Since my baby is going to be breastfeeding forever...

I'm going to:

-Save my money so I can get my Masters degree while he's going to college, since he'll still need me all the time. I'll probably get a dorm room too. (Freshman year re-do!? I THINK SO!! But this time I'm 21+, so that's a positive. Oh, wait, I'm still breastfeeding...)

-stay in shape so I can find a date to prom. He couldn't possibly go more than 2 hours without nursing.

-Make sure the dress I buy for his wedding day is nursing friendly. Wouldn't want to have to hike up my dress from the bottom!

-Become skilled in knot tying, rafting, fire building and pine box derby because he'll need the boob while he goes to his overnight Boy Scout camps.

-Touch base with the school district now so that by the time Jack goes to kindergarten there are nursing rooms available during recess.

Ok, my smart alick mouth is done for the night. Happy World Breastfeeding Week!

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Those nights

You know them.

When your nurse-to-sleep-easy-going baby turns into a 2 hour-nursing feign-sweaty-can't get comfy-won't calm down baby.

When you give up, put the baby in the car and go buy a hot chocolate from the Golden Arches because really there isn't much more you can do. Even as we left the house, SugarButt was STILL smiling. Ha! Crazy kid.

As we were leaving the house Paul said, Drive safe. And with a smart ass retort I said, Yea, you're welcome. Paul? NOT pleased and he called me out on it.

I explained its hard to feel appreciated when I'm the one up late (or early depending on how you see it!) and I like to hear I'm appreciated, just like he does at work. He does appreciate me-ALOT. I know that.

What I should have said is, Honey, I'm tired. I need to know that you appreciate me right now. A hug would be nice too.

I'm thankful I can say those things after I realize that what I originally said was wrong. I'm thankful my husband is so patient and willing to forgive me when I am passive aggressive.

He was tired and I am still tired. (I'm sitting in the car on my phone typing this-lol). Just like we are understanding of SugarButt not able to get comfortable when his teeth hurt or he's hot, we need to be understanding of each other-that we both work hard, that we need to be held too. That we are both tired. And that we love this baby like no one else. Oh, and each other. <3

Next time Paul comes home from work grumpy, I'll make sure to pull him into my arms and hug and kiss him. And feed him. Because those three things make all the difference in his world ;) just like I do for Jack. It really is no different. I'm here for these boys no matter what's wrong--teething, sickness, bad day at work, falling down the stairs, smashed a finger, anything. I want them to know I'd do anything to be as understanding as possible, even if it's all I can offer. <3

{SugarButt is asleep, and has been for a bit. Plus my hot chocolate is almost gone}

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Sweet Irony

I let little SugarBaby eat whatever he likes, well within reason. And, apparently my 'reasoning' is way out of line. (I'll get to the irony in a bit)

Things he's allowed to eat:
Boob milk
Dirt
Rocks
Sticks
Grass
Bark dust
More dirt
Leaves/plants
Flowers
Vegetables
Fruit
Eggs
Meat
A few more sticks
And some more dirt
And, more boob milk
Basically, if its not been processed, he can eat it.


Things J has eaten that I don't want him to eat but he tends to/has eaten:
My postpartum fall-out-all-the-time hair
Poop-his own (that's another blogpost)
Dust bunnies
I think that covers it

Things I don't let J eat:
Any grains--rice, flour, oats
Processed foods--including but not limited to: crackers, soda, juice, candy, cupcakes, baby puffs, mushy baby food.

So here's the irony. We were at an event with other women, mamas an babes. People were FREAKING about
Him eating dirt. Then upset about him eating a stick. Then annoyed that this irresponsible young mom was letting her kid roll around in the bark dust. Geez. (oh, I whipped my boob out too ;)) I got sick of all these crotchety women harping on me so I stopped letting him eat everything--insert PAIN IN THE ASS--and everyone seemed to calm down. Ok, here's the kicker. A mom was there with her 7 month old baby feeding him a cupcake and frosting. FROSTING. Where the heck where all the haters? Sitting by enjoying their cupcakes of course! Kill me now.

Irony, sweet, IRONY. You're welcome America for not contributing to the rise in healthcare costs by avoiding exposing my child to obesity and diabetes. Please send thanks in the form of dark chocolate.

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Good Night Little Man

Your sweet hand rests on my chest as you drift off to sleep. Like you're saying,

Don't leave mama. Stay. It's been a long day.

You're done nursing for now but I know you'll want me again soon.

