Bit O' Crunchy, October 12: DECEPTIVELY DELICIOUS GIVEAWAY!

Today marks the return of my weekly natural living spotlight - Bit O' Crunchy! I began my Bit O' Crunchy series over the summer, but it has been sadly neglected in the midst of the wonderful hecticness of welcoming home a new baby. I am excited to kick off the return of this feature by focusing on food. Healthy food, even! (And how to trick your family into eating it!)

If you had your TV on at all this week, chances are you caught Jessica Seinfeld's media tour promoting her new book Deceptively Delicious. In this book - which looks oh-so-cute and fun - Ms. Seinfeld shares her secrets on how to get kids to eat healthy . . . whether they know they are or not! Basically, she shares how to sneak vegetable purees into foods your kids already know and love (including brownies! and cookies! and mac and cheese!).

I used a lot of homemade veggie purees when D started on solids and found the process to really be quite easy. In fact, D is really a good veggie eater to this day. D's Daddy, on the other hand, almost always passes on the vegetables passed 'round the table, so I am thinking I could employ Ms. Seinfeld's tactics to deceive my man into some good-for-you eating.

Anyone else want to give this a try? I am ordering one copy for myself and one for a lucky reader. This giveaway will be super simple. All you gotta do is leave me a little comment on this post! No blog? No problem! Just leave me an email address where I can find you (or email me your email address if you prefer - my email can be found in the sidebar). If you do have a blog and you want to post a link to this giveaway, great! But it's not a requirement to enter.

Deadline to enter is 11:59 pm, Thursday, October 18. I will announce the winner in next Friday's Bit O' Crunchy installment. Good luck! Happy healthy eating!

Good stuff

I have thought and pondered for the past 24 hours on a clever, witty post title for today. You can see about how well my brain is operating right now!

Anyway, these are thirteen things that make me happy these days:

1) My Avent Isis breast pump

2) Lansinoh ultra thin breast/nursing pads (yeah, the wool ones didn't work out as well as I had hoped)

3) Lansinoh cleanse and condition wipes for the breastfed baby

4) Mei Tai Baby

5) Ultimate Swaddling Blanket (pink mod circles!)

6) Short hair

7) Halloween costumes

8) Pink (the color, not the singer . . . although I am sure she is quite lovely, too)

9) The Tyra Banks show (never watched it until I was up with AJ and found our local Fox station shows last week's episodes at three a.m. She's great company at that hour!)

10) Best nursing bra ever

11) Mums (fall!)

12) My artist

13) Baby smiles

Don't forget to come by tomorrow for the return of Bit O' Crunchy giveaway!

Business meeting

A dear and wonderful friend of mine invited D over to play with her little boy (who happens to be one of D's very best friends - so that works out nicely for everyone), so I thought I would take advantage of some quiet time to clean my kitchen um box up my maternity clothes err . . . catch up on blog business. Because that's what is really important, right?

1. Check it! I have gone through and updated my blogroll. If you are a regular around here and don't see yourself listed and would like to be, please do let me know in the comments or by way of email.

2. I am going to add a new feature to my sidebar (because really, why have just a few features when you can have a lot?). I want to spotlight my friends and readers who have work-at-home businesses. If you have a business you would like to see included here (so all fifteen of my readers can check you out!), please let me know. Hope to have this up by the end of the week.

3. I know everyone has been waiting with bated breath for this announcement - Bit O' Crunchy is coming back! My Friday natural living spotlight went on babymoon with me, but I am ready to roll it out again. By way of celebrating, Friday's Bit O' Crunchy will be a giveaway! It's a surprise, but I will give you a hint . . . it will make you excited to get out your vegetable steamers and food processors! Think you know what it might be? Keep your guesses to yourself and be sure to come by on Friday to enter.

4. I need your help with something. I am trying to coerce my little (ahem, 27 year old) brother into starting a blog. Well, technically, into starting a new blog. He blogged for a long time at MySpace in a blog he called The Jack*** Diaries (expletive asterisked out). He and my sister-in-law are expecting baby #1 in early December and I desperately want him to blog the journey into new fatherhood. Here's where you can help - can you point me in the direction of some really good daddy bloggers? I know there have to be some out there, I just don't have time to scout them out. Link me up to what you find!

