Why Co-Sleeping is not for me...

Does anyone else get annoyed with the parents who promote what they do as the best and only way that parenting should be done?

Baby wearers.
Breast-feeders. 
Formula feeders. 
Gentle parenting.
Co-Sleepers.
CIO-ers.
Happiest-baby-on-the-block-ers. 


I want to know when parenting became a damn competition. 

Last time I checked I'm having a hard enough time doing this without dealing with criticism from others. Parenting is hard freaking work. No matter what "style" you choose, you should be praise for doing what YOU think is best for your kids. And just keeping them alive. Right? EVERY SINGLE CHILD is different. Therefore, some styles don't work for everyone. God didn't intend it that way. Since when did "it takes a village to raise a child" become "you better do it the way I think is best, or you're doing it wrong."

I'm over it. 

Anyway, Co-Sleeping. I love the idea of it. Sweet little snuggles and always being there when your baby needs you. 

BUT.... sleep, man.

I can NOT sleep when a child is in the bed with me. I can't get into that good, deep, sleep that body so desperately needs right now, because I'm constantly stressed if I'm gonna smother my child. And every. single. noise and movement wakes me up. Damn mom ears. All while my husband snores away peacefully at the other side of the bed. 

I am breastfeeding. Therefore, sometimes in the middle of the night I fall asleep while feeding her. Shit no I don't get out of the bed to feed her. Judge away. And I wake up usually an hour later and I put her back in her bed. Which wakes her up, so I have to feed her again. So, what could have been a 20 minute feeding session turns into 2 hours plus of not good sleep. 

And lets talk about the fact that I am CONSTANTLY with both of my girls. I love them to death. I would die for them. BUT mama needs her "grown up" time. So, for my sanity and my marriage, I need that little tiny amount of time to give to my husband. To give him my full attention and to actually talk to him. Strange I know. What do co-sleepers do about.... you know what? I need to find one and ask them. Because that is important. 

Elouise is still in our bedroom currently until we move, but just having her in her own bed does wonders for my sleep and sanity. I actually get to relax and just be KellyAnne... and not have to worry about being a mom. From the time she goes to sleep until she wakes up hungry around 3 AM, I can just be me. The silly, crazy girl that my husband fell in love with. To laugh and joke with him. Not to talk about the kids and what happened throughout the day. It does wonders for us both.

But I am saying all this without judging co-sleepers. Good for you. I sincerely think that it is a great thing for your bond with your baby and for you to always be there when your baby needs you. It makes your baby feel safe and secure. It is amazing. 

I don't really know the point of this post. Basically just to type out my frustrations about parents judging other parents. Give it a rest, people. This shit is hard enough without me worrying about what someone else is doing. 

Ain't nobody got time for that. 

Please Help!

Hello friends!

Hazel has been going to preschool for about a half a year now and in her class is a little who has Cystic Fibrosis. This little girl, Layla, is the sweetest and most polite little girl. She has such a sweet little heart. Her mom (who I work with) and her big brother also have Cystic Fibrosis. They are such a giving and Godly family and as of right now there is no cure for this deadly disease and we want to change that! My family is going participate in a walk to raise money for this disease and I need your help! If you can give any amount of money to help find a cure for this disease then I, as well as this family, would be so grateful. 

Click here  to make a donation. 



Layla is laying down beside Hazel being super cute.

Feel free to share this and get the word out! Thank you so much. 

Sad post.

So the other day I posted something on Instagram with the hashtag #myfitnesspal. 

Sometimes when I'm feeding Elouise, I click on hashtags and go through and see what others are posting. I've found some amazing and inspirational people that way. 

Not this day. 

This day broke my heart. I found someone's page who had used #myfitnesspal... Along with that hashtag, there were others likes #anorexic #bulimic #thinspo #bonespo #depressed.... I could go on and on.... 

I started clicking around and viewing these young girls (usually 12-16). My heart shattered. Every single one of them were or had been fasting. NOT EATING for 52 hours or more. Only drinking green tea or water. Usually 52 hours was the goal... not sure why? When they weren't fasting, they were trying to eat around 500 calories a day and exercising at least an hour a day. How incredibly unhealthy. People would try to comment on their pictures and explain to them how unhealthy it is. And they all attacked the one well-wisher. 

As for me, I didn't even try. I have been that girl. That teenage girl who knew it all. I used to have basketball practice for 2 hours a day, 5 days a week, and I would only eat dinner. I was 6 feet 1 inches and barely 170 pounds. I was a stick. And I STILL thought I was fat. All because I wasn't a size 0. 

