How chores helped my children

Before chores everytime we went to ANY store the kids always requested something. They didn't care if it was a rinky dinky toy that would fall a part in a few days. It could be a toy they didn't really want. It could be candy, a soft drink, a happy meal but it would always be something. If we rode past a yardsale and they could clearly see toys in the yard they would want to stop and have a peek. On the bright side at least I'm raising some crunchy kids who will enjoy used toys but that's besides the fact. They didn't under stand the value of a dollar or working for your money.

One night while at work I thought about making a chore chart. I made one up and copied weekly sheets. I didn't expect a whole lot from them but I knew I could come up with some small chores. I decided on brushing teeth (Broox likes to have me brush them for him), folding towels and rags, putting clothes in the hamper, helping dad gather laundry for laundry day, setting the table, putting dishes in the sink and picking up toys. Unfortunately some days we don't have laundry, we don't have to gather laundry up and when Berrac isn't home we don't always eat at the table but I don't hold that agaisnt them. Instead of an X on the chart I draw a line to let me know they didn't have that option for the day. 

Now once we started this they done an awesome job. They still do good but now I have to remind them and when they slack it's more than likely my fault. They get paid twice a month $5 every 2 weeks. I know it's not much, but to them they are so excited to know they have their own money. They do have the option to make more if they do stuff outside of what's on the chore chart.

It has really surprised me how well they have done and how their actions have changed A LOT. My once 'begging for toys' children no longer ask for something everytime they are out. If they don't have money they don't ask. If they ask anything at all it is them wanting to know when they get paid again. Some how it has even managed to get them getting along better and being more respectful to me and their father. I'm not sure how chores could make that big of an impact but since I've started the chart those are a few of the main things I have noticed.

Last month both the kids bought their own video games after saving their chore money in a container for 2 months. Broox was 10 dollars short so he agreed to forfeit receiving money this month while still doing his chores. For a 5 and 7 year old, ESPECIALLY a 5 year old to have money and save it, it's a really big deal. I was so proud of them. 

Unfortunately I've been slacking a tad on reminding them about chores but I told them no more slacking if they want to get paid they have to do the work. I truely believe they are now gaining a better understanding of the value of money and working for what you have. They make me so proud!

Looking back on 2014

It's always nice when a New Year begins. Of course everyone acts like New Year new beginnings but every second, minute, hour, day, week, month we have a chance for a new beginning or to change our mindset. The way I look at it, is to be thankful for how far you've came, make changes when you feel they need to be made don't wait until there is a new year. 

 

This past year has been absolutely wonderful and beautiful. After many mistakes and not truely knowing myself I feel that I am finally in touch with myself, know myself and am constantly happy. I couldn't and wouldn't ask for a better family. I know exactly who my true friends are and when it comes down to it Berrac is my best friend. It feels awesome knowing I can talk to him about any and everything and that I have found my 'anyways friend'. 

 

I am currently binge watching Private Practice and one episode one of the main characters daughters gets married and he was talking about how his daughter called him her anyways friend and now her anyway friend is also her husband. An anyway friend is someone who loves you no matter what you've done, said or what has happened and that they love you anyways. I truely feel that Berrac is my anyway friend and I am so happy that he is my other half and the father of my kids despite what we've been through over the years, I couldn't ask for anyone better.

 

2014 was nothing but ups for me the entire year. I don't remember a moment of downs or unhappiness.In January we announced that we were pregnant with our sweet Berran. This was exciting for me because after irregular periods, being diagnosed with PCOS and told if would be hard for me to conceive, I was unexpectantly surprised with a positive test. 

 

Broox began playing soccer, Braxton played flag football. Broox graduated preschool and Braxton Kindgarten which also meant he'd be attending a bigger school. Berran was born June 17th at only 35 weeks. We weren't expecting him until July 20th but God had other plans. I was scared, the doctors and nurses prepare you for the worst which would have been a stay in the nicu but by the grace of god we had a happy and healthy 6lb 8oz 18in long baby boy who had no complications and no nicu stay.

 

Around the same time football began and they were on the Rams 6u. Broox was the youngest child starting at age 4. I watched him start out as an uninterest child rolling around in the grass not putting forth effort to a lovely 5 year old that wasn't the best but was enjoying time playing, giving his best effort and having fun with his friends, which in the end he was awarded with the 'Iron Man' award.

