My first garden

It all started in early March, I got tons of seeds, conned my husband into making me some light stands and started planning out my very first garden. I spent a whole day carefully filling trays with peat soil, placing seeds and watering. I felt like a proud momma when they started to sprout!

The hard work came after I was finally able to get them into the ground and into real sunshine. I had no idea how much time I would have to spend on my hands and knees pulling weeds. It was so neat to watch my plants grow and begin to produce food for our family. Lettus, broccoli, potatoes, sweet corn, tomatoes, zucchini, green beans, cucumbers, watermelon, cantaloupe, peppers and more corn..because after all, we are in Indiana :) My little man especially loves helping to dig the potatoes!

The last 2 weeks I feel like I have not been able to set foot out of my kitchen due to all of the canning I have been doing...and with canning comes LOTS of dishes. Honestly I'm getting a little sick of it but I know it will be great to have all of that stuff put back during the winter. Even though it has been time consuming and has been a lot of work I cant wait to start this all again next year and make it even bigger and better!

This summer has proved to be productive in many ways- we just found out this week that Jake is going to be a big brother! We are truly so incredibly blessed!

Militant? Or just sound advice?

OK, so I know that breastfeeding moms sometimes get a bad name because some of us can be a little "militant" in how we talk to other moms about nursing. This post is not going to help dispel that label, but I'm going to post it anyway. a friend of mine recently had her third baby and was tossing around the idea of not using formula with this one. She asked for advice and this is what I sent her.

I thought about it a little bit and here is my best breastfeeding advice and what I wish someone would have told me before I started. It is pretty strict though so I didn't want to post it on your wall and start a mommy war haha.
1. If you are going to do it, go all in! If you are kind of ehhh about it, it probably isn't going to work out for you.
2. If you have formula in the house GET RID OF IT!! donate it, throw it away whatever, if you have it you will cave and use it in a moment of sleep deprived weakness.
3. Make sure the nurses in the hospital know that you are exclusivly breastfeeding. Absolutly do not let them give the baby formula, sugar water or a paci! I know so many of my girlfriends were doing great with nursing their babies until a nurse snuck them formula and then they would never latch onto a breast again.
4. Don't use nipple shields they are hard to get rid of once you start using them baby will expect them.
5. Feed your baby whenever and where ever he needs to be fed. If you are out eating lunch and baby needs to eat too, then feed him, don't let anyone make you feel awkward about it. I would not eat my lunch in a ladies restroom and neither did my child...ever! haha And some babies(mine) refuse to use a cover when they nurse, they like to see their momma.
6. Get a moby wrap or ring sling because if you have issues with low supply there may be days when you keep your baby at the breast nearly the entire day--which will help you make more milk. There are also several herbs that I had to use that helped a TON that you can get at good ol walmart or anywhere so if you feel like you aren't making enough milk get a hold of me and I can send you more information about that.
7. ENJOY it :) There is just something really special about watching your baby get "milk drunk" and fall asleep against your chest.

Also, it never hurts to look up the number for your local LaLeche League and keep it on the fridge just in case you have a hard time and need good advice in a hurry.:) Sorry if that was a lot, and kind of hard core but that is just what I wish I had known



There you have it, that was the advice that I sent to her. I later got another email thanking me for being so honest and telling me that I was the only one that gave her any advice worth a darn and that it has really helped her keep at it.
So in conclusion, yes the advice I gave her may have been a little harsh, but it was good advice and it worked for her. I'm glad I did it, and I will say the same things to anyone else who asks me.

Side note- My husband and I are going today to meet with a new midwife to talk about what our options may be for another home birth. No, I'm not currently pregnant, but I hope to be soon and I want to get my ducks in a row so things have a chance at going better this time.

Extended Breastfeeding

I know that breastfeeding has been in the news a lot lately and that makes my heart smile. Many people cringe at the mere thought of a child nursing from it's mother's breast. But I feel that it is something that should been seen and talked about. There is no reason for mothers to feel like they need to use an overpriced tarp with some derogatory name brand to hide what she is doing, or even worse, feel that she should use a public restroom to feed her child. All 50 states have laws in place to protect a mother's right to breastfeed anywhere the need should arise, but still there are many that take issue with it. I have breastfed my son every single day for 2 years now and I will continue to do so until he lets me know that he is done. Yes, it can be painful, yes it is certainly exhausting at times, but I still feel like it is an honor to be able to provide him with such a wonderful substance.  Many mothers who choose to formula feed their babies for whatever reason often feel that breastfeeding moms are rude and judgemental toward them. However, what those formula feeding moms don't realize is how much flack we breastfeeding moms get as well. I constantly get comments from my parents, grandparents, my clients at work, other moms, even my own husband that it has been going on for too long and he is too old and blah, blah, blah. I turn a deaf ear to that nonsense, just because it isn't considered"the norm" here in the United States, that doesn't change the fact that many other countries breastfeed their children until they are three or even 5 years old. I made this choice not only because of the tremendous benefits for my child, but also the benefits for myself. Lower risk of many cancers, forces me to eat healthier than I might otherwise, and simply the fact that it is free.
When I see a mother breastfeeding her child in public I smile and know that I am witnessing a special, loving moment and I hope that a day comes when more and more people will see it that way as well.

