Toddler/Preschool Meal Idea #1

• • Don't know what to feed your picky eater? Well I am going to begin posting some toddler/preschool meal ideas. I have a picky eater who really doesn't eat animal products except for dairy (milk and cheese) aside from that he dislikes meat/chicken/fish and eggs. I have tried countless time to have him eat a small portion but he refuses. However I am very aware of his protein intake and thank goodness he loves nut butters, beans and whole grain foods. I def do my research because every child is different. So in this meal I corporated pasta with meat sauce (he disliked the meat but loved the sauce and pasta) for his main dish. For sides I offered blueberries and Greek yogurt with granola. His choice of drink was water. This is just a quick dinner meal idea for toddlers. It's homemade, healthy and fulfilling. Feel free to share to your toddler meal ideas below if you have any! Thanks for stopping by.

    
    

    Xoxo Brittney.

    
    

    
    

    Here is a photo of his plate half way thru dinner

    
    

    

    
    

    Please comment down below for your ideas and for more blog posts!

    :D

    
    

Nathaniels 3rd Birthday

(Birthday Boy blowing out his candles. He is now a 3 year old)

To start off this blog I want to THANK everyone who wished my son a happy birthday! It was a memorable Birthday just like the rest. He started his day off with his Tia and cousins at Chuck E. Cheese and we spent time together, laughed and played. Then we ended his 3rd Birthday with family over at our house to enjoy some pizza and cake. (A great combo for kids, right?) We sang happy birthday and enjoyed spending time with him (like we do everyday). He got lots of toys. The last gift from his mommy & daddy will be a trip to DISNEYLAND!!!!! Hes excited. I did vlog his day and linked the video to this blog. If you continue to watch the etnire vlog, at the end I started a new tradition which is to ask him some questions to see what his likes/dislikes are. He just turned 3 so his interview was so funny but most of all it was cute! I hope you enjoy it. Once again thanks for stopping by and cant wait to have you back! Dont forget to follow me on IG for more photos and updates! 

xoxo Brittney.

Nathaniels 3rd Birthday Adventures + Funny ending!

On this very night 3 years ago.. (written last night)

It is 8:50pm. I am trying to make it a habit to write everyday of this New Year! Okay well I know thats not going to happen! Grrr. I want to post exactly what Nathaniel is doing. I am going to vlog but I am leaning towards keeping those videos as home footage only not for the public to see. Still deciding.

Earlier today was a emotional rollercoaster for me. Why? It hit me that my baby boy is no longer a "babu boy" but a growing toddler. He went thru the preemie stage, the newborn stage and the infant stage in the blink of an eye. I cant believe how much he has grown and how much he has learned. He went from not being able to breath alone to now speaking in full sentences using "big" words for his age and remembering stories well enough to tell them by himself. 

This very night 3 years ago (I was 33 weeks and 5 days) I was waiting at an Amtrak station waiting for my grandparents to get their Train Ride back to Texas. Their initial train was supposed to arrive around 5:30-6:00 pm and my grandpa being the way he is, he HAD to arrive at least 30 mins prior. So we had arrived at the station around 4:30pm. Waiting and waiting as each train passed right by us blowing so much wind that we would all squint our eyes lol. It was already cold during this time of year. I had on warm winter clothes. 7:00 snuck around and no train had arrived. 8, 9o'clock and still no train. I suddenly had this urge to go pee so badly and did I mention that the train station was located outdoors? Anyway I had to peepee real bad and there was a public co-ed bathroom which I went into and wasnt shocked that it smelled terrible and the toilet seat had been bombarded with poop and pee and not to mention hairs all over the toilet bowl. They looked like pubic hairs and at that moment I wanted to barf, and yes I did gag a little. I refused to use that bathroom being pregnant I did not want to put myself at any risk for illnesses. By that time I had to go pee so bad but I decided I would just hold it in (I later discovered that was a VERY BAD idea.) After ignoring my bodys messages I no longer felt the need to go. The train arrived around 10:45 isn? Finally. However good byes were not fun and I had already missed my graandparents before they stepped foot in the train. We gave our hugs and said our goodbyes. 

It was time to go home after hours of waiting for the train and hours of ignoring the urge to go we headed back home which was approx 45 mins- 1 hour commute. My parents drove me home that night. It was past 1 am by the time I got home, showered, snacked and went to bed. 