 

Braxton was a very determined first year player and I waited the whole football season to see him lose his fear of hitting and FINALLY after the Rams season was over and he was selected for the East Allstars (1) game they played and he was finally tackling. Proud mom moment for sure!

 

Then of course we had our first Halloween, thanksgiving and Christmas as a family of 5. 

I really couldn't have asked for a better year. I hope to have another awesome year, so long 2014 and hello 2015.

 

Christmas 2014

Christmas for us is always hectic. I'm pretty sure last year was the ONLY year I have ever been able to actually sit home on Christmas Day and enjoy it and that was only because I myself cooked a small family dinner. Since I have divorced parents that means 2 dinners automatically then of course there is Berracs family which makes 3. This year we ended up with a total of 4 dinners, 2 on Christmas Eve and 2 Christmas Day. 

Needless to say although im extremely thankful for family I would much rather be able to enjoy Christmas with my kids at home and watch them play with their toys while they are still young because let's face it one day they won't want toys, they won't believe in Santa, they will eventually be grown and scattering visiting each dinner for a moment trying to 'please' everyone. For the time being I would actually like to ENJOY Christmas but reality is NO ONE ever seems to understand that.

Christmas Eve we were not home until 9pm, Christmas Day opened presents and rushed off. Not home until 9pm again. May I add I HAD to work Christmas Day (night shift), and the 2 following nights with that Sunday spent catching up on sleep and Monday returning to work for second shift. I normally don't work that much but we have to pick and choose holidays to work so it's fair to everyone.

Anyways, as you can tell I didn't get much time to enjoy with my kiddos at all. Again, I am thankful for such a wonderful family and I hate to whine and complain but it's just exhausting and not fun. Not to mention the kids hated not being able to play with their stuff.

ASIDE FROM ALL THAT the boys had a lovely Christmas Eve night and Christmas. We spend Christmas Eve night looking at Christmas lights for free that Buffalo Trace Distillary puts on every year. Once we arrived at home the kids opened their Christmas Eve gifts which consisted of Christmas pjs, pop corn, pop corn bowls, sprite, candy, cookie mix. We ended up making cookies for us and Santa of course, getting dressed in warm Christmas pjs, watching a Christmas movie and pretending we were at the movies with our beverage, popcorn and snacks.

After they drifted off and I was ready for bed I set up my phone to 'catch Santa' (thank you caught Santa app). When they woke up the first thing they done was check my phone where they found awesome Santa pictures!

That caught Santa app was the best thing ever and it's really nice for younger kids questioning his belief but wouldn't think twice that technology created the picture. I also had another app that showed elves walking on our floor and Santa leaving our house with his reindeer. I believe it is called Santa cam FX.

The kids loved seeing the Santa pics and enjoyed opening their presents. Braxton even said Santa brought him TOO many presents. I'm unsure which toy was Braxtons favorite but I do believe Brooxs' favorite was the easy bake oven which he is STILL waiting to use (yes we have been that busy). Unfortunately Berran slept through the entire Christmas morning so we have no footage of him. I finally opened 2 of his presents, shoes & Baltic amber necklace so he could wear them that day and then several days later he opened the rest. 

It's so exciting doing Christmas every year and seeing their faces light up with joy and still believing in Santa Claus yet knowing that it is a celebration of Jesus and that we give gifts just as baby Jesus was given gifts when he was born. After all when Santa is questioned I say but we believe in god and cannot see him, correct? Because seeing is NOT believing. Believing is what we feel in our heart.

Yay for 6 months and our 2nd BF goal!

 

12-17-2014 Berran turned 6 months old. My baby is already half way to his first birthday, nooo! He has grown so fast and I am still not ready for him to get any bigger. He is my sweet little tiny baby that needs to stop growing I wish I was able to stop the hands of time for all of my children. Time goes by too fast and they grow even faster.

 

Berran is such a happy baby although his spoiledness has been coming out much more than it ever did before. He used to put himself to sleep during his day times naps if I was busy and unable to let him latch, no more. Now he HAS to latch on or HAS to be held to nod off to slumber land. He used to chill the entire time I cleaned the house unless he was hungry or needed a diaper change but not now. He loves to have my attention now more than ever before, rather it be me carrying him, talking to him, letting him latch on, or just him seeing me near by its almost always a must.

