Fashion on the Fifteenth

Last month I was late, this month I am early. Maybe next month, I will post right on time. Who knows though. I am never the best at rule following. Also, if you wear clothes (which I am pretty sure all of you do) I think you should join in on the fun...you know you want to...

This month I am all about bringing out an old piece in my closet and wearing it like it is new again. I've had this green jacket for probably 8 years and it hasn't seen much action over the past few years. All of the sudden, I have been wearing it like crazy again. It is kind of the perfect layering piece. I like that I can roll up the sleeves on it. This gives a fun look with both short and long sleeved tops under it.

I also decided to get on the band wagon of tucking a shirt in only right in the front. I know the jacket blocks the rest of the shirt, so you can't tell, but I assure you that is what I did. I didn't think I was one of the cool kids that could pull it off, but I really like it, especially with this shirt. The shirt is a little flowy and long, so that tuck adds a little structure and also gives me the opportunity to show off my belt.

Jacket: Old Navy (super old)

Shirt: Anthro

Belt: American Eagle (super old)

Shoes: Target

On a separate note, I almost got a faux hawk last week. Then, my kid was sick and I had to cancel my hair appointment.  I don't know if I will be able to talk myself back into it again. We shall see. Because I was actually totally and completely ready to do it. 

Now go check out the other lovely ladies fashion over at the link up hosted by Two Cent Sparrow. Well, wait a day to check because, well, I am a day early! Even better, why not join in on the fun?

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Generous With My Words

Living life with the intention of being generous has been really fun for me. I get to plan out the various ways I will be generous. Sometimes those ways just fall into my lap and other times I carefully plan them out. 

One thing I knew starting out the year is that it doesn't take money to be a generous person. One of the "free" ways to be generous is with my words. Everyone likes complements. Oftentimes all it takes is a few seconds to point out a good quality in someone. You saw a friend go above and beyond for another friend? Tell them so. You see someone working out and are seeing the results? Tell them! Everyone who is trying to make a change in their life would like the encouragement of someone seeing the difference. 

Sometimes being generous with my words is a thought out thing. It's writing a card to someone telling them how much they mean to me. It's noticing great qualities in other's lives and being sure to point it out to them. Other times it is a spur of the moment thing. It is pointing out how well dressed a friend is. It is being sure to tell someone that their thoughtfulness didn't go unnoticed. It is complementing someone on a job well done. 

Sometimes the execution of my generous words doesn't always go as planned. For instance, I ran into a friend's mom in the grocery store and told her she had a "banging body that anyone my age would be jealous of". Now, this is true and she is working out all the time since retiring, but still, it just wasn't the best execution. However, that being said, I would rather complement someone and have it go horribly wrong than to keep the complement to myself. 

Being generous with my words is free. However, it is something that takes a conscious effort to do. I hope one day these positive words will just flow out of my mouth without thinking about it. But for today I am learning to make the conscious effort to make them come out. And that is a step in the right direction.

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Say WHAT?!

On Sunday night, Isla basically stayed up all night long. Let that sink in a little...ALL NIGHT LONG. She did not go to sleep until 6:45am...AM!!!! Then, I had to wake her at 8:30 to take Connor to school. Yeah, that didn't go well.

^^ This picture is from a totally different day. But I put Isla down for a nap with nothing in her crib and when I came to wake her, all this stuff was in her crib. WHAT?!

I was thinking to myself, "What the heck?!" when I was reminded...there is a certain little boy in my house who has done this to me a couple times. It's unexplainable. Sleep just doesn't come. Then the next day, a tired mama has the privilege of dealing with a tired and cranky toddler. And believe it or not, Isla didn't want to even take an afternoon nap yesterday. BUT, she did go down easily last night and slept in until 11 this morning...11am!!! It looks like someone was making up for lost sleep!

Here's to hoping little miss is back on schedule* and doesn't pull any all nighters again for a while.

* About that "schedule", Isla has been having so much trouble getting to sleep since I weaned her. She has been staying up so late no matter what we do. I didn't expect a change in her routine to affect her this much. Perhaps her staying up all night was her form of protesting being weaned?! I kid...kind of.  

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Tulip Picking

This weekend, my mother in law and I went tulip picking with the kids. I have to admit, as soon as the farm said "dress for mud", I was sold. Mud, fresh air and beautiful flowers, how could I go wrong?! And I was right. It was the perfect place to let the kids run around, get dirty and enjoy themselves. PLUS, I got to go home with pretty flowers!!!

^^ That's her "I'm running away from you mom, whatcha going to do about it?!" look

You had the choice to either clip the flowers or take the whole bulb. Originally, I was just going to take home the flowers, but my mother in law convinced me to take the whole bulb and plant them. So, now I have a flower pot full of tulips on my front porch. And I kind of can't wait until they bloom.

And just to keep it real, Connor had to go the bathroom while we were there. There was one port a pot for everyone and a line of dudes taking dumps in it. I begged Connor (like seriously begged...numerous times) to just pee on the fence, but he thought the port a pot was super cool and wanted to go in there. After waiting for all the guys to drop their loads, it was Connor's turn. It was about the nastiest port a pot I've seen (just behind the time I was 6 months pregnant and one was so full it was overflowing, so I went pee next to a fence and a guy came up and started peeing next to me...but that's a story for another time). Connor still insisted on using it. I held the door open and kept insisting he not touch ANYTHING. After he was done, he declared to all around "It smells like poop in there."

