Raising Baby Bee

Baby Bee turns 4!

2011-12-21T14:37:00.001-05:00

I can't believe it. I refuse to believe it. This is.not.happening. My baby bee is growing up and is no longer a baby. I know, I know... she'll always be my baby, but seeing her open presents on her own and for the first time be aware of gifts and of the party made me so happy but so sad.

Ok, enough of the sappy stuff - here's the good stuff.

We set off Saturday morning to head to the Brevard Zoo which has been a tradition for Natalie. We first started going on her 2nd birthday and have gone every year since.

This year, Christian, Anilyse and Grammy came with us!

Here's some photos of the day:

My diva - looking fierce

We love feeding this deer every time we go. She's so sweet!

Of course we HAD to feed the giraffes!

They had Christmas crafts set up around the park.

Natalie got another stuffed giraffe from the zoo (which is also a tradition). So, to date we have Daddy Giraffe (2nd birthday), Mommy Giraffe (3rd birthday), Baby Giraffe (gift from Aunt Jodi) and now Grammy Giraffe (4th birthday). My girl loves giraffes!

After the zoo, we drove home and put Nati down for a nap. We kicked it into high gear and decorated for her birthday party! This is the first year she was aware of parties and she was so excited!

This is the cutest little hat! She was grumpy when I took the picture - made it even cuter!

She loved this giraffe snuggle blankie and insisted in taking it immediately to her room to put on her bed!


Adding to her collection.

Yes, I'm a bad Mom, I got my Christmas baby a Christmas birthday cake. I'm told, that as she gets older, she will HATE any reference to Christmas associated with her birthday. Oh well. This year she LOVED it!

All in all, a great birthday! I'd say she had a great time! I'm slowly recovering from loosing my baby and am fulling embracing having a little girl! Can't wait for many more birthdays to come!

Favorite Things Party - 2011

2011-12-17T13:33:00.000-05:00

Because Sara of Thrifty Decor Chick asked me to, I'm going to share Volume #2 of my Favorite Things! (See Volume #1 here). I'm never at a loss for things that are "Fabulous" or "Amazing". Just ask my family - they say they're my buzz-word!

Without further ado.....

(1)

Firecracker Chocolate by Chuao Chocolatier

Oh Lord, Almighty! Where do I start with this one? Dark chocolate? check. Chipolte? check. Sea Salt? check. Popping candy? check. Wha......???? Yep, popping candy in chocolate. What an AMAZING concept! When you first bite, the creamy dark chocolate starts melting, then if you press the chocolate against the roof of your mouth, the popping candy start's it's magic and goes all "Pop Rocks" in your mouth. Then, once you swallow, if you wait about 5 seconds, the chipolte hits the back of your throat. Aah.... perfection. I received a sample in my Birchbox a few months ago and it was love at first bite. The best part? You can buy it at the WalMarts for about $3.00!

(2)

Seche Vite Top Coat by Seche

This is my required item for doing manicures at home! Seche Vite only takes about 10 minutes to totally dry my manicure. And since I typically do my nails in the evening, this means no more sheet prints! YIPPEE!!!!

(3)

Jordana Easyshine Lip Color

I found out about this gem about a month or so ago from Nouveau Cheap. Can you believe these are only $1.99??? What I love about these lip colors is that they are more of a sheer lip and very moisturizing. They also have fun smells - like the Berry Colada smells like berries and the Sugar Cookie smells like cookies!!! For the price, I'm able to stock up on several colors! LOVE THESE!!! They're available at Walgreens.

(4)

Parenthood

I saw a random episode of this show here and there, but after I ran out of my Glee episodes on Netflix, started on this series. I'm HOOKED! This NBC show is a spin off of the Steve Martin movie of the same title. It's the story of a typical family, each with their own dramas. But the common theme is that regardless of what each is going through, they are there to support each other. I laugh out loud so much from this show. Great for anyone with siblings - you'll definitely relate!

(5)

Big Bad Voodoo Daddy

Let's go Daddy-O!!!! How I love Big Bad Voodoo Daddy (BBVD)!!!! I started listening to them during my swing days and even got Hubby addicted to them as well! This band is so full of energy and kickin horns. They are truly the best show I've ever seen (and I've seen them about 5 times!!!). Their class and tight sound have me a fan for life (and I totally have a crush on Karl {the tenor sax player}). Here's a link to their website with a promo video that shows some of their best bits. BBVD is the total package – superior music, choreography, rhythm, passion, connection with the crowd.

So, there's a list of some of my recent favorites! Hope you enjoy and maybe find some new favorites of your own!

Influenster Holiday VoxBox has arrived!!!

2011-12-13T10:56:00.005-05:00

So, I'm a self professed sample-whore who loves to get things for free. When I found out about Influenster I wasted no time in going over, signing up, and collecting my badges. I learned back in early December that I had been selected to receive the 2011 Holiday VoxBox and I was stalking my mailbox nightly.

Well, my wait is over - it arrived yesterday!

It came in a plain white cardboard box with the cute little holiday Influenster logo on the top.

.... and what to my wondering eyes should appear......?

Inside was a pre-printed card with all the goodies on it and a brief description of each. Here's what I got to sample and review!

New York Color Liquid Lip Shine
"Straight from the city that never sleeps, New York Color's Liquid Lipshine is uptown style at a down-to-earth price. With pure pigments that create a 3-D gloss effect and vitamin E that provides shine and moisture, this product is perfect to keep lips looking and feeling fabulous this season. Comes in 10 shades from neutral nude, to berries and fuchsias."

First Impression - While this is not a new product to me, this is a new color. I received color #582 - Nude York City. I've already tested it this morning and will link the review here once I can type up the review!

imPress Press-On Manicure by Broadway Nails
"Introducing imPress, the revolutionary way to apply nail polish! Featuring advanced technology, you will get a salon-perfect manicure in seconds - simply peel off, press on, and you're done (no drying time!). imPress comes in 36 colors and patterns, including trendy brights, fun prints, classic darks and animal prints."

First Impression - This one I'm a bit skeptical about. I have very large nail beds and I just don't think they'll work well. I grabbed the largest one out and did a quick size comparison -

You can see the outline of my nail polish on the side of the press-on nail - and there's the same amount of space on the other side. I'll try them out and do a full review that I will link here.

Softsoap Coconut Scrub Bar Soap
"Renew your skin with NEW Softsoap Coconut Scrub bar soap. Enriched with crushed coconut extract, this bar soap gently exfoliates to renew your skin's surface, while helping retain natural moisture for soft, supple skin. Also comes in two other exotic fragrances: Juice Pomegranate & Mango Infusions and Sweet Honeysuckle & Orange Peel."

First Impression - while I'm not a fan of bar soaps or coconut smell, I'm curious to try this one out since it is "exfoliating". I'll link the full review here.

Montagne Jeunesse Face Mask
"Montagnue Jeunesse's face masks are jam packed with the most delicious natural ingredients and are bursting with luscious juice fragrances. Influensters will receive one of the following flavors: Strawberry Souffle, Cucumber Peel Off, Passion Peel Off, Dead Sea Mud, Fruit Smoothie."

First Impression - Well, I got the Fruit Smoothie and I'm pretty happy with the flavor choice I received. I have used these masks several times in the past and I just adore using them on a Friday night with a Lifetime Movie and a glass of red wine at hand. I'm curious to see how this particular one works. Although, I must say, the size is pretty small, so I may only be able to test one part of my face.

Mentos Pure Fresh Gum
"We're sure you know Mentos, but did you know they have a sugarfree gum? Whether it's before a holiday party, date or meeting, pop Mentos Pure Fresh Gum for a quick refresh! The crunchy outer shell conceals a green tea extract core that provides an immediate burst of coolness for long-lasting fresh breath. It's unique container keeps gum protected in your purse."

First Impression - I'm a sucker for packaging and I like that there's no wrapper to end up at the bottom of my purse. I'm not a huge gum chewer (I have TMJ), but I'll give it the old college try! I'll link the review here.

Larabar
"Made from only 2-9 ingredients, each LARABAR is a delicious blend of just fruits, nuts and spices. Pure and simple, just as nature intended. Larabar comes in 19 delicious flavors!"

First Impression - I received the Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip flavor. I do like that there's minimal, natural ingredients. I think I'll test this one out this afternoon at work! I'll link the review here.

Well, that's it for my box contents. Look for full reviews on each product soon!

Did you receive an Influenster Holiday VoxBox? What was in yours?!

Cafe de Bernard

2011-12-06T10:21:00.003-05:00

Well, I guess Bernard isn't shy about making new friends. It appears that he has quite the crush on Aurora and in a move to impress her, set up a dinner date on my kitchen island. The kids continue to get a kick out of his antics... and I'm having a harder and harder time thinking of ideas!!!

Do you have an Elf on the Shelf? What are some of the places he's shown up in your house?

