What Love is...

Love is a temporary madness. It erupts like an earthquake and then subsides. And when it subsides you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your roots have become so entwined together that it is inconceivable that you should ever part. Because this is what love is. Love is not breathlessness, it is not excitement, it is not the promulgation of promises of eternal passion. That is just being in love which any of us can convince ourselves we are. Love itself is what is left over when being in love has burned away, and this is both an art and a fortunate accident. Your mother and I had it, we had roots that grew towards each other underground, and when all the pretty blossom had fallen from our branches we found that we were one tree and not two.

                      - Captain Corelli's Mandolin

This is probably one of my favorite quotes, if not my favorite, on love. It is from the book Captain Corelli's Mandolin written by Louis de Bernieres. Read it, it's a beautiul story. Happy Sunday Everyone!

Did I Really Just Read That?

          Today I stumbled upon an article that created quite a bit of controversy and rage in the breastfeeding community. I did not go looking for it but rather I'd like to think that it found me. I was actually looking for literature on something my friend told me about called the "Breast Crawl". It's really fascinating if you have time, definitely look it up. It will wow you. So back to this controversial article, it's called The Case Against Breastfeeding. I was pretty intrigued when I saw the title of this article, being a proud breastfeeding mother and huge supporter of the concept that breast really is best, I could not believe what I was reading. I mean even mothers I know who formula feed will admit that they know nursing provides benefits to baby and mother that formula simply can not. Usually, their opinion on the matter is something along the lines of "Well, I was given formula and I came out o.k." Before I say anything more, i just want to point out that I'm not judging mothers who choose to/ have to formula feed their babies. I am simply sharing my thoughts on an article and why I have personally chosen to breastfeed.
      So I did what any curious person would do and I sat down and read this very lengthy article and to put it nicely was not impressed. The article discuss how some moms struggle with breastfeeding and suggests that in the end it's really not worth it.  She claims to have read the actual studies that show the benefits of breastfeeding, saying “It shows that breast-feeding is probably, maybe, a little better … A couple of studies will show fewer allergies, and then the next one will turn up no difference. Same with mother-infant bonding, IQ, leukemia, cholesterol, diabetes.”
     I have also read the studies and know for myself that breastfeeding is best so I dispute the entire premise that the studies don’t support the benefits of breastfeeding.  After all, if you saw a study that claimed to show no link between sunscreen and skin cancer (despite all the others that DO show a link), would you not bother to use sunscreen on your children? 
      Boy did she open a can of worms! To be quite truthful, I think when we make excuses like the ones she has made in this article, you tend to come off as selfish. The number one reason why I breastfeed is because I know with out a doubt that it is the best thing I can give my baby. Bottom line. It is not about me. I think that people in this society have become overly self serving. ME, Me, Me! Yes, odds are if you give your baby formula, he or she will turn out to be happy, healthy individuals but nature can not be duplicated to an exact measure and there are things that you and your baby will go without. 
   Here are the facts:
1. Breastfeeding is the way nature intended for us to feed our babies. Natural is ALWAYS better than anything that we can cook up in our science labs.
2.It is healthier for both mom and baby. For the mother alone, it reduces the risk of breast, endometrial, and ovarian cancer, as well as many other diseases. For the baby, it passes along immunities that the mother's body has on a day to day, feeding to feeding basis, helps prevent SIDS and lowers the risk of many diseases including cancers, diabetes, asthma, ear infections, and arthritis, just to name a few. It also lowers the risk for baby girl to get breast cancer later on.
3. It is waaaaaayyyy more convenient. No mixing and warming and washing bottles. I just lift up my shirt and "Bon Appetit! Dinner is served."
4.It is free. Yes I have chosen to buy things like a breast pump, nursing cover and pads but all of those things are optional. And don't nearly add up to the $1200 per year it costs to formula feed. Plus breast fed babies are generally healthier than formula fed babies, which means less doctors visits.
5. it helps Mom lose the baby weight faster. Thanks to breastfeeding I was back to my pre-pregnancy weight by my 5th week postpartum and actually weigh 5 lbs less than I did pre-pregnancy. that is with no dieting and very light exercise. Plus, did you know that if a women doesn't breastfeed her uterus will always be slightly larger than it was before pregnancy? Interesting.
      My journey with breast feeding was not a walk in the park either. My son was put into NICU when he was first born because of a fever that spiked in my last stages of labor. I did not see him for 6 HOURS after he was born. It was awful. I began to pump as soon as I could and would send my Husband down with the bottles every few hours. By the time I could begin to try and breastfeed, we were having problems latching on. Through tears, exhaustion and many many attempts I continued to pump bottles for him and my supply came in with abundance. Engorgement sucked, my nipples had blisters from the pump and I looked like Dolly Parton. I thought many times about giving up but I kept going for one reason and one reason only: For Kai. Eventually he latched on and even through a second case of engorgement ( I had been accidentally pumping more then he was actually eating) we continued. And you know what? I am extremely proud of myself for what I did. And the benefits have paid off. I think Kai has only had one small cold. As I am writing, I am sick with strep throat but you know what? He is fine. Despite my constant contact with him, he is perfect. I'll leave you with this quote by Christine Northurp M.D.:

"When we trust the makers of baby formula more than we do our own ability to nourish our babies, we lose a chance to claim an aspect of our power as women. Thinking that baby formula is as good as breast milk is believing that thirty years of technology is superior to three million years of nature's evolution. Countless women have regained trust in their bodies through nursing their children, even if they weren't sure at first that they could do it. It is an act of female power, and I think of it as feminism in its purest form."