In order to get that nasty port a pot image out of your head, just look at the pretty pictures again. You're welcome. 

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10/52

 Connor: Who doesn't enjoy checking out their new tattoo as soon as they wake up the next morning?!

Isla: The delight this little girl gets out of her bath toys is amazing. She lines them up in a row and makes them come to life. I get just as much delight watching her do it as she does doing it. 

" A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2014."

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Strengths & Weaknesses

In my head, I know everyone has weaknesses. But oh-so-often, I only see peoples strengths and only see my weaknesses. I've already put it out there that I never make my bed. Now, here's another one for you. I never do the dishes unless the sink is full.

A couple weeks ago, at my mops group (a mom's group I go to), we made the above sign. I made a comment about how it is perfect for me because, well, I certainly let my dishes pile up. To my surprise, pretty much everyone around me talked about how they literally can't sleep if there are dishes in their sink. Just throwing it out there, I sleep perfectly fine with dishes in the sink, on the counter and on the table. Such talent of mine!

Before you start thinking that my house is always trashed, this isn't true. I do actually work my way through cleaning my house every week. And I have this odd thing about cleaning my kids rooms before they go to bed. But, odds are, if you drop in, you certainly will NEVER find my house looking perfect.

As I went home and set my little sign next to my sink full of dishes, I was feeling a little down about myself. Then I remembered, we all have strengths and we all have weaknesses. We all have 24 hours in a day and we all choose how we spend those days. So, to remind myself that I am not just a horrible slob, I thought I would jot down some of my strengths.

Building legos is my passion. I can (and many times do) spend an hour or more building legos with Connor every day. In fact, playing with the kids is really fun to me. I enjoy reading with them. I enjoy building things with them. I enjoy drinking the coffee they make for me and eating the ice cream cones they serve from their kitchen. If only it was all real. I meal plan and make dinner for us every week night. I do a great job picking up my camera and capturing memories of my kids childhood. I am thrifty and can find a deal on almost anything. And my best strength of all...I'm sarcastic. (You know it's a strength and not a weakness!)

The next time you are feeling down on yourself for not having the same strengths as others, I highly recommend taking the time to remember what YOU are good at.

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2 years, 4 months, 15 days

That's how long I nursed Isla for.

Change is always hard. Even if it is necessary, it is hard. There are tears from a toddler wanting something she has had every single day of her life. It's all she has known. There is a mom dealing with engorgement* issues (yes, I still have engorgement issues this many YEARS in). And there are emotions from both of us. Most of mine comes from refusing Isla something she wants so badly. Something that is such a comfort for her.

I never thought I would find myself in this sort of situation, nursing (or now, weaning) a toddler. But I have and I no longer feel sorry for it. For a while there, I felt embarrassed by it. American society certainly shuns this sort of thing. But it happened and now I am ready to talk about my experience with it. 

When Isla turned a year old, she was still nursing around the clock. And just as I didn't take Connor's bottles (or formula) away at a year, I decided I wouldn't take "the boob" away from Isla. After a couple months, she seemed like she was weaning herself. She was down to only nursing 1-2 times a day. Then, at 19 months, her 2 year molars started coming in and well, she started nursing around the clock again. And, at that point, the nursing relationship changed. It became about comfort for her and not nourishment. It became a magic thing that would take the grumpies away, would put her to sleep, would calm her fits. And once that happened, it became hard to think about taking away. But, the time has come for that to happen. 

2 years, 4 months, 15 days. I am pretty dang proud of myself. 

I want to dispel some myths about breastfeeding a toddler:

* Breastfeeding a toddler is more for the mom than the toddler. This is SO FAR FROM THE TRUTH. From the beginning, I have breastfed on demand. Isla initiates it. As time has gone on, I set parameters. First I made it where I would only nurse her one place, in the chair in her room. When I started that, she would pat the chair and say "sit, mama". Then I started dropping times when she could feed. The past two months, it was only before bedtime. 

* Isla does eat "solids". And I was asked this a couple months ago at the doctor's office. Isla eats just as much as her brother does. Nursing hasn't stopped her eating just as switching to milk never stopped Connor from eating. 

* Isla can (and does) drink from a normal cup and a sippy cup. She didn't ever take to bottles, but she did take to sippy cups from a young age. 

* Breastfeeding isn't a sleep aid. In fact, Isla hasn't routinely fallen asleep while nursing for probably almost a year. 

Now that "my secret" is out there, I hope I can be a help, be an encouragement, to another mom that finds herself almost shamefully extended breastfeeding. It's a hard place to find yourself when no one around you has ever done it and most people find it weird. But, to be honest, after a while, I got to the point that I stopped caring what others thought. It worked for us and that is all that matters. 

Just remember moms (and dads), for everything with parenting - It works for you and your family and that is all that matters.

So there you have it. After 2 years, 4 months, 15 days, Isla is that much closer to leaving babyhood behind. 

* If anyone else finds themselves in this position, for engorgement, I have been drinking sage tea, using cabbage leaves for relief and taking ibuprofen. 

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