The Wednesday Links from Around The Web 1.29.2014

The three standard American diets in chart form - Fascinating Stuff!

10 tips to being a happy and productive Stay At Home Mom All of these tips are so true! I have both a weekly and daily routine which enables me to be both productive and happy. It's in flux right now with the addition of Maggie but I suspect in a few months, I'll have my routine back on track. My routines keep me sane when dealing with unpredictable children. 

Bill Murray on Reddit This is AWESOME!

Olympic Uniforms Unveiled While I'm excited that they are knit and made in America, I'm so sad at how hideous they are!

Ghost Ship; Cannibal Rats This is the best story I've read all week!

Following My Arrow

I'm participating in a mystery shawl knitalong from Ysolda even though my knitting time is severely limited but I am having so much fun with it! I'm using a new to me yarn from Old Maiden Aunt which is turning out beautifully but is also bleeding all over my hands a bit. 

I also decided (possibly in the mist of sleep deprivation) to make two shawls. I had purchased two different colors of yarn for this shawl and couldn't decide which one to use for the knitalong. I decided to use both! I've been doing different clues (which is the true beauty of this knitalong) for each of the shawls. 

The forum over on Ravelry is so active and I love seeing what other people are creating with their clue choices. The other exciting part of this knitalong for me is that Ysolda releases each pattern's clue on Monday at midnight (my time) and I'm usually up feeding Maggie. I download the pattern and read over the clues while taking care of Maggie. Then I ponder which clue I'm going to do. If I'm impatient, at the second wake-up of the night, I check out the spoiler thread to see what people have started knitting up (and there are a lot of photos just a few hours after the clue is released) to help me make my final decision. The clue release gives me a bit of excitement and helps keep me awake through the middle of the night feedings. 

There are three more clues and I can't wait to see where they take this design. I'm also excited to have two new shawls in less than a month. 

Five Weeks with Chicken Nugget

It was a busier but good week. We had PT on Monday, a playdate on Tuesday, errands on Thursday and a family adventure on Friday. I took Maggie out for errands on Thursday and she slept through the entire trip! It was so much easier than bringing Molly along. It's funny, there are things that are harder with Maggie (like feeding her) but there are so many things that are easier (like running errands and cleaning the house). Everything has its pros and cons. On Thursday we went to the park with a friend and Maggie nursed in the car afterwards like a champ. Sadly I can count on one hand how many times she nursed like a champ last week. It's getting extremely frustrating for me and I'm trying so hard not to be frustrated because she doesn't know. She's just a little baby.

One the good side, Maggie is the sweetest baby. She likes tummy time, she loves her sister and she is the best nap buddy around. She can ride in the car seat for ages and snuggles down in the Beco Gemini. She sleeps really well and actually spends most of the night in her co-sleeper which is something her sister had to be forced into. Speaking of her sister, we've had to keep the two girls separated as Molly woke up with croup last night. We are trying hard to keep Maggie from getting sick but they have such close contact that I'm a little nervous. The barking croup cough is so scary to hear and it is hard to see your kids when they are sick with it.

We're starting to settle into a routine around here and I'm beginning to feel more confident that I can deal with two kids. Of course, I still have my Scott safety net but I've been venturing out with both girls on a few trips here and there. They've gone well but we'll have to see how I do when I have to be the in-charge adult for 10 hours a day. I suspect it will be rough in the beginning but we'll figure it out.

The Wednesday Links from Around The Web 1.22.2014

How to best help a car accident victim

The mouth of a child is terrifying indeed!

Photos: Children and Animals

Sherlock Holmes is back on TV!  I still need to finish last season though :( 

Sunday Favorites

I spend a lot of time looking at social media sites lately, especially when I'm up in the middle of the night feeding Maggie. These photos have been a delight on my eyes at 3 a.m. Enjoy!

