Five on Friday

1.  Gwyneth's Avoccado Toast.

Ezekiel bread, vegenaise, and sliced avocado, sprinkled with salt.  I can't stop eating it- my new breakfast of choice.  Sometimes I add a hard boiled egg, or a fried one on top.  Oh, Gywneth.  You drive me bonkers with your diet flip-flops and obliviousness, but this non-recipe dish is delish.

2.  My newly re-upholstered chairs.  Love this fabric that I bought a coon's age ago.  Finally got around to having the chairs redone.  LOVE!

 For those of you in my area, I highly recommend Knox Upholstery.  I read about Rachel in Southern Living, but what sold me was that I could simply text her pictures of the chairs, and got a quote (thanks to the two year old and newborn, all my communication takes place via text nowadays).  Her turn around was next day (!) and the chairs look wonderful.

3.  Dell Harper's big girl room is starting to come together-

I still have a lot of work to do, but I wanted to show y'all this quick canvas I did for her wall.  It took about ten minutes- just hearts cut out of tissue paper and mod-podged onto an old canvas.  Not the most perfect, but a fun little decoration for her wall.

4.  Carseat Canopy

When I was pregnant with Deeds, a friend sent all of us preggos a promo code for a free carseat canopy she found in the back of US Weekly.  I gave it a shot, and love my canopy!  I got a free sling too.  The quality is great, and it's perfect for letting Deeds get some rest when out and about. 

 Anyway, I just got an e-mail that they are running the free canopy promotion again.  Here's how to get it-

1. Go to www.CarseatCanopy.com.

2. Click on "Shop Now" and choose your favorite Carseat Canopy!
3. Once you have made your selection, you'll automatically be directed to your shopping bag. Enter the promo code "MARCHMADNESS14" and we will deduct 100% off the cost of your Carseat Canopy. 

Order and enjoy!

5.  Siblings

I made a remark last night about "both my kids".  Weird.

They are starting to look more and more alike.  I must say that I have some exceptionally cute babies.  Not biased at all, obviously.

I hope you all have a wonderful  weekend!  I am so excited to get out and attend a dear friend's wedding.  It will be my first night out- whoohoo!  Now to find something to wear that is pumping friendly and figure flattering.  Sigh.

Thanks, ladies for hosting the link-up!

New Mama Cookies

Otherwise known as lactation cookies.  A title which really freaked my father and Morgan out.  My dad almost spit out his cookie, until I explained that really they just have oatmeal in them.  Just an excuse to make a huge batch of cookies.

Ingredients:

1 cup butter

1 cup sugar

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

4 tablespoons water

2 tablespoons flax seed meal

2 cups white whole wheat flour

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

3 cups oats

1 (heaping) cup dark chocolate chunks

1 cup pecans (or walnuts)

Directions

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2.  Mix the flaxseed meal and water, and let it sit for 3-5 minutes.

3.  Beat butter, sugar and brown sugar at medium speed.

4.  Add the eggs and mix well.

5.  Add flaxseed mix, and vanilla, beat well.

6.  Sift together flour, baking soda, salt and spices.

7.  Add the dry ingredients to the butter mix.

8.  Stir in the oats, chocolate chunks, and nuts.

9.  Scoop into balls and place on cookie cheat.

10.  Bake for 12-15 minutes until golden.

11.  Let cool for five minutes, then remove to cool for another 5-10 minutes on a rack.

These are delicious.  I made the mistake of convincing myself that they are healthy (oats! whole wheat flour! Dark chocolate! Nuts!  Flaxseed, for goodness sake!).  Then I ate the whole batch, since Morgan was scared to eat them after I called them lactation cookies.  Genius move.  So I gained back some of my lost baby weight. . . lesson learned.  Eating 50 cookies over a span of a week will cause you to gain weight.  Even if they are healthy.

Speaking of gaining weight, this little guy is chunking up quite nicely (maybe because of my lactation cookie diet?).

Like our doctor office self portrait?  Deeds is almost 10 pounds, and just a sweetheart. I eat him up!  More pictures coming. . . ones that don't include my terrifying sunken, puffy eyes.

Cool Stuff on the Internet- Kids Edition

Okay, it's time for another round of random stuff I found on Pinterest.  I promise for an actual coherent post featuring a cookie recipe at some point, but not today.

1.  I feel like such a redneck having Miss Priss' plastic slide and toys hanging out in our front yard, all willy nilly.  It's time to get the back yard in order- we have the perfect spot to put a play area just like this one.  I sense a project coming up for Morgan. . . or me and Mama more likely.

2.  I always feel like I am impossibly behind on recording things that my child(ren!) do, and I won't remember them.  Because I am, and I won't.  If I could get my tail in gear and make a simple memory box like this, it would greatly help.  Maybe a magic elf will make me one?  It's pretty cute, simple and looks like it would be doable for sure.