Holiday VoxBox - Winter 2011

2011-12-05T14:11:00.003-05:00

I am such a sucker for samples - I simply adore trying out new things and finding new treasures I never knew I would like.

I recently signed up with Influenster and received my notification today that I was selected for the Holiday VoxBox - Winter 2011!

If you're not familiar, Influenster is a community of trendsetters invited to share their lifestyles and show their influence to qualify for personalized product shipments, special rewards and exclusive deals from the brands they love. Members love testing the latest products, giving insightful feedback, and spreading the word on their favorite finds!

They send out product sample boxes to select "Influensters" for sampling and review.

The email I received said the following:

In celebration of our official national launch, Influenster is arming our most influential members with some personal fun this season in the form of a special Holiday VoxBox. And we are so excited to pass along the good news that you have been officially selected to test, evaluate and recommend this batch of featured products!

VoxBoxes are shipping from Chicago via USPS on December 7th, so be on the lookout for your package after this date.

I'm looking forward to receiving my first Voxbox and will definitely share with all of you!

Are you a member of any sample programs? Are you a "sample whore" like me?!

Weekend Recap

2011-12-05T10:06:00.005-05:00

WHEW! What a weekend. Have you ever had such a hectic, busy weekend that you're thankful to get back to work on Monday morning just so you can sit down? Well I just had one of those weekends.

Mom came into town and we knocked out the rest of my Christmas and Natalie's Birthday shopping! I've never been done this early. I feel like I can actually breathe and enjoy Christmas now. I have no idea what to do with myself!!!

Bernard made his appearance all weekend, like clockwork. He showed up in Natalie's bedroom on her Christmas tree on Friday night, then under the tree on Saturday night putting the moves on Barbie.

Then..... last night.....

The little twerp defaced our family photo last night (luckily he grabbed an extra one I had laying around (which was too big for the frame, but I don't think the kids noticed). Natalie said "Naughty, naughty Bernard!!!" and told him she didn't like him drawing on her.

Mike decided that he liked Bernard hanging around, despite all his antics. Anilyse typically is a bear to wake up in the morning. Now all Mike has to do is say "Guess where Bernard is!" and she bolts up out of bed. He wants to know if we can keep him around all year!

On a separate topic, Natalie and I went to the mall last night to help her ease through the transition of Grammy leaving. She's been on that bungee trampoline thing one time before and wanted to do it again. Somehow, my 3-year old was able to teach herself how to do backflips! I'm still flabbergasted!

All in all, a great weekend. How are you on your Christmas shopping? Anyone else doing Elf on the Shelf? I'd LOVE to hear your Elf stories!

Elf - Day 4

2011-12-02T13:51:00.002-05:00

Darn that Elf! I woke up this morning (at 3:30 - thank you very much, Natalie) and found Bernard head-first into a bag of chocolate chips I had on the very top shelf of my pantry! Sneaky little Elf!!

The girls giggled so much when they woke up (Christian thought it was cool - he doesn't "giggle" anymore), then immediately asked if they could have some chocolate chips. Stinkers.

Christian also lost a tooth last night! Luckily, the Tooth Fairy made it to our house last night (last tooth he lost, she forgot to come and came on the 2nd night). Guess she made sure to hit our house first since she screwed up last year.

Those darn Elves and Fairies. They're more trouble than they're worth!

Away in a Manger

2011-12-01T16:53:00.001-05:00

I guess Bernard was getting lonely and went looking to make some friends. tee-hee. Anilyse found him first.

Scented Pinecone Wreath - Pinterest Inspiration

2011-12-01T09:38:00.006-05:00

Pinterest is not just a phenomenon, but an addiction. Any of you with a Pinterest account can attest. Pinning is like crack - we see a great idea, a beautiful design, a yummy recipe and it takes one click to add to our virtual stash, with the honest intention of making it soon.

I, for one, am horrible about actually completing my Pinterest projects. BUT, Thanksgiving morning, while Tom Turkey was in the oven, I broke out my glue gun, scented pinecones and $1 Walmart ribbon and created this (sorry for the crummy cell phone photo):

With inspiration from this pin:

source

I didn't take photos of the process, but it was very simple. I purchased two bags of scented pinecones from the Walmarts and a grapevine wreath. I simply hot glued the pinecones onto the wreath. For the ribbon, I tied two separate bows and tied them together, then hotglued the ribbon at random spots to make it flowy looking.

It smells HEAVENLY!!!!

Can I get an "AMEN!"?

What have you Pinned lately? Have you completed any of your Pins?

My Favorite Things - Nester Inspired

2011-11-30T10:01:00.001-05:00

After reading about Nester's favorite things on her blog, I was inspired to write my own Favorite Things post! I recently just shared a few items with a friend of mine, so in a way, I did my own, personal version of Favorite Things - Oprah Style!

First think I have to add is Caress Evenly Gorgeous (Burnt Brown Sugar & Karite Butter)

Last fall, I was on the hunt for that perfect fall/winter body wash, without having to shell out $20+ for Philosophy (who are known for their amazing holiday scents). I took an evening and went to Tar-jay and smelled every.single.body.wash on the shelf and came across this sweet gem. I heard it once described as smelling like the inside of a bakery - but I think it's less sugary smelling with more of a spice tone. The color is a beautiful, shimmery antique gold color, with beautiful brown exfoliating beads in it. I find the scent lingers on my skin for quite a few hours. Totally in love with how this smells and how it makes my skin feel so soft and smooth.

What list wouldn't be complete without some Lush products?

Cinders Bath Bomb is definately the BOMB! This only comes out with the Holiday collection - so definately stock up! The little red flakies you see are actually Pop Rocks! And, yes, I actually confirmed by tasting one - LOL. Lush products are just so darn.... well, lush, that they are defiantely a favorite.

This next one is naughty, naughty, naughty...

... and at *gulp* $45 is a huge splurge. BUT, I have never seen my foundation look better! I watched several reviews on Youtube about this and went to my local Chanel make-up counter to get a sample and I was hooked. I justify it by determining that it lasts me approximately 4 months (120 days) - which makes it come out to a mere $0.38 a day! What a bargain! And to top it off, they have a wide range of yellow-based colors which I find difficult to find.

Lastly, Birchbox has been a favorite for several months.

For those of you who don't know what Birchbox is - it's a monthly subscription service where for $10.00 per month (shipping included!) you get a goodie box sent to you filled with 4 - 6 deluxe size high-end beauty samples. I've found some wonderful products this way and I just love getting a box of goodies every month - it's like Christmas. One of the best parts, is that you earn points by referring friends, rating products and pruchasing full sized products. Once you collect 100 points, you get $10 to spend on their online store! Win-Win! If you're interested in Birchbox, click here to sign up!

I guess I've been gravitating a lot towards beauty products lately... Who knows, maybe next month I'll have a different category!

What are your Favorite Things? Have you shared them with anyone lately?

Bernard Strikes Again

2011-11-30T08:26:00.003-05:00

Well, it looks like our mischievous Elf is at it again. But last night, instead of flying home to the North Pole, he decided to help himself to my email account and send a message to Santa. Cheeky little Elf.

His message read as follows:

Dear Santa:

I wanted to email you a quick note while the family was asleep to let you know that I made it down here to Florida safe and sound and to let you know that I’m not going to fly back to the North Pole tonight.

I’m very tired from climbing their Christmas tree when I arrived yesterday, and I think I’ll wander around tonight and get used to my new home. I’ll make it back home tomorrow night, ok?

Everyone here has been sweet to me so far. Christian, Anilyse and Natalie all seem very nice – I think they’ll end up on your nice list. But, don’t worry, I’ll keep track and let you know if they end up being very naughty.

I remember the talk we had before I left the North Pole – about staying out of trouble. I’ll try very hard, Santa, but you know how much I love to play pranks.

See you tomorrow night!

Love,

Bernard the Elf

Wonder what he'll be up to tonight.......?

Thanksgiving

2011-11-29T16:41:00.003-05:00

We spent a very quiet Thanksgiving at home this year for the first time. I was so excited to finally cook my first Turkey and all the fixings. Although I did burn the rolls (which happens to everyone, right???) the meal was fantastic. I did miss spending the holiday with my parents, but I felt so grown-up having my first Thanksgiving dinner. Maybe we can get Mom and Dad to come to our house next year!

How was your holiday? Did you cook dinner or were you a guest?

Elf on the Shelf

2011-11-29T16:32:00.004-05:00

This year we joined in with, seemingly half of Pinterest members, and got our own Elf on the Shelf at Tar-jay.

Bernard showed up in the middle of the night, climbed our undecorated Christmas tree and left a note written by The Big Guy himself.

Here's what the note said:

"My Dear Sweet Christian, Anilyse and Natalie,

I have many, many children to watch this year and have sent a few of my elves to some very special homes to help me keep an eye on the children there. This magic elf will send me an e-mail or fly to the North Pole every night while you are sleeping to report to me. These elves help me make the naughty and nice list, so you can be sure that this elf is watching you! I’m sure you’ll be put on the nice list!

