Pizza at the Park

Well, it's 12:19, first tour of the night. Any moment now, the milk dust should start puffing out. I am thinking about how fast the weekend went by and how did I lose another weekend without completely cleaning my home, shaving my legs, showering diligently. Sometimes as parents, we are so tired and delirious we do things we would never do. Saturday being no exception.
My husband worked this weekend, and I took my children to the park on Saturday and met up with a friend. On the way, I stopped at one of my favorite spots and picked us up some lunch to take to the park. I hadn't had a decent meal in what seems like, forever. I ordered the kids their wants and for myself, my favorite.. Aloha Flatbread Pizza. Ham, pineapple, cheese.... Mmmmmm.... I could hardly wait to eat it. I had thought about this pizza for what seems like ages. We get to the park and I begin to unload the ducklings and what seemed like the never ending supply of bags, wipes, sippy cups, binkys, lovies...
Finally I make it in the gates of the park.. Raindrops. For freakin real?? I just want to play with the kids.. And eat! We made it to a spot and started to set up. I get the kids all set with their meals and set to down to chat with my pal and FINALLY get my mouth on this coveted pizza. As I prepare to eat it..The wind picks up and is blowing sandwiches and chips everywhere! I chase down my daughters drink and ham sandwich. I make it back to the table... There goes my sons chips. Another trip across the park to retrieve the chips. Finally I sit down, and pick up my pizza and sink my teeth in to Aloha Heaven!!! I get one bite.. ONE bite and my 9 month old drags it off the table and splat.. It hits the cement pad under the table, where so many feet had sat before. Nooooooooooooooooo!!!! Why? Why? Why did she do this? I was hungry. I hadn't eaten in what seemed like forever! Did she care that she was sucking me dry and I needed energy? I sat there for a moment, trying to decide my next move, and let me tell you the next decision I made, was made in desperation. I scraped the "least affected" area of pizza off the ground... And I ate it. I'm not proud. But darn it, I was hungry! Luckily I was in non judgmental company. And I'll tell you, although it may have been scraped off the sidewalk, but that was the best 1/3 of a slice of flatbread pizza, I've ever eaten!
Our kids drive us to do the unthinkable and I have to laugh at myself for doing something I never thought I'd do.

Milk Dust

Remember 6 weeks post partum? Glowing skin, luscious hair, milk spraying out at and ounce per minute? Here we are, almost 10 months post partum, pizza face, 3 strands of hair, and pumping so little milk it's like spurting dust in the bottle. Ok, maybe not that bad but it feels like it! I've fine anything and some things you'd never believe to keep this milk up and my body repays me? I drive, vacation, jog, eat, clean house, and work with this flange suctioned on my boob and all I have to show is milk dust?! The fix? Oh I know how to fix it. A return to a STRICT every 2 hour round the clock Pump a Thon. But what about sleep? Life? My husband? What to do... What to do? If you know me, you know the answer. See you guys in 2 hours :-)

Ponderings while pumping.. Fitness edition...

So here I am, pumping, walking, pushing baby in the stroller. It's a beautiful night and I love this weather... I can't help but wonder what will become of me when I no longer breastfeed, pump, and use my milk for good? Maybe I will be a donor?

Breast Milk & Branson

So here I am again, pumping. This time in my hotel in Branson. A little getaway to spend some time with my family and the first time away from home with Anna Grace, who is now 6 months old. The trip has been a little hectic but it all worked out. Of course in tow, was good ol' Beulah (Medela symphony). Also in tow is my Medela Pump n Style. Have to keep pumping for my little girl and to keep my milk up.
Let me tell you, to say this has been a challenge would be an understatement. Not only the pumping, but storing the breastmilk, warming the breastmilk for food...ugh. One gadget that was a lifesaver was the munchkin bottle warmer. We used it to warm up breastmilk, warm up baby food, warm up milk for my 3 year olds bedtime. I don't know what we'd have down without it!!!

Vacation Edition

So here I am, on the road to a mini vacation, pumping again. Having to pump extra dutiful because this week has wrecked my milk supply. I've missed several sessions each day and it's starting to show. No worries though, I'll get it back up there.
I can't wait to see what adventures await on us this journey!

