Halloween Night!

My sweet baby is all tuckered out =]

He's sort of mad right now however seeing as we're making him sleep in his own bed by himself....

We went to grandma's house today and shows off THREE of our costumes. This morning we were a skeleton, this afternoon we were Sully from Monster's inc, and then he turned into a bear when it got cold outside. We didn't get to go trick-or-treating because it was so cold out. But instead we lazy man trick-or-treated and went to the Dollar Store and bought whatever candy they had left.

Below are some of the pictures that I took of James in his costumes. He looks so happy! All of these photos are taken with a camera phone (I really need a better camera).

But we had a great night! So happy with my little family =] ALSO! I finally posted pictures of the pumpkins! Jesse and James are in the picture as well, but they're there!!!

Silly mummy!

I'm James P. Sullivan!

Me with batman aka my dad. 

Mummy and me!

I'm poo bear! No H.

Sleeeeeeepy skeleton

Please feel free to follow me and my adventures at www.amazingjames.blogspot.com

Thanks!

Sad day blog.

A lot has been going on lately, which is why I haven't been able to post anything. I haven't even taken time to take pictures of our beautiful pumpkins that I was talking about in my last blog. Two major things have come into my life that have made me realize a few things.

1. Bullying is HORRIBLE.
2. I would never forgive myself if anything were to happen to my son.

Firstly, a girl I went to high school with has been 'cyber-bullied'. This word is NOT enough to describe what's been happening. She's received death threats, has been called about every name in the book, and has been taunted non-stop for at least the past week. How do I know this? IT'S ALL OVER THAT SOCIAL NETWORK SITE THAT WE ALL KNOW AND LOVE/HATE. So, like the good civilian I am, I called the police station to get some information to give to the girl being bullied, as well as to figure out what I could do to stop it. I took pictures of all of the cruel things that were said, saved them to my computer, and told the girl being bullied (We'll call her S from now on) that she needed to FIRSTLY, unfriend the person bullying her. I also told S that she needed to refrain from saying anything bad back. Saying 'please stop bullying me' is one thing. Saying 'you're a disgusting creep and I just wish you'd fall in a hole' is quite another. The day after I gave S this information, she posted this HUGE status about how she had pictures and was going to take them to the cops (ALSO something I told her NOT to say to anyone) as well as some other things that I shouldn't repeat for the sake of little eyes that may see this. Soooo, once she posted this, a bunch of other people commented on it, including the bully, and EVERYONE went on to attack the bully. (Again, I told them NOT TO DO THIS) So I wrote one simple message on there saying that the best thing in that situation for anyone to do is be supportive of S and show that bullying isn't going to be allowed.

So what did they do? They completely ignored everything I said, continued to say that 'this guy should be shot' among other things, and will most likely all have charges pressed on them.

So I gave up on the situation because I don't feel like any negativity being targeted at me or my family.

What SHOULD you do if you or a friend is being bullied?
1. NEVER bully back! Bullies aren't stupid and they can screen shot just as easily as you can.
2. Screen shot as many things as you possibly can and save them to the computer for evidence.
3. If, after asking this person to stop bullying,Unfriend said perp if they're on your friends list. If they're not on your friends list, change your settings so that only you and Friends can see your page.
4. Stay positive! Before posting anything, take a good five minutes to think about if its something that you really want to say, or if you're just wanting to say it out of anger.
5. Contact your local police department to ask what sort of measure can be taken and do EXACTLY what they tell you to do! Taking matters into your own hands can get you into just as much trouble.

And again, the best way to stop bullying/harassment is to make it perfectly clear that you, your friends, and your family are OFF LIMITS. Be the bigger person and shut it down before it can hurt you, or anyone that you care about.

A lot of social networking sites have options for reporting someone or a post. If someone is really pushing it too far, report them or their posts! Believe it or not, even major internet sites WILL listen and that person's page will most likely get shut down.

***************************************************************

On another note. A woman in my area just lost her two month old baby to S.I.D.S. I don't even Know this person, and once I heard, the news had me in tears. Sids is serious and every measure POSSIBLE should be taken to prevent it, and even then, sometimes its not enough.

All I could think about is my sweet baby James and how devastated I would be if I ever lost him.

Could you imagine? Waking up to your baby lifeless in their crib or in your arms?

I don't know what I would do if I was never able to wake up to James's smile in the morning, if I was never able to hear his laugh, see him grow. I don't know if I would ever be able to live without him. I know I wouldn't ever be able to be happy again.

Children are work. But the love that they bring... its something so unbelievably pure that nothing can compare.

