7 Quickies

1// I'm 29 weeks today, so that's cool. 

I actually had an ultrasound a couple weeks ago because they didn't get a good enough look at Zelie's heart at her 20-week scan. Everything looked great. Head down. The tech even let us FaceTime Will in since we used the whole "he's away for military duty" thing, which was awesome. I love technology. 

My weight gain has slowed considerably since I started trying to eat healthier (I even lost a few pounds, which prompted a trip to Starbucks for a blueberry scone). I'm still only slightly behind how much I'd gained at 29 weeks with Boog, when we'd just moved to STL. Crazy. (I have heard before that time flies when you're having babies. It's true.)

2// The disruption in Little Will's routine by going to daycare is really messing with his sleep. (Or at least that's what I hope is all it is, which means that he'll be back to normal TOMORROW. Yes?) Ever since Tuesday he's been fighting bedtime at night and waking up over an hour earlier than usual. Obviously, this means he will snuggle in for some extra sleep in bed with me. Because toddlers love that. At least that's the lie I've told myself for four straight mornings.

Why does he insist on wedging himself between me and my precious body pillow? WHY?

This morning, after getting kicked in the face numerous times for about an hour, I had finally, somehow dozed off. I was awakened by the sound of Curious George. My little man had slithered out of bed, found the Amazon Fire Stick remote, and turned on cartoons. 

These are LIFE SKILLS, people. (You just push the center button of the remote twice to play what had been on previously, but still.) I got to lay in bed for a few more minutes while he stood there making monkey sounds at the television.

3// But honestly, he may be starting to develop a problem. It's like a flip switched and now ALL he wants is TV.

This TV takes a little more work to get to George. Sorry. Also, you're holding it upside down.

4// Just a small problem, right?

He asks for "choo-choo?!" (Thomas the Train) or "ooo-ooo-ahh-ahh?!" (Curious George) approx. 50 times a day, but I'll be grateful for it when baby #2 comes I'm sure. 

5// So we canceled cable and we're saving $80 a month. We hope that between Netflix, Amazon Prime streaming, and various apps, we can avoid paying for cable forevermore. (I've also heard Sling TV is a great option for streaming sports and such.) Any college football fans have tips for streaming games? 

6// My friend, Julia, wrote a post about welcoming baby #2 which sums up basically all my feelings on the subject. I mean, if I had time and mental energy to think about the subject ;) She is only a couple weeks ahead of me in her pregnancy, and she also has a son named Will and they are about the same age. Essentially we are the same person in all the important ways, so click on over. 

7// Will's boss called to check up on me yesterday because he's TDY. I'm pretty sure this phone call is in the commander's manual or something, because I remember getting a similar call when Will was away at JAG School (different boss). They just call and ask how things are going, if there's anything you need, etc. I always politely say I've got things under control, but next time I'm going to ask for someone to come over and pick up dog poop from our back yard. As a joke. Unless they say yes. THEY'D HAVE TO SAY YES, RIGHT?  

Have a great poop-free weekend, everyone. 

Linking up for the first time with Kelly since she started hosting!

All Very Interesting Things (7QT)

So I took some pics of baby Will yesterday and since this is my mom blog I get to share them with you and discuss the very interesting things that come to mind with each photo. (Seven photos to be exact, therefore linking up with Jen.) 

-1-

Now that we're home, we are back in cloth diapers after a two month hiatus. One month was due to a rash misdiagnosis (not yeast - just eczema) and one month was from all the travel. I spent upwards of $40+ on disposables the past month. The agony.

Anyway, I'd been suspecting the diapers weren't getting clean enough with our current wash cycle, and after two months of sitting in our storage closet, my answer was yes, these are smelling a little weird. Fellow runner/blogger/mother-of-a-baby-Will, Julia mentioned that she'd be stripping her diapers after joining a little Facebook group called "Fluff Love & CD Science," so good blog follower that I am, I joined up, got sucked in, and my world has been rocked. Rocked, I tell you!