 

Lucky me he still isn't an awful child that cries a lot or seems overly spoiled. I can still get my house cleaned, dinner cooked, home work done and everything else inn between while giving him the attention that he needs and without him throwing a complete fit.

 

He is still in the bed with us. He was always in the bassinet until his reflux got bad when he was still small so we put him in the bed to be sure we heard him and reacted fast because he would choke a lot. Once it improved he still slept in the bassinet when he first went to sleep but when he woke up he was placed in the bed to nurse and I left him there to nurse as he pleased. Now, he just goes to bed when we do but the past 2 nights I have laid him down in the bassinet until he woke up because it WAS nice to have the bed to ourselves again, but I wouldn't trade his cuddles for anything.

 

Berran is now sitting with support, he has found his feet and puts them in his mouth all the time. Berran loves his pacifier and has began to follow it with his eyes when we dangle it in front of him and he will grab it and put it right back in his mouth. He thinks Braxton and Broox are hilarious. Speaking of Broox he finally admitted that he loves Berran to Berrac and I but its a secret and we are not supposed to tell anyone especially not Braxton. Anyways, we haven't been to Berrans 6 month check up yet so I am unsure of his weight and height but he is a chunk that is for sure. I gurantee he is 20 pounds or more. He seems to do more and more each day and he keeps a smile on his face!

 

Along with him being 6 months means we have reached our second breastfeeding goal! I really have had many problems this go around mastitis, clogged ducts, over supply, low supply. Luckily I have over came every single one. I do notice some weeks I have a lower supply, I no longer freak out as I did the first time it happened, instead, I heat up some oatmeal, throw in a little flax and brewers yeast then take fenugreek 3 times a day until its back to normal. So far those things seem to do the trick and I haven't even had to make the lactation cookies.

 

I am proud to say my baby has not had one drop of formula. It is amazing knowing that my body has nourished him since day one and still to this day my body is what is continuing to nourish him. With this being the 6 month I am supposed to introduce baby food. I think I am going to hold off until he begins to show interest. He still doesn't seem too interested in food and not to mention he was 5 weeks early so I feel as if he could use the extra 5 weeks before being started on food.

 

I have attempted some table foods like potatoes, sweet potatoes, bananas and peaches and he did like the banana and peaches but he did not chew or keep them in his mouth well and would not try to grab them himself.

 

Also, this is my third child and it was never brought to my attention that the baby food is NOT supposed to replace feedings but the food is supposed to compliment a feeding. I love that I know this now because I do not want our breastfeeding to drastically decrease. Once we do start food I will nurse first and then offer baby food. So, to you mothers out there who didn't know, there ya go!!

 

I plan on nursing him as long as he pleases. Yay to a happy, healthy exclusively breastfed 6 month old baby!

A week of giving thanks: DAY 7 THANKSGIVING

 

 

First off I would like to say I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. My family had a very busy but wonderful day. I cannot even begin to express how thankful I am for my family. I am very lucky to have Berrac in my life. He provides for our family in every way possible and he is always going over the top to make our boys and I happy. He works overtime quite often which is what allows me to stay home as often as I do. I do not know what I would do with out him. He is an awesome spouse and father. I wouldn't ask for anyone else in my life.

 

I am also very thankful for my boys. Braxton and I may butt heads (he's just like me) but at the age of 16 he was my life changer and I am so thankful God brought me him at even such a young age. I have enjoyed watching him grow the past 7 years and he is always making me proud.

 Broox is my trouble maker but I am so thankful that he is still a mamas boy. At the age of 5 he still enjoys cuddling with me or letting me rock him anytime I can. Unlike Braxton he still gives me sweet kisses. Cherish those moments with you little ones because one day you wont be cool, you wont get to rock them, hold them, or snuggle with them like you once did.

Then there is our baby bear and he is our biggest gift this year. I am thankful that after being born at 35 weeks old which is considered "preemie" he was healthy then at birth and has continued to grow and thrive as any other baby his age.

 

 Most of all I am thankful for GOD because he is the one who has blessed me in so many ways!

 

Also, I am thankful for every one else in my family. My siblings are all very special to me I have 3. I have 2 of the best sisters in the world and an awesome brother.