I hope you will take care of my little elf. His name is Bernard. He is a new elf and still has a lot to learn and he is so excited to be visiting your home! But, be careful, some elves are known to get into some trouble or go on some great adventures!

Remember to be gentle. Although he is a magic elf, he is very delicate. You can talk to him (he is a very good listener) but must not play with him. Too much handling will cause him to lose his magic!

On Christmas Eve, when I deliver your toys, I will bring your little elf back to the North Pole with me. If you have done a good job taking care of my precious elf, I might send him to visit you again next year!

Love and kisses,
Santa

p.s. Please don’t forget to leave me milk and cookies on Christmas Eve! I loved the ones you left me last year! Prancer especially liked the carrots!"

The kids didn't know what to think about him at first - Natalie was cranky from waking up and wanted nothing to do with him, Christian seemed dubious and Anilyse thought it was very cool. We'll see what they say about him tonight when they've had a chance to mull it all over today at school.

I'm looking forward to seeing what Bernard does tonight!

Halloween

2011-10-03T08:32:00.000-04:00

What a great night we had for Halloween this year! The kids were so excited. We met over at our neighbor's house for dinner (thanks Ang!) and then headed out to get our candy on.

Great new blog

2010-02-15T09:08:00.002-05:00

I've recently jumped into the 21st Century by starting a Google Reader account. How did I live without it?! I stumbled upon a blog with TONS of inspiration called http://www.centsationalgirl.com/ The decorating she can do on such a budget is AMAZING.

This makes me want to run to Goodwill PRONTO!

She's having a wonderful give away on her blog this week - check it out.
http://www.centsationalgirl.com/2010/02/the-vintage-pearl-giveaway/

The company is called The Vintage Pearl and features hand made jewlery which is positively GORGEOUS.

Check her out!

Playing Catch-up

2009-09-02T12:39:00.018-04:00

Wow, it's been ages since I've updated (6 months actually). So much has been going on. Christian and Anilyse left for the summer to spend time at their Mom's house. It was a nice break, but it's good to have them back home. They started school last week.

Well, let's start back 6 months ago, shall we?

Natalie started swimming again in Grammy's pool and was really having a good time with it. We had a hard time finding a floatie suit that would fit her itty-bitty body!

Um... can you say OUCH?!?!?!

(So here are a few more photos in chronoligical order of this catch-up post)
April 19th:

So, then in the begining of May, we found our city's community pool has a splash pad.

I know... right?

She hated the hat. Stinker.

Christian was a bit alusive on this particular trip. He was too busy trying to wrestle the water cannon out of some punk kid's hands.

Some more random photos from May:

Natalie started eating at the table with her brother & sister.

Anilyse made this wonderful fashion statement.

Natalie made a statement of her own (see the diaper??). Don't ask.

And the triumphant debut of the pigtails!

We hit the splash pad again at the end of May (and again with the bee suit, which Daddy this is cruel and unusual punishment):

Then at the begining of June I bought a potty for the bathroom because Natalie showed an interest of sitting down on the scale and reading while I was, ahem, going potty. So.....

She hasn't gotten the hang of it yet.

We braved the heat took a few trips to the park while Bubba & Sissy were gone:

Then 4th of July came around. We spent the day at Grammy & Grampy's house in the pool. We have found a floatie suit that fits her well now and she swims all by herself like a fish!

And these are just a few of her acting silly:

Then we met Aunt Jodi and counsin Ashley in Orlando at Downtown Disney and stayed in Port Orleans!

Then Christian and AJ came back from North Carolina and had lots of snuggle time with everyone!

WTF?

2009-03-22T20:46:00.000-04:00

Edith Ann?

2009-03-15T20:37:00.001-04:00

I see a resemblance...

Expressions

2009-03-14T20:41:00.000-04:00

I forgot to post these photos. I took some self portraits of me and Nati one day. She was rather curious and perplexed by the whole thing. Her expressions in this crack me up.

Morning

2009-03-07T08:30:00.001-05:00

Anyone else have this kind of morning?

New Blog

2009-03-03T15:47:00.004-05:00

For years I've been tinkiering at having a home business. I started "Little Bee Custom Designs" unofficially back in 2002. I've made dozens of invitations, announcements and other stationery since then, mainly for family members and friends. I did have a few actual paying customers along the way who I didn't know! How exciting!

I recently completed some shower invitations for a dear friend of mine and the Little Bee bug stung me again. I've decided to start back up and see where this takes me.

I started a blog to show a few designs and to give me a bit of a web presence.
The address is
http://littlebeecusstomdesigns.blogspot.com

Very brief update

2009-03-03T15:39:00.004-05:00

Things have been moving at such a fast pace lately! Natalie is growing like a WEED. Here's some recent photos of her. She's having such a great time at this age. Developementally she hasn't hit any big milestones lately. She still has only 4 teeth, she's not talking too much - she makes the sounds dada, baba, yaya, eee and tttttssssssssstttttttttthhhhhh (how do you spell that??)

She LOVES playing on our swingset outside... Here's a video of her going down the slide all by herself!

I also have a video of her climbing up the ladder to the slide by herself too! WHEW... this child is MOVING!!!

January Desktop

2009-01-09T09:36:00.000-05:00

Weaning - Step #1

2008-12-24T12:56:00.000-05:00

Well, I just had my last pumping session. I'm a bit sad.. but not much. I've always loved breastfeeding, but haven't had that same relationship with my pump.

I plan on taking this forced vacation from work to wean. Natalie has been taking her bottles with half breastmilk and half Lactaid whole milk (she didn't react well to the plain milk) for the past few weeks. She will even take the bottle of just Lactaid. We will still nurse at nap and bedtime as long as my supply will hold out. She doesn't drink a lot at that time anyway, it's mainly a comfort thing.

My supply has been in the toilet for the past 4 - 5 months anyway. It's been a real struggle to make it to this point. I've been taking a medication that I had to buy from some Pacific rim country over the internet that induced lactation. I had to take two pills, 3 times a day. It was very expensive.

I'm so happy that I was able to make it a year. It was my long term goal. I'm not going to miss pumping at all, but it is a precursor to weaning totally. Hopefully I'll be able to last another month or so. When I quit nursing her all together, I will be very sad.

Nursing has been such a joy in my life. It's been amazing to see how big and chunky she's grown, all on mommy's milk. I treasure the quiet times we've spent nursing. There's nothing sweeter than nursing your baby to sleep after a long day. I've truly enjoyed every minute and hope someday my daughter will experience the same joy with her child.

Not so Happy Birthday

2008-12-21T18:50:00.002-05:00

Oh my god. This whole weekend has sucked SO BAD. I've been on the verge of tears (and in tears) all weekend.

The kids (my kids and my sisters kids) were screaming and running around and my nerves were SHOT. Natalie was very fussy all night. She could have cared less about tearing the paper on her presents and when I tried to get her to sit with me and try to tear the paper she screamed.

So, after dinner we tried the cake smashing and she screamed (not cried... screamed) the whole time. She never even stuck her hand in there. We finally tried to take her hand and tried to put it in the cake but she screamed even harder, then she grabbed the cake and threw it on the ground. We picked it back up and but it on the highchair and put her hands in it. She was basically a huge pain in the ass the entire day.

To say this isn't how I expectected my daughter's first birthday to play out would be an understatement.

I took her to Sears this morning to have her 1 year pictures taken. Luckily I took Mom with me too. Natalie wouldn't hold still at all. She won't sit, she won't stand, she RUNS, then screams. We were lucky to get these photos. She finally sat down for a second while we snapped the cake photos. I gave her her bottle and that's the only way we were able to get her to sit.

Just what I wanted... a photo of my daughter, who I have breastfed for a year, to have her photo taken with a bottle (even though it is breastmilk in there). And on top of it - the photos SUCK. They're out of focus and the backgrounds are all wrinkled. I bought a CD with a photo release so I can try to edit them. I know it's Sears... but shit, if you're going to do photography, then do it right! Guess I've been spending too much time at [URL="http://www.ilovephotography.com"]http://www.ilovephotography.com[/URL]

1 Year Ago Tonight

2008-12-19T00:18:00.007-05:00

1 year ago tonight, I had no clue how my life would change. I went to bed early swollen, tired, achy, bloated and still 6 days from my due date. 1 year ago, at 2:00 am tonight (or I guess technically tomorrow the 19th), I started going into labor.

I really didn't think I'd get crazy emotional until her actual birthday, but as I nursed and rocked my baby girl to sleep tonight, I started crying, thinking about where I was, one year ago.

God blessed me with an angel, a beautiful little girl who I love more than anything in this world.

