Basement Reno

We have not had use of our basement since my brother in law moved in with us (to go to school) almost two years ago. This past weekend he moved out and we are excited to finally be able to do something fun with this space. We have decided to make the basement a family/playroom and also have it be a place where guests can sleep when they come for a visit. So here is our plan and check list and I will keep you updated as things get done :)

• Prime the walls
• Paint
• Replace the carpet
• Buy a new couch/sofa bed
• Decorate
• Bring on the toys! :)

Breastfeeding, Teething, & Weaning

Today has been one trying day! Chelsea is cutting 2 bottom teeth and has been very cranky these past few days. Putting her in her own bed at night has gone out the window (thanks to teething) All she does is scream her head off until we take her out and even then she still cries. I'm still getting clogged milk ducts, in fact I have one right now but that was my fault since I went too long between feedings on that side. I am Tired! Just so tired! and I know I've said this many many times but I am starting the weaning process again!

I have such a problem with making a plan and sticking to it but my plan this time around is to only pump during the day and offer the bottle. I have a feeling that part of the reason she wont take a bottle is because she is not hungry. Unlike most 9 months olds, Chelsea is drinking all night long (thanks to bed sharing) and she probably gets all the milk she needs at night. During the day she is not too interested in nursing any more anyway. I feel like most of the time I'm "forcing" her to nurse and she just ends up sucking a couple of time then pulls off. The only bad thing about pumping is that I feel like my pump doesn't fully empty me out. I can feel my breasts getting full after just 2 hours but I am hoping this might help reduce my milk supply. This is going to be such a challenge but if I truly want to wean I need to stick to it! I'm tired of feeling so unhappy all the time, I'm tired of being stressed out. I only have a couple of months left before I go back to work and I want to enjoy this time with my kids and not have to worry about my breastfeeding issues anymore! Okay that's all for today! Thanks for listening to my venting! UGH!

Breastfeeding Update

I never thought that we would make it this far but here we are 9 months in and still breastfeeding. This has been one tough journey. I knew that breastfeeding wouldn't be easy but I thought that was only for the first few weeks. I on the other hand struggled for the first 8 weeks then things were great! Breastfeeding was amazingly easy and I loved it. Then, at 4 month in, I got my first blocked milk duct and they kept recurring after that. I have probably had 10 or more.

My original goal was to BF for 6 months but when we got to 6 months Chelsea was WAY too attached and would not take a bottle. We tried to wean a few times but having a baby that will not take a bottle makes it very difficult and we would give up every time. Every time I get a new blocked milk duct I break down and cry and say I'm DONE!!! but how can I be done when Chelsea wont drink from anything but me? I feel so alone! I feel like the only person going through this and I have no support. It's funny because in the beginning I fought SO hard to increase my milk supply to get Chelsea to be OFF the bottle and now here I am wishing I could go back in time and do it all over again. If I knew then what I know now, I honestly would have stopped BF back then. Breastfeeding has now become a negative thing for me and I never really loved it in the first place. I don't feel the wonderful bond it brings because all I can do is worry. "I wonder when I will get another blocked milk duct" "I wonder how long it will last" "I wonder if it will become worse" "I wonder if there is something else going on" "why is it only happening on my one breast"...those are just some of the things that constantly run through my head.

So here I am with another blocked milk duct and taking antibiotics for possible Thrush but nobody really knows if that's what I have. It's frustrating not having answers. I have some symptoms for Thrush, Blocked milk duct and Mastitis but no idea what one it could be (if any). It has been a week now since I started feeling the pain and I really hope it goes away soon! As soon as this is gone I will be starting the weaning process again by taking away the "dinner time" feeding. Chelsea now drinks every 4 hours and all night long, so my goal is to only be nursing at night and then hopefully cutting that out too by the time I got back to work. Wish me luck! I need it.

Easter Picture Frames

A few weeks ago we had the kids pictures taken for Easter and I thought it would be fun to make picture frames for their grandparents to display them in. We made a trip to the dollar store and bought everything you see here (minus the hot glue gun) and we purchased the frames from the dollar store as well. So this project was very inexpensive and very fun.

Blake picked what and where he wanted things to go and I put the glue in place. They turned out so cute that I wish I would have got him to make one for me :)

Oreo Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies

Last week I finally decided to make oreo stuffed chocolate chip cookies! I heard about this recipe a while back and never got around to making them. Then, a few weeks later I saw a video on YouTube on how to make them and that is when I decided to give it a try!

The cookies were a big hit!!! They were easy to make and they were huge so I only made a few!!! But my family loved them! So Thank you to Sierra for posting that video! :)

Ingredients:
2 sticks butter, softened
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
10 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 package Oreo cookies -- I used Double Stuf
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugars. Add in the eggs and vanilla and mix until well combined.

In a separate bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, and salt. Slowly add to the wet mixture and combine thoroughly. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Chill the dough for 15 minutes to make it easier to work with and to keep the dough from spreading when baking.

Using a cookie scoop place one scoop of dough on top of an Oreo cookie. Place another single scoop on the bottom of the Oreo to create a cookie sandwich. Seal the edges together to completely close in the Oreo.

Place the balls of cookie dough on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 9-13 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack.

Bunny Pictures!

Went to a friends house to get the kids pictures taken with real live bunnies!!

Chelsea wasn't sure at first and would not crack a smile at all.

Blake did amazing! I love my handsome little man :)

Chelsea finally warmed up and gave us a big smile. Blake was a big help acting silly trying to make her laugh. and mommy might have also had to sing and dance too ;)

The photo shoot turned out so well. I love all the pictures and I have printed them all already! Also, Blake and I made a special project with the pictures to send off to the grandparents. I will post pictures of what we made as soon as I send them in the mail and know that the grandparents received them.

Package Exchange

Over the past year I have "met" some amazing mommies on YouTube!!! I watch their video's all the time and it's not only mommies I watch but lots of other wonderful girls that are trying to conceive/adopt. It gets very lonely staying at home all the time and this has been a great way to connect with other mommies that relate to me. I have learned so much from these ladies and it has given me a place to talk about all things baby (without boring people in my real life that may not be in the same place as me right now)

But the real reason for this blog post is to talk about this exciting thing that I am taking part in. One of the girls Kelley has already sent me something a while back and it was amazingly sweet of her! I could not believe that she would do something so sweet for our family! We have since sent something back to her and her sweet baby girl Amanda but now that I was shopping for souvenir type gifts I thought it would be fun to send her some too. Now.... Candace is the one who came up with the idea of wanting to send and receive packages from around the world. She picked a few girls and I was the one from Canada. I have been having SO much fun shopping for Canadian souvenirs and I cannot wait to send this package off! I know this may sound crazy to some of you but I trust these girls and I think it is so much fun! It actually brings me back to my young school days when we had pen pals :) I will be mailing these packages out this week and I will update again as soon as I get my package from Texas!!