I got away with my former wash cycle for so long because between breastfed poop and using liners, the diapers just weren't getting that dirty. Suffice it to say, after starting solids and ditching the liners . . . they get reaaaal dirty now. So, I stripped and bleached all my diapers the other day and changed up my wash routine. (Despite what you've heard, stripping is easy.) I can only share SO MANY pictures of my baby over and over again, so head's up, I'll be sharing all my wonderful laundry findings with you this week. Keep your finger on that refresh button! ;)

-2-

Will she ever stop talking about diapers? Fine. Sometimes when I'm changing Will, I think, my goodness he's thinned out so much. And then I see pictures like this and I'm like, nah, still a fatso.

-3-

While he's certainly not famished, I've been worried lately about how much breast milk he's been getting in his diet. I went from crazy strong overactive letdown, to now barely feeling letdown. I'm just not sure whether he's getting enough when I'm not letting down, and I'm only feeling good letdowns about 3-4x per day, typically in the early AM (~4am), before his morning nap (~10am), sometimes before his afternoon nap (~2pm), and before dinner (~5:30pm). I'm also offering when he wakes up around 6:30am, after his afternoon nap since he normally doesn't take much, and before bed. Opinions on a new routine are welcome!!! I'm sick of offering and him doing the sucking/popping off/sucking/popping off/whining/whining/sucking/repeat/repeat/repeat.

Oh, and he will eat his body weight in solids after a full nursing session. Last night I had to cut him off after he'd mooched half my dinner off me and was making me shovel Greek yogurt into him. Something tells me these eating habits are hereditary, but I don't know, I'm only on my fourth bowl of oatmeal (probably because he mooched so many bites . . .).

-4-

Speaking of breastfeeding woes, I can tell you that those two little fangs pictured above are very, very sharp. His top two fangs are also juuuust about to pop through. I live in a constant state of fear when he nurses. I am getting better at anticipating when he's going to take a chomp, but . . . I hope this is a phase. If not, we are eagerly counting down to his first birthday. 

-5-

Go home, baby Will, you're drunk. Just kidding, he doesn't drink alcohol. Not until he's 6! (Good old, Catholics.)

-6-

His sleep schedule is back in a nice routine and he is so happy. I know I mentioned before that he won't let me sit on the computer while he entertains himself, but yesterday he did. And he is right now!

Yesterday, I gave myself the day "off" because, in addition to stripping/bleaching/laundering diapers, roasting a chicken, baking bread, and cleaning too much the day before, Will was on a recruiting trip all day and we knew he wouldn't be home until late. So I watched more TV than usual in the morning, and perhaps spent more time on social media than usual in the afternoon, and this kid could not have cared less.

-7-

BEST BABY STAGE EVER.

Mommy blogger.

No shame in my game.

Social Media, a Sad Conclusion to the Sitter Saga, & Puffs How I Love Thee (7QT)

Linking up with the one and only Jen Fulwiler this morning.

1 - I finally created a Facebook page for the blog when I realized that they are actually a lot of fun. Last one to the party, I suppose.

Grace Patton, I would follow you to the moon and back. But probably not Facebook. Ok, yes to Facebook if it is my only means of entering your giveaway. (I have shame. I admit it.)

Facebook generally makes my blood pressure rise. But I started following the Facebook pages of a few choice blogs that I love and I realized that they are posting other stuff on there. It's like unlocking the secret song on your favorite band's album. More! More! We want more!

And I realize for some people it's generally easier to comment over on Facebook. And I love getting comments with unsolicited (and solicited) parenting advice. (I am not being tongue-in-cheek. Please gift me your wisdom.) So I'm joining in and I hope you'll participate. 

2 - Another shameless plea for Internet friends. I'm also trying to get into Twitter. It's a little bit harder for me to wade through the riff-raff. It seems the only accounts that follow me are like the "RETWEET/FOLLOW/FOLLOW BACK" spammy accounts (all CATHOLIC spam accounts, I might add), so I'm not sure how long I can hang on. But if Lauren and Amanda keep tweeting, I'll keep trying.  

3 - Ok. To conclude the sitter saga (parts 1 and 2), I had to call it quits with the sitter because every time she came over, Will became a raging lunatic. Loud screaming, lots of tears, vibrato cries. It was too much for my heart to bear. I felt horrible: (a) that Will was crying and (b) about leaving our sweet sitter to deal with it.

