Quiet Shower

This evening, Father's Day; we sent RR to go give TT a shower. Now usually when this happens there is some sort of crying (the water got to cold) and yelling (TT getting RR wet, so he's mad) going on.

Tonight none of that happened.

It was strangely quiet.

And they were up there for a while.

So I went to investigate. It was Father's Day after all.

Turns out RR was reading TT "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" while he showered.

That explains everything doesn't it?

Friday Five

5 things from this week....

1) Co-workers who bring me chocolate. Specifically Chunky candy bars, the giant size.

2) Dinner date with Husband, first one since before ERP was born (YES!!!)

3) A very cool new babysitter, seeing as our last sitter "left" us when she went away to college and is now a graduate of a 4 year nursing program and working on her Masters.

4) The cool new babysitter's mom, who is teaching HIM, yes our new sitter is a HIM (good role model for RR) the ins and outs of babysitting.

5) Sushi lunch at work, paid for by work

It has been a good week.... because ERP also won the baby contest and RR won the youth cake award....

Blissful Awakening

Wednesday morning brought the rude end to my time off from work and the end of RR's summer vacation. The alarm went off at 7am, and the day began. Thankfully I was still technically off from work, so I was able to take my morning slow.

Thursday I was back at work, but I had a class to attend; much closer to my home than work so I was also able to ease into the day (some).

Mind you... ERP was not sleeping during the time.  Thursday night we discovered the first "toother" had popped through and sleep mystery was solved.

Friday I was back in the office and RR had decided to go running before school.  This meant up and out, way earlier than we both had been up and out in a while.

Yawn.  Friday was a long day.

Last night I crawled into bed early.  Ready for some serious shut-eye.  Only to be awoken by ERP shortly there after.  I was concerned.  Generally speaking, if he sleeps from bedtime till after midnight it will be a good sleep night.  Waking before then and it is typically a long night.

But last night he proved me wrong, and after his little snack he slept till 4am.  From 4am to 5:30am, it was rough. Husband and I were tag teaming taking care of ERP and sleeping, or trying to sleep.  At 5:30 we opted to give him so Tylenol, he has another toother just about to pop through, and I took him back to bed with me, where he nurses till we both drift off.

Fastfoward to 8:30am... and I slowly start to wake up.  Aware that the room is brighter than I am used to. We nurse and snuggle.  Daddy wakes up and we play with Daddy.  ERP babbles, we all giggle and the day slowly starts.

Around 9am TT wakes up and comes to bed to nurse.  ERP snuggles happily with daddy.  Shortly after TT is done nursing RR wakes up.  He comes and snuggles with Husband and his brothers.

I take TT for a shower and come back to find RR snuggling with his littlest brother.

It was a quiet and relaxed morning, a blissful wake-up after the first week back at school and work.

RR then proceed to keep snuggling ERP even after I got him dressed.

Pumping on the Run

A couple weeks back I posted about how I had to go on an over night business trip.

Guess what?  I survived being away from baby.  Yup, I did.

It was tough.  The emotional part I was able to get past once I was on the road.  I was so busy the whole trip I hardly had time to think about what I was missing.  But boy, once we were on our way home I couldn't wait to see my guy.

Now pumping (breastmilk) on the go was not as easy as I thought it would be.  First of all, packing was a nightmare.  I had more pump equipment than I had work and clothing combined.  It was like getting ready to be in the Amazon for a week.  Insane.

I opted to manually pump in the car, because my boss' car didn't seem to have the right types of outlets.  This was OK, until it rained.... then I would have to get out of the car; once all of my male coworkers I was with left me, get my stuff out of the trunk, get into the back seat, pump - being careful not to get milk all over the place, get everything repacked and into the trunk.  All while trying not to get wet.  And it rained, did it ever rain.  Rained so hard we had to pull the car over on the interstate we couldn't see while driving.  So here I am pumping in the back of my boss' $60K BMW at nearly every stop on the New York State Through-way.  The one time it wasn't raining, the people parked next to us came back and stood outside their car for the longest time.  The teenage girl eating pretzels was either staring at me, or looking blanking into space... either way that sucked.

At the hotel, while my coworkers took 30 minutes before dinner to relax, I was a mad women running around to get my milk in more ice and trying to get a good pump session in with my electric pump; all while calling home to check on the kids.

Dinner was super awesome and fantastic.   It was great to eat and not have to get up and get more food for anyone, clean up any messes, or tell someone to sit in their chair and eat.  Not to mention it was one of the best steaks I ever had.  And the desert.... it was so good I took a picture of it.

