Thursday, April 30, 2009

3 Months!!


I'm 3 days late... I remember when I felt like I had nothing to post about, and now I can't seem to keep up - even with 30 days of posting in a row!!

My big girl is 3 months old!! It seems so crazy to think that one year ago, I was pregnant and didn't even know it yet. And here it is - and my baby is already 3 months old. You know how everyone tells you that time flies by and they grow up too fast? Well, they are totally telling the truth.

When I took her picture this month, I got so many pictures that I am in love with - so you may have to suffer seeing more of them that may pop up over the next month. And I know that I am biased, but I seriously think I have the cutest little girl EVER!

At 3 months, Abbi:


  • has an infectious laugh. Once she starts laughing, you can't help but smile. It will make the worst of days seem like the best of days!!
  • still loves her daddy so much. He can get the biggest smiles and the loudest laughs out of her.
  • has had one night of sleeping through the night. Hopefully that will happen more in her 4th month!


  • is still growing like a weed. I wish I knew how much she weighs. I was going to put her in her little jeans for her photo shoot, but I just love those chubby thighs!
  • is rolling over like a pro. She started rolling over from back to front a few days before her 3 month mark, but now whenever she is on the ground she is rolling!! She's only figured out the back to front to back roll once, but most of the time she ends up stuck on her belly. I can't believe how much this little girl is already moving!
  • is a very strong girl. She still loves standing, and can pretty much bear all of her weight on her legs. She doesn't have the balance, of course, but she has the strength!



  • smiles more than she cries - which is wonderful!! She still cries, but her smiles are taking over. And look at those dimples!!
  • speaking of crying - she still hates going to sleep. About half of the time she will fuss and cry when she's tired and I'm trying to put her down for a nap. I think she just loves being awake to see everything that is going on around her!
  • she spent her first evening away from her mom and dad. From what I hear, she freaked out a little bit when she woke up and didn't see her mommy or her daddy, but was just great after that. Grandma and Grandpa Harroun had a ball playing with her and getting her to smile for them!


  • is still fascinated by her hands. If they aren't in her mouth, they are grabbing onto her blanket or her clothes. But it's strange that she doesn't really like to grab toys yet.
  • she still loves to be held, and has her moments where that is the only way she will be happy, but she is becoming more and more content to spend some time in her bouncer, her swing or on her play mat.
  • is still eating every 2 hours during the day. I wish I could get that to stretch out to 3 hours, but she's not having that!!

And here is her picture in the chair. She loves sitting up, although she can't balance that way for long. I can't believe how big she looks in this picture!

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Abbi's Blessing Day



I can't believe I am just now getting to posting about Abbi's blessing. You would think with almost a full month of posts I would have posted about this sooner, because it was such a special day.

First of all, let me tell you what a hard time I had finding a dress that I liked. I found a few that I liked ok, but they were over $100 and I didn't want to spend that much on a dress she would wear once. I ended up finding this one, that I actually liked, but it still was a bit big on her. The hanger said it was a 0-3 month, but when I was putting it away after the blessing, I noticed on the tag that it is a 3-6 month. Oh well...

The blessing day - March 29th - was just perfect. We have 9am church, so I was afraid everyone wouldn't be there on time, so I'm so glad that everyone made it.



Standing in the circle was my maternal grandfather, my dad, my brother, 2 of my sister's husbands, my father-in-law, one of Josh's brothers, his sister's husband, and the bishopric. I was already crying when Josh took Abbi to walk up for the blessing. I felt so blessed to see my husband stand there with our baby girl, surrounded by so many wonderful men, all there to bless her.



The blessing was perfect. I cried through the whole thing. In fact, I sit here crying right now thinking of what a special blessing her father gave her. And how blessed I felt to be surrounded by so much family. My sister Tami made a comment to me later about how far Josh has come in the last few years to be able to stand there and to be worthy to bless our daughter. I'm so proud of him!

