I NEED TO VENT!

Can someone please explain to me why it is that people always want to tell you how to raise your kids??

I understand that I'm a first time mom, and I also understand that MOST people are only trying to help when they tell you something. Let me be clear, I do understand that. But What I'm referring to, are the people that tell you what you need to do, then criticize you when you don't do it. Let me give you a couple of examples of what I mean:

POSITIVE THINGS: 

1. What positions help baby relieve themselves of any gases they might have. 
2. Things you can do at bath time to help put baby to sleep. 
3. Different positions for breastfeeding that could be more comfortable. 

NEGATIVE THINGS:

1. If your baby is 3 months old, you should already be giving her solids. 
2. Why are you still breastfeeding?? Just give her formula and she'll sleep longer. 

This is an extremely short list of the many things that I've been told. I will admit that I understand that both the positive and negative things I've been told are probably coming from a good place. This is the reason that I'm not rude to the people who say these things, but I've made it very clear to my husband that at the end of the day the only people who have any say in how we decide to raise our daughter, is US. Do I mean to sound rude or disrespectful?? Of course not. But just because you chose to raise your child one way, doesn't mean that I'm going to do the same with mine. I will ALWAYS listen to everything people tell me, but at the end of the day, the choice is still up to mom and dad to make. 

I'd more then love to know what you guys think and feel on this subject. Its always nice getting someone else's point of view.

REVIEW: Witches Hate Vampires by Jennifer Hampton

Title: Witches Hate Vampires

Author: Jennifer Hampton

Publisher: Jennifer Hampton at Smashwords

Release Date: 03.28.11

Format: Ebook

SUMMARY:

Tasmin McCaw is not your average human. In fact, she’s Witch. She made the discovery when she was twelve. The war with Russia has become so corrupt, that it’s robbed man of their humanity. Tasmin’s family fall victim to the wrath of ruthless soldiers. They've come to deploy the men in her family onto the battlefield. They remove her father and only brother from their home, but that’s not all they wanted. The night turns tragic when the soldiers decide to attack Tasmin and her mother. However, Tasmin’s wrath is a bit more intense than the soldiers anticipated. Tasmin is an adopted child and she’s a descendent from a very powerful bloodline of witches. Tasmin’s power strikes tragedy on the soldiers and saves her mother.
Now, as refugees, Tasmin and her mother must flee to The Dark Coast where prosperity reigns. A place where the world is ruled by constant cloud cover. A place where Tasmin will never see the sun. The one place where rumors circulate that creatures like her walk the lands. However, Witches aren’t the only creatures that roam the Dark Coast. Tasmin encounters a very arrogant and powerful Vampire named Adrian. For the first time, Tasmin’s powers, her humility, and her rage will be tested. Witches hate Vampires, but Adrian has fallen in love with her. Can her feelings surpass the loathing for the one creature Witches have grown to detest?

REVIEW:

Just like the summary says, Tazmin is ANYTHING but your average teenager. After her father and brother are unwillingly deployed to battle, the soldiers come back the their house for her and her mother. But when they return, it isn't in a very friendly manner. Both mother and daughter dont talk about what happened that day, not only because of what the soldiers did, but also because of Tasmin did without lifting a finger. 

Years later, Tasmin and her mother move away to The Dark Coast where they can start fresh. But that doesn't last very long when Tasmin runs into Adrian who decides to make her first days there, a bit dificult to say the least. After some time, (and some apologizes) they get to know each other better, and curtain changes take place. 

I dont want to give to much away about this novella because its really short. But, I'll be honest when I say that even though I read it in 2 days, (it could have been one, but I have alittle girl to take care of...) I didn't want to stop reading. Would I recommend this book to friends of family? Without a doubt. Do I think it could have been longer? Yes. And even though there are many grammatical errors, and one or two redundancies, you have to take into consideration that Jennifer hampton doesn't have an editor, we are human, and we all make mistakes. I found this book, even with it's errors really nice. 

Rating?  4 hearts. It's fast paced from the very beginning and I'd love to read book 2.

Great job Jennifer!

