Blonde Moment Monday

• I'm so glad that my post about pumping helped some of you ladies out! I did however, forget to also mention how I store my milk. I started out with the Medela 5 oz bags, but have since started using the Lansinoh brand bags. I really can't tell much of a difference other than the fact that the Medela bags are about $4 more and you can hold up to 6 oz in the Lansinoh bags. This is good because you can divide them and use however much milk you need, depending on how much your baby eats per feeding. I usually just thaw the milk out either in the fridge or by running it under hot water (while still sealed up in the bag of course!) If I only get a few oz out during a pump session, then I save it in the fridge and add more milk to the bag to fill it, since I hate to waste a freezer bag on just 2 or 3 oz!
• photo courtsey of Google
• Also, I forgot to also mention the ease of using a hands free bra to assist in pumping. I know all of my friends that have used them and swear by them, but I have always just used the pump without a bra. I'm sure my life would be better in using the bra, but I just never bit the bullet to buy one.
• I have so much to update on, but no time to blog about it! I don't know if it's just a busier time of year for us, or if it's just life in general with a 3 month old and a 3 year old.
• For starters, I'm kidney stone free woot woot! I went to Carolina Urology last Thursday and then had a CATscan on Friday which determined no more stones, just an inflamed bowel. yay.. just another lovely side effect from having your organs move all around while being pregnant. But I'm feeling fine and just blessed it's nothing major.
• Was that last bullet point TMI? If so, sorry!

•  On Sunday we loaded up the kids and we ventured out to try a new church in our area. This was the first time attending a church for Brynley and of course, I was nervous as to how she would do. I have really missed going to church lately, but with our pastor teaching abroad in Ethiopia right now, we haven't been attending regularly and then after Brynley was born we just kind of stopped going altogether. I grew up Southern Baptist and Scot Catholic, so we compromised and started attending a non-denomination church. We loved it and attended Life Group and volunteered our time, but something still felt like it was missing. We have since tried a few other churches, but it was this past Sunday that we attended a Baptist church in our area and we both really enjoyed it and felt the message was directed right towards us!
• So often we find ourselves talking about others, and it just reminded us that this season we shouldn't tear others apart but as Christians we need to uplift one another. Lately I have really felt the devil has done anything possible to have Scot and I argue more and just struggling with staying afloat somedays. I know a lot of it also has to do with 3 months of sleep deprivation and growth spurts, but we all felt so.much.better after attending church on Sunday and I do hope we make it a priority in our lives once again now that Brynley is old enough to take her. We have continued to pray and talk about the reason for the season, but attending church is all part of the big picture too, and now more than ever, Ryder is at such an impressionable age.

•  One day last week I took Brynley to have her 3 month pictures made. We didn't have a photographer come to the house this time, but plan to have portraits taken in the Spring for her 6 month pictures and one of the family outside. Flowers are so pretty in bloom that time of year, so instead I just took her to Portrait Innovations for these two. It was all I could do to stand up to the sales lady after she took Brynley's pictures. I had my mind made up the amount of money I wanted to spend, but she just kept pushing her sale, even after I said I literally just wanted two 8x10's. She was showing me coffee mugs and collage photos and I eventually just stopped her in her tracks and told her the deal. I'm not ever like that usually, but I hated to see her waste her time and mine when all I wanted was just two pictures! I'm happy with how they turned out though, and couldn't imagine not having these moments from Brynley's life.

•  Typical Sunday lounging around here. Laundry on the bed to be folded. Ryder climbing on the furniture and making raspberry noises (new habit he just started doing and it's everything little boys do but it's the most annoying habit so far!) I let Ryder help me wrap Brynley's gifts and he was in heaven! He had so much fun picking the paper and the bows and I think next year will be even more fun as he helps pick gifts for her. We just have to remind him not to tell anyone what they got before they open their gift!
• He was so excited once I started bringing some of the wrapped gifts for him under the tree. I was worried if he would mess with them, but so far he has been very good not to touch them. At first he went around the tree and counted each gift, then told us what shape and size the gift was ha! Bless his little heart. He is very appreciative of each presesnt and his eyes get so big as we add more to the tree.

• Among other changes around here these days (in my efforts to get life back on track), we have added more veggies to Ryder's diet. If it was up to him, and believe me most days we were so tired we just lazily let Ryder decide what he wanted to eat (not good my friends, and I'm ashamed to say), he'd have frozen blueberry Nutrigrain waffles and cheese crackers everyday. I was so proud of him for eating the amount of broccoli and then asking for seconds. I know I've said it before, but I firmly believe behavior reflects on what he eats! I just wish I had the energy to fight the fight more often, and that is just one of my many goals lately.
• I also want to make "Kitchen Closed" by 8pm so that he eats meals with us and doesn't beg for more snacks right as we are about to settle for the night and head to bed. Because this wears you out! We also want to start eating as a family at the kitchen table again. We've gotten so comfortable eating in the livingroom because at the time it was just easier that way, but I'm missing the closeness we had at the kitchen table and want to start back again.
• These are just some of my resolutions I'm already destined to start!

• Freddy has still been busy hiding each night after his visit to the North Pole to report back to Santa. Ryder has really gotten into finding Freddy each morning now, and he uses a sweet sqeaky voice now when he talks to Freddy. He also has to tell him goodnight everyday, which I've realized we have to wait long enough before finding him now ha!
• A few days ago, Freddy was hiding in Ryder's stocking and later in the day, after Ryder had discovered Freddy, he grabbed the stocking down (which we had already told him never to do) and it landed right on his head! Blood everywhere. My adrenaline kicked in (and Mommy instinct I guess) and we rushed to the bathroom to see where the cut and how deep. I put pressure and after two towels soaked, it finally stopped bleeding. Turns out it was a shallow cut but my poor baby. He kept putting his hands up and then his hands were covered. It was all I could do not to react so I kept telling Ryder over and over "It's okay, you're okay" and told him it was ketchup (something I learned from the nurse who gave he and Brynley their shots). Afterwards, I let out a deep breath and gave myself a pat on the back for not freaking out. Scot later told me I did a good job and much better than he would have handled things! In a moment like that, you just feel so bad for your baby and just do what has to be done to make them better!

•  Snow Angels in the kitchen

• I discovered these Planters Winter Spiced Nuts and they are sooo good! I'm a salty over sweets gal so I have eaten half of the container already. By myself. In only a week!
• Okay well, time for Brynley's next feeding and I need to get a shower after being at the gym, and I'm looking around at all of the other things that need to be done around the house. Never enough time in the day is there?