Monday, April 30, 2012

Everything looks better with color......

Including myself :).  Unfortunately, my last weekend sunburn just at the point of turning to a tan began to peel :(.  Oh well.  Who needs color in California...right?

This weekend I headed outside with two cans of spray paint, one paint sample, a rocking chair and a whole lot of cheap plastic plant pots. 

I quickly realized why I don't get many of these projects done :).  Since the hubby was gone for the day with my oldest I had the two girls and man did they want to paint!  

First we started with the chair:  
This was my rocking chair I got as a child.  I have been meaning to refinish it for years. 
I went with Aqua on the color to match the Princess Room of course! 
 I ran into a couple minor problems....
I am FAR from an expert as you can see :)
 Indiana was LOVIN' it!
Lawn mowing day is a great day to paint :)
I did a little distressing.....I was VERY glad for the distressing to hide my great painting skills ;).
And Here is the finished product!
Then onto the flower pots....Unfortunately my mom got to them before I was able to take a BEFORE picture :).  She does not have a blogging mind ;).  Trust me they were forest green and UGLY!

We went with Eden on the pots to give them a more "Garden-ey" feel
Then on to the front flower pots...my favorite!  Indiana was finally able to use her mad painting skills :)

I took these beat up drab black flower pots and gave them a cheery facelift!
Nothing says "Cheery" like some goldenrod yellow......
With purple flowers!  

I would have to say they were a success!  After all that hard work I just had to head up to the city for some much needed fun with one of my favorite people.....I will let Heather take over from here ;).

So how was your weekend?  If you have any fun DIY projects we would love to see them! 
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Saturday, April 28, 2012

Margaritaaaaah

Jody, you are such a sweet friend and I loved your last post!  Oh, how we all get caught up in the "Supermom" endeavor.  If you didn't click on Jody's link and read April Perry's article, "Your Children Want YOU!", do it now!  I promise it is worth reading.  It brought me to tears - such a good reminder of what really matters as a mom.  Click HERE to read it.

****************************************************************************
Last week we had some fantastic record-breaking weather.
While it raised my anxiety levels thinking about global warming, it was hard not to enjoy the blue skies and 80 degree weather.


It also provided an opportunity to enjoy the positive side of supplementing:  MARGARITAS!!



Hooray!

Let me first say that in no way shape or form did my little guy consume alcohol.....just me.  And, after 10 months of zero alcohol, it was SO very nice!

The timing was perfect.  We were able to head to the patio at RIO GRANDE CAFE just after I nursed the little one.  So, I was able to enjoy a Top Shelf Margarita with dinner, then "pumped and dumped" when we got home.  Hands down, The Rio Grande makes the very best margaritas in Utah.  And, after not having one for nearly a year, it was likely the best margarita I have had in the past 10 years.


We love the Rio Grande Cafe.  Excellent Mexican food, the best margaritas, great ambiance (located in an old train station) and PATIO DINING.  Have I posted about my love for summer, yet?  One of the reasons that summer is my very favorite season is eating outside.  It's a family favorite.  In fact, I have a list of all of the restaurants in Salt Lake City with patio seating conveniently located in my Blackberry.


Patio Seating also lent the perfect opportunity to get out of the house.  Since it was so warm, I was able to just put a blanket over my little guy's car seat and walk straight from our car to a table outside and eat away from other people.  No worries over crowds and colds.



Yum.
Definitely the positive side of supplementing!

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Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Our own worst enemy....

Oh Heather,  I SO remember those days.  I threatened to quit nursing on almost a daily basis :).  When "B" came home from the NICU I thought, "YAY I am done nursing"....nope I had to do the nursing/supplementing.  I can truly say I sympathize.

Once I was finished I had an entire DEEP FREEZER full of milk which later accidentally got unplugged.   It was heart wrenching!  I laughed and cried when we loaded off two metal garbage cans full of sour breast milk :(.  

You are truly an amazing mother doing an amazing thing for your son.  I know one thing my friend, your kids are truly blessed to have you as their "Super Mom"!

Speaking of parenting.  The local media was buzzing last week about THIS article.  


It was a great one for me to read at this time in my life.  While not all moms may relate to this specific article I think all moms can relate to the occasional (or not so occasional) feeling of inadequacy.

"Super Mom" syndrome.  Every generation of mother has experienced it and every mother can tell you examples of the "Super Mom's" they knew in their life or the "Super Mom" standards they felt they needed to achieve. 


The illusion may have changed a bit with each generation but the unhealthy feeling of inadequacy has not.

I have to constantly remind myself not to fall victim to the "Super mom" syndrome....there is nothing more consuming and counterproductive (I can tell you first hand ;).

Not exactly a cheery subject to blog about, but I know we all get it from time to time.

To all you beautiful moms out there make your own version of "Super Mom" which includes, laundry piles, afternoon naps (if ever possible), messy houses and kids that ENJOY their home life; because that is REALLY what your kids are going to remember!

As for myself, I think I am just in dire need of a good jog and a Yoga class....or a little drink!  

Maybe....just maybe.....I will have all three ;).