I also have to mention something my dad told me after the blessing. I was so afraid that she was going to cry during the blessing because she was tired and was being fussy right before. But my dad said that my grandpa was holding Abbi's head during the blessing, and my dad opened his eyes to see my grandpa making faces at her, and she was just smiling back. This was so special to me, because my grandpa is quite old and can't hear very well at all and most of the time doesn't really know what is going on. But he just lights up around Abbi!
A sad Abbi with Grandma and Grandpa Mitchell

After, we all headed over to our house for lots of food. We know how the Mitchells love food and always bring too much, and add in all that the Harrouns brought - it was quite a feast!!
Abbi with Grandma and Grandpa Harroun

Even though our house is small and we had quite a few people packed in there, I was so happy that they were all there to share this special day with us.

Monday, April 27, 2009

Posts to Come

Just a preview of posts to come - once I get a whole 10 minutes at the computer!!


Abbi's blessing - which was almost a month ago. I can't believe I haven't posted about it yet...


First night out - Supercross!!


Guess who is already 3 months old??


A beautiful day at the Tulip Festival with wonderful company!

Sunday, April 26, 2009

Smiles and Giggles


It seems like every time my family sees Abbi, she is cranky or fussy. This is just to prove that she does laugh and smile!!

(I've been trying to get her to laugh and smile on camera forever, but every time I get the camera out, she stops. I think I finally figured out why today - there is a red flashing light that comes on when I do video. She gets so entranced by it that it always makes her stop!)

First Babysitter

I'm barely making today's post - it is 11:53, so I am in right at the end!!

I'll post more about our night later, but we took our first "date" night out without Abbi. My gracious in-laws watched her and did a fabulous job, even though I was thinking about her the whole time! I wasn't worried that they wouldn't do a good job, but I was worried that she would be a fussy girl. But they said she was great!

It looks like I'll have to let go a little bit and let them babysit every so often!

Friday, April 24, 2009

Insurance

I don't get insurance...

We had to do some work last year. The people that installed our central air screwed up and cut a hose too short, and we found out a couple years later when the ceiling in our bedroom caved in because of water damage. So what did we do? We called on the homeowner's insurance. That's what it's there for, right?

Well, our insurance was supposed to renew at the beginning of this month. I got a call from our insurance agent this morning, letting me know that the insurance company let him know that they were not going to renew our policy because of "claims." So we had to go with a different company, for more money. Granted, it's only an additional $40 a year, so it's not a big deal, but I'm still quite bugged by this whole ordeal.

Don't we pay insurance for instances like what happened to our ceiling? It wasn't even that big of a claim, and something that was not our fault, but I don't understand losing your policy because you actually used your insurance. I'd hate to see what would happen if something big happened - would no one even give you a policy??

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Randomness



  • Yesterday I did something that I don't do often enough - I laid out on the grass and just enjoyed watching the clouds, listening to the birds and feeling the sun on my face. It was a gorgeous day, and it was nice to take a moment just to BE. It was a great feeling.
  • You know how I thought the other night was going to be a long night?? Well, I'm a bad mom, and when I couldn't get Abbi to go down by about 10:30, (every time I would put her down she would wake up!) I went and got her swaddle blanket - yes it was dirty, but we needed some sleep - and put her in it. She slept from 10:30pm to 5:40am. A record for her - and her first time through the WHOLE night!!
  • Speaking of firsts, she rolled over from her back to her tummy for the first time yesterday! She's rolled over from her tummy to her back 2 times now, but never from her back to her tummy. Unfortunately, I didn't see it. She was in the living room on her mat and I was in the kitchen. I heard her start fussing so I went in to see what was wrong, and she was on her tummy! Josh was in watching tv and keeping an eye on her, but he didn't see the roll, either. I was so proud of her!

