Heads up on those HORMONES

--Has anyone else had these sort of problems?  I'd love to hear that I'm not the only one.--

Hormones.  SIGH.

I have been living with baby hormones for the past THREE years of my life.  {I know there are people out there that have literally had baby, nursed baby, had baby, nursed baby... but I never expected to be one of them}

I got pregnant right around the 17th of October 2008
Gave birth 11th of July 2009
Lotte finished nursing in June 2010, when I got pregnant with Brother
Gave birth 25th of February 2011
Nursed Brother up until 2 weeks ago.

He is done nursing.  I honestly can't say that I was finished, but he made it very clear that he was giving up on me.  I tried to keep up by full time pumping, but being a mommy of two and having a full time job is hard work.  I know it isn't an excuse, but I couldn't do it all.

I have been having some issues since Brother quit the breast.  I don't know if I would call it full out baby blues, but I just don't feel like myself.  I'm very distant and not emotional but almost emotionless.  Am I addicted to baby hormones?

So anyway, that is the reason why I have been absent this week.  I'm having trouble motivating myself do much of anything outside of my daily duties.

I know it will get better as my body adjusts, and I know I need some time.  Here's hoping it gets better soon!

Halloween Pillow Case Dress

Last year for the pumpkin patch I wanted something cute and girly for halloween.  Everything I found was obnoxious or not feminine enough.  So I found some cute fabric at Joanns and made a VERY simple pillowcase dress.  It was exactly what I wanted.  And the pictures turned out amazing.  I will never forget how fun this day was.

 Not quiet walking yet,

 But SO big!

 This is the first picture of Lotte and Brother.  We didn't know he was a he yet, and she was so cute.  I would say, "Where's the baby?" and she would rub my tummy.

 And she would lift up my shirt every time to see him! 

Kisses for the baby.

What. A. Day.

Oh and I am going to be linking this up to a super fun link party that Maggie at Mid Western Sewing Girl is hosting.  She loves Halloween and is doing a week long party with a halloween themed link up...she has even hinted at a cool prize pack!  You should join in too!

WARNING: Gross Mommy Moment

If you don't want to read about POOP and BREAST MILK don't read any further!

I'm going to be real about my son's "problem" and it is a little grosser than my normal content!
I'm doing this mostly for some feedback...if you are anyone you know has had this problem, please tell me it has turned out alright and this doesn't last forever!

My poor little boy doesn't poop!  He goes a week at a time with no "movement".  He isn't constipated, according to the doctor he has "slow bowels" or he is "stool holding".

He is 100% breastfed {which supposedly contains a natural laxative} so his poo isn't hard or formed so it isn't STUCK.  But it is just NOT COMING OUT!

At about day 5 he gets really uncomfortable and it gets to the point where he is really fussy by day 6 and 7 isn't happy either.  Then when he finally goes.....there really aren't words to describe it!  It's the worst smell ever, it is sticky and gross because it has been in there for so long.  It goes up the back of the diaper...all the way to his hair.  It comes out the legs of the diapers.  The only way to clean it up is to strip him down and put him in the sink to wash it all off.

I really hope that he doesn't deal with this all of his life.  I can't imagine what will happen if he does this when he is finally eating solids!

Someone please tell me that your child did this and grew out of it?!?

12 Things That Get A Workin' Momma Through The Day

This working Momma is a busy Momma.  I have to try and keep myself as organized as possible to make it through the day.  Sometimes I feel like I'll never get it all done and there is no way that I will be able to keep up with the house, play with the kids, be myself and blog all in the few hours a day I have at home.

I need to run a tight ship {and truthfully I need to do a better job at it} but here are some of the things that help me keep my sanity while I am keeping my day job.  Nothing can make it EASY but these things sure help!!

1. THE most important thing I use during the day...My Medela Freestyle Pump.  This pump is the BIZZNESS!  Working full time and maintaining a 100% breast-fed baby is hard work and this pump makes my life considerably easier!