And this came as a huge shock to me. I really didn't even think Will liked me that much. At best, I imagined he was indifferent toward his mother creature. His life has always seemed preoccupied with one of two goals - putting his mouth on everything and/or putting everything in his mouth. So there's that silver lining that I guess he likes me after all!

I really upped my selfie game with this series of photos.

I know it's just a separation anxiety phase, so I fully intend to give it another go with the sitter in a few weeks. 

We will give those photos the honor of occupying takes 4-6 and get this show on the road.

7 - PUFFS. Puffs will get us through this phase. Will is finally old enough to gnaw on them, and they keep him perfectly content and occupied, so that I can bang out a blog post (hint hint) or empty the dishwasher. And I basically feel like it's feeding him air, so no worries that he will fill up on them and reject the boob. He likes doing that lately. We have a ton of road trips coming up and I am so excited to have a clean snack that I can give him when he gets tired of the car seat. Praaaaise be for puffs, ya'll!

Have the best of Fridays.

Too Long; Didn't Read 7QT

In case you missed it, or I haven't mentioned it, here are some recent happenings:

1 - Baby Brez is 4 months old.

2 - We are stationed at Scott AFB and Will just promoted to Captain. He promoted automatically after 6 months because he's a JAG, so it's not really a big achievement, but I'm still one super proud Tiger Wife. 

3 - Little Will got to pin him on. Dexterity of a jellyfish and all.

4 - I helped, too, even though I was really tired.

5 - Will and I are training for the Air Force Marathon on September 20. Our long runs are up to 12 miles, we bought a treadmill, and she's a beaut'.

6 - I've been working from home for a couple of months writing appellate briefs.

Speaking of briefs . . . 

7 - Will and I recently celebrated our fourth wedding anniversary and our birthdays are coming up next month. I'll be 27 and he'll be 28. 

Ahhh. We're old!

Linking up with Jenna and Jen by way of Kathryn.

Anything new and fun going on with ya'llsies?

Date Night 7QT

Linking up with Jen today for some even quicker-than-usual quick takes...

1. Will and I went out to dinner last night to celebrate our fourth wedding anniversary. This was our first real date since baby Will was born and I could not have been more excited. Will's friend from work and his wife agreed to sit for us and everything.

2. Is my level of joy borderline inappropriate?

Jail-break!!!!!

3. We arrived at the couple's house to drop off little Will. I walked up to the door with a bottle of breast milk in one hand and a bottle of pinot noir in the other. 

Me: "Date night! Poppin' bottles!" 

Friend: "Ahh, I see you brought a white and a red option."

Booby milk humor.

4. Getting away from the babies are when adults can reconnect and have meaningful conversation, eh? While driving past the Rams' stadium, Will commented that we were in a bad area and pointed out that a fence looked like it had been knocked down, like the set of The Walking Dead. Thus commenced a competition as to who make the most realistic walker growl. 

Source.

Will won.

Naturally.

5. We drove into downtown St. Louis to a restaurant called Bridge. The owner of this place has a whole chain of restaurants that are notoriously hipster. When we first walked up, yep, there was man in skinny jeans and a long, well-kempt beard dining with another man in skinny jeans donning a feather in his hat. Ironically, however, when we got inside, there was a law student happy hour going on. My lawyer friends will understand that this is the least hipster thing that could ever happen in such an establishment. And, my goodness, it was so hard to contain our inclination to eavesdrop all evening. (3L is gonna be so legit!)

6. Had to take a selfie to commemorate:

No no no. All wrong. More hipster, please. 

Yes.

Gram-worthy. 

7. I tease the crunchy hipsters among us, but I know our beer-brewing, cloth diapering, NFP-loving ways kind of give us away. Happening now: 

Pinkman & Heisenberg.

It's a holiday weekend! Get out there and enjoy it.

Babies in suits, feminist rants, & that water tower that looks like a butt (7 QT)

1. Jen Fulwiler's book Something Other than God is being released next week. Today, she announced that there will be a prize for the Most Epic Selfie Holding the Book. Yesterday, I discovered the craze that is #babysuiting.

You can see where my mind is headed. I ordered the e-book, so it won't be all that ideal, but be on the lookout on Insta anyway. 