5. Finally, a long, long time ago (late August, to be exact. That's not a long time ago? Hmmmm, sure feels like it to me!), my Sweet Friend Corey bestowed on me a wonderful award:

I never got a chance to publicly thank her or to choose five more recipients, what with the last-minute preparations for AJ's arrival. I still can't quite decide to whom I will pass the award, but I sure do want to make sure I say THANK YOU Corey. You, my dear, are an amazingly thoughtful blogger and friend. If ya'll don't read Corey's Living and Loving Every Minute of It, you are truly missing out. Witty and tender and full of gorgeous photography - it is truly a treat to get to know even better this wonderful woman I have known for more than two years now.

Okay, so I think that's it. Business meeting adjourned. And don't forget to come back by on Friday!

The pride, the fall, and what would you have done?

The Lord, in His mercy, sent some cool winds our way today. Rather than packing up and heading to the library for toddler storytime, I decided to pack up and take both girls to the park for the first time by myself. It was really a gorgeous morning and our town playscape was surprisingly empty. I snuggled AJ up in our trusty mei tai (which is quickly becoming my very favorite baby accessory!) and off we went, the three of us, to climb and dig and chase and explore.

D made friends with two darling sweet ones, and I was sitting in the shade by the sandbox, quietly congratulating myself. I mean, this "life with two" thing - it's not so hard, right? I have friends who have shared how difficult it was to get out of the house at all with two, and yet I pack up both girls and go somewhere with both of them most every day. It gets tricky, but really, it's not that bad. And with this being the most difficult and stressful football season The Coach and I have gone through together, I am doing this parenting thing - for the most part - on my own.

So yeah, I was sitting there feeling pretty darn sassy.

A mom I recognized from gymnastics and storytime sat down beside me and we were chatting away about our lives before kids and what plans the future held for life after the youngest heads to kindergarten. D approached us with a bucket full of sand. Wet sand. She started swinging it at me (the way we swing cups of water in the bathtub) and said, "Splashy splash!" I took the bucket from her and oh-so-gently explained that we don't do splashy splash with sand, only water. And only in the bathtub. I returned to conversation with the other mommy, fully unaware that my gentle correction was not sitting well with princesa D.

In a span of time I am here to tell you was far shorter than the blink of an eye, D scooped up a fistful of wet sand in her sweet little hand and threw it right at me. Wet sand went everywhere! It covered my face, my hair, and worst of all, my sweetly sleeping, utterly innocent bystander one month old AJ. I mean it COVERED her. There was sand in her hair, in her eyes, and in the little folds of skin under her neck.

The fact that this transpired not only in public, but in full view of another parent is a testimony to God's Hand of protection on D. I was royally pissed off. And I sure didn't feel quite as sassy anymore.

Honestly, I was so stunned, I didn't know what to do. I stood up and told my mommy friend, "I am so sorry, but we have to go now!" She was kind and gracious and assured me that her toddler had pulled some such stunt on another occasion . . . I can't remember what she said exactly because I had to focus all of my physical, emotional, and spiritual energy into not just flipping out on D.

As it turns out, life with two . . . yeah, it's sorta hard.

I dragged D out to the car and attempted a quick clean-up. I told her several times that we were leaving the park because she had made a very bad choice, and that it was hurtful to Mommy and AJ for her to throw sand on us. I gotta tell ya, friends. She didn't seem bothered, let alone remorseful, for this in the least.

And so here is where I am soliciting advice from you - new moms, old moms, not-yet-moms. Keeping in mind D is two years, eight months old, what would you have done?

Aliza's birth story

Okay, okay. I promise someday I will write about something else. For now, I can't help myself! New love.

There is a very large internet community made up mostly of mamas who are way crunchier than I am. I am a somewhat active member of this community and have learned many valuable mothering tips and tricks and philosophies and practices in the nearly two years since I joined. Something unfortunate, however, I have learned there is to sorta keep my mouth closed about the way my daughters have come into the world. Both are Cesarean births . . . and in that particular community, that is The Birth We Do Not Speak Of.

Oh, I understand the stance they take. Their mission is to support and promote lifestyle choices and parenting practices that are natural. I understand that there is nothing natural about my daughters being delivered through a discreet, surgeon-made incision in my uterus. I also understand it is not in the best interests of this particular online community for me (or any of their members) to go around celebrating birth via Cesarean section. Celebrate a "successful" VBAC? Absolutely! You have redeemed yourself, mama! Celebrate a "failed" VBAC? Well, sure. At least you tried, mama. But there is a definite unspoken rule that if you don't even try for a natural birth . . . well, mama, why don't you just keep that to yourself . . .