Want a few tips to prevent SIDS for your little one or maybe a little one in the future?

http://www.webmd.com/parenting/baby/sleep-naps-12/sids-prevention

Follow the link above or copy and past it into your search bar. If you don't trust this information because its on the internet, your local hospital should have plenty of information to give to you on how to be safe.

ALWAYS EDUCATE YOURSELF.

If you ever have any questions about ANYTHING, contact your doctor! NEVER feel like you have a stupid question. Your questions could save your child's life.

To recap on this blog.

Be the bigger person in any situation that could be thrown at you, and be the best parent that you can be when it comes to taking care of your little one.

Was this blog helpful? Let me know!

Because I Can.

Today. I'm just angry. I'm angry about everything. I woke up to a dirty house that I had cleaned the day before. I woke up to a cranky baby that didn't have his diaper changed ONCE throughout the night. The night that he spent with his grandfather. Jesse came home a jerk, took a nap, remained a jerk, and is STILL being a jerk.

I went to Michaels today. I bought three fake pumpkins, some round brush thingy, black and white paints, a letter stencil, and an insect stencil. I spent 53 dollars on everything and completed all of the pumpkins in a little over an hour. (Will post pictures in the next blog)

I'm sort of a deal hunter. I don't believe in buying anything at full value, or even at 25% off for the most part. I enjoy 50 and 75 percent off sales and frequent stores such as Carter's, Crazy8, and Children's place for most of James's clothes. For my personal craft needs, I go to Michaels for paints or when I want things for cheap, Hobby Lobby for home decor, and DickBlick for all of my art needs when I actually have money to go there.

But enough about that, I'll save how I score my deals and where to look for coupons for another blog.

This blog is going to be an angry blog.

Currently, it's ten o'clock at night and I just spent an hour on dishes.

YESTERDAY my housework consisted of the following:
1. Bleaching the bathtub three different times, scrubbing thoroughly after each bleaching.
2. Cleaning the BEARD hair off of the bathroom wall.
3. Scrubbing bathroom sink and organizing the medicine cabinet.
4. Vacuuming the floor AND furniture.
5. Putting away ALL of James's toys.
6. Dusting all of the shelves.
7. Putting away all of the movies and video games on the Media center.
8. Clearing off the table (which was a complete disaster)
9. Putting away all of the groceries, cleaning supplies, and other items that I had bought the night before and was too tired to put away.
10. Two different loads of laundry (washed and dried)
11. Folding said laundry.
And I think that's about it. OH WAIT! And I made dinner for Jesse for when he got home, which he didn't even touch.

So, I did quite a bit.

That very same day, Jesse's dad came home. He immediately destroyed the bathroom beyond all recognition, dirtied about three cereal bowls in a span of a day and a half, and managed to destroy the entire living room that I'd picked up and vacuumed.

Tonight, he complained about there being dishes. Which was the ONLY thing that I didn't do yesterday, seeing as it isn't listed above. So I completed those, dirty plates, bowls, silverware and all. And the funny part? I USE PLASTIC UTENSILS SO JOKE'S ON YOU GUYS!

Anyway, before I started dishes he gave a speech. His exact words were "I'm only going to say this once. I don't like dirty dishes and a messy house. I like having people over and I don't want it to be messy when I have guests over like I did today." (talking about random people he sprung on us WHILE we were painting our pumpkins) "And if I get served an eviction notice because of this mess, I'm not going to be happy"

If you read the long list of what I did yesterday, and the paragraph below it, YOU'LL SEE WHY THERE WAS A F******** MESS! I'm SO tired of not being appreciated for ANYTHING I do of a day WHILE I'm watching my five month old son that needs constant attention! And what does JESSE do all day? He works eight hours and comes home and rests.

Ya know what? Parenting is ten times more difficult than any job I've ever had (and I've worked at the place where he's currently working) and parenting takes a hell of a lot more time too seeing as it DOESN'T END. So, I work all day long while Jesse is at 'work' and then when he gets home, I'm expected to clean, and continue to watch James, and STILL find time for homework? Is it just me or is his way of thinking flawed?

Not to mention his ignorant, belligerent DAD. Ya want to know his job? He trucks. Which means he's sitting on his butt. All day LONG. I only DREAM of being able to sit on my butt all day long and getting paid 1600 dollars a week! And then HE comes home too and sits on his butt at home so tired from 'working' that he just wants to sleep all day.

I mean no disrespect to the hard working people of America, the truckers, the factory workers, but ya know what? We moms have it just as rough and we get ZERO credit, because we don't get paid for what we do!

So. In conclusion, mother's are truly THE most under appreciated people on the planet. That is all.

(Photos on the next blog)

How Baby James Came To Be

Sooo, this is the blog where I talk about how Baby James came into the world. Not all the nitty gritty details, not the birds and the bees, but about the days before he got here, how miserable I was, and how excited everyone was to finally meet him.