2. I recently updated our "About" page. Friends, send me your feedback. I always feel like I am being too short and forgetting something, or just trying to be clever and not being clever, you know what I mean?

Elisabeth, my blog muse, I'm looking at you. Text me your thoughts for reals. I'd love to make it better.

3. This week was week 1 (of 22) of marathon training.

So far, it's going decent. I'll have a whole post with times, struggles, and updates, but on the whole I'm holding it together. One week down, 21 to go.

4. I've always considered myself a feminist, even though in, like, a hipster counter-counter-cultural way. (Obviously mom blogger just screams feminism.) But Simcha Fisher hit the nail on the head with recent piece "Yes, we still need feminism." She wrote: 

. . . Yes, some evil people call themselves feminists, and do dreadful things in the name of feminism. So what?  People do dreadful things in the name of democracy, and people do dreadful things in the name of beauty. People do dreadful things in the name of Christ our savior. That doesn’t mean we abandon the name. That means we rescue it, we rectify the misuse. 

When I call myself a feminist, I don’t mean that I break out in a cold sweat when McDonald’s asks me if I want a boy toy or a girl toy in my kid’s happy meal. Some people use “feminism” to mean “being upset all the time” or “getting revenge on men” or “stamping out everything that makes women seem feminine.”  So what? I don’t use it that way. Neither did John Paul II.

As my Grandma Nolan would say, "Amen, sistah Lou." The foundation of feminism is not about contraception, abortion, or even women in the workforce, it's about respect and the dignity of women. Simcha makes a strong case for reclaiming the feminist movement, but check out her post and read some of the comments. Really interesting stuff.   

5. Any House of Cards fans out there? I love me some political drama, but I'm just not sure if I can find the redeeming quality of this show a la Breaking Bad. We're on the second to last episode of the Season 2, aka the weirdest episode ever, and I'm still trying to figure out whether I like the show or not. So far the only objectively good aspect of the series is that it features my hometown stomping grounds of D.C. and Baltimore, and, more importantly, there is an entire episode devoted to the GAFFNEY PEACH. Belmont Abbey is located about 40 minutes from said peach and my sister graduated from Limestone College located in Gaffney, so I drove past the peachoid many a time in college.

Memories. (Source.)

I guess I'm just waiting for something very bad to happen to the Underwoods . . .

6. And now, because I have stuff to do, I'm going to cop out and just link you to Kendra's excellent post today in defense of Catholicism without comment. I've recently dusted off my Catechism (HA! It's an e-book version, so I totally made a funny joke without you realizing it), so I have this renewed zeal for the theological foundations of our faith. But you kind of have to be a lawyer to read it---so dense, you guys---and Kendra puts things in laymen's terms in the best way. I kind of love her. 

7. Go. Just go. Get off this rotten blog thing I've created.

Linking up with Jen on this very fine Friday.

This One Involves Puke . . . Sorry (7QT)

1. I know I keep apologizing for posting about poop, but I am in the throes of early motherhood without anyone around anymore to share the harrowing experiences with. Sometimes it's too good not to share. And sometimes it involves puke.

If that photo doesn't capture the essence of motherhood, I don't know what does.

I know I make it look good.

Dirty. All dirty.

2. Speaking of poop, I'm working on an epic cloth diapering post. I post a lot of pictures on Instagram of diaper-clad baby Brez (e.g., see above), because seriously, what's cuter than a chubby baby in only a diaper? I get a ton of comments from friends and family to the tune of,

• "HOW DO YOU DO IT?" 
• "CLOTH DIAPERS?!?! ARE YOU CRAZY!?" 
• "I wish I had it in me to do cloth! Very impressive!" 

And surprisingly enough, my dad was enamored with all of it on his visit, pledging to start a stash for my sister if she wanted to. Now, I put myself at about a 5 out of 10 on the crunchy scale, and that's pushing it, but I exclusively cloth diaper. I just hate the idea of throwing things away, roughly 15 times a day. That, and I don't even like eating off paper plates, using plastic utensils, etc. Disposable diapers feel the same way to me. Flimsy and icky. That's my personal quirk.

