Melting Snow

The snow is starting to melt. I would be lying if I said I was sad to see the snow go, but I am not a fan of it and probably never will be. I once told my husband that people that say they like the snow never had to shovel it; especially in negative degree, chilly weather.

We have gotten so much snow this winter. I am not sure when all of the snow is going to melt, but it has started so that is nice. I have tried getting our kids outside most every day, at least for a little bit this winter. In the beginning, it was challenging because our oldest would not like to put on his snow gear. He has never liked to wear jackets or hats. So I looked at different hat options and I found one that I thought he would love to wear and it worked. It even came with mittens so that was a bonus. I have loved to see our children playing in the snow and going down the tall hills of snow that we have. I will admit that it was a little sad to have the snow melting and to see their disappointment as they couldn’t easily climb up the hills because the snow was too mushy.

However, it is fun to see them stomping in the puddles that are now forming in our backyard. I thought that our oldest would have a fit because he was getting dirty from the mud, but so far he has been fine and really enjoys going outside. I am sure our kids will miss the snow a little bit when it all goes, but I think they will be happy to finally be able to play in the sandbox. Every day our oldest asks if he can play in the sandbox. I tell him not quite yet, but when most of the snow melts then he can play in it. Our daughter was playing with some snow in the backyard and said she was eating a donut. I looked at the ice she was holding and I could see why she was pretending it was a donut. It was a circle and it had a hole in the center.

There are some good memories from this winter, but we are ready to make some new ones that don’t involve snow.

-Jelly Jazz

Free Printable Invite Card – A Fun, Rainy Day Activity For Your Toddler

Here’s a fun idea. Most toddlers have an entourage of stuffed critters hanging around. Have your cute kiddo plan a party just for them. Set a time, plan snacks, decorate the room with blankets, books, toys or actual decorations like ballons if you have them.

Finally, a party is not a party without a formal invite. Download and print this free happy hippos themes card and invite each stuffie individually. Then have your child pretend to be a postal worker and deliver them.

New Year!

Happy New Year!

I have not stayed up until midnight for a long time. It has been years! When I was working, I would work the morning shift. I had to get up before 5 am. So there was no way on New Years Eve that I was going to stay up. Since being married I don’t think we have ever stayed up until midnight. We need our sleep.
But I am sure everyone had a great start to the new year. I am excited for 2022. 2021 wasn’t too bad. I mean we didn’t have to move in 2021 like we have the last two years. So that is a bonus.

Last night we had a little dance party, played some games and did a few crafts. I have been trying to come up with resolutions for the new year.

Number one is once a month I will find one thing that I like about where we live. Moving in a pandemic has not helped the issue because there really isn’t much to do or people to see because we don’t know a whole lot of people. So I will be working on that this year.
Number two is to have more patience with my kids. They have their moments where they just like to push my buttons. I need to remember that they are learning and that they listen better when I give gentle reminders.
Lastly, number three is to exercise. I don’t have any specifics about it yet, but I will work on exercising hopefully every day; minus Sundays. Working out definitely helps relax me and is good for my mental health.
Hopefully, I can accomplish all of these this year. I need to remember that if I mess up a few times with my resolutions that that is ok. I just need to not get discouraged and to get up and keep going.
I am still working on part two of my birth story so stay tuned!

-Jelly Jazz

Birth Story Part 1

It’s been over a month since I have given birth so I thought I would share our baby’s birth story part 1.

The Saturday before I went into labor I was feeling uncomfortable. I knew the baby was low, but I wasn’t having any contractions. However, it was the same kind of feeling I had when I went into labor with my last baby so I was a little nervous. There was a lot of pressure, but no contractions. However, that uncomfortable feeling stopped.

I did message our babysitter to keep her updated on our situation. Our number one babysitter on call is wonderful. I have called her for doctor appointments and she is wonderful with our kids. I had been stressed trying to find other options of babysitters in case she couldn’t make it. Moving to a new place and not knowing anyone is hard; especially when it comes to matters like this. So we were happy that she could help us. But we felt like we needed at least one more person. We were happy and relieved that my husband’s mom could come out and help us. However, we were praying that baby would wait until after she came. She came in on that Sunday night. I went into labor later Monday afternoon.

