Happy Halloween!

We have no Halloween plans this year.  We were lazy and didn't feel like taking Scout downtown over the weekend to the kids trick or treating or the rumpus at Time In Play, and I have to work tonight, so no joining in the festivities on actual Halloween.  It would have been more for us than for her this year anyway.  Our Halloween fun was limited to taking her to Farmer's Market downtown on Saturday where we saw a few people dressed up, and dressing her in various costumes and blaming it on Halloween. You vote:  A)Pirate, B) Teddy Bear, C) Polar Bear, D) It's impossible to choose because she's pretty dang cute in all of them.


P.S. The Teddy Bear and the Polar Bear costumes will be used all winter long. And I wouldn't be surprised if the pirate continues to make an appearance on occasion as well :)

Bellewood Acres

A couple of weeks ago, on a sunny Saturday, Andrew, Scout, & I took a little excursion to Bellewood Acres.  Bellewood Acres is a delightful place where for absolutely no cost you can take a tractor-train tour of their expansive apple orchards; sample apples, apple cider, apple pie, honey roasted peanut butter, fancy cheese; look at homemade gifts; or ride wooden rocking horses.  If you are willing to spend a little money you can try their apple cider donuts, apple flowers (sliced apple with carmel drizzled over the top), pick pumpkins, or buy all manner of apple products.  Because the weather was so nice, it was quite crowded and hard to try the samples (sad, they're my favorite part!).  We did enjoy a nice ride around the orchard and picked out a few sugar pumpkins to make into baby food and pumpkin butter.  Oh and Scout got to try out another one of her possible Halloween costumes.  What do you think of our little polar bear?

Donning the fuzzy, wuzzy polar bear suit!

Checking out the pumpkins!

Look at those beautiful apple trees!

That's very serious polar bear :)

Then last weekend when Wade & Lynne were up visiting, we went back to Bellewood Acres again to meet up with Dirk & Lisa.  The weather was miserable, so no farm tour this time, but the samples were much more accessible!  We also bought some apple cider donuts, Dirk & Lisa bought an apple pie, Wade & Lynne bought some apples, and Scout & I rode the wooden rocking horse.  She also tried out her third and final option of Halloween costumes.  Doesn't she make a cute teddy bear?

Fuzzy wuzzy teddy bear

Riding the wooden goat!

Quinoa Cilantro Salad

I found this tasty recipe here. I added the corn like she suggested and I loved it. Her picture is way better, I need to work on my food photography. Notice that the bowl is half eaten before I remembered to take a photo? It was a hit.

Quinoa Cilantro Salad 
1 cup quinoa
1 cup water
½ cup cilantro
2 large carrots
1/2 can of corn

Dressing
3 T. olive oil
a few squeezes of lemon
2 large cloves garlic
1 to 2 T. minced red onion
½ tsp. salt, or more to taste

Bring 1 cup of salted water to a boil and add drained quinoa. Reduce heat, cover, and let simmer 15-20 minutes, or until all the water is absorbed. While quinoa is cooling, chop cilantro and carrot, combine dressing ingredients in a small jar and whisk or shake to combine. Once quinoa is cooled, add carrots, cilantro, and corn. Toss with dressing. Serve chilled or room temperature.

Ahoy

Scout's considering being a pirate for Halloween.  What do you think?

Chalkboard

I like to be organized. And make lists. All the time.  My brain is too crazy busy all over the place to manage any other way. I don't function without lists to keep track of things and prioritize.  Somehow, I've made Andrew come to rely on them too. It wouldn't have been unusual to find a few pads of paper lying around with ongoing lists that we would add to throughout the day. You know: the to-do list, the grocery list, the Costco list, that kind of thing. Well the pads of paper everywhere were starting to add to the clutter of our small home. So we decided to make our lists a decorating statement. With a little bit of chalkboard paint (4 coats or so actually), some fancy trim, and a little bit of our leftover red from the living room; we were able to make one good looking to do list. And trust me, it gets put to use.

Today

Notice that I switched my Today post from Tuesday mornings to Wednesday mornings?  My hope is that I will be a little bit more happy and cheerful (meaning awake) when I'm writing.  This morning looks like this:

Thinking about this past week:

On Saturday Wade & Lynne came up to see Scout.  And us...and I suppose Lynne wanted her birthday presents.  But I think Scout was the main attraction.  We spent the morning eating Andrew's homemade cinnamon rolls and the afternoon visiting Bellewood Acres and eating apple pie at Dirk & Lisa's.  Delightful.  Andrew and I even got to sit in Dirk & Lisa's hot tub.  It was like a mini-vacation, someday we will have one of our own!

Scout has been eating like the milk's going to disappear.  As in drinking 3 or more ounces after her evening nursings before bed.  She even stooped so low as to take a bottle from me after I nursed her yesterday evening (Andrew was gone).  If I think too much about it I can get all stressed out, worrying if I will be able to keep up with her or if we will have to start supplementing.  But then I remind myself that all I can do is do the best I can and what will happen will happen.