1. Blocked pocket swatches and cute stitch markers!! #instaravginnykal #yay, 2. 365.17 - Three Things, 3. Untitled, 4. Zero2000 R2F2 - Clevedon Pier Pinhole, 5. grapes!, 6. January 14th., 7. 12. the kitchen table, 8. Clementines, 9. Brioche Progress, 10. baby fisher, 11. floss box, 12. Day 2535, 13. Oy. Only 2700 stitches to go and I'm losing steam., 14. 8. bread, again, 15. January 8th., 16. January 7th., 17. Kimchi, 18. 4. glass head pins, 19. The large mug of mint hot chocolate did not stand a chance. #sick #instagram365, 20. January 4th., 21. WIP, 22. Hi 4.465, 23. Merry Perihelion, y'all., 24. elisbeth one repeat, 25. Untitled

Four Weeks with Chicken Nugget

Four Weeks! It's already been FOUR weeks! They've been a whirlwind and this week I made two trips outside with both girls and without Scott. It definitely took a lot more planning and coordination but I did it. Our first trip was to the Zoo with Molly's favorite friend, Norah. Norah also has a new little sister so Maggie also had someone to hang out with. Our second trip was to the donut shop for treats while Scott got some much needed zzzz's. Maggie was unimpressed with the trip but Molly and I were quite excited to enjoy some donuts. 

Maggie also had her first PT appointment this week and it has made an amazing difference in her nursing! She went from grudgingly nursing once or twice a day to five to six times a day. Such vast improvement. We have another appointment next week which I am really looking forward too. Unfortunately my supply isn't keeping up as well as I'd like for Maggie so I'm going to be talking to my doctor on Monday about some drugs. Hopefully they can help get things back on track. 

Maggie is getting stronger every day. She lifts her neck and while she doesn't have great control I can see how strong she is getting. At PT, she was rolling around and almost rolled over to which I yelled, I AM NOT READY FOR THAT! STOP IT! The therapists laughed and said it would have been a fluke but still I AM NOT READY! 

Maggie has been sleeping with me since birth but I'm working to get her to sleep in the co-sleeper a bit more. It's nice to have a snuggle bug but with her asymmetrical (her right side tightness) issues, I think it would benefit her to sleep more prone on her back in a straight fashion and sleeping in my arms might contribute to her issues which would be bad. 

Molly LOVES Maggie and I get so excited watching the two of them together. I envision future tea parties and dress-up sessions but I also know there will be a lot of fights and yelling. 

Acceptance

I've been reading about people selecting a word to represent 2014 which got me thinking about what my word would be. At first, I thought, "Survival" and yes that will be true. Surviving this year will be a key. Two kids is a hurricane of awesome, terrible kid-ness. Then I thought, Growth but eh, it didn't feel exactly right. I know that I will have a lot of growth this year but really survival will be bigger.

Then I started thinking about all the things people have been doing for my family lately and how I have a really hard time accepting help. I like to be the one to help people. I'm not very good at being the one who is being helped which led me to the word, Acceptance. I'm learning to accept help. I'm learning to accept the chaos of two kids. I'm learning to accept that I have little control over my own schedule right now.

This year will be about learning to accept more, especially help. I have such wonderful friends who have all been offering their help and in the spirit of this year, I've been busy accepting it. A friend wants to bring me food, SURE! A friend wants to take Molly for a playdate so I can concentrate on Maggie's feeding, SURE! A friend wants to empty the dishwasher, SURE (even though this is REALLY HARD FOR ME!)

I will also be accepting that life is going to be crazy for the next while and that I may not accomplish all that I want to accomplish or do all that I want to or heck even get to shower every day but I will accept all the love I have in my life and all the wonder that comes with it. I will also accept that sometimes when raising children, they do things their own way which is not necessarily the easiest way to do things nor the way I'd prefer to do things.

Do you have a hard time with acceptance? How would you incorporate acceptance into your life?

The Wednesday Links from Around The Web 1.15.2014

Goodnight. Sleep Clean.

Target offers credit protection for all their customers

Food52's 8 Food Blog Links of the Week

The 2014 Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery 'Once Upon a Time' Sampler is here!

Growing Up Unvaccinated

Three Weeks with Chicken Nugget

We are deep in the three week growth spurt around here. Maggie just wants to eat, eat, eat, sleep a little and then eat some more. She is still having issues breastfeeding but had made some small improvements. The LC has recommended that she get an evaluation from PT for the tightness on her right side. I am willing to try almost anything to improve the current eating cycle. 

