Breastmilk be gone

I've always been an emotional person but I have never been this emotional. My baby girl has weaned. Did I do everything in my power to be able to keep nursing, probably not. But I did do A LOT. My supply just couldn't keep up. I started leaving her with the mother-in-law a few weeks ago. It was time. I just couldn't keep bringing her to work everyday. And I had to work. Have you met the economy lately? It's a bastard. A bloody bastard! Did I always want to be a stay at home mom? Hell no. But that changed when I had her. I wanted to maybe work very part time, but that bastard wasn't going to allow it. And by bastard I'm still talking about the economy. I guess even very part time would not have mattered, I couldn't keep up after one day. Good news is that Vi has taken well to formula. She only seems to miss the boob at bed time and when she's not feeling well. Speaking of not feeling well, is it just a coincidence that she gets her first illness 2 weeks after not getting breastmilk exclusively? I opt to think not. Oh well. Another chapter of parenthood written. I loved breastfeeding. I miss it. Truly, deeply, madly miss it! I'm so thankful that I was able to do it for 7 months and that it was so easy for me and Violet. And this is all coming from someone who swore her entire pregnancy that "I'm not breastfeeding...EVER!" Wow. I can't even imagine saying that now.

This past week has been one of THOSE weeks. The air going out in my car was the biggest downer but there were others. But when I have this in my life, all those worries disappear...










The big news is that Violet is sitting up all by herself now. She hasn't figured out how to get back up after she falls though. She is growing much too fast.

Kinda sorta really really long

I love when an impromptu trip out results in running into good friends. Yesterday we headed down to Target and ran into Mandy, Cathy and the boys :) Um Jonas...you kill me! I love that boy! And Tias is Mandy's mini me...so so cute. Well Cathy made me realize that I've been neglecting my blog so Cathy, this is for you ;) Always great to see you!!!!

Violet is almost 7 months now. Holy Toledo Batman! That can not be possible. She has started eating food and loves it. Although, she tends to be more interested in her bib or the straps on the high chair along with taking a big bite and then blowing it out all over me which is hilarious. I did learn that she is now at the age where if you laugh she will continue doing whatever made you laugh so for a few days I had bananas, peas and sweet potatoes all over me, which surprisingly don't taste half bad. I think the spitting of the food is under control now :)

Playing with her bib and high chair....


Here she is spitting out her food...no more laughing at this...well except when she's not looking.



Banana face.....


She still loves to lounge with her Dad and now she's obsessed with Mojo and Figaro. Here they all are doin what they do best......


In other news. I started leaving her this week a couple days with the mama in law. She also watches her 2 other grandkids so needless to say my mama in law has her hands full. I'm so thankful that we have her to do that. Thanks Stel! She'll be staying with my mama every other Wednesday. Love you mom! This week went really smooth. I was sad to leave her but I know it's time to do it.

We spent last week with my mom's side of the family. We had a blast. I sadly have no pics to share...so Hunt Fam...email pics please. I was so sad to see them all go. I wish we could all live near each other again :(

I guess that's it for now. I'll leave you with this. The love between a parent and child really can NOT be described.......

Now I know why I go to Starbucks

First off let me start by saying that I usually try and get my coffee and breakfast at home before leaving for work. It saves money. But there are mornings that I'm running way behind and don't have time to make any coffee. Now if you know me, you know that I literally do NOT function until consuming at least a 20 oz. cup of java ;) So this morning was a running late morning. Usually I would run through Starbucks and grab a triple shot and a breakfast sammy of some sort. This morning I decide that I might save a couple bucks to go to McDonalds and they have lattes now so hey it will all work out. Wrong!!!

Basically the drive thru bitch should have had this name tag on:


I mean she was seriously the most miserable person I have ever dealt with in a drive thru. Seriously lady, I know it sucks that you have to work early but be thankful that you even have a damn job. Someone please give this bitch a happy pill in her egg mcmuffin.

My egg mcmuffin was delish and the coffee was decent and I did save a couple bucks but I'd rather pay that extra couple bucks and have someone be pleasant even if the Starbucks crew seems to belong to this:



...at least they're not bitchy!

Happy Thursday all!

She's growing too fast

It's been a while but I'm going to keep it short....

I can NOT believe that Violet is 5 months old already. She has rolled over and seems interested in food (which I'm not going to start her on quite yet). She holds and plays with everything. She's about to grow out of the co-sleeper by our bed and I'm a little sad about it. She has so much personality already. I don't think she'll be too shy. I'm thinking she's going to be outgoing like me.

In other news:

-Work is good :)

-The economy is not :(

-I need to plant something in my front planter...any ideas?

-Nope, haven't lost any baby weight...haven't tried either...soon.

One more thing

To my friends that participated and kicked butt in the Run Through Redlands yesterday.....congrats. You ladies are amazing!!!