Firstly, I was truly miserable. Before I knew I was pregnant? I thought I was literally dying. I was sick for about three months straight, so much so, that I couldn't even eat Cheerios. I called my mom one day crying, telling her that I had a doctors appointment the next day and that I thought that I might have cancer. I was weak, I couldn't even sit up without getting sick, and food wasn't even an option. She suggested that I take a pregnancy test.

My response?

"Pssh, why the heck for?"

At that point, Jesse and I were definitely going through a rough patch, so much so, that we'd cut off contact.

So when I Did take a pregnancy test and saw that evil little plus sign, I bawled my eyes out, telling my mom that there's no way I could tell Jesse and that he'll most likely kill me.

Obviously he didn't kill me. I wasn't even the one to break it to him. My mom told his mom, told someone she worked with, who told HER, who worked with HIM. He left work immediately to come see me, chocolate and a razzleberry Iced tea in hand.

We made up after that (clearly) and the next few months were a little bit of a struggle. Between driving a billion miles for doctor's appointments, excruciating heartburn at nights that left me wailing until the early morning, and having to have Jesse put on my shoes because of my inability to see my feet, it's safe to say that we were both miserable. After several months passed, the due date arrived! AAaaaaaand then baby James decided he wasn't ready to greet the world, for another two weeks.

May 2nd rolled around and by that point I'd had X-rays, ultrasounds, blood tests, Everything, and still no baby James. Jesse was working that day so my mom drove me down to my appointments. The doctor's told us that they'd call shortly after we left, and after waiting nearly FIVE HOURS, we decided to make our way home. Little did we know, the breaks went out in the van my mother was driving, AND the doctors called just as we were making our way home.

The second I got the call, I bawled my eyes out. I was already a nervous wreck from the whole having to drive a van with no brakes home, and to hear that they'd be inducing me at EIGHT o'clock THAT day? OH MY GOD was just about the only thing running through my head.

So what did I do? I went home, took a shower, and made Jesse get everything for our stay at the hospital.

It was a doozy! I threw up when they tried putting an IV in my hand for the fourth time, and after 'being in labor' for over fifteen hours, nothing was happening.

At one of my ultrasounds that week, they'd told me that James was roughly nine pounds, give or take a pound, at that point. I was horrified.

I had several different doctors, depending on which one was on call, and after having one doctor tell me that I shouldn't have been induced in the first place, I was ready to bust heads together. The last doctor to come in gave me two options. I could either go home and come back in a few days for a c-section, or I could have a c-section that day, now May 3rd. Jesse and I both knew that today was the day. I couldn't do this any longer.

So on May 3rd, at 11:59 my baby boy was born. He weighed 9 pounds, 7 and a half ounces, and was 21 inches long. I was pretty doped up at that point, and only saw him for a moment in the delivery room before they took him away and wheeled me off to recovery, where I slept, and itched (morphine I believe) for several hours. But when I Actually got to hold him, like most brand spankin' new mothers, I cried.

Jesse was with me throughout the surgery, and he accompanied James in the nursery while all of our relatives
watched. The first few pictures of Jesse and James are fantastic, and are posted below, along with pictures of pre-baby, where I'm monstrous and a total mess.

  This is one of the many photos of me looking like a complete train wreck. No make-up, giant belly. But my lovely fiance is still right next to me regardless =] He's a keeper!

 

This one was shortly before I was taken into the operating room. Crystal, whom we call Jenna (long story), is on the left, with Jesse all scrubbed out on my right!

I'm not sure who took this picture, but it's beautiful =] The look on Jesse's face is wonderful.

My baby!!!!

This is the very first time I held James. From the look on my face, I was completely shocked that the whole nine months in the womb thing ACTUALLY resulted in a child.  

 I think this is my favorite picture of Jesse and James. Again, the look on Jesse's face is priceless.

And this is my little man, my perfect little man =] 

So that's it! That's most of the story, of how James came into our lives. 

Also! Please feel free to follow me and my adventures at www.amazingjames.blogspot.com

Thanks!

CardiacArrest Much?

Sooo, this blog was supposed to be how little baby James came to be. Not the whole birds and the bees thing but more like the actual day that he graced us with his presence in the world and the many doctor's appointments we attended before that day. It was supposed to be about the horrible heart burn and ungodly cravings, and well as the terrifying moodswings that often left Jesse sleeping on the couch. But I'll have to save that blog for another date seeing as JAMES SCARED THE HELL OUT OF ME TODAY.

