Crazy Couponing!

 This is going to be a short but awesome blog post but its worth the read when your saving some money!

    I NEVER thought I would be one of those obnoxious people who stood in line giving the cashier tons of coupons BUT I'm one of those people now! & I'm not quite as crazy as some people can be about it but I did save money on my last trip to the grocery store and to me that's super exciting! I feel like I spend SO much money on food! I have some major pigs in my house, boys are such big eaters and I have another one on the way! Craziness! & We are also healthy eaters which makes things more expensive but the way I see it is that would I rather spend more on food or medical bills?? I say food!
   So how am I doing it? Well so far I just started getting the weekend paper coupons and only cutting out stuff that we buy! because I feel like a lot of people cut out stuff that the don't even use/eat and then it goes to waste. Sooo then I've been saving them and when I have to go to the store I make a list and I take out the coupons of stuff that we need/want and only bring those ones, or if the coupon is about to expire & I just bring them in an envelope. I write on my list how many and what band so I don't have to keep looking at them to see the details as well! When I got to the cashier I just told her I had some and I set them down for her to scan them when she was done ringing them in she just scanned them and I didn't feel like a pain in the butt at all, maybe the people behind me thought so but I don't care what they think because I saved some moolah! Wahoo!
    Thanks so much Lori V for getting me started! :)) These days saving even $10 is worth it! So if you wanted to get started http://thekrazycouponlady.com/ is a good website to start your coupon binder or get some ideas!

HAPPY COUPONING! :))))
   

  YAY! Another boy! We are beyond thrilled! Either way we would have been happy, all that really matters is that the baby is healthy BUT we so badly wanted another boy! Anyone who knows me knows i'm probably made to have all girls being so girly myself and yes that would have been tons of fun for me but when I had Caleb that changed for me! Theirs nothing like a mama's boy! And my boys WILL be just that! Caleb already is but I want it to always stick, I want them to still snuggle with me when they're in high school (is that wired) haha :) buttttttt lets not even think of high school right now I want them to stay as little as long as I can :( Anyways! I wanted another boy because of several reasons one being so Caleb would have a brother! I know having a sister would have been great too because either way a sibling is a sibling but there is just that bond with each other that's like no other when being the same gender. My sister and I are the besttt of friends, there is nothing we don't tell each other. We honestly maybe had all of two or three "fights" our whole lives! We were so close that even though we had separate rooms and beds we still shared them both :) Our brother and us were close too but it was a different closeness because he obviously wasn't going to be sharing clothes and sleeping with us in our bed. Now I know not all siblings get along the way we did but I truly think its the way your parents raise you. My parents taught empathy to us in a strong way, if we were mean to each other we went in time out then had to kiss hug and make up, we were always reminded how important family was. We just cared about each other a whole lot and still to this day do but to me most of that is a learned and taught behavior. I will definitely instill that in my boys!
    Two is going to be our number! We would love to have like five kids but I'm one of the biggest planners ever! I look far into the future and see the big picture and that's that this world isn't getting any cheaper! Having five kids ten years ago is like have two today! I think of college, cars, insurance, and all the stuff in between! No I'm not going to just give all of that to them but I do want to help them and not be broke after doing so! Even when you talk about buying a house a three bedroom is much cheaper then a four bedroom! Or when I think about family trips and how expensive plane tickets are, just that one extra for food, tickets and all that good stuff is it adds up! We want to be computable and not stress about that stuff so having two kids we know we can do that and be computable doing so. PLUS if any of you know Caleb and know how active he is if i have anymore then two of him (seeings how little carter in my belly is SO active already) you know I'm going to have my hands full! Caleb is on the go go gooooo at all times! He's so busy he takes a two hour nap and sleeps twelve hours a night so that's a plus! But that just shows you how busy he is! & YES we've already picked this little ones name its Carter Hazen Campbell! We are so in love with it and him already! September 17th can't come fast enough! :)))))


OH &&& I saved everything from having Caleb so SCORE! :))) All about the saving money!!

Clean Eating!

