I think I'm going to go private here - not that I've been blogging much but there is a ton of crazy S going on (we stopped swearing cause of the kiddos so now we just use letters - S, F, A, etc.).
Anyway, rather than put it all out there for anyone to stumble upon, I think I need to go invite only to ensure that only the people I want to see it actually do.
So... that said, I think I need some e-mail addresses to add people. If you want to, that is.
Monday, August 12, 2013
Friday, April 19, 2013
The End
As we close in on Reese's first birthday, we also close in on another event. The end of breastfeeding.
I'm extremely proud that I've been able to nurse both my girls to basically one year, and have never had to use formula. Not that formula is bad, but I truly think it's one of the best things I could possibly do for them.
The funny thing is, I don't remember weaning Addy. I don't remember how it went, but it seemed to go very smoothly. I know I stopped pumping at work and continued to nurse morning and night and we just eventually dropped both of those feedings as well.
Reese will be 11 months on Sunday and as of Monday I will no longer pump during the day. I'm so ready to stick my pump in a closet and forget about it for a while. Perhaps even give it away, or lend it to someone. Pumping has been a struggle at times, definitely a love-hate thing. There were days where my ounces were low and I stressed about what I was going to do and there were days that I relished in the 30 minutes of quiet time during a busy day. There were also days that I struggled to fit it in my schedule.
In just over 3 weeks, I leave on a work trip to Italy and I am bound and determined not to take a pump with me. To have Reese off the breast and on to bottles full time by then.
Most of you moms know that you can't just go cold turkey or you risk ending up in quite a bit of pain and mastitis. So, next week means no pumping, only morning and bedtime feedings. The week after that we'll drop to only night time feedings and the week after that, switch to bottles. Hopefully a week is enough time for each transition.
I have approximately 40 bags of milk in my freezer that we'll work our way through and then we'll be all done.
It's the end of an era, but a good end I think. I'm proud of what I've accomplished.
I'm extremely proud that I've been able to nurse both my girls to basically one year, and have never had to use formula. Not that formula is bad, but I truly think it's one of the best things I could possibly do for them.
The funny thing is, I don't remember weaning Addy. I don't remember how it went, but it seemed to go very smoothly. I know I stopped pumping at work and continued to nurse morning and night and we just eventually dropped both of those feedings as well.
Reese will be 11 months on Sunday and as of Monday I will no longer pump during the day. I'm so ready to stick my pump in a closet and forget about it for a while. Perhaps even give it away, or lend it to someone. Pumping has been a struggle at times, definitely a love-hate thing. There were days where my ounces were low and I stressed about what I was going to do and there were days that I relished in the 30 minutes of quiet time during a busy day. There were also days that I struggled to fit it in my schedule.
In just over 3 weeks, I leave on a work trip to Italy and I am bound and determined not to take a pump with me. To have Reese off the breast and on to bottles full time by then.
Most of you moms know that you can't just go cold turkey or you risk ending up in quite a bit of pain and mastitis. So, next week means no pumping, only morning and bedtime feedings. The week after that we'll drop to only night time feedings and the week after that, switch to bottles. Hopefully a week is enough time for each transition.
I have approximately 40 bags of milk in my freezer that we'll work our way through and then we'll be all done.
It's the end of an era, but a good end I think. I'm proud of what I've accomplished.
Monday, March 11, 2013
Roomies
I haven't posted in 2 months?! Crazy. And weird to think that not that much has changed. The girls continue to grow - Addy is doing amazingly well in preschool and Reese is going to walk any day now. She also has 5 (!) teeth and is growing much faster than I'd really like.
But on to the topic for today's blog.
We're getting a roommate. As in, someone is going to come live in our house for approximately 6 months. She's actually going to live in our basement which was her choice; she could have had the guest room.
I suppose I should back up.
So... my aunt is like, borderline certifiably crazy and an alcoholic and her 7 (!) kids want pretty much nothing to do with her. She has a 19-year old daughter who used to live with her until she lost her house and then the daughter, M, went to Florida to live with her dad & 2 younger sisters but didn't like it and missed MN so she came back. BUT, since her mom lost her house and is currently dating (and engaged to and living with) MY DAD she ended up staying on her older sister's couch. That was all about 8 months ago.
Are you still with me?