Business the next morning was good.  But by the end of the meeting, oh my aching breasts.  So while my male coworkers figured out where we were going to eat for lunch, I was sitting in the back of the car again; pumping away.  This time, in the parking lot of a strip mall.

More pumping on the NYS highway system on the way home.  More rain.... and finally, finally I was home.  Back with a little over 40 ounces of milk, mostly pumped by hand in the back of the car.  Pretty proud of myself.  And my boys... they were no worse for the wear and so happy to have (and my milk) at home.

The Emotional Side

Last week, at work; I found out I had to go on a business trip. Just one night away.  Just a 6 hour drive away.  No planes, no dancing in front of multiple customers - just one customer.  Me and three of my co-workers, all men.  Driving to upstate New York.

Me a mother.  Away from my 6 month old baby.  Who I am breastfeeding.  36 hours without being able to nurse my baby.

Yes, I cried.  Being away from my baby is the last thing I want.  Not to mention it's the week before his baptism and there is tons of stuff to be done.

But my baby.  I've been away from my older boys before.  I have survived being away from TT, as a nursing mom, on a number of occasions over night.  But never, ever, ever when he was this little.

My baby is still waking multiple times a night to nurse.  Often times after his last nursing session around 5:30am we sleep together.  Him all nestled in my arm.  He like it there.  He is a pocket baby.  Hold him and hold him close.  That's what he likes.

He is also a mama's boy. Sometimes in the middle of the night when Husband is trying to console him he wants nothing but to be held by his mama.  How are they going to make it.  Just fine, Husband assures me.

But I am scared.  And nervous.

I am afraid of my baby developing a bottle preference. What if he doesn't want to nurse when I get home?  What if he is mad at me for going away? What if he isn't mama's boy anymore when I get home? Three boys, I deserve one of them to be a mama's boy.

I am fully ready physically to be away from my baby, my littlest nursling.  I have enough milk in the freezer to last the Zombie Apocalypse. I have a hand pump. I have two double electric pumps (I'll only take the better one). But I am not emotionally ready.

Maybe it's the sleep deprivation talking, but I would rather be in bed with him waking every couple of hours than 300 miles away sleeping soundly.  Assuming that I can sleep.

The business part of the trip is going to be good.  I just know it.  The company is going to be good on the car ride.  The hotel decent and I am sure we'll be fed well.  All of that is going to be good.

Except missing my baby.

So Bueatiful

"It's so bueatiful, Mommy"

That's the first thing TT said to me when he came outside this morning.  I was in the middle of hanging diapers to dry.  He was referring to the diapers being bueatiful.  And I can see where he would think that.  All of the bright colors, gently swaying in the breeze, the bright late spring sun shining down on them.  Like little flags across the side of the yard.

But for me it wasn't just the diapers that were bueatiful.  It was a bueatiful day with my bueatiful family.  At the time ERP was happily in his bouncy seat watching me and listening to the birds.  TT started helping me hang the clothes.  The morning went on, and RR helped with the chores.  The boys played.  Husband played with the boys.  I got in on the action. We had an easy lunch and the house was clean and full of laughter.  Then my mom showed up with a cake.  Yum!!  Cake and then naps.

What more can you ask for?

While TT was sleeping I did take the diapers off the line.  He cried when he noticed they had been taken down.  "So pretty.  Go?" he asked.

But its alright.  I am sure the summer will be filled with many more days like this, complete with diapers on the line.  At least I can hope so.

This is what....

This is what tandem nursing looks like.

You see that calm and relaxed look on my face - that's all the oxytocin being released while nursing.  Nothing relaxes me faster or mellows me out more than a tandem nursing session.  Especially after we have been out doing errands and running around like fools.  

The Power Of....

The stage is set -

It is 5:30pm.  The Big Boys are running around the house like idiots (and I use that term lovingly).  The living-room is a disaster, couch pillows are thrown about, the Thomas Train chair is tipped over in the middle of the floor, all of the books are off the bottom of the bookshelf.  Husband is in the kitchen going over the repairs he did to his uncle's computer with him and finding out what repairs need to be done to his cousin's computer from him cousin.  Dinner, chili; is thankfully done and simmering on the stove.

ERP and I are sitting on the couch.  I am trying to comfort nurse him; he is suckling some and then popping off and crying.  I send the Biggest Boy for a swaddler.  I plan on trying to sway and sush ERP in hopes of calming him.