I am big boned. I know that sound cliche but it is not physically possible for me to EVER be a size 0. My hips are just big. I am thankful for my hips. They allowed me to have 2 beautiful, big babies the natural way. But in high-school, I didn't think that way. I had friends who were a size 0 and I thought I was enormous because I was a size 10. 

I was unhealthy. Just like these girls. 

I wish I could explain to them how everything else is more important than the size of their jeans, whether or not they had a  "thigh gap", or what the scale says. But they won't listen. I know because I was that girl. My prayer for them is to just not do anything stupid before they can realize how they will never lose weight and be able to keep it off that way. 

All of them complained about being bloated, exhausted, headaches, passing out, and dizziness. I want to scream at the top of my lungs that is because they are literally starving themselves to death. Their bodies are in starvation mode. 

All of them complain that their mom and/or dad made them eat dinner. Oh how I wish I knew their parents so I could tell them how dangerous their teenager is acting. 

My prayer is that my girls know their worth. I want to convey to them that that is NOT healthy. If they want to lose weight and be healthy...GREAT! I will totally help them in anyway that I can. I want them to know in order to be healthy they have to eat foods that are good for them and exercise. Lift weights. Not just spend hours and hours on the treadmill. 

What also broke my heart is that these girls would post pictures of these incredibly fit girls who obviously have muscles and lift weights. It's sad to think that they can achieve those goals just by simply not eating. Those girls who are fit and are their inspiration eat healthy and lift weights. Or they would post pictures of girls like this 





All of these girls also express how sad/depressed they are. How no one understands them and they have no friends. How they just want to spend all day in bed so they don't have to be around food. Heart broken. 

I don't really know what the point of this blog post is. Basically just to get my thoughts out there in hopes that maybe one of those girls will read this and know that I HAVE BEEN THERE. I know what they are feeling. Life is SO much more than the number you weigh or the size of your jeans. In order to be fit and healthy, you have to EAT and you have to exercise. And if any young girls read this and need help please email me. I won't judge you. I just want to be there to listen and to help. 

:)

So remember when I blogged about the changes in the Scott Household? 

Well, now I will tell you! 

I know you've been sitting on the edge of your seat. :)

Jonathan had been working at the same job for over 3 years. He has gotten many promotions and raises, but basically he was stuck. He had reached the highest he could go. He's only 25. So being at the top of your game at your company and not making a TON of money is not very good when you just started your career. So pretty much for the past 2 years he's been looking and applying at other jobs and trying to find a new job. 

He found one.

It's in Midtown Atlanta and its at an amazing company. He is so excited and happy about the change in job and being able to grow in his career. Plus he loves all the people he's working with and the location. He has always wanted to work in Atlanta. So what does that mean for us?

Well, we're moving!!! To Peachtree City, Ga. 

That probably doesn't mean anything to most of you but for us it's been a dream ever since we first visited when my sister moved there 7 years ago. The first time Jonathan went there, he fell in love. The community is simply indescribable. Caring, active, folks and families. Lots of families and no matter what time of day you go you will always see someone outside running on the golf cart paths. It's very addicting.

Golf cart paths? Yes. You read that right. When they built Peachtree City they incorporated golf cart paths all throughout the city in the woods. They have golf cart parking everywhere. It's such a neat aspect of the city. 

The school's are superb and I am excited to live in the same town as my sister and brother in law and have Hazel and Elouise grow up with and go to the same school as their cousins. 

It's been a dream that I never thought would happen and it is. 

We got Hazel registered at the same preschool that her cousin's went to and she starts in the fall. We are looking for houses right now and getting our house ready to sell. It's a very exciting and stressful time. 

Our dreams are coming true and I can't even believe it. Seems too good to be true, ya know!?

Unless you've been to Peachtree City, it's hard to explain the community feel. It's unlike anything I've ever experienced and I can't wait to be apart of it! 

New challenge.

I don't know about you but when I was dating my husband any and every time that he came over just to hang out or when we would go on a date, I would try to look my best. 

Since we have gotten married, I have gotten lazy. Being a stay-at-home mom means that it's acceptable for me to lay around in my pajamas all day with my hair all messy and no make up. Hell, some days I don't even brush my teeth (yuck, I know. But I'm being real here.) 

My lucky husband. 

I hear women say this all the time when they are joking and basically calling themselves a mess. 

Why, now that we're married, do I feel like I don't even have to dress before I see my husband? Doesn't he deserve my best? The best that I can give him? 

