my next goal...

In my career as a L&D and pediatric nurse, I have been around breastfeeding since graduation.   This is my opinion on breastfeeding...I strongly trust that it is the best form of nutrition a mother can provide for her newborn.  It is a very natural thing, but it must be learned by both mother and baby. I would encourage new mothers to trust their body and trust the baby's instinct to nurse and trust when he/she is full.  Don't obsess over the amount taken at each feeding, just trust that if the baby is content, peeing, pooping and gaining weight that you are doing perfect!  Some times this is easy for some mothers and babies and sometimes there are challenges.  I encourage every mother to try to breastfeed to give that newborn the colostrum that is so rich in antibodies & more gentle on the newborn's brand new, sensitive tummy.  I would say if a mother is skeptical about exclusively breastfeeding, to just set a goal of breastfeeding for the 1st 2 weeks, if things are going well at that time and there is no need to stop-then make your goal until the baby is 1 month old, if this are going well, make it 3 months, reevaluate, then nurse the baby until 6 months-1 year old.  However, those mothers who are so overwhelmed and consumed and stressed out about trying to breastfeed that they are in tears, and even postpartum depression...it certainly is acceptable to formula feed.

In our pediatric clinic we all strongly encourage mothers to breastfeed their baby. We also think that it is very important to offer plenty of support for the mother and baby and the possible challenges that might occur.  With that, Dr Sawyer suggested that I get my IBCLC~International Board Certified Lactation Consutant.  I agreed with the importance and need since there are NO Lactation Consultants within an hour of our clinic.  I have learned that it is much more in depth that just taking a test.  I've been warned that it is a very difficult test.  I have to have 90 specific breastfeeding education hours.  NINETY!  Nurses are required to have 24 continuing education hours every 2 years for license renewal.  Now I am cramming in 90 hours in before the test date in July.  The past 2 days I have been watching 12+ hours of webcasts in preparation for a 3 day Lactation Exam review conference in Atlanta.  I'll learn more and see more boobs that I ever thought I would ever see during this conference.

Say a little prayer for me as I challenge myself to pursue this Lactation Consultant goal.

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sweet moments

 Bella always wants her & Lucy to match.  Even when going to bed.

2 little zebras

Halter dresses & pony tails

Yellow & Blue

When I have to work at the hospital on the weekends, Jacob will sometimes come and bring the girls  to have lunch with me.

Cut 8 1/2 inches gone.  My hair hasn't been this short in 3 years.  I'm liking it!!

~ON THE PONTOON~

Playing dressup with the girls...2 cooks and a princess

If mommy is out too late, someone else is in my spot when I get home.

What's cutier than a baby wedgie? 

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Desiderata

Desiderata

Go placidly amid the noise and haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible without surrender
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons,
they are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain and bitter;
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.

Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs;
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals;
and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself.
Especially, do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love;
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment
it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.

You are a child of the universe,
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be,
and whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy.

By: Max Ehrmann

This poem means a great deal to me.  It was written in 1927 and introduced to me 10 years ago in my Advanced Studies class my senior year of high school.  The lady who taught the class was also my AP English teacher that year.  Mrs. Stoup was by far my favorite teacher of all time.  She smiled a lot.  She laughed a lot.  She had no tolerance for students that weren't interested learning.  In this Advanced Studies class, each day she would pose a question and ask us to write an answer it.  She never read them.  They were just to get our minds going.  Some of the questions were "Are leaders made or born?"  "What makes a hero?"  "What are your prejudices?"  "What freedom do you value the most?"  "What do you desire?"  Which led us to "Desiderata" which means 'Things to be Desired'.  The day that she introduced us to the poem, she asked each person in the classroom to pick a piece of the poem and interpret the meaning of it.  Each word has such truth.  

Often throughout my life, I have gone back to this poem for guidance.  I'd love to find it on a huge poster/canvas to hang in my house.  About a year ago, I talked about it in this post and how I used those words to get me through my selfish thinking.  Hopefully you might find some meaning and truth in these words that might help guide you through your life.   

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randoms

We finally got another computer after being robbed.  Thankfully we had Carbonite, so after over a week of restoring all of our files...I finally have a computer that I can jump on and write.  A few,  one person said they miss reading my posts...so here I am!

This will be a random post, because my thoughts are bouncing.

I ran across this on Pinterest and think it's so pretty.  But it's sold out and kinda expensive, so I'll keep my old one for now.

The Sleeping Beauties shop is kinda slow right now.  But to be honest, I haven't devoted much time to creating new things, so I can't expect many sells right now either.  Check out my Facebook and Etsy page.  When I do make a goodie for someone and they like it, it makes my day!

