Back to Work and Turkey Day

Last Monday I went back to work on part-time maternity leave so now I will be living up to my blogger title. I am working 3 days a week for a few weeks just to make the transition a little easier on me and baby girl. It has definitely been harder on me! Rylee is being kept by my mother-in-law and she has nothing but good reports on her. She's a happy baby, naps well and takes her bottle well. Knowing this gives me some relief. I'm determined to exclusively breastfeed her until she is 6 months at least. I didn't think pumping at work was going to be as hard as it is and that is what is stressing me most. I have a pretty nice stockpile in the freezer but I hope I can stick with it so we can pass 6 months. We'll see though.

Thanksgiving is my second favorite holiday after Christmas. I love eating yummy grub with the family! This year we are splitting up the day between my parents and Luke's parents so it will be a busy day with little ones but worth it since we only do this twice a year. Tonight I am baking Pumpkin Chocolate Chip cookies which I fell in love with last year. I got the recipe from a friend and you can get it to from her blog here. I'm telling ya, you'll be addicted to these things!!

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving and don't forget about all of the wonderful things to be thankful for. Today, I am thankful for our $140 utility bill!! Woo-hoo!!

So Thankful for Healthy Kiddos!

Yesterday both Hunter and Rylee had doctor check-ups. Hunter had his annual check-up which was easy peezy but poor little Ry had to have vaccinations. I think it hurt me more than it did her- she only cried for a second and fell asleep as soon as I  put her in the car seat. Such a tough little cookie! Here are their stats:

Hunter:
40.2 lbs
42 inches tall
He is in the 95th percentile for height!!! I guess he gets that from his Big Pop

Rylee:
13.5 lbs
24 1/2 inches tall
She is in the 50th percentile for both weight and height. It is funny comparing the two. At Hunter's four month visit, he was 16.2 lbs and 27 inches long putting him in the 85th percentile! I guess Rylee is taking after her Gam or Nana...
Rylee smiles, coos, and laughs all the time and is such a happy baby. She is laid back just like her brother and just goes with the flow. She can almost roll over from her back to her tummy. She gets about 3/4 of the way over then needs a little push. She did roll from her tummy to back in the middle of night but that must have been a fluke because she hasn't done it since. We are beginning to cloth diaper part time until I can build up her diaper stash. Cloth diapering is much easier than I thought and I love knowing I'm not putting those harsh chemicals on her little bum. When she does wear a disposable, she wears a size two. She wears size 3-6 months clothes but they just barely fit her! I have to roll up all of her pants. She sleeps all night (thank you Jesus!) from about 9pm-8am.

I'm much more confident this time around than I was with Hunter. I was afraid to take him out anywhere by myself, I couldn't even ponder the thought of breastfeeding in public, and I didn't know how in the world I would change his diaper if we were out and about. With Rylee, we are out of the house pretty much everyday, I've learned to be discreet about breastfeeding so I will feed her wherever, and I finally discovered changing her diaper in the car! I don't think I could ever change her in a public bathroom... gross. Having two kids is much easier than I thought and maybe because Big Brother is such a "good helper", as he says. They amaze me everyday!

Little future cheerleader

Handsome young man

Wondering if Blogging is for Me…

So I’ve decided to give this blog world a whirl. Probably because I have nothing else to do in my life, right? WRONG! I’ve got two kids: Hunter will be 4 in December (where has the time gone?!) and Rylee is 4 months old (again, where has the time gone?! I was just in the hospital last week!) So between taking care of them, my wonderful Hubby, running a household, and oh yeah, my 40+ hour job a week, I would call myself a busy lady. But everyone seems to be apart of the blog world so I thought “Why not?”… just another thing to do.

I’m sure this blog will be mostly about my children because they are the most special and exciting people in my life. Sadly, my maternity leave ends and I go back to work next Monday. It will be quite a transition since I have somewhat gotten into a “Stay at Home Mom” routine, but I love my job (and benefits) so I’m determined to give my job 100% and my family 200%. Hopefully this blog will let me get things off my mind and some of you other working moms, or stay at home moms, can relate. I’ll try to aim for 1 blog a week…