Another Great App

I love finding new apps for my phone (and now my iPad!) and I love sharing them with others even more.  I especially love it when they're FREE!
So this week I bring you the recipe.com shopping list app. 

You can plug in your zipcode and it will find grocery stores near you and you can even set which stores you shop at most often.  Then you go and create your list.  You can say the item, scan it, or type it.  When you type it, it's kind of like a google search where popular matches show up as you type, which makes creating a list super easy!  Now the best part.....underneath the item on your list, if any stores are having specials on it, the app will list them!  I have found this to be super helpful as we shop at Aldi's, which doesn't really have "sales."  Sometimes we'll buy something at Aldi's and I'll wonder "is this item on sale for cheaper elsewhere?"  Now with this app, I can check.  The only other store we go to is Meijer so if it is cheaper at Meijer, then I know to wait and get it there.  It's fantastic!  (sidenote: there are VERY few items that are cheaper at Meijer, even with sales on the store brand, but it's still helpful to check!).
Another feature of the app, which I have not used yet, is you can sync it to recipes.com so that others can add to your list or use it to shop.  So potentially, you could create the list at home and then have your hubby pick it all up after work (and if any stay-at-home-moms are able to do that, you have a great hubby!)
This app is also available on the android store. 

It's So Hard to Say Goodbye....

....to my Sympony pump (and oh yes I did just sing that in my head and now you are too; nah-nah!).   But I had to pack her (it's a breast pump, it's female by default) the other day and bring her back to Carle Medical Supply.  Here she is, all ready to go.....

Bye-bye old friend....it's been a great 9 months.  ::sniff sniff::  (who cries over a pump, honestly?)
But on to the real reason for this post:  As Laura and Rachel correctly guessed yesterday (10 cool points to both of you, picked fresh this morning), my EPing ticker is no longer on display as I am no longer an EPing mom.  I like to summarize things with numbers so let's get down to business shall we?

8.5 months: amount of time I EP'd.  Actually it was exactly 8.5 months because I started on April 1st and ended December 15th.  (well okay, yesterday and today I had to use my manual pump because I was a little uncomfortable, but I'm not counting that)

789 hours, 27 minutes: Time I actually sat at the pump.  Yes I have it all recorded on my iphone (again, that Total Baby app was the best $5 I spent in the app store ever!).   Or we could say 47,367 minutes, or even 2,842,020 seconds, which equals almost 33 days.  Clearly I had nothing better to do yesterday than play with all these numbers (proof once again that I'm married to a nerd- it rubs off on me!).

112 hours, 23 minutes: How much time I spent pumping during the month of May, which is the highest total for one month.  December comes in at only a piddly 6 hours, 21 minutes. 

5,548: Roughly the number of ounces I produced.  This is a VERY rough estimate as I was good about keeping track of my output the first few months and then somewhere in the middle of June I apparently got lazy.  And in case you're wondering that 5,548 oz could fill 86.68 milk jugs.  Oh my gosh, could you imagine a milk jug full of breast milk?

345: How many ounces I have in my freezer stash.  Oh man, remember the day I hit 100 ounces?  I think I nearly cried!  Now I've only reached this high of a number because Lucy has been getting a lot of formula for the past 3-4 weeks.  But that 345 oz is divided into 91 containers so I'm very happy to say that I have enough breast milk for Lucy to get a bottle of breast milk every day until she is a year old.  That was my goal from the very get go: breast milk for a year (I just never said how much).

1,000: that is about how much money I think I've spent on all of this.  I mean the hospital pump was $75/month (I did get one month free), plus I bought my own pump (which then I resold), nursing bras, herbs, nursing tanks, pump parts, herbs, nursing tea, lanolin, herbs, storage bags, steam cleaning bags, and.... oh yeah, herbs.  I know I mentioned herbs a lot, but I seriously tried so many different kinds to help my supply....

13: How many different places I've pumped.  Now that doesn't really sound like a lot, especially when I feel like I've pumped just about everywhere!  But I counted my car as just one place.  Now I have pumped in many different locations while in my car, but I can't remember all of them so I'm not even going to count.  However if I did count those, I think this number would be much higher.  I think the 2 strangest locations were a party room at the Decatur Children's Museum (class field trip) and the back warehouse room of the former Hobby Lobby building (volunteered at the One Week Boutique sale).

----:  Well, try as you might, you just can't put a number on a baby satisfied on mommy's milk

What's Missing?

There's something missing from my blog....can you spot it?  10 cool points if you can.   Follow-up blog post will come soon on what is missing and my thoughts on it.  Now try to contain your excitement ;)

Let's Get Crafty!

Okay I've been on Pinterest for a few months now and I recently tried 2 more ideas I've seen on there.  The first is a headband holder.  I love wearing headbands and I needed a better way to store them.   So when I saw this

I knew it would be perfect.  To be perfectly honest, my headbands sat on a plain undecorated oatmeal container for at least a month before I finally got around to buying the materials to finish the project.
I bought some scrapbook paper at Hobby Lobby.  I picked out paper that was one color but had a nice texture to it.  If you use an oatmeal container, you will need 2 12X12 sheets to do this.  I recommend getting paper that is really pliable.  Sometimes scrapbook paper is really stiff and I don't think it would work as well if you used the stiff thick paper.
Anyway, my headband holder turned out pretty well (except getting the paper to stay glued to the top of the lid proved tricky) so I decided to make one for Lucy as well.  For hers, I used a formula can.  I must say, this worked MUCH better.  I only needed 1 sheet of scrapbook paper and I think the lid turned out nicer.  The bonus of using these containers is you can store hairbands and other things inside the container.  Here are my finished products:

It's kinda hard to see mine, but I used a dark brown paper that has an "alligator" texture to it.  Lucy's is easier to see.  The formula cans aren't as tall as oatmeal cans but they are about the same diameter.  So if anyone reading this would like me to save them a formula can, just let me know.  I actually have a shorter one that's empty already.

