Acts of Kindness

I hopped on the acts-of-kindness bandwagon for my dear friend, Sar's upcoming birthday project.

The funny thing was, my sweet hubby beat me to the punch (and showed me up) in performing a kind act.

I had mentioned Sarah's project to Ryan but didn't think much of it until he called me on Wednesday night after his indoor soccer game - sounding very proud.

Long(er) story short - while filling up his gas tank at a local gas station, he was approached by a younger guy looking for a few dollars for gas.  Ryan noticed that there was a young girl and a baby in the car that this person had come from.  Neither Ryan or I carry much (if any) cash.  He apologized to the guy for not having cash (only a debit card) and therefore, being unable to help.

It then dawned on him that he could use the debit card and put gas in the tank for him.

So, he did.  $25 worth.

Ryan said the guy looked completely shocked, but completely thankful.

One act of kindness in the books.

******

My act was not nearly as exciting or thoughtful.

Today I went through the Starbucks drive-thru (with my favorite chubby co-pilot babbling away in the backseat) and asked to pay for the order of the person behind me.

One hot chocolate and pumpkin scone, on me.

Two acts of kindness in the books.

I hope it made the woman and her daughter smile, and their Easter Sunday a little more special.

Here's to performing many more acts of kindness.

 

Take Luck,

LP

Pancakes

Breastfeeding is hard.

The whole experience has been fairly smooth for us and it's still hard.

Since returning back to work and pumping while away from Camden, I've felt that my supply has somewhat decreased.  In an effort to get my supply back up, I've been doing things like pumping after feeding him, drinking even more water (which I didn't think was possible), and taking the supplement fenugreek.

Before taking fenugreek I had talked to our favorite doula, Laura, and a friend of mine, Kara.  Both of them told me it's possible that fenugreek could make me smell like maple syrup.

My response was - there are worse things to smell like.

I had been taking the supplement for a few days when one night, I hugged Ryan goodnight.  He knew I was taking this supplement but I had not mentioned this possibly smelly side effect.

After our hug he gave me a very puzzled look and said, "You smell like pancakes."

I started laughing and asked, "You mean maple syrup?"

With a look of amazement he replied, "Yes!"

Oh, boy.  So, smelling like maple syrup isn't so much a possibility in my case - but a certainty.  Lovely.

It has become a little joke between us now.  At least once a day he tells me (with a sly little smile), "You smell like pancakes."

I'm not sure I'll ever look at those delectable breakfast flapjacks in the same way again.

Take Luck,

LP

Hippy Hair

My freshman year of college I had what I affectionately refer to as hippy hair.

It was long, dull, and just - blah.  My hair was constantly up/pulled back for softball so I'm not sure I really knew how long and blah it was until Christmas time when there was a photo of the freshman at our holiday party.  It was then that I realized I was in good company with my hippy hair because my best friend Tiff had hippy hair, too.

Anyway, with everything going on in my life, I was apparently unaware that my hair had reached the state of hippy yet again.

I wasted no time in going from gross to not-as-gross after enlisting help from Tiff and Rachel to find some hair-spiration.

Camden may or may not have been a little confused by this freshly groomed woman in his life - but he's getting used to it.  And so am I.  

Gone are the days when I could throw it all up in a pony or bun.

It's probably for the best.

Sayonara hippy hair!

Take Luck,

LP

March Madness

And no, I'm not speaking of NCAA Men's Basketball.

I'm speaking of the madness that has been the month of March for this family.

I mentioned the sickness that has been plaguing our house for the last three weeks, but that was only the beginning.

I started back at work on March 4th, and the sickness made that transition about a million times harder.  I have to say, that being back at work has gone better than anticipated, but it is still hard.  I've stayed busy and that has at least kept my brain occupied.  I can't help but get excited driving (OK, lets be honest - speeding) to Jessica's at the end of the day to pick up my little man.

I'm learning to deal with a day in the office after a crummy night's sleep.  Good thing this baby is cute.

Things got real interesting when my graduate program comprehensive exam was handed out on March 11th.  I knew this was coming and I knew it would be intense, but the timing could not have been worse.  So, for the last two weeks I have been spending an amazing (and not in a happy way) amount of time pouring what brain function I have left into proving I've learned a thing or two over the past two and a half years.

Did I mention that I've been attending and doing homework for my regular Wednesday night class all this time, too?

Mmmhmmm.

I'm happy to report that I have completed the exam (which I could not have done without loads of help from Ryan, Momma, and Rachy).  And as long as reading through it one more time doesn't cause me to vomit - I'm hoping to do so before submitting it tomorrow.

