My favorites: Nursing and pumping

My little baby turns 6 months old this week!  Hitting that milestone is a big one for the both of us.  Nursing didn't come easy for me and my fist kiddo, and I was determined to try to make it work, and last longer.Now here we are at six months and still going.  

It is so interesting to see how different two kiddos can be.  Yes, all babies need diapers, a place to sleep, something to eat and time to play.  It is how they receive all of those, which is so different.  But these are the things that worked for me these past 6 months.

Nursing and Pumping items I love:

Breast milk Storage Bags

Lansinoh Breastmilk Storage Bags - I have honestly never tried any other brand. My sister told me she liked these and I haven't looked back. I have seen blog posts about testing different brands. But for this rare exception I am brand loyal (that does happen often - I usually am 'off brand' loyal).

Hands free Breast pumping bra

Medela Easy Expressions White Bustier - My husband had to talk me into getting this with baby #1 right after I went back to work. One of my sisters said that she's is able to hold both with one hand and still have a free hand.  I am just a cluts and can't do that.  With this I am able to be 'hands free' and still able to work on my phone.

I tend to be more on the frugal side,  so I don't normally spend this amount of money. But I am so glad I did. Now with baby #2 and use it again 2x a day at work, it was money well spent in my opinion

Homemade burp cloths

Three of my sisters make burp cloths. I have only used two of them but they are great! On my baby registry I had a basic cloth diaper burp cloths. While those are great, let's be honest, they aren't pretty.  I received burp cloths from my sisters and they are cute enough to have sitting out (not displayed, but where I nurse) and we aren't always playing let's hid the ugly burp cloth or where is the burp cloth.

Breast pump

I was fortunate enough to be gifted a pump from an former coworker. Link to same brand, but not the same. Long story short, she had a friend who's pump broke, the company replaced it but by the time the replacement came, she wasn't pumping/nursing. 

With that being said I know you can get ones through your insurance, but the one I had does what it needs to do. Down the road, if mine breaks I will look into that but 1. Why get one when I have one that works and 2. I hate messing/dealing with my insurance.  So I will avoid them at all cost.

Bottles (daycare)

Playtex Vent Air  - With baby #1 I registered for the Playtex bottles from my sisters recommendation.  There are honestly too many bottles to choose from and I go on recommendation, both babies have taken this bottle so why fix what isn't broken?

Yes there are multiple pieces 6 pieces if you still have the lids/covers. But it works. Plus since I nurse when I am at home I haven't had to wash a bottle in a few months. Daycare does though. Baby #2 wasn't the quickest at learning a bottle but my nursing experience can be saved for another time.

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Is there anything else you really need? Anyone have a great bottle brush out there? I don't LOVE mine, it barely fits into my pumping bottles and flings water everywhere when I pull it out. I love recomendations!

March Check In - 2016

Well this was a initial flop... my January edition was scheduled to post Feb 1 and it didn't work, thus I posted it in march for posterity sake. But this will work!

Family

March was a busy time in the house, with sick kiddos, Wedding, Easter, and ended with Spring Break.  

We luckily all survived Day Light Savings time.  But I will have to say it is not a fun time with two kids under 2.  I saw a post that said, why does Day Light Savings Time happen in the middle of the night?  Why can't it happen at 4pm on a Friday?  I would have to agree with that! We also attended a friends wedding, and the kids (Abigail) had fun 'dancing'.  

This it being March our family once again started our March Madness tradition (Can you call it a tradition when it is the second year of doing it?).  All four of us picked our bracket out of a bucket. Winner gets to pick dinner.  At this moment with the tournament not finished yet, Travis and I are both out and Abigail has Syracuse wining it, but right now Theodore is in the lead... #WereHavingMilkForDinner... Just a fun little tradition that we have each year.  But it takes some time for two kiddos to pick names out of a bucket.

Travis and I attended a Trivia Night at his family's parish.  We didn't come in last place (Actually I think we tied for 3rd) out of 20 or so teams!  I really enjoy trivia nights.  I am not going to say that I am any good, but it is fun!

Abigail

We kicked off the month on a fun note (not) with Abigail having an eye infection.  On the fun side that meant that I got to stay home with the kiddos for a day and work from home! 

March was crazy warm, so warm that we were even able to go outside to play once I got home from work.  Abigail LOVES playing outside!  This summer is going to be fun.  With Travis being at home on Summer break he is going to have trouble getting her to come inside!

Easter was fun this year.  A family tradition with my family is that we split into a front yard and back yard team and everyone hides eggs and then we switch.  Abigail had fun helping me hide the eggs.  Love seeing her explore!

