Monthly Photo Project: 4 Months Old

I had a hard time choosing this months photo. There was a lot to choose from. Honestly it wasn't my favorite shot of his face. There were cuter smiles but there would be a hand or a foot that was totally blurry. It distracted from his face. So I went with this. Which is still cute. His hands are a little blurry but not too bad. This was also my least favorite fabric. Every time he wiggled it would pucker funny. Oh well. I am having a lot of fun taking his picture every month. I'm pretty sure my photography hasn't improved but I am having fun! This boy has completely stolen my heart!

Today I Took...

This long sleeve t-shirt and made it into a...

 Short sleeve T-Shirt

Using this tutorial.

Is it perfect? Heaven's no.

Do I care? Not a bit.

Will I do it again? You betcha.

This is perfect for those of us who live in San Antonio. Our winters are pretty short. So those long sleeves don't get that much wear before spring rolls around. This is a great way to stretch out their life a little bit. Especially since Miss. S grows like a weed. Who knows if they will fit her the next time winter rolls around. It's super easy and thrifty. That's always fun. 

P.S. I know these pictures are terrible. And I really should have ironed the shirt first. But I was in a hurry so this will have to do.

Thoughts on ebooks

I got my first ebook today for the iPad. I've kinda been holding out for a long time. What can I say I love reading books. That can sit on a shelf. With pages. And dust jackets. I love the feel and the smell. I love the weight. I love going to book stores and libraries. I just love reading real books. Anyway I've been itching to read the Red Pyramid for a little while now. So on his way home Denny stopped at Border's and Half Price Books to look for it. Neither one had it. So he bought me the ebook. I'm kinda excited to test out this new technology. I do see some of the benefits of ebooks, but I don't think they will ever take away from my love of real books. I will still buy actual books when I can. I still dream of having a house with a library in it. However I am a little intrigued by being able to read a book on my iPad or phone.

I find it really sad that Border's is going out of business and I know a huge factor in it is ebooks. It's sad because if a huge superstore like Border's is going under then you have to think of all the Mom and Pop book stores that are hurting from this also. And those are the best kinds of book stores. What do you think? Are you on team ebook or team real book? Am I one of the last remaining few?

Friday Funny!

Having a three year old around provides constant entertainment. The things that come out of her mouth never cease to amaze. Lately I've been putting a lot more effort into writing down the things that make me giggle. So I guess it's time for a little seen and heard. Shall we?

Seen~ Miss. S walking into the living room with a beanie in hand.
Me~ "Why do you have that hat?"
S~ "Because I like winter hats... they make me look all spooooky."

Seen~ Miss. S playing with Daddy on the iPad
S~ "Daddy can we play paddle boats?"
Seen~ Pointing to the Battleship app
*Note* We have never taken her paddle boating. I have no idea where she learned about paddle boats.

Seen~ Mommy getting ready to walk out of the room for a moment.
S (referring to her baby brother)~ "Don't worry I'll keep an eye on him."
Me~ "Ok thanks."
S~ "Which one? This one?" as she points to one eye.
Me~ Laughs
S~ "I'll close this one cause I only need to keep one eye on him."

Seen~ Mommy talking to Miss. S about the importance of washing her hair.
S~ "O.K. now... stop talking. It's...(sighs) it's too much."
Me~ "Too much what?"
S~ "Too much talking Mommy."

Seen~ Daddy and S playing on the bed.
Daddy~ "S did you just bonk my head?"
S~ "Nuh uh Daddy. I didn't do that." When she clearly did.

I don't know if these ever come across as being funny to anyone else but the parent. I just needed to document them and I thought maybe someone else might need a laugh. I love that girl. She brings so much joy and laughter into our lives everyday!

Teen Choice Awards

You all know about my lovely sister-in-law Katie by now right? Well we are very proud of her for receiving a nomination for the Teen Choice Awards! She's nominated for Breakout T.V. star. The show has a total of 5 nominations. Choice Summer Television Series, Choice Summer T.V star male and female, and two nominations for breakout T.V. star (Katie & Sean Beardy. Sorry Sean but I'm hoping you loose this one buddy. No offense.). Pretty exciting stuff. The show has gotten rave reviews and really good ratings. If you haven't watched yet you can catch up on ABCFamily.com. Last weeks show ended with a huge shock and I can't wait to watch next week to find out more!

