Breastfeeding Burn-Out

I just wanted to take a minute and congratulate all those diligent moms who make it to the six month, exclusively breastfeeding mark! I am at the five month mark and am starting to add in some purees' because I am definately at my personal burn-out mark.

I read on a formula website that babies at 5 months should be eating every 4-5 hours. My sweet baby girl still eats every two to three hours.

I know I am blessed to have made it this far. My first baby (boy) and I weren't able to go much farther than four months because my supply was low and he wasn't gaining weight. I need to remind myself that anything that I can give her is a gift.

I would love to hear (or read) about other mother's experiences with breastfeeding, so leave a comment or an appropriate link!

Hopping Around!

Blog Hop: Cornocupia

I couldn't get the button to work, but the link to the hop I'm in this week is above. This hop is going through Christmas and should be featuring some really good Christmas ideas! (That's my hope!)

Pay Off the Doc

NPR featured an article about different pay-offs doctors get from pharmaceutical companies. This was on their radio talk show "Talk of the Nation." They had teamed up in some way with propublica.org to list a widget that shows the payouts different doctors had recieved in the 2009-2010 year.

I was embarassed for the doctors who were bought by being told they were considered a "thought leader." I thought, this could never happen to my doctor. No way, no how!

So, I looked and sure enough he was listed under three different names, and practicing out of two offices. I believe that it is the same person. One payment was from Eli Lilly for $66,000! Another Eli Lilly for $18,000! And a third, smaller payment from AstraZeneca for $8,000.

To check out if your doctor has been paid off, click here,

Gluten-Free Flour Deal

Jules Gluten-Free Flour is having a special on their "Welcome Pack":

You can now save 64% with our "Welcome Pack." Get 5 pounds of All Purpose Flour, plus 3 e-books (more than 150 recipes in total), and FREE Shipping & Handling.  Priced individually, these products would cost $69.95.  However, the Welcome Pack is only $24.95 - a $45 savings!
 CLICK HERE

We just got our 5lb shipment in the mail. We used the ebook to find a pizza crust recipe that rocked. We made bbq chicken pizza with this crust and our 4 year old chose the bbq pizza over his typical Totino frozen pizza. (He's usually really picky, and doesn't eat the crust so I was surpised when he ate the WHOLE PIZZA, CRUST AND ALL!!)

The only complaint I had was that the crust stuck to the pan. The directions said to use an ungreased pan, which I did, but I'm thinking next time around we will be using spray or a bit of coconut-oil on the pan. I also will add pineapple topping.

Deals that Matter

Share this with friends and family! Big Brothers Big Sisters of Utah has teamed up with Dealsthatmatter.com. These are daily discounts that you can purchase and during the month of October 100% of the proceeds are given to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Utah when you choose us as your charity. The discounts will vary daily and you can sign up to receive alerts. Take a look, get registered and start saving today!

You can choose which agency you want to support, Jeff and I always support BBBSU any chance we get! That's where we met and it will always have a special spot in our heart (and pocket book). http://www.bbbsu.org/

Let me know what you think of this daily deal site!

Low-Sew Car Seat Cover

I ran into the cutest car seat covers for girls at the annual Roy Days celebration this summer. I've been using a non-gender car seat for my 5 month old but wanted to make her feel a little more girly. I believe it cost something like $25, not too bad considering the material and time it took for someone to handmake it.

However, I thought, "I could do that!" Knowing that I have very limited sewing skills (I typically forget important things, like thread, or the bobbin!) I had to think of easier ways to make this.

Directions:

Preparation: I took a blanket that one of my co-workers quilted for me, some cute ribbon I had left from Christmas last year, and a needle sewing thread. Time: 5 minutes finding the needle and ribbon

Step 1: estimated the middle of the blanket, then 1/3 in on the left, and about 1/3 in on the right and fold.