ERP has been having terrible gas pains for the last hour.  Husband had gotten him calmed some and ERP took a cat nap, but that is over and he is pissed.  I've given him gas drops and let him nurse all he wants.  Gas pains suck.  Baby hates them, parents hate them more.

ERP is wailing.  Screaming.  He is not happy.

Enter stage left; my mom and her boyfriend.  Right on time for our dinner date, they come baring cornbread and double chocolate cake.

I suggest to my mom that she go across the street (yes, I live in the middle of nowhere with a liquor store across the street, convenient at times - yes.) and get some beer.  Beer goes excellent with chili and a crying baby (drink while nursing or right after nursing, never nurse if you are feeling the affects of the drink).  My mom offers to take ERP so I can go get the beer.

I step outside, the night air is warm for January.  It feels like rain, but it isn't raining.  It is quiet outside.  A few minutes later I am armed with Sea Dog Blueberry Wheat Ale and back in my house.

But now my house is different.  Husband is done taking care of the computer business, the Big Boys are quieter.  But more importantly, ERP is done crying.  My mom is rocking him and he is asleep.

I pass around beers - sorry, none for the boys; and set the table.  My mom transfers ERP to his vibrating seat, and he continues to sleep.  He sleeps through all of dinner.  And dessert.  And us sitting and talking afterwards, relaxing.

It feels like a miracle.  I know Husband or I could have gotten ERP to settle down; we have mad baby calming skills; but sometimes you just need the power of grandma.

The Bloat is Gone

TMI Warning - Lots's of talk about lady bits and the "upside" of pregnancy.

I had heard somewhere that pregnant women have a tendency to over share; to tell too many details, to really get into the nitty gritty of what is going on.  This is one such story.  But one I feel that needs to be told because when I looked on-line for more information there was very little information out there.

For the past week or so when I would wake up in the morning I was having a hard time going to the bathroom, and I don't mean like constipation.  I couldn't pee.  I would have to sit on the seat and wiggle about to go.  Then that stopped working, so I would get up and jiggle my belly and try to bounce baby around.  Then that stopped working and I would pace around and dance around until I was able to go.

Then Tuesday came and I could not go.  I tried running my fingers under warm water (old trick from junior high I am sure you all know about), I showered and tried to go in there (hey, I am the one that cleans the tub), I got dressed and decided to go get gas - maybe really moving around would get things going.  I drank some cranberry juice, thinking I was a little dehydrated (but my bladder told me otherwise).  Still nothing.  After about 2 hours of this and some major muscle spasms I decided to call my midwife.  She suggested lying in a warm bath and to try going that way.  I was told if that didn't work I would need to go in.  I laid in the bathtub for 40 minutes.  40 long minutes.  Husband and I decided we would leave to go to the midwife as soon as the bus came for RR.  But the bus was late.  Of course it was late.  I was in so much pain... so we took him with us.

We get to the midwife's office and she drained my bladder.  I am sure you can figure out how she did that... and no it was not comfortable, but it was better than the alternative.  1,200 cc of urine later and we are done!!  1,200 cc - that's a little over 5 cups and about 2.5 lbs.  Holy cow... the bloat is gone.  I get warned if I can't go again to call them sooner, don't wait so long.  I promise and we head to breakfast.

You see one of the joys of having a retroverted uterus is that in some rare cases; lucky me I get to be rare, it causes "urine retention".  Basically your uterus crushes your urethra and you simply can't go on your own.  About 1/3 of all women have a retreoverted uterus, the vast majority of those "right" themselves between the 10 and 12 week mark.  Mine on the other hand not so much.  The chance of this happening is about 1 in 8,000 pregnancies.

Anyhow, we all go to breakfast to celebrate mom going pee.  I have a couple glasses of water and a couple cups of decaf.  We get home and I race into the house having to go... and nothing.  I mean nothing.  I want to cry.  I didn't talk a "what if" plan with my midwife.  So I call her back, and she consults with the OB on staff.  I have three choices 1) get a pessary (a what I said... more to come on that) 2) get a folly catheter or 3) learn how to cath myself every-time I have to go to the bathroom (which on a good day is every 30 minutes).  So right off the bat options 2 and 3 are out in my opinion, so we wait another few hours and drive all the way back (it's 40 minutes each way... picking up RR from school - he basically went for lunch and recess that day) for the pessary.