2. My Breast Milk Chart.  See a trend as to what I need/use the most?  I have a pretty {decor friendly} dry-erase board that helps me keep tract of how many ounces of milk I have and in what denominations they are split up in.  Every night I add milk to the freezer I mark it on the board.  Every morning that I take milk from the freezer, I mark it off the board.  LIFE SAVER.

3.  The Crockpot!  We have been eating a LOT of crockpot meals since I started back at work.  Number 3 leads me to....

4.  The CrockPot App for my iPhone.  It has sooo many recipes.  It goes outside of the box and isn't just Roast, Potatoes and Carrots.  So far we have tried Fiesta Chicken, Chicken Casablanca, and another one that I can't remember the name of.  They have deserts too!!

5. Along the same lines...the Pinterest App.  I. LOVE. PINTEREST.  I could spend hours a day on there looking at all the beautiful eye candy.  Having the app lets me check up on new and popular images while taking my break at work.  Spending 15 minutes a day on the app satisfies my "pinterest tooth" and that is 15 minutes that I have to do something else at home.

6.  Lotte's Craft Box.  In my craft area I have a basket with all of Lotte's crafty stuff.  She loves to color.  So when I have the kids by myself, and Mister isn't letting me put him down or I'm trying to get something cleaned or cooked, I break out her box.  It has coloring books, crayons, stickers, stamps and some other things she can play with without me holding her hand.  She loves sitting for a few minutes and just coloring and putting on stickers, and mommy loves the 5 minutes of her playing sweetly by herself.

7.  The Moby Wrap was seriously created for people like me.  I'm running around chasing a toddler at the park or the zoo is so much easier without having to push a stroller with Brother in it.  The Moby wrap is a God Send!  When he was newer and couldn't go to sleep, as soon as I put him in the wrap he immediately fell asleep and I was able to clean and get things done while holding him.

At the zoo with Brother in THE wrap!

8.  Our Daycare Tote.  My sweet aunt bought me a thirty-one mini organizer tote with our last name on it. I use this for our back and forth daycare tote.  It's so much easier than a diaper bag.  Every night I make sure to re-stock it with diapers, and thing of wipes, an extra pacifier for each kid, Brother's bottles and every morning I stick Mister's milk bag in it as well.  The tote is short so it is easy to see into when I pick up the kids to make sure everything is in there for the return trip home.

This is a pic from their catalogue.  Ours is in Mod Dot.

9.  Zantac.  I know it is horrible to have children on maintenance medications, but this is seriously a MUST for my little man.  His sister had acid reflux, but it was NOTHING next to his {my pediatrician said that it runs in families and is usually worse for boys}.  Having him on the Zantac has helped him so much.  He no longer projectile vomits, he doesn't get the hiccups every time he eats and he is sooooo much happier!  We tried to wean him off of it, but it was no bueno, as soon as possible he will be taken off of it, but not until he is better.

10.  Sectioned Plates/Tupperware.  This makes meals for Lotte super easy.  I know she needs 3 different varieties of food for her meals so I split it up and give it to her and BAM food is done.  For example: Breakfast she will get toast in her big section, blueberries in one of the smaller sections, and some plain yogurt in the second smaller section.   It also helps me to remember what she has had already that day so I can mix it up.

Terrible picture, but this is Lotte's Valentine's Breakfast in her section plate.

Heart shaped mini pancakes, heart shaped pears yogurt with heart sprinkles...

...that's how we do holidays around here.

11.  No Spill Snack Cups.  Lotte still doesn't grasp the whole tip-the-cup-over-and-all-your-cheerios-fall-out-on-the-floor concept.  So it is sooo helpful to have a snack that doesn't turn into a puppy snack by falling on the carpet!  Brilliant idea, wish I could have made a million bucks off of this one!  If only it could stop my daughter from grabbing a handful and spilling the ones out of her hand and into her carseat...sigh.

12.  The ONE thing that makes my life the easiest is having Moments Like This...

This is me HUGELY pregnant, horrible day...