I'm not saying that I am not beautiful in my pajamas with a messy bun and zero make-up. My husband makes me feel beautiful no matter what I have on. But I don't feel my best when I'm that way. I KNOW that I look better when I put some effort into it. If I didn't then why would I even waste the time?

My new challenge to myself (and to you if you feel like this part of you is lacking) is to take time to make myself feel beautiful. Doing my hair and/or make up every day. I have 2 small children so some days a shower is just out of the question but that doesn't mean I can't take 10 minutes to myself (even if it's the 10 minutes before Jonathan walks through the door), to make myself look presentable. 

I want my husband to always see me as the most beautiful girl in the world, but how is that possible when I take zero time for myself to make myself look *more* beautiful. 

I wonder what changes it'll make in myself and in my marriage? 

The month of March I am going to challenge myself to take 10 minutes to myself to fix myself up for my husband. 

After all, he's gotta look at me the rest of his life.... might as well make it a pretty view. 

Random updates

Some exciting changes are happening in the Scott Household!!! Can't go into details yet, but I am very excited about the changes. 

Changes make me nervous though. I get overwhelmed thinking about how this will change our lives entirely. (NO, I'm not pregnant.) Thinking of all we have to accomplish before those changes can happen. It is very scary and exciting. 

Hazel has been working so hard at school. I love seeing all her accomplishments and how proud she is to show me her work. We always review her day when she gets home and she loves telling me all about it. Makes my heart happy to see her learning and growing. 

Elouise is growing so fast. She is 2 months old. She is smiling and cooing all the time and she loves when we talk to her. She is a very happy and content baby. I am so very thankful. She is still not sleeping at through the night but the 6 hour stretches are becoming more frequent and for that I am thankful. She has also put herself on the "baby wise" schedule. She eats, is awake, then falls asleep. It's been pretty good so far. But I refuse to be a slave to her schedule. It's not fair to Hazel. I used to be such a stickler for Hazel's schedule and I know they are great for babies... but for us, she can adjust to our schedule and sleep wherever she is at that point. It used to drive me crazy that Hazel would only sleep in her crib in the complete dark with no noise. So I've made sure to never shush Hazel while Elouise is sleeping so that Elouise will get used to the noise and now the girl LOVES noise while she's sleeping. She is such a joy and I could go on and on about how wonderful she is but I'll spare you. haha

Me: not much going on with me other than trying to lose this baby weight. We've been back hitting the gym pretty hard. Feels really amazing to get a good sweat on again. I have about 30 pounds I want to lose. That's my first goal and then I will reevaluate how I feel.

I miss blogging and all my blogger friends. I wish I had more time to blog but that just isn't possible at the moment! :) I am an avid instagrammer though so follow me :) kscott24. 

Catching up.

Well, it's been a minute since I blogged.

Truly my life is wonderfully boring. 

Hazel is back in preschool 2 days a week and Elouise and I are volunteering at the church. I wear Elle the whole time and we both love it. Cuddle time while being productive? Yes. 

Hazel is loving being back and school, she really missed it while I was on "maternity leave." The hardest thing is getting all of us ready and fed and to the church at 9 AM. Considering we usually don't get out of bed until 9 or 9:30... It is no fun getting up at 7 AM. 

Elouise is doing great. She's a very good baby but night time isn't great. We figured out she likes sleeping on her tummy so that has been helping but she still gets up a lot. Normally she has one good stretch of at least 4 hours but then after that it's every 1.5 to 2 hours. So at 2 AM I am feeling refreshed and ready for the day :(. Oh well, it'll work out and we'll get in a routine. 

This Saturday night I am leaving both of the girls with my mom and sister while Jonathan and I go to a party. I am excited for the break and have been pumping like a mad woman. I've been taking Fenugreek and drinking Mother's Milk tea and it has been doing wonders with my supply. I am excited for the break but won't even be able to sleep through the night even when she's not with me because I'll have to pump. #breastfeedingproblems

Overall things have been amazing. She fits so easily into our family and we are all head over heels.

Elouise will be 2 months in a couple days. HOW IS THAT EVEN POSSIBLE? 

She is cooing a lot now and smiling. This morning at 5:30 she woke up and I was being grumpy and she started smiling at me and it made it all disappear. She has a dimple and it is the most adorable thing I have ever seen. She is simply perfect. 

I am joining a mom's bible study group every Friday and I am really looking forward to that. It'll be fun to get out of the house and be around mom's with young kids while growing in my relationship with Jesus. 

I am not adding any pictures today because I'm simply too tired. Sorry but going on no sleep and pure caffeine leads to no pics. #badblogger.