  • My oldest sister is out of town, so we are all taking turns on babysitting duty. Wow - to go from one fussy newborn to a fussy newborn and 2 rambunctious 3-year old twins is not easy. It actually wasn't too bad, but just tiring. And I get to do it again today! And yes - I'm a bad babysitter and I let them watch a movie instead of playing with them the whole time! But then again, they only watched for about half an hour before they were ready to run circles in the house again.
  • I have a new favorite on American Idol - Kris. I really liked Danny when it started, but really, he kind of sounds the same to me every week now.
  • I'm thinking about taking this photo class that I just discovered. But do I really want to pay that much? I really wanted to go to this 2 day class that was last month - but it was just too crazy with Abbi - and it was only $179 for 2 full days. I'll have to think about this... Anyone want to go with me??
  • I ran out of checks over a week ago, and haven't had a chance to make it to the bank to order more. Who would have guessed that being a stay-at-home mom would be so busy!?!
  • I'm starting a new blog that should be a lot of fun - I'll post more about it later - but I am having someone do the blog design. I want something that really pops color wise - any suggestions for colors??

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Tired

There is so much I want to write, but it is 9:30pm and I'm afraid it's going to be a long night, so I better get to bed. Abbi's swaddle blanket is dirty, and I've been babysitting all day, so I forgot to wash it. I sure hope I get some sleep tonight!

Monday, April 20, 2009

Addiction

It's funny to think that just a few years ago, I didn't like grapefruit at all. Now I can't get enough of them. My latest breakfast addiction - a grapefruit and oatmeal. Too bad the oatmeal is the sweetened instant kind and I sprinkle lots of sugar on my grapefruit - otherwise it might be a healthy breakfast!

Sunday, April 19, 2009

Spiritual Sunday

I just have to share some thoughts that have been going through my head, and since it is Sunday, I thought this would be a perfect time to share.

Last Sunday, I was sitting in the opening exercises for Young Women. There has been a lot of talk about girls camp going on since it is only a few months away. There is a song that is chosen that all of the girls attending - from the whole stake - sing together. So the Young Women president brought the cd of the song for the girls to listen to so they could get familiar with the song before we start practicing it to sing this summer.

As I sat and listened to the music, and read along to the words, I was very touched. Maybe it's because I have a little girl that will one day be going through the Young Women program. But then and there, I was filled with such gratitude to belong to a church that tells these girls how special they are. I am so grateful that, in this world that is getting worse and worse by the day, that my little girl will have an organization to turn to and girls to bond with that share her same values and ideals. I think that they are so many young girls that get lost in this world because they don't have the support system that the Young Women organization provides. When I was their age, I neither loved nor hated Young Womens, so I hope that Abbi dives head first into it and loves it and becomes a wonderful woman because of it. I am so grateful for the organization of this church and all it provides!!

Now, I hope I'm not doing something totally illegal here (and if I am, I will totally take this off), but I really wanted to share this song because it was so powerful to me. I won't be attending girl's camp because of Abbi, but I'm really thinking that I want to go when all the young women sing this together. What a beautiful sight that will be!

Saturday, April 18, 2009

Today, I am feeling... MOTIVATED

to get the outside of our house & our yard done.

The last of the snow is melting, and it looks as if it is going to be a gorgeous day outside.

For those of you who don't know, when we bought our house, it was a fixer-upper. I'm talking - all that this house consisted of was a concrete floor and walls. And half of the kitchen cabinets and all of the tile (that I wish wouldn't have been done, because I would have chosen it differently!) We bought it from a kid that bought it as a project, hoping to fix it up and flip it. A year into it, he ran out of time and money, and we jumped on the chance.

Let me just tell you, though - all of those shows on tv where they totally remodel a house??? It is NOT as easy as they make it look. We spent a few months - mostly my husband, his brother and a friend doing all of the work to make the house liveable. Then we moved in, and we've been struggling to finish everything else since then. We moved in in May of 2006, and we still have so much more work to do.

We have been talking a lot about trying to finish everything over the next year so we can sell this house and buy a new one by the time we have a second child. I just don't see how we will fit 2 kids in this house, especially if the next one is a boy.

