These were taken today in Daddy's lap. I just love the early smiles! He was all wails yesterday, but all smiles today!

Tool Academy Finale

Josh is the winner of the Tool Academy! Who would have though? I did. I guessed that one a few episodes ago. It will be interesting to see what happens next for that couple. In the mean time Matsuflex aka Ryan and his celibate honey Jenna have big plans for their lives now that Tool academy has ended.

I bet all of us ladies have felt like we would like to send our men to the Tool Academy at one time or another. They need to open a franchise for us regular girls to send our guys to. Just think how much better the world and everyone in it would be if people would stop jumping from one relationship and bedroom to the next and start working on the relationship that they have. I know Chris and I have learned that the hard way. I can't wait to see VH1's new show Tough Love! Sometimes its fun to look back on the mistakes we made in dating. I don't miss dating at all. I'm glad to have found the man of my dreams.

Let me know what you think of all this.

DADDY LOVES JUSTICE IGNATIUS!

Breast Pumps: How much should you spend?

Once again, all I have is my own experience to draw from here, but I went about the breast pump thing differently with each baby, and here is what I learned...

Baby # 1 (2004): I sent my mom out for the most expensive pump in the store, which at the time was the Medela Pump in Style. It cost over $250.00 brand new. It was a double pump, so I could pump both breasts at the same time. I remember pumping for 15 to 20 minutes at a time and winding up with 1/2 an ounce from each breast, maybe an ounce if I was lucky. It was frustrating and frankly, painful. I will admit, though, that after a couple of months it got a little better. I just didn't fee like it should be so tough. I have heard this complaint out of a lot of women. After my daughter was weaned from the breast I got rid of the pump.

Baby # 2 (2006): This time I didn't go out and spend a small fortune on a pump all at once. I wound up spending a fortune over a period of time. Yes, this time I opted to rent. I rented a hospital grade double pump after being told that there was nothing out there that would work better. I was attracted to the promise that it would work better than the one that I had purchased with my last baby. I was even willing to pay the $50.00 per month that renting it would cost. I rented the pump for three months and paid $150.00 for the pump, and another $50.00 for the tubes and bottles and parts that I had to purchase to go with it. I also had to pay extra for supplies to clean the pump and accessories and bags to store milk in. All in all, this way was just as pricey as the Medela and was pretty much the same thing! I will tell you, though, that this pump was a little more powerful, and I did manage to pump with a little more success. But, before it was still painful, and at one point I had to go in and buy more accessories because the non refundable accessories that I had purchased with the pump didn't fit my nipples. There was another $5.00, and we all know that every penny counts.

Baby # 3 (2009) This time I had a good partner and a lot of support. I was all set up to work from home and decided that I really didn't need a pump since I would be with my baby most of the time. The hospital provided me with a manual pump (made by Medela). I did use the manual pump until about a week ago. It was challenging and really only worked if I pumped one breast while my baby fed on the other. That stimulates milk flow from both breasts. I recommend trying that method to any new mother who is trying to pump with little results. Since this is my third time breast feeding and I have kind of already been through it all, I definitely have had an easier time of it. I know what to do to keep my nipples from getting sore, and I was lucky enough to have my milk come in really early, so it was easier to satisfy my baby from the start. I leaped the first breast feeding hurtles with little incident, even though my baby was born tongue tied and jaundiced, and I am almost always around to nurse on demand. But what do I do when i just need a break? I had underestimated how much of a super mom I was going to have the energy to be. The truth is, even the most devoted and energetic mom needs a break now and then, and being able to hand your little one over for a feeding now and then is a real blessing! I was able to use the manual pump for awhile, but it was messy, and tedious and frustrating. I decided that I needed an electric pump. But my experiences in the past made me reluctant to spend the cash. I went into the local Babies 'R' Us and browsed the pumps. After talking with another new mother in the isle looking at the slings, I took her advise and went with the most inexpensive electric pump on the shelf. It was the evenflo single electric pump. I really had my doubts about a pump that cheap. I bought mine for about $40.00. But when I got it home and hooked it up, I was shocked at how great it worked. I immediately pumped half a bottle full of milk and it only got better from there. The biggest challenge now is finding an extra 15 minutes to pump. I will also say of this product, that it comes with few parts and is really easy to use and to clean. You can either use batteries, or plug it in. There are no accessories, or extra parts to buy. It is hand held, so there are no little tubes to tether you to one spot. With other pumps you wind up stuck in one position for the entire time because you are tethered to the engine by plastic tubes that will pop off of the machine if they get pulled. I can't say enough about this pleasant surprise. How often is the cheapest product the best? I recommend it to any new mom who is shopping for the best breast pump out there.

Now, if I can find time to use it between diaper changes, feedings, work and trying to keep my life from falling into utter chaos!

Baby Justice at 1 month old

Justice: 6 weeks old!

Justice is 6 weeks old today. Notice my first blog was "Justice: The first week". I wrote that back when I was still under the delusion that I was somehow going to have time to write a weekly blog about our bright eyed new little one. But, it seems like I woke up today and he's six weeks old! Where did those other five weeks go? I have gotten used to daily life holding so much activity that it is hard to figure out what moments to pick out and blog about.

