carry everything up from a basement... and his brother? Well he had a heart attack and never wants to do any hard work now. BUT!! He can call up Josh, asking him to help build a shed... A SHED!

1. He is only concerned about his own stuff 
2. He asked at the last minute 
3. I had things to do today! I needed Josh here to help
4. Every time Josh goes over there, he doesn't return for hours.  

Ugh! Rants!

Evening:

Well, everyone is asleep now. Zoey played and played until she laid down for bed. Josh didn't get home until 10. I had a hard time staying on the computer today, everyone wanted me to do something and this post probably won't be up until Monday morning. Even though this was supposed to go up yesterday. OH! Which reminds me! I had my glucose test yesterday to see if I had gestational diabetes (standard test), thankfully it came back normal. I did notice that my white blood cell count was still high. It's been high for awhile! As in a year. We on earth could it be... It is a lot higher when I am having one of my infamous stomach "attacks".

So.. So gross!

Josh told me that he is going back to his brother's after his physical therapy appointment. He probably won't be home until 10 again... Oh well.. He's going to do what he wants to do, I don't control him. 

Bedtime for this lady. I want to be up on time to get back on a normal post schedule. Just a disclaimer though, this blog is still new and I'm still trying to find a rhythm. Bare with me until then. The schedule is not set in stone yet.

Editing will be tomorrow morning.

Little Man's Name!

It took us awhile to decide on a name. It was between two wonderful names. One I loved very much and the other had to grow a little on me. Alan was going to be the middle name no matter what. It is Josh's middle name, along with his dad, brother, and papaw.

Joshua Alan (junior)- Loved it! I could just imagine a little boy running around and calling him J.J. I thought it was adorable. Josh liked it too and the idea of his son being named after him, but he was thinking more rationally. It would get very confusing, there is already a Junior in his family, and when you look at my family.. There are A LOT of Joshs.

Connor Alan- I really had to think about this. I liked the name, I just wasn't sure I would name my son that. Josh liked it and that was rare. He didn't like any of the names I suggested. I thought about it more and more, Connor is an Irish name (Josh and I are both partly Irish), and get this his name means "lover of hounds". How adorable is that? I love the name now and I would never change it.

I think I will get this printed and nail it to his door (I'm working Zoey's, but that is for another post). Of course, it had to be a Cleveland Browns helmet! This family roots for the underdogs, haha.

Zoey has already started getting used to the name. Yesterday she hugged my belly and said, "Hi Connor". It melted my heart!

Now that we h
ave his name picked out, hopefully we can start on his nursery and start getting clothes and what not for him... Yeah, that hasn't started yet. I have at least 9 weeks (37 weeks full term) to go, and we are far from being prepared.

Is It More Than "Normal Speech Delay"?

If you don't know, Zoey has a speech delay and has a hard time with pronunciation. A little after her first birthday, Zoey stopped talking completely. Not even mama or dada. We thought it might have been from her ear infections and she would grow out of it. She still wouldn't talk, her only communication was grunting and pointing. You could tell she would get frustrated not knowing what she wanted. Trying to even make her a certain sound was impossible. It was like she couldn't understand me or hear me, we had her hearing tested a few times.. We put her in speech therapy and after a few months, she slowly started talking again. Even signing with her hands.

It took Zoey so long to get used to her therapist and when she finally did, she had to switch therapists (due to scheduling). We were back to square one. She was still talking at the same pace, but no progression. She didn't like her therapist at all and to be honest, I didn't either. She taught differently. A way Zoey didn't quite understand.

We pulled her out, because we were moving. It was stressful for everyone and the therapist was a good 45 minutes from the new house. When we pulled her out, she actually started to progress again. I worked and worked with her to talk more. She eventually started to repeat words. YAY!.... It wasn't over.

Her pronunciation got worse and worse. Was she just being lazy about it? Sounding out each letter, then syllable, then the word... over and over again didn't work. She sounded it all out just fine, but putting it all together didn't seem to be easy for her. She calls Josh, By. She hasn't called him daddy since before she stopped talking. I don't encourage it and also call him By. I call him daddy, but its still By.

She can't follow more than one instruction at a time and 70% of the time we have to repeat it. Example is "get a wipe", she either looks confused and goes searching for a wipe. She is potty training, so we tell her to get a wipe multiple times a day. I have had the wipes in the same drawer since she was 3 months old. Even in the new house, its in the same drawer, in the living room. it is very accessible. So, why does she have a difficult time completing a simple task like getting a wipe?

A few days ago, I was looking at other blogs to try and get more involved in the blogging community. There was a mother with a little girl that had autism. She is such a beautiful writer. It is called Go Team Kate. After reading and reading, it started to sink into my brain.. What if it is more than just a normal speech delay? What if she mentally can't process things?

Don't get me wrong, Zoey is a very smart little girl. She can figure something out in a heartbeat. She thrives on knowing how exactly everything works. How it is motorized. It is just that somethings can't be processed or it doesn't stick in her brain. She has learned many words and she has forgotten them. She was once able to count to 10, just a couple months ago. Now she can only say four and five. over and over again, like she is counting normally.

There are many other signs.

