Kara's Here!

A little over a month late, but hey better late then never! Let's not forget I have an almost 21 month old that keeps me on my toes and a newborn to take care of, so my time to sit down to blog is very limited!

Anyways, Kara Lyn is here. She was born on April 2, 2012. At 10:32 am. She was 7lbs 10oz and 19.5 inches long, with a full head of hair!

I thought her birth story would be pretty easy to write and only a paragraph, well I was wrong! Well actually the birth story is probably just that long, it's all the fun things(not really) that happened to me after birth!
Kara was a planned c-section, so we got up on Monday morning, got showered, got Kiley up to say good-bye to her and let her know we'd see her later in the day with her little sister! Driving to the hospital I wasn't really nervous at all, I'm not sure if this has anything to do with it being the 2nd baby. I was nervous only about getting the spinal, which wasn't that bad this time! Anyways, we got to the hospital, checked in and we were taken back in the labor and delivery area. I got into my fancy hospital gown and got my IV's in and they checked my blood pressure, which was high. I had sort of high blood pressure during my pregnancy but they took all the test they do and they all came back fine, so they didn't do anything about it. So they didn't worry about it before I delivered her.
Around 8:30 they told us the c-section before us was running behind and we might go in the next five minutes instead of 10, but the next thing I know that c-section went so we had to wait, which was fine, the time flew by. Around 10, I walked back to the OR and got all set up with my spinal.  My OB came in and started, about 20 minutes later Kara was born, screaming her little lungs off. She had a full head of hair! After all the heartburn I had with this pregnancy, I said the entire time she better have hair! Kara and Chris went off to the labor and delivery room while they finished me up. This time around I got staples instead of stitches and they healed so much better, no infection this time! If you are getting a c-section, seriously request the staples! My OB also made didn't use my last c-section incision, he made another one. After I was all closed up I was able to start breastfeeding right away which I didn't last time, it was almost 2 hours before I even saw Kiley after she was born. I'm so glad they made this change at the hospital.
Anyways about an hour in recovery we were off into our room. Kiley came to visit us and everything was going great, until night time. My BP started to rise, like super high, so they just watched it for the next 24 hours. On Wednesday morning, I was ready to go home, and at 5 am I asked my OB if she could get everything ready and she said I could. The nurse tried to talk me out of it and after listening to everyone, even the cleaning lady I decided I better stay, considering my BP was 170/100. They kept monitoring my BP and by Thursday morning they put me on a medication to help control it. Unfortunately this pill didn't work, but we would find that out till about 5 days later. Finally, on Friday they allowed me to go home. My BP never went back down to a normal range the whole weekend. Monday I had to go to my OB office to get my staples removed and they checked my BP and it was 210/140, so I was immediately sent to the OB triage.
They gave me a medication and it bottomed me out, so I had to stay another 3 days there. I had some blood-work come back during that stay that wasn't great, showed a high level of liver enzymes so they made me stay.  They re took all my blood work Wednesday morning and everything was fine, so they finally discharged me. Thankfully! Apparently, my OB told me they were calling me the hostage.  There was nothing worse then being told I was going to go home almost everyday and then the doctors coming in  and telling me I couldn't. I don't think I ever cried so much! Seriously! I'd cry the moment anyone said Kiley's name or talked about her, I missed her that much. I was a mess! BP issues are a scary thing, please, please get yours checked regularly. Even when my BP was super high I had NO symptoms after my pregnancy. I had some during, but again they tested and nothing came back.
So what was the cause of the high BP? Apparently all the extra fluid after having a baby. Thankfully now I'm BP med free and my BP is back to normal!

Spring Time Means Sneezes and Sniffles

It's spring time and that means only one thing. Tons of tissues, sneezing, coughing and runny noses. Most of us, more importantly children can't enjoy spring because they will get itchy eyes, watery eyes, sneezing and runny noses. Did you know that non-drowsy Children's Claritin Syrup can provide 24 hours of non-drowsy relief from allergies.