Let's see... What have we been up to over the last several weeks? I have been working almost full time. Luckily, I do most of my work from the computer, so he sits right here with me. Over the last several days he has become independent enough to spend an hour per day sleeping in his bouncy seat ALL BY HIMSELF!!! Ladies and Gentlemen, how can I ever explain to you what a big deal that is? I thought that after he was born I would feel less like I was constantly sharing my body with another person. That is not how it worked out! My son, since the moment he was born, attached himself to me and would not let go even to sleep until a couple of days ago. I'm sure there are others of you out there who have experienced having a baby who does not want to leave the womb, or the breast, ever, ever, ever! and I'm sure there will be many more who will experience it in the future.

So, how did I do it? How did I get my little constant cuddler, constant feeder, off of me and into his chair?

Well here is the story; I had given up on the bassinet. He would have nothing to do with it. It seemed like he started crying as soon as he got near it. I gave up on the swing. It only satisfied him for about a minute at a time. It seemed like as soon as the warmth from my body wore off, he knew I had set him down and began to scream. I had nearly given up on the bouncy seat, but red eyed, weary, and in desperate need of a shower, I decided to give it one more shot. I took the warm sleeping body of my 5 week old son, and gently as is humanly possible, and slowly as I could manage, lowered him into the seat that I had previously covered with the softest, most comforting blanky in the house. I then held my breath waiting for the inevitable grunting and kicking that would signal the end of my alone time..................Then Chris (the daddy) came in and we started talking. Then I watched some TV, got up and fixed a cold drink, sat down in a chair all by my self, all the time waiting for the grunting, kicking, and eventual screaming. At some point, I got distracted, and before I knew it an hour had gone by and there he was, asleep like an angel. Folks, let me tell you, that is what he is doing at this very moment!

Haha. Okay so I made this story a little dramatic. But mothers of the world, you know what I mean!

I will, before I close give a short run down of other events this last month:

1) We bought the cheapest electric breast pump in the store, because I am cheap! (a whole other blog on this coming soon!)

2)We took our tax business to H&R Block

3)We swore off all tax preparers, especially H&R block

4)It took four repairmen 3 trips to our house to tell us that there is no hope of ever getting more than ten minutes of hot water out of our shower, thanks to the 30 gallon tank in our utility room

5)I had the flu, but Thank God! no one else in the house got sick

6)Justice made it all the way through a bath without losing his cool!

7)Justice started smiling regularly.

That is really my favorite part of the week. Those smiles just make me weak in the knees

Well, thats it for week 6. Stay tuned..

Baby number three: I live and I learn: unnecessary products

I am a mother of three who is still learning what baby items are useful and what baby items are a total waste of your hard earned dollars. If you walk into you local Baby's 'R' Us, it is easy to be overwhelmed by the vast selection of baby products, clothes, and toys available. Magazines are paid to lead you to believe that you need at least one of everything! But is that the case? In my opinion, no.

When I had my daughter Griffin rose 5 years ago (2005), the parenting magazines that I read constantly while I was pregnant, convinced me that there was no way I could survive without a "Diaper Genie". The Diaper Genie is a special trash can just for soiled diapers. You basically pop open the lid, place the diaper inside and twist the top around to seal the diaper into a plastic pouch that is then pushed down into the soiled diaper storage area. The idea behind it is to isolate the soiled diaper so that it keeps all of the stink out of your house. It sounds like a good idea. But, what I didn't consider is that I would have to buy the special trash bags that go with it. At the time they ran about five dollars per package, and they only lasted a few days. I went through about 2 refills per week. That's $10.00 per week! That's about $40.00 per month! That's almost $500.00 per year! I don't know about you, but I could really use another $500.00 per year. It gets even better. When baby starts to wear larger diapers and eat solid food, you can purchase special scented liners for the Genie that are a tad more expensive. On top of which, I found the product kind of difficult to use. I never got any better at putting the liners in.

When I had my second daughter Keira, in 2006, I passed right by those Diaper Genies in the store. What did I use instead? I used plain old used grocery bags. Why pay for plastic to throw a diaper away in when you can use the bags that are probably piling up in your house somewhere, that they gave you at the grocery store. I even carried a couple of extra bags in my diaper bag so that when I was out and about, I could avoid tossing a stinky diaper in someone's trash can.

Now I have Justice, born 2009. What am I using for diaper disposal these days? Is it an expensive and inconvenient diaper disposal system?, or maybe those plastic bags I get from the grocery store....... Nope.... I use absolutely nothing! I roll up those dirty diapers and toss them in the trash can with all the other household refuse. Gone are the days of fancy diaper disposal systems, in my home.

Now does my house stink like one great big diaper? Not that I know of, and no one has said so. It turns out that the world didn't end when I decided to cut this unnecessary product out of my life. I can now use the money I saved to buy other, more useful products like the Evenflo electric breast pump, and the boppy Sling. Check back soon for my product reviews on those, and more additions to my list of unnecessary products.