Step 2: Take side 1 and hand sew the ribbon in the middle, so that you have two open ends of ribbon that can be tied around the handle of the car seat. (I used about 2 inches of ribbon on each side, I did not measure) Time: Ten minutes handsewing one side

Step 3: Take side 2 and hand sew the ribbon in the middle similar to above. Time: ten minutes for this side

Step 4: Tie on car seat. Time: 1 minute

Hint: I leave the visor up so the blanket never lies flat on the baby. You could also just sew an additional ribbon in the middle to hold it up higher. I was too lazy to get the needle back out.

Total Time: 26 minutes

Cost: Free

Suggested Retail: $25

I think I shall do this in blue for my sister-in-law for her baby due in November! This would also be excellent for Christmas. I have tons of baby blankets that just lay folded in the closet and ribbon is easy to come by. Have fun!

Linked Up:

Blog Hop Monday

So I ran into this cool idea someone had (probably someone brilliant) and thought hmm...So, I'm not exactly sure what I'm doing but I have looked at lots of other blogs on the blog hop list. I think that's the purpose. I found some cool people too.

Conference Controversy

By now, many of us have heard about the statement in conference that homosexuality behavior is a choice which is not condoned by the LDS church. I believe that some people out there have taken this a little too far. This has always been the church's stand on the topic, nothing new. Can we stop talking about it now?

Free Purse Book

Walgreens.com is having another free purse book special! I took them up on this offer last month and made a quick book for Eli. Make your book, check out, and at check out put in code FOREVER and the book will be free. You pay shipping which varies by location. Have fun!

Spirituality

Last week, my wife posted thoughts about how her spirituality and beliefs
have been formed throughout her life. I suppose it's now my turn to share
some thoughts with you. I was raised in a home that taught me that I was a
child of God. It wasn't a regular practice of my parents to attend church
on a weekly basis. There were periods throughout my childhood when attending
church each Sunday was pushed and enforced by my parents, but the majority
of my first 18 yrs of Sundays was not spent in the church pews but at home
with family. My parents did an excellent job of instilling moral values and
I'm very grateful for their teachings, but it wasn't supported by church
doctrine.

When I turned 18 yrs old, I was struggling with some personal relationship
problems. I felt like I was torn between my moral values and the natural
desires of my heart. I really struggled that first year of college. I spent
many nights weeping and I felt as if I had to be fake to my friends in order
to maintain my relationship with them. I often traveled 4 hours each Friday
afternoon going home for the weekend, and then another 4 hours on Sunday to
return back to college. One spring night I was driving back to college
after spending the weekend at home contemplating about my life and the
struggles I have been experiencing. I was driving down the long straight
highway in Wyoming when I distinctly remember a strong presence that came
over me. I think it was the first time in my life that I knew that there
was someone more powerful than any man that loved me. I remember feeling an
immediate peace and the worries floated away as if something or someone was
carrying them out of the car and they floated up into the dark big sky.
That moment changed my life.

Ever since that night in 1996, I have tried to dedicate my life to helping
others and to seek guidance from a loving Heavenly Father. I'm very
fortunate to say that I have experienced a heavenly love and peace many
times since that moment in my car. Ironically, I feel a Heavenly presence
more in my car than any other place, except for the temple. I still enjoy
driving down the highway with my windows rolled down and having the sound of
wind flowing around me; it is very peaceful to me. Do I question the
doctrine of my church sometimes? You bet! Do I have desires to stay at
home on Sunday and just relax instead of going to church? Probably, more
times that I would like. I may not be the most dedicated church member who
lives every doctrine of the church, but I can resiliently say that I know
that I am a child of God and that there is someone who loves me more than I
can imagine.

Day Late, Dollar Short

I just wanted to acknowledge that I know I am a day late and a dollar short. There aren't any product reviews this week. We are in Denver for the ISNR.com International conference. However, we went to the funnest little pastry shop. Cheese Cake Therapy (cheesecaketherapy.net) is an excellent little cafe and an even better form of relief from the intense brain stimulation occurring at this conference. We are booked very thin, sessions every 15-20 minutes, excellent speakers, brown bag discussion lunches, and evening panels. If you're even in Arvada, Colorado this is a must-stop treat. We tried the peanutbutter chocolate chip brownie, mini blue berry and white chocolate cheese cake, and a mini peanut butter and white chocolate cheese cake! Yummm!