I signed my contract for teaching at Western next quarter and Andrew got another trumpet student.  Woohoo for more income!

We are still gathering apples, setting aside the good ones for eating and storing, and making applesauce with all of the others. 6 more pints of applesauce processed last night, it was tasty!

We joined a barter group on facebook, and "traded" with the friends who invited us!  They had 80 plus lbs of wine grapes, but no equipment or experience.  We had the equipment and some experience.  So we shared and there are now about 10 gallons of wine fermenting in the kitchen.  That is the biggest batch we have ever done!  More pictures and updates on this later, but it was a lot of fun!

It's been cold and clear here and Andrew's been starting a fire every morning to warm the house up.  I love the smell of the woodburning stove.  I'm not so sure that Andrew loves fussing with the fire or chopping wood, but as we have the wood already, it's cheaper than turning on our heater.

Speaking of fun things that Andrew gets to deal with...our kitchen sink keeps clogging up.  Even after repeated uses of chemicals and "the snake".  He will get the clog cleared up, it will run great for a few hours, and then it starts backing up again.  Right now it's been good for about 48 hours, so we are crossing our fingers it stays that way, calling a plumber is no fun.

BREASTfeeding pt. 3

The third and final installment of my thoughts on breastfeeding, at least for now.  You can read part one here and part two here.  Maybe I will need to revisit the topic in 6 months or so :)  And I am so sorry if I offend you, I just like to organize and write my thoughts so that I am forced to think through my own opinions.  I'd rather have you argue with me than be offended, I know breastfeeding is such a very personal thing.  I love that I have the ability to do what I think is best for us, you definitely should be able to do what you think is best for you!

Like I said, way back when this rambling thought first started, breastfeeding isn't for everyone. And that's fine, it's your decision.  But it is for us, as long as there is any possible way that we can make it work.  And when it's time to quit, I will be sad.  Because I LIKE nursing my baby.  I like how cheap it is, I like the health benefits for her, I like the feeling of being able to provide for her, I like the closeness of being together, I like how natural, comfortable and easy it feels now.  It didn't feel that way at first, but I'm glad we stuck it out.  So I like nursing, we got that covered right?  As much as I like nursing (did you count the number of "likes" in this paragraph) and know that it is exactly right for us, I hate using a nursing cover.  Hate it with a passion. 

I hate the logistics of it.  I can't get my hands in the right places to hold Scout and adjust my clothes.  I end up having my clothes in all of the wrong places because I'm not coordinated enough to handle the nursing cover and stay covered.  I can't get nursing pads in and out good or grab a burp cloth if I need one.  I end up making a mess on me and on her and flashing everyone in the process.

I hate feeling like I am trying to hide something.  I know that you'll say I'm trying to hide my breasts, which I have nothing against (I'm not an exhibitionist!), but I also feel like I'm trying to disguise what I'm doing.  Everyone knows whats going on, I feel like the nursing cover makes it an elephant in the room that we don't acknowledge.  I think nursing can and should be acknowledged and talked about, how else are women supposed to learn about it?  How else are men supposed to know what women are going through so that they can be supportive?  That's a whole other conversation, ask me if you want to get another earful.  But just know that I hate, hate, hate that feeling of having to hide something that I am not embarrassed of.  Something that I am in fact proud of and enjoy doing.

I hate the fact that I can't see Scout and that she can't see me.  Eating time is bonding time with babies, whether they are bottlefed or breastfed.  I want Scout bonding with me not with a nursing cover.

Most importantly, SHE hates the nursing cover.  And can you blame her?  She can't see me.  It's really hot and suffocating under there.  We both always end up sweating.  I can't help her adjust as well as I normally do.  And I end up manhandling her in my awkwardness.  Would you prefer that?

The only reason I ever used a cover was because I was worried about embarrassing those around me.  Especially male friends and family members.  But you know what?  Anyone who is embarrassed about breastfeeding probably needs some exposure so that they can be supportive to their wives, sisters, or friends that are working so hard to make breastfeeding work. 

You will probably tell me that using a nursing cover will get better the more I practice.  Well I'm not going to find out.  I have so little time to actually enjoy nursing, that I'm not going to spend a good portion of it "practicing" something I hate.

And no, I will not bottle feed my baby in public.  That stupid pump comes between us so frequently that there is no way I am giving up a chance to nurse her.  Besides, if she needs to eat then I need to pump.  And you will see way more if I try to pump in public.

And no, I will not go somewhere private to feed her.  I can't schedule when she is hungry, no matter how hard I try.  So sometimes, I will be in public and she will need to eat.  And I refuse to feel like a social outcast who has to be quarantined where no one can see me because my baby is hungry.  You go hide in a room by yourself while you eat.

I will however, be as subtle as I can, cover up as quickly as I can, and expose as little of myself as possible.  Because like I said earlier, I'm not an exhibitionist and I have no desire to show you all my private parts.  But honestly?  I think you might actually see less when I nurse uncovered, because I can be pretty slick without that blasted sheet in the way.  I can't, however, promise that you won't hear anything ;)  Those nursing babies are loud, with or without the cover!