So after much talking, we have decided to dedicate this summer to finishing the outside of the house and the yard. Last year we wanted to, but it just didn't happen. Josh wasn't working, so we were poor. Josh has a push mower, which takes forever to mow the lawn, and makes it so your grass grows so fast that you have to mow every other day. His dad gave him his old lawn mower once he bought a new one, but that mower died before the summer was over. So basically, the whole summer was spent mowing the lawn for Josh. And watering the lawn, since we don't have a sprinking system. I spent the summer pulling weeds in the flowers and taking care of the garden as best as I could since I was pregnant and totally unmotivated to be out working in the sun.

So, in order to have time to do things besides mow the lawn this year, we took part of our tax return and bought this:

And we will be spending part of our tax return on a sprinkling system this year as well.

Isn't it fun to be grown up and responsible???

I realize that this list is long, and that we probably won't finish everything, or have the money to finish everything, but I'm making a list so that we can start checking it off!!

  • clear out rocks and garbage from the side of the house
  • remove the bushes that keep growing back on the side of the house
  • install sprinkling system
  • curbing around lawn and flower beds
  • remove 2 bushes in the front yard that I hate
  • replant flowers
  • fix front gate
  • re-pave driveway, including filling in part that doesn't have pavement
  • fix east fence - or replace it
  • finish gate into the back yard
  • put up fence on west side of the house to block off back yard
  • till garden area and plant garden
  • repour back patio
  • paint garage
  • re-shingle house and garage
  • new garage door
  • paint side of garage
  • gutters
  • backyard landscaping - to include bushes and wood chips under big trees
  • paint front and back door
  • clean out garage
  • tear down storage shed in garage
  • trim tree in front yard

This list may get longer when we get outside this afternoon and I notice more that needs to be done. But at least we are getting a start on it!

Friday, April 17, 2009

A First


This, ladies and gentlemen, is a small victory for us. I mentioned last month that Abbi had been struggling with sleeping in her bed. It was always the swing or in my arms. Well, for the last few weeks, our goal has been to get her to sleep in the pack and play at night. I still let her take naps in her swing - baby steps here. The nights have been going MUCH better. She'll sleep in the pack and play from about 9pm to 4 or 5 am, usually waking up once in that time to eat - but sleeping in the pack and play. The only way I have got this to work is by buying one of those swaddle blankets and keeping her wrapped up like a burrito at night. I don't bother with it during the day, so needless to say, she won't sleep in her bed for naps during the day.

Well, in the last week, I've discovered that I can get a quick shower in by putting her in the pack and play and turning on the mobile. I'll get a good 6 minutes before I hear her cries - begging for attention. Today, it was nap time, so I put her in the bed and sprinted to the shower, just wanting a few minutes to scrub myself down and wash my hair.

I washed my hair - no cries.

I conditioned - still no cries.

What? Am I actually going to be able to shave my legs?? I shaved - still no cries.

I was doing a final rinse down, and thought I heard some whimpers, so I hurried out to dry. Wrapped in my robe, I walk into the bedroom to find this - Abbi's first nap in her bed - and not wrapped up in her burrito blanket!! I'm thinking we need to try this more often!

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Jealousy?

Max came into our lives just about 3 years ago. Sadly, I don't have the day written down, but this picture was April 19th, and I think he had been with us for about a week. I'll sometime go into the story about how he came to be ours, but that is not for today.

He has been our child the last 3 years. When we found out we were pregnant, we told Max that he was going to have a sibling, and when we found out we were having a girl, we would always talk to him about his baby sister coming. I think my family thinks we are a little bit crazy - we never had dogs that were like family members growing up. Sure, we had pets that we loved, but I never remember thinking any of our pets like family.

Many people asked us how we thought Max would act when Abbi came. Everyone knew that Max is seriously like our child, and wondered how he would react when he no longer got all of the attention.

I never worried. I knew that he is a gentle dog, and even though he barks a lot when someone that he doesn't know really well comes over, I knew that he would love - and probably protect - our little girl.