My mom and dad support me and are always there for me no matter what and without them I wouldn't be here. I am glad to have good relationships with them both. My step dad has been in my life since I was 3 and I am thankful that my mom chose him.

My cousin Shelby has been my best friend since birth and even if we do not talk that often or see each other very much we always know we are there for one another. I definitely believe everyone should have a cousin best friend that you spend your entire life with because there is nothing like a friendship of someone you have grown up AND share a family with.

My granny, she is the back bone of our family. She is the one who keeps our family running smoothly. She worries about everything under the sun and stresses out for no reason but she wants to make sure everyone is taken care of so I guess worrying and stress goes hand in hand with putting others before yourself. She has taught me how to be nice, loving and caring. She is the one who has put the love for cooking and crafting in my life. I am also so thankful for her biscuit and gravy (none like it)!!! I do not know what I would do without her she is one very special lady!

my sister summer

my granny

my sister summer and my mom

broox, braxton & bryce (shelbys son)

my granny & cousin Shelby

my dad

baby bears first thanksgiving

my brother

A week of giving thanks: DAY 6

Tonights post is Broox and I giving thanks. Earlier today Broox was a big help. I had a ton of dishes to wash and he wanted to help me. Now I didn't trust him washing the big dishes so once I was done I left him a few small items and the silverware. He done an awesome job so today I am thankful for Broox and his helping hands.

Broox said "mom I already done my I am thankful for today" but I told him that, that was me being thankful for him helping me out so he said he is thankful for his Legos. Him and Braxton could play with them and build all day long. They have an already big but growing collection of Legos.

We have and extremely busy day tomorrow and then I have to go to work but I am hoping I get around to my final thanksgiving post. If not posted tomorrow then it will be posted on Friday.

A week of giving thanks: DAY 5

I know it's actually been 2 days since I've posted. I ended up working a double on Monday and was busy with the fam and catching up on sleep yesterday. Today I will end up having 2 posts for day 5 and day 6.

Today is our day 5 of giving thanks post!

Today we are thankful for family date nights. Unfortunately they do not happen as often as we would like because sometimes we are just so busy or low on money or both so we tend to spend a lot of time together in the house. When we actually get out and do fun stuff the boys are so excited. 

Last night we surprised the kids by taking them out to eat at zaxbys (can't go wrong with chicken tenders & grilled cheese) and then we went to watch the new movie Big Hero 6. The movie was awesome and I'm hoping there will be a sequel. It was obviously Berrans first time at the movies and he done great! He watched almost all of the movie. He ate for 10 minutes in the middle and then fell asleep the last 15 minutes. I think that's pretty impressive for a 5 month old.

Broox wanted me to take this picture because he said he is thankful for the baby swing which he thinks is his swing to sit in and watch cartoons. 

I'll be back later with the day 6 post!

A week of giving thanks: DAY 3

Day 3 is Berrac, Berran and myself giving thanks. Braxton and Broox are at their Nonnahs (my mom) house. 

Today Berrac and I are thankful for extra money to complete our holiday shopping, a date night even if Berran is with us, because lets face it after having 3 kids when one is only with us it feels like basically no kids at all. We enjoyed dinner, Christmas shopping and we are now about to end our night with a red box movie. 

Today Berran is thankful for mamas milk. Mamas milk is yummy and healthy. He drinks to fill his tummy and for comfort. He drinks mamas milk on demand and he chooses the booba over a bottle with mamas milk any day!

Stay tuned for day 4 of us giving thanks!

A week of giving thanks: DAY 2

Today I am thankful for cloth diapers. I wish I would have known more about them when I had Braxton I would have definitely saved a ton of money by now. They are so cute stylish and colorful. The one pictured is an alva and it is one of my favorites. My other favorites and the cutest prints are Sunbaby diapers. They are one size and grow with Berran, they are easy to wash and has saved me a ton of money. For more info on cloth diapers and where to purchase the ones mentioned click the cloth diaper tab.

Today Braxton is thankful for his Kindle. His nonnah got him one for Christmas and I am thankful for it as well for days like today when I need to get some rest and he can watch movies or play games on it while laying in bed with me.

