Friday, May 25, 2012

Twirl Away Little Girls!

Before putting on a dress my 4-year-old asks does it twirl? Ohhh... how my daughters love twirly skirts and tutus. I found this awesome simple pattern online. The best twirling skirt yet!  Laurel and Iris agree! Once you get it down you can make a skirt in under an hour. Fabric and elastic ballpark around $7-8, if you shop wisely. Lots of fun and easy for beginners! A yard of fabric and elastic!

http://www.danamadeit.com/2008/07/tutorial-the-circle-skirt.html

Made more skirts- This time with fabric the girls picked out themselves.  Notice the "rainbow hearts" on Laurel's skirt!







Monday, May 30, 2011

Empty

Yesterday we emptied out the house we first moved into in San Francisco.  We like to refer it CREST MOUNT of CRAP.  307 Crestmont Drive.  I love the neighborhood. Unfortunately our landlord was a crazy monster and made our lives pretty miserable. Her lack of upkeep on the home, crazy cryptic e-mails, multiple personalities.... Leaky windows, rotting doors, leaky ceiling. You get the picture.
So we moved into an Extended Stay Residence Inn.

Unfortunately our loan for our new house didn't come through in time. So when we were moving out I felt sad and empty. I want a nice home for my little ones. I am praying that it all works out.  Somehow I know it will.  The most important part is that my little family of 4 is happy to be together. Even "homeless", this is an adventure. We are looking forward to growing our roots in our new home with a little yard for the kids and the dogs...

Sunday, May 15, 2011

my crew

Here is my crew.  Hands down the best crew in the world. That's Laurel directing from above. Iris in the middle looking to see what's next. And Papa Lote is vacuuming up the crumbs. 

Is a picture worth a thousand words?

To me, this one is.  It's a page out of our book.









Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Cotton Lash

flitter flutter
cotton lash

soft sweet lips
pit pat plumpness

tee-teeeny toes
fresh morning innocence

romp, romp, stomp.
oh, sweet exhaustion!

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Momma, Work, Pump, Work, Momma, Blog

The spark that once died with the rhythm of my daily life, has been reignited.  A realization that I have been sitting still has propelled  mind expansion.  The outside world might hardly say I sit still.

Everyday of the week, same routine...  Starting at about 4am. Or sometimes 2am, depending on how much little Iris has had to eat the night before. Or depending on how late I worked the night before.  The little girl loves the boob.  So I breastfeed twice in the wee early hours, while everyone else is sleeping.  At 6:30am I wake up to get ready for work, and breastfeed once more.  I then drive my 3 year old to daycare... sometimes with lots of tears.

I jump back in my car to pump on the way to work.  With both child birthing experiences under my belt, I have lost all sense of modesty.  My body serves a different purpose.  In the interest of time I "pump and drive".   What does that mean? It means, that I put my cape on. (AKA Hooter Hider), then strap on a suction cup on each breast. There is a system that collects the milk under either breast. The suction attaches to tubing, that attaches to a pump. The pump makes the most awful sound imaginable... a groaning, dying cow. Other pumps I have sounded a little better, but not nearly as efficient. If relaxed, I can pump about 6 ozs in 8 minutes. Not too shabby. Once I am all strapped into my pump which is held up by a bustier type of bra (with strategically placed holes for the nipples); I buckle up and get going.   If all goes according to plan, I arrive at work with my first pump out of the way.

Once and a while,  there can be a hiccup.  That's where it all gets quite comical.  I'll never forget the one time while driving in the Castro, suction was lost. Once I arrived "safely" at a stop light,  I started futzing around with my equipment. At some point  I must have abandoned my mommy cape.  Frantically trying to get to a good place, I look up to see the status of the light.  And that's when I realize that I am not alone.  My eyes meet a young gay couple... They are hand in hand... stopped like a deer in the headlights (No Pun Intended)... smack dab in the middle of crosswalk. Necks crooked staring at me. Horror. I'd like to say that I wanted to cry, but all I could do was laugh. And laugh. I quickly fix my apparatus and drive away with a wink and a nod.

Lunch Break comes - pump again.   4pm comes - Pump again.   7pm head home, breastfeed. Get kiddos ready for bed.  Give them as much love/attention as possible in the next hour. Little one usually requires extra nursing/bonding... Sound asleep at 10pm most nights, ready to start the next day at 2am or 5am, depending on my luck.

I don't write this to complain. I am happy that I can breastfeed my children. Now that I got this mommy thing down, Iris has been easier to breastfeed. So it is enjoyable... With Laurel, my first, I had about 8-10 cases of Mastitis. A painful breast infection that makes feeding extremely uncomfortable.  Soon after all the medication my thyroid gave out. I am pretty sure the 2 are linked. But my life is pretty good, I have 2 healthy children... I am able to provide milk to them and I am gainfully employed. I know things could be a lot worse.
 Breadwinner, breastfeeder, mama extraordinaire. It's exhausting.

Friday, April 8, 2011

My pump
My mantra
My motherhood

Seriously?

That Noise
That Contraption
Comedown
Moooooo