if you look close, it's not just a mess.

When Van was about 18 months she loved to line up her stuffed animals into a row on whatever she could, leaving one little spot for her to sit. She then would sit and eat her snacks amongst her favorite friends.Even though Van is much older than this now, she still hasn't gotten over organizing her toys, and sitting amongst them.

The other day I told her to clean up all of her Littlest Pet Shop stuff, because honestly doesn't this look like a disaster?She said "BUT MOM, they are all in families, and I can't put them away!" After looking closer, I guess she did have them all in a special spot. If you look closely there is a pile of aquatic animals, a pile of kittens, a pile of dogs...

I love my quirky Van!

breastfeeding.

I have thought about this post for at least 6 months. I didn't want this to make anyone feel bad or come across like I am better than anyone else...so keep that in mind while reading. I posted bottle vs. breastfeeding way back when...and I wanted to do an update on what I chose and how it is working out.

I really wanted to try breastfeeding again. After I failed miserably with Van, I wanted to see if I could relax enough to make it work. I gave myself a goal of making it for 3 weeks. It sounds like a wimpy goal, but that is all I could give. Vin is over 8 months old, and I am still nursing. Trust me when I say I have wanted to give up at least 10 times, and I have stuck it out. Once I reached my 3 week goal...I set a goal to make it a year. It feels so close, yet so far away.

There is a few reasons why I think it "worked" this time...

Vin came out a champion nurser! Seriously. Oh, and I have heard from "the nurse" that I have a nice chest for it! ;) He obviously and definitely is the number 1 reason I keep doing it, and why it has worked. He made it easy, and loves nursing.

I had a great support system this time. My Sista was still nursing my niece Alice in Wonderland, and listened to me talk and ask a million questions. It was so nice to have someone that had done it before to call all the time. My other biggest supporter was Paul...which was really awesome too!

When I went back to work my Sista gave me an amazing pump. If I didn't have that, I would have given up for sure. It makes a huge difference!!

I was always annoyed with people who nursed (gasp!). Maybe it was the way they bragged talked about it. I have become one of those annoying women, I will admit it. When I look at Vin's thighs...there is a sense of pride, and accomplishment. It is nice to feel needed, and know that you have made him deliciously chubby!

Do I think it's worth it? Yes.
Will I do it again? For sure.

Any complaints?

I am always hungry! I eat so much that I am pleasingly plump too! I may or may not justify the calories by saying "Vin needs them!" =)

Okay, I am off my soap box. The next nursing post you see will be the one that I am celebrating my last day of doing it!! I am sure it will be bittersweet.

where have I been...

I blinked, and all of the sudden it's been a week. Weird how that happens. When you are little it seems like time drags on FOREVER, and when you are all grown up...well, you wonder where a whole darn year went.

Let me just tell you that I am cookin' our Thanksgiving meal, and am darn happy about it. My house smells delightful, and the rolls are calling my name. I might not share after I slave in the kitchen all day.

What are your plans for Turkey Day? Probably not reading blogs.

I hope that you are going to the movies, because that is always our tradition. Can you guess what movie we are going to see...I hope ya'll said Tangled. =)

The giveaway is closed, names are drawn, and e-mails have been sent.
Thank you for entering, if you did.

Happy Thanksgiving.

*a grand post is coming, maybe even two. if you are friends with me on facebook...you are getting an extra treat of thankful things today!

older sister.

I was told all sorts of things when we decided to have our children over 5 years apart. One of the things was how hard it was going to be on Van. I am proud to say Van is an amazing big sister, and has never had issues with him. She likes to do what every older sibling does...which is tease, but she enjoys playing with him. She is great at helping, great at watching him, and most of all she loves him so much.
Having two children is definitely harder than I thought. Of course, I am glad that I have both of them, and I am glad that they have each other.

wordless wednesday: i guess we need to do some baby proofing.

teacher gifts.

After just a couple of months of having Van in Kindergarten, I have found out that I really like sending little gifts in to her teachers (she has 3 of them, lucky girl!). I think the job of a teacher is so hard, and Van has learned so much already...they definitely are doing a phenomenal job with her!

The Target $1 bins are always a great spot to find notepads, and little containers to fill up with goodies. I love to stop at Kneaders Bakery (yes, I made up with them, I said it was a love-hate relationship) for a good baked item too.

My favorite note so far is definitely this one...

These are brown paper lunch sacks.

You fold them in half, just like they were paper...making sure that the *top* of the paper bag is on the bottom, you will see why in a minute.

Decorate with brads, ribbon, stickers...whatever your heart desires.

We put a piece of cardstock in the middle, and wrote a little note to her teachers. You could definitely just write directly on to the paper sack if you wanted.

I then cut a paper small enough to slide in and out of the *top* of the sack. I let Van decorate it, and put her flare on the card. Staple a piece of ribbon to it...so that it sticks out. Acting like a pull tag.

Done and done.

I love a good and simple craft project.

I have also made these into photo books with multiple brown paper sacks, and put big brads through them to hold it all together. They are adorable and cheap.

blogging.

