Summer #BlogChallenge August 23- Who is your favorite villian?

Without a doubt, hands down... Gru from Despicable Me. Love love love this movie. It is so cute and so sweet.

Gru starts off thinking he is all bad and hardcore and super villan-y. Then through a series of events he ends up adopting 3 girls and falling in love with them. (I would too because they are super cute and adorable).

Very sweet movie... GO watch it!

♥ Rissa

How to.... Survive a Screaming 3 Month Old

She is crying. All night. I have no clue why. What does she want? OH MY GOD!!!

6pm
Boob? Doesn't want it
Play time? No way Jose!
Change the diaper? No difference

8pm
Paci? Nope
Gripe water? Didn't help
Teething gel? No change

10pm
Gas drops? Still nothing
Nap? Fat chance
Boob again? I may as well have just killed her puppy.

12am
Sit up in the Boppy? Must be uncomfortable somehow... because pillows can be uncomfortable?
Lay down? Screaming

All night
Mommy? At my wits end.

How to survive a screaming 3 month old... Don't take it personally (even if she stops crying the second Daddy picks her up). And put on the Boba wrap and walk the baby to 7-11 to treat yourself to a Slurpee and some Ben & Jerry's. Because you deserve it.

1am
Diaper change? Somehow hilarious
Swaddle? Calms her down
Boob? Her favorite thing in the whole world
Mommy cuddles? Happy, sleepy baby. ♥

♥ Rissa
No babies were harmed in the making of this blog post

Summer #BlogChallenge August 18 - How did you meet your significant other?

Kodiak and I met basically because I'm a brat and I chase after what I want (and get it mind you!).

In February of 2011, I was working at my old office. I had worked there on and off since the previous fall and had landed a long term temp (read: 1 year plus) position. My mom also works there so I was super comfortable and loved my boss. Well one day one of the other employees was walking around the new guy. Guess who? Kodiak.

Well I thought he was cute and it had been awhile since I had found someone I liked. I spent a couple weeks stopping by his desk and bugging him (aka flirting). I have no idea why Kodiak decided to hang out with me since my flirting pretty much consisted of giving him a whole bunch of attitude. He thought I was funny I guess and nicknamed me Brat. Not exactly flattering... though once he got to know me better he changed it to SweetTart, much better I think!

We hung out a couple times and he insisted on "casual dating, nothing serious". Somehow that transformed to a trip to the Grand Canyon two months in and a Harry Potter marathon on the weekends. "Casual dating, nothing serious" turned into "boyfriend/girlfriend" which turned into "exclusive". Which turned into now. Living together, having a Jilly Bean, and lots of love.

Nursing the Bean while Kodiak feeds me soup

♥ Rissa

PS: Moral of the story? Having an attitude can work sometimes ;)

Summer #BlogChallenge August 17- How did your child (or pet) get their name?

Jilly Bean's real name is Jillian Rose. She is named after my grandma, Gillian. They share similar birthdays, only 6 days apart. When it comes down to it, I love my grandma, I wanted to honor her and I love the name. She is a great woman who has faced many things in her life and I think she deserves a namesake. If that isn't evidence enough... my aunt and uncle both gave one of their daughters Gillian as a middle name.

As for Jilly's nickname... after I decided on Jillian, I knew that I wanted her to be Jilly when she's young with the option of Jill and Jillian when she gets older. Kodiak is actually the one who nicknamed her Jilly Bean. He was talking to her (in my belly) one night and it just came out! And stuck. She has been Jilly Bean ever since.

I also don't like popular names so... Jillian works perfectly! Classic and not overly used.

♥ Rissa

Summer #BlogChallenge August 16 - 10 things you love about your significant other (or kids or pets)

Kodiak:

1. His smile.
2. How he cuddles me super close when I'm sad.
3. That he can (almost) match my goofiness.
4. His support of my Slurpee addiction.
5. That he busted booty to get our AC installed because he knew being hot made me cranky.
6. How much he loves our Jilly Bean.
7. That he puts up with my goofy weirdo self!
8. His reluctant adaptability.
9. His desire to make me happy.
10. He is spontaneous. He took me to the Grand Canyon after knowing me for approximately 5 seconds (ok 2 months).

Jilly Bean:

1. The way her face lights up when she's happy to see me.
2. How she stretches in the morning when we take her swaddle off.
3. The funny faces she makes at me.
4. Holding my hand while we nap.
5. That she is starting to look like a Rissa-twin.
6. How she tries to mimic me and we have "conversations".
7. When I start her off sleeping a foot away from me, she wiggles until she's pressed up against me again.
8. Her yummy milky baby smell.
9. How curious she is already.
10. That she can be soothed just because I'm holding her and singing to her (the one person on the planet who enjoys me singing!)

♥ Rissa

Summer #BlogChallenge August 15 - The Hardest Part of Parenting....

The hardest part of parenting is...

Other people.

I love my friends and family and while I don't love random strangers, I know everyone had "good intentions". They just want to tell me what they think is right and what worked for them. The easiest part of parenting for me is instinct, it feels natural. I feel like I know what she needs and wants. So when other people tell me so many different things that are contradictory to what I know is best or works for my daughter, it can be hard to swallow. Its hard to just smile and nod.

Its hard to put this blog post up, knowing people will see it. I don't want to hurt any feelings, but we all get frustrated.

Everyone has an opinion. Including me. And when it comes to my daughter, I know best. Everyone is free to give her all the love and compliments they want. You can give me advice, if you want. But remember, I had her, I'm raising her. I know her. I love her too.

♥ Rissa

Summer #BlogChallenge August 9 - Movie You Like and Why

So this is about a day late... but I get a pass! I have a fussy growing baby!

So yesterday, Kodiak and I watched In Time. This is a sci-fi futuristic type movie. The basis of the plot is that it is a future world where time is currency. As in if you want a cup of coffee... it is going to cost you 4 minutes of your life. If you work, you might earn hours. In the background of the movie, they tell you that you get "free" time until you are 25 and then you stop aging. After 25 you have a year. Now you can give/trade your time for goods or services. People are paid in time, you gamble in time. That leads to 25 year old looking rich people who are over 100 years old. You run out of time... you die. You keep earning time? You live forever.

"For a few to be immortal, many must die."

I like this movie because it makes you think. Kodiak and I would pause the movie to take care of Jilly (feeding, gas, changing, soothing, etc). This means a normal length movie... becomes 4 hours long. Not so bad with this movie because it gave us an option to discuss the movie inbetween scenes. It really does make you think! What would you give to live forever? What would you to keep your loved ones alive?

In discussing the movie, I found myself saying things like "time is money" and "all the time in the world". Cliches we have all heard and know well, but watching the movie really made me "get" them more than I had before.

All in all, I would give it 4.5/5 stars.

♥ Rissa