The Real Life Story of a Teen Mom/Kylie&Mason

My whole life I have loved organization.  I just think it makes life so much less stressful.  I was voted most organized in my senior class.  I was always very organized in school and that came in very handy when I started college with a child.  When I started college my planner became my bible.  At the beginning of each semester I wrote every assignment for the whole semester down and all of their due dates.  I had each class color coded by using different colored pens for each class.  That way I could plan everything out.  Not only am I organized, I am also a planner.  Once I finished an assignment I would cross it off.  I learned that procrastination is not the way to go.  It felt so much better to get all of my assignments done right away so I could relax for the rest of the week instead of stressing about school.  Now that I am done with school I still use a planner to stay organized.  I write down all of the days Mas...

The other day Mason went to the eye doctor.  It was our third time going because I have always been concerned about his vision since mine is so bad.  Unfortunately my fear came true.  Mason has my astigmatism.  Mason will be in eye glasses no later than age 4.  The doctor didn't want to put him in glasses yet because he would just fight them and it would do more bad than good.  We will be going back in 6 months to get his eyes checked out again. Mason is FINALLY potty trained!!! It is very exciting. No more diapers except at bedtime.  Mason loves wearing his "big boy pants."  He has been doing great and I hope it continues. I had a couple days off from work this week using up my vacation time before the end of the year.  I loved getting to spend some quality time with Mason. We went swimming which is Mason's absolute favorite.  It was nice enough that we got to take multiple trips to the park.  We also drove around and looked at...

I wanted to share with everyone on my new discovery of how to save!  I don't know how I didn't know about this until now!  It has been helping me save during the Christmas shopping season.  If you go through Ebates site to shop online, Ebates will give you a percentage back of what you spend at that online store.  Ebates will then send you a check in the mail. They have every store you can imagine, from Walmart to the Buckle, even amazon and ebay.  This is a great way to save! Just copy and paste the link down below and get signed up!   http://www.ebates.com/rf.do?referrerid=5lYs3u%2F8di7sPkdXDrXOQA%3D%3D&eeid=26471

When I found out I was pregnant I learned pretty quickly that I would no longer be able to relate to my friends.  While my friends' biggest worries were about what they were going to do Friday night and what dress they were going to wear to prom, I was more concerned with being able to graduate high school, raise a healthy baby, and somehow make it on my own.  I realized that I wasn't going to be able to relate to anyone in high school.  I was pretty alone in my situation but I was happy with that because I didn't want anyone else to be going through what I was going through.  I had some great friends who supported me throughout my journey.  That made me feel a little less alone, but when you are 17 and having to figure out how to raise a baby on your own, it doesn't take the stress off of you.  As the years have gone on since Mason was born it has gotten even harder to stay connected and relate to my friends.  Our lives are totally different and our w...

This year I am doing Elf On the Shelf for Mason and he is absolutely loving it!!  I think I am loving it just as much as him.  Mason decided to name his elf Charlie.  Mason says Charlie with a British accent.  He sounds just like the little boy in the video "Charlie bit my finger."  It is too cute!  We read the book every night before he goes to bed and my mom also got him the Elf On the Shelf movie.  It is very cute.  We watched it 6 times in one day when we first got it.  It is a must buy if you don't have it already!  These are the places Charlie has been so far this year.

It's that time of year again...Christmas card time!  This year I decided to write our Christmas letter on here.  It's been a crazy and exciting year for Mason and I.  At the beginning of the year Mason and I moved back to Ainsworth and moved back in with the parents/grandparents.  I started my last semester of college online.  In order to finish my degree online I had to take classes through three different colleges including Northeast Community College, Northern State University, and Central Community College.  I also took a class at the Northeast campus in O'neill.  Let's just say I have mastered online college and my time management skills.  In February I started working at The Tri-County Bank in Bassett.  I worked 3 days a week while doing school full time.   I am very happy to be back at TCB.  Mason started going back to Grandma's Daycare and of course he loves it!  He is very lucky to get to spend time with Grandpa an...