So if you are a teenager or know any teenagers (or are just a teenager at heart. wink. wink... I kid.) then vote! Most importantly vote for Katie but while you're at it you might as well vote for the show, Vanessa Marano & Lucas Grabeel. They all deserve it! Go to teenchoiceawards.com to sign up. You can vote everyday before the show! Then tune into watch on Sun. Aug. 7 on FOX because she will also be presenting an award that night.

By the way one of my creations was worn on the show two weeks ago. I was so happy that Katie worked it out with the styling department so that she could wear an apron I made for her the first Christmas Denny and I were married. How awesome is that? Probably not a big deal to you but I was pretty excited about it!

Not a great picture (Sorry Katie) but the best I could get my hands on. That's the apron I made. Kinda looks like a skirt but I assure you it's an apron.

Anyway! Go Vote!!!

I've Been Wasting Time...

Sorrento Italy found via Pinterest

on Pinterest tonight. Mind you my internet hasn't been working for most of the day. So I haven't been wasting too much time. Just a little bit of time. I have been pouring over the travel section. I can't get enough of it. It's amazing and now I'm ready for a vacation. Not a trip to visit family or a trip to Disneyland. I'm talking a European getaway or a week on an exotic island type vacation. Of coarse that is not going to happen anytime soon but a girl can dream right? Seriously go look. Be a time waster with me.

All you Ever Wanted to Know About Exclusively Pumping

My constant companion these days is my breast pump. I have a Medela Pump in Style. I pretty much always have it close by. I've had a lot of people ask me how the pumping is going so I thought I would do a follow up post to my previous breast feeding post. I've also noticed that there really isn't a ton of information available for Mothers who choose to go this route. Hopefully someone will find this useful.

So far pumping is good. It's not without it's difficulties but neither is breastfeeding. So it's ok with me. For the first month or so I was pumping an exhausting 6 times a day for 20 min each time. That was pretty hard but necessary to regulate my milk supply. Shortly after that I went down to 5 times a day. Now I do 5 times a day about half the time and the other half I do 4. I'm hoping around 4 months I'll be down to 4 times a day all the time. Right now I can tell a drop in my milk supply (not much of a drop but enough to notice) if I go too many days in a row at 4 times a day. So I try to alternate every other day. Right now I feel pretty good about how much I'm pumping and how often. I'm able to keep up with Mr. Z and then some. I've been able to save and freeze about 5 ounces a day. So I have plenty stored up for emergencies. 

Some things to know if you are going to be exclusively pumping. The first few months are really important and not easy. It will seem like a lot of work sometimes but it gets better in no time. It is really important to pump as often as you can and pump for a full 20 min. If you pump less than that then your milk supply may run out. There are different sizes of shields. You may have to try a couple sizes to find your perfect fit. I was using shields that were too small at first and I was getting sores. No amount of lanolin could make those things go away and they were painful. Then I went up a size and magically they were gone. Also use lanolin every single time you pump with out fail. Before AND after. Goop it on. Really it's ok. You will thank me later. 

Now for a few helpful hints... 

Have at least two sets of accessories. Your pump pieces need to be washed after every use so the more accessories you have the easier your life will be. 

Get a car adapter. So if you are going to be out of the house all day you can pump on the road. This may seem awkward but it's essential in my book. Just get a nursing cover so you don't feel super exposed.

Along with that get the Medela quick clean wipes for when you are not near a sink. They are little expensive so I wouldn't use them all the time. Just when you are out and about. They are really handy.

Sanitize. Sanitize. Sanitize. And the easiest way to do it is with the Medela Quick Clean Micro Steam Bags (the people at Medela are geniuses). They come in a pack of 5 and each bag can be used 20 times. I use them at least once a day.

Do yourself a favor and get yourself a cute drying rack. Like this one. If you are going to be hand washing pump parts for months on end you might as well have something enjoyable to look at.

