Please forgive this rant...

Anyone else tired of seeing the hair dryer reviews?

Yes? No?

I am. I mean, is this company making any money if they keep giving them away?

I don't even read them. If you write a blog I read and it says hair dryer in the title I just mark as read. Sorry, just being honest.

While I would love to tell you that I believe a hair dryer is a hair dryer is a hair dryer. I don't.

When I came home from the hospital, my hair dryer somehow did not. (I'm pretty sure I sent it home early with someone, but I'm not sure who... And, the sad thing is I only used it twice while I was there since it's impossible to blow dry your hair in a horizontal position.)

Anyhow, I went to Target and picked up another. I wanted to buy the same one I had before, but since I couldn't drive yet, my errands were limited to where someone wanted to take me.

Well, three months later I finally broke down and bought a replacement of the same hair dryer I had before. And, you know what? It's just a $30 Revlon that you can get at Ulta. The last one of this model I had for about two years before it went missing and I'm thinking this one will last me a good while as well.



Why am I telling you this? To tell you that I don't think you need to spend lots of money to find a good product. That's all.

So, that's my hair dryer tangent. In case you care.

Hunger Games. Get excited.

I know most of you have probably already read The Hunger Games. But, if you haven't I highly recommend it. I'm sure that Mojito Maven suggested them and after finishing one, I immediately moved onto the next. Of course, when I finished the third I was disappointed they were over.

And, now that I'm a mom I don't get to the movies very often, but this is definitely one I will be seeing in the theaters!

Happy Friday! Hope you all have a fantastic weekend. I'm super jealous of those of you with Monday off.

Recipe Help

Remember when I told you all about how we were going to buy a cow? Not a real one! We live in the 'burbs for crying out loud!

Well, we bought that half a cow and I'm realizing we still have a lot of beef leftover! And, a large portion of it is ground beef. So, tell me, what are your favorite ways to cook with ground beef. My husband is not a very big fan of tacos, unfortunately.

So, I'm asking you interwebs for some recipe ideas for ground beef. Something kind of healthy would be a bonus, but not required.

A Fun Little List

I've seen this going around and who doesn't like a list?

A. Age: 34 (Why do these always start with age? Is there no other topic that starts with A?)
B. Bed size: Queen. I wish our bedroom were big enough for a King, but it’s not
C. Chore that you hate: taking out the trash
D. Dogs: Rocket and Miette
E. Essential start to your day: hitting snooze
F. Favorite color: Blue
G. Gold or Silver: Silver, although I’m trying to incorporate more gold
H. Height: 5'8”
I. Instruments you play: none at the moment
J. Job title: Marketing Coordinator
K. Kids: Julia
L. Live: Texas
M. Mother’s name: Betty (yep, just Betty)
N. Nick names: Sara May, Sara May May
O. Overnight hospital stays: antepartum/ labor and delivery
P. Pet peeves: being on the phone while driving, trying to get on an elevator when people need to get off
Q. Quote from a movie:  Have fun storming the castle!
R. Right or left handed: Right
S. Siblings: older sister and younger brother
T. Truth or Dare: usually truth
U. Ultimate Vacation: Italy for a month
V. Vegetable you hate: really not a fan of cauliflower or beets
W. What makes you run late: poor planning
X. X-Rays you’ve had: teeth, knees, MRIs on brain, sonograms
Y. Yummy food that you make: salsa, chocolate chip cookies, spinach dip
Z. Zoo animal: love the meerkats!

Gaining Some Persective

The longer I'm a mom the more perspective I get on how things went for us and the delivery and first few months. It's no joke that your in the haze of emotion and trying so hard to do the best you can, when you really don't have a clue what to do at all. And, one of the areas I find that I'm still most sensitive about is breastfeeding and all the "advice" I got while trying to be successful.

I wasn't successful, but I'm okay with it because I feel like so very much of it was things I could not avoid or foresee.

