Thursday, January 7, 2016

Thoughts On Thursday

Hi! I'm back for a catch up, random thoughts post! 

1. Working mom of two.  Being a working mom of 2 has thrown me for a loop. We got into a great routine while I was off for 12 weeks, but when I returned to work it was all new, not to mention Christmas craziness also going on. This week we have worked hard to return to a sense of normalcy and so far so good. Meal planning, laundry, and packing lunches are all returning to normal and that makes me happy!  We all get home around 6:00 and the next 2.5 hours are crazy, but we are surviving. Next round of craziness...when baseball starts in about 2 months! 

2.  A new, bigger car. The lease on my Explorer was quickly approaching when Aliza was born and it didn't take long to see that a larger car would be fabulous. About 2 weeks before I went back to work, Michael surprised me with a new to us Yukon! The kids and I love all of the room and not feeling so cramped. I don't know that I could ever go back to a smaller SUV now! As a matter of fact, I'm kind of wishing we had gone ahead with the XL instead of the standard length! 

3.  I love big bows and I cannot lie!  My baby is rarely seen (other than at daycare) without a big bow. I love little girls in smocking, big bows, and sparkle! 

However, for New Years Eve, we broke out our tiara handband and sparkly sleeper! 

4.  Bonus Year of School. We are half way through our bonus year of PreK and it has been amazing! Absolutely, hands down, best decision ever! Nicholas has just flown and grown so much over the last 5 months. We LOVE his school and his teacher! She has been so good for him and it's amazing how much he has learned. 

6.  Breastfeeding. I plan to do an entire post on this subject, but we have had quite the breastfeeding journey this go around. I had a lot of problems early on with Nicholas waking up enough and latching well and I ended up exclusively pumping, but I had high hopes this time around it wouldn't end like that. Well, it sort of did. Aliza did great for about 4 days then when my milk came in she couldn't latch. We did everything but nothing worked, so out came the pump. She sometimes nurses at bedtime and in the morning, but she is still almost exclusively bottle fed. I am proud to say that she is exclusively breastfed and to me it doesn't matter if it comes out of a bottle or breast, she is still fed and happy! (Of note, I am the last person on the planet to judge breast vs formula. I've now had one that was on formula from 6weeks on and one exclusively breastfed and they are both healthy and happy. Every baby is different and every situation is unique. You just do what is best for you and your baby! No judgies here!)

7.  Losing Babyweight. I'm not going to lie, all but 2 pounds have come off, BUT I am 2 sizes from where I was a year ago and where I would like to be thanks to flab and fat. With Nicholas it all fell off and I didn't have a lot of flab, well I do this time and literally no time to work out and tone. I'm hoping I can return to my workout routine by summer, but right now I'm having to accept the fact life is crazy and I just can't get it in. And that is ok!