I actually harbor no bitterness or hard feelings toward this community; on the contrary, it has spurned much growth for me as a woman and a mother. I have just come to the place in my life where I can say I will no longer apologize for my first failed attempt at a natural birth, nor will I apologize for my elective decision to schedule a second Cesarean birth. I'm really not interested in debating or advocating any aspect of the birth of my daughters. I just want to be able to celebrate like any other mama would want to celebrate the most miraculous moments in life.

(Ha! I bet when you read the title for this post you wouldn't have guessed you were pulling up a seat right in front of my soapbox! Enough with the baggage background, on with the story!)

On the morning of September 5th, I woke up with what I had feared would be the case. I was STARVING! And according to doctor's orders, I was to have had nothing to eat or drink after midnight. And we wouldn't get started with the delivery until 1:30. And I like to eat. A lot.

I managed to stave off the hunger by munching on some ice chips and somehow the rest of that morning is kind of blurry to me. I think I got online a bit, re-checked what I had packed in my bags, played with D, and before I knew it, The Coach and I were in the car on the way to meet Little Sister.

Ongoing name negotiations kept me preoccupied through the check-in and pre-op procedures. Hubby and I talked and laughed while we waited for the team to assemble. We had one particularly flaky nurse who provided lots of fodder for jokes which mostly managed to distract me from how impossibly hungry I was getting. I mean, the kind of hungry where your tummy starts to hurt and you feel woozy. Finally, my OB came in for last minute instructions and a pep talk and the time had finally arrived!

It wasn't until they were wheeling me through the halls to the OR that I started to feel scared. Actually, at that point, I began to really panic. In the days before, I had (stupidly) read an article about the number of women in the US who are dying after giving birth, and for some reason, I could not shake the thought of my sweet D never seeing Mommy again and I just kept thinking "I don't want to do this . . ." By the time they transferred me to the operating table, I could barely breathe. But by then it was time for the spinal to be administered and I had to get it together. The nurse who was assisting in the spinal administration was strong and kind and funny and told me to lean my head on his chest while they put the spinal in. He put his arms around me as the spinal went in and almost immediately I began to feel much more calm. I kind of think they gave me a little sedative along the way because a few minutes after the spinal was in, I was happy and excited and ready to meet my daughter!

The first part of a Cesarean birth is the easiest. The OR team was light-hearted and funny and we talked about life with toddlers in general, life with Dacey in specifics. Just a few minutes after we got started, Aliza Joy came screaming from my womb.

Those lusty newborn cries didn't last terribly long, and I was beginning to get a little concerned. Then hubby told me they had swaddled her up nice and tight and that she was laying there taking in this big, cold, bright world with eyes wide open. After a few minutes, they took her up to the nursery with Daddy right beside her, going over to himself my strict instructions:

"No pacifier! No bottle! And NO HEP B SHOT! And don't forget to take pictures, okay, love?"

And then the tedious part of a Cesarean birth - getting put back together. But the time went by quickly as we talked sports in general and college football in specific. The place where time dragged by the most slowly was in the recovery room. Unlike after D's birth, I was alert and awake and just wanted to get upstairs to meet my daughter!

Finally, eons later, I was taken up to my room and they brought Aliza in immediately. Daddy reported that the amount of finger-sucking going on indicated she was hungry and ready to meet Mommy, too. That girl latched on right away (almost as if she had been coached up on breastfeeding while in the womb) and as I gazed on her sweet, fair skin and startling bright eyes, I was just. so. smitten.

My hospital stay was wonderful and short and marked by friendly and helpful nurses, visits from friends and family, and just the right amount of alone time with AJ. Happy, happy days.

One month ago. Today. Thanks for letting me celebrate.

Too much to be Wordless . . .

Four weeks! AJ is four weeks today. Inconceivable.

I've had some gentle encouragement from a few friends to post a little more. I have to tell ya - I feel utterly, deplorably selfish and self-indulgent to be posting here when I have read so little of what is going on in the lives of my readers and friends. But, on the other hand, I have to remind myself that one of the reasons I blog is to have a record of our days, so I really need to put some thoughts into words and get some pictures from the camera to the screen before this all gets lost in the hazy memories of the first few weeks.

So, here's what's been going on 'round here . . .

