Almost Perfect

Yesterday was the best day (I think) since Baby Girl was born. 

It started with The Hubby and me realizing that the sun was up and it was almost 6 a.m.  Why is this a big deal?  Well, the last time we'd spoken to each other was 10:30 the night before.  That's right, folks, Baby Girl slept through the night.  Woohoo!  That, alone, would have made the day great!

We all got up, had breakfast, then went to Wal.mart (I still think there need to be more 24-hour stores...) to look for a polo shirt for The Hubby and to pick up a few jars of baby food (easier to take out of the house).  When we got back, we went on a short bike ride with the new bike trailer we picked up.  Baby Girl seems to love it and it was great to get out of the house.

When we returned, I worked on getting ready--took a shower, packed up some stuff for the day, made sure Baby Girl and The Hubby were doing okay.

At about 8:55, I left the two of them alone and drove to Goodale Park to meet up with a local photographer.  I was hosting a portrait party!  A portrait party is when there are many 30-minute sessions back-to-back throughout the day.  In turn, the client gets a reduced session fee and usually a reduction in price in prints.  We had 5 other clients besides my family booked.  The first family arrived at 9:30 that morning and we (I say "we", but really all I did was entertain guests, help make babies smile, and carry the camera bag) had shoots from then through mine, which started at 11:30.  We got a bit off schedule and our shoot was over around 12:30.  At that point The Hubby, Baby Girl, and I sat on our blanket with our friends S, R, and their little boy, A to have some lunch in the park.  It was a lot of fun!  The kiddos played and we all ate and chatted. 

Around 1, the last client showed up, another friend, M, with her little man.  We did their shoot, then all of us (3 babies and 5 adults) hung out for a little while.  A little after 2, we realized it was probably nap time, so we loaded up the cars and headed home. 

Baby Girl fell asleep in the car with The Hubby pretty close to home, so he got her out of the car and took her straight up to her room.  Many times if she's fallen asleep in the car, putting her back down doesn't go well (and no, she doesn't sleep at all in her carrier if it isn't in a moving car), but he took her upstairs and she cried for just a minute or so and fell asleep (it was about 2:40). 

The Hubby and I came downstairs and did a lot of relaxing and I got dinner (the Buffalo Chicken Lasagna (there you go, Colleen!!)) cooking.  We figured Baby Girl would be up after 1 1/2 hours, or around 4:10.  Imagine our surprise when she didn't wake up until 4:40!  Woohoo!

She got up in good spirit, had some milk, played for a bit, then we had some dinner.  We played after dinner, then she nursed and went to bed around 7:15.  I cleaned up after dinner, then The Hubby and I watched a movie that had been in our DVR for a long time--27 Dresses.  It was really cute!  We went to bed around 10:30.

The near perfect day carried over to today, too...when we realized she'd pretty much slept through the night again!  She woke at 4:00 with a little fuss and The Hubby was near the door to go to her when I told him to wait...and sure enough she fell back asleep on her own.  She slept until 6:30!!!

(yes, I am absolutely aware that I might be jinxing things by talking about this sleeping, but even if it doesn't happen again for awhile, I'm happy for these two nights)

Thrifty Thursday (on Friday): Electronic Coupons

I was planning on starting an entire series on coupons, but thought this was more timely to discuss now, as I got an email with about 200 electronic coupons for Kroger.

I know most of my readers are local to the Central Ohio area, but I'm sure these resources exist even outside Central Ohio.

If you shop at Kroger, as I do, there are electronic coupons available on their site here: Kroger E-Coupons

You need to create an account with them and enter your Kroger card number with your account.  Then go to that site that I've linked and load up to 150 coupons to your Kroger card.  They won't double, but you can use them with any paper coupons you have to double your savings**.

For instance, there is a coupon on there to save $0.40 when you buy 6 Yoplait yogurts (which usually run between $0.40 and $0.50 apiece, depending on sale).  Say they're $0.50 apiece--buy 6 and it costs you $3.  $0.40 off doesn't sound like much, but when you combine it with a printable coupon from Coupons.com that's also for $0.40 off 6 (but will double), it's $3 - $0.40 - $0.40 - $0.40 = $1.80 for 6 or $0.30 apiece. 

Here's another deal you could do.  Betty Crocker Warm Delights are sometimes marked down to $1.50 apiece.  Load a $0.75 coupon from Kroger's site to your card and print off a $0.50 coupon from Coupons.com.  $1.50 - $0.75 - $0.50 - $0.50 means you get $0.25 overage.

You don't just have to use Coupons.com coupons--I just know you ALL have access to those!

You can also load electronic coupons through these sites:

Shortcuts (works for both Giant Eagle and Kroger)
Cellfire (I've never used this b/c I didn't have free data stuff on my phone, but it seems like there are good coupons there!)
P&G E Saver (these look like the same ones you can load from Kroger's website and that they're linked up so if you load them from Kroger's website, they aren't available from P&G's)

There are quite a few deals to make items free or near free when combining electronic coupons with printed coupons.  Can you find any others?  If so, post in the comments!

Next week I'm planning on discussing resources for coupons--there are a lot of them!

** Disclaimer:  I don't believe this is the intended useage of these electronic coupons.  I don't think you're supposed to use them in conjunction with other manufacturer's coupons for the same item.  But it works as long as the cashier with scan the coupon (which they have no reason not to, since they don't know you have the electronic coupon loaded).

Meal Plan 7/4-7/10

7/4: Chicken Alfredo
7/5: Cookout (turkey burgers, hamburgers, hot dogs, pretzels, chips, macaroni salad (blech), roasted potatoes, and cake)
7/6: Chicken & Pesto w/ Ravioli
7/7: Chicken Kebabs
7/8: Baby Back Ribs, Frozen Veggies, and Cornbread
7/9: Foil Packet Chicken
7/10: Buffalo Chicken Lasagna (seriously...someday we'll have this again...)

A teenage boy in my house, Smurfing Smurfs, and snot

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, these are the things that my weekend was made of.

First of all, I didn't have a real teenager in my house.  But my daughter was eating like one!  She couldn't be satisfied and just ate like there was no bottom to her stomach.  Peas, green beans, corn, cheerios, applesauce...anything we put on her tray she devoured and still wanted more!  She even got fussy for the first time in a VERY long time because she was hungry.  We're hoping this means a growth spurt is on the horizon, especially since she didn't grow even a quarter of an inch in two months.

Smurfs.  You know, those little blue guys?  You know how, when they talk, they substitute the word "Smurf" in place of other words?  Well, The Hubby is finally on board with trying to tone down his potty mouth, so we've both been making a concerted effort (mine had been toned way down already) and have been subbing in "Smurf" when we want to cuss.  The funniest was when I decided to sing "Shoop"...but with the word "Smurf" instead of any words I didn't think I'd want Baby Girl to say.  :)

And lastly...there's still a good amount of sickness going on in our house.  I started feeling congested last weekend and Baby Girl did, too.  I thought maybe mine was allergies, but by the middle of the week, it was apparent that I was getting a cold and so was she.  The worst day for me was Thursday, I think.  My head was just cloudy and it hurt.  I took a good nap that day and ended up staying home from work on Friday.  Baby Girl was still in great spirits, so she went to the sitter's.  By Saturday, mine developed into a cough, but the baby's head seemed to be drying up, so I was hoping the worst was over for her.  My cough got a bit worse on Sunday but she still seemed to be feeling okay.  But it seems someone turned on the faucets today...Baby Girl has snot EVERYWHERE and is coughing some.   *sigh*  I don't know why she suddenly got worse, but I'm a bit nervous and am not sure whether to send her to the sitter's tomorrow.  She's still acting fine and so far as been sleeping okay.  We'll see what tomorrow brings.

So that was our weekend.  It was nice.  We went to see my best college friend and her family on Saturday (she lives in Wisconsin) and then the ILs came down today for a cookout.  It was relaxing and enjoyable.  We got the invitations out for The Party on Saturday.  Now I just don't want to go back to work tomorrow...

It's Official!!!

I'm calling it now.  Baby Girl is a walker.  It's been 3 weeks 1 day since she took her first unassisted steps and she's been practicing toddling off and on since then.  She'd take up to 8 unassisted steps, but it would take a LOT of coaxing.  Today, however, we'll just plop her down on her feet (or not--she's also mastering standing up without pulling up on anything...a skill Mommy has apparently lost along the way) and she'll walk over to where she wants to go--Daddy, a toy, a book, the VCR, the piano...

We first realized that she was a walker about 2:45 this afternoon when I put her down on her feet from my lap and she immediately walked over to her Daddy without any prompting and also without shuffling (she'd been taking a step sideways, then bringing her other foot to it).  Just like she'd been doing it forever.

Look out, world...next thing you know, we'll have a runner!

Thrifty Thursday: You Don't Have to Use a Coupon

It's true!  You do NOT have to use a coupon.

You could very well be thinking "duh", but I wanted to make this point very clear.  You do NOT need to use a coupon for items that you could have a coupon for (most of you time you won't have coupons for meat, milk, or produce...although they do come around every once in awhile!). 