On January 8, 2011 around 5am I awoke to the worst back and abdominal pain I had ever experienced. I could not even turn my body over. I felt as if I had a broken back and I felt excruciating cramps. Thankfully my parents lived down the street from me so I was able to reach over to my nightstand where my phone laid, charging. I called my mom in tears explaining the agony I was experiencing. My mom rushed over to my place and unlocked the door. (Yes my mother has a spare to my house) my dad came with her and had to carry me into the truck because I was still in lots of pain. I arrived at the hospital shortly after 5:30 am and was immediately put on IV, and they did blood work and Nathaniel was being monitored closely. I was still experiencing major cramping. My doctor was not able to make it out so that morning I had to be seen by an on-call doctor. At that point I did not care who was there I just needed to know that Nathaniel was ok. Doctor came and checked me and I was dilated and somewhat effaced. The doctor explained to me that some health problems had occurred and at that point the safest thing to do was to keep an eye on my contractions that were occurring frequently. Few hours passed it was around 7:30 and doctor came in and contractions were still going, but at a faster pace. The doctor explained that the safest thing to do would be to break my water and begin active labor.

My mom, my two sisters were there from the early morning and called Mikey and told him this was not a false alarm after all. That today at some time we would have our baby boy here! 

At around 7:50-8:00 the doctor came in and got labor started! Doctor broke my water and thats when sh*it got real. I had thought I was feeling "contractions" but once my water was broken it was cramps on a whole notha level. So my labor began at approx 8am. I was nervous yet excited that my son was finally going to be here however I was a bit nervous knowing that he was going to be early but hey how bad could 34 weeks be?

Fast forward to 12 hours later 8:12 pm came around and after about 45 mins of pushing came my beautiful son Nathaniel Michael Rodriguez 5lbs 11oz.  I remember his cry being so low and hearing wheezing but my first instinct was to hold him and to soothe him however I could. Holding him right after giving birth was the most amazing feeling. It was almost as if my mind had blocked out every person in the room. It blocked out all the noise. I can clearly remember holding him on my chest and feeling his small, new body up against mine. As he was crying I told him "Its ok papa, mommy is here, everything is going to be ok" and his crying stopped. Not only was my son born but so was a mother. Before he was born I had no idea what to expect. I had no idea how much love was awaiting this little human. Immediately after those amazing moments the  NICU team took Nathaniel to examine him. I knew something wasn't right. 

Nathaniel came unexpectedly on Jan 8th, his initial due date was February 12, 2011. He was born at 34 weeks exactly and  until he was sent that very same night to another hospital to be admitted into a NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) had I known that every week, day, hour & second had mattered for unborn babies. Each day counted because each day they would develop physically into healthy newborns. I had continually kept praying to god to keep my son safe and no matter how long it took for him to be 100% healthy I would wait.

Nathaniel had remained in the NICU from his date of birth to Jan 30th. For the first two weeks of his life I was unable to hold him due to being attached to tubes and monitors. I can say that they were the hardest two weeks of my entire life. My arms were like magnetic to him yet I didn't want to disrupt anything. I needed him to get better so he can come home where all his family were waiting for him. His new bassinet (which was never slept in) was waiting for him. 

January 30th came around an I was able to take him home. Those few weeks in the NICU was amazingly hard experience but never once had I left his side. I practically lived in the NICU on a small rocking chair that was right next to his tiny hospital bed.  

This was quite a long story and is still being written. As a mother my journey is still ongoing and continue to face challenges and I get to experience many amazing moments with my son. We learn from one another and we grow with one another.

Now on January 10, 2014 I sit here looking at my now 3 year old, healthy and happy son navigating my iPhone to look at my photos (he loves looking at photos of relatives) and wearing his spiderman costume because he is OBSESSED with superheroes especially spiderman. I can only be extremely thankful that everything turned out as it did because I know it was for a reason and it could have been much worse but my outlook on this whole experience is that god took care of him and he continues to do so. Thank you Jah.

                                                              Happy 3rd Birthday Nathaniel 

*If you havent watched Nathaniels birth video feel free to do so. 
Hope you all enjoyed this post and follow me on IG @ Spideysmom11

Parenting Book I have been loving...