Most of you know that Julia was premature. Not by a lot (in terms of prematurity), but by enough to matter. What I'm saying is I didn't get to attend the classes I wanted to (I was actually still a patient myself) and read the books I had planned. Instead I pumped for two and a half weeks until she came home. We thought she was nursing well in the NICU, but it turns out she wasn't. She had a tongue tie, but we didn't know that until she was almost six weeks old.

And, all the while we supplemented (which, of course, was started in the NICU once she began eating). And, I pumped. I pumped at every feeding for two months. I pumped after nursing. I pumped when I missed a feeding. I pumped when I would be away from her during a feeding. I felt like I was strapped to the pump. Which is exhausting.

But, my point is this: It's okay to stop nursing or to never start. Looking back, I wish I hadn't spent so much time/ money/ effort/ emotions on the whole process. There's so much that screams, "this is the best for your baby and you aren't doing all you can if you give up". Give up being key words. Why is it giving up? Why isn't it just stopping?

I mean, doesn't all of parenting just come down to choices we make. My husband let me make the choice about when to stop, but he was supportive of whatever I decided to do. And, don't we all try to make the choices we feel are best? Does any parent make a choice thinking it's harmful in any way?

I write this because I've had more strangers than I'm comfortable with ask about how I (we) feed her. It's none of your business!!!

I'll say it again just to drive the point home. It's okay to feed your baby formula. And, I'll be the second (my husband would be the first) to say that breastfeeding is not free like books and people would have you believe. Ha! On the contrary, we spent a lot of money trying to be successful. When you add up the pump, the supplements, the lactation consultant, the surgery, the hospital pump rentals, the creams and pads and bras, etc. it was a lot.

I now know in my head the reason I was so hell bent on being successful was because I felt like in some way I should have stayed pregnant longer so she would have been full term. (Like I had any control over that.) Or that pumping was the only thing I could do while she was in the hospital. But, now that I'm on the other side of it I know I just couldn't keep up due to other circumstances. That I have no control over.

I hope that hospitals continue to be baby friendly and promote breastfeeding. But, I also hope that we'll all be a bit more mom friendly and not make new mothers feel like they are somehow failing if they choose not to. It's a choice. Let's support each other in those choices. Please?

Dear Julia - three months

Dear Julia,
You are just over three months old, fifteen weeks to be exact. Wow, how that time has flown by! Someday I'll write out how you made a long drawn out entrance into this world for you, but for now I'm just going to tell you what you've been doing.

Mostly, you sleep and when you're awake you take in the world around you. You're so easy to take places (for the most part) because you like loud noises and drift off to sleep to them. You've just begun to smile intentionally and it's just about the best thing ever.

We're pretty sure you won't be a bobblehead for much longer because you love to hold you head up and look around. But, you aren't so steady just yet and those bobbles hurt when they catch us! Luckily, they don't seem to bother you.

Tummy time is not your favorite activity, but you tolerate it. It must be helping you gain strength since you end up scooting all around your crib at night!

You're starting to find your hands and we think you might be trying to get a little thumb in your mouth. Trouble is, you tuck your thumb into your tiny fists. You're also starting to make some purposeful noises and they are very precious.

You are such a good eater and get so focused on the task at hand when we're feeding you. I just love the concentration we can see in your body language while you eat. And, while you used to be such a good burper for us, you seem very unhappy about it recently. I'm hopeful you'll come back around to being easy again.

You're still a snuggly baby and everyone loves to cuddle with you. You met so many people over the last month at all of our Christmas celebrations and had such a sweet disposition even though there was so much going on. You really are a good baby.

3 Month Statistics:

Weight: 9lbs 12oz

Length: 21 inches (you might seem small for your age, but you're right on track for a preemie)

Hair color: light brown

Eyes: Still blue!

Diaper size: we've made the switch to cloth finally, but when using a disposable it's a size 1

Clothes: a few newborn items still, but you're growing into the 0-3 and 3 month sizes

Sleeping: 6 to 7 hour stretches at night!