Basically a pessary is a medical device inserted in the vagina.  Typically they are used to treat pelvic organ prolapses or to help with incontinence.  Mine was inserted to help straight out my uterus and to take pressure off my bladder.  So after trying on a few for size, talk about painful, the OB selects one and asks me to use the bathroom.  Which I do.  Then he wants to insert catheter #2 of the day, to see if I really emptied my bladder.  And it turns out I didn't.  I still had some 500 cc of urine up there.  Gah!!  Does it ever end.  Now he wants to "give my bladder a break" and install the folly cath for a couple of days.  Oh dear.  Onto catheter #3 for the day... this one I get to wear home.  Around my leg thank you very much.

I can barely walk.  I can barely sit.  It's nearly impossible to get comfortable.

I spend the next 48 hours miserable with all this crap shoved places I really don't think things should be shoved.  I cry several times.  Sometimes from the pain.  Sometimes because I feel like I hit a new low.  I am able to work from home, keeping as comfy as possible on the big chair or the bed.  Husband runs around after the boys, does all the lifting and takes care of me.  My brother in law comes over to lend a hand, he's a sweetie.  I have to eat alone in the living room because I can't sit on the kitchen chairs.  It sucks.  I mean really sucks.

Finally I go back and the midwife takes out the catheter.  I feel human again, almost... still can't sit right, still can't walk right.  Nine more days of the pessary.  How do some women live with these?  I swear mine is too big.

But hey, at least I finally got TT's haircut... the one place he behaves for a haircut is down the street from the midwive's office.  So there's a silver lining.

I love this baby... I really do.  I've asked so many times in the last few days for them to check on this baby.  But really this baby needs to stop giving mama such a hard time... his/her brothers were way easier to be pregnant with.  That being said, I have decided once this one comes it will have to be the chillest baby ever, to make up for all.... 27 more weeks till we meet them.

Vermont (or part of it)

Husband and I have not gone away overnight since our honeymoon.  We haven't taken RR on any sort of vacation in a few years.  And before you feel bad for him he goes away to camp and goes on vacation with my mom and his cousins; he is certainly not vacation deprived.  That being said Husband and I were itching to get a way for a little while so we planned a mini-vacation in Stowe, VT.

We headed up on a Friday.  A very wet and rainy Friday, which turned into a snowy and freezing rain Friday.  The drive was terrible.  What should have taken a little over 3 hours took more than 5.

OK, the weather sucked for the whole trip.  Let's just put that out there now.  I don't think we saw more than 5 seconds of sun the whole weekend.

RR is getting "too cool" for pictures.

These are the boys hanging out in our first hotel room.  It was wicked small, after the first night; which was borderline hellish; we stopped being so cheap and sprang for the much larger room for $10  a night.  (Seriously if I knew it was only $10 more we would have moved sooner.)

Now the whole trip was centered around taking RR to Ben and Jerry's (and being able to take the boys swimming).  RR loves those TV shows that feature food eating contests; and consequently loves being in food eating contests himself, even if they are made up and in our kitchen (like the time he changed his 17 year old aunt and 19 year old babysitter to a pancake eat-off).  In on the shows he watches he saw someone trying to eat the Ben and Jerry's Vermonster; and wanted to try it himself.

Now if you have never heard of the Vermonster it has 20 scoop of ice cream, cookies, brownies, bananas, caramel and hot fudge sauces, plus many more options.... but NO cherry.  (What is up with that?)  It also has upwards of 10,000 calories (and costs around $50). This is a serious sundae people, and my family are serious ice cream lovers.... me, I could eat it everyday (and so could my boys), but this sundae was just out of our league.  So after the factory tour I convinced RR to go with the mini-Vermonster sundae.  There is nothing mini about this people.

We tried.  We almost made it.

Yes, that is snow on the ground in mid April, and no we are not in the Dakotas.  

Any ice cream product that is served in it's own bucket is serious business.  RR started out strong, but had a weak finish and was the first to call it quits (so not like him).  TT hung in by himself for a while (man, can that kid eat) and even Husband got in on the action (after he swore he wasn't going to, but I made sure I got his Chunky Monkey ice cream in it... so he was putty in my hands).  But despite our best efforts we just could not finish it, we came close though.  Sadly, because of the weather

Now before you start thinking we drove 5 hours to eat ice cream, I will have you know there was more to this trip.  There was an trip to the cider mill, and Cabot cheese and yummy chocolates.  (Can you say, total food fest.)