Going through my pictures.......

and I found this pic of me and my pops about a week before having Violet. Ummmmm, that is a HUGE belly!!!! I do NOT miss having that huge thing!! :)

F as in Frank

Dena girl tagged me with the letter 'F'. Ten things I love that begin with an 'F':

1. Family~I couldn't live without my family. I love them. And I love that Tommy and I have our own little family now.

2. Friends~Couldn't live without them either. I have weeded out the bad , kept the old, embraced the new and reconnected with some amazing friends. And........I live for coffee and talks with my girls!!

3. The 'F' word~I'm not proud but I am known for saying this word WAY too much. It comes out so easy for me. I don't even think twice about it. I know how bad it sounds yet it falls out of my mouth anyway. In anger management they teach you to not cuss because it tends to be "angry talk" but I'm pretty sure I say this word more when I'm calm than when I'm angry. I'm working on cutting it out of my vocabulary....for Violet's sake of course.







4. Football~Love love love it!!! I literally get so sad when the season is over. I would love Pam Oliver's job. Heck, I would love to write about it just for our local paper. Is there anything better than a cold beer on a Sunday in the fall while watching the games? I think not.







5. Footloose~This is my mom's all time favorite movie. In our family, it is a classic. We all know every word to the movie and every song on the soundtrack...."Loose, footloose Kick off your Sunday shoes....Please, Louise Pull me offa my knees....Jack, get back....C'mon before we crack.... Lose your blues Everybody cut footloose"



6. Facebook~What can I say? It's a great way to keep in touch with people.

7. Food~'Nuff said.

8. Fruit Roll-Up~I don't like them so much anymore, but they remind me of being a kid.

9. Fraggle Rock~Dance your cares away, Worry's for another day. Let the music play, Down at Fraggle Rock. Work you cares away, Dancing's for another day. Let the Fraggles play, We're Gobo, Mokey, Wembley, Boober, Red. Dance your cares away, Worry's for another day. Let the music play, Down at Fraggle Rock. Down at Fraggle Rock. Down at Fraggle Rock.



10. Four O'Clock pm~On Mon, Tues and Wed.....when I leave work ;)

Traffic Schmaffic Weekly

It's time for my weekly rant session about the thing I love most...traffic. And the people we see along the way. Here we go.....

1. People from different states/countries drive different. I don't know why, but they do so always avoid the cars with out of state/country license plates. Here's a couple examples that I can vouch for because I have been:
-Northwesterners (Washington, Oregon, Idaho) feel the need to actually stop when getting on the freeway. Apparantly they were never taught the yield rule. So be prepared when entering the freeway behind any of these cars for you may end up in their trunk.
-Baja BCers (Tijuana inparticular) drive as if there are no lanes at all. Even though the lanes are clearly marked. They also have no concept of the speed limit, it's either 110 or 35 with no happy medium.

2. What's up with the R.I.P. stickers? I'm very sorry for your loss but good going on being a buzzkill when I'm actually having a great day on the road.

3. Last time I mentioned the people who won't let you on the freeway. Remember? Well, I have a question for those people...if you're in such a damn hurry, why are you in the slow lane?!?!?!?!?!

4. And why......for the love of God.......do people keep kleenex in their back window? Really? When you need to blow your nose what do you do put the car on auto pilot and climb in the back to get a kleenex? Do you have plastic arms that reach all the way back there? Do you drive around people with allergies on a daily basis? I am boggled by this one.

5. And speaking of back windows and things in them. Stuffed animals???? Really? What in the world is this obsession? Do you feel extra special like you have lots of friends with you? I mean one or two is one thing but when the entire rear dash is filled with beanie babies there may be a problem. Maybe?

I guess that's all I thought of this week. But believe me, there will be plenty more to come ;)

Easter Weekend

The weekend was a blast. Saturday morning Mandy O and Cooper came over for a much needed visit and a photo session of the kids in their duck outfits :)

We went to Shawn and Victoria's wedding Saturday evening without Violet. I actually got to have some beers which was great!!! I was a tad bit tired on Easter morning but not hungover :) I didn't have my camera so I have no pics from the wedding but I assure you...it was a blast and everyone looked gorgeous!!!

Easter morning Violet and I went to see my mom, Rindi and Dominic.

Then it was off to Tommy's parents for dinner.

It was a nice weekend. Hope it was great for everyone else!!!

Traffic Schmaffic

I have some words for my fellow travelers on the 10 freeway:

1. Not letting people merge onto the freeway causes a lot of the congestion. Stop being lame and let people on the damn freeway.

2. If the traffic usually stops every morning at around Alabama St and it has done this since the dawn of time, don't you think you should be more prepared as to not almost rear end me and end up in the emergency lane....jackhole!

3. Riding someone's ass when there is congestion will not make it move any faster.

4. Using your blinker as you're already coming into my lane does not count. I will try my best to not let you over for that. Blinker, then merge. Thank you.

5. You don't have to completely stop when you go downhill, just watching your speed will do.

6. And on that note, the same goes for a curve in the freeway. Just be cautious, you don't have to actually go from 75mph to 15.

7. And on another note of the same, when you start up a hill, you may have to accelerate a tad bit more. I'm just sayin'.

