I believe in instant karma.

When I was a little girl, I used to say all the time, "I believe in instant karma!" I don't know where I picked it up or if I even really knew what it meant. I did, however, know it was extremely effective in taunting my sister after she injured herself.

I definitely believe in karma. What goes around, comes around. I believe life is full of lessons and everything happens for a reason.

Before I had my own baby, I worked with children in a variety of settings. I had taken several child development courses in both high school and college. I babysat extensively and felt fairly confident in my knowledge of child development and proper parenting. HA!

I would critique every parent I encountered in public. I would roll my eyes at the mother in line in front of me at the sandwich shop and how she allowed her child to crunch all the bags of chips on display. I would tell Travis, "My mom would have wacked me upside the head for that!" about the child loudly stomping his feet down the aisle in Target. I would also say, "Now that IS the appropriate way to reprimand a misbehaving child!" about the woman who took her child to the bathroom after throwing a fit at their table in a restaurant. So, I did both positive and negative critiques. ;)

Regardless, what did I REALLY know? Until you have your own child, you know NOTHING. I now know that I am going to have years of struggles with my own children simply because of my past judgmental ways. I just know it.

Let me explain how this "karma" has already started!

One of the other things I used to be judgmental about was breastfeeding. I never understood why a mother wouldn't breastfeed her child. It's obviously the better option. Do these mothers not want their children to have higher IQ's? To be healthier and have better immune systems? I didn't get it. I thought the ones that said they couldn't do it gave up too easy. When I was pregnant with Patrick, I didn't register for any bottles. I didn't do any research on which type of bottle is best. I didn't purchase anything bottle or formula related. The hospital I chose to deliver Patrick is one of the only "baby-friendly" hospitals in Colorado, meaning they emphasized breastfeeding and their staff received extra training on how to help mothers successfully breastfeed.

The day after Patrick was born, I let him comfort feed all day long. Well, I thought he was "comfort-feeding". Turns out he wasn't getting anything so he kept trying. The first few days home with Patrick were stressful. He cried and moaned non-stop. He didn't sleep. I couldn't figure out what was going on. When we took him to the pediatrician for his first check-up, he had lost a significant amount of weight. I can't remember the exact amount. I immediately made an appointment with a lactation consultant. To make a long story short, Patrick was "tongue-tied". He physically was unable to properly latch and suck. The condition runs in his paternal side of the family. We couldn't get Patrick's tongue clipped until he was six weeks old. Exclusively pumping every two hours with a hospital grade pump still didn't work.

Then, we found out Patrick was allergic to dairy and he had to be on the amino-acid based formula anyway. It was such a long and draining ordeal. I am regretful I wasn't able to breastfeed but the odds were against me. I believe it really was to teach me a lesson. There are reasons why people choose to make certain decisions and I don't always know those reasons so I shouldn't pass judgement. The end. :)

A Love Like No Other

If anyone has ever had a dog, they know what I am referring to in the title. The love you have with your dog is like no other. I believe dogs are the only creatures that truly love unconditionally. (...but let's not get into a philosophical debate here.) ;)

My heart breaks writing this post. I even teared up when I began thinking about it. I'm not even sure I'm 100% set on this decision. However, I have to do what is best for my family and what is best for our beloved, Owen "Wilbs" Wilbur dog. We've come to the conclusion both Travis and Patrick are allergic to him and I just don't believe Owen is getting the life he deserves right now.

I'll get right to the details...

1. Owen is a full bred yellow lab. Travis inherited him from his sister so we do not have AKC papers. She probably has the paperwork somewhere if desired.

2. Owen is current on all his shots and vaccinations. His last trip to the vet was for a check-up in Fall 2011 prior to our son's birth.

3. Owen is house and crate trained. Owen has not had any accidents in our home. We do put him in his crate when we leave the home unattended. However, this is not something we do out of necessity. We have left him out on a few occasions and left his crate unlatched. He tends to go in there anyway so we do so more out of habit.

4. Owen is seriously one of the best behaved dogs I have ever owned or known. He's incredibly mellow for a lab. He sometimes gets excited for his food or if Travis gets out the leash. Otherwise, he just lays around the house. My sister isn't a huge dog lover but she has a special place in her heart for Owen because of his good behavior. :)

5. Owen's one fault is that he is not the greatest walker. It is not something I have had time to work with him on since I've been pregnant and now have a young infant. Travis has taken him for walks on occasion but I think he tends to pull and be rowdy. He does listen well though and respect his owner (I have had dogs that were much worse on a leash and didn't even respect me!).

6. Travis and I often tease that Owen's worst trait is that he wants to snuggle everything! This couldn't be more true! I find him snuggling anything he can snuggle. If a remnant of our blanket touches the floor, he will find some way to snuggle it. (Yes, he sleeps in our room at the foot of our  bed.) I've even busted Owen snuggling Patrick's car seat!