I have never tried anything for whitening my teeth before because of how expensive it is.  The past few times I have went to target I noticed how much cheaper their up&up whitening wraps were.  I was curious how they worked so I decided to give them a shot.  I purchased them for $14.39 on sale.  They are normally $15.99 a box.  It is a 7 day treatment but they come with 10 upper and 10 lower strips.  I was very pleased with the results.  I have definitely noticed a difference in the whiteness of my teeth.  I would definitely recommend them to anyone looking to whiten their teeth.  The picture down below is of my before and after results after 6 days of using the whitening wraps.  I have also included the link to the whitening wraps. http://www.target.com/p/up-up-7-day-advanced-whitening-wraps-14-count/-/A-15291394#prodSlot=_1_3

I have always loved the look of burlap wreaths but I never wanted to spend the money to buy one.  Instead I decided to save money by making one.  It turned out to be very inexpensive.  I bought the wreath wire frame, plain burlap, and wooden fleur de lis at hobby lobby.  Everything was 50% of on sale except the wire frame which I used a 40% off coupon for.  If you have the retail me not app, Hobby Lobby always has a 40% of one regular priced item coupon.  I bought the chevron burlap at Walmart for around $5.  All together my supplies only cost me $12! A lot cheaper than buying a wreath!!  I looked up some videos on youtube on how to make a burlap wreath and from there I just went for it.  After I had the wreath done I painted the wooden fleur de lis with some paint that I already had from previous projects. I then hot glued some twine that my mom had to the back of the fleur de lis and I tied it to the wreath.  I then did the same with t...

 I think all kids need to have a junky car to make them appreciate a new car when they get one. I think it helps build character. I have plenty of experience in the junky car department. When I was living in Norfolk I was in a car accident and my poor Denali was considered totaled. I somehow managed to survive a week in norfolk without a vehicle. Thanks to some great friends I was still able to make it to all of my classes and get Mason to daycare. At the end of the week my parents and my brother came with a trailer to rescue us and the Denali.  The question on everyone's mind was what in the world was I going to do. All I knew is that I could not afford another vehicle as long as I was going to stay living in Norfolk.  Thankfully my dad had some spare parts from other vehicles and he got my Denali up and running again but it got a little bit of a makeover.  The most noticeable addition was the gold hood.  Did I mention my Denali was black?  Honestly at tha...

My whole life I have always been looking for ways to save money.  When I found out I was pregnant it gave me even more incentive to find ways to live a cheaper life. So I am going to spill all of my money saving secrets that work great for not only single moms but for anyone looking to save money. 1.   Shop Clearance - Buying clothes can get expensive especially when children are constantly growing.  I always try to buy Mason's clothes a year ahead of time.  So in the Fall I buy Mason's clothes for next summer because that is when they are going on clearance.  This is especially beneficial when buying winter coats.  They can be very expensive but if you buy them a year ahead of time it can save you a lot of money.  Also this way you will always be prepared and won't be shopping last minute. 2.   Coupons - Using coupons is a great way to save money.  Before you go shopping always check online for a coupon.  I think that is the easie...

A year ago I was living in Norfolk with Mason going to college and lately I have been having all of these memories popping into my head of the time we had spent there.  Tonight one of those memories really hit me hard.  It was a Tuesday night and I had gotten out of my night class a little early, so I decided to run to Target and pick up some diapers before I picked up Mason from the babysitter.  I was in such good spirits that night since I had gotten out of class early, and I was able to go to the store by myself without having to drag Mason in and out of the cold.  Unfortunately my spirits had taken a 180 degree turn after I had checked out.  I had spent $90 on just diapers and wipes alone and the child support I was receiving from Mason's father barely covered half of that.  Mason's child support had recently been cut drastically so the issue was very fresh.  I had moved to Norfolk expecting to receive more since Mason's living expenses had increas...