Vin has and still is sick.
Van has and still is sick.
Paul has and still is sick.
I have been sick, but I think I am good now.
Phew.

This is what we do when we are stuck in the house.
Vin blogs and types up important messages for special people!

Glimpse of Santa

Since I am already in the mindset of Christmas, I am going to share another *must do* this holiday season.

How many of you take your kids to the "mall Santa"?

I have done it every year Van has been alive. She has never been afraid of him, but Santa is sometimes questionable looking to me.

This year is different, our baby has serious stranger danger! People to him are better from an arms length! This is going to put a serious cramp in our "mall Santa" experience! But I got to thinking, and perhaps it's a good thing. Not only are those pictures ridiculously overpriced, they are extremely low quality, and generic.
Maybe you guys remember from last year Glimpse of Santa?! I know some of my readers went. My friend, Jen does this amazing fundraiser every Christmas holiday for a special family in need. Not only are you going to help this family out when you schedule your Glimpse of Santa, but you will be getting some unique, great photos! Oh, and your kids will be happy, because guess who the dressed up Santa is? Their Mommy, Daddy, or favorite Uncle! Awesome, right?

Want some cute Santa pictures? See all the details here, and tell her I sent you!

*disclaimer: We have used Jen a couple of times, and are always in love with the end result. This post is strictly to spread the word, and I will be donating to the family when I go for my Santa pictures with her*!

Shutterfly Holiday Cards

Last year I was pregnant, and was totally unmotivated to do anything, including sending out Christmas cards! That was the first year in many that it didn't happen.

This year the tree is already up (no joke), and I have already been thinking about Christmas photo cards, because we have our new baby to show off! =)

I started using Shutterfly for printing my pictures when I got a bunch of disappointing prints back from the place that shall not be named. The prints that came back to me were either off colored, or randomly zoomed in.

A friend told me how easy it was to upload pictures, select sizes, and pick them up at
my local Target, I decided to try it. Who doesn't want another excuse to go to Target anyways?

I was still skeptical when I went in to get the prints, but that quickly disappeared when I saw them! I love the quality of the picture, the price, and the ease of uploading your pictures from home. I really need to get over this whole shopping online, I am just weird about it...and I haven't ever had a bad experience.

I am hoping that I will be able to choose...I have already spent way too much time trying to decide what to send out. Way to go Shutterfly, you gave me 6,589 choices, and now I can't narrow it down!

I am really diggin this idea though...
Of course if you wanted to go all out for someone Shutterfly is definitely a great gift spot too! I am pretty sure you can put a picture on just about anything! =)

disclaimer: I am being given 50 free holiday cards for this post, but all opinions are mine...thank you very much!

if you are a blogger, and would like to receive 50 free holiday cards go apply here.

never say never.

Let me start out by saying not everyone is going to agree with this, I am okay with that. I said I wouldn't ever do it...and then today happened. I guess that is why they say "Never say never!"

Let us start at the beginning...

Our Van has very hairy legs. Even though she is blonde, her hair on her legs after the long summer is very noticeable. She has attempted to shave her legs once, but it was a long time ago.

This morning she woke up, and came to snuggle with me on the couch. We all know what a shaved leg feels like after a few days...yup, that is what I was feeling on Van. Weird. I question her "did you shave your legs?" she responds "no." Mmm, that's odd. I can tell on her face she is hiding something. When I give her the "Mom look" she crumbles..."Mom, I cut my hairs with my scissors!" I instantly wonder why of course, and her response was what really got me "I was wearing a skirt, and it didn't look good."

I waited for Paul to wake up to discuss with him, and decide what to do.

After much thought, we decided that I would shave Van's legs.

She was one happy girl, and proudly annouced to Paul that her legs had been shaved.

Paul and I were in shock that things like this happen so young.

Yes, we could have decided to not let her start shaving so young, but I also want her to not be embarassed by things that are easily fixed. Maybe she won't think about doing it again, but if she does she will know that she doesn't have to hide it from us...

This parenting gig is hard.

a boy.

It's amazing to me that one little boy could change me so completely.

I didn't even know I wanted a son until I had Devin in my arms.

His tooth-E smile can literally make every problem disappear.

I love you Dev.

Thank you for being another reason why I love my life.

Mommy

question answered.

If you don't want a child size Tangled tshirt...they have adult sizes. So it's fun for all.

Okay. As you were.

Comment away below. =)

coming to a theater near you.

Who already has a big Tangled fan in their home...just from seeing the trailer? We were big fans, and after this weekend we are even BIGGER fans!! We got to go to the sneak peek movie screening, and all I'm sayin' is...we LOVED it!

To get everyone excited for Disney's Tangled, we are gonna do a giveaway!!

3 winners will be chosen.

Each winner will receive a different Tangled tshirt with a set of Tangled silly bandz (because who doesn't want silly bandz these days!).

Just comment.



Winners will be chosen by random.org on November 24th...which is when Tangled swings into theaters. Did I mention it's in 3D, and it's amazing?