It's also available over the counter, no prescription needed. It's also grape flavored, a flavor kids love!

Here are some other tips for manging your children's allergies:

1. Keep windows closed, pollen is carried by the wind.
2. Keep your house smoke free.
3. Change your air filter frequently.
4. Help protect against mold. Clean your shower and tubs regularly.
5. Change your child's clothes after playing outdoors.

Check out Claritin on Facebook and Twitter.

Guess, what! I have a giveaway with this post! One lucky reader will win a $3.00 coupon off any Non-Drowsy Children's Claritin, 4 ounce syrup or 10 count or larger pack!

All you need to do is leave me a comment, about your favorite part of spring. Win additional entries by mentioning it on twitter, using my name @JessicaLea81 or by becoming a follower of my blog!

Good luck! Giveaway ends Friday, April 6, 2012.

Post and coupon sponsored by BuzzAgent.

Fruit Allergies

People are ALWAYS perplexed about my food allergies. I'm pretty much allergic to every single fruit, vegetable and nut there is. I can eat watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew and grapes. For vegetables I can only eat lettuce fresh. Sometimes cucumbers, depends on the time of year. Everything else has to be baked, cooked or boiled or processed for me to eat.

Whenever I tell people this, they give me a side eye. Because it's not very explainable. In this month's Family Circle Magazine they had a great explanation that I wanted to share with my readers!

First, I'm allergic to pollen, very allergic. So eating raw fruits, vegetables, and nuts cause a reaction in in me, that causes me to get swollen lips, itchy mouth, and a scratchy throat that can close. It's called oral allergy syndrome. Many people don't realize that pollen and produce contain similar proteins and what happens is the immune system can't tell the difference.

I happen to be allergic to all three these;

1. Ragweed, which also makes me allergic to bananas, cucumbers, melon(which I'm not thankfully), kiwi fruit and zucchini.
2. Birch, which also makes me allergic to apples, almonds, carrots, celery, cherries, hazelnuts, kiwi fruit, peaches, pears and plums.
3. Grass, which also makes me allergic to celery, melons, oranges, peaches and tomatoes.

Hopefully this helps clear up some air about food and fruit allergies and how they are related!

Walmart Bake Off

*Winner is Kristi! Congrats!*

Are you looking for new recipes for your weekly dinners or an extra special dessert to share with your family? Well look no further, Bake-Off.com now has 100 new recipes from Pillsbury Bake-Off finalist from across the USA! There are a ton of recipes, from breakfast, appetizers, dinner and desserts!

• Head to your local Walmart where you can find great savings on refrigerated Pillsbury products including: Pillsbury Original Crescent Rolls, Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls, Pillsbury Pie Crust, and Pillsbury Cookies among other items
• Don’t forget to check everydaysaver.com/Walmart before you head to your nearest Walmart to find additional coupons and offers

Having trouble deciding which of these mouthwatering recipes to make first? Here are just a few of the delicious ones available on BakeOff.com:

• Chocolate and Caramel-Cinnamon Roll Skewers - Do cinnamon rolls one better. Skewer them and drizzle with caramel, chocolate and icing for a most indulgent treat
• Marmalade-Glazed Asian Meatball Cups - Meet a saucy new meatball that's baked on top of flaky crescent dough. With just 6 ingredients, they're super easy
• Mango Salsa Appetizer Bites - Party time! Two-bite pie crust appetizers are loaded with a fiesta of flavors
• Hazelnut-French Silk Turtle Pie - Oh my, turtle pie! A rich flaky pie crust holds a creamy filling with chocolate and caramel
• Caramelized Peach Upside-Down Coffee Cake - Bake up a new sweet peachy coffee cake delight using Pillsbury® sugar cookie dough

Before you head out to Walmart check out everydaysaver.com/walmart.

You can also check out Walmart on Facebook. And also Twitter!