   Recently I found out that after I have my baby in September I will have to have my gallbladder out. How I found this out was I was having "attacks" mostly at night where I would get really sick and what I mean about really sick was everything that was in my body came out! It was awful, I would also get bad pains in my right side. Every attack got worse as they went on, at first I thought that it was just pregnancy sickness but then with the bad pains and the attacks getting worse I knew something was wrong. So I called my doctor and right away she told me that it was my gallbladder it was all the signs and symptoms of it. Then she asked me what I had eaten every time I had an attack and it was all stuff high in dairy or a red meat. Then she told me that I had to change my diet, I have always been a healthy eater but when your pregnant you crave more unhealthy things then that you would normally eat. For example I was eating more ice cream, chips, cheese, and I also switched to whole milk, so that was obviously making the problem worse. This runs in my family so when I told my mom she wasn't surprised. Now the only foods I can eat are white meat, a few types of fish, most all fruit, most all veggies, light yogurts, skim milk, fat free cheeses and vinegars. Things I cant eat are fried food, tomato sauces, cheese, ice cream, caffeine, red meats, chocolate, spicy foods, fruit juices, pretty much anything with any type of fat.
  At first I was like how the heck am I going to do this being pregnant! I love spicy food and ice cream! & ahh chocolate!! But its been a month now since I've had any of it and I feel soooo good! You don't realize how some of these foods can make you feel till you stop having them! Like red meat! I love myself a good steak but I really don't miss it like I thought I would. The only thing I miss is ice cream! I can have frozen yogurt but they don't come in the yummy flavors that ice cream does. Eating clean has made such a big difference, I go on a walk everyday almost and now I feel like I could go for miles and miles, I feel like I have all the energy in the world. I can't even imagine how the people who eat crappy every waken minute feel! Because I didn't even eat unhealthy, I never ate fried food, I never cooked with grease or tons of butter, I never ever ate fast food my unhealthy foods were red meat from time to time, concentrated juices and high fat dairy foods. Cutting those out of my diet has made such a difference, you are what you eat!
  Even after I have my gallbladder out I will still have to watch what I eat, Its a life long thing but I can introduce some stuff back into my diet but in proportion, which I'm fine with! I want to live a long healthy life and so many people don't care about their bodies or even think about what their insides might look like from eating all the junk they do! I will eat clean and always run/walk, its my lifelong goal! :) My Husband even after being with me and hearing me preach to him about junk has become such a healthy eater, he does eat his red meat and that's something I wont change but he loves fish, fruits and vegetables! I banded him from fast food and little debbies. Even though he has cheated a few times this years with being with his friends and having a burger from McDonald's, But he used to eat that junk all the time till I told him whats in it and how much his insides must hate him! My son eats super clean, he has never had McDonald's and I wont ever allow him to, I will tell him whats in all the junk and hopefully he will be too grossed out to ever eat it as an adult. He eats all homemade food, no canned or boxed unless its organic, I do let him have chips and a cookie once and awhile because of course he needs a little junk because if I never let him then when he gets a taste he would probably go crazy on it. We never drink soda so he will never care to have a taste from our cups cause we never have it. Ever since Caleb started eating real foods we gave him all kinds of fruits and veggies so he eats avocados, asparagus, summer squash, zucchini, tomatoes, and every fruit there is, and he loves it! Eating clean is so important to a healthy lifestyle and starting your kids young is so important, how you eat reflects on how your kids eat, don't just love the outside of your kids love the inside too! Protect it and make sure they live long healthy lives too! :))

Nursing & working!