8. Hey CalTrans, maybe you could wait until after rush hour to start closing the lanes. We all know that you don't actually work once the lanes close anyway :)

9. Oh an City of Yucaipa......can you finish the Oak Glen overpass already??????

Thank you for joining me in my weekly edition of traffic complaining. Actually, I may have to make this a weekly segment. Maybe I'll pick one idiot on the road a week to talk about :)

Ok...It's been too long......so here we go...

Update........

Well our baby girl is now 3 months old!! She is smiling and almost giggling. She sits up with support and is very aware of everything around her. We have been blessed with such a great baby. She is a very happy girl except when she's hungry :) But hey, she is her mama's baby...feed us when we're hungry or else!!! :)

I have gone back to work part time for now. I work Monday thru Wednesday from 8-4 and am fortunate enough to be able to bring Violet. It makes it easier for me since I am having problems pumping. I have also left her for the day. Tommy and I spent a nice day together. And although we missed her, I believe it's 100% a must to have that time alone.

Violet is now sleeping pretty much through the night, which makes mama a happy camper. She found her thumb which has been a life saver at night. I know it might not be the greatest thing, but it's so cute and it comforts her so hey....the thumb wins :)

I can't believe how fast it goes. They grow up so fast. I now understand why people want another baby. Speaking of, we have no plans to add to our family at time. It's funny how things work. When you're dating, people don't stop asking when you're going to get hitched. Then once you're hitched, people don't stop asking when you're going to have a baby. Then you have a baby and people don't stop asking when you're going to have another one.....it never ends :)

Sorry for not keeping up on this. My computer is a piece of "shirt" (Inside joke with the Hunt clan). We are gladly taking donations for a new one...ahahahahaha

So long......

....Mr. Bush. I respected that you were our president but I was not a fan and quite frankly, I'm elated that you are gone.

Welcome Mr. Obama. I was holding my daughter as you were taking oath and I couldn't believe how far our nation has come in electing the first black president. It made me smile. I can only hope that by the time my daughter can vote that all prejudice will be gone. This goes for race, religion, sexual preference and so on. Furthermore, I hope that you can get the House, the Senate and this nation to unite with you and help repair all that has been broken.

With Love and Tremendous Hope,
A Mama for Obama

4 weeks later

Seriously? It's been almost 4 weeks already?! I can not believe it! Things are so good. Violet is already looking so different. Here are some things that I'm learning:

-All night snooze fests are no longer an option

-Fighting the urge to smoke is at times unbearable (but worth it I know so leave your 2 cents for the beer)

-Tommy has stepped right into fatherhood without hesitation and melts my heart everyday

-Leaving the house is not as easy as it used to be

-Going to the store isn't as easy as it used to be...Do I put her in the car first? Do I load the groceries first? How do I return the cart? How do I pick up a case of soda when I'm frightened to death of taking my hands off of her? Where do I put the eggs and bread since her carseat is where they used to go?

-Violet knows Tommy and my voices and I love that!

-Other people think they know when my kid is hungry...for example:

Me-"Oh she's hungry again let me feed her real quick"

Person holding her-"She can't be hungry again"

Me (saying this in my head)-Um really?...you're her mama?...don't think so...give me my daughter...you have plenty of years to snuggle her.

-I love my daughter more and more everyday

-I love my husband more and more everyday

-I love my life more and more everyday

Welcome to Motherhood Moment #1

So last Tuesday my mom and I took Violet to her pediatrician and I was feeling good so we decided to swing by Target to grab a few things. When we got there, I decided to change and feed Violet before going inside. I got her out of the car seat and laid her on the seat as I stood outside of the car. I took her diaper off when all of a sudden she started pooping. And by pooping, I mean that it was like her booty was a geyser. It looked like Old Faithful spraying poop straight out of the car and all over me. The welcome to motherhood moment was when, without even blinking, I put my hand right over her booty to block the poop. My mom and I could not stop laughing. I kept trying to get me mom to hand me a blanket or wipes or anything to help with the clean up but we were laughing too hard to compose ourselves. I managed to clean it all up and started to put a fresh diaper on when she did it all again. This time when it was all over she looked at me, grinned and fell asleep. I absolutely love this story and I really need to tell you in person because it gets quite animated :)

She's here and we're so in love

Violet Renee made her appearance December 23, 2008 at 1:49am after 14 hours of labor. She weighed 7lbs 9oz and was 19 in long. Nobody could have ever prepared me for the instant love I would feel the moment they laid her on me. Tommy and I are so in love. We feel so blessed to have this baby girl in our lives and to be surrounded by so many friends and family. We made it home for Christmas Eve so we had our first Christmas as a family :) We're getting settled in and adjusting. I already don't want to go back to work. Guess it's time to play the lottery..hahaha Here's some pictures. Of course there are many many more but I am still adjusting to multi-tasking with a baby. As I get used to it, I will post blogs more regularly.

Her first trip out.....


Our baby girl......

She has the cutest heart shaped birthmark.....

My two loves..........

Our family.......




Leaving the hospital.......