3.  Between being 9 months pregnant, extreme cold and snow, and now having to juggle a newborn and a terrible just-turned-two-year old (who's not terrible at all, just ready to play at all times), we have been watching entirely too much tv. I have the Sofia the First theme song in my head constantly.

Completely unrelated aside- one of my best friends from college had White Christmas stuck in her head for about six months one summer and fall.  Now whenever I have a song stuck in my head for longer than a day, I think of Virginia crooning "I'm dreaming of a whiiiiiiii-te Christmas. . ." as we headed to tailgates or sat by the pool.  It was amazing.

Anyway, so in all my spare time, when I am not busy keeping children alive, working, trying to keep dog hair at bay, or sleeping, I am going to try out some of these fun activities for Dell Harper, in an attempt to keep TV watching to a manageable level.  They might also be helpful for the copious amount of time I spend nursing.

So Busy Bags to the rescue.  I'm excited- hitting the dollar store tomorrow, and hope it will inspire me!

Find this here.


I also love this shape-sorting game-
















And playdough mats?  How fun are these?

So, I'm feeling all inspired.  However, considering it's taken me three days to write this post, and I have a thirty page statute to read for work, Dell Harper will likely no longer be a toddler by the time I get around to making this cool stuff for her.  It's all about intention, right?

If y'all have any (screen-free) tips for occupying big sister while nursing an insatiable newborn, please let me know!  She is good about 75% of nursing time, but manages to wreak a lot of havoc that other little bit.

What I'm Staring at with Glassy Eyes

AKA cool stuff from Pinterest that keeps me entertained in the wee hours of the morning.

Eclectic Kids by Port Washington Kids & Nursery Play Chic!

Love this idea from a show house found on Houzz.  It would be great to have each person in the household's name on totes, so when you do your nightly pick-up sweep, you can just carry around each bag, and stuff the person's clutter in there.  Or gently and lovingly clean up after the people you care about.  Whatever.

I have been vacillating between to continuing to let my hair "grow" (it doesn't go past its current point, no matter what I do) or bobbing it.  When it begins the inevitable post-natal shed, I think a easy loose bob like this would be super cool, and not too "mommy-ish".

I wonder if it would work on my thick, wavy/curly hair?

I want to take a leave of absence from my responsibilities, and jet off for a couple weeks in Italy.  An imaginary Italy where it is warm yet there are no crowds or vacationing Germans. Or vacationing Americans besides myself.

This wardrobe is exactly what I would bring (in my imaginary trip I have shed all my baby weight plus an extra five pounds).

I'm so effortlessly chic in my imaginary life.

I hate having our phones and iPad laying all over the kitchen counter- where the inevitably reside.  It really annoys me for some reason, so I am now wishing for a drawer like this:

I just loved lime-washed brick.  You rarely see it here in Knoxville, but it is everywhere in Atlanta.  When I lived in a nanny cottage in Buckhead during law school, I would walk for a five mile stretches just to admire all the beautiful homes like this one.

Random fact- Danielle Rollins' house backed up to my little cottage.  Or rather the back end of the Rollins' estate backed up to my cottage.  The end that contained a full basketball court.  That thumping of their son's basketball still haunts my studying-for-law-school-exam nightmares.

 Okay, wrapping up with these delightful paintings by Janet Hill.  I want to purchase every print- they somehow evoke the charm/whimsy of a Wes Anderson movie without being twee or precious.  I love them all but have my eye on these prints-

Thoroughly charming!

So that's it for me.  It's funny- I get so over my electronics and internet, but with nursing around the clock Pinterest and my Kindle are my closest companions of the non-children variety.

Post Partum Wardrobe

As I've mentioned, unlike DH's birth, I have to wear real clothes this time around.  I struggle enough with getting DH dressed (don't you just love the NO! and MINE! stages of toddlers?).  If I stayed in my pjs, there would be no way to ever get her in pants and a shirt.  I can hear it now- "Mama in pjs?  Da-Hapa in pjs, too!!".  So, I have been perusing lots of online apparel options in my current house-bound state, and I have my eye on the following.

Have y'all seen Loft's new "lounge" line, Lou & Grey?  It's just darling- perfect, cozy clothes for those of us who are toddler wrangling, or prefer to look dressed without actually getting out of our pajamas.

Here's what I am longing for (these can all be found on the above link- I am too tired to find the individual links):

It all looks so soft.  As well, as, ahem, forgiving of the various lumps and bumps with currently comprise my figure. Perfect bum covering length to wear with leggings without being self-conscious.  And machine washable?  Be still my beating heart!

In a more colorful, but no less forgiving vein, I have been thinking about a Lilly Pulitzer Skipper Popover for some time (9 months of not being able to buy real clothes leads one to obsess about going into an actual store and buying attractive clothing).