The older sister (and couch owner) is pregnant and due in early Sept. and I think both of those girls were stressing about what would happen when the baby came and there was someone living on the couch. So I made the comment that M should come stay with us for like 2 weeks after the baby came to let the family adjust to having a baby around and have their couch back.
M e-mailed me and asked if there was any way she could come stay with us sooner, and for longer and C & I talked about it and decided it would probably be ok and we invited M over for dinner to chat about it.
We had a big talk about "boundaries" (I don't want to call them rules) that basically boiled down to, "We're not going to tell you what you can and can't do because you're 19 but you need to be respectful of the fact that we have 2 small children and always be conscious of what they might see or hear." Which means, you can have friends over but they have to be gone by 10 and you can't be too loud. And you can have your boyfriend over and you 2 can do what 19-year olds do, but there are kids around so be mindful of that.
I think we're all on the same page and she seems excited about it and everyone keeps telling us how nice it is of us to do and what a good thing we're doing. But honestly, I think it's really sad that she can't depend on her mom for anything and I think you should always be able to fall back on your parents if you're at the end of your rope, you know?
And to answer all these questions I'm sure are in your head, Yes, my dad is going to marry my mom's sister. No, I'm not exactly happy about it. I'm not sure if I'm going to the wedding. Yes, it is weird.
But on to the topic for today's blog.
We're getting a roommate. As in, someone is going to come live in our house for approximately 6 months. She's actually going to live in our basement which was her choice; she could have had the guest room.
I suppose I should back up.
So... my aunt is like, borderline certifiably crazy and an alcoholic and her 7 (!) kids want pretty much nothing to do with her. She has a 19-year old daughter who used to live with her until she lost her house and then the daughter, M, went to Florida to live with her dad & 2 younger sisters but didn't like it and missed MN so she came back. BUT, since her mom lost her house and is currently dating (and engaged to and living with) MY DAD she ended up staying on her older sister's couch. That was all about 8 months ago.
Are you still with me?
The older sister (and couch owner) is pregnant and due in early Sept. and I think both of those girls were stressing about what would happen when the baby came and there was someone living on the couch. So I made the comment that M should come stay with us for like 2 weeks after the baby came to let the family adjust to having a baby around and have their couch back.
M e-mailed me and asked if there was any way she could come stay with us sooner, and for longer and C & I talked about it and decided it would probably be ok and we invited M over for dinner to chat about it.
We had a big talk about "boundaries" (I don't want to call them rules) that basically boiled down to, "We're not going to tell you what you can and can't do because you're 19 but you need to be respectful of the fact that we have 2 small children and always be conscious of what they might see or hear." Which means, you can have friends over but they have to be gone by 10 and you can't be too loud. And you can have your boyfriend over and you 2 can do what 19-year olds do, but there are kids around so be mindful of that.
I think we're all on the same page and she seems excited about it and everyone keeps telling us how nice it is of us to do and what a good thing we're doing. But honestly, I think it's really sad that she can't depend on her mom for anything and I think you should always be able to fall back on your parents if you're at the end of your rope, you know?
And to answer all these questions I'm sure are in your head, Yes, my dad is going to marry my mom's sister. No, I'm not exactly happy about it. I'm not sure if I'm going to the wedding. Yes, it is weird.
Thursday, January 3, 2013
Goodbye to 2012
I can't say that I'm sad to see 2012 go. While it was better than 2011 by far, it still had ups and downs and I'd really like things to calm down a little more.
I've seen other bloggers do kind of a year in review and I though it was cool. I'm going to try and re-use pictures I've uploaded to fill out this post.
Here we go!
January - In January I was a stay at home mom (SAHM) for approx. 3 weeks before I went back to work! I'm proud of the fact that I was only laid off for 2 months (to the day!) before finding a job.
February - Corey & I celebrated 4 years together, from the day we met. I think, for both of us, that when we met we both kind of knew that was it for us. Neither of us ever dated anyone from that day, even though we weren't "official" until 2 months later.
March - Addy turned 3 and Corey turned 31 and we had a small celebration at our home.
April - I started interviewing with 2 companies for a permanent job as opposed to a contract position. It was intense with phone interviews, 2 formal interviews, a skills test and an evaluation by a occupational psychologist, who walked me through my entire career for 2 hours asking me about details and decisions. Corey, Addy & I enjoyed our last month or so as a small family of 3.
May - Reese was born! Also, I got job offers from both companies I had been interviewing with and accepted one.