So essentially, what I'm saying, is if you see me with a nursing cover I am so worried about what you will think that I can't be myself around you.  So if you are really my friend, tell me you're ok with it and that I can bag the cover.

Josh-The Last of 2009

These are the last of the 2009 scrapbook pages that I have to share. They took me forever to do because I just couldn't decide how I wanted to do them. I couldn't make myself sit down and really think about that time period. Finally I just decided to go for pictures, and leave out the words so that I can move on. Woohoo, done with 2009's scrapbook, and I got a coupon last week and ordered the real book! It should be here any day, I can't wait!

Meeting Great Grandma Bybee

Andrew's Grandma Bybee lives in Pocatello, Idaho and is one of the sweetest people that I know. And she is an amazing cook; her apple pie recipe is the best I've ever had. She came to visit for a few weeks in September and we were able to see her twice. Once we all gathered at Uncle Dirk's in Lynden for a BBQ; a few of us actually remembered to take pictures and I thought I would share.

Carina & Harper

Great Grandma Bybee trying to be entertaining enough that Scout won't scream at her

No smiles from the Scout, silly grump

Scout taking a little nap with Grandpa Bybee

Happy Birthday Taylor!

Happy Birthday Taylor!

Lucy likes Marshmallows

Lucy loves going to Hovander park. It's basically a big open field where dogs can be off leash with a trail around the edge for their humans to walk. Sometimes the grass is mowed short, sometimes it grows really long. A few weeks back we were there and they had mowed all the grass and wrapped it up into big marshmallows. Lucy liked it!

BREASTfeeding pt. 2

When I mentioned that I had a lot of thoughts about nursing floating around, I wasn't joking.  I started putting those thoughts on "paper" here and I'm going to try and wrap them up, for now, this time around.  I think this topic must have been a long time coming. 

In the Y.B.S.  (that's Years Before Scout, if you were wondering), I was very much in favor of breastfeeding.  But I never thought about it.  I noticed when people were breastfeeding and it didn't bother me.  Most people I knew used a nursing cover, so I hadn't really ever SEEN someone nurse their baby (with the exception of my mom and sister on occasion).  Despite my ignorance, I paid attention and read enough to know that breastfeeding is both amazingly natural and an incredible amount of work. 

Don't believe me?

Amazingly natural:

• Your body adjusts your milk supply to what your baby needs.  They consume all of your milk?  Your body starts to make more.
• Your body makes more for the periods when your baby eats more.  My body makes more in the morning because Scout eats like she is a bear waking up from hibernation in the morning.  And well, after sleeping for 12 hours without food, she probably feels like one.
• The make-up of your breastmilk changes as your baby grows and needs different nutrients.
• Immunities in my body go right to Scout.  Which means I can help keep her healthier.
• I'm not going to keep going on, although there are way more crazy things, because that's not what I want to talk about.  And I'm the one writing this.

Incredible amount of work:

• Every two hours?  From start time to start time?  And it can take 45 minutes at first?  That means you nurse from 2 to 245, get a break until 4, nurse until 445, get a break until 6, repeat incessantly.  That alone is an incredible commitment.
• Newborn babies don't do anything very well.  Except look cute.  They can't find the nipple, they can get it in their mouth good, they fall asleep, they get frustrated and jerk their head around and won't focus.  Long story short, it's work to keep your boob in their mouth with them sucking and getting food.
• You actually have to think about relaxing and letting your milk down.  Isn't that crazy?

I committed to the work.  And we made it through the rough time where we were both figuring out how to make our bodily processes function.  We were lucky because it was easier than I expected.  I talked a lot to my husband, my mom, my sister, my sister in-law, anyone I could find that would help me process what was happening, think of solutions, and encourage me.  Andrew would sit by me and talk to me, bring me food, water, whatever I forgot before I sat down.  Despite the encouragement, it was still work.  I spent a lot of time thinking about how to make nursing smoother and less frustrating for both of us.  I spent a lot of time worrying about my milk supply, the noises she made, all of it.  And she was an easier nurser...I can't imagine what some moms are going through with some of the stories I hear.

After a few weeks, Scout and I settled into a routine where nursing didn't feel like as much work, more of an annoyance to me that I would have to stop and sit for so long.  I'm kind of an "on-the-go" person.  I tried to just enjoy the time to relax and be with my Scout, but it was a mind game that I had to constantly play.

 In the past two weeks though, I've noticed that I really ENJOY nursing.  It might be because I'm at work most of the day, so I really appreciate when I get the chance to have that moment with Scout.  I don't even care when I nurse 3 times between 330 and 600.  Or when she wants to eat and play and eat and play and can't settle down to either.  Just recently she has started to want to hang on to my shirt or hold my hand while she is eating.  She does like to stare at me still while she is eating, VERY intently I might add.  Whatever the reason, nursing doesn't feel like work anymore.  It's comfortable and neither of us have to think about it, we can just enjoy being together.  And I'm glad.