Maggie has finally surpassed her birth weight and gained more than 13 ounces last week bringing her up to 9 lbs 2.5 oz. Hooray! She is gaining some neck strength and is getting less sleepy (but that might be due to wanting to eat all the time instead of sleeping).

Molly loves her baby sister and tells me what to do with her all the time. She finds the pump to be fascinating and notes that her sister has "Mama Milk" while she has regular milk. She likes to talk about it every morning while I feed Maggie and she watches cartoons. 

I tried to take some pictures of Molly and Maggie together but that did not work. I shall attempt again later this week! They are so cute together and I need to capture it. 

The Wednesday Links from Around The Web 1.8.2014

Check out these gorgeous photos from National Geographic's 2012 photo contest!

The Ultimate Guide to Writing Better than You Normally Do

10 Ways to Love a New Mom

Kale? Juicing? Trouble Ahead!

8 tips for taking better camera phone photos in 2014

2014 Goals

I've been thinking about the New Year and what I want to accomplish in 2014. I have to be brutally honest with myself and limit my goal making. I have a newborn and a toddler! That makes for a busy schedule. I do however have a few things I'd like to accomplish this year.

Goal #1 - Knit 10 Purple Hats for The Period of Purple Crying out of yarn stash and deliver to Swedish Ballard.

Goal #2 - Get back into running by doing Couch to 5K and running at least one race.

Goal #3 - Blog at least three times a week.

Sunday Favorites

My time on Flickr has grown exponentially since Maggie was born. I spend a lot of time looking at everyone's gorgeous photos while feeding her. It provides me with some beautiful eye candy. 

1. elisbeth one repeat, 2. Untitled, 3. Hercules Day 1, 4. Tiny Flicker Polwarth, 5. isabella d'este start, 6. two loaves, 7. Dale gave me all the materials for the Superhero Sampler!, 8. BT shelter for new years cast on, 9. Untitled, 10. happy princess, 11. Erin & Maddie, 12. rainbow sparkle color 2 done, 13. 007, 14. rainbow sparkle mini balls, 15. We made reindeer thumbprint ornaments with Henry as gifts for grandparents and a few others. His name and year are on the back., 16. breakfast slab pie, 17. Coffee, 18. a warm summer day in october, 19. Wonder Bread in the fog, 20. the pile, 21. Moody Skies, 22. Looking towards the sky (PH), 23. Untitled, 24. Trapped By The Tide, 25. The Clever Mushroom

Two Weeks with Chicken Nugget

I can't believe that it has already been two weeks with Maggie and I also can't believe that it has only been two weeks with Maggie. I feel like she's been with us no time at all and forever.

Scott has nicknamed her, "Sleeping Beauty" due to all the sleep this child gets. One day we are going to look back on this and miss the sleepy days. We saw the lacation consultant again this week (I sense that we're going to be seeing them for a bit) and she gave me so much hope. She thinks Maggie will outgrown her latch problems and said that my side of Team Boob was in good shape. It's funny, with Molly, all the breastfeeding issues were on my side. Molly was an excellent breastfeeding partner. This time around, Maggie has the challenges but I'm hopeful that she'll get past them. The LC has assured me that she will.

We went out for sushi lunch today. Maggie slept through lunch while Molly chowed down on avocado rolls. It was nice getting out of the house even if it required massive coordination and organization. We started getting ready to go out at 8 a.m. for an 11:30 a.m. lunch.

This week has been a bit of a groundhog's dog. It's a 24 hour cycle of try to breastfeed (sometimes we have success!), feed Maggie and pump. Then I have about 30 minutes to eat, shower, clean up, etc. before starting the cycle all over again. Luckily since Maggie is such a good sleeper, I have a longer stretches at night. I'm still having to set my alarm to wake her up to eat so I'm taking advantage of the situation and getting a 3 hour stretch and a 4 hour stretch of sleep. The first few weeks are always so hard but so important to getting the breastfeeding relationship on track. I also know that this too shall pass and soon Maggie will be bigger and I'll miss the squishy little Maggie I have now.