Self Portrait & 11 Things

The lovely Sarah at Nurse Loves Farmer started up the "11 Things" game, and I thought, "why not?" Here are the rules:

1. Post a photo of yourself
2. Answer the questions set for you in the original post.
3. Create 11 new questions and ask people to answer them.

Sarah's questions for me:

1. How did you choose your first child's name?

Believe it or not, Colin was a name my husband has thought about for a very long time. There's no particular reason, but it doesn't hurt that Colin Cowherd is at the top of his list of people he'd like to hang out with. When he brought up the name, I loved it too and it stuck.

2. If money wasn't an option, where would you love to live?

I actually think our location is pretty great right now (small town South Carolina), although it might be nice to live somewhere with more defined seasons. This former Michigander misses the snow. Yes, I am crazy. If I didn't have to worry about money, I might consider moving to the mountains of North Carolina.

3. What is the most embarrassing thing you have ever done?

The first thing that comes to mind is when I was in middle school. My family went to a public pool to swim, and I stupidly did a cannonball off the diving board while wearing a two piece swimsuit. The top was a tube top style, and it slipped right off and into the pool. Oops.

4. What catch-phrases annoy you?

I hate it when people say "at this point in time." Why can't you just say "at this time?" It just sounds so redundant.

5. Do you have any phobias?

I'm kind of phobic of vomiting. It is just the worst feeling in the world, and I get totally nervous and freaked out when someone close to me comes down with a stomach bug. If someone gets sick in public, I flee the scene. Toddler vomit is slightly less horrible, since it's my own kid, but it's still scary because you never know when it's going to strike and you have such little warning.

6. What's the best concert you've ever been to?

NEEDTOBREATHE. Favorite band. Boom.

7. Do you believe in love at first sight?

I don't. Love, by definition, is much more than an immediate attraction to someone. Love is something that must stand the test of time, and that takes work to maintain. Infatuation is not the same thing as love.

8. High school - loved it? Or hated it?

I had a love/hate relationship with high school. Looking back, though, it was more love than hate. I didn't belong in any cliques, other than maybe the fact that I was in band (drumline, to be more specific). I had a ton of acquaintances, but only a few close friends, and I liked it that way. I also had a job at a local coffee shop which taught me a lot.

9. Do you have a funny auto correct story to share?

It's not my own story, but my brother and his ex used to text, and auto correct turned "snuggle" into "smuggle." People in my family still sometimes say that they want to smuggle each other. :)

10. If you could witness any event past, present or future, what would it be?

Being a Christian, I would love to witness Christ's resurrection. I can't even imagine.

11.  What is the hardest thing you've ever done?

Being a mother has been the hardest and the best thing I've ever done. 


My 11 questions for YOU:

1. What was your first job?

2. What food could you eat every day for a month and not get tired of it?

3. If you won the lottery today, what is the first material thing you'd purchase?

4. Are your toenails currently painted? What do they look like?

5. How do you feel about pets? Do you have any?

6. When was the last time you went out to a movie? What did you see?

7. Do you have any vacations coming up? If not, where would you love to go?

8. What would you do with a kid free night? If you're not a parent, what would you do with an evening all to yourself?

9. What's your guilty pleasure movie or TV show?

10. Which website do you waste the most time on?

11. What's for dinner tonight? Give me some ideas!


Please let me know if you decide to play along. I'd love to hear your answers!                       

Katie Vaughan, Chaos Manager

By day, I am an Information Resource Consultant, but by night, I am Chaos Manager Extraordinaire. I am not even kidding when I say that right now, my home life is often more stressful than my work life, and it's all because I'm back to being a working mom. It's nearly impossible to do everything that needs to be done and stay sane right now. Being a mom presents challenges of its own, especially with more than one kid. Working full time is stressful, too. But add them both together? Holy moly. The only way we're making it work right now is to live in the moment and take it one day at a time.

Our new morning routine looks a little like this, with a few minor adjustments here and there:

5:45 - wake up and pump

6:00 - give Reid a bottle of pumped milk

6:15 - quickly get dressed, brush teeth, throw on makeup, brush hair

6:25 - get Colin up, change his diaper & get him dressed 

6:40 - give Colin a quick breakfast (something he can feed himself on the go)

6:45 - load up the car (breast pump, Reid's milk for the day, Colin's sippy, my breakfast and water bottle)

6:50 - get Colin's jacket on, stick Reid in the car seat, get both kids in the car and GO!

Of course, the routine also includes the hubs getting ready, and he helps out wherever he is needed. This morning, Reid woke up earlier than I thought he would, so Justin finished feeding him and helped get Colin ready to go.

We've only done the "2 kids out the door" routine three times now, and we certainly haven't perfected it yet. When will the weekend be here again?!