Here's my story of 1 year ago tonight

Dec 18 2007, 10:09 PM

Well - I think this crazy ride is starting. Been having some irregular contractions since 2:00 today and they're getting stronger. Still not patterned yet, but something's DEFINATELY brewing. Think I started loosing my plug - just went potty and had some blood tinged stuff and some bits of mucasy/snotty clots.

So.... Heading to bed (with a towel under me) :lol and I'll update tomorrow!

Cross your crossables!!!!!

December 19th –
I started having contractions around 2:00 am (they woke me out of a sound sleep)- averaging about 10 minutes apart. Around 4:30 am, Mike got up and we started seriously timing them. They were averaging about 5 - 7 minutes and about 1 min long by that point and they hurt!!
During this time I did a few loads of laundry, cleaned the bedroom, etc...

Lost my mucus plug around 5:00 am - wow, that was weird. It was like 2 HUGE blood clots. And they looked like blood clots too. Really red and full of blood. When I wiped, it was really really bloody too. Everything I had heard said "blood tinged". This was not tinged!!!!

After the 2nd part of the plug, the bleeding stopped, then about an hour later, started trickling again. Went ahead and called the doc on call who was an ASS. I told him there was a decent amount of blood and I was concerned. He said "how much blood". I said "like when I'm on my period - a heavy flow". And he said "ok.... so... how much??!!" UGH! He was getting annoyed that I couldn't convey exactly how much. So he told me that with the contractions being that close together, to come on in and get evaluated. That was about 6:15 am or so.

Mike left to take Christian and AJ to their grandparents house (they were leaving that afternoon to head to North Carolina to be with their Mom for Christmas), He got back, we finished packing our bags and headed to the hospital.

We got to the hospital around 9:00 am or so. They hooked me up to the monitor and said I was definitely contracting and in labor, but was only 1 cm dilated, but 90% effaced. Even though they were 5 minutes apart and very intense, my lack of dilation and because my water hadn’t broken, they sent me home. We left there around 11:00 am with the nurses guessing they’d see me later that night.

We stopped by Cracker barrel for lunch – I could barely eat. I must have been a sight! I was doing my breathing and clutching my belly the whole time! Got home and I camped out on the couch.

Around 6:00 pm, the pain started getting REALLY REALLY bad so we headed back to the hospital. I was 5 cm at that point and they took it as a good sign that I progressed so quickly. My water broke almost immediately after we got set up in the room. They gave me the epidural and we waited. Mom and Dad showed up and waited as well. Periodic checks throughout the night showed my progress had slowed considerably. I remember sincerely thanking everyone who came in the room to check on me. I used my “yes ma’am”s and apologized whenever I felt I was inconveniencing anyone. Mom and Mike kept laughing at me. None of us slept worth a crap, and by early morning Dad had to leave to head to work.

December 20th

Around 3:00 am or so (??), they had determined that my contractions weren’t making any progress, so they turned off epidural and gave me Pitocin to help speed things along. Around 6:00 am, I was barely 10 cm and was allowed to start pushing (the whole time saying “yes ma’am” and “please” and “thank you” – it was rather comical. The nurses said I was the most polite woman in labor they’d seen!). Mike was counting me through the pushes – and at one point he had to take a break to go to the bathroom. I could hear him counting loudly from the bathroom for me (I love that man).

My hemrroids were horrible. There was one nurse who’s job was to put pressure on my bum to keep them from getting worse – poor nurse. At one point the doctor came in and said he didn’t really like the progress that was being made, and that Natalie’s heartbeats were dropping during my contractions. If she didn’t come out soon, I’d be getting a c-section. For a few moments I gave up hope – I remember I said “I can’t do this” and came SOOOOO close to asking for the c-section. Remember, I’d been in labor since 2 am the day before – 31 hours).

I was terribly bloated from pushing and probably from labor in general. I had burst blood vessels in my eyes from pushing so hard – but at the time I was pushing I didn’t care – I wanted her OUT! I couldn’t focus on anything without closing one eye and oh… my tushy. Ouchie.

Mike helped me through it and about ½ hour later Natalie was starting to crown. She had started coming out sunny-side up and they had to turn her as she was crowning. At 9:33 am, Natalie Joyce Sullivan came screaming into the world.

It was all worth it though when they placed her in my arms. That first moment when she looked at me and I held her I was completely in love. This little person that poked me tirelessly during the past nine months was here and I finally had a face to the love I’d had in my heart. She was perfect.

Visiting Santa

2008-12-18T13:44:00.004-05:00

Last week, we loaded the kids up in the car and headed down to the local mall to visit Santa. The line was long, so Mike took Christian and Anilyse off to the book store occasionally to help with the boredom. Finally, the time came to see the Big Red Man.

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't half hoping for Natalie to scream and cry at him. There's nothing cuter than a little baby crying on Santa's lap. Christian and AJ cozied right up to him and talked his ear off, then we put Nati on his lap. She squirmed bcause she wanted to get down. They finally snapped this photo.

Dont' get me started on the quality of this photo. I spent $20 on this damn thing. I wanted a refund when it printed out.

Twas the Night Before Christmas

2008-12-11T15:22:00.001-05:00

TWAS THE BREASTFEEDER’S NIGHTTIME
By Andi Silverman, www.mamaknowsbreast.com

‘Twas a holiday eve and the babe was asleep,
Swaddled tight in his crib he made not a peep.
My boobs were depleted from feeding all day.
“Please don’t wake. Sleep all night,” to the babe I did pray.

But his lips, how they moved, as he lay in his bed.
Visions of milky breasts danced in his head.
Dad in his boxers and I in my sweats,
Could we get some shuteye? Go ahead, place your bets.

The moon on the breast of my t-shirt did glow,
Gave a luster to leaking spots set to grow.
My nursing pads were soaked, they fell out of place.
My bra had unsnapped. How I missed sexy lace.

For months I’d been feeding our babe everywhere.
Coffee shop, park bench, museum, movie chair.
All my modesty gone, nothing shy anymore.
If the kiddo was crying, I knew how to score.

And now with the holidays, things often got dire.
While out buying gifts, I sometimes drew ire.
I breastfed in clothing stores. Changing rooms rock.
I breastfed in bookstores. To the stacks I did flock.

When from the babe’s room there arose such a clatter.
We sprang from our bed to see what was the matter.
Away to his room we flew with a flash,
Threw open the door, in the dark I did crash.

What a klutz I can be, ‘twas those bags made me fall.
Sacks for our trip, all arranged in the hall.
We were going to Grandma’s, a five hour drive.
Holiday time—Will I make it alive?

One big huge duffle held all the babe’s stuff.
Diapers, wipes, onesies. Did I bring enough?
Now don’t forget burp cloths, crib sheets and toys.
Books and Bjorn, we’ll exhibit such poise.

On breast pump, on bottles, on stroller and boppy.
On car seat, on cradle, on blanket and binky.
Fill the back of the car, fill the trunk with our haul.
And we’ll drive away, drive away, drive away all.

Now don’t forget stopping to feed long the way.
Gas stations, McDonalds and rest stops, oy vey.
Of course there’ll be lots of those diapers to do.
Get out the Purell, you’ll be covered in poo.

When we finally arrive, now what will await?
Lots of food and embraces, it’ll be really great.
No, no one will not fight. I will not shed a tear.
Ok, a white lie— but rejoice in who’s here.

And what about wine or a champagne or two?
Will it make my milk bad? Old wives tale or true?
And will anyone say, “Can he now take a bottle?”
“How long will you breastfeed?” How these questions can throttle.

Now back to that “clatter,” the babe and that noise.
We had rushed right on in, leaping over the toys.
When what to our wondering eyes did appear,
Our babe still asleep, oh how sweet, oh how dear.

His cheeks, how they glistened, his hair soft and furry.
And I smiled when I saw him, despite all my worry.
How delicious, his belly, moving in and then out.
How precious, his lips in a sweet little pout.

He had not woken up! He did not need to eat.
He had had quite enough, his day quite complete.
And so back to our bed we did quietly crawl.
Happy Holidays to one, happy sleeping to all.

Christmas Parades

2008-12-08T13:10:00.003-05:00

What a HECTIC weekend! My company participated in TWO holiday festivals and parades this weekend, one on Saturday, the other on Sunday. I, as the company appointed cruise director, was there for the entire event, both days.

Ugh. My bells are tired of jingling.

Here is our tent set up at the Port St. Lucie Festival.

We were selling raffle tickets for a child's playhouse that we built. The proceeds of the raffle benefit Big Brothers Big Sisters!

Here's Yours Truly, the head elf. Yes, I look ridiculous, but the hat was W.A.R.M.! Vanity goes out the window when it's 60º with a strong breeze. I look a little thick in the middle from the 14 shirts I was wearing under the jacket. Not really, but kinda...

We had a good time doing bean bag tosses with the kids that were at the festival. This little girl was ADOREABLE!