It's a brave new world when you're first learning about it, but once I just bit the bullet and picked out a type of diaper to buy (too many options can be oh so paralyzing) and started doing it - it's so easy. I would like to share my 3+ weeks of cloth diapering (us in the biz, we call it CD-ing) wisdom with you.

3. Early last week, before the major sleep meltdown of 2014, I baked cookies to send to Will at JAG School. Flash forward to now:

Those are the last of the cookies . . . and I just ate them during those first two takes. Sorry, Will.

Anyway. I am NOT an oatmeal raisin cookie fan. Cookies with healthy stuff in them? That is for crunchy people! I am not. But these are delish. My mom made them when she was here and we had all the ingredients leftover so I made more. And ate them. All of them.

The recipe is on the lid of the Quaker Oats oatmeal box, I kid you not. I added a teaspoon of baking powder because my mom told me to. So go make some. And send them to meeeee.

4. Or not. Because I've been spoiled already. Some kind stranger had CUPCAKES delivered TO MY HOUSE this past week. The woman from the local bakery who delivered them told me that the sender specifically asked to be kept anonymous. In this day and age of social media and grandiose public gestures, this is practically unheard of.

I think it's so appropriate that this happened during Lent. Remind anyone of the Ash Wednesday Gospel reading?

"Take care not to perform righteous deeds
in order that people may see them;
otherwise, you will have no recompense from your heavenly Father.
When you give alms,
do not blow a trumpet before you,
as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets
to win the praise of others.
Amen, I say to you,
they have received their reward.
But when you give alms,
do not let your left hand know what your right is doing,
so that your almsgiving may be secret.
And your Father who sees in secret will repay you."

I've been eating them for breakfast with my morning cup of coffee ever since. It made my day for four days straight! (There were four cupcakes in the box.) I would publicly like to say (again) THANK YOU, KIND STRANGER! Your Father who sees in secret will repay you, even if I can't! :)

5. I know I said things got hairy on the sleep front with little Will, but I didn't really explain. Early last week, the night I baked the cookies, actually, Will did not sleep for more than 15 minute increments from the times of 2 in the AM to 6 in the AM. That means I did not sleep for more than 15 minute increments from the times of 2 in the AM to 6 in the AM. I hadn't slept for more than two hours at a time for a few days, and I was a wreck. I'm talking loud, audible sobs that scared the dogs. I do not function well under these circumstances, obviously. I don't think anybody does. At the advice of some other moms, I resolved to be a little more intentional as to the structure of Will's day, and wake him after 3 hours between feedings to get him sleeping better at night. Well, Janine casually mentioned in a random blog post that her daughter was a good sleeper, so I practically begged her to write a sleep tips post. And she did.

Janine recommended Secrets of a Baby Whisperer. I'd heard of this book before, but I'd never heard of E.A.S.Y., but that's exactly what we were doing. I immediately downloaded the book (less than $6 on Amazon) and devoured it in two days. I've been implementing her tips the past few days, mainly working on naps, and Will slept FIVE hours straight last night. I woke up after 4 1/2 uninterrupted hours of sleep to nurse him, and I couldn't fall back asleep, I was so rested even though he went right back down. I don't think I'd slept that long in months thanks to frequent trips to the bathroom when I was pregnant. Even if it was a total fluke and he only does this one day a week, I am a happy happy mama.

6. Take 6. I had my 6 week postpartum checkup Thursday where I got the official all-clear to run. I'd been running for a couple weeks already because I'm a vicious, vicious rebel, but now I can really start pushing it. Or not. Yesterday, feeling all fresh and fancy free I set out with my William and BOB and ran my first sub-10 minute mile! And then I crashed hard at a mile and a half and walked the rest of the way home.

If you are looking for accounts of level-headed injury-free postpartum running, you should probably check out Kallah's blog and ignore any running posts by me. I just wing it and do what I feel. I've never injured myself running beyond common aches and pains, but this is my first time getting back into shape after birthing a human through my hips out of my abdomen, so maybe I should start taking it a little slower? Despite what I just said, I'm really considering signing up for a fall marathon, even though it's a recipe for getting pregnant in my limited experience.