Sooner than my selfish self wants, but never soon enough for my
Mama self.

And when I'm mid shower and I hear your daddy cooing to you, I'll sigh.

Not because I'm frustrated that you're awake.

Not because you do the same thing every night.

Not because your daddy can't do it himself.

No, I sigh because it won't be much longer until you will want your daddy over me. Until you will be going to kindergarten, or prom, or college.

I sigh because there are far fewer things in this world I love more than the way your hand rests on my chest and your feet on my legs, just reassuring yourself that I'm still here. <3

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Time just keeps passing by

We're on day 6 of our little vacation and just because we've gotten away from life, Baby J hasn't stopped growing and doing big boy things. It's so fun to see him pulling up on furniture, playing with the dogs, laughing at his cousins, getting into everything, drinking from a cup...And right now he's stretched out on the couch taking a nap. I'll relish this moment a little longer because it's about the only time he holds still ;)

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Letters to Jack

When your simple, gentle world is rocked, I'll be here.

I'll be steady as the sun and honest as the waves.

Should your heart be broken, know that my heart will always be yours.

And when that day comes that you find another woman to fill my place, I will open my heart to her as well.

You, my sweet boy, have a heart of gold and a gentle soul.

May the world be yours for the taking and may you love with your whole heart.

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Sweet moments

I sit here holding my sleeping baby next to my breast knowing that all is right in his world. It makes me incredibly happy knowing we have worked so hard to be able to exclusively breast feed.

My heart bursts with joy at it. Seriously.<3

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Are we related!?

Hmm...these too look suspiciously alike! <3
Brayden was about the same age as Jack is now, maybe a month or older, September of 2008.

Jack on Easter Sunday, 5.5 months old!

Too cute!

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What's on Your Shelves?

I try to switch the shelves over once a week and it usually happens when Hubby is in cleaning mode and the living room gets picked up.

This week with Easter and kind of a crazy weekend, J’s materials didn’t get changed until Monday when I cleaned up the house. No big deal.

My goal is to change them once a week, leaving one toy behind from the week before. A couple toys got added through out the week—a rock, and the Easter gifts-a wool bunny made from an up-cycled sweater, and a ‘Spring’ board book. (He also got bubbles that he loves, but those are not for the shelves! ;) )

I also want to make sure there is some sort of ball on the shelves. He loves pushing things around the living room. I’m aways surprised that he doesn’t get frustrated that the object-usually a ball or balloon-just keeps getting further away from him. He’s such a laid back little guy! J

So, this week on the shelves:

· Tiny abacus-We’re in the ‘shake’ and ‘slam against the floor’ stage so this is a fun material.

· Ball with bell inside-J loves to chase things around the living room so this is great for working on his coordination for crawling and hand-eye coordination

· Cylinder with balls—This is a repeat from last week. He pushes it around but mostly chews on it and slams it against the ground

· Bunny-I like to leave some sort of thing for J to gnaw/gum to death and fabric is usually his favorite object of choice, besides our fingers!

I also started his first exploration basket.

· A piece of minky-soft on one side and a little rougher on the other side.

· A rock-the cool temperature feels great on his gums. It’s also the perfect size for his little hands.

· A measuring spoon—I’m a fan of sharing household items with him

· An egg shaker—Filled with beans and taped shut. I plan on gluing it together soon. This material is a little frustrating for him since it just slides out of his hands. He doesn’t get too upset and I’m working on figuring out if it’s too much or just enough much ;) If it’s too much, we’ll put it away; Otherwise, it’ll stay out and he can explore it.

Not EXACTLY what I had in mind for his exploration basket,

but hey, it works! And, he's having fun;)

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Oh, Sophie!

Can you tell how much he LOVES his Sophie? Anyone else's kiddos love her?

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Working at Home

Well...I've finally felt the need to be productive and to make the time for it. ha!

With all the sewing I do, I feel like I should do something with it. Between the hats, cloth pads, baby toys, fleece soakers and longies and the diapers I could probably stay pretty busy.

Right now, I'm doing orders for cloth pads and it would be so great to have hanging tags for all my products. It'd make my hope of an Etsy store even more possible. (This is a whole other project that I'm not *quite* ready to take on yet...but NEED to get on that soon.)

Anyways, one of the blogs I keep up with A Mommy's Blessings, is having a giveaway and (even if I don't win) I think I'm going to check these out because they are so neat!