Now for the positives on pumping. You get a lot of the same benefits from pumping that you would from breast feeding. It has helped me loose the baby weight faster. I already had a pump and accessories on hand so it has been very inexpensive. I've only had to purchase a few things here and there which has been much cheaper than buying formula every week. You are giving your baby breast milk which is always best (but there is nothing wrong with formula. I'm not at all saying formula is bad for your baby). Now that I'm on a good schedule and I've gotten the hang of everything it really is easy and painless. It doesn't interfere too much with my day. I can have other people feed my baby. I hope that doesn't sound terrible but sometimes it's nice to share in that responsibility. I can leave him with Daddy or Grandma and they will have no problem feeding him. Overall it has been a good experience so far. There are more positives I just can't remember all of them right this second. I still get people who are shocked that I'm doing this (and successfully) and wonder why I would even consider it. Now that it's been a couple months I would honestly say I would do it again in a heart beat if I had to. I just want people to know that it is an option to be considered if you are struggling with breast feeding. I thought I would hate this, but I don't. Yes at first it was hard, but it got easier and easier and now it isn't hard at all. 

OK I'm done rambling. Hopefully someone out there will find some of this useful. And if anyone has any questions please feel free to ask!

Steal of the Week

Denny picked me up this darling book at Border's the other day. It was on sale for $2.99! I'm so excited to try out some of the scrumptiousness inside. I may even have to whip up the New York, New York Super Crumb Cake this weekend. Or the Wicked Good Chocolate Peanut Butter Pudding Cups. Every recipe looks delicious and fun. For $3 you can't beat it! Now I just need to get the original Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey. Do any of you have these cook books? Have you made anything out of them? 

Recommitting

Oh life has been a little crazy lately. In the best way ever. Both of Denny's sisters have been in town which was wonderful. This is the first time we've been able to see Katie since she started filming the show. It was really great to see her and visit with her. She is so much fun. Denny's older sister and her kids are in town for a little while longer. It is so much fun seeing Miss. S with her cousins. I have such a strong bond with several of my cousins. They are such an important part of my life. It's so fun watching Miss. S forming those same relationships.

Speaking of important cousins. My cousin Bradley is one of those cousins. He is stationed here at Fort Sam Houston for the Navy. I could not be happier. We have spent the last couple weekends with him which includes taking him to some of our favorite places to eat. Hopefully he will be here for a while longer. In the military you never really know though. Since we don't know how long it will really be I want to get as much Bradley time in as possible. It's also nice to have him around for Denny. He loves having a good friend around.

As much fun as we have been having with all these amazing people around we are all off our schedules. We are pooped and I'm definitely feeling a little disconnected to this blog. I love this blog. I feel best when I'm blogging regularly. It is my creative outlet. It is a space all my own. My time during the day for me and I think that it is really important. So my goal this week is to recommit myself to my me time. AKA this blog. Sorry I've been a little out of it lately. I'll get back on track though. Promise.

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Checking Out

Image found via Woman's Day

I haven't posted at all this week. It has definitely been a crazy one. We have a lot of family in town and we've been spending time with them. So posting this week will be sparse. I am however getting a project together that I'm really really excited about. So hopefully I'll post about it by the end of the week. Hopefully is the key word there.

I hope everyone had a great Fourth of July. It is one of my favorite holidays and this year it was a little bit different and weird. San Antonio and much of Texas was under a strict fireworks ban due to a terrible drought. I don't think I've ever had a Fourth of July without fireworks. It just didn't feel right. We still had a great time with family, friends and a ton of delicious food!

Keep checking back for more posts later this week!

Skinny Pancakes

This is a recipe that takes me straight back to my childhood. It's actually a recipe for Swedish Pancakes but my niece Islay dubbed them skinny pancakes. My Mom made these all the time growing up. Probably more often then regular pancakes. They are similar to a crepe but a little thicker and a little easier to make. Everyone in my family loves them so I thought I would pass along the recipe.
Ingredients
3 eggs
1 1/4 cup milk
3/4 cup flour
1 table spoon sugar
1/2 tea spoon salt

Combine all dry ingredients. Add in eggs and mix together to form a paste. Then add in milk slowly.

The batter will be super runny and it will not make perfect little round pancakes. They will be rather wonky but when you roll them up on your plate you won't even notice. I made them for Miss. S the other day with nutella and bananas. I had mine with pure maple syrup and powder sugar. Delish!

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