7. Anyone have any suggestions for a running playlist? I have seasoned faves that have the perfect beats per minute for my stride, but listening to the same songs over and over for the past, oh, seven or eight years, can get a little dull. I just added Happy by Pharrell (I don't think I can get sick of this one) and Hey Brother by Aviici (I do think I can get sick of this one), but I'm looking for more newbies!

Have an awesome Saturday! Head over to Jen's blog for more random quick takes.

Life Lately (7QTs)

Linking up with Jen today . . . 

1. Wondering what I've been up to lately? Allow this Daisy photo series to demonstrate:

To summarize, I've been a lazy, tired, much less comfortable-looking blob. So so blobby. I haven't been sleeping well at all, which leads to lots of napping/dozing off on the couch. Just trying to follow everyone's advice for things to do before baby: take naps, go to the movies, treat yo'self! Will surprise scheduled me for a prenatal massage yesterday and it was the best.thing.ever. Except that now I need one every day. He's awakened a beast, a massage-loving beast.

2. All those pictures of Daisy are from the past couple of weeks, taken at different times, sometimes in different locations, indicating two things - that one, I take too many pictures of Daisy, and two, Daisy is weird. #thingswealreadyknew 

3. We are planning on finishing the nursery this weekend, but how about another sneak peek? (Can you tell I just want it to be done so I can share everything?)

Here is the last preview . . . 

And now! . . . 

Yep, Daisy's back. She loves the nursery and thinks it's her room. Nope. The rug was a steal on Overstock.com (the price actually went up in this link) and I loveeee it. We needed more red to brighten things up.

4. We are having guests over this weekend for the first time! My little brother is in town with my stepmom and her parents for a family reunion in St. Louis. We finally bought chairs for our dining room table for the occasion:

(Yeah, that's a high chair in the lefthand corner. We're overly excited first time parents up in here.) Can we talk about these gorgeous fabric chairs?

World Market does it again (for half off I might add). I thought I had it bad for the dining room table a la "you got it you got it bad!" - URSHER (I'll stop), but I've never been so in love with a piece of furniture. I think Will would say the same about his big screen TV. You know, to each his own. The other four chairs are from Target, by the way (can't find a link). We wanted to do a bench on one side, thinking it would be cheaper, but alas it was not (Craigslist around here is not impressive!).

No more rocking chair in the dining room.

The end of an era.

5. On the menu . . . Pioneer Woman's perfect pot roast (so delicious and easy - highly recommended!):

Yes, I've made it a couple times already . . . within the past month.

And, since Daisy's birthday is coming up, what's up Swiss Chocolate Cake?

Last year. An excuse to eat cake is an excuse to eat cake.

If I get crazyyyy, I may make this coffee cake that Ana shared for Monday morning. Or we can just polish off the Swiss Chocolate Cake. Either way, we'll be all healthy-like and I will be a very happy, satiated blob.

6. Can I make it through a take without mentioning Daisy or without a picture of Daisy? Here's a cute picture of the boys, lest you think I'm playing favorites:

We were told when we got Ace that he was a Weimeraner/flat-coat retriever mix, which had us skeptical because he is small, under 40 pounds, has a curly tail, and generally looks like neither of those breeds. He did look very labby when he was a puppy:

And his tail was straight.

And now it is not.

Anyway, at the vet this week, his file was officially changed from Weimeraner mix to greyhound mix. Quite the shift. Of course, I'm like "naturally!" but Will just finds it to be hilarious. The lesson here, when adopting puppies: caveat emptor. You really never know what you will end up with. I am one who appreciates the element of surprise.

7. Finally, let's talk about things I can't wait to do once I'm not pregnant anymore:

• Sleep on my back and/or stomach
• Go running
• Walk the dogs without fear of losing my life
• Put shoes/pants on without grunting (even though Will finds it to be sooo attractive)
• Drink black coffee again
• Try all the beers Will has been brewing (He's bottling the IPA today and will start a Chocolate Maple Porter and then a Jalepeno Saison - I don't even know what those are but I still want them in my belly)
• Hang out with my new bestie, Billy Brez, and bombard you with pictures of him instead of Daisy

That's it! Sorry I just wasted your life with this post. Have a great weekend. Daija, I promise there will be a 35 week bumpdate this weekend! It will be okayyyy.