Guess what?  It's time for bed and I'm STILL not done with all of my thoughts.  I guess I have a lot of thoughts on the topic since it consumes such a large part of my life?  So someday soon you will get to read BREASTfeeding pt. 3.  Aren't you excited?

Quick Proof

Here's the proof that we have a rolling baby...it happens quick so pay attention!

P.S. We have better video clips, but I can't get them to upload to youtube from our computer. Super frustrating and I don't have time to mess with that kind of craziness right now. So you will have to make-do with phone footage until the internet/computer/youtube gods decide to work for me!

Today

Tuesday mornings kill me; they are me at my worst.  The lack of sleep from the night before does not bring out anything remotely cheery.  I should really change the day that I attempt to write about the here and now.  But here goes:

Andrew got on the sub list for Whatcom Symphony Orchestra.  Woohoo!

We've been busy trying to preserve the fruit off of our (4?) apple trees and (1) pear tree.  We are eating and storing as many apples as we can, but due to lack of care, there were a lot of apples that weren't good eating apples.  They have cracks or blemishes, but underneath there is lots of good apple.  So we've made pear butter, applesauce, apple butter....we even added apple chunks to our coffee cake, delicious!  I really like the system we have developed to be processing efficiently, I've been meaning to post about it.  Sigh.  Someday.

We took Scout to Bellewood Acres on Saturday.  We got a lovely wagon ride tour of the apple orchard (we are envious of their beautiful trees!) and picked out a couple of sugar pie pumpkins for making pumpkin butter and pumpkin baby food. Even after the warning by this lovely lady, my camera battery died (I charged it right before we left, I swear!).  We were able to get 3 or 4 pictures, which was probably plenty considering that Scout isn't really doing anything but staring back at all of the people oohing and aahing over her.  Really, it was a gorgeous day and it was nice to get out, but it was a little too crowded and the lines were too long to get to enjoy all of the treats. 

I woke up Saturday with a cold.  Nothing terribly nasty, just the sniffles and a sore throat.  Still made me feel like crying because it was just not what I needed on a beautiful weekend.  I could be just a tad bit emotional.

Andrew and I met up with a friend for lunch on Sunday and took a nice walk around downtown.  No pictures, but the weather here has been perfect, classic fall.  Crisp and cold with beautiful sunshine.  We stopped by Time in Play to check it out, we will definitely be going back in a few months when Scout can enjoy it more.  I'll tell you more about it then, but feel free to check out the link!  What a fun place to have in town!

Both my parent's and Andrew's parents wedding anniversaries are this week...Happy Anniversary!  We are so lucky to have such good examples of happy healthy marriages in our lives.  We love you all and appreciate all of your support!  Do something fun for yourselves to celebrate!

Turkey and Quinoa Meatloaf

Andrew and I have been eating meat again, mostly turkey and chicken and in fairly small doses.  Adding meat back to our diet opens a whole new world of recipes that we can try.   Someone posted the link to this recipe on facebook and it sounded delicious, so we tried it, even though it is more straight meat than we have been eating.  We've made it twice now, both times for company, and both times with a delicious potato recipe that I swear I will post in a few days.  It was a hit!  Such a hit that there were hardly any left overs and I only got to try one meatloaf sandwhich!  Here is the link the original recipe, with a picture. 

Turkey and Quinoa Meatloaf

• 1/4 cup quinoa
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 large clove garlic, chopped
• 1 20 ounce package ground turkey
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon hot pepper sauce
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon water

1. Bring the quinoa and water to a boil in a saucepan over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the quinoa is tender, and the water has been absorbed, about 15 to 20 minutes. Set aside to cool.
2. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
3. Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in the onion; cook and stir until the onion has softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute; remove from heat to cool.
4. Stir the turkey, cooked quinoa, onions, tomato paste, hot sauce, 2 tablespoons Worcestershire, egg, salt, and pepper in a large bowl until well combined. The mixture will be very moist. Shape into a loaf on a foil lined baking sheet. Combine the brown sugar, 2 teaspoons Worcestershire, and 1 teaspoon water in a small bowl. Rub the paste over the top of the meatloaf.
5. Bake in the preheated oven until no longer pink in the center, about 50 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 160 degrees F (70 degrees C). Let the meatloaf cool for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

ABC's of me

A. Age: 28, but I always have to stop and think
B. Bed size: King, and I love it.  We have a super comfy bed and it's one of the best big purchases we have made in the past few years.  Every time we leave home, Andrew and I talk about how excited we are to get back to our bed.
C. Chore you dislike: Cleaning bathtubs.  Hate them.
D. Dogs: Lucy, except she is half pony 

E. Essential start to your day: Cup of coffee, I know it's bad.  Right now, add pump or nursing upon first awakening to that list

F.  Favorite Color: Blue, with green as a close second
G. Gold or silver: Silver
H. Height: 5'2", well just under 5'2"
I. Instruments you play(ed):piano, I can still kind of play but I'm not very good.
J. Job title: Intervention specialist, special education resource room teacher, IEP case manager, I don't know...I get called lots of different things depending on who I'm talking to.
K. Kids: Scout!