  So I'm writing about breastfeeding so for those of you that get grossed out at this topic one stop reading or two get over it :)) I say that with all the kindness in my heart! But really some people think its gross or makes them uncomfortable or whatever their reason my be, the way I see it is its the very best thing for your baby, makes you loose all you baby weight plus more if your lucky like I was! I gained 40 pounds with my first pregnancy! Yes I said 40! I had extra extra fluid with him so that part of the reason, but after 7 or 8 weeks I had lost all of it plus 7 pounds less then what I was post pregnancy! So it helps in that department, and its free people!!! I know some people just can't do it because of issues with there health or whatnot, but if you can its the BEST way to go! It takes some time in the beginning for your milk to come in and and it hurts like hell, you have to deal with your nipples cracking and painful boobs BUTTT its 100% worth it in the end because that's just the first few weeks then its smooth sailing from there! & I feel that's why a lot of mothers give up but its not that bad after a few weeks trust me! Just so Caleb wouldn't loose weight I gave him formula and what I could get for breast milk in the beginning, I was so worried about him being hungry!
   My way of nursing was a little different, I pumped everything! Caleb didn't nurse off my boob once, my reasoning for this was I knew I was going to have to work after I had him although I don't work long days and I can make my own schedule I knew that I couldn't always be there when he was hungry or needed to feed. I had also heard that once you have them to the boob you might not be able to get them to feed from the bottle so I didn't want to take that chance and not be able to nurse at all. For me breast milk was breast milk and it didn't matter how my baby got it from me it was the fact that he got it! When I was at the hospital this women came in and she was the lady who talked about breastfeeding to new mothers lets say I got really annoyed with her because she was saying over and over again that I should reconsider not letting Caleb go off my boob. Her reasoning for this was because she felt that the bond was so important from letting them being on your boob but for me my reasoning made more since to my lifestyle and I felt that either way you bond with them, not to mention Caleb's daddy could also bond with him while feeding him too! But most importantly I felt that he was still getting my milk and really that's what mattered most to me!
  When I first started pumping my milk came in a yellowish gold color but the more I pumped the whiter it got, it also took a lot longer in the beginning for milk to come out. I would pump for a half hour to 40 minutes at first but Caleb really didn't need that much milk so it was fine, but when time went on I could pump for 5 or 10 minutes and get a whole 10 oz of milk! I produced SO much milk that I had a whole freezer full! When you freeze your milk you have these special freezer bags for breast milk and you have to date them because they can only be frozen for 6 months until you have to throw them out so always use your oldest to newest. I had them in a tray to organize them and would put the newest at the back and keep going from there. Then when you thaw them out you can't put them in boiling water or the microwave because it actually kills the while blood cells and a lot of the nutrients in your milk so I would just run it over hot water with it in the bag and it a bowl or just let it sit out till it was thawed out. So therefore when I worked I would either pump before I would go or just thaw out some milk from the freezer, you can put breast milk in the fridge but it only lasts for like 4 or 5 days. You always knew when your milk was no longer good because one it stunk and two it would have mild chunks. Your milk always has a different smell to it but its not yucky smelling so you can definitely smell the difference! You can also test your milk with test strips when you have had a night out too, you have to pump and dump a lot till you strip tells you your safe! I drank probably 3 or 4 times within the year that I nursed because really sometimes its not even worth it but you also need that you time with your husband, boyfriend or girls so you wont go completely crazy :)
  I used a double electric pump, mine was the brand Avent it was around $300 but so worth it if this is the route your taking! Next time the only thing I will do that I didn't last time is I'm getting a hand held pump too so when I go somewhere I can re-leave myself because I remember going on date nights, weddings, tips and my boobs hurt so bad when I didn't pump for awhile. The other thing I would change is obviously starting with the bottle like I did with Caleb but trying to go off the boob sometimes at night because it was kinda sucky that after I feed Caleb durring the night I would then have to pump after putting him back to bed so if he woke up again I would have something to feed him, but I would only do it at night. Other then those two things I wouldn't change a thing! Theirs so many ups to pumping everything and one that stood out to me was that I knew the amount he was drinking so I was never over feeding him, another would be that you produce so much more milk with pumping so you can stock up! But overall off the boob or pumping your baby is getting the best milk he or she can get and that's whats important! :)

If anyone has any questions or any new mothers are thinking of pumping I know all there is to know about it so don't be afraid to ask! :)

Summer is here! lets talk my favorite summer color to wear!