Additionally, Corey & I celebrated one year of marriage, in the hospital. Reese shares our anniversary.
June - We spent June adjusting to life with a new baby. Corey finished up school for the year and we looked forward to our summer together.
July - We went insane and decided to fly to California for a wonderful friend's wedding and then straight to Ohio to see extended family and friends. We were on the road with a 3-year-old and an 8-month-old for 10 days. After this trip we decided to potty train Addy during my last week of freedom.
August - I started working again! While my official start date was July 30, I consider it August. We registered Addy for preschool and found Reese a great daycare. Corey prepared to return to school for his 3rd (and tenure!) year.
September - We spend Sept. finding our rythym with work and school and kids. Furlough days started at work so I had 2 Fridays off. At the end of the month we took another quick trip to California for another wedding but left Addy with family.
October - I turned 33 (ugh) in October and had some high-stress days at work where I got approval for my project. Reese turned 5 months and started army crawling. We decided to sleep train her at the end of the month and it worked... for a while.
November - Reese's first Thanksgiving! I wish I had more to say about November but really, the highlight was Thanksgiving I think. Also, I had my last 2 furlough days and spent one wth Addy and one getting my hair done. I started attempting to use the treadmill more and was successful for most of November.
December - December pretty much means Christmas! Reese's first Christmas! This year we started the Elf on the Shelf tradition which was ok. As the girls grow we will probably have more fun with it. We spent Christmas in Michigan and Ohio, visiting family and friends. I fell off the treadmill (not literally) and am struggling to get back into it.
To sum up:
Jobs: 2
Kids: 1
Books read: 80+!! I credit pumping and reading on my phone. I doubt this will be as high next year.
My wish for 2013? I'd like a peaceful year. I'm working very hard to let go of something things and just be. I know the summer will be crazy at work and we're talking about another addition to our family but I hope that in one year I can say that 2013 was a great year.
I've seen other bloggers do kind of a year in review and I though it was cool. I'm going to try and re-use pictures I've uploaded to fill out this post.
Here we go!
January - In January I was a stay at home mom (SAHM) for approx. 3 weeks before I went back to work! I'm proud of the fact that I was only laid off for 2 months (to the day!) before finding a job.
February - Corey & I celebrated 4 years together, from the day we met. I think, for both of us, that when we met we both kind of knew that was it for us. Neither of us ever dated anyone from that day, even though we weren't "official" until 2 months later.
March - Addy turned 3 and Corey turned 31 and we had a small celebration at our home.
April - I started interviewing with 2 companies for a permanent job as opposed to a contract position. It was intense with phone interviews, 2 formal interviews, a skills test and an evaluation by a occupational psychologist, who walked me through my entire career for 2 hours asking me about details and decisions. Corey, Addy & I enjoyed our last month or so as a small family of 3.
May - Reese was born! Also, I got job offers from both companies I had been interviewing with and accepted one.
June - We spent June adjusting to life with a new baby. Corey finished up school for the year and we looked forward to our summer together.
July - We went insane and decided to fly to California for a wonderful friend's wedding and then straight to Ohio to see extended family and friends. We were on the road with a 3-year-old and an 8-month-old for 10 days. After this trip we decided to potty train Addy during my last week of freedom.
August - I started working again! While my official start date was July 30, I consider it August. We registered Addy for preschool and found Reese a great daycare. Corey prepared to return to school for his 3rd (and tenure!) year.
September - We spend Sept. finding our rythym with work and school and kids. Furlough days started at work so I had 2 Fridays off. At the end of the month we took another quick trip to California for another wedding but left Addy with family.
November - Reese's first Thanksgiving! I wish I had more to say about November but really, the highlight was Thanksgiving I think. Also, I had my last 2 furlough days and spent one wth Addy and one getting my hair done. I started attempting to use the treadmill more and was successful for most of November.
December - December pretty much means Christmas! Reese's first Christmas! This year we started the Elf on the Shelf tradition which was ok. As the girls grow we will probably have more fun with it. We spent Christmas in Michigan and Ohio, visiting family and friends. I fell off the treadmill (not literally) and am struggling to get back into it.
To sum up:
Jobs: 2
Kids: 1
Books read: 80+!! I credit pumping and reading on my phone. I doubt this will be as high next year.
My wish for 2013? I'd like a peaceful year. I'm working very hard to let go of something things and just be. I know the summer will be crazy at work and we're talking about another addition to our family but I hope that in one year I can say that 2013 was a great year.