Theodore

At the end of March, Theodore turned 5 months!  Where is my baby going?  He is rolling, and rotating. Every time that we get him up from his crib, he is never in the spot where we left him, sometimes on the completely opposite end!  

We are still nursing, while pumping at work isn't glamorous, it is great for him!  He isn't gaining weight like he was, so he will be going in to have him little tummy looked at.  I am hoping that all is alright.  Doctor says that he is strong and happy, who can resist that smile?

On Good Friday Theodore and I went with two of my sisters to Ohio to visit my Grandpa, it was so sweet to see Grandpa interact with little Theodore.  Grandpa picked up Theodore in his big hands, and just smiled and played with him.  Special moments that I will never forget!

Projects

I did 'finish' one of my 16 in 2016 projects, but it isn't hung yet.  But that is huge progress for me!  Travis is also starting the design on a compost bin for us.  While that doesn't sound exciting, I think it is!  hopefully by next summer we will have some good nutrients to add to our garden (that is starting this year). 

Netflix

I thought that I would take a nod from Andrea Dekker (one of my FAVORITE blogs to read!) And post what I am watching on Netflix, and what is on my radar.  March was a low Netflix month since I gave it up for lent unless we were working at our desks or one episode a day. 

Currently watching

• New Girl - right now we are re-watching the series before we watch the newest season (does anybody else do that?) And we are on season 3. The more I watch it the more alike Jess and I seem to be (oblivious, quirky, odd voices, etc.). 
• House of Cards - Travis is more watching this but I hear/see it off and on (Travis complains when I ask story line questions and tells me to watch it to find out). I'm not planning on doing that, but it is interesting to see how politics is dramatized.

Plan to watch

• Call the Midwife
• Fixer Uppers (Season 2 is on Netflix!!)
• Fuller House
• The Royals (Who doesn't like to learn about the Royal Family?)

January Check In - 2016

Scheduling this post didn't work - obviously...

How are we saying adios to January already? I feel as if January was 'catch up from the holidays' around our house.  Outside of work, daycare and basketball, we didn't have many commitments.  I want to have monthly check ins to be able to look back and see how the kids grew up.  I have a feeling that time already seemed to go by fast, now with two, it is just going faster. 

Abigail

With the calendar saying February, our little one will be turning 2 in 2 months!  I guess I really can't call her little.  

I think every day she grows a few inches.  At the beginning of January the middle of the kitchen table was still safe.  I can't say that anymore!  Every day she seems to be talking more and more.  

For being 22 months she is good at listening to directions.  Even if she gets in trouble for not listening, she will behave and sit on her chair for a little time out.  Not all of the time does she sit there, but more times then not, she will just sit there until we tell her that she can get up.  

She loves helping, change laundry (washer to dryer or dryer to basket), unpacking the silverware (after Mom takes the knives out!), and setting the table.  I'll enjoy this time where she likes to help!

Theodore

At the end of January our little man turned 3 months old already!  I feel like the first three months FLEW by!  

He is growing each day.  He holds his head up really well and enjoys 'play time'.  He is consistently sleeping through the night after I feed him at 9:30.  I know that not every mother of a three month old can claim that, so I will count my blessings!

Theodore decided that we couldn't flip the calendar without doing something new.  On the last day of the month he rolled over from belly to back three times! Things are going too quick! Other then that, he sleeps, poops, Eats, and spits-up.  Just maybe not in that order at all times.

Projects

Back in December I posted for the first time in a year, talking about how I am going to work on 16 projects in 2016.  While Mr. H doesn't think that it will happen, I still have that goal.  Lucky for me, many of the pieces go together once hung so I will be able to cross a few at the same time.  The biggest still is accumulating the materials on my occasional shopping trip and working the materials into the budget (eating Ramen Noodles every night would give me a bigger budget to work with!) 

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I am so excited to be writing again!  Part of me tells me that I am crazy because I am balancing my regular job, kids, house, small part time gig, and now writing, but this is something that I have really missed.  Plus I think that it will keep me more accountable with my projects and some house ideas!

Until next time! 

I'm Back: 16 in 2016

2015 was the year that I needed to take off I guess to get my thoughts in line.  I miss writing.  but I think what truly stopped me was that I was imagining myself compared to other blogs that I follow.  I'm not like those other blogs, and I am guessing that those blogs also started out small.

part of my 2016 goal is to do 16 projects in 2016 (If anyone knows me this will be a high goal, my lovely husband doesn't think that I can do it.)

