Simply Singer

Alright, I live in the Phoenix metro area of Arizona, USA. In the summers it can get to about 125 degree F and winters can be a bit nippy. Today is 3-22-20. It was about 67 outside today and partly cloudy. This weeks forecast goes from 62 tomorrow all the way to 87 next Thursday. That gives you an idea of what our general weather is for now. With all this COVID-19 stuff going on, mix that with my kids loving watermelon and strawberries, I said why not grow some! I told my husband and he went to the hardware store and got supplies. Came back showed me an idea and begun to build it. He then decided he didn’t like that and tried a different approach. Since it was not really “building” anything, it was easy to swap and try different ideas. He bought these bricks that are like puzzle pieces where all sides go inward. Which meant, all he had to do was place the bricks apart from each other and stick a board into the slot. Very simple! So Steven went to Home Depot and bought the sup...

I always thought about making my own baby food with Logan but it never happened. Then after Rosella was born, I decided to give it a try. We have a local farmers market and I had a week off when she started on solids.  The jars I have used are each 4oz. For less than $20.00, I picked up all this fresh fruits and veggies! A while back I purchased the Kindle version of  this book  to help direct me on my baby food making journey. Between the book and common knowledge I begun to create a bunch of different recipes. I add all the different recipes in here to the blog every so often so just look out for them or search for them. Avocado Spinach Pear Puree This recipe will make about 16 ounces of baby food - this is one of my daughters favorites! You will need:    - 2 avocados    -10-15 leaves of spinach    - 2 pears Step 1: Wash and peel the pears, Remove the core and cut into small chunks. Step 2: Rinse ...

So with the new year, EVERYONE is making resolutions which we all don't keep some if not most. This year I want to try to keep ALL my resolutions. I bought a  weekly planner  to try to keep up with everything. As of right now, it is January 1st. So I am trying to get everything that I have thought about down into the  weekly planner . I have been thinking about everything I want to do but we just do not have the funds for it. So something I cannot write down to accomplish daily/weekly/monthly is to actually pay debt off. I know my husband hates when I talk about money in any aspect but we currently have a house, two vehicles, a couple or so credit cards, and some other loans. So we owe a lot, just use your imagination. My goal is to get at least 2 but hopefully 3 of these paid off. We do have a few that are no interest for 12-18 months but beside the point I want 2-3 of anything paid off. I would love to begin looking for a house to live in until the kids graduate high ...

Rosella just hit her due date and was 2 months old and Steven and I had the time off work due to parental leave, so we decided to take a nice family vacation. Somewhere where the kids can go, or at least Logan can have fun. So we decided SeaWorld, San Diego Zoo, LegoLand and SeaLife Aquarium. Logan loves animals as do I and LegoLand is for kids. Day 1 - SeaWorld. A ton of walking (granted that was the whole trip) and seeing all the marine life. Logan absolutely loved seeing all the animals and even more so when they were interacting with him. He was very excited with all the movement of the different animals . Surprisingly he did so well without a nap, but fell asleep the minute we drove back towards the hotel. Logan would run towards the different tanks because the marine life would be swimming around and it would catch his eyes. His favorite words were wow and ohh. He liked to point out all the moving animals, which was mostly everything. As expected Rosella slept most of...

So as many of you know, I was asked to guest speak in a medical conference. This conference was about preterm labor and birth as a whole. I was asked by one of the ladies in the hospital staff before I was discharged after having Rosella if I was interested. I said sure that sounds like fun. So we now fast forward a bunch of months and now we are before the holidays. She asks again if I’m still interested. Of course I would love too. I told her I would and I will keep my promise. The beginning of the year I tell her I was able to get the day off work and we are good to go. As the day drew near, and we are about 6-10 weeks away I’m starting to have doubts. Starting to have anxiety about reliving this all over again, see some of the staff that took care of me. I get the email with what she wants me to talk about. Ok that seems simple, just four things. Why I was there and how long with a bit of backstory, positive things I liked and what I wish would have been done differently. So I ...

So we are going to get a bit personal here, so please don't judge, it is hard enough for me to write it but sharing it will be even harder. I ask not for your pity or anything, you do not need to say anything to me about this post, just know this is how I feel.  Rosella is just over 10 months old. It has been a struggle for me here and there with everything that I went to. Being a strong headed person, I never reached out for help. Always told myself it would get better. Has to get better. Have to be strong and healthy and ok for my family. Well was a dead wrong. Not addressing these issues I have been having, it has taken a huge toll on me. So I finally reached out to Rosella's developmental therapist and told her that I think I need some help. I write this feeling like I should not be but mental health is VERY IMPORTANT. And If yo have doubts, always get help. I am pretty sure I have some form of PTSD from the whole pregnancy, birth and NICU experience but I am not a doct...

Rosella spent the first 3 weeks of her life in the NICU . It was very hard on us emotionally and physically. Not only my husband and I, but our families as well. She was born just over 8 weeks early . Everyday we hoped she would grow and not have any issues. It was a long three weeks. Logan was still in preschool at the time so at least I was able to visit her everyday.  Rosella was born 31 weeks and 5 days gestation. Just over 2 months early. She was only 3 pounds 9 ounces. Just a little thing. She was born 3:33 in the morning. I did not get to see her until about 8:30 and I still was unable to hold my baby. Granted I was so drugged up from everything (if you read the Arrival of Rosella's post ). We went back a bit before 2pm and then I was able to hold her.  The rules were a bit strict. To those who never have experienced a child in the NICU, you will not understand how emotional it can be. We could only hold her right after care and feeding and you had to hold her for ...

If you have read my previous posts about how my pregnancy had gone, then you know that with all the issues, you could figure it would be not how I could imagine. Well being in the hospital and monitored (baby's heart rate and uterine contractions) twice a day with access to nurses any time I may have needed one worked in my favor leading up to the birth. When you read thru this, remember that most things I was going thru was considered normal for my pregnancy issues. And that I honestly had no idea I was actually in labor until moments before. So I woke up very early in the morning, around 1 am on May 3rd with contractions but they were not too bad. Manageable and spaced out enough there was no call for concern. But being only 31 weeks and 3 days pregnant with steady contractions, I was administered magnesium. For those who do not know what that does, it is used for neuro support of the baby. It can also help stop false labor. Which when you get it, it feels like you are laying...