Another baby? Maybe?

We're about to get deep y'all, so brace yourselves. The topic of baby #2 has come up a lot lately between Me and Joe. He's ready. I'm not sure where I am. I've always pictured myself with 3 to 5 kids. I the oldest of 5 for crying out loud! I got this raising kids thing on lock! And then my brain goes "woah sister! Slow your roll!" And so I start to think. Can I love another child? Will I be able to give another child the same attention I'm able to give Charlotte? What if its a boy?! What would I do with a boy?! Would Charlotte feel cheated somehow? Is she being cheated some way? And it goes on and on and on.

I'm really struggling with this. Charlotte NEEDS a sibling. My life has been blessed with 4 of them and I can't imagine not having any one of them. She needs to know the love of a brother or sister. Have a best friend for life. Have someone when her Dada and I are gone. And when I picture out futures, there's other children there. But the reality of having another child? I'm having real anxiety over this. Like legitimate heart palpitations, anxiety.

The pressure is on too. I don't want any of our kids to be more than max, 3 years apart. Anything longer is just too long in my opinion, and therefore not going to happen. This means I have until December to decide. I just don't know.

One of my best friends, Erin, has 3 kids and she and I have talked about this. N and E are like 14 months apart. They were planned this way. I couldn't imagine having a new born right now! Seriously?! I might die. But they made it happen. C and Charlotte are a month apart so Erin and I got close while pregnant and then after the girls were born. I'm blessed to have her as a friend b/c she understands where I'm coming from. Her advice was "It's the exact same love, just multiplied by 2 or 3 or however many you have. You don't lose love for one to transfer to the other. Your heart just makes room." She's a wise woman right? But I still don't know. I know I have time, but I'm still confused. My mind changes every 5 minutes.

I don't really know where I'm going with this. Maybe some advice? Words of wisdom? How did you decide to have another? Or perhaps you have a oneling? How did you come to the decision that one was enough?

be my FREAKIN valentine gift exchange

Hey y'all! So I participated in a Valentine's Day gift exchange hosted my Melissa of [insert sarcastic remark here]. Her blog is a trip btw :) We were each paired with 2 different girls. One to send to, and one to receive from. I actually sent to the host, Melissa, which I didn't even realize until just now typing this post up! Haha I received a great little gift from Cindy . The M&M's were delicious, the baby loves the cute little bracelet, and the robot charm is adorable! I'm going to have to get a charm bracelet now so I can use it, which doesn't bother me one bit ;)

I had a lot of fun shopping for Melissa, and the excitement of waiting for my gift to arrive was fun! I'm glad I participated! I've never seen another Valentine's exchange before, so I'm glad these girls decided to host one!

I'm gonna stop washing my hair.

The picture below is my hair exactly one hour after washing it. It is a greasy, disgusting hot mess. Oh and I let it air dry. If I had used a hair dryer, oh lord would it be nasty.

I read an article in Kiwi magazine the other day about the "No 'Poo Movement". Basically, give up your shampoo that is actually damaging your hair, and take a more natural approach that helps restore your hair to its fabulous, naturally healthy self.

So here's the deal: pick a day. That will be your last day of shampooing with regular shampoo. Get a good whiff of your fave 'poo b/c you won't be using it anymore after that day. Of course you shower daily like usual b/c eww if you don't. Haha. But you'll need to get a shower cap. The girl in the article who did this said it will take 3 to 4 weeks for your hair to sort itself back out, and here's why. The way shampoo cleans your hair is by stripping away its natural oils, or sebum. B/c of this our scalps work way too hard to replace everything, and they end up over producing. She said that when she was 4 days in, she tried the washing method that was most common for most other No 'Pooers: a tablespoon of baking soda mixed with a cup of warm water. Massage this into the scalp nice and good, then rinse. To condition: a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar and a cup of water. You won't stink, promise :) This is going to be your new washing regimen! Every 2 to 3 days clean your hair this way and you should be golden. Be prepared for lots of ponytails, but the overall affect should be amazing!

Here's why I want to do this; I have naturally very fine hair and the whole greasy hot mess an hour after showering is getting old. So I'll update y'all on how it goes. Hopefully it won't be a total disaster! Ha.

So what do y'all think? Have you done this before? Are you gonna try it out with me? I wanna hear what you think!

Better Life Bag Giveaway!!

If you have not heard of Better Life Bags you have probably been living under a rock. If you don't know the story you can check that out here! Once you check that out and want to buy a bag head over here! Now here is the best part. You might have looked at those bags and thought that you can't afford one right now. Well you are in luck! Myself along with 28 lovely ladies have teamed up to give TWO lucky people some shop credit to Better Life Bags. That's right TWO people. ONE of you will get a $50 Shop Credit and ONE of you will win a $100 Shop Credit. The $100 Shop Credit requires more effort so that is why that price is more. More work, more payoff! I could not have put this all together without the help of Allie. Thank YOU times a million. Your PicMonkey stills are much appreciated. Now get to entering!

Honesty is appreciated.

a Rafflecopter giveawaya Rafflecopter giveaway

Not here, but there!

I did a guest blog post! Yay me! Melissa of Grin & Barrett was kind enough to let me invade her blog this week, and the next 3 following Sundays. You should definitely go check her, and my guest post out!

One of THOSE Bloggers

Sometimes I wish I was one of those bloggers. You know the kind, the ones who have a planner chock full of fantastic ideas and are able to post everyday.

I have lots of ideas. Tons actually. But I don't have the fancy planner, and I don't have the time to write everyday. I wish I did. Charlotte makes it damn near impossible to sit down and type up a new post, and while that's frustrating, I'm kind of ok with it. I'd much rather be playing with her than typing up some post about something fun we did, but that doesn't make it any less frustrating.

I'm sure you're thinking "well do it when she's napping", and I would but I have other responsibilities that I have to take care of while she's napping. That's when I shower, do laundry, dishes, clean the house, get dinner started, and occasionally talk to my mom or sister. Being a SAHM isn't just playing with a baby, and sitting on the couch eating Bon-bons. I don't know how moms who work outside of the home do it. Seriously, there are days that I don't get the things done that I need to, and yet I feel like I haven't stopped going since wake-up. Kudos to them, b/c I dunno if I could do it.

I guess the point I'm trying to make is, I'm probably not going to ever be one of those big time bloggers who posts everyday, but I'll always try to post fun or meaningful things. Who knows, maybe when the bebe is bigger, I'll have more time, but for now I'm just going to have to be happy with the kind of blogger that I am. I hope y'all stick around, and I appreciate every one of y'all who reads!



This is what my days consists of. Silly baby doing silly things :)

New Look!

I know I'm way overdue for a new post, but I promise I'll be back tomorrow with something for ya! For now, check out the new look of The Chickapea & Me! Isn't it beyond fabulous?! I can't even out into words how in love I am with how everything turned out! 

Sarah over at Fortune Favors the Brave is the genius behind the new look. Please go check her out! She's just amazing to work with! She really listened to what I said I wanted, and when I didn't know, she took control and just somehow knew what I would like and dislike. I can't recommend her enough to y'all! And, she's just starting out! If you can even believe that?! 

So give her a holler, and leave her some love! And tell me what you think!