All of us have things for which we're brand-loyal. For those, make sure you're always seeking out the coupons for that brand.  But re-evaluate every once in awhile.  Give the generic or the other brand a shot if it'll be cheaper.  If you still don't like it, that's fine.

But for things that you're not brand-loyal to, check the unit price on everything.  Take your coupons with you, so you're prepared, but it is absolutely okay to buy the generic (or cheaper brand name) if it's still cheaper than the brand you have a coupon for.  I see way too many people in the store, for instance, buying something for $3 after coupon when they could get it for $2 without a coupon if they just bought a different brand. 

Just don't get sucked into the common belief that if you're using a coupon, you're getting a deal!

Eleven Months Old!

This is the last monthly update that I'll be able to write before Baby Girl is ONE YEAR OLD.  Excuse me while I go puke.

Baby Girl, this past month you've made a lot of progress (much to Mommy's dismay at times) at becoming a Little Girl, rather than a baby.  You've stopped fearing that Mommy would make you go to sleep if she put you on her shoulder and started giving the sweetest, longest hugs and cuddles.  You wrap your little arm around Mommy's neck for a minute or so (which is NEVER long enough for Mommy) and I could just melt.

You've become so VERY vocal.  You love to tell us stories and it amazes us how many consonant and vowel combinations you use!  We can't wait until we know what's coming out of that sweet little mouth (unless you're cussing us out...which is possible sometimes!).

You also took your very first steps!  You continue to take a few steps at a time, but just don't have the confidence to let go and take more.  You can do it, Baby Girl!  You have the balance and the strength--just do it!  You love to drive around your push toy (a pink car) and also the push toy at the sitter's (a Pooh with wheels), but haven't figured out the steering just yet.  You'll get there soon, but won't need to once you start walking!

This month you've tried lots of different foods.  Your standard dinners are still the same--vegetable (typically peas because you can feed them to yourself) and a fruit (applesauce, pears, or peaches, typically)--but you're trying lots of Mommy and Daddy's food.  You've had little bites of chicken, ground beef, chicken pot pie, salsa, hummus, and you love black beans!  I just hope you'll always be this adventurous with your food. Your favorite remains Cheerios, though.  Your little body just shudders with excitement when you see the little bowl of them!

You're still our happy little lady.  You smile from the top of your head all the way down to your toes when you're happy.  We love that we can tell you're smiling even if you're looking in the opposite direction.  You're quick with a smile, even if you've just taken a bit of a tumble (which is happening more and more as you become more adventurous).

You've also become quite the little climber.  You love to climb into kiddie chairs and stand in them and like to try to climb on top of tubs and under tables.  We know you're just exploring, but it makes Mommy and Daddy really nervous!

As of your doctor's appointment last week (your follow-up from your ear infection--your first one!), you were 19 lbs 8 oz (with clothes and diaper on) and 27 1/4 inches tall.  You haven't grown even a quarter of an inch since your 9 month appointment, but Daddy and I are expecting a good amount of growth before your one year (!) appointment next month since you were eating like crazy over the last 4 days, then slept really well last night. 

You've got three teeth, with number four just wanting to come through and join the party.  Your bottom front two are pretty much all the way in and your top left is about halfway in (or less).  That upper right tooth has dropped down about as far as the upper left, but the gum is still covering it and is bright white.  It doesn't look comfortable, but like so many other things, your spirits have remained high and you're taking it all in stride.  We haven't noticed you being in pain, even though you're chewing like crazy on everything (including Mommy...ouch!).

This month you've learned so much!  You were hanging out with your Grandma and Grandpa B. and danced with them and also did the Itsy Bitsy Spider with Grandma.  You amaze us with how quickly you learn things!  We can see your mind moving quickly, trying to grasp ideas.  You can now find objects that we hide behind us or inside a tub and are figuring out how to turn things on and open and close things.  You climb into cupboards just to see what's inside and cruise around the dining room table, just to see all sides of it or to play peek-a-boo (your FAVORITE game!).  I have loved watching you learn this month (and every month!).

Even though we still aren't sleeping real well (still waking at least once a night), we are loving spending time with you, Baby Girl.  You're fun, funny, happy, curious, explorative, adventurous, and just plain busy!  I can't wait to see what the next month brings.  It's always something new and exciting with you!

Keeps getting more interesting...

Nursing a teeny baby isn't particularly easy, especially with trying to get them positioned just right with all their floppiness.  But I'm starting to think that that was pretty easy compared to nursing a mobile, busy, almost-11-month old...

Baby Girl will lay in cradle hold for a couple of minutes, but then she gets all squirmy.  She starts shifting and rolling (all while still latched...eek!) and most of the time ends up standing in my lap, bent over.  Yes, folks, my baby nurses standing up.  Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine we'd be at this point 11 months ago.  Sometimes I'll let her lay vertical and I'll just lay the recliner back, as this is easier on me and seem to appease her. 

This all may sound painful, but it's actually really funny.  The funniest part is when she sits up to see what's going on around her, then, once she's satisfied that she isn't missing anything, dive-bombs me again to go on to nurse for a few more minutes.  It's pretty comical.  It definitely gets frustrating, as we could be done if she would just eat until she's full, but I try to take it all in stride and just enjoy the time we get together, especially since I don't nurse her as often during the week.

Meal Plan - 6/26-7/2

Really, July?  Ugh.  July is the month my kid turns one....where the heck did the year go???

Sunday: Pot Roast, red potatoes, & carrots in the crock pot
Monday: Stir Fry
Tuesday: Chicken Pot Pie (using leftover chicken from last week)
Wednesday: BBQ Chicken Braid (using leftover chicken from last week)
Thursday: Turkey Burgers
Friday: Tacos
Saturday (if we're home): Buffalo Chicken Lasagna (we've planned on it for the last few weeks, but it hasn't happened b/c it doesn't make a good weeknight dinner for us)

Happy Anniversary?

Yesterday The Hubby and I celebrated the fourth anniversary of our wedding.  Well, "celebrated" is being a bit generous...  He told me "Happy Anniversary" when we woke up and we had BW3 for dinner because we didn't have meat thawed to cook at home.  He did come home from work early, though, without telling me, and cleaned up some of our first floor.  It had gotten overwhelmingly bad, so it was really nice to come home and know that it's now in a manageable state.  Who would've thought that that would be the best anniversary present I could ask for?

To be fair, we're planning on going to see Wicked when it comes to town in August and will probably do a nice dinner when we do that.  My mom has also been telling us that she'll watch Baby Girl if we want to go out, either on our anniversary (obviously didn't happen) or this weekend.  We'll see.  It would be nice to go out, but I just find myself missing my girl so much that I don't know if I'd enjoy it fully. 

I look at the pictures from our wedding day (about 15 pounds heavier than now, but that's 235+20-70+50-15...lol) and remember what a beautiful, happy day it was.  We had a great time and I think our guests did, too.  I was on the dance floor so much that day that I didn't actually see many of our guests and didn't spend much time with my own husband! 

And then I look at the pictures of Baby Girl.  Our baby, born out of the love that we have for each other.  So perfect.  I couldn't have a better confirmation that I made the right decision when I married my best friend four years ago. 

Thrifty Thursday: Shop Holiday Sales

Sorry for the hiatus, folks...I wasn't in the best place to post last week, but I'm back today!
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Think holiday sales are only for electronics, clothes, furniture, etc.?  You'd be wrong!  With the Fourth of July coming up, I wanted to make sure to get this post out!

Think about what foods you typically eat during holidays.  Ham for Easter.  Turkey, stuffing, rolls for Thanksgiving.  Burgers, corn on the cob, hot dogs (plus all the fixings) for Memorial Day and the Fourth of July. 

One of the things I stock up on the most around Memorial Day or July 4th is pop.  I know a lot of people avoid drinking pop, but not in our house!  The Hubby is a big pop-drinker, although I have gotten him to switch from regular Coke to Coke Zero, so at least he isn't drinking those empty calories.  Coke just doesn't go on sale that often, but leading up to Memorial Day and July 4th there are typically quite a few sales.  I know at Memorial Day Walmart had Coke and Pepsi 24-packs for $4 apiece.  My stock-up price for pop is $2 per 12-pack, so it was time to stock up!  Our garage has about 8 24-packs of Coke products in it right now. 

Remember that freezer, too.  If hamburger is on sale, buy a bunch and freeze it.  Same with hot dogs, cheese, ham, and other meats.  Many condiments are shelf-stable for awhile, so look for coupons and stock up when things get really cheap.  There was a point that I had four bottles of mustard in my cupboard...and I don't even like the stuff.  But when it goes on sale for $1 and you have a $0.50 coupon that doubles...you buy it!

I actually found this link that shows you the best time of year to buy anything, both food and non-food.  I'd seen it before and found it really useful.

I have all sorts of topics ready to discuss, but if you think of anything you want tips on, please feel free to let me know!

Teaching moment

I taught my daughter something that I think I'm going to regret tonight. 

I had just finished nursing her and she still sat on my lap.  I was putting myself away, pulled my shirt down, and she looked at me with that little questioning look.  I said, "Where'd mommy's bo.obies go?" 

