Five Minute Friday

I am starting to loose steam on my desire to continue breastfeeding.  There have always been more reasons to stop, they are just starting to come to the forefront of my mind. Like..... having to wear a bra 24/7 is irratating, having my nipples sucked by a pump five time a day is less than awesome, taking the time to pump, having Ellie crawl all over me while I try to pump, taking my pump with me and finding a place to pump while we leave the house for a day, pump parts and pump bottles cluttering my counter, having a pump bag sitting in our living room... and it doesn't help that I feel less of an attatchment because I pump.  Ellie wakes up once in the early morning and will breastfeed then, so I don't have that breastfeeding bond like I did with Whitney.  During the day Ellie does not want me AT ALL anymore. 

What is keeping me going is the nutrition of breast milk.  It is what she has been drinking for 7+ months.  I fed Whitney for 11 months so I want to do the same for Ellie.  I stay home so it isn't as difficult to pump as I make it sound.  My supply is just fine.  Ellie will take formula if she needs to.  And least important to me but is a nice bonus, is that breast milk is FREE!  I am undecided what to do, set a new goal to keep going to 8 months???  Oh yeah, they calorie burn of breastfeeding is a nice bonus too.  I won't complain about getting sucked down to pre pregnancy weight after two kids in a matter of six months.  BUT, it does take a lot of energy to breast feed and some days I feel completely depleted, no pun intended.

The Bible study that I went to last year started back up again.  Wade was able to watch the girls and I was able to attend worry free.  Sometimes it amazes me on what the lesson is on, like they knew I was going to attend this week.  It was about the power of our tounge and the words we use.  How quickly it can praise or critisize and the effect our words have on people.  I tend to complain and be critical to Wade, which he tells me all the time I need to think before I speak and am I intentionally trying to piss him off?  The study asked if you have recently started a fire with your tounge that you needed to put out.  Why yes, just last week.  How did they know?  So, it was a good reminder for me to watch what I say and to be more careful and selective with my words.  I hung the lesson on my fridge for a daily reminder.  Just as I say to Whitney, if you speak nicely to me I will speak nicely to you.

Fun With Friends

My old friend Misty, and I don't mean she is old, I mean we have been friends for a long time... like pre kindergarten long time... came for a visit this last weekend.  She brought her soon to be 3 year old Griffen and fiance Artie, also a friend from my hometown.   It's one of those friendships where you just pick up where you left off.  We don't talk on the phone and we email occasionaly to check in or to have some girl talk.  If we're lucky we get to see each other about once a year.  Fun weekend.  The kids got along really well, Griffen is such a sweet boy. 

Saturday afternoon we went to the orchard again.

that's me and little Ellie bear, she liked it too!

Misty, Griffen and Artie

Five Minute Friday

I don't have a lot to say this friday, and yes, it is still friday.  9pm, but it's still friday.  I love today.  It is the fall equinox.  It is the perfect temperature and the perfect amount of light.  Dark enough in the morning to sleep in a bit, and gets dark at night just before bath time.  Every day could be the first day of fall.  7 months in and I am still struggling with juggling a house, kids and a marriage.  Maybe by the time the girls are in college I'll have it down pat!  I am going to try to plan out meals a week at a time, and maybe a month at a time if I'm really good at it.  All I have to do is plan it, Wade takes care of the cooking!  I should be able to handle that.  And buy the groceries to go along with the plan.

wade asked me to keep an eye on the sauce as he went out to grill a chicken breast, I don't think this was supposed to be a secret ingredient!

Whitney let me do this to her hair today!  it last a couple of hours

Whitney's random photography, hilarious to go through the camera to see what she takes pictures of.  Through the eyes of a child!

ellie bear

Ellison- 7 month photos

Ellison- 7 Months

Ellie continues to be my sweet happy baby girl.  I am so lucky to have such an easy going baby.  She contently plays by herself sucking away on her pacifier.  In the last few weeks she has developed an attatchment to pacifiers.   It looks strange to me, but traveling and just hanging out around the house is even more peaceful now than it was before.  Ellie loves Whitney to pieces and just smiles and giggles when Whitney is being silly. Ellie continues to be a mama's girl and will immediately quiet and smile after she is handed to me when Wade is trying to watch her.  The other day I showered and Wade said she just sat outside the door, knowing I was in there.

Stats-  Ellie is around 17lbs.  She wears a size 3 diaper and 6-12 month clothing.