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
You're killin' me Smalls!
My crazy baby is going to be the one who breaks me. But in a good way, you know?
Reese will be 7 months old in 3 days. In her 6th month she:
Never having had 2 children before, I wrongly assumed that we knew what to expect from Reese because we'd had Addy. While I knew deep down that no 2 children are alike, I expected that Reese would develop roughly the same as Addy.
But no, Reese is in a hurry for everything apparently. I wonder if this will be an indication of her personality later in life. Wanting to blaze her own path and prove herself to be different than her sister and her own woman.
The tone of this post probably doesn't convey how in awe I am of my baby. We hit the 5 month mark and she turned into a new baby. Suddenly happy almost all the time and HUGE smiles! She loves Addy more than anything, you can tell. She's always crawling over to her and watching her and Addy can make her laugh more than anyone. I desperately hope that their relationship only grows as they do. I always longed for a sister but never got one unfortunately and I'm so happy that my girls have eachother.
Reese will be 7 months old in 3 days. In her 6th month she:
- Has started crawling for real - she has been army crawling for a good month now but she's up on her knees and moving
- Has a tooth! My doctor said that you take their age in months minus 6 and that's a guideline to how many teeth she should have.
- Can sit up on her own - not for long periods of time but she can do it!
- Has stood up a few times. She managed to crawl to something, put her hands on it and continue to move her feet. Then she got her feet under he and was basically standing while leaning on the ball. Fortunately, she hasn't figured out how to do this in her crib yet.
Never having had 2 children before, I wrongly assumed that we knew what to expect from Reese because we'd had Addy. While I knew deep down that no 2 children are alike, I expected that Reese would develop roughly the same as Addy.
But no, Reese is in a hurry for everything apparently. I wonder if this will be an indication of her personality later in life. Wanting to blaze her own path and prove herself to be different than her sister and her own woman.
The tone of this post probably doesn't convey how in awe I am of my baby. We hit the 5 month mark and she turned into a new baby. Suddenly happy almost all the time and HUGE smiles! She loves Addy more than anything, you can tell. She's always crawling over to her and watching her and Addy can make her laugh more than anyone. I desperately hope that their relationship only grows as they do. I always longed for a sister but never got one unfortunately and I'm so happy that my girls have eachother.
Monday, December 3, 2012
It's A Date
In an effort to put more... effort into our relationship, C & I came up with an idea for this coming year. Well, really I stole the idea from something I saw on Pinterest and C & I modified it to suit us.
We divided up the next year into 2 groups of 6 months, we each get every other month and we each have to plan a date for that month. The date can be anything from very simple to quite elaborate, there really aren't any rules.
By Christmas, we each need to have our 6 date ideas in envelopes labeled by month and we'll put them up somewhere to keep them safe. At the beginning of each month, we'll open that envelope, see what the date idea is, get the calendar and actually plan the date!
For instance, I have January. My date idea for January is for us to go to a museum together (nerd alert!) of his choosing and then to lunch or dinner or do lunch first and then the museum. Either way.
So in January we will open the Jan. emvelope and read the date description then we will pick the day we'd like to go, contact our babysitter and make it happen!
I'm very excited about this and hope that it works and isn't something that we just abandon after a few months. The idea of the envelope is that we're supposed to plan as much as possible ahead of time. So for the museum & food, I might pick up a gift card for a restaurant we can go to.
Here's a quick list of my months and ideas:
January - Museum & lunch/dinner
March - I have already registered us to run a 5K together and then we will do brunch
May - This is our anniversary month...I think I will try to plan a fancy dinner where we get dressed up & maybe an overnight
July - Kayak trip in Cannon Falls & either a picnic lunch or grabbing something after
September - Segway tour of Minneapolis
December - I'd love for us to both skip work and spend a day together Christmas shopping but I'm not sure that will work. I might make it the main idea but have a back up in place just in case.
Other date ideas I came up with are: Dave & Busters, a brewery tour, catching a show at a Theatre, a cooking class together, just going to Happy Hour to spend time talking, Wine tasting, rock climbing...
I did buy a groupon deal for a wine tasting that I need to work in there somehow but it's kind of out of the way for the other things I have planned. Perhaps I can work it into May.
Here's to building our relationship in 2013!
