Stop The Coughing

One of the worst things as a mom is listening to your child suffering and not being able to do anything to help him.  

Every time Ryan gets a cold it is ALWAYS accompanied by a terrible, dry, and unproductive cough.  It has been this way with him for as long as I can remember.  We've tried everything to help him--children's cough and cold, teaspoons of honey, nasal spray for post nasal drip, allergy medications, sleeping with a cup of water, you name it we've probably tried it.  We've also brought the issue up to doctor after doctor and we get no answers at all.  

I just feel so awful for my little boy.  The poor child coughs all night long and inevitably when there is a cold/cough plaguing him it means he will come to my bed at 5 a.m. every morning and wake the rest of us up.  I cannot blame him though; the poor boy just wants some comfort and relief.  

The amazing thing about Ryan though is no matter how little sleep he gets or how much coughing he does, he's always full of life.  Nothing can hold that boy down.  I don't think I know anyone with a bigger personality.  

I just wish motherhood came with the super power to cure ailments.  

And on that note, I must leave you with the joke my Dad would tell me about all this:

A funeral procession is going up a steep hill on main street when the door of the hearse flies open and the coffin falls out then speeds down main street into a pharmacy and crashes into the counter. The lids pops open and the deceased says to the astonished pharmacist, "You got anything to stop this coffin ?"

The Middle Child

Sometimes I worry about my middle child.  He's not the oldest or the youngest....but calling him the middle child just doesn't do him justice.  He's my Sean.

Sean is the second child in our family and the second boy.  Because he's only 22 months younger than Ryan, he and Ryan are often doing the same things.  As a result I feel like we often forget that our little Sean is younger.  He's only 3 years old, but because he is often included with Ryan we treat him like he is older.  That isn't always a bad thing, but I do worry that we may sometimes neglect his needs.  And the last thing I want to do is to rush any of my children to grow up.  

With each child you raise there are certain aspects of worry.  With Sean I worry that we won't show him enough how individual and special he is.  I fear that he doesn't get enough solo attention.    

He may be the second child and second boy, but he is so beloved.  He has such a sweet and affectionate nature to him.  He is smart and kind.  He has his daddy's temper and sweet tooth.  He is a loving brother to Ryan and Leah.  

While there are challenges to raising the middle child, there are some benefits too.  Sean is able to follow Ryan and learn from him, and he is also able to teach Leah.  Sean is able to relate to both his siblings.  Even though he is in the middle, just like the meat in a sandwich, he is so important and nothing would be the same without him.  

I strive to make sure I take enough time to show him how important he is.  He's my Sean, who just so happens to be the middle of the birth order, and I could not love him more.    

My First Stitch Fix

I've told you about Stitch Fix before.  It's a personal shopping service.  You sign up and they send you 5 items to try on.  It is $20 to receive a box, but if you buy anything your $20 goes toward the cost of the item(s).  You can schedule boxes for whenever you want them.  Ask me if you have any questions, I'd be more than happy to give you more details. And if you use my referral link, I get $25 credit....and then when you get your friends to sign up with your link you'll get $25 for yourself.

So my first box came.  Once it was shipped I was googling the contents that were listed inside it to see if I could find any pics online.  I am awful about surprises, just ask my husband.  So after finding a few items, I began to worry that my whole box was going to be black and white.  It wasn't all black and white.  Here's what I got.

See there are two items of color.  You'll have to forgive me I don't have the names of the brands anymore.  So I'll just describe as best as I can.  My items ranged from $58-118.  The $118 was pretty much a no before I even saw the item.  For me to spend that on one item it has to be the most amazing piece of clothing I've ever seen.

This was a knit top with heart detailing.  I had seen it online and was very happy to see it in my box.

See the cute heart details?  I liked this top, but I just didn't love it.  I didn't feel like I would keep grabbing it out of my closet.  I tend to prefer longer tops than this one too.  It was definitely cute though.

The detail of the back was also really pretty, but again, just not perfect for me.

This top was an absolute no before I even tried it on.  Just so not my style.  And the bare eyelets on the midsection, really?  I kind of feel like someone could pull this shirt off, but that someone isn't me.

This was a french terry blazer with lace detail.  I had asked for a blazer and told them I was hoping for the pink one I had seen online.  Obviously they cannot accommodate every request, but this one was just not a good substitute.

Don't get me wrong.  I do like this blazer, quite a bit in fact.  But this was the $118 item.  And a cream colored blazer for a mom of three little ones is just not the brightest idea.

This was a very light, soft, and comfortable material, but I had been hoping for a bit of a more traditional and structured blazer.

It had cute detailing, but honestly the unfinished edges made me feel like I'd be CRAZY to pay that amount of money on this item.  If you have this or love it, I'm sorry.  I like it, just not so much that I'd pay that amount of money for it.

This next dress was okay.  It's a drawstring dress.  It was a very soft, silky material; nicer in person than it appeared in pictures.  It's something I could totally wear, but I just didn't like it that much.  This is when I began to question if they had looked at the information sources, like pinterest, they had on what types of styles I liked.

It had a pretty sporty feel to me.  I like more feminine dresses.  So another item that there wasn't anything wrong with, but it just wasn't me.   I had hoped for a cute dress, but this one wasn't very cute.

The part that bothered me the most was probably the neckline/shoulder area.  It was a high neck and wide shoulders.  I think there has to be more flattering and prettier dresses out there for me.

I thought this last blouse could be a winner until I saw the ruffle on the sides.  It was a great orange color and had a cutout detail at the neckline.  It was nice and long too.

I liked the material and cut of the shirt in general...but...

The shoulder ruffle that looked like wings just didn't do anything for my body.  I could have kept this one, and I think I would have worn it the most.  However, I just didn't feel very confident in it.

So I guess you could say my first fix was a bust.  I was kind of disappointed, but I did enjoy the anticipation and excitement of trying things on.  I have already scheduled my next fix for a few weeks from now.  I gave very detailed feedback on the above items and told them exactly types of items I was looking for in my next fix.  I am hopeful that I'll keep something from the next box.  

I really do think it is a fun service to try.  Even though I didn't keep anything, I am happy with my experience.  In a few weeks I'll hopefully be sharing all the items I kept from my next fix.  

If you'd like to sign up, just click HERE.