Aside from all the food we spent time hanging out at the pool and hanging out with each other in the hotel room and just plain relaxing.

It was good to get away and the trip home was much less adventurous than the trip up there... and we even left early... because we woke up and it was snowing, again.  We stopped at the Vermont Country store and looked at silly hats, old fashioned toys and left with giant pickles, penny candy and a bar of Fels-Naptha soap (to get out all of the ice cream stains.)  But it was good to be home again as well.

   In case you are wondering, this is how much milk and sugar Husband needs for his coffee.  Two small silos are cream, 2 are milk and the big one is sugar.  

Holiday vs. Snow Day

I've decided that snow days are more of a holiday than actual holidays are.  I always thought the idea of holidays was to relax and enjoy your family without having to work too much.  But that never seems to work out.  Now snow days on the other hand, those are perfect.

There are no gifts to buy, no gifts to wrap, no meals to plan, no chocolate bunnies or eggs, no costumes (unless you want to count staying in PJs all day), no fireworks (unless you are my neighbors), no place to go, no timeline to follow, Mass is canceled due to the weather so no guilt if you aren't able to make it.

Snow days are like holidays; but without all the "have to", "want to", or "need to".  It's just a day to be.  To catch up on laundry or your favorite TV show, to play a hand of cards with the ones you love, to built snow forts and train layouts, to take a nap, or bake a cake for the fun of it.

Snow days are a day to breath.

Are You There?

Yes, I'm still here.

No, I have not fallen off the face of the earth.  Yet.

Life has been full of blog-able moments.  I have tons of stuff to share with you.  But really life has been hectic.  Isn't it for all of us this time of year?

I really am making an effort to enjoy a simpler Christmas this year, thanks to a book I recently read.  So I can't really blame my lack of blogging on that.

I'm just not a fan of December.  I have a December birthday, and I am not a fan of my birthday.  Really I would skip the day all together if I could.  Some of it has to do with my paternal-grandmother's passing and funeral back on my 25th birthday; some of it has to do with the "whole year older" BS.  Some of it is because I really don't like celebrating my birthday.  I just don't get the idea of adult birthday celebrations.  Sure it makes sense when it's a milestone like 50 or 75 or any birthday after 85 for that matter.  I don't enjoy all of the attention.

Not to mention work has been insane.  Did I tell you I got a promotion at my day job?  I have this new added responsibility of managing other people.

When did I get so old?

And responsible?

We are also going through other organization changes at work, and moving around offices; and all that fun jazz that just makes for very long days.

Oh and I have been sick.  Head cold, turning into a chest cold.  The baby is getting it as well.

Good times in our house right now.

Everyone thought I was so on the ball for doing most of my Christmas cards before thanksgiving.  I'd like to think I was a little bit of a fortune teller.  I was able to see in December and see what a train wreck it was going to be and I acted on my premonition.

And no, that does not mean I will be waiting out the end of the world with the Mayans.    

Project Food Budget: Grande Finale (Week 52 - late)

Remember this cute little band-aide piggy?  I do.  Even though it seems like I have forgotten about Project Food Budget (PFB) the last few weeks.  But well, life happens and my blog got less attention last month than normal, and pretty much everything with it fell by the way-side.  That being said, this was a great project to participate in, and I look forward to more Emily Levenson projects in the future.

Two of the main themes with PFB were meal planning and budgeting your shopping trips.  Now I have always been a big, HUGE, fan of meal planning.  It's like part of my working-mom-credo.  If I'm at work and I don't know what we're having for dinner that night I can ensure you it is going to be a long night.

Creating the meal plan, and then shopping off the list is great.  To an extent. You need to make sure that your shopping list includes things that you don't plan; but know you will need during the week... you know those pesky little "pantry staples" like bananas, and cereal bars, chocolate soy milk.  The things your kids would be lost without; should you forget to get them.  I've actually been meaning to make a list of items I would consider staples in my house - maybe I'll do that as a follow up to this project.

The next big thing for me was ROUTINE.  I honestly needed to find time to go food shopping; and then to be consistent about it.  This is something I am still working on.  By the end of the last school year (June) I was doing great, and then summer vacation happened, and our day to day didn't have much rhythm or reason... and with that regular shopping went out the window.  So yeah, I'm still working on it.

Am I am expert at food budgeting and meal planning now?  No.  But I did learn a thing or two over the course of this project and I would try and make this program part of my day to day.

When you can, check out these other blogs and see how they did.