And then she grabbed my shirt tail and pulled it up.

I know, you're already laughing.  But it gets worse.  I cracked up. Loudly.  So she started giggling.  And lifted up my shirt again.

And again.

And again.

And then, before I knew what I was doing, we were playing peekaboo with mommy's bo.obies.

My Realization

This morning, after a very, very long night, I came to a horrible, painful realization that I have yet to share with anyone.

I want my daughter to wake up at night.

I know.  I KNOW.  How insane am I???

Baby Girl was up last night at 10:30, 11:30, 12:30, and 3:30 (I think...based off of conversation with The Hubby...neither of us has a real clear view of what happened last night).  At 10:30, The Hubby got her back to sleep.  At 11:30, he tried again, but came into our bedroom and essentially threw her at me.  I was upset.  She crawled around, whined, fussed, and he covered his head with his pillow.  I thought about holding it over his mouth, but decided it would be easier to just deal with the baby. 

I took her into her bedroom and rocked.  And rocked.  And she'd fall asleep, then wake up as soon as I started to put her into her crib.  I let her cry for a couple of minutes while I found her seahorse.  I had actually discovered about a week ago that she loves that thing and isn't distracted by it anymore.  I turned on the music (left the seahorse in her crib) and sat and rocked and she settled down.  Just as I was putting her back in her crib, the seahorse turned off and she got up on her hip and looked at me.  Damn.  I turned on the seahorse and she immediately laid down and went to sleep.  Whew.  I went back to bed and sat and listened for about 5 minutes until the seahorse turned off to see if she'd wake up.  She didn't.  At that point.

An hour later (an hour after she'd woken previously, that is), though, she was awake again (I think this part happened...surely I couldn't have dreamed it, right???).  She was yelling and screaming from her crib.  I just listened.  I couldn't do it again.  And The Hubby didn't move.  He's usually the one to get her, but he wasn't moving.  So I laid there, staring at the TV.  She'd stop crying, notice that she didn't hear noise outside her door, and start screaming again.  I think she cried for between 5 and 10 minutes and then it stopped.  Yes, I was scared that something had happened, but was so exhausted that I just assumed she had fallen asleep and I went to sleep myself. 

At 3:30 she was up again.  At this point, I fed her.  The typical rule we try to follow is that if she's up before 1:00, she doesn't get fed because there's no way she's hungry.  If she wakes up after that, I'll feed her and she'll typically fall asleep nursing and then go back to her bed.  It works for us and that's just what happened last night.  She slept for the rest of the night.

So on the way into work this morning The Hubby and I were discussing the fact that I let her cry until she fell asleep.  He didn't even remember it.  So then we were trying to decide if we need to do that every time she gets up. 

That's when it happened. 

I realized that I didn't want to cut out all of her nighttime wakings. 

There was a time when she was waking one time around 2 or 2:30, eating, and sleeping the rest of the night.  And I liked that.  I could spend a little time with her, snuggle, she could eat, thereby helping my milk supply, and she'd go back to bed.  I was okay with it and could keep doing that for awhile.

But I can't keep doing this.  I can't keep dealing with her waking FOUR times in a night.  And The Hubby is probably right--if we go get her some of the time (after the designated time), she won't understand and that probably won't keep her from waking up fully the other times.  So it seems it's all or nothing and it's time to make a decision. 

I'm sad.  And scared.  I don't want to negatively effect my already waning milk supply by her not eating overnight.  I don't want to miss out on my snuggle time, especially since I spend about 3 hours with her on weekdays, with an hour of that being in the car and another hour (almost) being feeding her.  I don't want her to stop needing her mommy in the middle of the night. 

How sick and twisted is that?  If she sleeps, we all sleep.  And we'll all be better people when we wake up in the morning.  And she might (!!!) even stay up longer in the evenings and nap better during the day.  I know it's a normal part of life, to be able to sleep through the night, but I don't know if I'm ready to let go.

Down

The post title refers to a few things in my life right now.

1) My weight.  From last week to think week, I've lost 1.6 pounds.  Woohoo!  I'm right around the lowest I've been since having Baby Girl.  After the first few days I've gotten used to eating less, too, and am not all that hungry.

2) My milk supply.  I'm going to blame it on my impending period (yes, I said impending...she shot off a warning signal on Friday and I've been spotting ever since), but if AF doesn't show by this Friday, then I'm going to blame it on the calorie reduction and will probably go back to eating junk like before.

3) The numbers of hours of sleep we're getting a night.  Baby Girl was doing really well (didn't want to jinx it by blogging about it) and waking once a night, eating, then going back to bed.  We've been struggling recently, though, with the worst in awhile being last night.  We woke at 10:30 and The Hubby was able to get her back to sleep.  She woke again at 11:30, screaming her blasted head off.  It wasn't pretty.  I was determined not to feed her, as I had just finished pumping around 9:45 and knew I wouldn't have much supply for her and didn't want to piss her off more.  But after about 45 minutes, I caved.  I had tried rocking, hugging, talking...everything I had up my sleeve.  She'd doze off, then wake up screaming again, tears streaming down that beautiful little face.  So I nursed her and she eventually (after a LONG time...like 45 minutes of nursing???) fell asleep.  I thought, great, this means she'll sleep for awhile.  Not so much--she was back up at 3:30.  She was, once again, really upset.  I don't know if it was b/c she'd gotten overtired from not napping (even though she went to bed before 6:30) or if her teeth were bothering her or if she was truly hungry because I was producing *that* little milk...but she was pissed.  So I gave her some Tylenol and nursed her and she fell asleep.  She slept until morning and woke up happy.  Who knows.  But I'm dragging ass today.

4) My mood.  Might be partially because of the lack of sleep, but I'm also just getting really bogged down with everything recently.  Baby Girl is really getting grabby (in a mean way--pulling hair HARD, scratching our faces, pulling our noses and lips...she's always done it, but as she gets bigger, she's getting stronger) and is making our interactions not nearly as fun.  Work has been pretty overwhelming.  The Hubby just isn't helping in ways that I want.  I want to go out with friends, but want to spend time with my daughter in the little bit of time I get each day and don't know how to balance that because what if, God forbid, something were to happen and I didn't spend every second with her that I could have?  Of course I can't live that way all the time, but it's the thought I've had a lot recently.  I won't regret spending time with my baby, but if I take time for myself away from her, I just might regret that.  So yeah, things are weighing heavily on my head and heart recently.  And I need to plan her party still and it's bugging me that The Hubby isn't giving me any feedback about our guest list.  I know it doesn't matter as much to him as it does to me, but, damnit, it should!

So yeah, there it is.  I'm down...in one good way and in three bad.  Eh, 25% isn't so bad, right?

Meal Plan 6/13-6/19

Sunday: Quiche (based very loosely on the recipe linked--I didn't use any cheese and had some turkey bacon with some leftover veggies.  This is a great way to use up some extra cooked veggies!)

Monday: Steak Fajitas

Tuesday: Sesame Ginger Lettuce Wraps (I think I try something from Cassie's blog every week!)

Wednesday: Chicken Stir Fry

Thursday: Turkey Burgers & red potatoes (if the potatoes are still good) & corn on the cob

Friday: Either Pasta & Meatballs or Buffalo Chicken Lasagna (never made it last week and all the ingredients are either canned or frozen)

Saturday: I actually bought stuff for 7 meals this week, but just remembered that we'll be visiting with some high school friends and going out to dinner with them, but I won't be cooking on Saturday.

Big Day!!!!

Small news for today...I spy tooth number THREE!  It's the upper left tooth and has completely broken through with no swelling or anything.  She slept like junk last night, so I guess that could be why.  She wasn't upset, though, just tossing and turning a lot and not sleeping well.

But the BIG news is...

Baby Girl took unassisted steps! 

She's been strong enough and had the balance for it for awhile, but she hasn't been brave enough.  We kept thinking that the key would be to get a running start at it--get her walking, then let go and see her continue.  But that wasn't the case at all.  She took those first 3 steps while standing by herself.  The Hubby stood her up facing a friend of ours and when he held out his hands, she took three steps toward him until he snatched her up!  She then did it multiple times later--always starting from standing by herself.  She even took four steps to me earlier this evening--I just stood her up facing me and held out my hands and she took four tentative steps until she could tumble into my arms. 

The task for tomorrow, though, is to capture it on film...let's see if she cooperates!

The Bitch is Back

I hadn't seen her since late October 2008.  But on 9:45 a.m. on June 11, 2010, she has taken back her place in my life.  Yes, my friends, the horrible Aunt Flo is back. 

Shit.

Thrifty Thursday: Shop Around

Welcome back!

I hope you all are enjoying Thrifty Thursdays.  I'm loving discussing something I'm passionate about--saving money! 

Today I want to talk about another way to save on your grocery shopping--shopping around.  There are different degrees of this and it's up to you how much you want to do.