Sleep-  getting better.  Now that we are over ANOTHER cold and I had to be mean mommy, she goes to bed around 8:30 and will wake between 4 and 5, I will nurse her then and she will sleep another 2-3hrs.  I can live with that for now.  If we are home she will take a morning and afternoon nap.  If we are on the go she will catch little naps when she can and then take one good one mid day.  I have started to just put her in her bed for naps and she crys it out for a few minutes.  If I don't she will just go and go and get cranky.  That also helps for the middle of the night when wakes up, it doesn't take as long for her to cry it out then.  I keep some pacifiers in her crib so somtimes she will find those during the night.

Eating-  the same as before.  She will not take more than 4 oz at a time.  She is primarily on breast milk but will continue to take formula if necessary to supplement at the end of the day.  Still only wants a bottle during the day, which suits me.  It is pretty nice not to have to sit down to nurse when we are out.  Which is funny because when I exclusively nursed Whitney I thought that was the easy way to go.    She eats twice a day plus a few snack items like puffs, yogurt melts, crackers, etc.  She is not crazy about fruit but does well with vegetables.   She likes to drink water straight out of a cup but I don't do that often because she spills it down her shirt.

Milestones-  not too many new tricks.  She is getting a little more stable as she stands and plays, which is a few less bruises to the forehead.  She is starting to let go to try to stand alone, that doesn't last but a second or two.  She can slowly furniture cruise.  She can crawl incredibly fast and will venture all over the house, especially if we have left the room and she is trying to keep up.  She can feed herself small pieces of food, she has learned to open her fist to get the food in there.  Nice, but kind of dangerous because now I REALLY have to keep on no small objects or food pieces dropped on the floor.   She has one bottom left tooth with the other bottom tooth through the gums.  She is starting to experiment with sounds, with baa baa baa being her favorite.   I have heard ma ma ma a few times, but not in reference to me.  She is also fond of EEEEE!! She sounds like mini me off of Goldmember.


pictures to add later......

Farmyard

We went back to Center Grove Orchard on Sunday.  Whitney had lots of fun!!   And we did too, of course.

just like her daddy, she chooses a seat in the last row!

we were trying to finish up lunch and Whitney spotted the hill slide.  She was anxious to go, so she told us "i go by myself" and off she went and didn't look back once.  Wade followed her from a distance and she climbed to the top of the hill.  who knows if she would have gone down by herself.  You ride a burlap sack down and it is FAST!!!

Some other things we did but didn't get pictures was the bounce pillow, feeding the animals and the hay ride.  Fun place!

Five Minute Friday

I have a few things to talk about this friday.  Ellie picked up her 4th cold all on her own this week.  It started monday and finally last night she was able to sleep 5hrs straight in her crib.  She was/is so terribley stuffed up she had to sleep in bed with me propped up on pillows waking up every 1-2 hrs to choke, cough and cry.  Then I would nurse her back to sleep.  I see some sleep training coming up again in our near future.  Isn't breast milk supposed to be some super power?  I think Whitney has had about 4 colds in her life.

Speaking of Whitney, we started potty training on monday and she is doing absolutely fantastic.  We had been talking about setting a date and to just start doing it, but monday she wanted to be "naked butt" and use the potty, so I asked if she wanted to be all done with diapers and she said yes, so I went with it.  I haven't done anything special and she had occasionaly been using the potty when it suited her, the timing was just right for both of us. She even keeps her pull ups dry when we leave the house and she is okay with going potty in public restooms.  Not such an easy feat trying to hang on to a squirming baby and to keep Whitney from falling in the toilet, but it has to be done. She prefers to be naked butt or naked butt under her pants.  She's not crazy about underwear.   So far so good.  She has been so accepting of it, that I can probably say that I have a potty trained toddler.  I will post more later about her potty training.

Hunting season is starting back up.  I have the girls alone this weekend and next.  It seems like yesterday that I had Whitney alone every weekend in Novemember and I would take her to church every Sunday morning. 

Whitney had her first nightmare last night, she thought an alligator with two teeth was trying to chomp her in her bed and she was terrified to go back to sleep. I blame it on Cailou.  Just that day Caliou was afraid to go to sleep and thought monsters were in his room.  By the time I noticed what the episode was Whitney was already sucked in and looked scared so I wanted her to see that everything was okay in the end.   Hope she doesn't do that this weekend.

I made my first apple sauce.  It was good but needs a few adjustments.

We went to play pals this morning.  Whitney was much better at independent play than she was last year.

I am desperate to hit some fall garage sales for 3t winter tops, size 7 shoes, and a Halloween costume for Whitney.

Whitney is so comical in the things she says lately.  She is constantly telling me "two hands mommy" when I am driving.  She randomly asks, are we lost.  Are you lost mommy?  and are we there yet, are we there yet, are we there yet?