I had always heard tell of the mythical Easy Baby. I read about Easy Babies in books and even have some friends who claimed to have had an Easy Baby. My mom swears up and down that as a newborn, I was beyond easy. She says I was an Angel Baby (but doesn't have much in the way of proof to back up those claims . . . just memories that are going on thirty years old, which I am sure have been softened and reshaped by time). Anyway, I was sort of skeptical of the idea of the Easy Baby, what with my induction into motherhood being nothing short of a baptism by fire. Oh, there were easy days when Dacey was a newborn, but she was the archetypical High Needs baby, so it was hard for me to imagine mothering in terms other than what doesn't kill you makes you stronger . . .

Somehow, some way, the Lord saw fit to deliver into my arms a bona fide Easy Baby.

I walk around sort of waiting for the other shoe to drop because surely it will, right? Aliza - she sleeps and sleeps, she nurses equally well from the breast or bottle, she is content wherever and however we tote her around - be it her infant carseat or sling or simply in our arms. The high pitch and high frequency of her sister's communication doesn't even startle her, let alone cause her to cry. She wakes up once a night - precisely between 3 and 4 in the morning for a little snack, sleeps soundly whether in her bassinet or in our bed. I mean, are you kidding me? For the first two weeks, I held my breath. Even Dacey was easy for the first two weeks. But here we are, four weeks in now, and still . . . easy.

A rare open-eyed moment . . .

As I am known to do in most situations, I have managed to call up all kinds of Mommy Guilt in the past month. Because Dacey was so needy and high maintenance as a baby, I was constantly interacting with her. Rocking. Walking. Bouncing. Nursing. Holding. Soothing. We got to know each other intensely and intimately right from the start. I truly feel like I am missing some of that with Aliza because she is just so dang content. I find that as soon as I lay Dacey in bed at night, I am scooping Aliza up to have some snuggle time!

And then I feel guilty because as much as I am in awe of Aliza's content nature, I feel I am somehow defaming the personality of my oldest. Dacey was, and is, just intense. I am trying to come to terms with the fact that just because I am so enjoying having a laid-back child doesn't mean that I am un-enjoying my spirited toddler. Dacey is a character and a hoot and I wouldn't change one minute of her life on this planet. She becomes more brave and outgoing and joyful to be around day by day. Our first days home with Little Sister were not pretty, and although she still avoids Aliza most of the day, I see glimpses of Big Sister showing through more and more.

Speaking of brave - here she is showing off her fashion forwardness by daring to wear white dress shoes after Labor Day (in just a diaper and tee, of course!)

And speaking of diapers, here is evidence that I may be up to my ears in diapering two for a while yet . . . I bought her the first pack of Big Girl Panties after she finally indicated that she might like to try wearing those instead of diapers. She was so excited to wear them!

On her head.

And promptly tinkled on the carpet five minutes after I took this picture.

So that's where we are around here. I really, really want to get back to reading and catching up with everyone! All of the September baby mamas I have enjoyed getting to know through blogland now have little ones to snuggle and care for - welcome Nadia! Josie! Nate! and Otto! (And my Sweet Friend Mary Ann - whom I already knew before my days in blogland - welcomed home Baby Boy Joel a day before AJ arrived!)

Thanks for hanging with me through my extended babymoon. We'll talk soon!

Wordless Wednesday - Distracted

long "I," as in Doolittle . . .

It's a miracle! Both girls asleep at the same time. That's the first time that has happened!

Would you believe I started this post yesterday at 3:30?

To begin with, a huge thank you to each person who left comments and sent emails of congratulations. What a blessing it was to come home to such kind, sweet words. I can hardly believe that it's been two weeks since we welcomed Aliza into our family. In some ways, I feel I have lived a whole lifetime in those two weeks; and in other ways, it seems like just the blink of an eye ago that I was hugely pregnant with anticipation.

Aliza.

Some insight on her name: We settled on her name weeks before her birth but the night before her birthday, The Coach started to have doubts. Ack! Men! We talked through some other of our favorite names and decided to sleep on it. Well on the way to the hospital, we were still discussing. The conversation continued through check-in and on into the pre-op room. The Coach wanted Little Sister to have a name that lends itself to going by her initials. As much as we loved the name Eliza, neither of us were totally sold on the initials "EJ." (No offense to any EJ's! I had a student when I was teaching who went by EJ and he was a challenge, to say the least.) I can't remember if it was him or me who suggested spelling her name with an A, but I do know I insisted he use his PC phone to go to babynames.com and check the meaning of the name spelled with an A. (Name meanings are freakishly important to the inner linguist in me!) As it turns out, Aliza is Hebrew for "joyful." The minute he read that off the screen to me, I knew with unshakable certainty that yes! This was to be Little Sister's name.