As far as my job change, it's going great!  It's been 2 months since I said my bittersweet good-bye to some wonderful friends and walked out of a job that I enjoyed for 6 years.  I have missed my L&D job a tiny bit when 2 of my old co-workers delivered their 1st babies and 2 previous patients that I bonded with and helped out them on their 1st delivery~had their 2nd babies...on those days, I thought it would be nice to be a part of their special day.  However I do not regret my decision one bit.  I'm enjoying working in the pediatric office.  I'm enjoying my co-workers, how close it is to home and my hours.  I no longer walk in to my babies that are already sleeping.  I get good night kisses EVERY night...I love that!   I love doing what I want on the weekends instead of checking to see if it's my work weekend.  I always missed out on so many weekend things.  In the past 2 months, we've been able to hang out/run/go out with friends and family.  It's been wonderful.  All amazing changes in my life.

The most precious things in life aren't things after all.  

I saw this quote today and it hasn't left my mind since I read it.  I think the most precious things are 

• love 
• feeling loved & valued
• happiness
• contentment
• the feeling after a good ol belly laugh

These are just a few things that I take for granted some times, but am working on keeping in the front of my mind.

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a little comparison

I love a good now/then and before/after.

These are both favorite pictures of Aunt Lulu and Lucy.  Both taken when we went to see Santa.

We were at the beach when Bella was 10 months old. I saw this cool tree, sat Bella up there and got some pretty cool pictures.  

Fast forward 2 years...Lucy is 11 months in these pictures. We noticed this pretty cool tree, got the same dress out and took some pretty cool pictures.

You all know well what our babies look like...here are some pictures when we were little.  Who looks like who???

Me probably about 3 years old

Jacob around a year old

me at my granny's around 9 months old

This is Jacob...but Lucy makes this face daily!

Me when I was about 2.

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this & that

It's been non-stop in my little world.  We celebrated Lucy's birthday party last week.  My friend K took photos.  She's working on those, I can't wait to see them and share Lucy's Picnic Party with y'all.  Here are a couple that was taken on my camera on her big day...

Several of my friends on Facebook are doing the 30 Days of Thankfulness.  I didn't, but I have been thinking of all that I am thankful for and how wonderfully blessed that I am!  I am so very thankful for my precious family.  My life is so much richer now having 2 little angels in my life.  

I am also so very thankful for opportunities and how the Lord guides our paths.  The doors that open and the possibilities of everyday.  The ability to follow my heart and allow myself to do things I never thought about doing.  The knowledge to learn new things and challenge myself.  

Here a few moments lately that I wanted to share:

Bella bustin' a serious sag!

Tired little Lucy

We found Lucy like this...she's proud of her new trick!

Piling up on daddy!

I found Bella like this one morning. I guess the teddy bear kicked Bella out of her spot!

At Lucy's 1 year check-up!
18 pounds 7 ounces
28th percentile

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iPhone 5

I heavily rely on my iPhone (camera, calendar, phone, texts, emails, Facebook, Pinterest, blogs, etc).  Apple has won my heart.  I don't think I'll ever own another brand phone...or computer (Mac).  I have made the upgrade from my 3GS to the 5! We preordered ours online the 1st day we could.  We wanted to upgrade last year, but held out on the 5s.  After waiting the predicted time and still not receiving them, I called to check on the status of our order.  He couldn't find our order conformation order number that I had printed out on the conformation email!  Ahhh!  Anyway, the next day Jacob went to an ATT store and picked two up.  I was tickled at all the new features I had ~ much better camera quality, a flash on the camera, faster speed, larger, clearer screen, FaceTime without having to be on wifi, Suri, on & on.  But of course, my favorite thing was the camera!!  All of the following were taken with my new 5!!!

 Jacob syncing up our new phones and and Lindsay and I FaceTiming for the 1st time! Of course, Bella and Rylee had to FaceTime together.  I just sat back and shook my head at our 2 year olds on the phone and thought, "my, oh my, how times have changed."

My flash works!!!!

A little blurry, I know, but both of those smiles are priceless!

That tiny dot is Bella chasing a butterfly.

Playing under the "Willy" tree in her jammies!

We would like a personalized lifeproof case...and still might get one. That I saw on Lipstick Shades website.  But I felt so unprotected and vulnerable having no case on them.  Since there is no expected release date on the lifeproof iPhone 5 case, we broke down and got otterboxes.

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Oops. Did I really call her that?!?