Five Minute Friday

Five minute friday skin care edition.  I don't have great skin, never have, but I figure now that I'm in my 30's I better start to fork over some dough for the good stuff.  I have a lot of sun spots, acne scars, etc that aren't going away on their own.  I don't break out a lot, just the occasional pimple.    Like I said, my biggest problem is evening out my complexion.  Because we are visual creatures I took a picture of the products that I have been using recently and I like them and think they are working.  I love to know what works before I spend my money, so if any of you care to know.....

Ambi- sold at drugstores/big retailers around $10.  It has hydroquinone which is a lightener.  Not ever where carries it and you really have to look for it, like on the bottom shelf.  I think it is marketed towards black people, but it works for every one

Philosiphy-  this was a gift so I can't tell  you what it costs, but I know Philosphy will cost you a few pennies.  Purity is great, but my FAVORITE is the microdelivery exfoliating wash.  I keep it in the shower, LOVE IT!!!

Clinique Even Better Clinical Dark Spot Corrector-  I ordered the 1.7 oz for $59 off ebay to save a few bones, other wise I think it is about 69 at a department store.  It works, just not as quickly as I would like it to.

Aveeno Positively Radiant light tint SPF 30-  14.95 at Wal-Mart.  It's a moisturizer and foundation in one!  And with the soy it supposedly evens skin tone too.  Being 31 I need the daily spf of 30, I decided 15 was too low now and I'm too lazy/rushed to put on any foundation before I leave the house.  Now with this, I can put it on, add a little blush and done.  A little better than before!  It is very light weight, and I don't recommend using your serums underneath, it didn't mesh well and the Aveeno kind of peeled/globbed up.   So, use alone or wait until your serum completely dries before applying

Cleansing cloths-  idk, $5?  I always buy the generic brand, they all work the same to me.  Again, I'm lazy and looking to cut a few minutes off the bed time rountine and they're super easy.  I can wipe my face and done and I never feel dirty after using them. 

Best Friends

Yesterday afternoon we were in the back yard having a little snack picnic, and Whitney climbs on my lap and says, "you're a best friend to me."    Awww, melt my heart!  I don't know where she learns these things, but I like it!

Picking Apples

My parents came down for Labor Day weekend.  After rainy saturday day, the rest of the weekend was absolutely beautiful.  We did the usual... went to the mall and took the girls to parks and out on walks.  Monday morning I found an orchard to go to centergroveorchards.com.  The weather was perfect and we had lots of fun.  They have THE BEST apple donuts!!  We are so excited about this place being so close that we got season passes.  After this weekend the farm yard opens, can't wait!  If anyone wants to go with me, give me a jingle.  Age 3 and under is FREE! 

Five Minute Friday

SEPTEMBER!!!!  Who else is so excited that it is September and the cool weather is on its way?!?!  Fall is my favorite! 

I'm not going to talk about my kids today, because who but me and Wade wants to hear about them all the time?  Today I had the luxury of going on a walk/run (mostly walking, I'm not going to mislead anyone into thinking I'm any sort of runner) at Ada Hayden lake.  Wade asked if there was anything I wanted to do by myself before he went into school.  I chose to exercise.  I have not exercised for.... let's count.  Whitney is 28 months + 9 months of pregnancy = 37 months.  Let's say 3 yrs because I have gone on the occasional stoll, but haven't raised my heart rate above a brisk walk for 3 yrs.  Wow.  That's a long time, considering I have always been one to exercise.  I don't exercise to lose weight or to look like an aerobics instructor.  I simply like a little bit of muscle tone and it just makes you feel good.

Okay, so I tried to run today and I got such a painful side stitch I had to walk.  I figured for my first time out I better not push it and just enjoy being out alone in nature with the occasional other passerby.  So let me tell you, I weigh between 105-110 and not because I diet or exercise.  It is simply from taking care of my kids and I don't over indulge in bad food and drink.  Believe me, I indulge, just reasonably.  For those of you who know me you know I will eat anything.  I'm not a calorie snob.  Just because I am thin does not mean I am fit.  My lungs feel like lead weights and every muscle in my legs were tingling.  Even my shoulders were sore from swinging my arms back and forth!  After I drove home I about fell out of the truck as my legs betrayed me after I tried to step on the ground again.  It will be a slow process, but I will regain physical fitness again!!   For now, I will accept that my 50+ age parents are in FAR better shape than I am right now!  Heck, I think my 80 year old land lord is in better shape than me right now!