Weeeee! Summer is here in Maine! It was a long winter and I personally had enough! Now out comes the sundresses, sunglasses, and open toe shoes! Being pregnant I wont be able to wear some of my cute sundresses or some of my cute tops but maxi dresses are awesome while pregnant! So so comfy! Looking at my closet I just moved all my winter clothes to the back of it and all my summer clothes to the front! Bright is what I see now and I love it! Bright pink, coral, green, blue, yellow, orange and my favorite aqua! Its that bright light blueish color, I'm obsessed! You can put almost any color with it too and its sooo cute! for example a cute orange or pink necklace or earrings! Even black and white goes good with it for example a pair of black shoes or a white bracelet!

Here are some aqua looks that I love! found on pinterest obviously :)

                                                         Big necklaces are my favorite!


Being a mom doesn't mean that you have to always look like you rolled out of bed. I like to look cute it makes you feel so much better about yourself! Some people make excuses and say they just don't have the time but you can make time! it doesn't take five hours to get dressed it takes 2 seconds :) & hair and makeup that doesn't have to take forever either, you don't have to dress or look like your going to prom but a simple everyday makeup and even a cute bun is not any work!

&&&& SHOES! although as a mom sneakers are awesome a cute shoe can make your outfit! For me the only time I wear them is when i'm exercising, going for a walk, playground and sometimes being outside with Caleb but other then that i'm in some cute flip flops, wedges or open toed shoes! & back to the color aqua! look at these shoes...

Last but not least! hand bags, purses and totes! I love myself a cute purse! I personally don't like to spend a lot of money on them but once and a greeeaaatt while is okay if your completely in love with it! but for the most part a $30 bag is what i go for! Back to the mom thing just because your a mom doesn't mean you have to have a diaper bag instead of a cute bag! I actually used a big purse as my diaper bag, you don't need half of the stuff you put in them so it actually makes you have to carry a little less which is a good thing when you also have a baby or car seat to lug around! Then once your baby isn't a baby anymore then you can do a backpack for them! Now before we wrap this up take a look of the cutest MK aqua purse ever!

  Well as I said in my first blog post my husband and I did things a little backwards and had a baby then got married, but we wouldn't change it for the world! Some people think that what we did was the "wrong" way but how I think of it is babies are a blessing from god and everything happens for a reason so to me theirs no wrong or right way to do it. I actually have a little story about this lady who made it very clear it was the "wrong" way. I was at work coming down the stairs from an appointment with a client as I was about seven months pregnant, there was this lady sitting on the couch in our shop she was watching me the whole way down the stairs and continued as I settled up with my client. After my client left this lady who I have never met before point blank asked me if I was married, I was kind of in shock and looked at her and said no she gave me a awful look shook her head looked right down and didn't say another word to me. As I left the shop it was really bothering me that she just did that to me, in my opinion I could have chose the alternative but I didn't and to me that IS the right thing to do! Really I should have been quicker on my feet and told her I was a lesbian or something. But that's when u have to just let it go and know that your a good person and most importantly will shove it in their face by being the best mother ever to that little baby! And that's what I did! :)
  On another note Wayne and I had been together for five years before having our sweet Caleb so to me I was lucky that was the case! We always talked about the day we would get married and have children it just happened sooner then we expected! Finding out we were pregnant wasn't the us being together and being super excited story. I was actually with my friends Ina and Bree when I told them I was like 5 weeks late on my period and that I might be pregnant... so right away they were like "Bri! lets go get a test!" So we went to rite aid got some tests went back to my house, as I took the tests I was shaking so bad hoping to see a negative when it was indeed positive! I admittedly started balling my eyes out, not even knowing what to think, I really just wanted my mom and sister there too but they were in Florida for basketball. So hugging my friends as I was balling my eyes out really helped me out as they helped me get through it. Then us being sad girls we all went and got Ben and Jerry's and another friend Jess came over. I was so worked up that that's when the sickness started! But thank god for good friends Bree held my hair the whole night rubbing my back :) Wayne had been with his friends too that night so I didn't want to spoil his fun so the next day I had him come over and that's when I told him, he was in shock at first then when I started crying he started crying, we just hugged each other and layed in bed for most of the day. I then called my mom balling my eyes out still (yes I looked like I hadn't gotten sleep in a week with horrible puffy eyes) but her reaction was not what I expected at all, she was SO excited! saying "Don't cry this isn't a bad thing at all" her telling me that really helped me out! So after our first baby appointment that's when both Wayne and I started to get excited about this! Something about seeing that first ultrasound completely puts a new prospective on things then as we continued to go the more excited we got! Thennn the day we found out it was a BOY! I have never seen Wayne more excited in my life, he called everyone right away and the rest of the day he had a permanent smile on his face, it was the cutest thing ever!