When I'm planning my meals for the week, I go online and get the sales insert for the three stores that I typically consider for grocery shopping--Kroger, Giant Eagle, and Meijer.  I've done shopping at Walmart before, but typically assume the prices will be good there and don't shop according to the sale--gasp!  I then look at the produce and meat sales and see if there's anything that jumps off the page.  If there aren't any fantastic deals, I'll default to Kroger because it's close and easy to get into and out of.  If there are great deals at one of the stores, though, a decision must be made.  Is it worth going to that store just to get that one thing?  Or if I'm going to go to, for instance, Giant Eagle for chicken breast, should I just plan my whole shopping trip there?  Honestly, it depends on the week which one I choose.  If it's a busy Sunday (and which ones aren't these days??) and I just want to make a quick trip, I'll go do all the shopping at one store.  If I have an evening that I will have extra time, I'll go do the rest of my shopping at one store, then get the chicken at Giant Eagle.

I have friends, though, that will always shop at 2-4 stores per week.  No matter how much money I want/need to save, I just don't have the time for it most weeks (but I can't say I've never done it!).  It's totally a personal decision.  You can save a lot of money by shopping at different stores--it's a balance of opporunity costs (the loss of time) and financial costs.  (Wow, I did learn something in Econ 200!)

All that said, be flexible about what store you do your grocery (and, really, any!) shopping at.  Shop the sales and be prepared to go to the store that has the best sales for that week.

Next week: Coupon Match-ups (it's much easier than you think!)

Victories

Two victories I've wanted to post about:

1) Baby Girl finally had her second tooth (both bottom middle) break through yesterday!  Woohoo!

2) My freezer stash (frozen milk) has eclipsed 250 ounces!  When I think about it, that would only meet her needs for about a week or a little over if my milk suddenly completely dried up, but I try not to think about that.  It's a great number, especially since I froze VERY little in the beginning.

Healthy Food Ideas

Now that I'm back on the healthy eating wagon, I've been re-engineering the things that I eat.  I wanted to post two good finds that I came across.

Last night I was at Giant Eagle and found Thomas Bagel Thins.  The Hubby and I had them this morning and I found them really satisfying.  I had a small amount of cream cheese on it and it was a great 2 point breakfast!  There are 8 in the package and I think they were only like $3. 

For dinner last night I planned a vegetarian quesadilla.  The Hubby and I?  We're carnivores.  So something vegetarian doesn't typically go over real well for either of us and we end up needing to go get a McDonald's cheeseburger or something.  But I saw the idea on a blog and thought I'd give it a shot.  I had some leftover grilled veggies from the other night that I thought I could use.  I sauteed a BUNCH of mushrooms and some onion and wilted some spinach, then threw in the grilled veggies to heat them through.  Using these (I think--they were definitely the SoftWraps, which I would change next time), I put one tortilla loaded it with between 1/4 and 1/2 cup 2% cheddar cheese and a pile of veggies, then folded over the tortilla and used my quesadilla maker (hello wedding registry!) to make a tasty quesadilla.  I topped it with fat-free sour cream and some salsa and ate it with about 1/2 c. fat free refried beans.  What an incredibly tasty dinner for just 6 points!  Both The Hubby and I were completely full (of course, he had a two tortilla quesadilla, but whatever...) after this, giving us both a little more faith in vegetarian meals again.  We might try this again soon!

What are your favorite sneakily healthy foods?  Things that don't feel healthy to you, but are? 

Back on the WW Wagon

I know I said about a month ago that I was getting back on the wagon.  That was a complete failure.

Yesterday, though, I started counting points again.  You know what?  It's HARD.  I did it for so long that it became second nature, but I'm having a really tough time with it now.  I've been eating whatever I want since Thanksgiving 2008 (wow...).  Yesterday I went all balls-to-the-wall and had eaten so few points that I needed to have a big piece of cake before bed.  But the cake had gone bad.  So then I was scrambling to stuff something into my piehole...and found the canister of whipped cream.  lol  I still didn't meet my points for the day.

But then today I went out to lunch with a friend.  I got this wrap that I thought would be pretty healthy...it was 12 points alone.  Glad I didn't get any chips! 

I have no idea how I used to do this regularly, especially because I was eating a LOT less points per day.  With breastfeeding, I'm allotted an extra 5-10 points per day (I can't decide how many...the description for 5 is for if you're supplementing with formula or food and for 10 is just for nursing mamas.  For now, I'm allowing myself 7 points b/c I'm still nervous about dropping supply.).  That means if I weren't nursing, I'd be having to have even less points per day.  Geez.

I just had to do something about this body, though.  I can't look in the mirror.  I hate the way I feel.  I still feel like I look like shit a mom who doesn't sleep much most days, but at least maybe I'll be a thinner hot mess.  We'll see if it works.

(And again with the schedule posting not working??!?!!  Ugh!)

Planning

I'm a planner by nature.  I love it.  Then why am I so overwhelmed with the planning going on? 

I'm talking about Baby Girl's first birthday party.  I'm excited to work on the details, but keep getting stuck on the very first task on my list--the guest list. 

Ugh.

If we were to invite everyone we want, we could end up with 75 people in our house.  Our house is NOT made for 75 people.  We're not even sure if our house is made for 30 people.

We'd also end up with 65 people on my list and 10 on The Hubby's.  We can't have that. 

It's the extended family and the friends that are throwing us off.  With The In-Laws, we have five adults and three kids (one 3 year old and 2 almost-four-month-olds).  Then there's my parents (I'm an only child).  Then we need to also include my mom's cousin, her mom (who is like a grandma to me), my mom's cousin's daughter (who is like my sister), and her kids.  If we invite Nan (my great-aunt--mom's cousin's mom...did you get that?), we have to invite my grandma, since she's her sister.  If we invite that grandma, we have to invite my other grandma.  But my mom doesn't think either grandma will come if they don't have someone to come with (they'll have to drive an hour to get her), so that means we need to invite at least one of my aunts from each side.  Well, do we need to open it up to all of my aunts and uncles?  My parents are each one of five.  Then what about all of my first cousins?  And their kids?  And if we invite my aunts and uncles, what about The Husband's?  His mom is one of five and his dad is one of EIGHT. 

You see how it just grows and grows and grows?  And that's without talking about friends.  We're definitely inviting two couples that we're close to and have been since college.  But then I have a group of about 7 or 8 ladies who I'd love to invite--some with kids and some without.  Some of them I'm closer to and some I've gotten closer to recently.  I want them to come.  But if we're cutting the list down, they're the first to go, sadly. 

I just want to share this celebration with all the people who have been a part of Baby Girl's life, whether that's people who love her, the people who loved her before she was even conceived, the people who helped get me through those TTC times, or the people who have helped me not kill her.  (kidding.  mostly.)  I know my friends will understand, but they're not the ones I *want* to understand.  I mean, I do want them to understand the struggle, but I don't want to have to cut them off the list.

Ugh!  How frustrating!!!  Any suggestions on how to deal with this?  The location of the party is non-negotiable--it will be at our house.  We're cheap like that.

(this post didn't post as scheduled...but it's still applicable...I still haven't started any planning!)

Another milestone

Yes, folks, we've hit another milestone today, only this one isn't Baby Girl's.  It's mine.  This marks my 400th post on this blog.  Wow.  I can't believe how far I have come since the inception of this blog.  I would never have imagined that I'd be here--mommy to a 10-month old, pumping between 1 (weekends) and 4 (weekdays) times a days, feeling sort of disconnected from my husband (who used to be, hands down, my very best friend...still is), hating work and wanting to be a stay at home mommy, hovering just under 220 pounds (ugh), enjoying every second I get to stay in my house, and trying to redefine my role in life.

Thank you to all of you, my readers.  You've helped me get here and I hope you'll stick around through baby #2 and baby #3 (if we're blessed with either or both) and through watching me grow into this role of being a mother, wife, and friend.  I appreciate you all, whether you've left comments or just read along with me.  I know there are a lot of you out there who read and never comment, so thanks to you, too. 

Maybe we'll do something special for post #500 (although I'm not promising anything since my whole "ask me anything giveaway" idea completely failed...I still know who my winner is and just need to take the time to get something together for her).  I hope you'll be around to find out either way!

Thrifty Thursday - Buy BEFORE You Need It

(Nope, no nifty little icon today, folks.  You're lucky to be getting a Thrifty Thursday post at all, as I've been home all day with a baby who apparently has an ear infection and has been battling the same cold for the better part of a week.  She's been in bed since 6:25, though, so I've got a bit of time on my hands now)

My tip for the day is to buy non-perishable or freezable items BEFORE you need them.  This may sound odd, but think about when you last ran out of shampoo.  You had to run to the store (or at least pick it up next time you were there) and buy it, no matter whether it was on sale or there was a good coupon out for it at that time.

This is especially true if you're brand-loyal.  Keep an eye out at all stores for a good sale on your favorite brands and keep tabs on the newspaper and printable coupons for coupons for your brand. 

I, for one, am only partially brand-loyal.  I use my specific brand of deodorant, have a few acceptable brands of shampoo and conditioner, but can use any type of toothpaste.  I have a big stockpile of all of these toiletries on hand, waiting for me to run out of the bottle I'm using.