And guess what, there's a prize in it for you! One lucky reader will win a $25 gift card to Walmart, all you need to do is leave me a comment with the recipe you would make from Bake-off.com! Earn extra entries by posting this to twitter,using hash tag #myblogspark and JessicaLea81. Also stay tuned to see what recipe I created from Bake-off.com!

You have till next Friday, March 23 to leave a comment! Good luck!

"Disclosure: The gift card, information, and giveaway have been provided by Walmart and General Mills, through MyBlogSpark."

'Inside the Crayon Box"

Just in case you missed last weeks "Inside the Crayon Box" with Lisa Loeb, you can watch the full video here!

Praying for Lauren

About 4-5 years ago, when I got engaged I decided to check out The Knot, if you aren't familiar with it, it's a wedding planning website. On there they have message boards where you can talk to anyone about every aspect of weddings. They also have monthly boards, where you could meet other brides that were getting married the same month as you. Little did I know that when I logged on to The October 2008 Knot board, would I form relationships with these other girls that at the time I had no clue who they were. 4 years later and we all still share an amazing bond. We still talk to one another everyday, some of us have formed friendships off of the board and get together. We've been through a lot together. Ups and down in marriages, divorces, and the most special the birth our children and our pregnancies.

Like I said this is an AMAZING group of women. Sure, we are a group of women and don't always agree, but in the end when one of us needs another, support, anything, we are there for one another. I'm still amazed everyday at the bond we share.

One of our members, Jackie, who blogs at Meeting Lauren, a blog about the joys of expecting a daughter who happens to have Down Syndrome, recently gave birth to her adorable and amazing little girl Lauren, in fact she just turned a month old!

Unfortunately, this precious little girl has to have open heart surgery next week. Please support and think of Jackie and her family at this time. If you want steal the code and put the badge that Margaret from Mind Full Mommy made this adorable badge!

Join Lisa Loeb and Crayola!

Creativity matters. It´s a skill that all children can learn and when it´s practiced every day, kids become the critical thinkers, problem solvers, and leaders in the classroom, and they´re better prepared for professions of the 21st century.

Crayola wants every child to be creatively alive, so they´re inviting parents "Inside the Crayon Box," for a special live chat with celebrities and trusted parenting experts that will inspire and spark ideas to expand your child´s creative thinking. If you find yourself looking for new ways to inspire your children to express their ideas and build their creativity, you´ll want to join us to learn and share!

The first "Inside the Crayon Box" live chat is Wednesday, March 7 at 9 p.m. EST. Join Crayola and musician, children´s author and mom, Lisa Loeb for a 45-minute live streaming video chat on the Crayola Facebook Page. Lisa, best-known for her number one hit "Stay (I Missed You)," will share as personal stories, practical advice and ways she brings a little creative play into every day for her daughter. We want to hear from you - participants can ask Lisa questions during the event, too! We hope you will share the information about the first Crayola "Inside the Crayon" live chat with your readers on or before Wednesday, March 7th so they may plan to attend as well.

Interested in the topics to be covered during the chat?

• Why Does Creativity Matter? Creativity is not about who´s the best artists or becoming an architect. It´s a way of thinking that encourages kids´ original ideas and develops their confidence.
• Growing Up Creative. Lisa will share stories about growing up in a home where creativity was encouraged.
• Simple Tips. Easy Ideas. Like most moms, Lisa juggles a lot. She´ll share simple, easy ways she sparks her daughter´s creativity as part of their daily routine.

Check out these videos:

Creativity:

Inspire:

Also, be sure to check out Lisa’s book Lisa Loeb’s Silly Sing-Along: The Disappointing Pancake and Other Zany Songs (Sterling Children’s Books, 2011) available at Barnes & Noble and Amazon.com. Sing, laugh, and play with pop Lisa in this fabulous collection of ten of the silliest songs ever. Fun activities, games, and recipes accompany whimsical songs. Take Lisa's Silly Sing-Along with you wherever you go and get the high-spirited good times started. Includes a 10-song CD recorded by Lisa!

Disclosure: This information has been provided by Crayola through MyBlogSpark.