Today Broox is thankful for toys. They kept him pretty entertained today while I was catching up on sleep. I woke up to a huge mess. I on the other hand am not thankful for little boys who make messes and don't clean up...luckily he decided to pick up, drum roll please... 3 hours later.

Today Berran is thankful for his vaporizer and his medicine. He is not feeling well today and the medicine has helped keep his fever down and the vaporizer has helped with his congestion. I'm hoping he has a better night tonight especially since I will be at work.

Stay tuned for day 3 tomorrow!

Because sometimes being a mom sucks...

Here it is 9pm at night. I'm yelling at my oldest 2 to get in and stay in the bed, attempting to watch scandal while my mind is racing thinking of all the things I HAVE to do before bed.

 

Yesterday went so smooth why on earth would I think today would be a repeat? No idea! I have 2 kids at 2 different schools with thanksgiving lunch that I had to attend because you don't want your kid to be the kid without a parent there no matter the circumstances. Unfortunately at the moment (past 6 months) we have only had 1 vehicle and of course the lunches happen to fall on the day Berrac works. I had to get the kids on the bus, load up the baby and head to take Berrac to work which is an hour away. After we got home rush rush rush nurse, shower, look presentable and get the baby ready.

 

Finally make it to Braxton's thanksgiving lunch 5 minutes late and to a child 5 minutes is like all day he had given up hope that I was even coming.

 

Next stop Brooxs lunch. I made it there on time. He wouldn't take a picture but whatever. Of course there I was the mom trying to carry a huge britax (heavy) car seat with a 20 pound infant AND a tray of food. Thank you to the beautiful mother with nicely fixed hair, business suit and heels (ya know the perfect life looking mom) that helped me. 

 

After that off to Kroger I went to only find that they didn't carry what I was looking for, left my wallet in the cart that I had already pushed in, luckily it was still there when I went to check. 

 

Once I was home it was wonderful for a whole hour and a half. BUMMER. At least I was able to enjoy my soap opera right?! Back on the road it was pick up kids and another hour trip to get Berrac from work. 

 

Home again, home AT LAST. Yeah freaking right. Time to get Braxton dressed and ready for his All Star team football practice and after that HELLO kitchen, time to cook.

 

..... AND that brings us to now, now it's 9:30 pm at least I've finished this post. I have managed to pay attention to Scandal and I know what's going on. Braxton and Broox are now fast asleep. Berran is in my lap finally in a nappy after leaving him naked and peeing in the bed. He still needs a bath I'm sure he will wake before I'm in bed anyways. He's on NO schedule but he's pretty chill and goes with the flow. My living room is a mess. My kitchen even messier now with dishes from last night and tonight's dinner. Food STILL sitting out waiting to be put up. I have one more show to watch that is important to me because it's MY TIME so maybe I'll at least get the  food put away and hopefully make it through my 10pm show. Some times being a  sucks. The stress, the tiredness, the mess, the kids, the cooking, the only MOM time is late at night with eyes barely open, but when I go around giving those one last kisses before I do close my eyes I remember how the suckiness of motherhood is all worth it and one day I will look back and miss the once said sucky days.

 

***UPDATE***

 

I wrote this post yesterday 11/20/14 so may I add to my original post that I went to bed about 12:30 only for Berran to keep me up all night long with a terrible cough. At the time his insurance is completely messed up and he is uninsured so after and hour and a half of coughing fits, wheezing and rattling in his chest I took him to the ER. Even though he is a healthy preemie what comes along with that is a higher risk for RSV and other infections I didn't want to risk anything being wrong especially with whooping cough getting worse these day.

 

We arrived at the ER around 4:30 am he had 2 breathing treatments and everything was negative and he is okay. At 6 am we were still there. I text Berrac giving him very specific directions to where the kids clothes were and what time to be looking for the busses because of course the first text he sent was I don't see any clothes laid out followed by I cant find there clothes. Of course what would men/dads do without us women/moms. I don't know why I would expect one simple thing to get done that is normally a mothers job. Anyways I told him to just leave them in the bed so they had a free day off from school. Berran and I arrived back home at 9 am and we slept most of the day. THANK YOU older bros for letting mommy get some rest. Again sometimes being a mother sucks and its tiring and things go wrong but hey that's just part of being a mom and being a parenting!

