momspirational mondays: patience is a virtue

Unfortunately, I don't have a guest post for this Monday but there a few things in my head so I'm going to go ahead and write my own post. No need to worry, some of my favorite mommy inspirations are working away on their posts and we should have one of those ready next week! 

Patience is a virtue, not one that I possess but a virtue none the less. I am always working to improve in this area. More often than not, I end the day wishing I had been a little more patient with my husband, at my job and even with my sweet girl.

In my head I usually make everything more complicated than it really is.  Even as I write this I'm questioning if patience is always a good quality to have. Like most things, I think it just depends.  In my current circumstance, God is telling me to yet again be patient. The desires of my heart don't match with the desires of my pocketbook and man that can be hard to swallow.  (Especially while working full time with a great and expensive education to pay off) 

What do you do when you're at a crossroads in life? How do I keep my mind focused on the present when I just want to know what God has planned for my future?

For now, I'm just going to enjoy every second I get with this precious girl! (excuse the less than ideal iphone pic)

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Amelia,

Sweet girl, mommy isn't going to be much help on this subject.  The best advice I have is to remember that life is a marathon and not a sprint.  Try to enjoy the here and now instead of always looking to the future. For a person with high aspirations and life goals like your mommy, all of this is easier said than done. God has a plan so put your faith in him and take on each day one at a time. 

8 pumping essentials: at home, at work and on the go

Since entering into this new world of motherhood I've been asked a few times about my experience breastfeeding.  I remember once being on the outside of this group looking in and having all the same questions. Which is why I decided to put keyboard to screen and whip this post together.  While this blog is mostly personal my goal is to also make it informative. These are the products/techniques that I found to be essential during the 10 months I spent nursing and pumping! 

Amelia had a hard time getting the hang of nursing at first.  We nursed exclusively in the hospital and after realizing she just wasn't getting the hang of it I hooked up to my pump for the first time.  I got a pathetic amount of colostrum and it really was "liquid gold" as it is popularly referred to. Amelia eventually went on to latching successfully and we did a hybrid of nursing and pumping over the next 10 months.  Nursing and pumping are a labor of love, by the end of the 10 months I was ready to burn my pump as if I was burning my bra with those chicks in the 60's. (Forgive me for not caring enough to google when that actually happened and why, that's not what you're here for anyway)  Needless to say, while you're participating in this labor of love you might as well make it as easy as possible.