Joyful Joy.

That's a lot of name to live up to, yet it is the most remarkable way to describe Aliza. She is an utter joy to have in our family. Content. Laid-back. Sweet. Snuggly. We just can't get enough of her. Well, everyone, that is, except for Dacey who is totally NOT sold on the idea or presence of Little Sister. We think she'll warm up eventually, but only time will tell if the Unthroned Princess will be able to move from irritable tolerance to deep sisterly love.

I wouldn't be doing my job as Proud Mommy of Two if I didn't share some pictures, so if you don't mind . . .


Beautiful, light eyes . . . when they are open, they are full of wonder at this new world.

Home from the hospital . . .

She sleeps . . . and sleeps . . . and sleeps . . . I am fully aware that this will change as she wakes up to the world, but for now - what a blessing!

My first outing with the girls

And yesterday before her two week appointment

Big Sister and Little Sister. Yes, I would bet they can be friends.

Wordless (born on) Wednesday

Behold Aliza Joy!

Little Sister is Here!

We are thrilled to announce the arrival of Aliza Joy!

Born Wednesday, September 5th, 2007
Weighing 8 pounds, 8 ounces and measuring 20 inches long

Details and pictures to come later!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------No, Megan isn't already online, she asked me to update her blog so all her wonderful friends could be updated. I will try to get some pictures up tonight.-Amanda

Dear Dacey

Dear Dacey,

I wonder if you noticed last night that I didn't say our bedtime prayer with you as we rocked in our rocking chair before I laid you down to sleep. I know you can't understand this now, but my throat was too choked, my voice too broken, to even speak a single word. I didn't want to upset you.


If I could have spoken to you what was on my heart, here is what I would have said . . .


Thank you.


Thank you for being the child that you are. Thank you for patiently teaching me through two and half years what it is to be a mother. You turned my beliefs about mothering inside out and upside down, and I can never tell you how grateful I am for that. Thanks for breaking me in.


Thank you for being patient with me while I learned the ropes and tossed the books written by the experts. Thank you for teaching me of the importance of routine and the wonder of flexibility. It is because of you, lovie, that I have discovered the freedom in giving myself so completely over to my purpose for this season of life.


There are moments when I mourn the loss of this time of just the two of us. My heart hurts to know that now our time will be shared. But I also thrill to the thought of you as Big Sister. You are so wise and funny and powerful and compassionate (not to mention just a little bit bossy). You were born to be a Big Sister - just as I was - and I have no doubt you will flourish in your new role.


I love you and I love you and I love you, my love. Glory to God for my sweet Dacey Babe.


Always,
Mama

Still here . . .

Sorry it's been quiet here! Still here, still pregnant, still on track for a Wednesday afternoon delivery. I had big plans to post more over the weekend, but the hecticness has been overwhelming. Hoping to be back with one more post before Little Sister arrives! Thanks for all your prayers and sweet words of encouragement.

The physics of it all

One class on my high school transcript kept me out of my graduating class's Top Ten.

Physics.

From the first day of class, I was bewildered. Try as I might, there was so much I couldn't wrap my mind around. Perhaps because I am more of a whole-to-part or Big Picture thinker, and much of the study of physics is found in the details. Or perhaps because my academic love language is found in reading, writing, and analyzing the written word while formulas and laws have a numbing effect on my thought processes . . . For whatever reason, I just couldn't quite grasp it. I muddled and struggled and was thankful to escape with a bright shiny B, but alas, I always felt like I didn't really learn all I could have learned.

Interestingly though, my big-picture-seeking mind exploded in epiphany one day in class as it dawned on me that in life, really, it all comes down to physics. Even though I just don't get the study of physics, the reality of physics fascinates me. After that class, I found myself subconsciously reflecting on the physics of any given situation. To this day, I unintentionally irritate The Coach when he is trying to explain some new play the defense is going to install and why it will or won't work and I have to interject "well, the physics of the situation demands it."

As I count down days until Little Sister arrives, I have been brushing up on some physics again. The physics of breastfeeding a newborn, of babywearing after a c-section, of one lap and two daughters . . . which is what troubles me the most.

The law of conservation of mass/matter decrees "that the mass of a closed system of substances will remain constant, regardless of the processes acting inside the system."

regardless of the processes acting inside the system.

"An equivalent statement is that matter cannot be created nor destroyed, although it may change form."

although it may change form.