And really, I've been right. He's gentle with her and loves to give her kisses. He's quite curious, but he doesn't like it when she cries.
And I even came out the other day to see my two children taking naps together - Max there on the floor, watching over Abbi.

But for the last week or so, I sense that Max is starting to get jealous. It started with him trying to jump on my lap when I'm rocking or feeding Abbi. Usually, I have the Boppy pillow, so there is no room for him, but sometimes he nestles his way into my lap so I am there - holding them both. If I try to make him get off, he almost looks at me as if he is saying "mommy, I want you to hold me this time!" I make sure and give him lots of attention when I'm not attending to Abbi, but it's not the same as it used to be.

Last night, I was in bed, Max cuddled into the covers next to me. Abbi started to cry, so I reached over to pick her up from the pack and play to put her back to sleep. I sat there in bed, with Abbi in my arms, and Max comes out of the covers to see what is going on. When he sees that I have Abbi, he tries to push his way into my arms, wanting to push Abbi out. He started crying when I couldn't hold him, but after a minute or so he just nestled into me, almost like he was just trying to get as close as possible. I felt badly, and even though I love him, it's not like I could ignore Abbi to take care of him. Once she fell back asleep, I made sure to give him lots of loves and pets, but it still made me feel bad.

I hope that this is just a phase and that he will go back to acting normally!

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Snow


Seriously...

This was the photo I took and posted this morning. It was 10:08am.

This was at 12:56pm...
And this is at 3:22pm...

I think right now, we have about 5 to 6 inches of snow on the lawn. Doesn't Mother Nature realize it's supposed to be spring????

Wordless Wednesday - First Tulips

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Easter Time!

I should have posted about Easter yesterday, but I needed to go through pictures and such, and I just didn't have the time yesterday!

What a busy day Easter was this year! It all stared at about 1am when Josh woke me up. He said he wasn't feeling well. I'm not sure what he had, but he was literally almost in tears. He said all of his joints hurt and it felt like he had been hit by a truck. He couldn't sit because it hurt and he couldn't lay down because it hurt. I ravaged through the medicine cabinet, looking for something that might help him.

I woke up at about 6am - or Abbi woke me up then - and Josh still was feeling horrible. He wasn't going to go to church because he felt so horrible, so I hurried to take a shower and get ready, get Abbi ready, and start preparing a potato dish I was taking to lunch after church. I really love having 9am church, but on mornings like this one, I really wish it would have been later.

Abbi and I headed to church a few minutes late, only to arrive and see that the chapel was the fullest that I had ever seen it since we've been in this ward. Come to find out, it was a missionary farewell (even though they don't really have "farewells" anymore) and there was a lot of family and friends there. We usually try to sit towards the back since Abbi is fussy sometimes, but all the seats were taken. We ended up sitting in the foyer, which turned out to be ok since it was a fussy day for Abbi and I ended up walking around with her for most of sacrament meeting. I was a little worried that the talks wouldn't be centered around Easter since it was for this missionary, but all the speakers gave wonderful Easter talks.
After church, I rushed home to finish my potato dish and try to take some pictures of Abbi before heading to the in-laws. Josh was still very sick, so Abbi and I headed to lunch without him.
Josh's parents love every moment with Abbi, so I'm glad we went over there.
Plus, the food was great and I ended up eating too much - like I usually do!
After, we headed home for an hour or two before heading down to my sister's house for more Easter festivities. I didn't have a picture of Abbi with her Easter basket yet, so Janell helped me out. I've decided that I can't wait until Abbi can sit up, because right now, all of the pictures I have of her are laying down, and sometimes they just can't be as cute that way. So Janell held her up for some pictures. I couldn't get her to look at the camera - which is usually the case - but I still think she looks very cute in her Easter dress!
There was Easter egg hunting, and Tami's yard was perfect for it. All of the kids had a blast. I can't wait until Abbi is old enough to participate!
There was a lot more food, and again, I ate too much. It was great to sit around and visit with my family, but Abbi was not a happy camper. She started getting really fussy, which led to full out screams. I finally got her to settle down and I fed her, but then she started getting fussy again. Tami - bless her heart - stood with Abbi and finally got her to fall asleep.
Once Abbi woke up and the crying started again, I decided it was time to call it a day. On the drive home, she fell asleep and didn't wake up again until midnight! I was worried that maybe she was getting whatever Josh had, but I think that she was just overstimulated from the day. She woke up the next morning as happy as could be. Hopefully next Easter will be better for her!