And Natalie got to be in her very first parade! She wore those adoreable antlers for both parades! She got so many OOHs and AAHs, it was adoreable. My boss got tons of photos on his camera, but he's in Georgia now with his camera card. Pffftt.... I'll have them on Wednesday.

Catching up

2008-12-04T08:44:00.007-05:00

Wow, it's been a while since I last posted. I'm going to blame it on the stress of the holidays and the stress of a near one-year old! To make up for it, I started this post with a new little photo gem from Thanksgiving. Isn't it great?

A LOT has happend lately. As you know, I wrecked my car and well, it ended up being totaled. I took Mike's car (Kia Rondo) and he went out and bought a used pick up. We're all happy now. The Rondo is SO much easier to get Natalie in and out of!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Work has been crazy, as I'm the self-proclaimed "Cruise Director" and I kick into high gear around the holidays. Our company, Paul Jacquin & Sons, is doing something really neat for the holidays!

Our guys built a child's playhouse and we're going to raffle it off to benefit Big Brothers Big Sisters. This thing is NICE! We've already raised a bunch of money! We're entering it in the two local holiday parades this weekend and we even have a booth to sell more tickets.

You can see the playhouse on our website www.pjsi.com. If you're local, please come out on the weekend and buy some tickets! Or, contact me and I can get you some tickets. Tickets are $5.00 each or 5 for $20.00! 100% of the proceeds benefit BBBS!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Natalie turned 11 months on November 20th. Can you believe it? Time is FLYING. She's getting to be such a big girl. She's been walking for months and is all over the house. She's a very active little girl! She's eating like a champ and is very good with table foods. We only do "baby food" on a rare occasion. Her favorites are diced tomatoes, sweet potatoes, diced chicken, tiny broccoli florettes, and her day care even has her eating beans (yucky!). She's a good healthy eater. We're starting to sneak whole milk in on her occassionaly in preparation of weaning at 1 year, but she is wise on us and doesn't like it. I have a feeling weaning may take some time. We'll still nurse at night, but I want to stop pumping and get her on cow's milk during the day.

She's still pretty slow on talking. Her first sound was "Ba" and has graduated on to "Da" and sometimes "Ga". She's just not in a hurry to talk. Go figure.

We are a bit concerned with her legs. She's always been a bit bowleged and pigeon toed since she was born, but we figured as she started walking they would straighten out. Well, they really haven't. She's also having a bit of problems walking sometimes, tripping over her toes. We're keeping a close eye on them. I had orthopedic problems at birth as well and I know that at a young age, it can be corrected very easily. We're going to give it a few more months before we look into it more.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I took the kid's christmas photos a few weekends ago in the garage. I got hundreds of photos of them not loooking at me, and the ones where they did look at me they were making funny faces. Here are the two photos that will make the Christmas Card this year!

I promise I'll start getting better at updating on a regular basis!

Just call me Annie Oakley

2008-11-24T10:26:00.003-05:00

This weekend, our company had our 1st Annual "Turkey Shoot". It was so much fun! No actual turkeys were harmed during this shoot, but we did blast lots of holes in turkey shaped targets! I was tasked with being the shoot's photographer (whee!!). I was so surprised to see Dr. Punger and her boys there!

Let's hope there is a 2nd Annual Turkey Shoot next year!

Elf Yourself

2008-11-19T15:53:00.002-05:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

This is me and my co-workers. I'm the elf with the glasses!

Wordless Wednesday

2008-11-19T08:50:00.001-05:00

F@#&%+!!!!!!!

2008-11-03T16:39:00.002-05:00

Q & A:

Yes, I'm fine.

No, Nati wasn't with me (thank God!).

Yes, I have good insurance.

No, the other person didn't have insurance (or a driver's license, or probably citizenship)...

Yes, I had to stop the other driver from fleeing the scene.

No, I didn't get a ticket! :)

Yes, it was my fault.

No, I wasn't playing on my Blackberry (honest!!!).

Yes, the car is driveable.

Any other questions???????

HapBee Halloween

2008-11-01T15:06:00.002-04:00

Yup... my little bee was a Bee. I think she looked adoreable! I'm getting horrible photos of her lately, as she's WONT HOLD STILL! Oh well.. bad photos are better than no photos.

Happy Halloween

2008-10-31T10:47:00.001-04:00

Here's Nati when I dropped her off at daycare this morning. I think she looked so cute. The pants even glo in the dark! hehe...

I'll be back tomorrow with her halloween costume pics.

Guess what she's going to bee??? :)

Baby it's Cold Outside!

2008-10-28T09:21:00.002-04:00

Aah... Fall has finally come to South Florida. The weather is glorious! Temperature this morning outside my cozy home was a balmy 53º. I LOVE fall.

I've got so much to write about, I've just been in a bit of a blog-funk. I'll hopefully start writing back up again soon.

One cute milestone though...

Mommy's Time Out

2008-10-17T23:55:00.001-04:00

I've been a bad girl. I need to go to time out.

Please....?

Just for a little while???

The Boys are Back in Town...

2008-10-14T13:32:00.002-04:00

... and us girls too! :)

We had a great time visiting Grannie in Tennessee. We spent a lot of time outdoors and had lots of cuddle time. Here are a few photos from our trip!

Leavin on a Jet Plane

2008-10-08T15:53:00.002-04:00

Well, we're off on our vacation to Tennessee to see Grannie (Mike's mom). We fly out of Orlando tonight at 9:00. Hopefully Natalie will do good on the plane and hopefully her Mommy doesn't get too frazled!

I Do My Little Turn on the Catwalk

2008-10-06T09:55:00.005-04:00

Natalie and I had a great time yesterday with Denise of Peonies Baby Slings. She asked us if we would like to model a limited edition sling for her website. Of course we said yes! I purchased a sling from her about 6 months ago and have been in love with it since. She uses a fabric for the sling that is so soft and flowy. It's nice and cool in this Southern climate and always looks crisp and pretty.

Here's a screenshot of her website with our photo. She emailed me some other photos she took.

It was such a fun thing to do with my daughter and what a neat thing to put in her baby book. It was especially nice to have some good photos of me and Natalie - it seems I'm always the one behind the camera!

9 Months Old! (9 days late)

2008-09-29T12:04:00.004-04:00

I'm getting better at taking her photos on her actual birth-date each month, but getting horrible at posting them! These were taken on her birth-date (20th). It's really fun to go back to look at each month and see how much she's changed, but how much she still looks the same!

She's getting increasingly harder to photograph lately, and with the increased demands of having 3 childre, a husband, two rotten cats and a house to (try) to take care of... this is the best we could pull off this month!

Although.... I'm possibly going to have some really great photos taken pretty soon with me and Natalie. Very exciting! Stay tuned!!!

Growing so big

2008-09-28T15:35:00.002-04:00

It seems that everytime I turn around, Natalie is growing by leaps and bounds. Rather than being sad that my baby is growing up, I'm reveling in this time of her life. It's so exciting to see her grow and change and discover new things. I'm just so proud of her!

Her newest trick made it's debut at yesterday's La Leche meeting. Mike has been working with her for about a week on clapping, and yesterday she did it by herself! She's been doing it a lot since. It's so amazing to see her start showing individuality and choosing to do things on her own, like clapping.

At one point this morning, she was walking across the family room, saying "Ba, ba, ba" and clapping her hands all at the same time. I about exploded!

A Welcome Distraction

2008-09-23T20:19:00.002-04:00

I came home from work tonight, obviously upset, and Natalie gave me no choice but to smile.

Her onesie is unsnapped because I just changed her and was on my way to give her a bath (me being lazy....)

Grampie John

2008-09-22T09:06:00.004-04:00

My grandfather, Grampie John, is in the hospital this morning after breaking a hip on Friday afternoon. He's been suffering from Alzheimer's for a few years, and has been miserable since my Grandmother died about 5 years ago (from complications brought on after a broken hip).

He had surgery on Sunday morning and has been having complications ever since. His systems are shutting down and he's in a great deal of pain. They don't expect him to live much longer.

Please keep him in your prayers. Please pray that he starts to feel relief from the pain, pray that he is able to recognize the loved-ones around him and feel comforted and loved by their presence. And please pray that he is able to pass without fear and without pain.

Thank you,
-d

Update - 9/23/08
Grampie John has passed away. He was in a lot of pain for a days, but he was comfortable when he passed. I'll miss you Grampie.

I received a very touching email from a dear friend.... I hope he doesn't mind me putting it here.

"I will always remember Grampie John because he gave me hope about growing older. You bunch of girls all went shopping at the mall. Myself and Grampie John sat on a bench while the hens all went inside the foo foo store. I asked Grampie John if he ever gets bored going "out shopping" with this group and looking at stupid stuff. He says in his old man voice.. "Naw.. I sit out here on the bench and look at the pretty YOUNG girls walk by... like that one.." Grampie motioned to a twenty year old hottie dressed to thrill...

He stared at her like an old toothless junkyard dog stares at a raw steak. I know his mind was snapping and firing and his blood was moving.