I was crying for like 15 minutes 

and Lotte brought me all her baby dolls and tried to cheer me up. 

 It worked.

Snuggling on the couch with my newborn and my oldest baby!

Worst Day EVER!

WARNING: crab-fest is about to ensue.

I've tried very hard not to think about it but the day I have been dreading is finally here.

I had to go back to work today.  I had to drop off my sweet little children at our daycare lady's house.  I had to leave this...

I went into work and was actually a few minutes late because it was so hard to leave my little guy.

Today went by so freakin' slowly.  I could hardly handle it.  Not to mention there is practically NO work to do so I spent most of the day data entering really old crap before we send it off to burn.  AAANNDDD for some reason half of the office has been pinned against me by a not so nice immature girl.  So several people haven't even talked to me or welcomed me back.  Good gravy this sucks.  Does anyone know of a job that I can do while playing with my children and making decent money at the same time?  Ha ha...I didn't think so.

I also got some bad news about school...or should I say the lack of school!  Sad, I was really looking forward to going back.

All I wanted to do all day was snuggle my little man.  And now that I have been home, all he wants to do is scream.  Super end to a frustrating day.

Ok, I'm done complaining...for now.

Easter Goodies for a Healthier Eater

I have been a busy busy little Easter Bunny Mommy.

But first I have a confession to make...I am completely NUTz about what my daughter eats.  She has had some weird weight issues since she was 3 months old.  She was VERY little her first year of life (less than the 5th percentile).  She weaned herself from nursing at 11 months and the doctor requested we put her on formula until she was 15 months.  During that time frame she went from the 5th percentile to the 75 percentile.  She isn't FAT or OVERWEIGHT, but she is a bit bigger than she should be for her height.  We went through a big ordeal with the doctor about 3 months ago where we had to keep a food log of her everyday diet.  The doctor looked at it and I quote, "Wow, she wouldn't have a better diet if June Cleaver where her mother."  We want our daughter to be getting as much nutrition from her food as she needs, and we don't want her filling up on the things she doesn't need to grow the right way.

That's not to say that she has NEVER had a treat.  But the poor little thing has only had chocolate twice in her 21 month old life (once without my permission).  Her first processed sugary treat was literally her birthday cake.  She cried when we took it away!

I do this because I want to give her the best start I can.  I want her to have a healthy relationship with food because it is delicious and nutritious, not because it is covered in sugar to make it taste awesome.

Enough rant, this brings me to my dilemma.  Holidays and events are difficult to buy for.

Every Easter basket and plastic egg is usually filled with m&ms or peanut butter eggs.  What do you do if you don't feed your child jelly beans?

Well here is what I am doing this year.

Some of the eggs won't be eggs.  I found these Capri Suns that are 100% juice.  So I wrapped a ribbon around for a fun find!

I also have put several small toys in her eggs.  I love these little stuffed animals.  She has a few horses already, but she will love these additions.

For the treats I used a technique I have seen all over the blogworld.  You take two pieces of wax paper and sew it together (leaving a filling hole), fill it with goodies and then finish sewing it up!  Super easy.  Not only does it keep the snacks from getting wet from dew or popping out in the grass, but because they are sewn together I can monitor how fast Little Lotte is snacking on her snacks.

They fit nicely in the regular sized plastic eggs.

The various treats I have sewn up are...
Animal Crackers
Annie's Bunnies (like goldfish crackers only organic and bunny shaped :)
Annie's Bunnies Fruit Snacks
Gerber Melt Aways
Raisins (I bought mini boxes and they will fit into large eggs)

This is just some of her haul!

So there are my healthier Easter goody ideas for you.  Sorry such a long post!

Linking up to:

Little Miss Dirty Knees

No craft to show off today.  Instead I'm going to show you one of the greatest things God and I have ever created...

Lately whenever I am with her or whenever I think of her I just GASP!  She is literally THE cutest thing EVER!  I know all mommies feel this way about their little ones (nature's way of insuring that we protect them fiercely) but mine is particularly cute!