1. Alphabet book for Abigail
2. Microwave Heat Pack
3. State in Rocks art
4. Personalized family Print
5. Anniversary Date Art
6. Home art
7. Our first home ornament
8. Monogram Burlap art
9. Birthday hands art
10. Kid's bedroom curtains
11. 2016 Family Yearbook
12. Kitchen Sink Stand
13. Kids Growth Chart
14. Wedding Reading Art
15. Stain Kit
16. TBD

Some of these projects will only take a day, others (Family yearbook) will take much more time then that.  Some of the above mentioned projects I have links to inspiration on a dedicated Pinterest board, you should check it out!

Epic Fail...

Well this year has been a huge bust when it comes to my dreams of blogging this year.   I was thinking about writing posts about being pregnant and preparing for maternity leave, that didn't happen.  Then our little Abigail was born and I thought that I would be good and write about being in the hospital for almost 24 hours before having here and then monthly posts about what she has accomplished, that didn't happen.  (On a side note she is almost 5 months old already!).  Then I can back to work and then I thought that I would write posts about being a working mother and trying to find a good balance of everything, that hasn't happened.  You might be able to see where this is going, I had many ideas and never followed through with any of them.

I had all of these dreams for me blogging in 2014 but as of yet it hasn't happened.  Actually I don't think that I have posted since January when I talked about my goals... Cue the epic fail music.  I got so buried in work that I didn't seem to have time to write anything and then I would go home and be with my little family.  I also started to over analyze everything and started to think that I needed this whole business plan before I really committed to this blogging idea.  Instead I just read blogs and started to read more and more.

But today I want to come out of the hole that I have been in since January and really start working on my background plans for my future as a blogger.  As a business major I don't think that I can get around not having a plan.  There are many ideas going around in my head and to do something successfully, I believe, that you need a good plan and ideas before you start something.  I don't want to have a half baked cake.  So maybe this will all come together by 2015, maybe sooner.  Life is a bit unpredictable right now, while it is exciting it is also nerve wracking.

So no, I haven't forgotten about my blog.  I just become a victim of overthinking it.

I have just been busy with this little one :-)
who can say no to that face?

Organizing in a rental

We have been living on our house for over 6 months now.  Travis moved in back last April and then I did after we got married.  But while it is a wonderful house, it isn't our long term home.  We rent our house from the church, and we never really planned on putting too many holes in the wall that we will later have to fill in.

But, there have been a few things that I have gotten Travis to hang.  (He got a Dewalt drill for Christmas so now I tell him that he gets to use his new 'toy' and I get something hung).  I call that a win-win.

My first big thing that I got Travis to hang was my organization wall in the kitchen hallway.  I got the idea from the blog "One Creative Housewife" (thanks to Pinterest!).  While not exactly the same I am really happy how it turned out.

my inspiration on the left and mine on the right

I love to be organized, so when I have the opportunity to, I have fun with it.  First I had to accumulate all of the items for my wall.  I already have the calendar wipe-off board (it was a gift from my younger sister at some point, maybe for graduation).

It was next to impossible to find the exact items that the blog had, but I found some items that worked for me.  The pegboard is from Office Depot, and I believe that I got the "H" from Hobby Lobby.  The harder part was to find the baskets and the letter holder.

When it came to the hanging files, I didn't want the plastic ones that you find in an office, I wanted something nicer since it was going to be in my house.  So I searched and searched and found these wire mesh wall files on Amazon.  I really liked what the blog had for the receipts and coupons, but I was not able to find anything similar, so I found this wooden letter rack on Amazon as well.  While it wasn't perfect, it worked for in my price range (Travis says the woodworking is horrible).

Then I went through the process of cutting newspaper in the size of the items.  Therefor I could place the newspaper on the wall and have it correct by the time I wanted Travis to hang everything.  It helps me now stay more organized than I was before.

Right now we are using the calendar for my meal planning, one of my goals for 2014 in attempt to save money at the grocery store.  The top wall pocket holds Travis' items (since he is tall enough to reach it!), the middle one is mine, and right now the bottom one is our shred mail folder. We get so much junk mail and Travis prefers to shred anything with our name on it, so this fills up rather fast and makes it so that we don't have to go to the basement office every time that we need to shred something.  The letter rack hold any receipt and also the coupons that I accumulate before I organize them.

I keep thinking about spray painting the letter rack, but it is something that I will have to do when Travis isn't home.  He thinks that painting a good wood is an abomination.  While it is a nice finish, I think that it would patch everything better if it was black.

I do have some square picture frames like my inspiration blog did, but we are holding off on that until we are in our own home to make more holes in the wall.

Getting organized in 2014 (and staying organized) is a big goal of mine and my organization wall was just my first step!