Up a Creek Without A Pump

So the other day, I took my mom to Tulsa (the nearest big city which is over an hour from our house) to pick out a shower door for her new bathroom. As usual when getting ready, I pack up the baby's things along with Beulah. (Beulah is the name I have given to my Medela Symphony. We get to Tulsa, pick out her things, and my pump alarm goes off. "TIME TO MAKE THE DONUTS" and off the van I go. I plug in Beulah and begin looking for my flanges... I don't see them. Dig a little more. Don't see them. Panic is setting in. Frantically searching .. Where are the flanges???!!! Gulp! I'd left them at home. How am I going to pump with NO flanges? I look at my daughter with the puss n boots eyes, "please nurse from me". Now remember, this is the daughter who would only nurse at night or in the shower after I returned to work. I get all lovey and cuddly and attempt to nurse her... She chomps downs and giggles. The breasts are really starting to burn now...She rolls my breast around in her mouth and laughs. "Come on Anna Grace"...she looks on. As a matter of fact she looks at every single person walking by, fumbles the steering wheel, plays with my hair, but will NOT breastfeed. I get her strapped in her car seat, and get back in the van. I know what must be done. With leaking breasts, I make a mad dash to the Target across the street. I get Anna Grace and run back to the Baby Dept to look at their teensy Breastfeeding Supply section. 1 flange is $10! The bottles to attach it to only come in a multipack and are $16.99. Crap! I am not paying that for an emergency bottle! I THINK have a breast milk storage bag in with my pump paraphernalia. So I buy the flange and out the car we go. I dig out the milk bag and hold it under the flange, fire up Beulah, and finally....ahhhh.... SWEET RELEASE!!!! Anyone breast feeding knows this release. Had it been one more minute I surely would have torn my own nipples off to stop the burn.
Oh the things I have learned along this breast feeding adventure. The thing i never thought I'd do. The shirts i have soaked. And always, always, check for your flanges because they are not easy to get!!

R.I.P. Chivalry 1:15 am

Pumping and trying to thaw out. I woke up to pump (after falling asleep on the couch) and was freezing cold. I glanced over at my hubby who was curled up asleep on the other couch. He was all snuggled in with a big cozy blanket. Sleeping, warm and safe. With a big ol content grin on his face. I woke him up and told him to get in bed, that I would pump and be there shortly. On his way to bed he throws the blanket my way letting me know he was done. I felt like Joe Dirt did-eating an apple core for lunch and having someone pass gas in my face after they were all done with it! Chivalry is DEAD!

(mobile edition) Sasquatch Sighting

As I sit here pumping I can not help but wonder about the bathroom etiquette of people. I just attempted to go to the bathroom and someone had defiled my favorite stall with the longest pubic hair in the free world. I mean how do you not know you've left something like that behind? I know we criticize men for not putting the seat down, but come on ladies-we ARE supposed to be cleaner than this! I mean, this was no ordinary hair it was Sasquatch hair. So not only can I NOT sit down to use the stall, I couldn't even straddle it or hover because I am almost certain this hair would have wrapped around my leg and pulled me in.
This forces me to have to wrap an entire roll of toilet paper in a ball and shove this Sasquatch in to the bowl, flushed, never to be seen again. And why me? Why do I have to clear the landing zone? Why can't other people just do a spot check before exiting the stall? GROSS!!!!
Ladies, take note: I don't care how much YOU like it, NO ONE else wants to sit on your Sasquatch.
Show you care, contain your hair!
Blek!!!

(Mobile Edition) Things Jumpin' Off At The Splash Pad...

How is it that crazy stuff always happens wherever I go? Do I have a magnet that draws crazy in to the path I travel? Take today for instance, typical day out, taking the kids to the splash park. As we were loading up the van to leave, Garrett was waiting to change his clothes, when the wind caught my door and blew it in to the Durango beside us. I looked and there was a tiny scuff that would easily rub off so I went about my business. (most likely dirt from our van)
Pretty soon a large teen male who was with the group (who appeared to be some sort of enforcer) starts circling the car. Inspecting the Durango beside me, he pats a large dent on the side of it that my van door hit. He looked at me like "yep.. Insurance time..yeeaaaauuh". Now, my door did hit theirs but no way it left that dent! That dent was far too high and was not consistent with a door ding. They probably saw us coming a mile away and were about to blame us for something that obviously happened before they got there and make our insurance fix it!
He just kept circling us giving us the stink eye. Things were starting to get tense. I was urging Garrett to hurry and get dressed because I could feel at any moment things were about to get nasty. These were the kind of people that we couldn't "talk things through with). I could see this situation could easily headline Muskogee Mugs tomorrow. Garrett was STILL trying to wiggle his wet body in to his dry clothes as I held a Mario towel for privacy. HURRY!!!! (incidentally the wind caught the towel and Garrett pretty much flashed the water park). Luke had loaded everything up and was keeping an eye on the LARGE group of people about to get "notified" by the enforcer. Luke was getting a bit nervous, and told Garrett to hurry (again). It seemed like an eternity!!!! Just then, I looked up and saw the "enforcer" pointing to our van then to the Durango as he approached the group.
Luke hollered, "just get in the car Garrett.. NOW, we gotta go, NOW". So Garrett jumps in half undressed. I slammed his door and jumped in the front. As I am trying to get the door shut, Luke is backing out. Our van was in total disarray. Kids screaming, tires squealing...I looked up to see the matriarch of the group exclaim, "What the &$@@", careful not to disconnect from her cell phone that she had been talking on the ENTIRE time at the park (about someone's, sister in laws, baby cousin.. Or something like that). She was in a fury. All I saw was fake nails, cell phones,cigarettes, and braids flying at us as Luke peeled out of the water park. Mario towels and t shirts flying out the window as I attempted to get the door closed. It was madness. But luckily, we got away from there before things too got ugly. Pretty crazy. Now, we are on our way back to safety in our tiny community (though eyeballing the rear view mirror) with a sound reinforcement of why we never want to live in Muskogee. Whew...