I love her so much it HURTS!  Have you ever felt that way?  She is so stinkin' cute it HURTS!

Now that the weather is nice she has become an outdoorsy little girl!  She actually woke up last weekend and stood at the back door in nothing but her diaper and cried "iiiisiiidde!" *that is outside for normal speaking adults*

She runs, slides down stairs on her bottom, climbs up in lawn chairs, throws things for the doggies, plays with side walk chalk and bubbles!  Oh the bubbles!  It is so cute when she says bubbles because she doesn't just ask for them she BEGS!  "Bubbelsh"  Here are some of the sweetest pictures of the dirtiest and happiest girl on the block!

Look at that dirty bottom, and how happy she makes her daddy!

We fill this tub up for our crazy dog.  He paddles in the water and as it splashes up he chomps at it.  Lotte spent the better part of an hour taking rocks out of my landscaping and throwing them in for the dog.  He actually dunks his head under the water and pulls them out so she can throw them back in!

She was very proud of her scraped knees.  

She walked around all week saying "Boo-boo" as she pointed to them.

FAVORITE. PICTURE. OF. ALL. TIME.

And here she is resting for 5.3 seconds at the park after a long day of playing.

I can't wait for the weekend to start so we can have some more family fun.

PS. Brother was there too!

Ahhh! The plague!

If one more creepy crawly VIRUS or FLU bug comes in this house I'm going to go full out quarantine!  We have spent the entire month of my son's life battling off colds, viruses, tummy bugs.  We live with hand sanitizer in every room.  We have gone through too many disinfecting wipes to count.  I feel like I live at the dr's office.  I am seriously with one of my children at the hospital or doctor once sometimes twice a week.

My poor Little Lotte thinks that everywhere we go is the doctor's office.  The last few times have been ultra traumatic for her.  So when we go into a public building (just remotely looking like an office, or with people in uniforms) she SCREAMS!  For example, I took them up to my work office and she screamed almost the whole time.  And worse yet, she freaked out when she went with her dad to the automotive section at Walmart!  I don't get it, but the guy had a clipboard so maybe that is why she thought it was the doctor.

Not sure how to make my little girl stop hating the doctor's office so much.  But if you were 20 months old and getting catheters and xrays and blood work done, you would probably be scared too.  I would be.  Any advice for more pleasant public experiences?

And......here's a cute little face to make everyone's day a little happier!

Parenthood FAIL, Desert NON-FAIL!

I feel like a failure today.  I KNOW it is just hormones and I'm not really a failure, but if you are a mom you know that there are just days when you feel like nothing goes right.  Heck even if you aren't a mom you feel that way sometimes too.

Anyways.  I had both the kiddos today.  Which usually isn't so bad, but I have had a LOT of help the past week since I've been ill.  Today for some reason if one child wasn't crying, the other was.  I'm not talking regular crying; I'm talking hysterics from Brother and that whiny constant upset cry from Lotte.  It was so stressful and I feel so bad that today was wasted.  Wasted constantly saying, "That's enough, stop that, no more, please don't."  I wasn't able to give Girl the schedule or activities she needed to make it a positive day.

Now that they are both blissfully asleep I'm able to reflect on where it went wrong.  I know the pressure and stress can get to anyone, and I definitely let it get to me today.  For example: I was prepping dinner during Lotte's snack time after her nap.  I caved and gave her one of her baby cookie cracker things because I just couldn't take more whining.  I was carrying Brother in my Moby Wrap (GREATEST INVENTION EVER!) while making stuffed peppers.  I am mixing all the ingredients together while turning on sesame street after her snack, all while Mister is screaming.  I look down and realize I didn't brown the hamburger.  Who doesn't freaking brown the hamburger?!?  Completely ruined.

So we fed Lotte left overs and husband went and got McCrap for us to eat for dinner.

At least I didn't ruin desert!  But on top of McCrap I ate my entire week's worth of calories in the most delicious desert ever!  I found a recipe for Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough without any egg product so you don't have to bake it!  This amazing lady from Cookies and Cups made Pudge Cake and I made a version of it without the cake mix.