 Motherhood, Super Mom, Super Moms, Super Mom Syndrome 
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Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Tied Up


Warning:  I am blogging about breast feeding and supplementing today.  I promise to only use the word "nipple" once....okay, maybe twice.  I also promise that I will not continue to blog on the nursing issue (too frequently?) just because I have a newborn and that is what is consuming most of my time these days.  I just have to blog on it today, because I am SOO very tired and it really is my life right now.  If it's not something you want to read about, I don't blame ya.  Scroll down to Jody's last post - you'll find much more interesting photos!


May I start by saying that nursing and supplementing is not for the weak?!
At least that is what I have to keep telling myself.  If I continue to look at the process as one to "conquer" and remind myself that I got through it with M, I can keep on going.  Now for how long, I am not sure.


I'd take a bullet for this guy.  Do just about anything for him.  So, supplementing it is.
Nursing and supplementing is nursing and feeding your baby formula by bottle.  Reason this is slight torture?  It is VERY, VERY time consuming and sometimes painful.  This is where I throw in the word "nipple" and I'll leave it at that. 


Top of Our Dishwasher - Bottle and Pumping Supplies ("horns" as M would say)

Because my little guy was born so big, he decided to conserve his energy and sugar levels when he was born.  This meant that he slept a WHOLE lot and didn't want to eat.  I guess this is pretty typical of most large babies.  In fact, many hospitals will just give a large baby formula right after they are born.  Since my little guy didn't want to eat, it triggered my body to go just as slow as him in producing his food.  If you've ever nursed, this makes sense.  Your body produces what the baby is telling it they need.  The more they eat, the more food your body makes.  So, he lost quite a bit of weight right after he was born.  Thus, the need to supplement with formula.  This just compounded the issue of my slow milk production, so I had to start pumping.  No fun.

Warming a bottle the old fashion way

Needless to say, this is where we are at right now:  I nurse for a feeding then he is given a bottle for the next feeding.  While he is eating the bottle, I pump to make sure that I don't lose my current levels.  THANKFULLY, we are at this point.  Just last week I would nurse, then pump 30 minutes later (to increase my supply), then he would get a bottle and I would pump, then I would nurse and so on.....Truly, my days have been tied up nursing, pumping, nursing, pumping.  Oh, and taking Domperidone.  This helped increase my supply - stuff really works great!

I'm still trying to catch up to his current needs, but he has gained all the weight and more back and is doing great.  So, it's all worth it!  Hopefully, I can catch up with him and we can get rid of the formula and the pumping.  I persobnally can not stand pumping!  Can anyone say "MOOO".  To think that I was dreading it when I go back to work.  That will be a breeze compared to my current schedule!

Now, he just needs to work into a routine.  Any routine, really.  This woman would like to schedule in some sleep time!

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Monday, April 23, 2012

Souvenirs!!!!

Well, the fun is over and it is back to reality.  It was a BLAST! 

I even brought back a few souvenirs: 

1. A new pair of Tevas (an early Mother's day present to replace my oldies which have bit the dust)
2. Some great pics
3. A HORRIBLE sunburn!  

Who knew SPF 15 doesn't cut it when you spend hours by the pool in 95 degree weather?  

I am pretty sure any person...using their brain. Obviously...I was not :).

Aside from the burn, it was a great time.  

Friday we hit Zions National Park:

It could not have been better weather.
First stop....Lunch of course ;).  There were thousands of caterpillars everywhere!  Indiana would have been in Heaven!
After lunch we hit the shuttle.  Those poor white legs didn't stand a chance against the sun :)

First hike on the agenda: Emerald Pools

 Beautiful!

 Then onto The Grotto:


Finishing the day with Weeping Rock:


Good times!

Saturday we hit Red Rocks State Park where we hiked what I call the "Mini Narrows".  Unfortunately all of the photo proof of our death defying hiking, swimming and cliff jumping was lost when my sister gave her phone a bath in the hot tub after hiking :).  We are hoping some of the photos will survive!

To finish off the trip, the rest of Saturday and Sunday were spent lounging by the pool....Ahhhhh....

I returned home so sunburned I couldn't sleep.  

The one souvenir I could have lived without ;). 

How was your weekend?   Zions National Park, Zions, Weeping Rock,
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Friday, April 20, 2012

I'm OUT!!

I am outta' here!  Off to sunny skies, red rocks, 90 degree temperatures, laying out by the pool and NO KIDS!  It is a girls weekend away and we are heading for St. George!  Whoot whoot!

One of my favorite places to be in Utah (three seasons out of the year that is :)


For any of you blog readers out there looking for some free weekend hiking, the US National Park Service is offering free Admission to 100+ National Parks.  Everything's better when it's free!  

Check out the participating parks in your area HERE .

What are your weekend plans? 

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Thursday, April 19, 2012

Thursday

Jody, you are so lucky to be looking forward to the beach!  I'm so glad that you will finally be able to cross that off your list!
Here's where I was exactly a year ago today:


MAUI!











Ahhhhhhhh

Thanks for letting me take a walk down memory lane for a minute.  I would LOVE to be on the beach today.  Can you imagine what it would be like to live in such paradise?  Now don't get me wrong.  I would much rather be snuggling my sweet new little baby boy.  But, it would  sure be fantastic to be holding him while lounging on a veranda watching the waves roll in while sipping on a mai tai.  Wearing a sarong, of course.....I DID just have a baby.