Here's to hoping I win! And to hoping I keep making time to do work. It's a strange feeling to ask Hubby to hang out with baby while I get things done. It's also fun to work while Jack is in my CLEAN sewing room. (About five days ago, this would have been impossible because I couldn't even go in there to work! haha!)

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Cloth Rattle

I struggle to find toys that fit my simplistic view on the things J should play with. I don't really like all the plastic stuff and he's constantly chewing on anything that has fabric. Ahem...gumming/chewing/gnawing...same thing ;)

I found this blog (which I absolutely LOVE!) that had great ideas for teething-we are in the throws of it right now.

Jack LOVES LOVES LOVES it. I stuffed it and put bells in it. He bends it, throws it, squishes it, yells at it, and most of all, drools on it. It's nice since I can put it in the washer, no problem.

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Jack's Living Room Work Space

I'd love to say that we use Jack's room for him to explore his space but it's just not that realistic for us. Our house is pretty cold where we don't use the heaters and since he is still sleeping with us, I have a hard time turning the floor board heaters on just so we can hang out in there for a bit of time.

So, I decided it made a lot more sense to set up an area where he could explore in the living room. It's where I spend most of my time, either in the kitchen or the living room.

I find most of my Montessori treasures at Goodwill since I can't really afford to order all the wonderful materials that I see online. (I REALLY wish I could sometimes, but I also ::LOVE:: to find cool things at Goodwill!) But, baskets and small shelves can be used easily (and are great chew toys!) and purchased for cheap!

I found this wooden mirror for $10 at Goodwill. It's a super nice mirror and will someday be perfect for Jack's room when he's big enough to use it for dressing purposes. In the meantime, it sits on it's side while being drooled on, banged on, gummed to death, and smiled at. Jack LOVES to smile at it. Soon will come the day that it needs to be attached to the wall as he is getting close to kicking it over-I'm actually quite worried about this! :/

I've been wanting a lambskin rug. They are so soft and squishy and I wish I had one big enough to lie on. I was looking online and was surprised and saddened by how expensive they are. BUT, (Oh, I have such GREAT friends!) I went to visit a friend and she had an extra. SCORE!

I love to read Montessori blogs about infant materials. I loved all the different teething toys in this blog. I knew that I could easily make some cloth rattles so I made one just to see if he'd like it. Guess what?! My .50 toy is a complete success. There are few toys he can actually squish down enough to get into his mouth. He gets it nice and soggy with drool. So fun.

I know that Sophie the Giraffe isn't Montessori per say but Jack loves her and she's the perfect squishy size for his hands. <3 Many times we've caught her head all the way in his mouth! Silly baby!

The weird thing hanging down is my wind chime from

outside a friend from college gave to Paul and I about 5 years ago. I was in search of a wind chime or something.

He loves to grab onto the circles and gnaw on them. He also loves to watch it move and to have it make noise. He's pretty observant.

Another part of Montessori that we (ha, I)

have started enjoying is Elimination Communication. After a few days of 'misses' we catch a good majority when I'm hanging out with him. It's so funny to see him relax and use his cute little potty. It's definitely not the approach that many family's take, but I enjoy being able to read his cues and that he communicates with me when he needs to pee.

I feel like this area will continue to change and morph as our needs change. I love this little area for him and he enjoys exploring it. It's a great place for him to learn about his surroundings and the bigger world, which is ultimately, my biggest hope for him: To know that he is part of something bigger. <3

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4 Months!

Little man is 4 months now and time sure does FLY!

Last week he was 14.04 pounds. He scoots around when he wants a toy.

He sure loves his daddy, poking at his eyes and getting extra close for those opened mouth kisses he loves to give so much. ::swoon::

Everything is to be chewed, sucked, gummed on and it makes for a slobbery, but cute!, mess.

He has his first little cold, guess that's what we can expect after a week of visiting with friends and my first busy week babysitting. Ah well, it's good for him ;)

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Aw, CRUD!

Quick post while baby sleeps in stroller and Husband makes Saturday breakfast.

Crunchy. Alternative. Hippy. Whatev.

The other day in the car I suddenly realized that I'm a lot crunchier than I thought I was. It was kind of this strange realization. I never thought I was 'that' crunchy. Turns out I am.

This YouTube vid has been circulating in my online mama groups. Believe it or not, I watched it AFTER the epiphany that I am crunchy. This video proved my husband's point. haha

Do not worry, Dear Friends, I KNOW how crunchy I am now!

I just can't even help myself. I mean, I don't even realize that I say half those things everyday...CRUNCHY! <3

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