L. Live: Ferndale, just north of Bellingham
M. Mom’s name: Laure
N. Nicknames: My siblings sometimes call me Yell...nothing else really
O. Overnight hospital stays:  Never.  Well I guess we checked in at 1130 or so on Saturday night and left on Sunday when I had Scout.  So I guess that counts as overnight.
P. Pet peeves: Annoyingly inconsistent.  Lots of things bug me, but I wouldn't call them pet peeves because sometimes I don't even notice or I do it myself.  Mostly little things left undone, or almost finished but not quite all the way. 
Q. Quote from a movie: I'm terrible at remembering quotes from movies, lyrics from songs, any of that kind of thing.  Just never been important to me.
R. Righty or lefty: righty
S. Siblings: Rachelle, Josh, Alec, and Emma

T. Time you wake up: 5 am on workdays, whenever we can sleep until on the weekends
U. Underwear: Gap lowrise cotton hipsters, love them
V. Vegetables you don’t like:  Hmm, I can't think of any.  Some I don't love, but I can tolerate most of them.
W. What makes you run late:  People stopping to talk to me.  At least that makes me late at work.  I'm not usually late.  I'm an annoying 5 minute early person.
X. X-rays you’ve had:  I don't know that I have had any.  Mom if you are reading this, feel free to correct me.  I don't know of any.
Y. Yummy food you make:  That I make?  I'm pretty good at throwing together a tasty salad or soup, but Andrew bakes the really good stuff.
Z. Zoo animal you like:monkeys.  I've always had a thing for them.  Once, when we were in France, I got to feed a monkey not in a cage.  I liked that.

Happy Birthday Lynne!

Pan Pan 2009

Almost done posting my 2009 work!

We interrupt our regularly scheduling posting to announce...

...that Miss Scout learned to roll over yesterday!  She has been occasionally flopping from stomach to back during tummy time since she was a couple of weeks old.  But this was different, it was intentional (somewhat) from back to front and back again.  And she did it during our few hours in the evening so I didn't feel like I missed it!  Andrew's got the job of catching it on video today, so the proof is coming soon!


Here's how it happened: 
I put her in bed for the 4ish nap attempt that rarely happens but we try any way because she otherwise she get a little bit edgy by bedtime.  I laid her on her back, told I loved her, and walked out the door.  After our allotted "work it out" time, I went back in to soothe her....and she was lying face down yelling at the mattress!  I scooped her up and went to tell dad.

After she was all calm and snuggly and happy again, we tried the nap again.  Same thing, this time I didn't make her wait the entire "work it out" time though.   After scooping her up from her self imposed face plant and soothing her once again, I put her back in bed to try that nap one more time.  This time Andrew and I watched from the edge of her room where she couldn't see us and we could see she was using her feet to flip her over, but she was only getting to her side while we were watching. 

Nap time obviously wasn't happening, so I got her back up, laid her on her back in the middle of the living room and told her to roll over.  Nothing, not even an attempt.  We hung out like for about an hour.  She was happy, chatty, and eventually got really really close a few times.  Then she started to get her very tired face on and the whining appeared.  Andrew said I was torturing her by making her stay up until she rolled over.

So I conceded that I might not be there the first time we saw her roll over and went to get her ready for bed.  Diaper change cheered her up, like always, and she was wiggling and smiling and flipping all over the changing pad.  Instead of zipping her up into her woombie right away, I brought her back to the living room and told her to give it one last try before she had to go to bed so that I could see it.  In less than 5 minutes, she had flipped from her back to her stomach, fussed there for a minute, and then went back again!   I don't think she loved it, but we cheered for her and then she was happily rewarded by nursing herself to sleep, her favorite time of the day.

Thank you Scout for saving that milestone to share while both of us could be there!  Andrew might have an interesting time with naps today!

BREASTfeeding pt. 1

That's right, I said breast in the title of this blog post.  And I'm not embarrassed.  A few days ago I mentioned that I had millions of thoughts about nursing floating around in my head.  Well it's time to get them down on "paper" so they won't keep taking up brain space.   If you don't want to think about boobs and breastfeeding, don't read this.  Or part two of BREASTfeeding, which will probably be finished next week.  I won't be offended.

I knew that I wanted to breastfeed before I ever got pregnant.  I know it's not for everyone, and that's fine with me.  But I was committed to making it work.  I wanted that relationship with my baby, I wanted the health benefits for her, and let's admit it...I'm cheap.  I couldn't see the benefit of paying for formula if there was anyway that I could get my body to make the nutrients my baby would need.  I also knew that it was a lot of work and that struggles were common.  Once I was pregnant and I knew that baby was on the way, I read about latch problems, supply problems, let-down problems, problems positioning the baby, anything I could get my hands on.  I was prepared to have a hard time and I had solutions ready to try.