Right now, I'm handling daycare drop-off and Justin is picking the kids up at the end of the day. That gives me a few minutes to start dinner, feed the dog, and do whatever else needs to be done before the chaos returns. :)

On a semi-related note, I've had a few people inquire lately about how pumping at work is going. It's going very well so far! I have been given a small conference room to pump in, and I'm currently pumping every 3 hours, so I'm taking 2 pump breaks during the work day and pumping once on my lunch break. It's a little bit of a hassle to drag my pump around and clean the parts, but I really feel like it's worth it. Reid is doing very well on the bottle, too, and is eating like a champ during the day. I'm so thankful to still be breastfeeding 2 months out. It feels like a huge accomplishment after the struggles we had the first time around.

More to come, including my thoughts on breastfeeding: take 2!      

     

Remember that time I did the impossible?

Want to know what had me more scared than labor? Taking 2 small children out in public. I'm dead serious, people. With my second pregnancy, I knew what to expect, so I didn't really fear the new baby's arrival. The thing that really freaked me out was the thought of parenting a toddler and a newborn, especially if I ever had to do it on my own. Well, today was that day. It had to happen eventually; it was inevitable.

So, how did I handle it? Well, with tons of preparation. It was actually kind of comical the way things went down.

No joke, about 15 minutes before we had to leave, the power went out. I freaked, because I have breast milk in the fridge and I would be TICKED if that stuff went to waste. I called the power company to report it and got an automated message that said it should be resolved within the hour. Okay, whatever. Fine. I'd deal with it later if I had to. I loaded up the kids, the stroller and a diaper bag packed full of diapers and bribes, and off we went.

I called my husband from the car and told him about the power outage. He asked if I had locked the door that leads to the garage, since the power was out and I wasn't able to close the garage door. I told him I couldn't remember. Argh. We turned around and went back home, where I discovered that I had not locked the door. I did, and we were off again.

Just as we pulled into the driveway of the pediatrician's office, two things happened. Reid started crying, and I smelled toddler poop. Awesome. I awkwardly changed Colin's stinky diaper on the floor of the car, as there really wasn't room anywhere else. Then I popped Reid, car seat and all, into the stroller, told Colin to hold my hand, and we paraded ourselves into the building.

Amazingly, Colin listened to me and stayed close as we went to the waiting room to sit down. He sweetly read a book about Elmo and sat in the chair like a big boy. Reid took his pacifier and fell asleep.

We were called back almost immediately, and that's where the real fun began. It's kind of a blur, but somehow I managed to get both boys undressed, weighed, and measured. I also nursed Reid, bribed Colin with snacks and juice, and filled out two forms about the kids' development. Dr. G. came in and examined them both, declaring them healthy. Colin only had one "terrible two" moment when he tried to kick her as she looked inside his mouth.

In the chaos I didn't get Reid's height, but I learned he is 10 lbs 9 oz (45th percentile) and that he is in the 65th percentile for height. Just perfect. Colin is still a big boy, but he's slimmed down as he's gotten more active. He weighed in at 30 pounds and was 35 inches tall. Bigger than the average toddler, but not at the very top of the charts anymore. Dr. G. encouraged us to push milk on him, as he has been refusing it sometimes and asking for juice instead, and also said we can make his first dentist's appointment whenever we like.

Other than sick visits (which are inevitable with daycare kids, let's be honest), we don't have to do that again until 4 months and 3 years, respectively. Whew.

Mommy rewarded herself with a McDonald's milkshake. Yum. Both kids are currently sleeping, praise the Lord.

This life is a little crazy, but I love these boys so much. I wouldn't trade them for anything in the world.

Oh. We did come home to find the power back on, in case you were worried. :)

Moby Wrap Review & Giveaway!

Being a momma to two little ones has presented me with all sorts of new challenges. One of the hardest things is that I just don't have enough hands to do everything I need to do. Since Colin loves to climb things and put himself in danger on a regular basis, I need to be able to rescue him every now and then. As you can imagine, that can be difficult when I have a baby attached to me most of the time. Enter the Moby Wrap! This thing is a lifesaver. When I wear it, Reid is safe and secure, and my hands are free to keep Colin from diving head-first off the couch. You can even nurse in it. Pretty cool, huh?

The Moby Wrap comes in a variety of colors and is made of a soft, stretchy, easy to wash fabric. If I had to come up with a criticism, it would be that there's a little bit of a learning curve if you've never worn your baby in a wrap before. I would definitely recommend going over the instructions on the Moby Wrap website and practicing a couple times at home before you use it out in public. Once you've got it, though, it's super easy. There are different ways to wear your baby in the Moby Wrap, but my favorite for teeny babies is to use the Folded Wrap method and the Newborn Hug Hold. If you're a first time Moby Wrap user, you should try out a few of the different methods to find what works for you.

And now for the best part. I am so excited to be able to offer one FREE Moby Wrap to one of my readers, in the color of your choice! Just follow the instructions in the widget below. Good luck!!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway