Who am I?

Who am I? I always wanted to be a nurse. Or a teacher. Or a news broadcaster. Or a physical therapist. Or an occupational therapist. That's right, I was a school major butterfly, hopping from major to major, never really knowing what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I would take classes in a certain field and then decide it wasn't right and switch to something new and do the same thing over and over again. I would fail my classes because I had no desire to try when I wasn't sure if I should even be there or not. I just didn't know what I wanted. As a little girl, I never really had a "dream" of being anything. You always hear such great stories of how people knew when they decided to pursue what they dreamt of. I never had that. On career day in the 3rd grade I took a baby doll to school and said I was a mommy. My 3rd grade self would be happy to see that that's exactly what I turned out to be. I'm 26 years old, a wife to my amazing husband Seth and most important of all, I'm a mommy. 
       I am so incredibly blessed to be able to stay at home with my babies every day. I live for these 2 children. They are my reason for living, for waking up every morning and for me actually feeling accomplished in my life. I used to have nightmares when I was in school about be being on a track for a race. I would be trying with everything I had in me to run as fast as I could but the wind was just too strong and I wouldn't move forward no matter how fast my legs moved. That's how I felt about my life, I would be trying so hard to figure out what I wanted to do, I would try so hard in the classes that didn't interest me at all and I would get nowhere. I would go from job to job either absolutely hating it, or just accepting it because I knew I had to do something to make a living. 
     Very shortly after getting married I found out I was pregnant with my first born, Weston. I was terrified but it didn't take long for the excitement to take over. Throughout my whole pregnancy I talked about what I was going to do after he was born and when I was returning to work. I really intended on going back too. Then he was born and I looked into those big beautiful blue eyes and I just knew, this is where I'm meant to be. This is what I am supposed to do. This is my moment I never had when I was young. I was a mommy. A stay at home mommy. I had never felt so good about what I was doing in my life as I did at that moment. I just knew that I was finally where I was meant to be. 
       I stayed at home with Weston and we added another little miracle to our bunch, miss Evelynn. I am so blessed to get to stay home with these babies every day and take care of them. I'm living my dream job every day and I couldn't be happier. It took me 24 years to figure it out but I now know who I am meant to be. I am meant to be a stay at home mommy to my amazing children. I am meant to devote my every day to these 2 angel's happiness. Playing with them, making their meals, changing their diapers, taking them to the park, teaching them to walk, talk and sing and dance. I've found myself. 
      I and Ashley. I am Mommy. I am happy. I am blessed. 

Drivin, singin and keepin Weston happy

That's right, were road trippin to Dallas for a wedding and Weston has had enough of this car seat! It's only about 6 hours or so but for a 14 month old who wants to run around all day, it seems like an eternity! Here are some things I've picked up on pretty quickly that I must remember for the next trip:

1. Have plenty of juice! He has sucked down both cups we brought for him and we has to run in a gas station for more!
2. Sit in the back with baby. He will either sleep too much and not sleep at night, drink to much and not have any left for the rest of the trip, eat too much or throw it all on the floor or just get too bored and scream.
3. Snacks Snacks Snacks!!!! He has had a constant intake of Cheerios and Teddy Graham's since we pulled out of the driveway and is still wanting more! I guess we need more variety next time! A cooler with fruit, milk and juice would have been great!
4. Bring movies! Wether your car had a player or not, get a portable DVD player or download some on your tablet... Weston has had Daddy's phone for the past hour to keep him awake and happy.
5. Last but not least, Silly Songs with Larry!!! Just do it! Weston absolutely loves Veggie Tales and having the Silly Songs cd was a bonus!

We weren't as prepared as we thought we were this time but after a few stops were much better and almost at our destination with all of Mommy's hair still intact. Whew! The real trick is having a 14 month old at a formal wedding during nap time 😁. I'll update y'all on how that goes later! Wish us luck!

Victory is Weston's!!!

Well, as you may know, Weston has "eating issues". He had pyloric stenosis when he was about 2 months old and has had reflux and a milk allergy and was on 2 different medications for this up until December. He wouldn't eat ANYTHING that wasn't completly puréed or a bottle. We tried every single thing you could think of and he would just gag and gag until he puked. A few weeks ago, at his 12 month check up, his doctor wanted us to get him Occupational Therapy. A couple days later, completely out of the blue, he started to eat the 3rd foods by gerber that have chunks in them. I was shocked because he has thrown that same stuff up several times from gagging on it. A few days later he started eating crackers and swallowing them!!! So now we are testing out all kinds if different things! He loves macaroni and cheese, spaghetti-os and crackers so far!!! Who knows what we will have for dinner :) pyloric stenosis, reflux, acid reflux, mommy, motherhood, eating

Yucky

Don't you just love when you have gotten up, fed your baby, changed them and set them down to play, all was good with everything. Then all the sudden you get a stinky wiff of poop, look down and see poop EVERWHERE!!! Leaking from the diaper, smushed all over the carpet and all over toys. I know i sure do... NOT! Bath\cleaning\sterilizing time in the Shields home! p]

CAOS!!!

Well today sucked! We filed our tax return and it was denied because my name on my W2 said Shields and I havent changed my social security card from Moore to Shields yet... I know I know, Im a procrastonator. My brother in law got his gal bladder removed wednesday so my mom was watching my nephew for them. We decided that we would go the 4 of us (me, Weston, Marcus and my mom). We got up early to go to Amarillo (a 1 hour drive) and we got just outside of town when Marcus started throwing up out of nowhere! It was just mucus and he said he was fine and wasnt sick and wanted Chiks Olay (Chik Fila) so we assumed he was fine, just had a little mucus in his belly and we went on towards the SS office. He then said "I want mommy", so we turned around then he cried saying he wanted Chiks Olay, so we turned around again. He ended up throwing up again so we decided to take him home and then he started saying he didnt feel good and crying alot... heart breaking! We called his mommy and told her we were bringing him to her and she left to meet us on the road so she could get to him sooner. He threw up a couple more times, only mucus, and we finally met up with his mommy, about 2 hours in the opposite direction from Amarillo. She said he threw up once more on the way home and once they were home he ate some crackers and drank some juice and has been fine ever since! Thank God he is feeling better, im just prayng none of us (especially Weston) get whatever he had! So needless to say, we are going to try to go to Amarillo again tomorrow and get my SS changed! We NEED our money!!!

Teething is for the birds.

Weston is getting 2 teeth at the same time right now and it is really bothering him this time. With his first 3 teeth he was just slightly fussy and a little cranky. With these 2 teeth he has had bad diarrhea causing a bad rash that is really hurting him bad, i used A&D diaper rash cream and he had a bad allergic reaction to it and it got worse. He has been super fussy, had a slight fever and been very very grumpy. I think the worst might be over with these 2, fingers crossed. Any of yalls little ones have a really tough time teething? What did yall do that was the most effective with them?  

Rough day

Weston has been super cranky and fussy all day today. He has diarrhea and a bad rash that hurts him and he feels a bit warm. I hate not knowing what is wrong with my poor baby. I think he might be getting a new tooth but am not for sure. I gave him some Tylenol and ok hoping he will feel better soon. :(