Scout made her debut and we were fortunate that nursing came easy to both of us.  So, so, so very fortunate.  I think that a good part of it is luck and I know that I got lucky.  Granted, I was very paranoid and went out of my way to do everything I could to keep it working well.  I drank millions of ounces of water a day (and nothing else) for the first three weeks because I knew that being dehydrated can cause supply issues.  I slept as much as possible because I had read that your body produces the hormone that stimulates milk production while you are sleeping so the better rested you are the better your milk supply is. You may not believe this, but Andrew was supportive and we went to bed every night at 9 and slept until we couldn't physically go back to sleep, usually 9 or 10 in the morning.  Granted, I had to get up every 2 hours and nurse, but the 12 hours a day, dedicated to sleeping did wonders for my body's physical state (and my mental well being).   We did this for the first 3 or 4 weeks.  Even now we make sure to get 8 hours of sleep.  Awesome right?  I let Scout nurse as often and suck as long as she wanted, even if I was just a human pacifier because hey...it's soothing to her and it's helping my milk supply.  Keeps us both happy.  For the first three weeks, I made sure I offered my boob every two hours, except at night, just so that I could make sure and keep my production up.  And let me tell you, my production was up.  I felt like I was drowning, literally.  But I was happy and she was very well fed.

Even with how well things were going, I was worried because I was going back to work, full-time, when Scout was only 8 weeks old.  And I wanted to feed her with breastmilk only until she was a year old.  To prepare for this enormous challenge, we started giving her a bottle of breastmilk a day.  I started by pumping every morning after I fed her, because that's when I had the most milk.  After we had a little stored, we started replacing one nursing session with a bottle of breastmilk, every day.  I would pump while Andrew fed her.  And we did it VERY diligently.  Like even when on vacation.  It sucked.  But it was worth it.  I don't know if it's just another piece of luck, or if it's because of our persistence, but Scout switches from boob to bottle and back like a champ.  I am so grateful because I really can't imagine what my mental state would be if she didn't. 

Right now, I feel like I'm doing more pumping that nursing, but I am still so grateful that I can feed Scout purely breastmilk (because I'm cheap remember?) and I am really appreciating the times that the milk goes from me to her without that blasted pump acting as the middle man.  For posterity's sake, here is our weekday routine:  I pump at 5am, 8am, 11am, and 130pm.  I feed her myself, no pump as the middle man, when I get home at 330, before she goes to bed at 530 and then if she wakes up in the middle of the night (which only happens occasionally).  Weekends, we get to put the pump away and I just feed her to her heart's (and mine!) content.  Even though things are going well right now, I'm still paranoid about not keeping my production enough.  I'm constantly checking ounces produced vs ounces consumed and I am on hand with milk cookie recipes, mother's milk, and herbal supplements if I need them.  I am really going to try and make it a full year.  I'm crazy right?

Now that we've got the technical details down, stay tuned for part 2...where you get to hear all about how my thoughts on nursing have evolved.

Good Morning

A little sample of what a conversation with Scout can be like. Someday I will remember to get out the camera when she is feeling really talkative.  Notice how she keeps getting distracted by the camera?

Update: I just watched this video again. I think it's only about a week old and she already jabbering way more. She is changing so fast. Sigh. I guess I will just have to take another video!

So Fresh and So New

You may have noticed that I've been messing with the look of the blog.  Or you could be like me and never leave google reader unless you feel inspired to comment, in that case you probably haven't looked at the actual website in ages.  Well, it's been cleaned up and reorganized over the last few weeks.

You might notice:

• A new photo (the view from our porch) for our header
• New font throughout, blue words are links
• All of the tabs along the top have been updated and reorganized with a new Baby tab added
• You can use the links to this post feature at the bottom of posts

Along the right of the page you may see some new gadgets including:

• An email feed.  Enter your email address in the box to get each new post sent to your inbox.  Supposedly.  Let me know if this works
• A counter to help you keep track of Scout's growth (instead of the pregnancy counter that was still weirdly ticking away)
• Some new pictures
• Links to scrapbook pages, recipes, and other topics in slightly different places, sorted by topic.
• Links to posts about family and friends have been moved up to the tabs along the top of the page.

I need help, really I do:

• I didn't check every single link.  If you find one that doesn't work, will you let me know?  Email or comment is fine.
• Our friend's list is getting long.  How long do you leave a friend's blog up if they haven't updated in a while?
• I know I forgot some friends.  If your blog isn't on there, will you let me know so I can add it to the list?  Pretty please?  I mean really, go to the tab and check for your name.
• Also and finally, I know that people don't call their blogs by their first and last name.  But I can't think of any other way to keep the friends and family lists organized.  Is it weird to use people's names on the list instead of the cute blog names they have come up with? 