• Emily Levenson
• Dairy-Free Cooking
• Cook Write Heal
• Warm As Pie
• xox, b
• Project Food Budget 2.0
• That’s Just Me
• Two Eggs Over Easy
• Eat Whole Be Vital
• Four Happy Violets
• Pgh Dad
• yogabeautylife
• naMAMAste
• Six Dollars a Day
• What da Health?
• French Press
• Veggie Meal Maker
• Charmingly Modern
• Ignite Your Life

Slowing Down

"On a scale of 1 to 10, how bad is the pain?"
"Listen doctor, I've experienced natural child birth; that's a 10.  Don't get me wrong this hurts, a lot.  But in comparison it's probably only a 5."

And with that the doctor recommended alternating Tylenol and Motrin and icing my separated nasal cavity every few hours.

What had started out as an idyllic Saturday morning; laying in bed with the boys and Husband.  Cuddling and snuggling, goofing around a little; had turned into TT crashing the back of his head into my nose and separating the cartilage from the bone.

We spent nearly 4 hours hours in the, normally very quiet, emergency room.  Clearly the ER's advertising on TV was paying off by the number of people they were seeing that morning.

But it could have been worse; and thankfully it wasn't.

We were due at my step-dad's Uncle's house for a family gathering later that afternoon.  Clearly I was in no shape to go.

And then the day got worse.  Details of which I will not go into now... but no one has passed and no one has been injured, no jobs have been lost. There are some things in life you dread, yesterday was one of those days.  But I will fight on.

In the meantime I am taking care of nose, and trying not to over do it (as I have a tendency to do).  I am resting, icing my nose, playing with the boys (although I will admit I am a little nervous when TT is around my face), making banana bread and taking cat naps.

Tomorrow is Monday.  Tomorrow is a new day.  Tomorrow I start aggressively looking for help.  In the meantime... resting up and being thankful for my family.

Feeling Like...

Tonight I feel like Superwomen.  Or better yet, Super-Mom.

A sticker RR got me for Mother's Day a few years ago.
I keep it on the fridge.

I will admit I don't often feel like Super-Mom.  Every day seems to be more of the same, too much to do in too little time.

But the stars aligned tonight.

It was a decent day in the office and traffic was light coming home.

We had an awesome dinner of French toast, baked apples and sausage.  It was one of those meals everyone helped cooked... well, OK... TT sat in his high chair and licked beaters of fresh whip cream and colored.

I had time to play with each of the boys and got in two nursing sessions before TT went to bed.  Not to mention Husband and I got TT's room cleaned up while he "helped" us.

Stories with both boys... and then I made dinner for tomorrow night (chili) before getting the dishes the done and putting in two miles on the elliptical.

And for bonus points, I held it together when RR spilled water all over his bed as I was tucking him in.  Yes, it was in a closed container, I really have no idea how he pulls these things off.

Ahh... off to cap of the evening with sometime with Husband.

I love it when days come together like this.

Just Because You Breastfeed

Just because you breastfeed is doesn't mean...

• you need to join the ranks of so called "lactavists"
• Instead find a positive form of lactation activism and offer support to other mom's looking to breastfeed.  Or if you prefer opt to do nothing, it's your choice.
  
• you need to stop wearing a bra and opt instead for long flowing multi-colored shirts
• There are great nursing bras, tanks and shirts out there.  Follow your own style, breastfeeding isn't just for the "hippie" minded.
  
• you need to breastfeed in public
• Look around you'll be surprised by how many private places you can find in public to nurse.  And if you want to nurse in public, go for it; with or without a cover.
  
• you need to stop eating meat, chocolate, dairy, garlic or what have you.
• Some babies do have dairy intolerance, but those are the exception not the rule.  Talk to a professional before altering your diet if you suspect an intolerance.  And all those old wives tales you hear about not eating garlic, chocolate, etc are exactly that old wives tales.  In fact the more rounded your diet is, the more rounded your nursing's pallet will be.
  
• you can't ever go out without your children
• You can pump and leave milk for a caregiver.  No pump, plan your outings around baby's nursing schedule (this gets much easier to do once you pass the 6 month mark and introduce solids).
  
• you need to be have an affair with a breast-pump
• Sure if you are going to go back to work and plan on exclusively breastfeed you will need a pump, but pumping doesn't need to be your life.  You decide on what works for you and your family.
  