I took 2 years of spanish in high school, but lets be honest, ya use it or lose it.  I don't regularly never speak spanish.  Occasionally, we have spanish-speaking only patients and there are even rare times, when a translator isn't available.  I mean, yes, we always have capability to a translator.  You get on the phone, call this 1-800 number and pass the phone back and forth, but sometimes in labor and delivery you don't have time for that!  I remember pushing a spanish-speaking only patient whose husband was on his way to the hospital.  But it was just the 2 of us...I did quite a bit of sign language for dummies and "Como esta?"  Unless she said "Muy bien", I had no idea what she was saying.  I do know that  "dolor" means pain.  Are you impressed?? And I THOUGHT I knew the word for push.   While I was coaching her during pushing, using my most encouraging facial expressions told her "Punta, Punta!!"  OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN.   Weeks later...we had this spanish speaking housekeeper that went to English classes at a local church.  We would often compare new words.  When I proudly told her my new word and how I excitedly instructed her to push.  She got red in the face and just shook her head and giggled.  She never would tell me what the word meant.  I googled it and according to Urban dictionary.  I called my patient a "whore".  OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN!   Worst part is, I can't even apoligize to her and try to explain that I had no idea what I was talking about...I sure hope she knows that I'm a clueless-English-speaking-only-white-girl!

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~Amazing Love's 1st Birthday Giveaway~

There's a big day coming on October 3rd.....Amazing Love's 1 year old birthday! I've enjoyed sharing my world with y'all over the past year. I love reading everyone's sweet and funny comments. I wanted to do something special to celebrate the big day. I thought, what's more fun than a GIVEAWAY?!? My friend Lindsay has always been very crafty & creative. She just recently opened her 1st Etsy shop.  She's just starting, so she doesn't have a ton of stuff, but I seriously would love to own everything she makes!  Y'all just wait, she's working on theses ADORABLE christmas stocking.  If I'm lucky, then maybe we can do a stocking giveaway in a couple months.  I LOVE the adorable monogrammed pillows that she's making and one lucky Amazing Love reader will have one in their home!

This grey chevron pillow could be yours!  You choose the color of your initials!!

How to enter:

1. Click the blue "Join this site" button on the right side. Write a comment under this post telling me that you joined.
2. Click here to like Lindsay's Facebook page. Come back and write a comment under this post telling me that you "liked her page".
3. Pin this giveaway on Pinterest. {There's a little "Pin It" button conveniently located at the end of this post waiting on you.}  Write a comment under this post telling me that you pinned it.

On Wednesday, October 3rd~~Amazing Love's birthday~~I'll randomly choose a winner from the comments from this post and announce the big winner!!!  So you can enter just once or up to 3 times!!  Ready, set, GO...

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roasted sweet potatoes sticks

I know last time, I said that I was a horrible cook and would probably never make another food post again...but these are SO GOOD, I thought I might share.

Roasted sweet potato sticks and roasted red potatoes

4 sweet potatoes
a stick of butter
lots of brown sugar
cinnamon

Cut sweet potatoes long {this part is the worst, because they are so dang tough!}
Preheat oven to 400 degrees
In a saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter, mix in brown sugar and cinnamon
In a large bowl, mix your sweet potatoes and the yummy, sugary mixture
Spread potatoes on a even {or almost even} layer on a baking sheet
Stir every 10 minutes.
Bake for 20-30 minutes or until tender
Enjoy!

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breathing treatments and extra shifts

My lovely Lucy has caught a bad bug that has left her with a respiratory infection.  At 10 months, this is Lucy's 1st real illness, other than mild 2-3 day runny noses.  Ironically, history is repeating itself.  Bella was 10 months old with her 1st real illness...the exact same thing, a respiratory virus.  We are praying that Lucy does not develop the same asthma troubles that Bella has.  Bella has had a some intense "coughing spells"!  Maybe asthma attacks...I feel a little dramatic saying that, but they are pretty bad and require immediate breathing treatment, so I'm almost sure that's what it is.  We are giving all the meds exactly when they are due, to hopefully get these girls back to top-notch, spunky, cuteness in a few days!

Unfortunately I haven't won the lottery yet {not that we've even played any time recently}, so therefore, I have been working a lot lately.  I've been signing up for several extra days to make extra money...we have a long wish list...things that cost money.  We are going on vacation in a few weeks, we have preordered 2 iPhone 5s, our lawn mower has officially died, we have 2 sweet little girls' birthdays and Christmas coming up.  After saying it like that, I need to sign up for a lot more extra shifts!  So if I go MIA a little around here, that's what I'm up to...working, sleeping, family time, REPEAT.

Here's a few cute moments that I want share...

KK and Bella

A Princess playing in her Prince's boots.

Cute deer playing in our back yard:

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