I baked brownies.  I used a biscuit cutter to cut up the brownies and layered it with the cookie dough.  I put it in the fridge until it was cold through.  Then we inhaled the Brownie Cookie Dough Brownie sandwiches.  It was so good.  My husband wants me to make the fake Cookie Dough everyday for his breakfast!  I told him that the bus company would end up making him buy 2 bus passes because of how big he would get!

Anyways...tomorrow is another day.  And I am vowing to make the best of it.  Lesson learned, always have some activities pre-planned to keep toddlers busy in constructive ways.  So you don't chase them around the house yelling no!

Look what I found this week!

I was a fairly pretty week.  And then the wind came...and then one day I woke up to find this.

Snow. Spring Snow. Sigh.

How sad does that little slide look.  As if it were saying, "But I thought it was spring, and I thought I could get some good old fashioned "weeeee" time in."

I also found this.  We haven't used it yet, but I'm hoping it will help with his gassies.

It wasn't that great of a price, but cheaper than the mylecon if you figure the dosage.  Plus its all natural.

I also made a few thrifty finds at various places throughout the week.

These are the neatest set of picture frames.  They were only $8.00 for the 3 pieces!!!
They will be perfect once they are spray painted and I pick out/print/make some cute little spring and easter prints to put in them.

The weird striped thing is not only ugly, but it is a tray, and only cost $1.00!

Here is an idea of what I have planned for it.  If you squint really hard you might be able to see the potential.

This is something that we found down in the basement.  It's an accumulation of roughly 3 years of dust on a wonky old glass-less picture frame.  I think I know what I'm going to do with it, but I'm having a hard time committing fully to one project.

And the biggest "find" this week actually happened last night and was the reason why this friday post  sat completely finished until this morning.  As I am adding the images seen above, I hear my Little Lotte cry out up stairs.  She had been asleep for about an hour, so I went to check on her.  As soon as I opened the door, the smell hit me like a stinky old train!

Yep my sweet little toddler threw up for the first time.  I knew I would have to deal with it eventually, but I was hoping it would be when she was 13 or 14 so that she could clean it out of her own hair!

I'm not really a puke person.  But being a mother, I put on my mommy pants and immediately went to work.  I moved her from the giant pile of puke...how can all of THAT come from a toddler?!?!  I took off her soaked pajamas and got her into the bathtub.  All the while telling her that it is okay and gagging at the same time!

I got to be the hero.  I was Batman.  I saved her from the nasties that were in her hair and all over her sweet purple pj's, while my poor poor husband was Alfred.  He did all the dirty work.  While I was washing her hair, he was changing sheets and doing the laundry.  I LOVE THAT MAN!

So what was it? Stomach flu? I don't think so.  She acted like she was feeling fine after, and we gave her some diluted juice and she was drinking as if nothing happened.  She was a little scared when I put her back to bed.  Because she didn't see us (by that I mean Alfred) change the sheets she thought it was all still there.  She didn't want to lay down.  I had to sweep my hand all over her bed and repeat "all clean" over and over again.  Even though she was repeating "keen", she must not have been convinced because she curled up in the opposite corner and rolled into a little ball to sleep.  Poor baby.

She has had some breakfast and is doing well.  So hopefully it was just something she ate, because we have my grandparents 63rd wedding anniversary dinner tonight.  We wouldn't want it to be a puke fest!

Oh, and one last find! JAYHAWKS ARE THE ONLY #1 SEED LEFT IN THE TOURNAMENT!  What the heck?!? Ohio was rumored to be taking the entire thing! Kentucky is my hero.  But honestly if they can beat Ohio, I'm sure that they can beat us if we don't fight hard enough.  Imagine this senario...Kentucky and UNC in the final four.  UNC wins.  KU plays UNC for the championship! Hardcore!  And anyone out there reading this is like...who cares, it's basketball!  WELL I CARE!  I bleed crimson and blue!