We divided up the next year into 2 groups of 6 months, we each get every other month and we each have to plan a date for that month. The date can be anything from very simple to quite elaborate, there really aren't any rules.
By Christmas, we each need to have our 6 date ideas in envelopes labeled by month and we'll put them up somewhere to keep them safe. At the beginning of each month, we'll open that envelope, see what the date idea is, get the calendar and actually plan the date!
For instance, I have January. My date idea for January is for us to go to a museum together (nerd alert!) of his choosing and then to lunch or dinner or do lunch first and then the museum. Either way.
So in January we will open the Jan. emvelope and read the date description then we will pick the day we'd like to go, contact our babysitter and make it happen!
I'm very excited about this and hope that it works and isn't something that we just abandon after a few months. The idea of the envelope is that we're supposed to plan as much as possible ahead of time. So for the museum & food, I might pick up a gift card for a restaurant we can go to.
Here's a quick list of my months and ideas:
January - Museum & lunch/dinner
March - I have already registered us to run a 5K together and then we will do brunch
May - This is our anniversary month...I think I will try to plan a fancy dinner where we get dressed up & maybe an overnight
July - Kayak trip in Cannon Falls & either a picnic lunch or grabbing something after
September - Segway tour of Minneapolis
December - I'd love for us to both skip work and spend a day together Christmas shopping but I'm not sure that will work. I might make it the main idea but have a back up in place just in case.
Other date ideas I came up with are: Dave & Busters, a brewery tour, catching a show at a Theatre, a cooking class together, just going to Happy Hour to spend time talking, Wine tasting, rock climbing...
I did buy a groupon deal for a wine tasting that I need to work in there somehow but it's kind of out of the way for the other things I have planned. Perhaps I can work it into May.
Here's to building our relationship in 2013!
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
6 Month Check Up
Reese had her 6 month check up yesterday and I wanted to record her stats here so I remember them!
Weight: 15lb 8.5oz
Length: Almost 27 inches
Head Circumference: About 17.25 inches
Reese is doing well/advanced in: Gross Motor Skills - meaning that she is almost crawling which really impressed the doctor and she's able to feed herself crackers. Both are above her skill set.
Reese is still developing in: Language skills - meaning that she is apparently supposed to be babbling but she isn't. She makes sounds, two syllable sounds, but she does not repeat them. No sounds like "ba-ba-ba-ba". The doctor seemed concerned for a moment that she might have a hearing problem but Reese responds to her name and other noises so it's not an issue.
Other notes: Reese still has a clogged tear duct in her right eye that hasn't cleared up. While it's not a huge concern, if it's still present in a month, we'll probably have to see a pediatric optometrist and we'll discuss probing the tear duct to clear the blockage. That sounds like it will suck but if it makes her better I guess.
The doctor was overall very impressed with Reese. The fact that she's moving (army crawling) is super advanced. We also spoke about the fact that Reese only takes one nap per day but she's gaining weight well and seems overall happy so she wasn't too concerned. She was actually impressed that Reese goes from 7pm to 6am without food or waking up (now that we re-trained her) because apparently that's also advanced. She said she would expect 6-8 hours, not 11.
All good news for Reese!
Weight: 15lb 8.5oz
Length: Almost 27 inches
Head Circumference: About 17.25 inches
Reese is doing well/advanced in: Gross Motor Skills - meaning that she is almost crawling which really impressed the doctor and she's able to feed herself crackers. Both are above her skill set.
Reese is still developing in: Language skills - meaning that she is apparently supposed to be babbling but she isn't. She makes sounds, two syllable sounds, but she does not repeat them. No sounds like "ba-ba-ba-ba". The doctor seemed concerned for a moment that she might have a hearing problem but Reese responds to her name and other noises so it's not an issue.
Other notes: Reese still has a clogged tear duct in her right eye that hasn't cleared up. While it's not a huge concern, if it's still present in a month, we'll probably have to see a pediatric optometrist and we'll discuss probing the tear duct to clear the blockage. That sounds like it will suck but if it makes her better I guess.
The doctor was overall very impressed with Reese. The fact that she's moving (army crawling) is super advanced. We also spoke about the fact that Reese only takes one nap per day but she's gaining weight well and seems overall happy so she wasn't too concerned. She was actually impressed that Reese goes from 7pm to 6am without food or waking up (now that we re-trained her) because apparently that's also advanced. She said she would expect 6-8 hours, not 11.
All good news for Reese!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)