Only six more weeks of the semester left before I will be done with my Master's program.  Hallelujah. 

 Needless to say, I am ready for the month of March to be over.

I will be oh-so-proud of myself when April gets here.  Especially if my head is still attached to my body.

Take Luck,

LP

Bloglovin

I am usually late to jump on bandwagons.

Not for lack of interest, but I usually (now especially) have about 100 other things standing in front of the bandwagon.

If you'd like to start following this blog via Bloglovin, you can do so here.

Take Luck,

LP

Pneumonia, Bronchitis, Brochiolitis, and an Ear Infection

The past three weeks in this house have been filled with pneumonia, bronchitis, bronchiolitis, and an ear infection.

Ryan brought it home first and was treated for pneumonia.

Camden and I stood no chance against the crud.

Did I mention this all happened the weekend before my first day back at work?

Baby started coughing first, and I soon followed.  Then came the congestion.  Multiple trips to the doctors office for the both of us indicated bronchitis for mama and bronchiolitis for Cam.

I have to say that taking care of a sick baby while being sick myself is one of the hardest things I've ever had to do.  I know all the mama's out there are nodding their heads and saying, "Amen, sister."

Camden and I spent a lot of quality time in the steamy bathroom - most of which was in the middle of the night - when he'd wake himself up from being so congested.

Poor fella.

The Nosefrida was an absolute life saver.  Repeat, life saver.

He seemed to be on the mend until I noticed he was tugging at his left ear quite a bit.  And when I say quite a bit, I really mean - his little chubby hand was practically glued to it.

The low grade fever and increase in fussiness sent us back to the doctor's office where our favorite pediatrician confirmed an ear infection.  She gave me kudos on my decision to bring him in and for having a baby that could tell us his ear was hurting at such a young age.

Gee, thanks doc.

For now, things are looking up.  I'm still trying to kick the crud and I can confidently say that Camden is improving every day.  His sweet, heart melting smiles are coming out more and more.

Now if only he'd go back to sleeping through the night...

Take Luck,

LP

Pregnancy Video

Our favorite world traveling friends, Tawny and Christopher (aka Captain & Clark) made us a pregnancy video.

Tawny and I met for coffee once before I was pregnant and I'm not sure if it was her idea or mine - but we decided that when Ryan and I got pregnant, they would try their hand at a pregnancy video for us.

I distinctly remember sending her a text to tell her that I was pregnant that said, "Let me know when you are home again.  'Cuz we got some work to do..."  I can't be sure because the conversation was over text messages, but I'm pretty sure she squealed in delight.

They came to our house five, maybe six times from July (just before we found out that we were expecting a boy) through December to film.

We filmed mostly in the kitchen and in the nursery in hopes of really getting a sense of the progression of the pregnancy.

Of course, I cried when we saw the finished product.

I hope you enjoy it!

Take Luck,

LP

Camden - 3 Months

Another month has come and completely flown by.

Hard to believe my little big guy is 3 months old.

Unfortunately, he doesn't get a 3-month well baby check up - so I have no exciting stats to share regarding his growth progress.  Because we were at the pediatrician's office twice last week, I do know that he weighs 10 lbs 5 oz.  A whopping two ounces more than he did at 2 months.  Which is weird because he sure looks like he weighs a lot more!

This tiny boy steals another piece of my heart every single day.

He smiles all the time, loves to be talked and sung to, squeals in delight, and giggles/laughs every once in awhile.  I can't wait for those giggles and laughs to become more frequent.

Being back at work is not easy.  At all.  But luckily I've been staying busy and keeping my brain occupied.  It's all I can do to obey all posted speed limit signs when I'm driving to Jessica's to pick him up.

***

I felt compelled to compare his monthly progression photos so far, and I am so happy I did.  This latest photo may even resemble me a tiny bit!! 

Take Luck,

LP

10 on 10: March 2013

10 on 10: 10 pictures on the 10th day of the month!

Document a snapshot of your life & find beauty among the ordinary things in your day!

 

[1] Daylight Savings Time sorta sucks with a new baby.

 

[2] Ready for fresh britches.

 [3] Mama's clearly not ready to be awake.

 [4] Baby loves Wonder Pets.

[5] Sweet baby feet.

[6] More new britches.

[7] Fresh laundry makes a nice shade from the incoming light.  Apparently.

[8] Nap time snuggles.

 

[9] Throwing the ball for the big fella.  Although, he was more interested in my water bottle.

 

 

[10] Daddy and baby snuggles = Mom porn.

 

 

Take Luck,

LP