Did she really just say that?

I have the pleasure of being in my cousin ephanie's wedding in December. Today was the day that I called in my measurements. It ranks right up there with wearing a bathing suit in public, annual pap smears and the dentist. Not a lot of fun. I shared my measures and the sweet lady named Tina said, "That's it? Well those aren't THAT bad!" Wwhhhhaaaaatttttt! I said no judgement, your opinion = your judgement. No thank you, but thanks for the back door compliment, I guess.

Picking up where I left off...

Last year around this time was kind of a low point for Brent and I. We had just failed IVF and the fertility doctors told me that I had to take the summer off. Like it was something I could turn on/turn off!
Anyways, i decided to try acupuncture not only for fertility but for overall health. Well, we know that it worked! ;) I had also decided to really embrace and push my health and physical abilities. That came to a screeching halt whenI found out I was pregnant. I was afraid to cough! I had a perfect pregnancy, very boring, very blessed. Now, he's here and I find myself feeling complete, satisfied, very "I told you I could have a baby" and lest I admit frumpy. The pregnancy never kicks my butt it's the post partum and nursing. I can't control myself with eating. In my defense i dont ever feel full. Im always hungry. I thought it would be a good idea to track my calories and be present while consuming them! Today I start anew. Today I am being mindful of what goes in and am going to try to move a little more. It's a fine balance with nursing because you have to keep up your calories! But I figure if I could start to see the scale move about a pound a week, that that would be more than reasonable. Nine months on, nine months off.
So I went to the Mecca, Wegmans, and spent 100 bucks on god knows what. I bought kale for crying out loud. I wanted to try it, and let's say it's gross roasted. I bought coconut water. That wasn't too bad, but I think it would have been better spent in a piña colada, just saying. So it's lunch and according to my app for counting calories I'm at 1453. That leaves me with just 350 or so for dinner and another snack. I'm thinking 1800 calories shouldn't impact my milk supply. Here goes nothing!

Tings I forgot but am so happy to remember

Alex was a true blessing, somas Allison! My children will never say they weren't wanted! It's been four years since I had a baby so herenare some things I forgot....
*the snap of a nursing bra, the snap of my breast friend pillow
*the limp body once Alex is finally asleep
*toothless grins
*the way a baby's head smells
*the baby burrito
*bucket car seats, not a fan, why do they cause you to lean away, the callouses from carryig them
*the click and lame songs of our swing
*going to the bathroom while holding a baby
*baby bathtubs
*gravity defying poops
*breastfed poops in general
*the power of white noise
*never standing still while holding Alex
*tracking input/output
*breast pump and drinking water like my life depends on it
*Baby Einstein, those videos are like baby drugs
*onesies
*mastering a diaper change, onesie snaps and zippers, nursing and swaddling all in the dark
*little baby feet and noses--feeling like I could really eat him!
*the sense of accomplishment after a good pumping session
*the pack n play
*the amount of crap you need when traveling, and how it doesn't matter if it's one night versus a week, it's still a lot of crap!
*tremendous pride when you can successfully transfer from the car seat to bed without the baby waking up
And so much more!

Dear Lord

Thank you for blessing me with a baby that sleeps. Anytime. Anyplace. I think he does what babies are supposed to do. His big sister? Not so much.....at least not when she was a baby.....

Back to the Beach

We are back at the beach! Brent has meetings in Va Beach and we are all with him. Loving that! As I type this and other posts, I'm doing it with a baby on my lap. no complaints. We did get some swimming in this morning. At least Brent and Allison did. Alex and I just nursed and slept poolside.

It is raining here, so we are hanging out....

Allison's First and likely LAST dance recital

This past Father's Day weekend, we embarked on what I would consider a rite of passage of parents with daughters. The infamous dance recital! It was very pink, purple and adorable. Sad thing is I think it was our last. I was a "career" dancer if you will, forcing my parents to endure years of dance recitals. Allison is a more one and done. She didn't enjoy it, she really didn't. It was hard to have her not enjoy dance as much as I did, but I recognize it and I am just trying to encourage her with her other pursuits. At this point, he other pursuit is gymnastics. She will be taking a Level I class this summer with 5-8 year olds. Yikes! So I digress, here are some pictures from her recital. I have a video too that I'll end up putting on my me site. She did an amazing job and honestly was the only dancer to actually (imagine that) dance. It was precious and if it's the last, at least it happened!

Strawberry Fields Forever and ever

We went strawberry picking again! Yeah! We journeyed back to Hollins Farm in Delaplane. I love that place. This year we had two more additions, Alex of course and then Connie went with us. She has been staying with us as she is in between houses right now. We ended up picking 2 gallons of strawberries. Then we came home and I made a strawberry crumble, strawberry jam, chocolate covered strawberries, froze some strawberries, stawberrry smoothies and finally strawberry shortcakes. After awhile it felt like Bubba Gump and the shrimp......