How cute is this?  You get to wear a sweatshirt that hides the tummy pooch, yet look put together!  Sign me up please.

For any upcoming occasion where I have to look reasonably nice, my current collection of Elsa tops will come to the rescue.  I might even have to go ahead and make my bi-annual addition to said collection.  These shirts are magical.  Even if you are not a Lilly fan, go ahead and buy a solid one.  I wore these throughout the pregnancy (well, not the last month), loved them while nursing DH because of the button down factor, and yet they are perfectly flattering when I am svelte and have a normal size chest.  It's like the sisterhood of the traveling top.  Except it stays in your own closet.

The prints hide a multitude of toddler and infant sins.  They are versatile for work, church and going out.  Have I sold you yet?  Ha!  I promise I'm not getting paid for this. You can find them on Lilly Pulitzer's website.

One final find-

Belly Bandit's Mother Tucker leggings-

I loved my Belly Bandit last recovery for incision protection purposes- it just kind of held everything in place.  Although I was reluctant to shell out $70 for a pair of leggings (that's like 4 pairs at Old Navy, people!), knowing that toddler chasing and cuddling would be in my future sold me.

Then I tried them on the day I left the hospital.

Holy shit.  These things work.  I immediately looked 5 pounds thinner, and my insides no longer felt like they might fall out.  Bending over was doable and general movement became more comfortable.  And did I mention the five pounds thinner?  I want to wear them every day.  And have been doing laundry in order to do so.  If you are having a c-section, go buy these leggings for recovery purposes.  If you are having a child, go buy these leggings for vanity purposes.  Worth every penny.

So now you know how I have been spending my time.  Online window shopping.  And lots of Pinterest.  Post on that upcoming.  A girl's got to do something at 2 AM when she is feeding her child non-stop.

A Little Hazy

So I have pleasant memories of my c-section recovery with Dell Harper.  You know when they are in that pet-rock stage the first two weeks?  Unable to drive, in a fog of sleepless nights and lots of cozy naps together, I was pretty content.  I rarely ventured out of pajamas (or a reclined position), and soaked up life with a baby, and people bringing me food and presents.

This time is a little different.  I want to be lounging with this little fella, and letting my body heal.

But I also want (and am required) to be hanging out and caring for this wild woman-

So, I get dressed every morning in real clothes.  I bend and lift (not DH though, don't worry!).  I clean and make breakfasts and lunches, and generally feel much more with it than I did with Miss Priss.  As everyone tells you, the second child is much easier, simply because you have a handle on what to expect and your life has already changed so much.  You already have to get a babysitter, can't go shopping or indulge a whim, so it's not a shock to the system.

Anyway, the other morning I finally get Deeds down in the wee hours (he seems to be doing well until around 4 AM ((by well I mean up every 3 hours))), lay my head on my blessed pillow, then DH wakes up as soon as I shut my eyes.  She's ready for action, and only wants me.  No problem- we watch some Sprout, make some green smoothies, and have a little dance party.  Eventually, Morgan is leaving for work, Deeds is up and ready to eat, and I cannot find my phone for the life of me!  Morgan looks everywhere in the couch and family room, since I am having trouble bending and I am hurting pretty badly from all the morning action.  Finally after an hour of searching (luckily work was slow this morning), he finds it.

In the dishwasher.

Yep, I've got it ALL under control.

It's a . . .

DEEDS!

That's what Morgan announced to me as the doctor held up my son (!).  I became so excited that the anesthesiologist leaned over and explained he was giving me something to slow me down a bit, as my heart rate was a little too fast for his liking.  Ha!  He was 7 lbs, 8 oz, and has already regained his birth weight, hurrah!  This explains why I am starving all of the time- love the all you can eat aspect of nursing.

Much everything else with this pregnancy, things are much easier the second time around.  Like all my friends told me, the toddler is the tough part and the newborn is a breeze.  An exhausting breeze, but a blessedly quiet one.  Miss Priss is very intrigued with "Baby Deeds", when she stops playing long enough to remember his existence.  She did want to go see him and have him play with her first thing this morning (at 6:15, grrr).  I can tell she is still a little stressed from snow week cabin fever, followed by four nights at her grandparents, lack of mama time, and a new baby.  I'm praying for God to give me patience, kindness and grace for my barely two year old darling girl around the clock.  Once my c-section has healed more, and I can do my normal daily activities, I think her stress will recede.

So, I will be back with more pictures of my little guy soon- I am just over the moon!  Time to do a little napping and cuddling while big sister is in school.

Oh, and any toddler tips (especially those relating to the toddler wanting to be carried) after c-section are greatly appreciated!

(Excuse any egregious errors and/or typos, I am still on pain relievers and about 3 hours sleep)