For instance, today I was in CVS and saw that Colgate Total with Whitening was originally priced $2.79, but was $2 off, and I had a $0.75 off coupon.  A tube of toothpaste for $0.04?  That's a 98.6% savings off the shelf price! 

This also holds true at the grocery and sort of feeds off the discussion from last week.  If you use black beans on a regular basis and find them for a great price one week, buy 5 cans!  Why buy them every week and take the chance of it being regular price when you get get them all cheap? 

All this stockpiling, so to speak, does require a bit of storage space, but you could just devote one cabinet or one shelf in a linen closet to some extras, as long as you don't go hogwild (I, for one, have gone hogwild, but that's okay--we've adjusted accordingly). 

Have suggestions for next week's post?  Have any questions for me?  Have any great "buy it before you need it" stories?  Just want to say "hi"?  Post a comment!!!

Movin' on Up

We've upgraded our living situation this weekend.

We're now in a gated community:

with a private pool:

Ten Months Old

Oh Baby Girl, I can't really believe you're ten months old.  I realize I say that every single month, but it's true!  Ten months ago, you were this little teeny baby who couldn't even hold her head up, and now you're this independent little girl!

In the last month, you've started clapping!  It actually just happened in the last couple of days.  You'll clap when we do and also when you do something that makes you happy (turning on a toy, some music, etc.).  Your daddy noticed that you're clapping by bringing your left hand to your right--is it possible you'll be left-handed?  Mommy and Daddy will have to enlist the help of your aunt and uncle to show you how to write and cut with your left hand, if so!

You also have started to shake your head "no".  We don't think it's actually that you're saying no, though--it happens more often when you're dancing to some music or just generally being silly.  You've also started shaking your head when Mommy and Daddy do, too.  For now, it's adorable, but I'm not sure if it will be so cute when we're trying to scold you.  Oh, let's face it, it'll still be cute...but might be frustrating!

You love music and books so much.  You're a lot like Mommy and Daddy (music for both, books for Mommy) in that respect.  You love to dance to music by bouncing while standing.  You're a busy, busy girl, but if we give you a few books, you'll actually stay in one place for a few minutes, turning the pages and sometimes giving the babies in the book kisses (big, wet, tongue kisses). 

Speaking of kisses, you're great at giving kisses.  Yes, they might be a bit wet and you might tend to stick your tongue in Mommy and Daddy's mouths, but it's obvious that you're trying to kiss us.  You also love when Daddy tries to have you blow kisses to Mommy before he takes you to bed.  You always giggle as he puts your hand to your mouth.

This month you've also really found your balance and stand upright without holding onto anything much of the time.  One time you even stood up from a crawling position without pulling up on anything!

You are so close to walking...you'll hold onto our fingers and walk, but aren't brave enough to try it while not holding on!  I know we'll get there soon enough.  Soon you'll realize that you could do it if you wanted to and once that happens, look out!  You'll be running soon after you start walking (once you figure out it's quicker to walk than to crawl!).

This past week you discovered the stairs.  Within two days, you figured out how to scale the steps like a pro and can now get up three of them before we can get to you!  We've been trying to teach you how to come back down safely, but you aren't really interested in that part.

You also got your first tooth this month!  Your bottom left tooth showed up with no fanfare and Mommy and Daddy thought that meant they would all be pretty easy. Unfortunately, you seem to be getting a few more (at least the bottom right and possibly the 2nd bottom left and maybe your top two) and your sleep has begun to suffer for it.  You chew on your fingers (and everything else) really hard, trying to work those teeth through your gums.

The only thing about you this month (and most others!) that hasn't been so pleasant is your sleep (or lack thereof).  We had gotten into a great groove with bedtime and were able to put you down awake most nights and you'd suck your thumb and fall asleep.  Now, though, you need to be completely asleep before we can lay you down and even then sometimes you'll pop your little head up--sometimes crying and sometimes grinning ear to ear.  Mommy and Daddy can deal with the waking once (or twice) a night, but this bedtime stuff is pretty painful.  We all can tell you're obviously tired, so just let yourself sleep, please!

I had to mention the sleeping, but feel I need to also tell you what an absolute joy you are.  I could watch you play for hours.  Unless Mommy or Daddy has something you want (the laptop, a remote, a cell phone), you are really pretty independent and can entertain yourself with your toys as well as some of the things around the house (the bookcase, the armoire--really anything you can pull up on).  You're quick with a smile and giggle pretty easily.  You're friendly with strangers and now even sometimes smile at them in the stores instead of just staring.  You are fascinated by other kids and just a pleasure to be around all the time.  I love to watch you grow and change, even though I do want to hold onto my baby for awhile longer.  I'm not ready for you to be a one year old!

Thrifty Thursday

I'd like to start doing a weekly post to tell you about thrifty ideas that I have.  I've been called a "coupon queen" by a lot of people, but there are thrifty (but not crazy) things you can do other than using coupons (although I'll probably give some couponing tips, too).  You know I'm a busy lady and my top priority is Baby Girl, so I'm not going to tell you things that will take a ton of your time, either.

The first topic I'd like to cover is cooking things to go into the freezer.  I've tried to get into freezer cooking, but haven't done a lot of it.  But this past weekend, I did some a bit and I think it's going to help a lot in the future.  I went to the grocery store on Sunday morning and found big packs of boneless, skinless chicken breasts for $1.99/lb. (they've actually been on sale for $1.79/lb at Kroger recently, but I didn't go there this week and in the interest of saving time, $1.99/lb is a great price--I always aim for around $2/lb for chicken when I'm stocking up).  I went home and found that some of the meat I'd purchased the previous week (we ended up eating out more than planned because of Baby Girl's weird sleeping) was a manager's special (meaning it was close to expiring) and needed to be cooked up before the night we were planning on using it.
We were grilling out that evening (the grilled hawaiian pizza--it was delicious!), so I had The Hubby also cook up some other meat.  I had: 1 package of garlic brats (purchased for just over $2), 2 tubes of ground sirloin (low fat cut of beef--purchased for just over $2/lb--I bought 10 tubes and put them straight in the freezer (we'd thawed two tubes for planned use last week)!), and the chicken.  One meal we're having this week calls for already-cooked chicken and another is for uncooked chicken.  I pulled out the amount we needed for the meal using uncooked chicken and had The Hubby grill the rest of the chicken and the brats up while the grill was heated for the pizzas.

We also cooked up all two pounds of the ground sirloin and made it into taco meat (we plan to have one meal of tacos this week). We put one pound into a Tupperware container, then put the other pound into a freezer bag and put it in the freezer for future use.  If more was thawed, I would have cooked more and frozen that as well.

We then put a couple of the grilled chicken breasts into a baggie to go into the refrigerator, then I sliced up the rest and put it into a freezer bag and put it into the freezer.

We used the brats last night for dinner.

This is really helpful in both saving money and time on the weeknights.  We did all this preparation in less than a hour and that also included cleaning up toys, cleaning the kitchen and preparing the pizzas for grilling and now we have over a pound of chicken in the freezer, a pound of taco meat, and also had meat for three meals this week cooked, so all we have to do is reheat it.  You can buy your meat when it's very cheap, cook it up, and freeze it if you don't think you'll get to use it right away just by cooking when you're already cooking other things. 

There's also a part two to freezer cooking--making entire meals (specifically casseroles) and freezing them for use later.  If you're already making a meal, why not make a double (or triple!) batch and freeze some for use later.  I haven't done a lot of this, but hope to in the future.  One of my friends suggests Shepherd's Pie as a great candidate for this sort of preparation.  We also made some freezer meals before Baby Girl came along and were able to reheat quickly once she was here.

So that's my first installation to Thrifty Thursday.  What other topics would you like me to cover?  Do you do any freezer cooking?  If so, what is your favorite recipe to make for freezing?

Here we go...

Baby Girl is probably less than 2 weeks from walking.  This weekend she REALLY got into cruising (she'd already done it some, but I think really saw the value in it this weekend).  Then yesterday she was down on the floor and stood up without pulling up on anything.  Eek!  There were also a few times when she was holding onto something (her Exersaucer, the stairwell bannister) and she'd lean toward something and think about stepping toward it.  The Hubby and I thought she'd just take off, but both times she'd drop down and crawl.  I am SO not ready for this!!!

Meal Plan 5/23 - 5/29

Sunday: Grilled Hawaiian Pizza
Monday: Brats & red potatoes
Tuesday: Buffalo Chicken Lasagna
Wednesday: Pork Chops & Rice
Thursday: Salsa Chicken
Friday: Tacos
Saturday: Pasta & Meatballs

(of course, not knowing what Baby Girl's nap schedule will be, we might interchange some of these, but these are the planned meals)

They're in there...

Teeth!  Last night in the car on the way home, I reached my hand back to her carseat, stuck my finger in her mouth, and found something sizeable and sharp.  I *still* can't see it, but there's at least one in there.  She won't let me in there enough to see what I'm feeling, so I peek a little and feel a little.  But they are there.