REVIEW: Shattered Dreams by Ellie James

Title: Shattered Dreams

Author: Ellie James

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

Release Date: 12.06.11

Format: Ebook

SUMMARY:

Sixteen-year-old Trinity Monsour wants nothing more than to live a normal life. But that isn’t as easy as it seems. Trinity is different. She is special. She sees visions, and for those she’s seen, it’s already too late.
Trinity arrives on her aunt’s doorstep in New Orleans with virtually no knowledge of her mysterious heritage. She begins settling into life at a new school and even starts making friends. But all too quickly her dreams accelerate; twisted, terrifying visions of a girl locked in a dark room. And when the head cheerleader, Jessica, goes missing, Trinity knows she has no choice but to step forward with what she’s seen.
But people believe that Trinity has information about Jessica’s disappearance not because of a dream, but because she is involved. She is kind-of dating Jessica’s ex-boyfriend, Chase, and Jessica did pull a nasty prank on Trinity. Revenge seems like the likeliest scenario.
Nothing prepares Trinity for the dark odyssey that ensues while searching for Jessica, including the surprising romance she finds with Chase, or the shocking truths she learns, not just about the girl who has gone missing, but the past that has been hidden from her.

PRAISE:

“A haunting and engaging story with characters who will stay with you long after you finish the book. Ellie James is a debut author you won’t want to miss.” -CC Hunter, author of Born at Midnight

“Mesmerizing! With Shattered Dreams, Ellie James has woven unforgettable characters and dark elements into the richness of New Orleans to create a beautifully haunting tale that will stay with the reader long after she turns the final page.” –Rachel Hawthorne, author of the Dark Guardian series

“The first novel in The Midnight Dragonfly series takes flight with a powerful mix of mystery, magic, and romance. SHATTERED DREAMS is an entrancing debut brimming with all the things that make New Orleans unforgettable!”--Shannon Delany, author of the 13 to Life series

(as found on Amazon.com)

REVIEW:

Who want to live a normal life?? Everyone!!  You want great friends you can hang out with, a big family, and the obvious, a really great looking boyfriend. That's all Trinity Monsour wants too. But from a very young age, she has been having visions. She saw her dog die days before it actually happened. The thing about these visions though is that once she's had it, its usually to late for her to do anything about it. 

To make matters even more complicated for Trinity, her grandmother who raised her, never wanted to talk to her about her parents. Talking about how they died was almost forbidden. But after her grandmother also passes away, she goes to live with her aunt who also doesn't like touching that subject either.

Shortly after Trinity is badly pranked by Jessica, she (Jessica) goes missing. Now what happens when Trinity starts having visions about Jessica?? Will people believe Trinity when she tells them about her dreams?? Will they accuse her of Jessica's disappearance?? Will Jessica be found alive?? Will her aunt trying helping her with everything that's going on and start opening about about what happened to her parents?? 

This book had me asking myself ALL these questions. Ellie James did a really good job of researching the history & mysteries of New Orleans. Even though there were times where the writing would throw me off a bit, the darkness of the book itself would captivate me in a way that I found it very dificult to put the book down. I didn't like that there were to many breaks in the writing style itself, but other then that I liked everything about Shattered Dreams.

I had a feeling that the book would have some type of cliffhanger ending, and I was right. The "Million Dollar" question though, is would I read the sequel. The answer is very simple. Yes.

As far as a rating goes, I give it 3 1/2 hearts. And I have to admit that I'm looking forward to book 2.

Growing SO quickly!

I think that all of us as mothers are at one point or another told of how fast our little ones will grow. We're also told to enjoy every minute of every moment with them because in the bat of an eye, they've grown up. I'm a first time mom and I've always known that was true, (even before having my little girl). But when the reality of it all sets in, it really is amazing how quickly your babies grow. 

Adrianna is 5 months 3 weeks old and she's already got her 2 bottom teeth. She's almost doubled her weight and her length. Even though she's still to say her first word, she is a very vocal baby. She's already trying to stand on her own (which is still impossible for her) but she does it as long as she's holding my hands. 

I'd love to know when your child/children got there first tooth and what your reaction was to this new milestone.

Weight Issues

My little girl is the most important person in my life. She's the reason I wake up happy every morning (and I'm NOT a morning person.) But I can't lie when I say that I'm a bit self—conscience about the baby weight. Let me be honest, I'm not FAT, but I AM over weight. I know that we're told not to worry about it, that it took nine months to put the weight on, but that doesn't really make it any easier to deal with. I plan on starting a little excercise routine ASAP. But it hasn't been easy since EVERY time I try to do anything it's like sounding an alarm and my little girl starts crying. (LOL) Its like she knows that I'm gonna leave her alone for alittle while and she just won't have it. (Just in case, by alone I mean in her playyard and not in mommy's arms) 

I'd LOVE to hear any recommendations that you guys might have as far as exercise goes, and if any of you went through this as well.

Love you all!

$700 Worth of Beauty Products GIVEAWAY!!