• you need to start cloth diapering your baby that is wearing a teething necklace while babywearing
• Deciding to nurse is one single parenting choice, it is not a way of life (as some media and organizations portray it).
  
• you need to publicize your decision to breastfeed
• If you want to great, obviously it's something I love talking about and I think the more we talk about it the more normalized it becomes and in the end we'll talk about it less; but it's your choice.  If you feel more comfortable not talking about it that's fine.
  
• you need to breastfeed until they live for kindergarten
• The World Health Organization recommends exclusively breastfeeding for the first 6 months and continued breastfeeding  with appropriate complementary foods up to two years or beyond.  Again this decision is totally up to you, any amount of breastmilk is better than none and I encourage everyone to strive to meet the WHO goals; but again it's a personal decision. 

I guess what I am trying to say, is don't be let society and the media views on "what a breastfeeding mother is suppose to look like" influence your decision to breastfeed.  Breastfeeding is something you make your own, and you will find a way to make it work with your lifestyle (assuming you're not doing drugs or are HIV positive or have a condition that physically prevents breastfeeding (which is rare)) and your lifestyle may change along the way; but then again whose life hasn't changed by simply becoming a parent?  Yeah, that's it... becoming a parent is simple.  Ha!!!

There is no "Gerber baby" for breastfeeding...you make it your own.  

Just like your breastmilk is made unique for your baby, your breastfeeding lifestyle will be unique to you.  

Do you have a breastfeeding lifestyle myth to bust?  Share it with us.

Luck of the Draw

I am one of those people that gets called for jury duty religiously.  The person who gets called before their "3 years is up".  The first two times I had jury duty I called the night before and was told I didn't need to report.

The third time I had jury duty, was December 23 and it was snowing and I had to report for service.  We, the jurors, sat around the court house until 10am when the judge came and told us the lawyers and other staff were held up because of the weather and we were dismissed "for the morning" and told to come back right before noon.  I went to McD's had a coffee and went over my Christmas plans.  We reported back, and shortly after noon we were dismissed for the day with a thanks for our service.

The forth time I got called for jury duty was this past February.  I really thought I was going to be able to call in and be told not to report as Husband was called for jury duty the week before and didn't have to report.  I was wrong, I had to report.  And not only did I have to report but I was selected and served on a jury.  The trial lasted the day and when I was out I was thankful that my term of service for over for at least another three years.

Then June rolled around and one afternoon I was checking the mail and pulled out an envelope addressed to me with a return address on it of "Federal Court System, District of Massachusetts".   I remember standing in the street staring at the envelope thinking "what the hell did I do?".  I slowly turned the envelope over, thinking there must be some confusion; and I saw the text through the back of the envelope "Federal Jury Duty Summons".  Really?  WTF?  I didn't even know they summoned people for federal jury duty.  But I was concerned, they had to excuse me as I just served state jury duty.  Apparently not; you need to serve state duty for 5 days in last 3 years to get excused.  Go figure.

Then it got better.  Federal jury duty isn't for one day, or one week, or even for one month.  It's for TWO whole months.  That's right folks, two months.  I've been on-call for jury duty all summer long.  No wonder it feels like I haven't had much of a summer.  Every Friday I have to call and see if I need to report the following week.  I've been calling, every Friday since before July 4; and every week they tell me to call back next week.  Aaaahhhhh!!  I haven't been able to plan anything all summer; because I just don't know what the next week holds for me.

Now work has gotten slow, and every Friday I say a prayer that my number is going to get called; and every Friday (so far) my prayers have gone unanswered.

Sigh... three more weeks left.

Thankful

Way back in the day, on this blog, I would write up three things I was thankful for.  I was trying to reshape my thoughts to focus on life in a more positive light (after a series of tragic events).  I haven't posted these three things in a while, and not because I was not  /am not thankful; but because... well, I don't really have a reason.

That being said I find myself very thankful as of lately, especially after yesterday morning.  You see the day started out like any other.  I was on my commute to work, about 25 minutes from my house; driving along the interstate when all of a sudden my brakes locked up.  Thankfully I was in the right hand lane and "only" doing 70 mph.  Traffic was heavy, as usual; and yet somehow I managed to not get rear ended as my car quickly, and unexpectedly braked.

I am thankful that I was not hurt and that no one else was hurt in the process.

I am thankful for the state trooper that came to my aide.  I appreciate his effort to try and push my car further to the side of the road, albeit an unsuccessful effort.  I am thankful he was able to call a tow truck.