Unrelatedly (or is it related???), we've had a couple of good nights of sleep once she gets there.  Bedtime has still been fairly rough (I've nursed her to sleep most nights this week), but the overnight has been really pretty good.  Last night, for instance, she passed out around 6:45 (tried nursing her at 6:20 and she refused--I think she was too awake and knew she'd fall asleep) and DH took her upstairs.  She woke up a little less than an hour later and I went up and rocked her back to sleep.  From there, she slept until 4:30!  4-freaking-thirty, folks!  Even if we count that as a full waking (which I don't typically count), she slept for almost NINE HOURS straight!  Even better, she went back to sleep after eating at 4:30 and slept until almost 7.  She woke up happy.  Beautiful morning.  Ahhhh...

Don't call 911

I'm going to be setting a fire here at my house.  If you see the flames, don't call 911--I promise I'll keep it all (mostly) under control.

We had a rough night last night. In my blog post, I said she'd calmed down.  Well, she did...until she was put in her crib again.  I know she was horribly overtired.  It was awful.  We ended up just bringing her downstairs to see what she would do.  She crawled around like it was two o'clock in the afternoon.  She was happy and playing around.  Which is why no one other than us sees when she's tired--she doesn't get cranky until you try to get her to sleep.

We let her play.  And play.  Eventually, I picked her up and read to her while I rocked gently.  She sort of rolled toward me and sucked her thumb.  I knew she was ready, but she didn't seem to think so.  I rocked a bit more.  When she realized my motives, she wasn't happy.  But I held her like I did when she was little and we rocked.  I snuggled her close to me, on her right side, so she could suck her left thumb.  I held her close to my chest, patted her perfect little bum, and whispered "shh" to her when she'd start to fuss. She finally succumbed to the soothing and fell asleep at 9.  I let her sleep there with me for about 45 minutes before The Hubby took her upstairs.  This time she didn't wake until 3:30 a.m. 

After this experience, I had to figure out why it was happening.  I needed answers.  Like any person who loves learning like I do, I read.  I read anything I could find on the subject of baby sleep.  I turned to the book that my sister-in-law and several friends swear by.  I read a section geared specifically toward babies 5 months to one year.  I even found a paragraph that described all the symptoms Baby Girl was exhibiting, to the letter.  I was so excited--maybe he knew the answer to our problem!

As I read, though, it became apparent that the author wrote this book as literature for families with only one working parent.  I had noticed it before--the mentions of "the working parent"--but didn't think much of it.  But then I read that paragraph and knew that he was only interested in dealing with families with one parent working.  Families where a baby can be put to bed at 5 p.m.  And if you're not one of those families, you're officially being selfish.

Sure, there's about 3 pages toward the back that is specifically for dual-working parents.  It says that if you can't be flexible enough to get your child to bed when s/he needs it, you're being selfish.  It insinuates that all families where both parents work are doing too much on the weekends and aren't allowing their children to get the sleep they need.  It equates us to withholding food from our child, without knowing our situation.  Without knowing that we both HAVE to work and that our schedules cannot be adjusted and that we cannot physically get this child home from the sitter's before 5:30, but that we still put her to bed pretty much immediately after getting home, even though neither of us spends time with her during the week.  Without knowing that we don't really go anywhere on the weekends, either, to allow her to sleep in her crib as needed.  He suggests that we should be having the sitter feed the child if we cannot get home early enough to do everything we need to before bed.  We could do that, but we still couldn't meet his 5 p.m. uber-early bedtime that he says my baby needs because she's so overtired.  And therefore, we're bad parents.

Well doctor, we got the kid home at 4 today.  We had dinner at 5:15, she was nursed starting at 5:45 (where she immediately passed out), and she was in bed by 6:05.  Yes, it was obvious to us, too, that she needed it.  But today was an anomaly.  The Hubby got out of work early to take care of some other things and was able to rescue pick up Baby Girl from the sitter's, where she was hanging out in her bed with toys and a bottle, but was expected to be sleeping.  And the sitter wonders why she isn't napping there anymore.  If I had toys and food in my bed, I wouldn't be sleeping, either.  But we're going to work on that.  Or find a new sitter.

You know what, though?  I'm tired of reading that book, of having it suggested that we're doing something wrong by working.  That maybe we shouldn't have had this child if we both have to work and have to live further from work than we'd like.  So I'm going to set it ablaze.  I've taken the batteries out of the smoke alarms and bought the marshmallows.  I'm going to make some s'mores on this fire...but I'm sure I won't get to eat them because as soon as they're assembled, she'll wake up.

Hate this.

Here I sit in my recliner.  I was hoping to go to book club tonight, but I guess it's not going to happen now.

Baby girl was rubbing her eyes from the second we picked her up.  She just hasn't been napping well at the sitter's, which is leading to a shaky evening, at best.  We got take-out for dinner and got her home, fed her, and I sat down and nursed her.  She was closing her eyes while eating, so we figured she'd be sleepy right away.  After I was done nursing her, The Hubby scooped her up like normal, took her upstairs like normal, read her her story like normal, rocked her like normal...and then she fought it.  She wasn't interested in going to sleep early...or, really, at all.  He fought with her for about 15 minutes, twice laying her down only to have her wake back up and scream.  He eventually retreated downstairs.

We let her cry for five. long. minutes.  Longest five minutes of my life.  He soothed her, laid her back down.  She woke back up.  He came back downstairs and we sat and listened to her scream.  After awhile, he got back up to get her.  I told him I would go, but he just said he'd do it (not necessarily in the nicest way, though...).  She's up there screaming at him.  I know in my heart that she'd calm down better for me.  She's been really attached recently, you see.  I've been able to soothe her much more easily.  I want to go up and help him, to get her to calm down, but know I need to let him handle it.  Or do I?  Does he resent the fact that he's the one up there?  Will he feel undermined if I come up?  Or will he want the break?  I don't know what to do.

While I've been writing, though, she's calmed down.  I suspect he's tempted to spend the night in the rocking chair with her.  I know I would be.

What happened to my baby who, while she didn't sleep through the night, would at least go down without a fight in the evenings?  The last 4 nights have been horrible--her crying, me crying, lots of hair pulling, her pushing away from both of us, her chewing on her hand...  Like I've said before, I hope to hell this is teeth.  I've been hoping for teeth to be the answer for over 6 months now.  I'm so damned tired of this--this battle.  

My Mother's Day

Because last weekend was taken over by birthday celebrations for The Hubby, we postponed Mother's Day and celebrated yesterday (Sunday, May 16th).  I didn't have any expectations for the day, really, just wanted to have a nice day with my favorite girl and her Daddy.

I was awakened, as usual, by a crying baby just before 6:00 a.m.  I got up and fed my sweet girl and when we were done, her daddy took her downstairs and let me sleep.  I actually didn't think I'd be able to fall back asleep after being awake for a half hour, but I did and I slept until they came and woke me up just before 9:00.  They brought me breakfast in bed (McDonald's!  A hash brown, orange juice, and an Egg McMuffin (with the folded, scrambled egg instead of the one with the yolk and white separated--just the way I like it!)).  While eating breakfast, I found out that The Hubby had gotten a call from work while I was sleeping and he took Baby Girl to work with him.  He wore her while helping his student workers install some theatre lighting.  That was the best present--not being woken up to take care of the baby while he went to work. 

We fought with Baby Girl to take a nap (as would become the theme of the day), then she was down for a little while.  During that time, I was given my gift--a Knifty Knitter kit and a storage bag for my knitting needles.  Even though I already know how to knit, it was a neat gift.  I ended up knitting an entire winter hat yesterday just in during downtime. 

After naptime, Baby Girl ate (pasta--yum!), then we went to the grocery together, all three of us.  It was a fairly quick trip, but nice to have some company this time.  We got back home and it was time for another nap...and another fight.  After trying to get her to nap for almost an hour, we just brought her back downstairs and let her play.  After awhile, it was time for her to nurse anyway, where she promptly fell asleep.  I was able to transfer her to my shoulder, where she slept for 45 minutes.  Best. Feeling. Ever.  She got back up, we played for awhile, had dinner, then it was bedtime.  Bedtime was even rough, but she eventually got to sleep.

The Hubby and I just hung out together and watched TV for the rest of the night. 

It was a really nice, relaxing day--just what I needed.  Made it that much harder to come back to work today, though.  I miss my girl, but hope like hell that she's napping for the sitter (which she hasn't been doing recently).

Happy (belated) Mother's Day to all you mommies out there, whether mommies of furbabies, little babies, big babies, or mommies-in-waiting.  Love you all and please know that what you do for your babies is appreciated, even if you never hear it enough.

Pumping Update

After my little freak-out the other day, I started taking steps to try to be sure my supply doesn't diminish too much and am happy to report that it seems to be working (for today, at least).  I've been making sure to pump every night before bed, drinking at least 3 mugs of Mother's Milk tea each day, and drinking at least 64 oz of water a day (usually much more). 

Back when I was losing weight, it wasn't abnormal for me to drink 100 oz of water. Now, though, I have to make a conscious effort to get in the 64 oz.  But I'm doing it and today I was back up to pumping almost 12 ounces.  Who knows if this will be an every day occurrence, but at least I got that for one more day.  We're still hanging in there!

Newest. Cutest. Thing. Ever.