I enjoy reading books of all sorts from Fiction to Non-Fiction but my favorite books are psychology type books and parenting books. I have ready several books and can say that some authors dont have the same views as parenting styles as I do. I want to share a poem that I read which lead to the book I am currently loving. The poem is "Children Learn what they live"

As I read this poem I thought "yes very true" and so I came across her book which is depicted from her poem. I loved the poem so I thought I would check out the book and I am loving it. Its a fine balance between being a loving yet understanding parent and sometimes those two can be quite difficult to use at once. I dont want to spoil the book by any means so I suggest parents to be or parents who enjoy reading books like this to check out amazon to order  this book. I did so and I bought this book for about $6. If you want to know what other parenting or books in general that I liked/disliked than stick around for more! 

unil next time my loves,

Xoxo Brittney

A few of our last 2013 photos together

Just finished making dinner so I now have time to post on here! Yay for time management! Tonights Blog is going to consist of the last photos of Nathaniel and I. So there is a story behind it. People probably wonder why Mikey isn't in the photos. It all starts with both of our completely busy lives and so we had scheduled the photos weeks prior to the actual date we took them and something kept coming up that delayed the photos. Christmas Day came around and my sister was available for photos and so was I unfortunately Mikey wasn't. He had fell asleep very late due to Christmas Eve and visiting family. So Chrstimas morning came and he was very tired and I was tired of rescheduling so we took them and this how they came out.... Trust me we will be taking some "Family Portraits" very soon but in the meantime these work for me.

Each and every single photo is completely cherished by me and I want to thank my sister Evelyn for taking the time and making these picture so beautiful. These were the last of our 2013 photos.

(If you would like to contact her for business  inquiries just ask)

Until next time my loves.

Xoxo Brittney & Nathaniel

Positivity starts now!!!!

The holidays have flown by once again and it's that time of year again...

A New Year is approaching! It's exciting to me yet a bit nerve wrecking simply because I think about everything that can possibly go wrong lol and this is what led me to this particular blog. My MAJOR goal for the upcoming year that has began now is to let go of negativity and just the positivity flow right in. In all honesty it's easier said than done! Right now  relaxing and writing this blog but once I hit the real world man can other humans get on my damn nerve... But this is the type of thinking I AM going to let go. I'm sure many of you can relate to having negative and harsh thinking toward others especially those we love. It is sad but it is true and in this blog I want to introduce my new series of positivity blogs! Woohoo! Lets see what techniques I can apply in my own life and share with each of you! I have started reading many books on this and been applying it. I'm not perfect in any shape or form but every day that I wake up gives me an opportunity to be a more positive and upbeat person than I was the day before! Some may ask "well where do I start"? You can start NOW!!!! How? When you are alone at some point thins day really, deeply focus and name at least 5 blessing or 5 things that you are extremely grateful for! Once you think of them write them down in a journal or even your phone! Do this everyday because everyday there is at least one thing to be grateful for an if you can't think of anything think about that fact that your breathing at this moment or that you have the ability to read this blog! So for this first blog series I want you to begin with exercising not on physically but exercising gratitude. Gratitude is a positive attribute that leads to a much better day. Try it and let me know how the first day went! Till next time my wonderful readers!

Always begin and end your day with a smile

:D

Hello my loves!

Soooooo I have been SUPER BUSYYYYY!!! I apologize for not keeping up with my blog but I decided to take control of my time and schedule and updating my blog/youtube is a stress reliever for me, believe or not. I find myself being able to connect with so many wonderful individuals that may be experiencing the same circumstances that I may be facing. I am here to help and listen to anyone who needs it. I am open arms and listening ears. Aside from that I have also been reading many books including the bible and trying to connect with my inner self and my inner thoughts and I found it highly important to take time for yourself and focus on everything you have rather than what you don't have. 

This lead me to film the video which I have posted dow below. Its about finding time for yourself. Many people live their life in a rush and not enjoying the fact that their breathing. I took a step back and I realized that I needed to slow it down a bit. Mentally, physically and emotionally I felt drained. So I have been taking baby steps to improving my way of living and feeling. I will be making videos on steps and technquies I have been putting to use in my life to enhance my thoughts and emotions. 

If you are ready to enjoy life and gain a wonderful feeling of self improvement click on the video down below and follow me on this journey of loving one self...because doing so will lead in loving others unconditionally.

Thank you for visiting. Please feel free to contact me. I am only a click away! Enjoy.