7. Owen does amazingly well with children and other animals. When Travis's sister owned him, she ran a daycare out of her home so he has been around small children since he was a puppy. We've had Owen near Patrick since Patrick was a newborn. He respects boundaries and doesn't lick (without being welcome). Owen also lived temporarily with my Weimaraner and still loves to play with her when we visit Grandma. Owen has also played well with one of our friend's yellow lab. His only fault is that he likes to sniff female dog's butts sometimes. :P

8. Owen does have a lot of shedding hair which requires pretty consistent upkeep.

9. Owen doesn't bark. In fact, he's a lover and a tidbit of a scaredy cat. However, I have heard him let out a brief, low bark here or there when someone sketchy approaches our fence.

10. We have taken Owen with us to Billings (an 8-hour drive) on several occasions and he does fairly well in the car.

...as you can see, I could go on and on about what a great dog he is. I love him to death. I am only considering loving homes in the Denver or Billings areas. I would prefer a family member or friend so we could still visit Owen. Please email me at alisonkessel@hotmail.com if you are interested or have any questions. <3<3

I will not be defeated!

First off, I apologize for not adding a post in quite some time. (I know I have a HUGE following and all :)) I am still pretty limited for spare time with my lil' wild child and I admit I got a little distracted when I caved into Pinterest.

Now that I've picked out the closet of clothes I will never have, the tacky home organization ideas I'll never use, and the crafting I will never have time for, I've decided to get back into this blogging thing.

I have to admit it's quite intimidating to begin blogging when I peruse other blogs that are so well-written and put together. I don't have a fancy camera or sewing machine and my knowledge of computers doesn't expand much past the COMP 101 class I took freshman year of college. (I did, however, get an A in that class. Though I think the whole class might have.) Nonetheless, I'm not going to let others' fancy blogs get me defeated! I am going to push forward and conquer the blogging world!

I feel I'm overall an interesting person. I may not be super cool but my honesty might win me some likability points. Okay... I'm a bit fuddy duddy-ish but I have a good sense of humor. Right?!?

Therefore, I have created a few goals for my blog. Please keep me real if I stray from these goals.

1. Always be honest and true.
            - I'm obviously past the point in my life where I care about "coolness". I've succumbed to my nerdiness. So, why try to portray myself in a way I am not? I admit I strive to portray myself in a positive light in social media forums. That's mostly because I HATE negativity. (Oxymoron? Slightly.)

2. Leave a little mystery.
            -There's obviously a part of blogging which opens people up to your personal life. I realize that. However, I think there's a fine line between letting people into your personal life and LETTING people into your personal life. I'm not going to try to get too personal here.

3. Mix it up!
             -My life obviously revolves around my baby boy. BUT, I'm going to strive not to solely write about him. I recently realized ALL my Facebook updates are about him and being a mommy. I want my blog to definitely incorporate my life as a mommy but I don't want peeps to get bored!

4. Do NOT be defeated.
             -Do not be defeated.

5. Keep it sweet and simple.
             -I tend to ramble. I will try not to. :)

                 Here is a sweet picture of my angel sleeping while mommy blogs and daddy showers:

                                         The camera woke him. :)

Analysis Paralysis

Hello, bloggers!

I recently decided I wanted to get into blogging since I feel understimulated and I waste way too much time on Facebook. At least this will keep my writing talents thriving... right? So, I went to blogspot.com and entered my email address to create a new account. A blog I had started from July 2008 pops up! I had totally forgotten about it! The single post reads: "Hmmm... so I finally decided to get into this whole "blogging" phenomenon. We'll see how long it lasts." It obviously didn't last long. Here's to hoping this one makes it a little farther!

While creating a new "blog", one of the first things it asks is for you to name your blog. Great. I'm horrible with coming up with creative names. I start brainstorming something that might describe me and where I'm at in my life. I start thinking of traits I have or things I might discuss in my blog. Ah-ha! Ask anyone that knows me well and they'll tell you that I overanalyze everything... which I realize I'll probably be doing a lot here. I start thinking of catchy titles... the overanalyst, paralysis analysis, etc. And wouldn't you know, every single idea is already taken! Bummer. I'll have to create my blog at a later time since I'm titleless.

Later that evening, I'm getting my four month old ready for bed. Bedtime has been a struggle the past few weeks and professionals would tell you it's because I'm "missing" the tired signals. I beg to differ. I hated naps and I think he's following in my footsteps. He's usually a very happy baby but when he's tired and fighting it, he screams LOUDLY! But he's easily distractable. If I tickle him or blow under his skin or on his belly, he fights a giggle. Sometimes he screams so fiercely that he actually cracks himself up and giggles. So, every night, I tell my dear son his screaming giggle is only tolerable for now. :)