Monday, April 13, 2009

Facebook

I can't believe I did it - I joined Facebook. Not that I have anything against Facebook, but when everyone started doing Facebook and Twitter, I promised myself I wouldn't join in because I spend too much time at the computer as it is, and I didn't need another addiction. But, I'm starting a new little business venture (that will be discussed at another time) and I wanted to be able to know how Facebook works so that I can use that as a marketing tool. I had it in my mind that it would be just like MySpace, and I guess it's similar. But I'm really glad I joined now because I have reconnected with a few aquaintences that I haven't seen or heard from in years. I still prefer blogging, but I'm so glad that I have found some of these friends! Now I just need an extra 2 or 5 or 10 hours a day so I can do everything I want to!

Sunday, April 12, 2009

Happy Easter!


"At this Easter season of hope and renewal we testify of the glorious reality of the atonement and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. The empty tomb brought comforting assurance and provided the answer to the question of Job,
“If a man die, shall he live again?” (Job 14:14).

Because of the Savior’s resurrection we will overcome death and become the beneficiaries of His mercy and grace. In a world of trouble and uncertainty, His peace fills our hearts and eases our minds. Jesus is in very deed
“the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6).

We give our sure witness that Jesus is the Christ. Though He was crucified, He rose triumphant from the tomb to our everlasting blessing and benefit. To each member of the human family He stands as our Advocate,
our Savior, and our Friend."

President Thomas S. Monson
President Henry B. Eyring and President Dieter F. Uchtdorf
The First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Easter Message 2009

Saturday, April 11, 2009

NaBloPoMo Day #11

This posting every day thing is much harder than I thought it was going to be. Not that I don't have anything to say. I almost always have something on my mind these days since I'm home most of the day with an infant who can't talk back to me. Josh asked me the other day if I missed working, and I said really the only thing I miss is that interaction with people every day. But I wouldn't change being a stay-at-home mom for anything!!

I barely made yesterday's post. It was one of those days. I do have to say that Abbi is doing MUCH better at being more independent. I feel like I've actually been able to get a few things done around the house lately. But yesterday she decided to be a needy little girl again. She was good until about 10am, but the rest of the day, she would not let me put her down. Even when it was bedtime - every time I would go to put her down, she would wake up. So even though the time on the post says 8-something, it was actually after 11 before I could sneak away and post something. And today - it is now after 10 pm and I should be climbing into bed, but I had to get my post in.

So this is basically a post about nothing - but at least I've posted! I promise there will be more substance to future posts!

Friday, April 10, 2009

Thursday, April 9, 2009

American Idol: NaBloPoMo Day #9



Ok, maybe I just don't know a lot about music, but I just don't get it. The one and only time Simon has given a standing ovation, and it was for this??? I don't hate it, but I think that if I were to hear it on the radio, I probably would have changed the station. Am I alone here???

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Smiles: NaBloPoMo Day #7


This picture is beyond fuzzy, but I just had to share what we've been experiencing lately. This little girl is so full of smiles and laughs! Now if only I could get her to sit still while she's smiling and laughing, then maybe I could get a good picture! (And why can't I look that cute in a pair of jeans??)

Monday, April 6, 2009

Working Out: NaBloPoMo Day #6

The thing I miss the most about life before baby is my workouts. I used to attend the gym religiously, but with a newborn, that's just not going to happen. I had it all planned out when I was pregnant that I would still be really good about working out at home, but like many things I had planned, it just hasn't worked out that way. Until now, I haven't been able to get more than 15 minutes during the day when I didn't have a baby in my arms.