This past weekend my parents came up to hang out to celebrate The Hubby's birthday and then to babysit Baby Girl while we went out to dinner.  Up until now, my dad has sort of kept his distance from Baby Girl--I think he was afraid he'd break her and wasn't sure what to do with her.  Now that she's mobile and much less fragile, though, he's all over playing with her.  After we had cake, I looked over and Baby Girl was on my dad's lap with a bowl of Cheer.ios (my parents seem to think she's always hungry...now I know why I've always had weight problems!).  I walked over and my dad said, "She just fed me a Cheer.io".  I didn't really know what he meant until he showed me.  He said, "Can I have one?" and she picked it up with her amazingly skillfull little fingers and placed it into his open mouth.  The Hubby and I have gotten her to repeat it on us, too.  So cute!!

Nearing the end?

I might be a bit melodramatic, but I fear that breastfeeding is coming to an end for us.  For the first 6 months or so back to work, I was getting 12-16 ounces a day, depending on if she ate overnight, etc.  I'm now down to 9-10 ounces and haven't experienced any real fullness in awhile.  No, it's not horrible and I'm fully able to keep up with her daytime needs by pumping before bed, but I just feel like it's going to be my body that falters before Baby Girl gives it up, which makes me so sad.  We both love our nursing time together and I know she's going to miss it when it's time.  Lots of people have been asking when I'd be done with nursing and I couldn't come up with a timeline--I wanted to keep nursing as long as Baby Girl would have it, but it seems like it's going to be my body that ends it.

Yes, I'm probably getting ahead of myself--she was fine over the weekend and didn't need bottles or anything, so it's not getting that drastic yet.  I'm just getting anxious, realizing that this phase of our journey is slowly coming to an end.  I'm fighting with all my might to hold on, though.  I'm pumping at least 3 times a day at work and once before bed at home.  I'm drinking my Mother's Milk tea, drinking lots of water, and eating as much oatmeal as I feel I can.  I just fear I'm fighting a losing battle--not that that's going to stop me.

Ouch...

We've been nursing for over nine months now (yay us!), but baby girl has started to hurt me again.  I haven't felt pain like this since that first month.  I think it's a combination of two things: 1) side-lying nursing (we have a hard time getting a properly placed latched, but it's SO convenient for middle-of-the-night feedings, which we're doing twice a night now) and 2) her getting distracted but forgetting she's still attached.  Ouch.  She'll go to look at something and clamp down with her gums or lips and pull away.  I'm actually in a lot of pain, even just when moving around or something.  Hopefully sitting up to nurse each time and holding her closer and paying more attention to her latch will help.  For now, though, I will be popping some extra Advil!

Perspective

I know the last time you heard from me (besides my meal planning post), I wasn't doing so well.  I really appreciate the comments that you left and your good thoughts.

Things are better, but not really because of anything I've done.  I just got home that night and really realized how hard DH is trying.  It's not like he's being lazy--he just has so much on his plate with work and some home things.  He does care about baby girl's sleeping, eating, etc.  And I did make a comment to him about how I feel like I have to do and thinking about it all and he just said, "yep".  He sounded upset about it, but since then I feel like he's making a real effort to help me keep track of things and making some of the decisions.

Oh, and to respond to Liz's questions...no, he doesn't get paid any extra for all the weekend and evening work.  He actually has to tell people when he's purposefully taking Saturday and/or Sunday off (like he did this past weekend).  He's salary and gets paid the same amount whether he works 40 hours or 100.  And it's just the expectation that he'll be available whenever anyone needs anything unless he tells them otherwise.  He's the go-to guy around there.  It's frustrating for both of us, but he doesn't feel like he can do anything about it right now.  He is trying to train other people so they can answer calls and do things on their own, so hopefully it will get better soon...

So we're trying.  And it's gotten better for now.  Hopefully we can keep communicating.  I know I tend to shut down when I get frustrated and just take it all on myself.  I feel like if I have to make the effort to tell him what I need, I may as well just do it myself.  But I'm working on that.

Meal Plan 5/9-5/15

Sunday: Pasta & Meatballs
Monday: Chicken Kebabs
Tuesday: BBQ Chicken Braid (made from leftover 20 to 40 Clove Garlic Chicken)
Wednesday: Breakfast (pancakes, scrambled eggs, and turkey bacon)
Thursday: Turkey Burgers & Grilled veggies
Friday: Tacos
Saturday: Grilled Chicken & Veggies

Of course, all of this is dependent upon The Hubby going and getting propane tonight...

Boo Boo

(originally scheduled for 5/1--not sure why it didn't post then)

I won a fantastic photography shoot giveaway through Two Peas in a Pod Designs for a shoot with Britt Lakin.  I knew Britt already through a message board, but had never met her in person.  We had a fantastic time--she's so fun!  It was such a great experience to be able to get some photos of all three of us, too.

While there, however, we had a bit of a mishap.  Baby girl was up on a step and Daddy had stepped back to allow for the shot.  Baby girl didn't realize how big the step was and fell off of it onto her face.  It wasn't anyone's fault at all, but was still pretty scary for all of us!  She was fairly fussy for the rest of the shoot, but once we headed home, she perked right up and never really seemed to notice her boo boo after that.  But this is what we looked at for the next 5 days or so:

Sort of pathetic looking, isn't it???

Tired.

I'm tired.  I'm tired of Baby Girl's sleep getting worse.  I'm tired of feeling like I'm the only one taking care of her.  I'm tired of only talking to my husband long enough each day to fight with him.  I'm tired of fighting with him.  I'm tired of him having to run into work when we're supposed to be spending time together.  I'm tired of pretending that that's okay.  I'm tired of not being able to see an end to this situation.

I'm tired of trying to be proactive with Baby Girl's sleep.  I'm tired of feeling like I'm the only one who really cares about how she sleeps.  I'm tired of being the only one impacted when she doesn't sleep.  I'm tired of being afraid to admit that she's slept the last 3 hours of the last 2 nights in our bed.  I'm tired of feeling like the only good sleep we get is when she's in our bed.  I'm tired.

I'm tired of not having enough time to do what I want.  I'm tired of not having enough energy to do what I need. 

I'm tired of coming to work.  I'm tired of coming to work to find that I have no personal relationships anymore.  I'm tired of then turning to the people in my computer for 8 hours a day because I have no one else to talk to.  I'm tired of not being able to focus on my work. 

I'm tired of worrying.  I'm tired of thinking.  I'm tired of trying to hold my household together with virtually no help.  I'm tired of feeling guilty when I do take a break.  I'm tired of looking at all the dirt and mess around the house.  But I'm too tired to do anything about it.  I'm tired of, when The Husband finally does give me a break, having a child who has become so accustomed to having mommy come crawling over and pulling up on mommy's laptop.  I'm tired of having to be the mean one.  I'm tired of having to be the one who decides what we're having for dinner, then cooking it while Daddy gets to play.  I'm tired of not really want to play, either, though.

More than anything, I'm tired of feeling like a failure at everything.  I'm tired of feeling stretched so thin that I can't give my all to any one thing in my life. 

So. Damn. Tired.

Meal Plan 5/2-5/8

Sunday: BBQ Chicken Pasta and HG's Sassy and Steamy Artichoke (I loved both of these!  DH wasn't so sure about the artichoke.  We only made the buttery dipping sauce.)

Monday: Easy Weeknight Chicken Teriyaki

Tuesday: 40 clove garlic chicken

Wednesday: Quesadillas

Thursday: Either frozen pizza & breadsticks or we'll go out with my parents for DH's birthday

Friday: Grilled chicken & veggies

Saturday: Out for DH's birthday celebration

One step closer

This past week baby girl had started trying to stand on her own for a couple of seconds.  Today, though, she has stood by herself for at least 15 seconds a time a few times.  She starts laughing and eventually tumbles into my lap.  Cutest.thing.ever.

I am SO not ready for this...the doctor said once she started this, walking isn't that far away.  Eek!

Nine month doctor appointment

Weight: 17 lbs 11 oz (about 30th percentile, which was a drop and bothered me, but with how active she is, the doctor wasn't worried whatsoever)
Height: 27 1/4 in (over 40th percentile, which was a jump up from last time)
Head circumference: 75th percentile (doctor says she has a big brain ;) )

He was really impressed and surprised by how much she's moving.  He said he doesn't see that much moving or pulling up with so much ease very often in kids her age, so that made us feel really good!  He did say that since she's starting to stand without holding onto anything she'll be walking soon.  Eek!

Only thing that might have been wrong was that he heard a heart murmur (insert panicky mom here).  He says it's really common at this age, as sometimes the heart doesn't grow quite fast enough to keep up with the blood flow and that it should resolve itself within a few visits.  He says if it doesn't, we'll go see a cardiologist, who will tell us everything is fine.  He says not to worry...not easy to do!!!

We then asked questions about feeding.  Our next step will be to give her peas, pasta, and then, if we want, chunks of meat since we've already been giving her mashed potatoes and Cheer.ios and chunks of green beans.  He said we can give her bites of casseroles and things, too.  She'll love that!  He said to wait on yogurt until 11 months and other milk products after a year.   He also confirmed that she doesn't need water and won't become dehydrated because there is plenty of water in breastmilk.  Will need to make sure to tell my mom and the sitter.