I thought to myself.. Hmm so the zest for Life, Love and Lust will live on even when I am an old man sitting on the bench in the mall wearing baby blue pants, a lime green shirt and black socks with sandals.

Somehow that made growing old a little less scary to me that day."

Please Tell Me I'm Not the Only One...

2008-09-17T13:02:00.007-04:00

... to be this anal retentive

... and I most certainly don't eat them by color so I have the same amount of each color left.

That would just be crazy.

I mean, if I were to do that, then obviously, blue would be first since there's more of that color than any other. Then, it would be a wild toss-up between blue, yellow and brown, since they all have 3 each (one more than orange, green and red). Once blue, yellow and brown all have two, making all colors have equal numbers, then logically, it would be one of each color until there's only one left of each color. Then you can get wild and crazy and eat in any order.

IF I did that sort of thing.

Walk this Way!

2008-09-11T19:21:00.002-04:00

Are you Ready For Some Football?

2008-09-11T14:56:00.003-04:00

Natalie's ready for the season... Can you guess who she's rooting for?

Seven Wordless Wednesdays

2008-09-10T08:42:00.006-04:00

Pastor Ryan is having a Sevens Challenge today. Being lazy and Wednesday, I've done a Wordless Wednesday with some random favorite pics. Enjoy!

Post your own Sevens blog post too! Come on... you know you want to!

Ooh... Did She Just Say the "F" Word?

2008-09-09T08:32:00.002-04:00

For weeks, nay, months, I've been having milk supply issues due mostly to the fact that Natalie is constantly on the go. She's never been a really hearty nurser, mainly when she's tired or in the middle of the night. I've been keeping up good with my pumping at work, but slacking off at home. Now that she's not nursing hardly at all at home, it's really catching up to me. She's still taking approximately 16 ounces at daycare, plus eating two meals of solids there. She shouldn't be that hungry! My daycare provider says she has a huge appetite during the day and screams when it's time to eat.

At home on the weekends, she doesn't nurse much - certainly not the equivalent of 16 ounces, and does ok on her solids. She seems filled and contented. I just can't figure how she's eating so much during the week! In the evenings, she's not all that interested in dinner, and doesn't nurse until LATE evening, sometimes midnight. I try to nurse her when I get home and throughout the evening. She'll take a few drinks then wiggles away to play.

I started taking Domperidone a few months ago and stopped taking it once my supply came back up. Lately I started taking it agin when my period returned last month and stopped once my supply rebounded to a sufficient level. Now it's in the toilet again. It seems like my supply is slowly stepping down - it will decrease and I'll get it back up to an acceptable level where it will plateau for a bit, only to decrease some more.

Now the situation is getting dire. I'm pumping maybe 8 ounces a day. I tried pumping this morning after all night of not nursing (she slept from midnight through morning). I got 1-1/2 ounces per breast.

I'm defeated (and deflated). I've been fighting this for months and the stress has gotten worse and worse. We're so close to 12 months and being able to start her on whole milk...

I'm starting to think I need to think about getting some formula to feed her these last 3 months.

*sigh*

Baby Wearin' Daddy

2008-09-02T19:19:00.002-04:00

I was cooking dinner tonight when Mike came around the corner like this. I chuckled with glee, then ran to grab my camera and ushered him outside to take his photo.

He figured out how to put the sling on all by himself. Can you tell? hehe...

What a good Daddy!

This is Nucking Futs

2008-09-02T10:00:00.001-04:00

Really?

Ok... seriously... this is getting to be a bit much.

Hush a Bye

2008-09-01T21:17:00.004-04:00

Natalie's movement alarm went off about 15 minutes after I put her in her crib. It will often do this if she's way off on the edge of the mattress (it just doesn't seem to pick up way over there).

This is what I found when I rushed in there (yes, she was fine). My child is too funny.

"Natalie"

2008-09-01T08:39:00.005-04:00

On her prescription, it says:

“Give ‘Natalie’ one teaspoonful by mouth.”

"Natalie”?

Why the quotation marks? Like someone thought we were joking? Like, “Nataliiieeeee” right. “‘Natalie,’ I get it. Wink, wink.”

"No one would name their kid that. That’s definitely a pseudonym. Put it in quotes.”

She won't hold still!

2008-08-29T14:34:00.003-04:00

Maybe she's a budding photographer??

Hey, Daddy has an idea, let's put a toy on a fishing pole. (can you see the fishing line? hahaha)

Oh yea... that won't distract her AT ALL.

Mom, is all this really necessary?

Ooh.. that look could peel paint!

8 months

2008-08-29T14:32:00.001-04:00

Wow... I'm severely late posting these. I was also late taking these. She's a few days past 8 months in these shots. They've been my toughest shots to take to date, as she just won't sit still right now. I'll post in a minute with some out-takes and a funny story on how we had to do this shoot.

In the meantime... here's my little sweetie:

My Husband is Amazing

2008-08-27T11:42:00.003-04:00

Knowing that I had such a miserable night, my husband surprised me with these at my office yesterday.

He also went to Walgreens at midnight last night to get me some (nursing approved) cold medicines for this wonderful cold I now have.

I love him so much.

Working Mother - Keeping it Real

2008-08-27T08:51:00.003-04:00

Thanks for all the lovely comments ladies. You're all an amazing bunch of women, some of who I've had the pleasure to meet. Your dedication to your babies is awe-inspiring.

But.... thing's aren't always what they seem.

I had a major break-down two nights ago (the day I wrote the post below). I just couldn't do it any longer and I snapped. Days and months of hardly any sleep, a very cranky teething child, two younger children (try) to keep up with, a husband to love and cherish, and a job which is particularly stressful at the moment finally all got to me. I was reading in a working nursing mother book that said this kind of "break down" typically occurs around 6 months... guess I held out a little longer.

I lost patience with my daughter, I stormed around the house and snapped at the kids and my wonderful husband and retreated to my peaceful, secluded bedroom to cry. The post I wrote was a cry-out for me. I way for me to get out what I was feeling and to physically show myself why all this stress was happening. I have chosen a more difficult parenting route, but all night I wondered, does Natalie really know the difference? When she's my age, will she feel sorry for me that, in my efforts to give her the best I could, Mommy "lost it"? I know if my mother told me she went through the same thing, I'd feel horrible.

But.... all parenting is selfless. If it's not these issues, it will be others. I'm sure this isn't the last time that I will need to have a good cry and a break-down. Parenting is hard stuff and the pain and worry we put ourselves through for our children is part of the deal.

At the end of the day all I have to do is to look into that beautiful, chubby little face and see her smile at me, her Mommy, to make it all worthwhile and to recharge my spirit.

Working Mother

2008-08-25T09:18:00.004-04:00

I did some reflecting this weekend, in between trying to comfort a fussy, teething baby, about how I've chosen to mother my child. I'm pleased to say that I haven't had to compromise much of what I wanted for my daughter.

Originally, while I was still pregnant, I new I wanted to breastfeed my daughter as long as I possibly could. I went into her birth knowing I would, but still bought a few cans of formula "as a back-up". I tried her on formula twice in the first few weeks. Since then, she has been exclusively been breastfed or drinking expressed breastmilk during daycare. My first goal was 3 months - and it came and went, then 6. My next goal is 9 months. I broke up my goals to give me some short-term milestones to reach and to congratulate myself with. My ultimate goal is 1 year at which time I'll wean her onto cow's milk during the day and probably nursing at night and for comfort for a few more months after that (or as long as my supply lasts).

I really have no desire to nurse her into toddlerhood (although I applaud women who do), it's just really not my thing. Pumping has been very hard and very demanding and I really do look forward to hanging up my pump horns. I savor the times when I nurse Natalie, although she's more than often fussy and squirmy, which makes it hard to have that magical bonding time. We rarely have a quiet, peaceful nursing session. Through it all, though, I know I'm giving my best for my child and I haven't had to compromise my wishes and desires for her.

The same is true now with baby food. My daycare provider really started me on this one. She makes all her own baby food. I figured if I was putting forth the effort to breastfeed her because it was so much better for her, then why would I want nothing less for her once she started whole food? Again, making her food is demanding of my time, but I can see already the rewards. Natalie is learning what food actually tastes like instead of eating jarred food that tastes nothing like the real thing (everyone remember that horrid game of "guess the baby food" played at baby showers?). I'm hoping that this will help her gain healthy eating habits and have her eating a wider range of foods into toddlerhood and beyond.

I realized the demand these things take on my time this weekend. When I wasn't comforting a fussy baby I was pumping (because she wasn't eating well) or making baby food to freeze when I really wanted to just sit down and read a book. I'm exhausted, but my baby has a full belly - my milk and wholesome food in the freezer and she's HAPPY.

So... I am able be a working mother AND still be able to provide for my daughter without compromising. Are there other things I could do like cloth diapering, etc...? Sure... but I'm exhausted. I've made my list of my absolutes and I have to make peace that these things will be enough.