Eating: six 4 oz bottles per day, we still can't tell if you are done with a bottle in the middle of the night yet...

I love you to the moon and back,
Mommy

2011 - A Year in Review

I've seen a few bloggers I read fill this out and it looked like a good way to sum up my year without having to give myself a headache trying to recall all the events that happened. I mean, really? It was such a crazy, blur of a  year, that I need some questions to keep me on track!


1. What did you do in 2009 that you’d never done before?

Have a baby. Well, there are lots of other things that I had never done before, like have surgery or grow a baby. But, I would say hands down having the baby was my biggest feat.

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I'm not sure I made any specific to the year. I did create a lengthy list of 100 things I wanted to accomplish before turning a certain age and a few of them got marked off.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Do I not count? I'm pretty close to me...

4. Did anyone close to you die?
No.

5. What countries did you visit?
Mexico for a dear friend's vow renewal ceremony. Oh, and the Netherlands. In January. I do not recommend the latter.

6. What would you like to have in 2012 that you lacked in 2011?
Fresh flowers. And, progress made on our house. My wish list for house projects keeps growing and I'd like to make a dent in it.

7. What dates from 2011 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
September 24th, my daughter's birthday

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Surviving bed rest, labor and delivery and becoming a mother

9. What was your biggest failure?
Is it cliche if I say I was really disappointed I wasn't successful at breastfeeding?

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Ha! Yes. Please see above. I mean it wasn't technically illness or injury, but I feel like it counts.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
The swing for the baby. That thing is a lifesaver.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
My dear friend Carly. Her strength, courage and unwavering faith inspire me.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
n/a

14. Where did most of your money go?
To the baby and all of the accouterments that go along with her. Also, to buying a bigger (read: more expensive car)

15. What did you get really excited about?
I'm not sure to be honest. Most of the year went in ways that I didn't have a vision for in my head so it's hard to say.

16. What song will always remind you of 2009?
I really don't know

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
– happier or sadder? happier I suppose, but in different ways that I was happy before.
– thinner or fatter? my weight is the same, but I'm softer
– richer or poorer? poorer

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
Sleeping when the baby slept. (This is like bed rest in that it sounds nice in theory, but is really much harder.)

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Shopping for me, although, it might be the last year I do any shopping for me for a while.

20. How did you spend Christmas?
At home and at my sister's

21. Did you fall in love in 2011?
Well, yes, but not romantic love.

22. What was your favorite TV program?
Parenthood. I feel like I can relate in some tiny way.

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
No, but I have been very let down and disappointed by some people in my life. I'm trying to process how much of an effort I'll make with them moving forward.

24. What was the best book you read?
The Hunger Games trilogy

25. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Adele

26. What did you want and get?
A healthy baby. She spent two and a half weeks in the NICU, but came home wireless. I'm very thankful for that.

27. What did you want and not get?
A natural delivery. I drug my husband to five weeks of Lamaze classes and told my doctor I wanted to try and have a little medical intervention as possible. That whole idea now makes me laugh since my last few weeks pregnancy and delivery were chock full of medical intervention.

28. What was your favorite film of this year?
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2. I'm sad the series has come to an end.

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
Went to the Rangers game and you don't get to know my age. I'm past the age where you share...

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Having a full and recovery from childbirth (long story, but I'm still not there yet)

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2011?
Maternity

32. What kept you sane?
Twitter

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
none really

34. What political issue stirred you the most?
Health care. This year has taught me that we all need to have health care. No matter what.

35. Who did you miss?
My friend Holly. I'm sad that we don't stay in touch. But, I've learned to let go since friendships are two way streets. It's helped me to apply that principle to other relationships in my life as well, though.

36. Who was the best new person you met?
Julia, she won't remember these early months of her life, but she's a neat little person nonetheless

37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2009.
that good enough is good enough

38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
I don't know, this hurts my brain to try and find one