• Has a hard time being a lone in a room. We have to be in eye sight, or she starts to get scared.
• Restricted play skills. She plays the same scenarios over and over again, with defferent items (even her hands).
• Stimming. Meaning, a certain action or a certain item to calm down or comfort. She rubs and pulls on the corner of a pillow (it can't have a case on it) and she has to have her sippy cup.
• Loud noises alarm her. She cries when the vacuum cleaner is on. She won't stop until it is turned off. Any loud machines, trucks driving by, even a noise that is louder than normal coming from outside easily gets her attention.
• Cold and hot climates does not seem to effect her.
• Spins in circles over and over again (not sure if she does this for fun or another reason.
• She has a limited list of foods she will eat. It doesn't matter how hungry she gets, if she doesn't want it, it doesn't get eaten. It got to the point where I was so scared about her eating, I tried putting food in her mouth myself. She gagged like it was choking her. She has made herself throw up a few times to get something out of her mouth (potato skin on fries). She can go all day only eating one or two things.
• Problems with sleep. On a normal night without melatonin, would result in her staying up until 1 or 2 in the morning.  
• She can watch a show or an episode abnormally excessively. Either for hours, days, weeks, or even months. I can follow word by word on every episode of Noddy in Toyland. That show is the root of all evil.

I'm in no way an expert on Autism. 

She gets upset very easily, but she doesn't throw tantrums very much (that could be normal with toddlers, I don't know) Example: she will get upset if there is no where to sit on the couch. I don't just mean people but with her toys.. like her arms are broken and she can't move them. There was one time she started crying, because I wouldn't let her get on the roof. Her eye contact is fairly normal, nothing that is too concerning. I have a hard time getting her to look at me when I'm trying to explain something or pronouncing something.. I don't know, she has her 3 year check up in a month. If you have any feedback on it, let me know. 

My Daily Routine As a Stay-At-Home Mom

We all have a certain routine that works for us. Whether you work 50 hours a week, you do certain tasks on specific days, or even your routine at the store. Everyone lives by a routine, no matter how big or how small. Learning routine from day one of life. Newborns usually wake up every 2-4 hours, to get changed, feed, burped, and back to sleep. The more you grow, the more your routine changes.

Once you hit adulthood, it is your responsibility to establish a routine. To maintain your physical health, mental health, hygiene, and sometimes keeping your friends (no body would want to hang out if you smelled like a dirty jockstrap.. just saying).

I had very little routine for a long time (except Zoey's) and it took me hitting 250lbs and barely being able to get off the couch to realize that I needed to get myself in gear. I got myself on a fitness routine, I started waking up earlier, and ate at normal hours. Slowly, I was getting better.

My routine works perfectly for my family and me. It isn't a strict schedule and I don't do the exact same thing everyday.

Wake up:
I usually wake up to Zoey shaking me between 7-8 o' clock. Recently, I have been waking up before her around 6:30. That gives me time to watch the news, have some coffee, and sometimes have breaskfast...in the peace and quiet. Josh doesn't wake up until 7:15 on the weekdays for work.

Mornings:
First thing Zoey and I do is read a book (right now it is reading big sister books over and over again). She has always hated me reading books, but now she sits next to me and listens. Next, she watches her cartoons while she wakes up (takes her a while) and I get my bullet journal ready for the day. I turn on the laptop, check my emails, check Pinterest for anything inspirational, start my blog post, and drink my coffee.
After about an hour, we get breakfast... Well, I do at least. Zoey doesn't like to eat...period. I try and finish up on the laptop, get dressed and start playing with Zoey. Since I don't post on Wednesdays, I usually start playing with her earlier. On the weekends, we wake up Josh around 10 and have a late breakfast.

Afternoons:
I usually let Zoey tell me what she wants to do in the afternoon. Either the park, play at home, color, or whatever she wants. Every other day, she gets a bath before lunch. On Saturdays, I do some deep cleaning and we run some errands. On Sundays, we usually go over to his dad's house and hang out for the day. We "eat" lunch around 2 o' clock then pick up some of the toys. We play some more while we watch cartoons or if I'm lucky, a show I want to watch haha. We have been potty training the few weeks, so I try and stay in the living room.
Josh and I spend about an hour playing with Zoey or just relaxing from 5-6 o' clock. Once it hits 6, I grab my phone, turn on the music and start dishes. Josh occupies Zoey so she doesn't pull me away from the kitchen and sometimes she has a snack... again, she really doesn't eat. Dishes usually takes me about an hour... everyday...without a dishwasher... I'm still not used to doing it by hand haha.
After dishes, I start dinner. Sometimes, I have to start dinner early and kind of go back and forth between dishes and dinner (thank god for music!!). And sometimes, if I don't really feel up to dinner, we have left overs or something quick and easy (pregnancy can be exhausting). It's usually the same way on the weekends.
After dinner, we sit and watch tv and Zoey lays on the couch and watches some cartoons, I love that she likes more educational shows. At 8:30-9, we take her to bed. This has been her bedtime routine for over a year and has worked great! Before that, it took hours to get her to fall asleep. I'm not planning on changing it until she is ready. But! When we say bedtime, it's bedtime.
Every now and then she will fall asleep later in the afternoon and take a short nap. That makes it extremely hard to get her to bed, so we let her stay up for another hour.
After she is in bed, Josh and I spend time together; talking, cuddling, playing a game, or zoning out into the tv and our phones.

Not everyday works out the same way, but it's a rough draft and it works great for us.