Catching Up

        I can't believe how long it has been since I have posted anything on here. I feel like I have not stopped running around for the past few weeks. Maybe that's because I have a baby on the brink of walking who never stops moving which results in a constantly moving Mommy. To say I'm slightly exhausted would be putting it lightly. But through my exhaustion comes boat loads of happiness so I really can't complain. Although I am currently fighting a mean case of strep throat I am still moving and getting ready for the busy week ahead. 

     Maybe I should play catch up on recent events before I go into what is up and coming. Two weeks ago, Jesse got the entire weekend off. He is currently going through the selection process for the U.S. Army Parachute Team, The Golden Knights. He is on the home stretch now and I know we are both ready for a little R&R. Anyways, so he had the whole weekend off which hadn't happened at all and we were so thrilled to spend two whole days and nights together! It's amazing how much you can take time together for granted when you always have it. We went on a much needed date to watch my beloved Florida Gators take on LSU in football. We lost, but it was still a great night consisting of mojitos (my all time favorite), deep fried pickles, and pumpkin beer. Weird combination I know but believe me when I say it was fabulous! The next morning we woke up and drove an hour into the country to Gross Family Farms for Kai's first visit to a pumpkin patch. It was such a wonderful day. We strolled through the patch in search for the perfect pumpkin for our first family Jack o' Lantern. Kai enjoyed sitting amongst them and trying to pick them up and roll them over. After we found "the one" we headed over to an area of only very small pumpkins and let Kai pick out his own. The day was ended with some homemade ice cream, it was too hot for cider or hot chocolate like I had envisioned when I first came up with this idea. But there is always next year!

Where's Waldo? :)

      Like I mentioned before Kai is BUSY. The only time the child stops is when he finally passes out for his nap or bedtime and even then he goes out with a bang. Practically running around in circles until the very last ounce of energy in his body is used up. He will be walking any day now and I can't help but get nostalgic when I look back on the past 11 months. How fast the time has gone and how beautiful every moment has been. I wouldn't trade any of it for the world. It's funny to look back to the day he was born and remember how overwhelmed I was with love and how I thought I couldn't possibly love him any more than I did that day, only to have been surprised every day since then with a stronger more inexplicable love than the day before. Wow. I always knew the love for your child is strong but I never really KNEW. If that makes any sense. 

Did I mention he is busy??

    Two days ago was Jesse's birthday and I spent the majority of the day cooking and baking. Being in the kitchen is probably my favorite place to be aside from anywhere with my family. I enjoy it, and I know it may seem a little 1950's/ anti-woman's progression but I'm not there against my will and that's certainly not where I am expected to be so don't read too far into it. Anyways, last minute Jesse was able to come home for dinner instead of me bringing the food to him and he brought along the rest of the guys going through selection. It was really nice to have him home and to be able to get to know the people he has been spending the past two months with. And I made a glorious dessert.... Cookies and Cream Cheesecake Cupcakes. Yeah, I know. GLORIOUS. I got the recipe from Martha Stewart's Cupcake Cookbook. She is wonderful. I love Martha and I don't care who knows it! They were delicious and the night was a success.

Here they are in all their glory.

                                                      

          And here is the recipe: 

Martha Stewart's Cookies and Cream Cheesecakes Recipe
Makes 30


Ingredients:
42 cream-filled sandwich cookies, such as Oreos, 30 left whole, and 12 coarsely chopped
2 pounds cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 large eggs, room temperature, lightly beaten
1 cup sour cream
Pinch of salt




1. Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Place 1 whole cookie in the bottom of each lined cup.


2. With an electric mixer on medium high speed, beat cream cheese until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Gradually add sugar, and beat until combined. Beat in vanilla.


3. Drizzle in eggs, a bit at a time, beating to combine and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in sour cream and salt. Stir in chopped cookies by hand.


4. Divide batter evenly among cookie-lined cups, filling each almost to the top. Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until filling is set, about 22 minutes. Transfer to wire racks to cool completely. Refrigerate at least 4 hours (or up to overnight). Remove from tins just before serving.

Well my busy boy is up from his nap, till next time!

The Love of Imperfection

"Love is not about finding a perfect person but learning to see an imperfect person perfectly."

   Last weekend, my sweet husband came home for the night ( he is away at a military selection program for two months, more on that later). I had been busy all day cleaning the house, going to the store and cooking a nice meal of pork chops, mac and cheese (homemade of course), sauteed zucchini and apple dumplings. Yum! Of course, I didn't have to do any of this but I do because nothing gives me more happiness than to shower the people I love with love! And my Hubby is at the top of the list of people I absolutely adore. Is he perfect? By all means no. Is he perfect for me? Yes. Does he sometimes give me a headache and make me want to pull my hair out? Definitely. I think a huge turning point in our marriage was when I started to appreciate his imperfections instead of letting them exasperate me. He is who he is and I am who I am. So when he came home slightly crabby and exhausted instead of happy and cheerful to see me, I embraced that. 
     Believe it or not, the things I miss the most about him being home are the little things that usually irk me like crazy. I miss finding his leftover scrubble scattered around on our bathroom sink, I miss the way he always leaves his shoes in the most unfitting places, and I miss the way he clanks his silverware loud enough to wake our sleeping baby upstairs. I miss him. All of him. Because I love him, every last part.  
     It would be completely unfair if I didn't touch on my own imperfections. I am a recovering control freak meaning the tendencies are still there but I am trying to relax a bit, I almost always leave my strands of hair in our shower, I overanalyze situations to an extreme and I remember everything ( trust me this is NOT a good trait, my husband will agree). But thankfully, my husband loves me despite all of this and for that I am grateful. 
      One of the things my husband and I always try to remember is that the greatest thing that we can do for our child is to love one another. Kids need to be loved, see love and love back. And he is looking to us for his example.