Hobbit-ish Potpurri: The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly

Hey Humble Readers...

I hope you are all doing well, wherever you're at today.  Things here on the flatland are trucking along.  Today started off with a rare summer fog, which was kind of nice.  I just wish I had thought to take pictures.  It's warm, but not too hot.  Now if we could just ditch the humidity (and I know that it's nothing like the humidity my eastern friends deal with) things might be completely comfortable in our little hobbit-hole.

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The Good:  Ginny.  Today she's been active, but manageable.  She took her morning nap without complaint, and SHE KEPT HER DIAPER ON!  Of course, she is wearing a onesie and jeans, so it would have been harder for her to get at it, but hey... I'm going to take my victories where I can get them.  She has also been fairly sweet to Pippin so far today, so that's an added bonus. 

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The Bad:  As of today, I'm going to begin winding down the breastfeeding/pumping.  Pip hasn't shown any inclination to get back on the breast, and when I pump for a half hour (15 minutes per side) I'm only getting two ounces.  It's time.  As of this morning, I'm only pumping for 10 minutes a side, and I will lower that to 5 minutes a side in a few days.  I'm also going to be going longer in between pumping sessions.  Instead of getting down on myself, I'm counting this as a sort-of victory.  Is it ideal?  No.  But it's a heck of a lot better than what I was expecting.  I've given our wee little mister a good start. 

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The Ugly:  Our finances suck.  Again.  Still.  I am doing all that I can to limit the outflow of cash... using coupons when I can, planning meals that are as inexpensive as I can, cutting any bad spending that creeps in (damn the book aisle at Costco) and trying to sell some of our no-longer-needed items on Kijiji.  I am in desparate need of both new bras and new pants (all my pre-pregnancy pants are falling down... and belts and I don't get along), but I'm going to have to choose between the two next month.

My Beloved asked for a cost-of-living raise, as his last one was almost two years ago, and his boss has not responded favourably, so Beloved is now in the hunt for a new job.  There are more opennings now in his field than there were in the fall, so we are choosing to be hopeful that something good may yet come.

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I'm attempting to get back into the routine I had before Pip made his appearance for taking care of our hobbit-hole.  I'm well on my way to having today's to do list completed.  I've also added some self-care things to my daily to do lists, in hopes that I will be able to carve out 20-30 minutes a day for some form of exercise.  My weightloss has plateaued at 30 pounds, so it needs something more than what I'm doing right now.  We'll see how that goes. 

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Another reason why I'm eager to get back into being active is to try to keep the PPD at bay.  Last time around, getting out and just spending that 20-30 minutes a day walking and listening to music by myself was a huge part of getting through my PPD.  I'm trying to be proactive this time around, as I know that with stopping pumping I'm going to have some crazy hormone stuff going on for the next while.

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I'll Look Back At This And Laugh moment from the weekend:  We went to visit my MIL yesterday, to see her new place.  The little town where she lives if 45 minutes south of us.  I remembered to take the breast pump, toys for Ginny, and spare outfits for both kids.  What I didn't pack was an extra shirt for me... and of course Pip decided that it was time to have a major pukey incident.  Seriously, he puked up almost a whole bottle... all over himself and me.  And I had to then sit there in a wet, smelly, pukey shirt until our visit was over, and through the drive home.  LESSON LEARNED!

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Well, I need to get back to my to-dos.  What's on your to do list for today?