I had my 38 week doctor’s appointment and the doctor asked if I wanted to see if I was dilated. I knew that if she checked me I would go into labor; as that is what happened with my first baby. After the doctor left so that I could get ready for the exam I thought to myself, “Am I ready to have a baby this week?” I felt comfortable and confident that I was ready. I had been preparing stuff and getting ready for the baby for a few weeks now because in my heart I knew that baby was coming early.

-Jelly Jazz

Getting Ready for Birth!

As the birth of our third child comes closer and closer, I have been doing lots of nesting. Trying to get things organized, hospital bag ready, and notes prepared for babysitters.

My body is feeling the aches and uncomfortableness of being in the third trimester. As we are pretty sure that this will be our last baby, I am trying to soak in the last few moments of being pregnant.

However, I will be glad when this part is over. Being pregnant with two young kids is a challenge. I feel like a cranky mom all the time, but I try to remind myself that our kids know that something is happening soon. They are being told the baby is coming soon, but they don’t fully understand it as much as we would like to think they do. So that is part of the reason they are acting up or being more clinging and whiny.

I need to work on having more patience with them. I do this by sitting down with them, cuddling them, or playing with them. Sometimes I want to do other things, but I know they need lots of attention and love, especially right now.

I am getting all the nerves from thinking of giving birth soon. I have never given birth in the same hospital and this birth is no exception. So I don’t know what to expect. Our experience with the doctors and health care system here has unfortunately not been the greatest. So I am worried about what to expect at the hospital. But I am trying not to worry about it and just go with the flow of things.

First pregnancy.
Second pregnancy.

I had a fetal assessment last week to see how big the baby was. As my other two babies have been a bit bigger for me. So far baby looks good and healthy and they will probably not have to induce me with this one. Maybe soon I will share the birth stories of my other two kids.

Third pregnancy. A Halloween kiss from a Pumpkin and Wreck it Ralph.

We are excited to meet our little bundle of joy soon and hope that delivery goes well.

-Jelly Jazz

Banana’s and Boys Growing Up

Our son is at the age where he wants to help with lots of things. He is almost three. He has a morning routine where he wants his milk first and then breakfast. Just recently he has been wanting to help pour the milk in the bottle. He will say “I help, I help!” I have been letting him hold his bottle and then put the lid on. It is the cutest thing and I love that he wants to help me.

The other day he saw me starting to make banana bread. Of course, he wanted to help. This felt way out of my comfort zone. I thought of him sneezing into the batter, or licking the batter. I thought of him tipping the bowl and making a mess. But I just saw how desperate he wanted to help mommy so I let him. He did so well! He listened and stopped when I told him to. He stood on the chair very well and didn’t make a mess. Although if he made a mess, I would have survived. I am glad I didn’t let my fears get in the way of my son’s learning and growing.

I look at other three-year-old’s and worry that he is not advanced as they are. But partly that is because all the three-year-old’s that we know have older siblings so they learn from them. Our son is learning from scratch. But just like our banana batter is made from scratch, it is cooked into something wonderful. I know that my son is developing just fine and is growing into something wonderful.

-Jelly Jazz

Baby Update!


I am in my third trimester now! I can not believe it. We are very excited to meet our bundle of joy soon. We are not finding out the gender so it will be a surprise for everyone!

It was hard at the beginning with feeling nausea all the time. Some days I would turn on Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and let the kids watch a few episodes while I would lay on the floor. I have been out of the morning sickness stage for a while now, but some days are STILL hard emotionally.
Taking care of two little ones while wanting to take care of me is tough. My husband has been a great support through all of this.

Pregnancy hormones have been tough this round, but hopefully, those emotions will lessen a bit. Despite the hardships of being pregnant, I love feeling the baby move inside me. I can not wait to meet this little one. All of our babies have been blessings and miracles.

In other news, I get to do the lovely glucose test soon. I am crossing my fingers that I will not have gestational diabetes with this pregnancy. I had it with my second one. It was hard to prick my finger at least four times a day, but whatever the results are everything will be ok. All these tests doctors do are to make sure that you and the baby are healthy and get the best care and treatment, so I am grateful for that.

-Jelly Jazz