The Crazy Stuff that happens

As I sit here pumping, I am thinking about what just happened and can't help but laugh to myself....
I was awakened from a deep sleep at 2:00 am to the most horrible sound I've ever heard... Something like a squealing pig meets a freight train. It was my husband, he was very sick to his stomach and I could heard him all the way from the bathroom.
Earlier this evening: we roasted weenies with the kids and told ghost stories. Incidentally, we had told them at 2:00am this mangled person would come moaning at the front door.
So I stood there frozen. I knew at any moment all the kids would wake up screaming at the sound of the "moaning man", mistaking their dad's waling guts for that of the forewarned monster. Moments later, my husband emerged from the bathroom and told me he was going to take a bath to try and feel better. I laid back down and heard another crazy sound. Like a high pitched meowing and a duck quacking. I assumed it was my husband. Farting in the bathtub. I heard this sound a few more times. Poor husband. His stomach must have been really bad. Then I heard the same sound, but playing a tune. It was "The Yellow Rose of Texas". Could my husband really be farting? In the bathtub? To the tune of "The Yellow Rose of Texas"???
I decide to be brave. Sit the pumping aside. And go check this out for myself. I stood outside the bathroom door, listening carefully. Nothing. I walked back to the living room to finish pumping and heard it AGAIN. But this time, I could tell it was coming from my daughter's room. I went in to find her sleeping under her bed, rolling on a kitty cat piano from Target. I scooped her back in bed and went back to pump, finding myself so relieved that my sweet husband was not the bathtub melody maker I thought he was.
Later, he told me he heard the sounds also and assumed it was me!

Ponderings while pumping (the at work edition) 2:35

So, I hurt my toe today. Punctured with a piece of metal. I was so scared it was ripped it off I could barely look. So after I cleaned it up, I realized it was just a deep puncture. But wait! What if it could get infected? What if it had had to removed? How could I ever wear flips flops without having one constantly fly off??

Ponderings While Pumping...May 24 2:16 am

After visiting a local Wal-Mart, I was faced with this question: why would a MAN wear a black bra? Under a WHITE shirt? Amateur.

Birth of a Blog!

My husband and I have three precious babies (I know we all say that, huh?). Garrett is 8, Emma Kate is 3, and our newest addition is Anna Grace, 5 months. Anna Grace is the the first one of my children that I have breastfed (why she is the first, I don't know). This journey has been interesting to say the least.
My daughter fed from my breast for the first three months. Along the way we'd battled a high palette, poor latch, and reflux on top of many other risk factors against Breastfeeding. From the beginning, I have had to pump to keep my milk supply up.
I returned to work when she was 3 months old and on my second day of working, she refused the breast. This led to a 28 day nursing strike. During this time, I pumped exclusively and put my milk in a bottle, since I had to do this while being away for work anyway. Pumping is just like breathing to me. It is necessary. Everything revolves around it. My husband and I joke that I didn't just have a baby, I had a breast pump. It goes everywhere I go. (Now my daughter did eventually breastfeed again but only at night). It is important to me that regardless of how she gets it, my daughter gets MY breast milk. Breast feeding has such an emotional and psychological hold on you, once you get in to it. Something I was not prepared for!
So back to pumping (always pumping). Pumping is just a way of life for me. In the beginning, I pumped with a Medela Pump in Style (great pump) but it took me about 45 minutes to pump. I would check out my Facebook and such while pumping. Pumping took so much of my time that, eventually, I ran out of interesting things to talk about on Facebook, other than pumping. So I began to post the same post everyday: "Ponderings while Pumping" and talk about whatever was on my mind at that moment. Ponderings while Pumping has kept me sane during maddening hours of pumping at all times of the day and night. And it wasn't long before I got a few followers who really wanted me to start a blog. So here I am, blogging... While pumping.