If God in His mercy allows for all to go as planned, then next Wednesday I'll wake up as the mother to one and drift off to sleep later as the mother of two. Such a monumental change of process within my systems will surely require more of me. More room in my lap. More hip on which to carry little ones. More arms for snuggling. More patience, more focus, more compassion, more, more, more . . .

One mom, two children. Time? Divided. Love? Multiplied. But at the end of the day (and through the sleep-interrupted night to the beginning of the next day), it's still just me. Only I am called Mommy to both. No more of me created. And yet, no more of me destroyed.

I have found some solace in another law . . . the law of conservation of energy which states, "that the total amount of energy in an isolated system remains constant, although it may change forms . . ." And there it is again . . . although it may change forms . . .

Without a doubt, the biggest form change I have undergone began on the 28th of January back in 2005. The change in form was not instantaneous, rather it has been an evolution. At times it required a resistant and resentful tug-of-war in which my Pre-Mommy self strained at the rope against Motherhood, unwilling to yield up one more inch of ground. But there were other days, better days, later days when the form change flowed with acceptance, a languid float on a river embracing change as I traveled over rocks worn smooth by time.

And so I find a strange sense of assurance in these laws. Indeed, there will be no more of me to handle the more that is to be required of me. But there will be energy. Energy untapped, energy that has been there all along, waiting to be called upon. It's hard to fathom it at this point, but I have to believe that when it's required of me - all this more - that I will find within me far more than I knew existed.

I believe this because, well, it's the physics of it all . . .

Wordless Wednesday - The Nine Months No-No

Before:

After!!!

And her nest? It was feathered . . .

*big, huge sigh of relief*

Well, sweet friends, as I sit and type, I can rest in the knowing that if Little Sister decides to surprise and delight her hot, tired, and cranky mama by arriving early, at least we have things prepared for her.

I can assure you that the very fact that we are mostly ready for her to be here will certainly guarantee that she will stay put until the appointed day (September 5th - have I mentioned that lately?). Oh, sure, there are a few odds and ends on the list to be completed (such fun treats as cleaning out and cleaning up my car and making a trip to Sam's to stock up on some household stuff), but for the most part, I feel satisfied in where things stand right now.

And speaking of lists, I wanted to share a few things I have come across in the midst of my nesting craze that I think are pretty neat. (It seems nesting and spending are synonymous in my vocabulary these days. It's shocking, really, the amount of moolah I have dropped on Little Sister . . . perhaps already anticipating and overcompensating for Middle Child syndrome?)

My new carrier dilemma solved itself when I came across a darling adjustable Mei Tai Baby on the for-sale-or-trade forum at thebabywearer.com. I cannot wait to try this lovely out with LS and will be sure to post action pics for everyone.

I could not decide what to do about the nursing pads (reusable or disposable?), so I got some of each. A big ol' box of trusty Lansinoh disposable pads and a set of Imse Vimse pear shaped wool pads. (I really wanted to try the LANA wool pads that Noah so highly recommends, but I just couldn't quite make that big of an investment yet. I would need the medium size in the Ekstra style, so that adds up. I may still get some, though, if the Imse Vimses don't work out.)

Let's see, what else? Oh yeah - I discovered these really great nursing bras, at Ebay of all places! YES nursing bras may very well be the best of the bunch I have tried so far. I'm of the larger-chested tribe of mamas and no underwire bras (nursing or otherwise) usually just don't meet my needs, but I am loving the design this mama has put together. I ordered one to try (I mean, for $17.99 including shipping, what the heck?) and loved it so much that I ordered another in the next size up to get me through those first weeks/months of nursing a newborn voluptuousness . . .

I've gotten newborn cloth diapers and covers galore and I can't wait to share my experience with you as we begin that journey. I love the idea of a newborn swaddled all in cloth from her sweet-smelling head down to her tiny, tiny toes.

And speaking of swaddling, I was thrilled to see new designs available in our family's very favorite swaddling blanket - the Ultimate Swaddling Blanket. D's is the very sweet but very basic lavender dots print. (To this day, that blankie goes with her most everywhere. Such a Linus!) I decided to be a little more bold in choosing for Little Sis, so I picked out the Pink Mod Circle print this time. Fun!

Lots of things swirling about and cluttering this mama's mind these days . . . I hope to get them posted, if for nothing else than to be a record for me to look back on and remember one day. Thanks for your patience during my brief sabbatical. I look forward to catching up with everyone soon!