BBVD!

2008-08-22T08:43:00.004-04:00

OhMyGosh OhMyGosh OhMyGosh!!!!!

My favorite band of ALL TIME, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy is coming to my hometown!!! They used to come to Orlando twice a year, but I've yet to see them for a few years. I'm STOKED! I've already lined up babysitters for the kiddos and Mike and I are going to go see them and ROCK OUT! Concert is October 17th at Sunrise Theatre in Ft. Pierce! YIPPEE!!!

Check them out here:
BBVD Jukebox
(click on "Simple Songs" - it's one of my favorites and it'll definately make your toe tap and your kisser smile

Faye - Part II

2008-08-20T13:52:00.003-04:00

Well, we made it through yesterday without beating the children. It was close.. but they survived! Luckily daycare was open today. Natalie's daycare wasn't open, so Mom is watching her (school district employees are off for the storm). Poor Nati was up all night screaming in pain. She still hasn't cut any teeth and I think probably a few are moving around now. I rocked her and loved on her as much as I could. I have an amber teething necklace for her, gave her teething tabs and some motrin when it got really bad. Poor thing.

Anyhoo... back to the storm. I came into work this morning and this was the road on the way to the highway (SLW Blvd for all you local people)...

Here's our office. I had to meet a fellow employee out at the main road and be brought in by her 4x4 pickup. The whole commerce park is flooded. Niiiiiiice.

First Tropical Storm

2008-08-19T12:21:00.004-04:00

Well, the kids are very excited not to have school today. Their Daddy and I are less than thrilled.

Here are some photos as of 11:00 am of Tropical Storm Fay here at our house. It's going to be a loooooooong day.

This is our street. Ahem, our lake, er.. river.

This is me, standing in our street/lake/river.

It's supposed to get worse tonight. Greeeeeeeeaaaaaaaat.

Firsts

2008-08-17T12:09:00.003-04:00

I realize that as I get older... my experiences of "firsts" get smaller. As a young child, you have "firsts" all the time. Your first step, your first word, your first day at kindergarten. Our young life is defined by these firsts.

As an adult, it seems like our firsts in life get fewer and farther inbetween. Is it that we experience less as we get older, or do we not make such a distinction in the experiences in our lives?

I had a "first" today.

(are you sick of close-up photos of my leg yet?)

It was my first time I got stung by a wasp (or bee or anything with a stinger).

After the initial explatives, I started thinking about what other firsts I have experienced lately... it took me a while to really come up with some.

It made me realize that I need to make a point to really seek out some "firsts" in my adult life. I tend to get too caught up in my day to day life and forget the great joy of experiencing something for the first time.

So.. tell me, what are some "firsts" you've experienced lately??

Wordless Monday????

2008-08-11T16:09:00.001-04:00

Return of an Old Relative

2008-08-06T13:40:00.002-04:00

Dear Aunt Flo,

It was such a surprise to see you this afternoon. Don't you know that it's terribly rude to show up unannounced after, oh... 16 months?!

I can't say I didn't really miss you all that much. And yes, I'm aware that since you've missed me very much during this time, you'll more than likely be VERY ANNOYING during your visit.

Your return means my baby will have less to eat, will have a less tolerant mommy for a few days a month, and all that money I've been saving on formula will have to go to feminine products.

You bitch.

Your unexpected visit explains a lot. My supply has been low, my boobies have been sore and my muscles have been achy.

While I thank GOD that you haven't visited during the past 16 months, I hope that your return each month is short and rather uneventful.

Sincerely,
Danielle

Slowly going Green

2008-08-04T14:46:00.002-04:00

For a long time I've had the desire to start going green. It seems that with my busy life, I just never had the opportunity to do the very little legwork to get myself started.

I've slowly collected my canvas grocery bags and am no longer using plastic at the grocery store (now if I could only remember to take them into Walmart with me too!). I've also started frequenting my brand-spankin-new natural food grocery store in town and buying natural and organic foods for the family and for making Natalie's baby foods.

It's small steps right now, but they are steps. Once I get comfortable with these changes, I'll jump forward and make some more.

Our Family Art Project

2008-08-04T14:29:00.003-04:00

I saw this project a few weeks ago and just loved the idea! We recreated it for our dining room and love the way it turned out.

What do you think?

7 month photos (9 days late)

2008-07-29T16:24:00.002-04:00

These were actually taken on her 7 month day - I'm just lazy with posting them...

Chaos is no friend of mine

2008-07-29T10:37:00.003-04:00

I can't deal with chaos, it makes me very uneasy. It also makes me very unproductive. I'm known to have folders neatly stacked on my desk at perfect right angles to each other - each with tasks to do. I have plans neatly piled in various corners of my office - each of a different job and in varying states of completness. Visual clutter drives me NUTS.

Here's my office yesterday and today (and probably for tomorrow too).

Our office is getting a new (additional) A/C unit, and lucky me; it's going in the closet in my office.

I need a valium.

Tales of Carnage

2008-07-28T11:04:00.006-04:00

Well... hell has frozen over, or somewhere a pig has sprouted wings.

I've ridden a mountain bike,

through the mud,

got a boo-boo,

...AND LIKED IT.

Thankfully my husband is above telling me "I told you so". He even bought me a pretty bike. I'm thinking about naming it Irmingard. She's yellow and orange, and at this moment missing a seat, which makes it hard to ride her. But rest assured, as soon as my pretty new steed gets a seat, I'll have photos.

Here's my first mountainbike related boo-boo. Sexy, aint' it? It was nothing really cool or anything... my foot slipped off the pedal when I was going through a muddy section and the clip caught me on my shin.

Wordless Wednesday

2008-07-23T13:17:00.003-04:00

Why I love Photoshop

2008-07-21T21:21:00.004-04:00

BEFORE:

My Baby is a Pot Head. hehe...

AFTER:

YEA! Much better!!!

Sitting here Pumping

2008-07-19T06:15:00.002-04:00

Oh my gosh, she slept through the night.

Oh my gosh, my boobies hurt.

Oh my gosh, I'm going back to bed.

Sleep well and long little one!!!

Jodi's School of Dance

2008-07-18T09:08:00.006-04:00

My sister had a dance school when I was a child. I've had this shirt for YEARS and always held on to it. When we moved last week, I found it and threw it in the wash. Last night I put it on Nati and took some photos. I can't wait to send them to my sister! Maybe this weekend I'll dig up a photo of me wearing this shirt!

New Trick

2008-07-17T09:28:00.002-04:00

Nati's up to some new tricks these days. She's pulling herself up to standing and even walking a bit while holding on to the couch. This is the best angle I could get the video from because she tends to gravitate to me when I have the video camera or my digital camera in my hands. I'm telling myself it's me she's after and that she's totally a mama's girl. But I know better... she's after the technology.

Aah well.

Self Portrait*

2008-07-14T11:33:00.007-04:00

*Alternately titled "I need to get my glasses adjusted".

Art Project

2008-07-10T08:09:00.001-04:00

I found this online and LOVE this art project for kids! We plan on doing this for every member of our family and put them all on one wall in our new home. I can't wait to see the results!

Love 'em or Hate 'em?

2008-07-07T11:32:00.003-04:00

I have a Love/Hate relationship with finding new blogs.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE reading new blogs, finding new people, seeing new photos, reading new recipies. It's all so exciting and it's fun to look forward to new posts.

I HATE HATE HATE having to read through YEARS of back posts so I can be intimately familiar with the blogger before starting to read their daily posts. Let me re-phrase that. I LOVE reading through years of back posts, but the time goes so quickly and my eyes want to bleed after. It's like eating a whole pint of Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream, but oh, do you have a stomach ache after indulging in THAT MUCH goodness.

Am I making sense here???

Hello.... anyone... Bueller? Bueller?

That being said - I found a new blogger that I just love Sparklinbecks. She's witty and daggum, her kids are cute!

She's Crawling!

2008-07-03T11:27:00.003-04:00

Prunes - It's What's for Dinner

2008-06-30T12:01:00.005-04:00

Got a Tiger by the Tail

2008-06-30T11:55:00.003-04:00

Name that Photo

2008-06-25T12:30:00.003-04:00

Ok, so I'm not as cool as Pioneer Woman with her contests, and I certainly do not have her budget for give-aways.

But... I do believe this photo needs a name, fabulous give-away or not.

Help me out! Name that Photo!

Wordless Wednesday

2008-06-25T10:42:00.004-04:00

I'm in here... uh... busy!

2008-06-22T13:24:00.012-04:00

Welcome, Carnival of Breastfeeding readers!!!

This is a repost from a few months ago....

This is the sign that hangs on my door when I'm pumping.

I'm lucky - I have my own office with a door and a LOCK! People shove papers under the door for me when needed and they're aware that if they call me on the phone, they will hear the rythmic gugshing of my pump in the background.

