Appricate When You Have A Good Doctor!

Now I am not one to be scared easily but OBGYN in Virginia have me a bit nervous.

So to start they do not assign you to a single Doctor here. They have very large practices with 5-10 Doctors and you rotate around to each one so that you see all of them at least once so you don't have a stranger delivering your baby.....So you meet someone once and they aren't a stranger? Please don't tell my Daughter that!

When asked who your Doctor is, you have no idea what to say. Well I know the practice and their number but that's all I can tell you.

At 24 weeks the only person I have had an actual conversation with is the Ultrasound tech who took her time and explained everything she was doing and looking at in detail. Today for example, I arrived for my 8:30am appointment at 8:15 like they tell you to be so you an get through check in and be waiting to be taken back by your appointment time. At 9:50 I was finally seen by the Doctor. Literally two hours of sitting and waiting for the Doctor to come in say "Lets see your stomach" take a glance....No measuring or feeling just a glance. "Okay looks good, congrats on the little girl we will see you again in a few weeks." Ummm….I am having a boy by the way.

So in summary I have no idea what my blood pressure is or what Cade is measuring at but they got paid. They successfully herded the cattle through the morning.

My Doctor in Nashville, remembered my name, my husband's name, my daughters name, and what we decided to name the baby! Asked about each of them each visit! Measurement my stomach and gave me updates asked if I had any questions or concerns. Appointments were on time and I was seen almost immediately and she would spend between 10-15 minutes each time just talking with me. I had complete faith that she would be there when I went into labor or in my case was induced.

I spent most of yesterday calling different offices trying to get information on transferring. I received the same answers, we are at capacity or you can apply but not a guaranteed approval since it takes up to three weeks and then I would be in my third trimester. All I can think about is what I would give to have my old Doctor back and go back to that comfort level.

Has anyone ever had a horrible OBGYN that they were stuck with? I know that nothing can be done with the exception of running away back to TN.

Homework Nightmare

I can't be the only one that really can't remember doing homework as a kid? I just don't remember it, I am sure I had something but I never remember sitting down at the table with my mom for an hour plus working on a math work sheet! 

So much has changed and I am at a loss! 

Our poor sweet Diva is struggling but not with what you might think. As a seven year old in second grade this is our first time having actual homework. Not just the hey circle the correct word homework. 

Every night we sit down and either Justin or myself will help her with her math homework. Last night I had a seriously rough parenting moment because I made her cry..... I am not even sure how that happened. She started crying because she didn't want to tell me the wrong answer, what do you say to that?!

She knows the answer to the problem but doesn't want to tell me. I can't get her to have confidence that she knows the correct answer. She wants me to tell her the answer then she is she had it correct which isn't how that works. I am willing to try anything at this point to help her find her groove! 

Is there a routine that you have set in place that is more homework friendly?

Do you just allow them to sit there all night trying to do it themselves? 

Is she just being overly sensitive and needs to toughen up? 

I need help! 

Co-sleeping to a toddler bed. Night 1!

A New Version of Hell Week!

Let me begin with saying life does not always kick my butt but this week I am throwing in the towel!

We say with a heavy heart that Murphy did not work out with the Russell family. We found out he has aggression issues the hard way and Justin now has a nice hole in his hand. Not to mention I am pretty sure the whole neighborhood heard what happened. I grew up with a dog that literally bit everyone in the family, some twice, and did manage to help me have a new set of teeth. I just couldn't go through that again and Justin being the stronger one of us knew I couldn't send him back and made the decision for me. We will remain a one dog household and just spoil the crap out of Captain!

Fast forward to Tuesday! Eva Diva started second grade and absolutely loves it!

 Grayson on the other hand not so much. We got a call around 9:30 saying he was running a fever and looked like he might be cutting a new tooth in the back. So I left work to go pick him up and took him to medical.

They agreed it was a fever due to teething and sent us home. He has been up every night screaming in pain with no relief. Wednesday night his fever went up to 102 and Justin took him straight to the ER. Again, they couldn't tell us anything for sure, that it might be hand, foot, mouth or it could be another virus. However, they do not give antibiotics and we just have to keep his fever down and let it runs its course.

We are now on day 4 of no sleep, 102+ fevers, and a screaming baby. (Gray doesn't have an inside voice btw!) I see another Doctors visit in our near future!

The good side is Eva just finished up her first week and while she is super excited for the weekend she has had a great week! It is killing her not being able to play with brother though.

Has anyone else ever had hand, foot, and mouth? I would love any tips to help him feel better!

Every Pregnancy Is Different & So Is The Weight Gain

So I am a firm believer that by sharing your story, you can make someone out there some where feel better about what they are going through. This is probably one of my not so fantastic memory/life moment ever but its a good comparison point.

When I found out I was pregnant with Eva, I was 21 years old and roughly 115lbs. Did I mention I was 6ft tall?! Healthy wasn't even a word I understood and if it wasn't an energy drink I probably didn't have it for a meal.