My SAHM life

Many people say being a stay at mom is being lazy and many stay at home moms will say a working mom doesn't spend enough time with kids. Both of those statements are lies. I'm sure I speak on more than half of the mothering population that running a household 24/7 is NEVER lazy and that a working moms first priority is her children.
 

I have been both. I was a mom in highschool going to school until 1:30 getting out for work release and working 2 jobs in order to get 40 hours a week. I felt as if I missed out on so much of Braxton's life so once I became pregnant with Broox I knew I wanted to be home more and spend so much time with the both of them. At that time I had to have a job working nearly 30 hours. Luckily I found a night shift job working hours from 12am-8am or 12 hour shifts like 8pm-8am and they were usually sleep shifts so I was able to rest and then carry on with the next day as if I had never went to work therefore I was able to be a working mom AND a SAHM. At that time the household definitely ran smoother Braxton was a toddler and Broox was an infant. No kids in school, no sports, we stayed busy with other activities and we were all on a strict schedule which made life go much easier. At that time I DID actually have time to NAP every single day during our designated nap time but the rest of time was spent doing other things. I can easily say being a SAHM with a toddler and baby was actually easier than working.
 

Now I only work part time two 8 hour night shifts on the weekend and the remainder of the time I am a SAHM. The household no longer rubs smoothly, our schedule runs wild and I tend to a 7 year old, 5 year old, and an infant. The oldest two are in school and are very active in sports. Their daddy works sometimes long hours and with him being the bread winner in the household I do NOT want him coming home thinking I have been lazy all day therefore I try to make sure the house is cleaned, dishes washed and supper is fixed. I also try to shower but that almost never happens until night time because that is how BUSY I try to stay. Just to give you an idea how my schedule goes...

•Mon-Fri no matter what unless it is summer or school break I'm up at 6am fixing everyone's breakfast, getting the kids ready and packing everyone's lunch.
 

•I wash diapers 2 times a week which included rinse, wash, rinse, inserts in dryer and diapers line dried, then putting them together.
 

•laundry 2-3 times a week
 

•sports practice (the sport varies) 2-3 days a week and 1 game a week. If kids are in different sports the is 2 games a week.
 

•Sat and Sun work 11-7. Every now and then I go in early and sometimes I pick up a second shift on Monday or Wednesday.
 

•Plenty of Saturdays I have got off work and not been able to sleep until later in the day (a thank you to kids & thank you sports)
 

•Daily I cook and tidy the house, nurse an infant on demand, make the beds. On school days I rarely even find myself having a lot of relaxation time during those 7 hours. Although my one hour of nothing is spent watching my favorite show The Young & The Restless!

Now this is just a jist of what I do and doesn't even include everything extra that comes up daily. We should support moms no matter if they are home or at work. Some moms want to and can afford to be home, some want to be home and can't afford it, others would go insane being home everyday and well for me I'm just thankful I'm able to work part time but majority of my time is spent at home.

 

My week of low supply aka breastfeeding week from hell

I thought clogged ducts were awful then I got mastitis and really didn't think I was going to survive that but the physical pain of those two combined cannot come close to the emotional pain I felt when my supply dropped. 

I have always had an oversupply since Berran was born it took almost 6 weeks to not pump 6-8oz after every feeding or not have to pump after a feeding to avoid clogged ducts. Even after that I had a good supply so the last thing I would think of is it dropping.

It was the weekend which is when I work. Friday night I pumped my normal 10oz. Saturday night I went into work early and pumped 8oz. The next time I pumped it was 7oz. He doesn't usually eat at night time so I wasn't worried about the 1oz drop the second time I pumped. After that last pumping session it was like my boobs never filled back up. I thought maybe he had been eating more while we were napping that day since he sucks like im his pacifier, so after we woke up and my supply never returned I began to freak out. 

What did I do wrong? Why is my supply dropping?  I'm drying up! He is going to wean himself! All my plans to nurse until he is a toddler was gone. Needless to say I was really worried and it was ONLY day 1! Luckily I have plenty of people I can turn to for help and support throughout my breastfeeding journey. I feel like having breastfeeding support is important. 

I pretty much knew what all I needed to do. As soon as I noticed the drop I had him nursing as much as possible everything else could wait. If he wouldn't latch when I wanted him to I would pump. I was drinking mothers milk 3 times a day and increasing my water intake. We spent 2 full days in the bed nursing. I noticed a slight change but not much.