And the other project I found  on Pinterest is a holiday craft.  I'm not even going to show you what it was supposed to look like; ours didn't really turn out that well.  But the idea is to use handprints to create a Christmas tree.  I bought a small canvas and some finger paint and did my best in getting the girls to cooperate (if you do this with young children, use washable paint!).  Anyway, here is our Christmas tree picture:

Taylor's tree is on the left and Lucy's is on the right

Oh yeah, I sprinkled iridescent glitter over the paint before it dried.  Our trees may not be perfect, but they are sparkly!!

I Heart Faces Challenge- Furry Faces

My entry for the I Heart Faces Photo Challenge "Furry Faces"

This is our dog Sadie.  She was my brother's dog, but long story short, she came to live with us last year.  I was trying to take our daughter's picture in front of these beautiful flowers and Sadie decided she wanted a picture done too.  I know this picture makes her look like a dippy dog, but trust me, she is very, very smart. 

Happy 9 Months to Lucy!

Weight: 16 lbs 7.5 oz
Height: 26.5 inches

Lucy is a whole pound heavier than Taylor was at 9 months, but funnily, she's 1/2 inch shorter.  So congratulations Lucy, you're still my "fat" baby.

What's New:
-Crawling: not on all fours.  It's more of an army inchworm crawl.  She'll get up on all fours, scooch her knees forward a bit, and then flop down on her belly and stretch her arms out.  It's not very efficient but it gets her where she wants to go.
-Eating puffs: she would not eat these a few months ago, but now Lucy happily mushes them up.  And she even gets 1 out of 10 puffs in her mouth.
-Saying Mama: I'd like to assume she knows exactly what she's saying...I'm not sure yet.  But she does say it when she's looking at me and not really anytime else so maybe.....
-Eating table food: Lucy hasn't had much, but she thoroughly enjoys mash potatoes and yesterday she mooched quite a few green beans from her Aunt Kelly.  And she might have had just a little taste of birthday cake.....
 -Not sleeping through the night:  I never thought I could jinx myself by bragging about how she was such a good sleeper but for the past month Lucy has been waking up at night about 4-5 times a week.  Funnily enough, this started when we started giving her more formula (so I could build up the breastmilk freezer stash).  So to all those breastfeeding mommas whose babies don't sleep through the night, don't listen to anyone who says giving them formula will make them sleep through the night.  Clearly, giving Lucy formula has done the opposite!

What's Not New:
-No teeth: Lucy's pediatrician said she's not even close to getting teeth.  Then what's with all the gnawing?!?
-Eczema: Yep we're still dealing with this.  However, her skin now looks the best it has in months.  It was really bad at the time of her appointment and the pediatrician kind of got on my case for not using the hydrocortisone (I tried more natural remedies) so for the past few days I've been following a strict regimen of hydrocortisone twice a day and Vaseline several times a day and there are virtually no red spots any more and not even any scabs.  You know part of the problem is Lucy grows daggers as fingernails.  Maybe she moonlights as Wolverine (good Lord I can't believe I just made an X-men reference; I really am married to a nerd!).  Basically anytime her clothes are off, she immediately starts trying to scratch herself.  But hopefully we've turned a corner.  I think as long as Walker and I (and our sitter) stay vigilant about applying the Vaseline we won't have any more problems.
-Adorableness: I offer these pictures as proof ;)

Dear Mom

It's been six years, but wasn't it just yesterday?  It doesn't seem to hurt as bad, or maybe I've just become accustomed to it.  I can't tell you how many times I've needed you since you've been gone.  There are some things that a girl can only talk about with her mom.  Like my pregnancies.  Why didn't I ever ask you about what it was like being pregnant, or how you managed to go through 3 very long births naturally?  I guess I wasn't at that stage in my life where I thought about those things.  I took for granted that you would be around to see me go through them.  I know I could ask Dad about it, but men don't remember those things as well as women do.  And all those hours I spent crying while trying to nurse both Taylor and Lucy....maybe it would have been easier if I had been able to hear your words of wisdom or even just a word of encouragement. 
You know I still think back to my wedding day and I imagine the expression that would have been on your face as I walked down the aisle.  I know you were with me in spirit, but I still selfishly wish that you had been there in person.
But you know I have to keep telling myself that God did some wonderful things in my life after you passed.  I don't think my faith would have been reawakened.  I probably would not have gone to Emily's house that Easter, or gone to the Vineyard.  And if I had never stepped inside the Vineyard, I never would have met Walker.  To be honest Mom, I'd be a hot mess without him in my life!  You would love him so much.  He is definitely the guy you wanted me to end up with; smart, funny, so caring and patient (especially with me!), and such a good dad.  You know how you would ask people lots of questions about things and sometimes we'd get annoyed?  Walker isn't like that; he would have answered every single one of your questions!  I know in my heart you two would have gotten along so well.  I know he wishes he could have met you too.
I guess I don't really have a lot else to say; I wish I could just call you, just to say hi.  Just to tell you that I love you and I miss you.
I love you, Mom and I miss you every day. 
Love,
Joanna

I Heart Faces Challenge

This week's iheartfaces challenge is called "On Your Feet."  It was hard to pick a picture.  Apparently I really like taking pictures of feet.  Especially baby feet.  Those are my favorite =)
Anyway, I decided on this picture of  Taylor's foot on top of mine, taken at Fairy State Park beach in Virginia.  She really liked walking around in the sand, but of course walking around on top of my feet was way more fun ;)