  As all of the mixed emotions went away and all that there was, was excitement we were so ready for our little boy to be here! It was basketball season for my sister as she was a senior in high school and if anyone knows my family basketball is a big deal! So as I went on leave from work therefore I could attend all of Katelyn's playoff games, lets just say thank god for my moms seat to sit on while on the bleachers! At this point I could go at any day! As Katelyn's team kept winning we kept going to all the games till I had an appointment with my Doctor and at this point I was a week over my due date so I was very very uncomfortable, he told us that we would wait a few days because he knew how badly I wanted to go natural but that he would have to take the baby on the 1st of March if I didn't go before than! So after two long days no baby and the next day was the 1st so I knew I was going to have a c-section witch my Doctor had been warning me about the whole pregnancy because I guess the smaller you are the smaller your pelvis is. And thank god I didn't have him natural because he was 8 pounds and 21 inches long!! Witch I guess is an average size baby but I'm not very big and my torso definitely isn't 21 inches long! But that excitement that we were feeling as I was pregnant was nothing compared to Caleb's arrival! Having a c-section I couldn't do much but Wayne went everywhere with Caleb with a proud daddy smile on his face every second of the way! Having a c-section is so hard and I can't even imagine not having Wayne there! I couldn't cough laugh or anything without it killing me! Caleb didn't leave our site, we didn't want him to go into the nursery so he stayed with us witch probably wasn't so smart for Wayne because he was so worried he sat up all night watching him! As the nights went on we got better and could sleep a little bit more but it was when we finally got to go home that my mom let us get some sleep while she watched Caleb! Ahhhh sleep! That same night we had Caleb my sister and her team won their Class A Eastern Maine Championship! So overall this was a pretty awesome day for our family! :)))

Mommy & Daddy hood started for us! We were proud parents! I'll be blogging some of our experiences being new parents on a later note along with the beginning of my life as a Campbell! :)) 

 

My first blog post!

  Well yay my very first blog post! So exciting! Ever since I read my friend Kim Taylor's blogging posts on Facebook I thought that it was so nice to see her experiences with her little baby Noah and her family's life on Taylor Hill :) Its such a good way to see how people live, what moms do with their babies, what different thing's family's do with their weekends, the secrets to successful relationships and marriages, whats new with fashion, to find new recipes and more! So this is how I will share my way of life and how my little Campbell clan chooses to live!
  I'm sure before you start reading my posts you will want to know who I am and about my family so here is goes! My name is Brianna Campbell in a few short months I'll be turning 24! My husband is Wayne Campbell we've been together since high school and for seven whole years! We did things a little backwards and had a baby then got married but everything happens for a reason and we couldn't change how things went for the world! Our son name is Caleb he just turned two in March! He is the light of our lives, our little Caleb is literately the cutest sweetest little boy ever! We've learned and been through so much as new parents but from seeing who Caleb is becoming I'd have to say I think we're doing okay :) It's not easy being a parent, it's not all laughs, smiles, and cute pictures. Although that is a part of it it's also teething, ear infections, spitting up, messy diapers, sleepless nights and the list goes on. As parents you have to have developed a love for each other that can concur some stressful situations because it can be hard on a relationship at times but if your love for each other is real it also brings you closer together too. Wayne proposed to me a little while after Caleb was born, I always told him I don't want a proposal if its just because of the fact we had a baby together I wanted it to be when he was ready so we never talked about it, so when he did it was such a surprise! (I'll post about how he proposed later :) ) We got married this last September! (i'll also post about that day later as well ) Being married some people say it doesn't change anything but I think it has. We've always been really close but its that bond of knowing your now one is amazing! Lastly we are now expecting our second baby!!! I'm almost five months along now so we will be finding out what this little ones gender is in a few weeks!! So stay tuned! :)))