Into the Woods

Andrew just finished playing in the orchestra for Into the Woods last night, and whew, are we glad. It was a great experience but a very busy week. 5 rehearsals over 4 days and then 5 shows over 4 days. It was a lot of playing for him, a lot of stress, and a lot of late nights. In the end, he played well, and was glad that he did it. Both of us our glad that life isn't like that all of the time though, we are happy to get back to a little bit calmer routine and more sleep!  And I will be happy not to be mixing Into the Woods tunes up with my kid's songs, it's making for some very odd medleys!

Mt. Baker Theatre,  describes the show this way:
Once upon a time, Broadway legend Stephen Sondheim created a Tony Award-winning musical classic, a seamless fusion of fairytales that spoke to the child’s heart within us all. It told the enchanted story of a baker and his wife as they journeyed into the woods in search of a cow, a red cape, a pair of golden slippers, and some magic beans – all necessary to lift the curse that kept them childless. Along the way, they met up with a beguiling cast of characters that left audiences laughing out loud, fighting back tears and, ultimately, transformed by the whole experience. 

If you are interested, you can read a little bit more about Into the Woods here.  Basically it was a mix of Jack and the Beanstalk, Cinderella, Rapunzel, and Little Red Riding Hood with a little bit of Sleeping Beauty and Snow White thrown in.  I was able to go see the Saturday night show with Maggie (thank you Mary for babysitting!) and really enjoyed it!  The first half way hilariously funny, the second half was a little bit darker and more serious.  The first half wrapped up the story line nicely and honestly, I could have been quite happy with just that portion of the show.  The music was excellent though (hehe)!

Honey Dijon Roasted Potatoes

We had these potatoes last time we were down at the Bybees and I'm hooked.  I don't think I ever want potatoes cooked a different way again.  And they are really easy. I should ask Lynne where she got the recipe.  Sorry for no picture, they never last long enough to take one.

Honey Dijon Roasted Potatoes 
2 lbs. fingerling, or small red potatoes
4 T. Olive Oil
2 t. kosher salt
2 t. black pepper
2 Tbl. Dijon mustard
2 Tbl. Honey

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Wash potatoes in cool water, pat dry and set aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl toss together olive oil, salt, pepper, mustard and honey. Add potatoes to mixture and coat each potato well. Transfer potatoes to a 13 X 9 baking dish.
3. Place in center of oven and bake potatoes uncovered 25 minutes or until easily pierced with a fork. 4. Serve immediately.

Bedtime?

This is for all you who think that 6 is too early of a bedtime. Because I would totally agree, if we weren't fighting to keep Scout awake until then so I can get to see her some. This happens to me some nights around 515 or so, as I'm walking around showing her things, and I know its time to put this girl to bed. 

Priest Lake 2009

These pages were really hard to do, I'd been procrastinating them a long time. They were hard only because there were 570 photos and 90% of them were really good. I had a hard time narrowing it down. There were so many good photos of people and of the scenery around us, I finally just had to do a few collage pages so that I wouldn't have a whole book of just Priest Lake photos!

I'm thinking

I started a blog because I like to write and I wanted a place to record our lives.  I used to have glamorous ambitions of writing something to be published, like actually printed.  Not just hitting the publish button on blogger.  Now I'm just satisfied if I can convey a coherent thought without getting distracted or without too many typos (I hope your checking mom!)  But, despite my scattered, very full brain, I still get that urge to write down my thoughts.  I think it helps me organize all the floating ideas and thoughts.  You don't have to read it, I hit "publish" for me, not for you.

I realized today that I am loving breastfeeding right now.  I actually have lots of nursing thoughts floating around my head.  How I felt before we started, the hard parts, and where we are now...what I will and won't do.  I want to write a whole post about nursing...is that weird?  Or is it weird that I know that I pumped 28 ounces today?  Off the top of my head because I keep track without meaning too?  Also, how much milk does a cow or a goat produce a day?  Where do humans rank in there?

Andrew and I are both reading Harry Potter.  And by that I mean rereading for the umpteenth time.  That Scary Snotter is a comforting, engaging world for tired, busy minds to escape to.  I like rereading books more than I like finding a new book.  And yes, I read the ends of books first.  If your interested, I will tell you why.  I've had to defend this practice many times.

Andrew is busy this week with rehearsals and shows for a musical he is playing in.  So I've had more time to myself in the evenings than usual.  Which means I get to pick the music and not worry about what he likes.  And I always pick the same album.  I bet you that he could name it too because about a month ago I started picking it all of the time.  Then he told me I would wear it out and so I only listened to it when he wasn't around.  I still love it and this is 5 days of listening to it in a row plus all of the previous listening time.

There are three kids at school that are always running to their classes. Like dodging people, rushing around corners, jumping over bags RUNNING to class.  I'm constantly telling them to walk and that they won't get there any faster if they trip and fall and have to go to the nurse's office.  Do you think this is how those crazy drivers who always have to pass the person in front of them start out?