3 times a day, I pump so my little Nati has food for tomorrow. I've learned some very important things about pumping:

1. Medela Quick Clean Wipes are the best $18.00 I'll ever spend
2. Lansinoh helps keep my pump horns on by themselves so I can be hands-free
3. Leaving my pump in the office all week saves trips back and forth to my car
4. Playing online video games stimulates my let-down (so do cold pump horns)
5. Pumping makes me still feel like a Mommy when I'm at work

Pumping and Breastfeeding is hard work. Worrying about what bottles are best for her, how much she should be eating, getting no sleep at night because she's still being breastfed, getting those looks from coworkers when I close my door.

Would I do it all over again if I had the choice?

You bet your sweet pump horns I would.

Now, enjoy the following participants posts in this month's Carnival of Breastfeeding (links activated when the posts are up!):

Motherwear Breastfeeding Blog
Breastfeeding Mums
Mama Knows Breast
Breastfeeding 123
Adventures of a Breastfeeding Mother
The Attached Mother
Hobo Mama
Mike and Tonis

Gassy

2008-06-22T07:57:00.003-04:00

Natalie has been getting increasingly gassy lately. She's always been gassy, but lately it's been so much worse. She's waking up 4 - 5 times at night for an hour at a time ( you do the math) just screaming and, um excreting gas throughout the day.

I've tried to look at what I'm eating, but haven't really been eating anything excessive. But after reading Kelly Mom's article on gas, It seems like my diet has less of a chance of being what's causing her discomfort.

We started solids about 5-1/2 months. We cut out solids last week (thinking they may be causing her gas) and after a week with no change, started them up again. She has had a decrease in the number of BMs lately - which I'm sure aren't helping the issue. She's now 6 months and according to Kellymom, she should be able to handle the solids, with some enzymes not appearing in her system until possibly 7 months.

We've been giving her Mylecon and probiotics, but nothing seems to help.

I think we'll stop solids again and see what happens. I hate to keep flip-flopping her like this, but I just don't know what else to do.

Sittin' Pretty

2008-06-21T19:42:00.001-04:00

I wish I knew how to use my manual settings better. I'm hoping to take a photography class at the local community college in the fall.

6 Months!

2008-06-20T08:27:00.002-04:00

Oh my Gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, I'm 6 months old today!!!

(can't you just hear her squeal in this??)

There was a Little Girl

2008-06-19T21:49:00.004-04:00

There was a little girl,
who had a little curl,
in the middle of her forehead.

And when she was good,
she was very, very good,
but when she was bad,
she was horrid!

Stingrays!!

2008-06-19T21:16:00.004-04:00

Oh how my kids LOVE the Florida Oceanographic Center, or "Stingrays!!!" as they call it. We went a few weekends ago and they had a blast!

Hey, give me a break. I'm busy!

Here are some pictures of the day

Strike

2008-06-18T16:22:00.003-04:00

Nati is going through a nursing AND a bottle strike right now. Yesterday at daycare she took 2-1/2 ounces in 9-1/2 hours (wow.. am I really away from my baby that long?!!!). She's bearly nursing at home and although she's still waking up 3 (ack!) times at night, she's not nursing as much as being comforted.

We temporarily stopped solids over the weekend in an attempt to help her with some horrifically painful gas she was having. I'm not sure if the two are related or not.

It seems like taking the solids out didn't help with the gas much, so I'm taking a closer look at my diet (which hasn't changed much at all lately). We're doing probiotics, but it's not helping much either.

Poor thing is just miserable.

06/19/08 - Update. Nati's doing MUCH better, but still pretty gassy. She's eating off and on. Yesterday she drank 16 ounces, today only 8. I'm not going to worry too much about it. I ended up giving her some sweet potatoes last night and she DOVE into them. She had been missing them a lot. She ate up very happily and her gas was no better or worse. Who know? MAYBE I'll have her figured out by the time she's a teenager. LOL

My baby picture

2008-06-15T18:35:00.003-04:00

I was inspired by Ruby's Mom when she posted her baby photo, so I checked through my archives....

This was my hospital picture. Wow.

I'll have to search through and find some others...

Here's Natalie's hospital photo:

Sleeping Beauty

2008-06-15T17:54:00.001-04:00

Update on... well... Stuff

2008-06-10T15:02:00.002-04:00

I realized I've been a bad blogger and haven't really been keeping up on the day-to-day at the Bee Household.

Brief recap:

I broke a tooth two weeks ago. I was able to get into the dentis the next day. Upon seeing my tooth and doing an xray and some preliminary poking around, she determined I'd need a root canal. WHA???? So, this past friday I was in the chair getting my first root canal. It hurt. It still hurts. And they're not done yet. You see.. I have this pesky little issue with my tooth. All 3 roots have a hook on them. Like a fish hook. Like when the doctor saw the xray she said "Oh yea... that'll be fun". Gee, thanks doc. So, they were able to do part of the root canal and I have another (2-1/2 hour) appointment this coming Friday morning. In the meantime I'm swallowing Tylenol like it's going out of style and doing all I can to remember not to chew on that side.

Let's see.. what else?

The time is coming for Christian and Anilyse to go visit their mother for 3 weeks in North Carolina. Although I'm looking forward to the break, I dread them leaving. I also dread them coming back. Their mother isn't exactly the "mothering type" and has been known, in the past, to medicate them with Benadryl, allow them to stay up as late as they want, feed them an endless supply of Happy Meals, bubble gum, candy and Mountain Dew and forget to bathe them. Luckily, as the kids are getting older, we have taught them to be self-sufficient and (hopefullly) instilled in them a better sense of what is right or wrong. BUT, I have a feeling that we'll have to "re-train" the kids when they come back home. Oh joy.

Mother's Day Photos

2008-06-10T13:15:00.004-04:00

I just got these photos from my Father-In-Law that he took from Mother's Day.

You can see why I don't take a lot of photos anymore with my Baby/Octopus in tow.

I love this photo. I just can't seem to get the color balance right in Photoshop.

Oh... yumm-o!

Come Out, Come Out, Wherever you are!

2008-06-10T11:27:00.001-04:00

I'm a lurker, I'll admit. It's a nasty habit and one I'm trying hard to overcome. I can relate, really. But come on... come out of the woodwork! Let me know you're here!

Starting to Crawl?!

2008-06-09T18:45:00.004-04:00

She's going to be crawling before I know it. She's definately got the hang of it and she's doing it even more in the last few days. She's figured out the legs (although most of the time she bunny hops), but she just has to figure out the arms.

When do you think? I'm taking bets! Haha

(please excuse Mike's shirtless chest!)

Chest X-Ray

2008-06-05T18:26:00.003-04:00

Unfortunately, Nati is still sick with a nasty cough and congestion. We spoke with Dr. Punger and she wanted us to get a chest xray this afternoon, then a visit to her office.

We made it to the radiologist office, where my sweet bundle of joy transformed into a seemingly 8-legged octopus, squirming madly. We finally were called back and I was directed to put my baby into this:

You've got to be kidding me, right? I can't even look at this photo without getting sick to my stomach.

See how the baby in the photo isn't smiling, or even close to content looking. Yea, I would have been overjoyed if Nati was that baby. But Nati wasn't smiling, she wasn't even crying, she was SCREAMING. They directed me to hold her arms above her head while they fastened the device around her. Finally a seasoned tech came into the room and took charge of the situation. She was gruff and very matter-of-fact, which rubbed me the wrong way as my baby was obviously not happy. Looking back on it, she was hurrying and trying to get it done quickly.

Natalie calmed down after they finished and was back in my arms, and before we were even out of the parking lot, she fell asleep.

Poor baby.

Film Debut

2008-06-01T21:37:00.006-04:00

Mammyin' Up

2008-05-31T22:23:00.004-04:00

The Pioneer Woman
I LOVE this blogger. Her name is Ree, AKA "Pioneer Woman". She's a homeschooling, mother of 4, and wife of a prominent cattle rancher in Oklahoma (does anyone else have to sing that state to spell it, or is it just me?) She's a brilliant writer, an excelent photographer and a darn good cook. Her post today was really great. Check out this post where she correllates breastfeeding her 4 "punks" (her words, not mine) to watching the mama/baby cattle pairs on their ranch.

Too cute.

Baby Food - Part 2

2008-05-27T10:35:00.005-04:00

I forgot to take photos during the process of making baby sweet potatoes (a-la Pioneer Woman style ), but here are some cure photos of the end result.

Here is the puree once it was frozen in the ice cube trays. I didn't like how narrow these trays were and they were kinda tricky to get out.

I found these silicone trays at Target in the $1 section. I think they're a good serving size, and a shape that will defrost evenly. Plus they're diamond shape. Every girl likes diamonds!

Once I pried them from the trays, I put the cubes in a ziplock bag in the freezer with the content and date.

How simple!

Nati LOVED her sweet potatoes!