I was complete skin and bones! Let me tell you was I in for a real pregnancy treat! Morning Sickness so bad it required me to be put on a pump that I had to carry around with me, 3 or 4 (I can't remember) hospitalizations due to dehydration, gestational diabetes, high blood pressure, preeclampsia, and pre-term labor. Then my most favorite of all......100+ pound weight gain.

How do you gain that much weight when you can't eat hardly anything? That is the wonderful world of pregnancy when you are extremely unhealthy. 

I went from a size 4 to a size 12/14. I had horrible PPD and wouldn't admit it. My face was so swollen I was unrecognizable. I stayed like that for probably the first two years after she was born.


Now my pre-pregnancy self with Grayson on the other hand, I was 27 at a normal weight working out occasionally. Watching what I ate but still enjoying social drinking. I worked out when I had time and it was mostly weights or walking at work.

Completely different experience!!!!

I might have gotten nausea once or twice, lost probably 18 lbs right off the bat by just cutting out drinking and soda/coffee. Gained right at around 20 lbs total for the whole 9 months, which is what my Doctor was hoping for and I stayed active my entire pregnancy! No problems, no emergencies, and an amazing delivery! My health made a huge difference!!! This pregnancy was purely staying active and eating the right things!

Check out the difference!

Tell the difference? I know I did! Now what baby three has in store for us no one knows! 

What is your pregnancy story? 

Meat at The Grocery Store vs. SAM's Club

Since the amazing husband has been home our grocery shopping has changed quite a bit. We both have things we like, he buys junk food, I buy the same staples the kids need every week and chicken/beef. Now that we are a growing family of five we decided to be adults and get us a SAM's membership!

They had an amazing deal online for active military and their families! For $45 dollars we received our 1 year membership, a free rotisserie chicken, a 12 inch apple pie, 20 count croissant, and a $10 off egift card.

I have slowly learned to compare price per pound. Just because it looks like more or its under $5 doesn't actually mean it is a good deal. So when you look at Harris Teeter vs Sam's Club there isn't much of a comparison.

Yes, I actually have to physically go in SAM's which I am not a big fan of but the click list kids have been messing up a lot lately which is just as much hassle as taking the kids inside.

Chicken based on this week sales ad:
Harris Teeter Family Pack Chicken Breast - $1.99 per pound with a 6LB average.
SAM's Club Chicken Breast - $1.88 per pound with a 8lb average.

When we cook we typically use 3-4 chicken breast per meal. Justin, myself, the kids split one, and then one (sometimes) for us to take to work. Now that we are doing meal prepping for lunches that chicken can go super quick! So the more the better! That one pack of chicken gave us 4 freezer bags with 2-3 large chicken breasts! So that covers one for meal prep and three dinners for the week with chicken! (Without me having to make a trip back to the grocery store!)

80/20 Ground Chuck on this week sales ad:
Harris Teeter- $5.00 per LB but on sale for $3.48 per pound for 2LB avg.
SAM's Club - $2.99 per LB with 5-6 LB avg.

THAT IS A HUGE DIFFERENCE! That I never knew existed! I took that home and split it up into 5 individual freezer bags!

Next time we are going to do ground turkey & fish and switch it up a bit! See that price comparison to come! Is there anything you love or have to buy in bulk?! I need all the help we can get!

Huge shout out to my Mom and my friend Nicole for pointing me in the right direction of price comparison & hopefully soon I can learn couponing hahaha!

Russell Sprout #3 16 Week Update

Good news: Nothing worrisome showed up on the prescreening labs for any sort of birth defects. (Makes me super happy because I have been having nightmares about it.)

Bad news: My glucose levels were still pretty off, my thyroid levels were high & my blood pressure was higher than they were comfortable with.

Comparison time: Grayson was a super easy pregnancy! I had minimal morning sickness and gained just the perfect healthy amount of weight. I had no issues with my glucose levels and I think I only had high BP one time. (Pretty sure it was right after Justin left to go back overseas so it was explained)

My sweet little diva girl on the other hand......I gained over 100lbs, had awful morning sickness from day one to day end which required me to be hooked up to a pump. I had gestational diabetes and had to watch my diet and sugar intake. (yes that meant I had to stop eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and basically ate chicken for the rest of the pregnancy)

So now I really do have to start watching what I eat and get back to my 30 minute a day workouts! I have a new thyroid medication I get to try and I of course has to do the three hour test! This is going to be a super fun pregnancy no matter what I have to do!

P.S. We have to stain our deck this weekend so that counts as exercise right?

Also this drink is the worst thing ever its the pregnant girl equivalent to a jager bomb! They taste equally bad!

Our New Family Member! The Murphy!

So after weeks of looking and going through shelter after shelter & realizing VA is very much different on their pet adoptions than Bama we have found our 2nd dog!

Everyone meet Murphy! He is a 4 year old Mastiff mix even though to me he looks like a Great Dane mix.

So far Murphy is a perfect match for Captain. They play without Captain being bullied. They are both pretty submissive so they don't fight over the kids, toys or food.

He came from a household with kids and I must say he is absolutely amazing with them! He is careful walking around Grayson and he is Eva's big cuddle bug! He actually hopped up in bed and cuddled with Eva last night until she fell asleep. My heart melted.