My life is good.  Like bursting at the seams, too good to be true, something bad has to happen soon kind of good.  I'm always saying that my goal in life is to enjoy where I am right now and not be wishing for the next phase to start or missing some opportunity that passed me by.  I'm not finding that hard right now because things are so wonderfully good.  My job is crazy busy, but the kids are awesome and I do well with stress (and I'm getting good at leaving it at work without feeling guilty!).  I have an awesome husband who takes care of my amazingly interesting and always changing daughter everyday.  And takes care of things around the house so I don't come home and feel like I HAVE to do housework.  I'm getting to teach at a university, something I didn't think would happen until way down the line.  I love our house and that it's ours, despite all of it's little problems.  Our budget is tight, but we are managing.  Things are just all around GOOD and we are happy.  I could go on and on forever, but that may sound like bragging to anyone who is still reading this.

Maybe I will start that post about nursing.

Sleep

Babies are weird sleepers. Sometimes Scout will fight going down for a nap, over and over. Then she will get woken up really easy. Other times, she will fall asleep suddenly in a random place and sleep soundly. You take what you can get right?

Today

Just checking in, taking a minute to think about how the last week has been and what we have coming up!  And literally, I'm writing this in about 5 minutes.  I don't feel like I have much time to spare today, even while I'm pumping!  My favorite part of this last week:  spending the whole weekend, at home, with Scout.

Scout in her Moby wrap.  She spent a great deal of time like this over the weekend, hanging out with me and watching my every move.

These two posts about being a mom of a young baby (even though I'm not the one who stays home with her!) stole my thoughts.  Really, I can't say it better than these people.  So just read these posts to know what I'm thinking about. From summer harms and The Curly Cues.

Andrew and I survived (barely!) a long Monday yesterday with me working both jobs, him taking Scout to get shots, then having an evening rehearsal.  We had to get Mary to babysit for us while we worked last night, thankfully Scout slept the entire time.  I'm feeling a little tired and frazzled today though after not getting to bed until 11 two nights in a row and getting up at 5.  Looking forward to this evening and getting to sit and breathe for a little bit.  Maybe a bath is in order.

We had a nice dinner with friends from Seattle on Saturday night (made some of our new favorite recipes that I will share later!) and other friends over for breakfast on Sunday. Having people over for meals is one of my favorite social activities. Saves us money because we aren't eating out and we can let Scout sleep, play, eat, or squak as she needs too.

Other than the two previously mentioned social events, I spent this weekend at home. Andrew had quite a few rehearsals, which left me and Scout lots of time at home alone. It was fun to get to be housewife for the weekend. I haven't had much time lately just to play with my baby and do small chores around the house. Scout spent some of the time each day in the moby wrap, watching me do small house chores. She is such a watcher, paying attention to everything around her.

Our apples are all coming ripe, I am planning on starting making applesauce and apple butter this week; I have a feeling I will be making a lot of apple products for a little while!

3 Months!

I can't believe our baby is 3 months old! On Saturday we got out her jumper and let her try it out for the first time. She was a little overwhelmed but very interested in the colors, lights, and sounds. I posted a video clip on the bottom of this post if you are dying to see some video footage of our girl. She is already more excited about the jumper so this footage seems outdated and it's only 2 days old!

A few things that stand out about Scout right now:

• She is still sleeping through the night great, only getting up once, occasionally, between 6pm and 715am or so. This weekend she even slept in until 815 and 845. I didn't think babies were supposed to know about sleeping in on weekends. It was awesome.
• She really doesn't like people she doesn't know looking at her too close or holding her. She gets this huge pouty lip and then screams.  Like she never screams for anything else.  She seems to do ok with new people once she has gotten to stare at them from a distance for a bit, but she is a not a fan of being held by new people right away.
• Even once she gets used to new people being around, she mostly just stares at them.  If you get smiles and coos from her, you are special.
• She is reaching for toys now, and she loves the newborn playmat we have for her.
• She likes it when we read books to her, especially Dr. Seuss.
• She loves being sung to, I have kids songs stuck in my head way too often. "Mare eat Oats" and "The Cannibal King" occasionally start merging with "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" and "Row Row Row Your Boat" and then life gets really confusing.
• We fed her a lick of cream cheese frosting and she loved it, started sucking vigorously on my finger. Kid after my own heart. Everything else we have let her "taste" off of our finger gets sour faces and tongue out.
• Speaking of tongues, hers gets a lot of action. Most smiles include tongue and she sometimes just sticks it out and wiggles it around, hilarious.
• She follows us as we walk around the room and looks at us when we are talking.  She also tracks Lucy as she moves around.
• It's hard to get her "talking" on camera because she gets amazed by camera and just wants to stare at it.
• In the morning, when she wakes up, she yells and then is quiet.  Like she is waiting for us to come in.  Then when we come lean over her crib she bursts into smiles and wiggles.  I loved getting to be home for that this weekend.
• She flinches and wiggles when we make kissy noises because she knows we are going to "get her".

Love this kid.

And now for the video clip.

Rar

Have I mentioned that Andrew is trying to teach Scout to growl?  I hope that when she learns, she will do it when she makes this face.

Potholes 2009

These pages were from a quick family trip we took to get away together in the days just after Josh's funeral. We missed him!