The last part of the appointment was a finger stick to pull blood to test iron levels and lead levels.  She was quite the champ--whined a teeny bit, but no crying at all and just seemed a teeny bored by the whole ordeal. 

What happens when you stock up on diapers...

...but buy too much of one size and are, therefore, tempted to put your baby in a size long after they should move out of them...

(yes, she's playing with a hanger.  No, her clothes don't match--those are the clothes the sitter sent her home in after she had a blowout (which you can see why, from the diaper!))

Connected

I feel absolutely no need to be connected to the world 24/7.  I love my computers and am connecting myself to people during work and even in many hours in the evenings.  But I just don't feel the need to essentially have a computer on me at all times of the day.  I like to disconnect every once in awhile.

I know some people who have their devices and are able to put them down, but there are far too many people these days who rely on their electronics.  I'm not a texter--I don't see the need.  No, I'm not a fan of talking on the phone, but if I need to ask someone something, I just call them or email them.  The husband and I will text maybe 10 times a month, mostly b/c he's in meetings a lot and if I need to get ahold of him to tell him I'm leaving work or something, that's when we'll do it.  We don't have full conversations that way, though.

I guess it really just annoys me because of the people who think they're multi-tasking by texting/emailing/surfing while in meetings or while they're supposed to be having conversations with you.  It's obvious they aren't paying attention to where they physically are and that's just rude.  If I'm giving up my time to be with you, you should give your attention to me in return.  Plus we can get this meeting out of the way more quickly if you just pay attention. 

I'm seeing this need to be connected running rampant around work.  Almost everyone has some sort of fancy device to connect to the outside world.  Has it come in handy before?  Absolutely.  My coworker just took pictures of some notes I took on the dry erase board and emailed the picture to me.  But is it typically more a hindrance than anything?  YES.  If this meeting is that unimportant to you, then why are you here?  Couldn't I just tell you what we talked about when we're done?  I'll have to do that anyway.

(and now you can all go back to surfing your on iPhone or Blackberry...I know some of you probably even read this post on one!  I hope you're not offended...I just think we're losing the value of in-person interaction.)

Nine Months Old

Nine months...how did we get here?  You've been here with us for longer than you were in my belly (from the time of conception, that is--I counted the days!).  Some days I feel like it was just yesterday that I was feeling you squirm around in my belly and then that day, nine months ago, that we finally met you.  But then other days I can't remember my life before you.

At nine months old, you're just recently wearing size 3 diapers.  You're starting to wear 6-9 month size clothes (we usually have to cuff the pants and sometimes even the sleeves), but are still able to wear most of the 3-6 month stuff.  Tomorrow we'll find out how you've been growing (and you have been!).

You still love to nurse--it's the only thing that can soothe you when you're extra grumpy.  We only get a few nursing sessions a day while I'm at work (morning, evening, then whatever happens overnight), but we both savor every moment (except when you're pinching my bo.ob--that still hurts pretty bad).  I love to look into those big brown eyes while you gaze back at me.  I still can't believe my body has provided for you for this long.

You're quite the eater overall.  You have cereal made with pear juice in the morning and fruits and veggies for lunch and dinner.  So far you've had: carrots, sweet potatoes, squash, green beans (both whole and pureed), peas, zucchini, avocado, bananas, applesauce, pears, and peaches.  You've got quite the set of pinchers on you and have mastered picking up food like green bean pieces and Cheer.ios.  You now know the color of bowl we keep the Cheer.ios in and get excited whenever we get them out.  You get mad when we tell you the Cheer.ios are "all done". 

You're the busiest little girl I've ever seen.  You're into everything and crawling and pulling up everywhere.  You can pull up on a flat wall, which is a really funny thing to watch!  You love to explore and are so curious about everything around you.  You're also pretty easily distractable--you could be headed toward one toy, but if another is in the way, you might stop to play with it instead (or you might just try to crawl right over it, no matter what it is!).  You prefer to be upright at all times.

You love your daddy fiercely, but I think you're still a mommy's girl.  Over the last month we've spent a lot of time together because of Daddy's work schedule and I think that's attached you even more.  Sometimes it's frustrating (like when I just want to go to the bathroom!), but most of the time I love to turn around and see you crawling like a mad-woman to get to me.  You can move really quickly!

Soon you're going to be walking and I'm not sure I'm ready.  You're starting to let go of things and stand on your own for a few seconds at a time--thank goodness you've become quite the graceful faller! 

Your favorite thing to do at home is to pull up on the windowsill (we have one that's no more than a foot off the floor) and watch the goings-on outside.  You love to watch other little kids, cars, motorcycles, and even just the trees blowing in the wind.  I'm excited for the weather to turn warm (as much as I truly hate warm weather) so we can spend even more time outside, where you seem to thrive.

Your sleeping continues to be a struggle for us.  Some days we'll think we've got it under control, then you'll shake things up.  Last week, for instance, we were at a point where you'd sleep 7 p.m. to 3 a.m., get up and eat, then go back to sleep until 6:30 a.m.  This week, however, you've been up all sorts of odd hours and then getting up for the day at 5 a.m., which is WAY too early for all of us!  Mommy still thinks there are teeth coming, but who really knows.  If I keep saying it, it eventually has to be true!

You have the biggest smile that just melts my heart.  You're sometimes shy about showing it to new people you meet, but when we get you alone, you don't stop smiling!

You also now wave!  It's the cutest thing (well, to this mommy, anyway).  You won't do it on command, but I suppose we should get used to that, shouldn't we?  :)

You giggle and babble nearly constantly now and my favorite time is when we're in the car and you sit in the back and tell me all about your day.  We've heard so many consonants from you: B, D, F, H, L, M, N, P, T, V.  I was so happy to hear "mama" finally.  Of course your words aren't directed at anyone in particular, but it's still a beautiful sound to hear.

You had your first real boo-boo this month and it scared your mommy and daddy a lot.  I finally have a picture uploaded and will do another blog post on it either today or tomorrow.  You, of course, were fine within a few minutes--it amazes me how resilient you are.  Usually a hug from mommy or daddy and you're off again!

I love you, baby.  I hope you'll never ever doubt that.  Even through the sleepless nights and grabby hands (you love to get ahold of Mommy's hair and tug HARD), I can't imagine my life without you in it.  Thank you for being such a happy blessing in my life, Sugarbear.

Love always,
Mommy

NIAW

This week (April 25-May2) is National Infertility Awareness Week.  While I know I haven't been touched personally by my own infertility (although I had a gut feeling that we would...we did get a diagnosis of semi-fertile), this is a subject that touches my heart deeply.  I've shared in the joys and sadness of so many people who have suffered from infertility.

I have many feelings about the topic, but don't think I can do them justice and also don't want to make any of my friends who are currently suffering feel like I think I know what you're going through or have gone through.  I don't and I never will.  But just know that my heart aches for all of you to be able to reach your goals of becoming parents. 

This post is in honor of all those warriors out there and to make you all more aware of the topic.  I read a few blogs of women who are currently suffering and I'm sure they can speak much better than I can on infertility.  Please visit them and educate yourself--try to get a feel for what they might be going through.  And, if you're the praying type, say a prayer for them.  I do every single day.

A Little Pregnant
Happy Hopefuls
The Adventures of Taderbaby
...Expect Miracles...
Maybe If You Just Relax....

...as well as a few more

How timely!

A blog that I coworker pointed me toward is discussing teething this week.  The post from today is a really interesting read:  http://www.secretsofbabybehavior.com/2010/04/truth-about-teething-part-i-is-it.html

I was just asking another mommy friend about her experiences with teething and she noticed that her son's teething wasn't actually associated with drooling.  She thought her kid was weird, but according to this site, the "typical" symptoms aren't regularly actually associated with teething. 

Maybe I'm not such a nutcase to think that baby girl might be (finally) getting some teeth.  She did seem to be in some pain (which I can imagine would be the case) and has been chewing on some things, but no excessive drool or the other symptoms that some people note.

Meal Plan 4/25-5/1

Sunday: Chinese take-out, as my mom was at the house until about 7:30 and we still hadn't eaten
Monday: Lasagna Soup that didn't end up anything like a soup.  It was more the consistency of a Johnny Marzetti type of dish...but it was still delicious!  We made it with ground turkey that I found on manager's special and we had it with salad and cheese-stuffed biscuits (took refrigerated biscuits, separated in two, put pizza cheese blend in the center, made a ball, put some Italian Seasoning on top, then baked until done).
Tuesday: Jessica Simpson Chicken & Dumplings from some frozen rotisserie chicken from last week
Wednesday: Grilled chicken with sweet potatoes
Thursday: More pork tacos (leftovers from last week were frozen)
Friday: Frozen pizza and breadsticks (had a freebie coupon for the new Digiorno product--there's nothing on the DiGiorno website about this product, so the link takes you to a $3 coupon Facebook)
Saturday: Black Beans and Rice