Rainbows and Unicorns

I feel compelled to write since I keep seeing things on my Facebook feed and in the news about breastfeeding and apparently August is National Breastfeeding Awareness Month. Who knew?! And is that necessary? It certainly seems to me that everyone is pretty aware of it and everyone has their own opinions on it. I'm tired of reading about how moms are asked to cover up or excuse themselves when they have to feed their babies. It. Is. Natural. It is how our bodies are made. Get over it and get over yourself. Look away.

That shit is hard. No need to shame a mother who wants to feed her child. No doubt she is emotional, exhausted, possibly depressed, overwhelmed, worried, anxious...I could go on. I wanted to quit every single day for the first months of my baby's life. And I felt guilty for it every day. I felt like a quitter. A failure. But I was stubborn. I kept thinking it would get easier and I refused to give up until I knew for sure I had given it my all (whatever that meant...I never defined it). I felt like if I stopped that I wouldn't have given it a fair shot and that I was cheating her. I questioned how much my baby was getting at every feeding. Was it enough? Was I providing for her? I had to supplement with formula within the first week of her existence because my supply wasn't up to snuff yet and she was tiny. I felt so defeated, among other things. I expected it to be hard but not THAT hard. She wanted to eat every one to two hours. She would cry and I would have no idea what was the matter and my heart ached. I would cry. There is nothing worse than a frustrated baby when you don't know how to "fix" her. It's a mothers instinct. It is hard. I will say it over and over again. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise and don't let anyone make you feel guilty if you choose not to do it. I see why people don't. You have to do what is best for you and your baby and your marriage.

I had a personal goal of 6 months of exclusive breastfeeding her. I'm 5 months in and I will do it for as long I can. It took us a good 8-9 weeks to get it straight but I hung in there. I was determined. It was a personal decision. It was exhausting and emotional, but mother hood is. I'm glad I did it. There is a very sweet side to it and it's a beautiful thing. But it isn't for everyone and that is ok. It isn't all rainbows and unicorns. Anyone who tells you that is lying. And I'd like to thank all of my friends and family who I so desperately sought advice from and who were there for us. It means a lot to me because I certainly needed the support.

Meech

Checking in

Hello Slacker (me not you)! I have been wanting to write but I feel like I don't have much to say these days that are spent changing diapers, entertaining my 5 month old, and napping when I have the chance! Hope all is well and I'll be back soon with my thoughts on motherhood!

Meech

Bring on the Holidays!

2012 has been in interesting year. I certainly am blessed! Losing my job in March has proven to be the best thing for me. It's been tough, but thankfully I have good people in my life who have supported me and given me jobs to get me through. It's definitely depressing to be relieved of responsibility the powers that be didn't know you had for 8 years (welcome to corporate America). I firmly believe change is the only constant in life. As a result of that, I spent most of the year just hanging out waiting to start my new job (which will be happening soon). It certainly makes you think about what you want in life when you have the chance to stop and think about it.

I can't believe Christmas is already here! It will be 2013 before we know it! I sure hope everyone has had a wonderful 2012 and is looking forward to an even better 2013. Count your blessings, hold your love ones close and live each day to the fullest! Quit focusing on the negative or what you don't have and be thankful for what you do have That's my goal for 2013! 

Since I am not a frequent poster (another goal for 2013) and may not have the chance to tell you, I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Safe New Year! 

Meech

Long time no write

WOWZA! It's turkey week. I haven't written since Easter! Time files when you are unemployed. I guess. I started this blog as part of my new year's resolution to be more creative and do something other than the usual. I figured I'd write when I had something to say. I guess I haven't had anything to say in quite a while (unusual, I know). It's been a very mellow year. I got laid off at the end of March and am between jobs. I have definitely kept busy! I just haven't been writing about it. I promise to do better :)

In other news, we celebrated our ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY earlier this month! Crazy! We finally got the video but that's a whole other blog post. Brent completed his FIRST IRONMAN triathlon! I am so proud of him! I have been blessed with the opportunity to work with MY AWESOME wedding photographer since I have been between jobs. I must say it's quite fun! I love it and plan to continue it when I start my new job! Life is good!

And now we are approaching the HOLIDAYS! Me being the nerd that I am, I am almost finished my Christmas shopping!! No judging please, but I will take applause for being so with it. I can't wait to decorate the house for Christmas; however, I will wait until after turkey. Shoot, I may start wrapping those gifts this week! It will be nice to have a guest bedroom again. Between new Christmas decor and presents, it kind of looks like a makeshift workshop for Santa and those elves :)

I shall write again soon. In the meantime, gobble gobble!!

Hoppy Easter!