The time has come

After all of the blood, sweat, and tears that have gone into the process we are finally moving this weekend! I am elated and so is the rest of the family. This is so much more than just a move for us, I will finally get to plant the garden of my dreams and my son's precious little buns will be back in cloth diapers since we will have our own washer and dryer once again.
Now I can once again focus less on housing issues and more on being a wife, mommy, and birth activist! Possible trip to The Farm this summer ::fingers crossed::!!  Before and after photos to come in the following weeks.

So far, so good!

I feel a little like I was in an automobile accident. We spent so much time tearing things apart at the house this weekend and I got all of the ceilings repainted and now I cant move without being in a bit of pain. Nothing like a huge project to whip my lazy butt into shape! Last night we brought a huge load of materials back from the home improvement store and I cant wait to get back out there and start using them!  My poor husband was putting up drywall until 11pm, but thankfully he had some helpers.
The day of closing was awesome, not only because we finally got the keys to our home, but my 21 month old finally used his potty for the first time. I cried happy tears, the poor kid probably thinks his mom is nuts :) He amazes me every day with all of the things he is learning. I am so blessed to be his mother.

Ohh Bother

What I thought would be an exciting and fun adventure has turned into an enormous nuisance. Maybe I was naive when we set out with our realtor to begin our search for a home.  It took a while, but finally we found something that my husband and I both liked for our own reasons and felt we could make roots for a while there.
I should have known from the moment we opened the door that there would be issues.
Walking up the front steps the realtor says "Oh, there is a car here, maybe they didn't know about the showing." OK, I thought, no big deal, we can reschedule anytime. Then a woman cracks open the door and asks if anyone has problems with cats.  The first thing to cross my mind is uhh yeah hubs is allergic, but I just said no, knowing that he would just not touch them and there would be no problem.  She opens the door the rest of the way and no less than six cats scatter out of sight.  Oh S%!&. Seriously?!! We finally find a house that would be great for us and the crazy cat lady is living there?! I tried not to let it ruin my mood or my impression of the home and in we went.
Lots of nice, newer cabinets in the kitchen, huge bedrooms, storage galore, a man cave/extra garage for the husband, and best of all.....if I hadn't seen the cats (or their litter boxes, toys etc) I would have never known that they were there. Not so much as cat hair on the counters and no smell at all, praise the Lord! I couldn't believe it, I have no idea how much time this woman must spend cleaning to keep things like that living with so many animals. For that I give her props.
The next day we submitted our offer and shortly after it was accepted.  We were ecstatic! We were finally going to be homeowners, we would have space for a garden, and our toddler would grow up surrounded by fields.  Just what we had always wanted.  I quickly got to work interviewing home inspectors over the phone and picked one that I knew to be very thorough. The next day I received a call from our realtor saying that the people living in the home were actually renters and that we could only do inspections/water tests, etc before 1pm.  ::Deep breath:: OK we can figure this out, I had to call the home inspector back and beg him to get us in on a Saturday so that my husband could be there as well. The only weekend he could come was the day before we were required to have all inspections completed. But getting the water test and radon test would prove to be much more difficult. 
Every time we would schedule something the renters would resist and say that it was not possible for anyone to come to the home during that time. Because of the strict hours we were allowed to do things, we ended up having to perform our own radon and water tests.  My husband had to take a whole day off of work to do the water test, he arrived at the house and the lovely tenant did nothing but gripe and complain that she had not been able to use the kitchen sink for 12 hours prior. He could not wait to get out of there. Then when I went out to retrieve the radon detector he had left there during that time she was crappy about the fact that I had brought our toddler along.  Really? You expect me to get a babysitter to walk in, pick something up, and walk back out? I was really starting to send ill wishes her way, but we had to remain civil because we don't want them to destroy things on their way out. 
This Saturday is the day of the home and septic inspections, I pray that it will go well, but as I know in advance that the tenants will be there, I don't have high hopes.  I never knew that it would be such an ordeal to purchase a home, I expected lots of paperwork but not this. I am beyond ready to close and just move and to never have to deal with those pain in the ass women again!

Moving Forward

Well my husband and I made it through our Traumatic Birth Healing class.  For me especially, it opened up all of the deep wounds that had finally begun to heal.  I really needed to do that though, to work through a lot of things I had just tried to forget about.  It also made me remember things that I had pushed out of my head and deal with those in a constructive way before they could sneak up on me at a later date.  I cannot begin to express how helpful it was for me to share my birth story with other couples that had similar situations.  It was incredibly validating.  The class used artwork to express feelings.  At first I thought "Ugh that sounds like hippy crap," but for my husband it really helped bring out things that he didn't realize he was still hanging onto.
So hopefully I can continue to move forward in my healing and find peace with how my first birthing experience ended up.  I am grateful every day for my healthy, beautiful little boy.

I am also grateful that we finally found a house that both the husband and I like!  We are meeting with our realtor this evening to officially put an offer on it.  Hopefully all goes well and we will get to move out of the apartment soon and into our first home.