But my little girl is doing so good, and I was able to almost do a whole workout dvd today. And I feel SO much better right now. I bought this dvd set years ago, and I haven't done it in a long time. I forgot just how hard it is! I totally got my butt kicked today - I was sore before it was even over. I think I'm going to have a hard time walking tomorrow.

Anyone have any good suggestions on workout dvds they like?

Sunday, April 5, 2009

Rolling Over?? NaBloPoMo Day #5



Let me preface this with saying that I hate my voice. I've been trying to take more video of Abbi, but I haven't wanted to post them because I hate hearing myself!

I could be totally wrong here, but I think my little Abbi is getting close to rolling over! She's been turning on to her side for a couple of weeks now, but I had never seen her move her face over like she's doing in the video until today. She's going to be all over the place before I know it!

Saturday, April 4, 2009

NaBloPoMo Day #4


So I was out driving the other day, and this song came on the radio. I had never heard it before, and I thought to myself, "I like this song." Then I find out it is Miley Cyrus. So tell me - is a 31 year old mom too old to like listening to Miley Cyrus?

Friday, April 3, 2009

Feeding Poll: NaBloPoMo Day #3

I subscribe to a few baby emails. You know the ones - your baby is 2 months old! This is what she/he should be doing now and what you can expect over the next month, etc... I like to read them just for a guideline, and I know that it's not my doctor and I shouldn't take everything to heart. They have a section where they usually ask a question and have 3 people answer the question - usually doctors. Well, this last one I got, the question was whether or not it is ok to watch tv while breastfeeding. All of the doctors said no - that this is a time to bond with your baby and the tv is too distracting. I have to be honest and say that I had never thought of this before - I always watch tv when I'm feeding Abbi. And then I started feeling guilty after reading this. They say you should spend the time talking to your baby and smiling at her/him, making eye contact and basically just using the time to bond. I know that bonding time is important, but since I spend basically 24 hours a day with my child, we get a lot of bonding time in. In fact, I probably spend a few hours a day - just me and her, playing and talking.

But because this made me feel guilty, I decided to try feeding her and using that as a "bonding" time. Ummm, it doesn't work so well for us. In fact, I totally distracted her from what she was supposed to be doing. I would smile at her, and she would want to smile and laugh back at me, making it impossible to feed. I've decided not to feel guilty about watching tv while she is eating - there is way too much out there to give us "mom guilt" and I don't need to add another to my list. But I wanted to know if I'm alone in this or if anyone else is the same. Feel free to take my little poll, and comment if you want!

Do you watch tv while you breastfeed?
All the time
sometimes
rarely
never
  
pollcode.com free polls

Thursday, April 2, 2009

Tagged! NaBloPoMo Day #2


I've been tagged by Abby! All you do is post the 4th picture from your pictures folder on your computer. This one is an old one, from May of 2003. It is from a road trip I took to California with some of my friends. This is me and Ryann - we were at my old roommate Kerstin's friend's house, and one of the guys there had this sweater that was so big it was hilarious. He wasn't even a big guy! So Ryann and I both climbed in, and it fit both of us easily. Such memories!!

I'm tagging:

Janell
Kacy
Michelle
Cassie
Ryley

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

NaBloPoMo Day 1

Back in 2007 on my food blog, I participated in NaBloPoMo. In case you don't know what that is, it stands for National Blog Posting Month, and it's when you post on your blog every day for a month. I have to admit - it was quite difficult to do on a food blog, because you have to not only have a recipe to type up, but also the photo and something to say about it. It was fun, but it took a lot of time and effort.

But since I am trying to be better at writing on this blog, I have decided to take part in it on this blog this month. That means 30 posts in the next 30 days. I'm actually excited because I feel like I have lots to write about, but I just need a kick in the butt to get on here and write. It may just be a photo some days, and it may be some nonsense that I'll babble away about the next day. But no matter what, it's going to be fun!