The third day I went to the natures way store and Kroger to purchase fenugreek and items to make lactation cookies. I began taking the fenugreek immediatly 3 pills 3 times a day. As soon as I arrived home I made the cookies (will provide recipe in another post). I probably ate about 6 that night because they were SOOO good and I couldn't stop at 2 or 3!

By the next morning I was amazed that my supply had drastically increased. It was back to normal. By day 3 of fenugreek and lactation cookies I almost had an over supply. 

I have stopping nursing non stop, the tea and I haven't made another batch of cookies but I am still taking the fenugreek 3 pills 1x a day. My supply is still going strong. I plan on finishing the bottle and then seeing how I do once I come off. 

Hopefully all continues to go well but I'm glad that I was able to not stress out TOO bad and did everything I could to get my supply back up. If this happens to you a few other suggestions is brewers yeast in pill form and flax seed in pill form as well.

How we spent Fall Break

Sadly I cannot say that fall break was a blast but we were able to enjoy a few things. To kick off the weekend (last weekend) the kids and I (not Berran) were in my best friends wedding. I was lucky enough to be her maid of honor, the boys Braxton and Broox were the ring bearers.  It was a beautiful wedding and my best friend looked gorgeous. Unfortunately it was cold but we survived!

 

After the weekend was over I had fun things planned including a trip to the pumpkin patch, hiking at red river gorge, attending Medevil Times and do some arts and crafts activities. Mother Nature on the other hand, well, she had other plans that included RAIN! Bummer! We were able to make it to the pumpkin patch in between periods of rain but we just went there for about 20 minutes and picked out pumpkins.

Since we were unable to go hiking at red river gorge I thought I'd plan something fun in the house. We purchased items for s'mores and I figured we could roast In the oven or over the grill. Of course Berrac bought chocolate bars with almonds, no one but myself likes them. Braxton really didn't want to roast marshmallows and Broox, at least he enjoyed it even if he didn't get the chocolate and marshmallow s'more that he wanted. I on the other hand wanted to set up camp in the living room but that ended up being everyone piled in my room watching RL Stine haunting hour before bedtime. Not really how I pictured the evening but hey Braxton told us that we were COOL and FUNNY parents AND that he wouldn't want any other parents. That's a plus, right?! 

 

Friday we done some arts and crafts, hence the babys first pumpkin and the cute halloween canvas memorabilia decor. I'm very thankful I have a good friend who enjoys crafting as well. She helped me out friday and it was nice to have her company.

 

Sadly Braxton began running a fever Friday and Saturday it was still lingering around, the reason why I was unable to attend the football game. As of yesterday he was feeling better, just in time for school yesterday!

 

Although I was glad to have all the kids home I missed mine and Berrans alone time and I was a teensy weensy bit happy to send them back to school. Hope you have a good week:) 

 

Missing out

As a parent you never want to miss any exciting moments that go on with your child or children but sometimes you have no other choice. As much as we want to be apart of every unforgettable moment (at least it's unforgettable to us) things DO happens and things DO come up. 

 

Today was the second time in a row that I missed my child's football game and it weighs heavy on my heart. I do not want my kids to ever feel like I wanted to be absent because I don't and it means everything to me to be there and watch them play. I want them to always know that mom is their number 1 fan.

 

Last weekend I was the maid of honor in my best friends wedding. We live an hour away and I had to be with the bride getting ready early that morning which meant I was not able to see my sons play. May I add their team is small, Broox is their only extra player, as he is the youngest he doesn't normally play the entire game. It just so happened a player didn't show and Broox played the entire game for the first time AND they won 25-0! I was very sad I had to miss that game.

 

Then today I yet again had to miss a game. Braxton was sick, Broox was not so he went on and played the game without big brother. I wanted so badly to go but I had been up for 24 hours (thank you night shift) and did not feel that it was safe for me to drive alone for 30 minutes. I told Broox a million times this morning that I was sorry I could not go. It really hurts so bad when you know you're missing out on important moments but sometimes you have to remind yourself that it's normal, life is not perfect and things come up, you're not the first mom or dad to miss an event or an important moment so try not to beat yourself up. So, today that is what I'm trying to do, not let it bother me so much and looking forward to their next game!