Hope everyone had a nice Easter holiday and that the rabbit was good to you. I definitely over-ate yesterday between the yummy food we had for lunch, the candy, and the birthday cakes our family had! All in all it was a nice day. Spending time with the fam is always nice, even if it isn't long enough. We had an Easter egg hunt for my nephews (there are only two of them). Kind of odd because it is just them but my sisters and I have fond memories of the egg hunt our grandmother had for us and the cousins - it was a big deal. I think we had more fun hiding them than the twins did finding them.

Now it's back to the hum-drum of the week. I am supposed to be doing laundry, grocery shopping, cleaning the house, and squeezing in a work out that is long overdue, however I find myself still sitting on the couch writing in my blog, checking email and Facebook. Procrastination at its finest!

Hope everyone has a great week and I'll write again when I have something to say!!

Fur Love?

So being home with the fur has proven to be quite interesting. I thought he would be happy to have me home but I was clearly wrong. I felt so bad leaving him alone for those long days while I was at work, but I should not have. He has been a rascal these past couple of weeks. So far he has broken a lamp - the only one we had in the living area. Granted, I don't have to sit in the dark because we have other light sources but still. It was annoying being woken up in the middle of the night b/c he was up to no good.

I find myself regularly inspecting the living area when I come home for damage the fur has left behind. There is the occasional fur-ball that needs cleaning up. Okay, so that's not terribly bad and it is something one would expect with having a cat for a pet. And now that his fur is growing back, the sofa tends to be slightly furry - again still tolerable.

But then, this morning I woke up to a broken coffee pot. Literally, the carafe was in a million pieces. Now, I don't know about you, but I need my coffee. I'm one of those people who find it absolutely necessary to sit on the couch for at least a half hour with a hot cup of joe and a blanket and go thru the process of waking up. Needless to say, I was not happy having to clean up the glass. I started to panic about the idea that I'd actually have to get in my car - still in the pj's, of course - and find my way to the nearest Starbucks (mind you it's less than a mile away, but that's not the point and without coffee I am even more ditzy and fuzzy brained). Then I remembered that my hubby was smart enough not to let me get rid of the little piddly four cup Mr. Coffee pot we had pre-wedding registry. Crisis averted! I was able to clean up the glass and make coffee at home and not disrupt my morning routine too much. Whew! As a result, the cat is still alive and well. And so am I.

Drivin Me Crazy

Ok so I don’t drive that often these days since I ride into work with the hubby. Nonetheless, I do drive occasionally and even as a passenger, I find the habits of fellow road cohabitants to be rather annoying.

I’ve listed a few below.

People who cut you off, esp when there is NO ONE behind you. This happened to us this morning. We were about to pull up to the parking garage, which is on a corner, and someone in a Toyota Corolla just HAD to cut us off and beat us to the garage. There was not a car behind us for blocks. Seriously, the parking spots aren’t that hot a commodity.

Speaking of our parking garage…a little background on the design. It a square space with two way traffic. There are people who speed around the corners. First of all this is not NASCAR, it is a parking garage. You are probably going to and from a mundane job. WTF is your hurry?

Women drivers – yes I know I am a woman. But most of us cannot drive. We talk on the cell phone, apply makeup (do you really need the extra 10 minutes of sleep?), change the radio station, deal with children (for those of us who have them). We are simply preoccupied and oblivious. 9 times out of 10 when someone pisses me off on the road…IT’S A WOMAN. I don’t get it.

People who are oblivious (see Women drivers)—this is probably the most common reason people are annoying while driving. Everyone thinks they can multi-task especially when in the car. But it is not possible. You cannot text and drive at the same time – why do you even try??

People who drive in the left lane and you get stuck behind them. This seriously annoys me, esp. on longer road trips. Again, people are oblivious. But still, how do you NOT realize you are driving in someone’s blind spot? Why can’t people just pay attention?

People who don’t keep up with the flow of traffic. Why? Don’t you realize the problems this causes, esp when in traffic?

People who don’t know what the lines mean in the parking lot—if you can’t drive or park it, DON’T BUY IT. Seriously, the lines mean you park BETWEEN them, not centered OVER one.

People who can’t merge onto the Interstate – Why stop when trying to merge? Are you trying to get rear-ended? Sue-happy?

People who can’t drive in the rain – I’ve noticed this is a common occurrence. I realize the roads are slick and therefore a bit more dangerous than on a bright sunny day, but why do people turn into complete idiots?

I’m sure there are plenty of other things that are annoying on the road. I realize people are busy and are generally in a hurry, but this kind of crap is just ridiculous. And I am certainly not the perfect driver….but I can at least park my car…just sayin’!