I am thankful for my Husband for being there when I called, and for helping me out with numbers and coming up with a plan of action.

I am thankful for the DOT worker that checked on me to see if he could help.  Knowing people want to help you in a time of need really helps you remain positive.

I am thankful for the tow truck driver who came and got my car; who waited around with me for my Uncle who was coming to my rescue.

I am very thankful for my Uncle for rescuing me, yet again, when my car broke down.  I appreciate the ride, him letting me use his car and his AAA membership.  I am thankful for the smile on his face, despite the early hour and the rain when he got to me.

I am even thankful for my boss - who is very understanding, even if a little sarcastic, for helping me laugh about the situation.

I am thankful.  Thankful for it all.

Fifty-one

My washing machine has been slowly going for the last few months.  Half the time the clothes just weren't spun out when the load was done.  But the problem was easily fixable, just run another spin cycle.  OK, OK I was treating the symptom and not the problem.  This fact hit home about a month ago when I went to run "another spin cycle" and my washing machine laughed at me.  Actually it was more of a grinding clanging sound.

Not good.

This was a Sunday and the laundry was fairly caught up, I was just doing a "bonus" load to teach Turkey how to operate the washing machine.  Yes, he had reached that magical age where he could start helping with the laundry.

A week went by and after church we went to the laundromat.  I felt prepared and ready.  I had gone to the bank on Friday and had $20 in quarters.

Then, before I could blink that $20 quarters was gone; AND I still wasn't done loading the machines.  I surveyed the piles around us; and somehow everything we owned was dirty.    How was this possible?  We had stopped using our cloth diapers when the machine broke.... OK, ok, cloth diapers really don't make up the bulk of our laundry.  It was nearly 2 weeks worth of clothes, and sheets, and towels, and more towels.

Sigh.  I considered becoming a nudist family.  Me and the boys would have no issue with this, but Husband yeah... not so much.  So $51 and 3 hours later our laundry was done.  You read that right - fifty-one dollars at the laundry mat.

The next week I was able to get away with spending $7.50, by washing everything in one load and drying it all at home.  And I only washed the essentials.

Sure the break from doing laundry every day has been wonderful; but it really is a pain in the butt to schlep to the laundromat not to mention the other small fortune we've spent on disposable diapers, refills for the diaper pain... and the poor rash that Monkey developed from all those disposable diapers.

Our washing machine served us well for nearly 9 years, but it's time had certainly come to an end.  We had considered fixing it; but the repairmen wanted $40 to just come to our house.  So alas we finally broke down and bought a new one. For an added bonus I was able to SELL the broken one, and get someone to haul it's poor tired broken frame out of my basement.

I never thought I would say this, but I cannot wait to get home tonight and do some laundry.  I'm actually looking forward to trying out my new machine.  It's the simple things, isn't it?

Chocolate Happiness

When I was growing up my parents had this old cookbook in the house.  It wasn't a cookbook in the sense of Joy of Cooking, but more like a magazine.  It was called The Chuck Wagon Cookbook.  It was an 8.5 x 11 size, with thick glossy, dark pictures of cowboys cooking over campfires along side their wagons.  It had the best chili recipe, ever, in it.

Actual photo from the book I found on-line.

Aside from the chili it had recipes for various other yummies, include this one called Stir Crazy Cake.  This cake is the first thing I ever cooked on my own, and one I still get a craving for from time to time.

This recipe is ridiculously easy, doesn't require a lot of bowls, and greasing, frosting, and so on.  In fact it only requires a handful of ingredients, all of which are pantry staples and requires no eggs or butter.  Everything is mixed in the pan you bake it in.

In an 13 x 9 inch METAL baking pan combine the dry goods:
2-1/2 cups flour
1-1/2cups sugar
1/2 cup cocoa
2 tsp baking soda
0.5 tsp salt

Stir and make three wells and add one each of the following to each well
1 tbs vanilla
2 tbs vinegar
2/3 cup oil

(This is the neat part if your making it with your kids, watching the chemical reaction of the baking soda and vinegar.)

Pour 2 cups cold water (or cold coffee - surprisingly I have never done it this way) over the top and combine.  But don't over mix.

Combine 1/4 cup sugar and 1 tsp cinnamon and sprinkle over the top.  (This makes the yummiest crust, so don't skip this step.)

Bake in a 350F (preheated) oven for 35 to 40 minutes.

Yum, yum and oh yeah.... yum!!!  You know you want to go run and try this NOW.  Like right, right now.