TO ALL OF MY LOVELY, I'M LETTING YOU ALL KNOW THAT THERE IS AN EXCELLENT GIVEAWAY GOING ON AT THE FOLLOWING LINK!! 

STOP BY AND SEE IF YOU GET LUCKY!!

 http://aubutfamily.com/2011/11/700-worth-of-beauty-products-giveaway-one-winner/

REVIEW: Happy Birthday To Me Again by Brian Rowe

Title: Happy Birthday To Me Again

Author: Brian Rowe

Publisher: Create Space

Release Date: 09.22.11

Format: Ebook

SUMMARY: 

Cameron Martin has a huge problem: he’s aging a whole year of his life with each passing day… again. And this time... he's going backward!

When Cameron proposes to his beloved witch of a girlfriend Liesel, he thinks life can’t get any better. But when he reluctantly breaks off the engagement just days before the wedding, Liesel angrily unleashes another curse on the unlucky guy, this time making him age backward, from eighteen, all the way to zero.

Making matters worse, Liesel mysteriously disappears, leaving Cameron with no options, except watching himself rapidly shrink into a helpless child. Will Liesel be able to save his life again? Or will Cameron ultimately fall prey to his girlfriend's wicked spell? 

REVIEW:

Ok, lets get right to it. 

I usually don't care to much for some sequels just because when I find the first book in a series to be excelent (as in this case) the sequels tends to fall short and disappoint me. Happy Birthday To Me, was amazing. I really enjoyed it, SO..... Happy Birthday To Me Again, had some pretty big shoes to fill. I must admit, Brain Rowe most definitely delivered an excelent sequel.  

After breaking off his engagement to his girlfriend Liesel, Cameron Martin is faced yet AGAIN with an aging problem, except this time he's aging backward. Not only is he aging backward, but the one person that could save him again is nowhere to be found. This has to be really frustrating since in Happy Birthday To Me, he knew what was happening to him, but didn't know who could help him. And in Happy Birthday To Me Again, he knows whats happening to him, he knows who could help him, and she disappears....

Rowe once again does an amazing job with the storyline of this book. Each character has been described with so much detail, its very easy to picture every one of them with ease. The book itself starts by giving the readers a taste of the ending first, giving readers just enough detail to want to continue reading. He does the same in book one which I honestly found to be very smart. Now, I must admit that I was pretty sure I knew who the "bad guy" was, and I wasn't wrong. What I wasn't expecting though, was the unexpected twist that he added that has to do with a main character and the "bad guy." (Very well done Mr. Rowe...)

I found this book to be an excelent read, and I'm more then looking forward to reading Happy Birthday To You. It's the final book in the series and I cant wait til it comes out next year. 


4 out of 5 hearts, only because the book ends leaving you wanting more. I literally had my mouth open when it ended!

Adrianna

My little girl, Adrianna Joelys was born May 24, 2011. She weighed 6lbs 2ozs and arrived after 14 hours of labor. She is the most important person that I have in my llife, and I love her like I never thought possible. My hasband,(her dad) has been the greatest man and father ever(even though I'm pretty sure that there are LOTS of moms out there who would lovingly disagree... LOL). 

Even though I spend more time with her, (obviously... I'm a stay home mom and he's a cop), as soon as he gets home from work, the first thing he does is pick her up to hug and kiss her. (If she's not sleeping... cause he knows I'll kick his butt if he wakes her up. LOL JK my love...)

Even though there are times when I know that we need to start making more time for each other, he always makes sure that he spends as much time as he can with her. 

When I found her first tooth, (11.01.11) I didn't tell him about it until he got home. I knew that if I told him while he was still at work, it would be a really big distraction for him. So as soon as he got home, I told him and he just about ran into the house to see it for himself. He's reaction was great!! He had the BIGGEST cheesiest, corniest smile on his face I'd ever seen. But it was nice seeing him so excited with this new milestone in her life.

If anyone knows of good ways for use to try making time for each other, I'd more then LOVE to hear them!!

My Little Girls First Halloween!!

Even though my little girl is only 5 months old, I just HAD to dress her up for her very first Halloween. 

We didn't go out, because to be quite honest, Puerto Rico isn't as safe as it use to be and I'd rather make sure that my daughter is safe then displaying her to everyone around my neighborhood. 

As you can see, I dressed her up as Blue from Blue's Clues. Just in case your wondering, YES, Blue is a girl. I made sure of it before dressing her up. 

We had a really good time even though we stayed indoors. We played acouple of games and then she was off to bed after a nice warm shower and a full belly. 

I hope you like the picture I posted of her!