Today started out normally. James woke up at around sevenish, we watched Disney Channel for a little while, played with some of our toys, the usual, and then at about ten o'clock, he started hulking out. Not the normal WAAAAAAH hulking out, but the WAAAAAAAHWAAAAAAAHWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! Hulking out. It was bad. Within three minutes he went from being just fine to going completely insane. I'd left the room for ONE minute, ONE, came back, made him a bottle (which takes less than two minutes) and when finally got him to calm down enough to actually take his bottle, he did it again.

On October Fourth, James had a seizure, and today, he had another one. I was insane with worry obviously, I called the doctor immediately and actually managed to hold myself together long enough to tell them his symptoms, how long the seizure lasted, etc.

Laaaast time, they made us go to the Emergency Room where we waited for five hours for answers. They diagnosed him with Febrile Seizures, which are caused by fevers. Funny thing is, the doctors weren't able to document a fever that day, and he didn't have one today. They told me just to bring him in today and they'll take a look at him themselves.

It turns out, they had misdiagnosed him originally and their new and most likely one hundred percent accurate diagnosis is something along the lines of vasovagal seizures? (I think that's how that's spelled) Anyway, this is when a child is crying so unbelievably hard that they temporarily lose oxygen flow to the brain (sort of like they're holding their breath). During this, the child tends to pass out (James always gets really tired right after a fit) and in a case like James, they start having a seizure while they're passed out. It's relatively common, but still terrifying.

We're taking James to a neurologist within the next week or so to cancel out any other possible causes, but the doctor seemed pretty sure from everything that I told her about the two episodes, that a vasovagal seizure it what it had to have been.


For all those first time, and maybe not so first time parents out there, SEIZURES AREN'T YOUR FAULT. But it's a good idea to prepare yourself by taking seizure education classes, or even reading up on it online.

But ALWAYS make sure your child is safe and that you time how long the seizure lasts. If it lasts longer than three minutes (generally) call 911. Call 911 if your child starts becoming blue or purple while unconscious and if he or she stops breathing.

READ UP! It's always good to stay informed.

Baby James woke up though and its time to tend to my little man. Here's a picture of him being adorable. (As always)

Crybaby Blog

James. Is being naughty. He's developing this habit of SCREAMING HIS HEAD OFF THE SECOND I SET HIM DOWN. This is getting old. I'm not able to get anything done (homework, housework, etc.) because he's being so blaaaaaaah. Just last week it was so easy to lay him down for a nap and get things done for an hour or so. This week? Not at all. He's wonderful and I love him soooo much! But he needs to lay down and take a nap like a good boy. Even now while I'm writing this he's getting all cranky in his pack'n play.

So this blog is going to be dedicated to pictures of him crying, about to cry, and other photos of him just being grumpy. I love you buddy, but this is how my soul looks like on the inside right now.

Blarg Blog/ Awkward Photo Blog

Today was hard. Last night, I worked from 1:30 to 11 at night. This morning, I got to work at 8, and didn't get to leave until 5. IM EXHAUSTED. And it's upsetting not being able to see baby James all day. I work at the local Dollar General and it's okay for the most part. We've had a ton of people quit lately and instead of putting in a two weeks notice like good civilians, they've just up and left like jerk wads.

However, my last day is Thursday. Mostly because I'm tired of not seeing James. That and school has been kicking my butt. It's hard to keep up with four classes AND a baby when I'm at work for thirty some hours a week.

So from Thursday on out, I plan on being a mommy and studious student until I'm done with school, in which case I'll be a teacher and a mommy.

Speaking of teaching, my nonfiction teacher stinks. She has us write all of these essays and she's one of THE harshest grader's I've ever had. Throughout all of my english classes, I've managed to maintain a 4.0, but in this one, she's killing me! Firstly, she's rude. She'll read through rough drafts and then final drafts and say that 'she didn't see many changes, (if any)' when CLEARLY, I've rewritten the ENTIRE ending paragraph and made it nearly three times as long. But nooooo, she can't cut a break. There's a chart on the class page that shows my grade in comparison to everyone elses, and with a B, I'm ahead of a vast majority of my classmates it seems.

That teacher is another reason why I want to become a teacher. Don't tell someone to write down their thoughts and ideas and then completely shoot them down! Thoughts and ideas and MEMORIES are never wrong. You can critique a person's spelling, punctuation, grammar etc. But not their ideas. I personally think that that's against what teacher's are there for.

Anywho, I promised an awkward photo blog and an awkward photo blog you shall get. I'm not going to post aaaaaall of them, seeing as there are so many and it would be great to have a few sequels to this one later on down the road. But here ya go!

These are all self explanatory. HILARIOUS! Love you baby!

Also! Please feel free to follow me and my adventures at www.amazingjames.blogspot.com

Thanks!