We have a few things to work out like the extremely loud bark and the drool. (Watching Justin's head spin around like the exorcist when he shakes drool on a wall is pretty hilarious)

I have always supported adopt don't shop and even more so to support the big dog! It is all about their personality! We are super lucky and I think the kids are super excited!

We love our Murphy! Follow me on Instagram @caitlinnicolerussell to see updates on Murphy and his hilarious adventures.

Kids and Youtube

Does anyone else have kids that are obsessed with watching other kids play with toys on YouTube? 

Miss Eva (age 7) has had an obsession for years with a few different kids channels. She loves HobbyKidsTV, Ryan's Toy Mobile & Crafty Kitchen. Like she knows their entire life story! 

Just recently she has started asking about what subscribing means and having interest in her own channel. How do you know when it is safe? Like I am by no means a extremely strict parent and obviously she has access to YouTube on her Ipad. She is so responsible that I don't really have to worry about what she is watching because I now know their voices on the different shows. 

She has such an amazing imagination and can literally make a five star restaurant in her mind with her Minnie mouse kitchen. I honestly think it will also help with her self confidence and not to mention it will give us some one on one time with just me and her and something that can be "our thing." 

I would love to hear from anyone whose kids have a channel/show and how do you control it? How do you know that what you are doing is okay? 

P.s. if your kids haven't watched Hobbykidstv, they are absolutely amazing!!!! Go check them out! https://www.youtube.com/user/HobbyKidsTV

Military Wife Life: The Things You Don't Realize You Will Miss When You Move

For those who don't know this is my first PCS with my Husband. We found out we were more than likely going to VA almost a full year before we moved. I was so excited, I would finally get to spend every night with my Husband, I wouldn't be alone with two kids, no more long distance marriage, and I could kiss him any time I want! (enter favorite romantic comedy here)

I knew I would miss the big things.....like family, friends, and my comfort zone but somethings didn't even cross my mind until now. So I want to mention the things you don't realize you are going to miss and I don't want to be a sad Debby Downer but you just don't know until you KNOW!

1. (My worst experience so far) The favorite Doctor! - You quickly realize that not all Doctors & Hospitals are made equal! For instance OBGYN, yea I am learning this one the hard way that the amazing experiences I had with my first two are not going to happen here. Over crowed waiting rooms and Doctors that cant even remember what you are there for. ( I was mistaken for a patient pregnant with twins today and I literally almost fell off the table when she started telling me about them) They also don't do the "fit you in asap" with sick children. I was used to being able to call the morning of and go "Hey Eva is running a fever can she be seen?" and I would get "Sure thing what time can you be here?" Here in VA they have a Emergency care that opens at 4pm and next day appointments with Pediatrics. (Luckily my Husband's base can get them into the clinic a little bit better) Yes I finally gave in and switched to Prime just to have my kids seen in a timely manner!

2. Your Favorite Grocery Store - Now this might be my southern showing but I have always been a creature of habit and went to the same Grocery store over and over and over. I even drove out of my way to go to the good one on the other side of town. Here, I think I have tried three not counting Target (because lets face it nothing beats Target) and none of them compare. Nothing bad has happened but it does make you miss home.

3. Children's Boutique - I would kill to be able to walk into a purple peanut right now and go for the first thing with ruffles and a big matching bow I can find! There are zero to none Children Boutique's, and that means no boutique consignment stores! I have been on the look out for a Snickerdoodle or a Purple Peanut for MONTHS! FYI Please go check them out if you are in the Huntsville, Alabama area!

The Purple Peanut
Snickerpoodles Consignment Shoppe


What are some of the things you miss the most when you move?

YI Home Camera as a Baby Monitor

For anyone that feels my pain, I have had both children co-sleep with me. My daughter slept with me until she was five mainly because it was always just me and her and I felt more comfortable knowing exactly where she was and what she was doing. She moved to her own room around six when my Husband started coming home on leave and now has "her space."

My Son has slept with us from day one and in all honesty it was just me being selfish and wanting more control. (Both times I set up a full nursery and never used it!) We are now starting to transition him to his own room with Russell Sprout #3 on the way.

I started looking into purchasing a baby monitor and those things are expensive!!!!! Like just to have one with an app is like $160. Yes I probably could have waited and asked for one as a shower present but still that is way to much money for a monitor! I remember when I had Eva they were like $60 and I remember thinking that was too expensive.

I found these guys on Amazon and I figured for $50 lets give it a try! The reviews are good and you just cant beat two cameras for $50. They can be used indoors or outside and also have a microphone on the camera for two way communication!




All you have to do it download the YI Home app and you can either use it in real time (like I plan on) or record/store video surveillance with a micro SD card or Icloud account! How cool is that?!

One camera will be used in Grayson's room and the second in our sun room which now holds the Russell Family's second gruesome twosome bunch! Y'all will find out what we did on Sunday tomorrow!

Please comment below if you have ever purchased these cameras and what you thought! You can also click on the link to purchase directly from Amazon!