May 19, 2013
by Suz
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One Year Ago

Today, last year, I wrote two posts. One on being {making it!} 34 weeks & another a reflection on potentially my last pregnant day. Turns out, I had one more day before Zach & Lucy would make their grand entrances. But I didn’t know that & so many others things that morning.

As I sit today, our small friends birthday party behind us {post to come!}, one year photos taking place later this morning, I could easily let the busyness get in the way of being present.

But I’m hitting the pause button on life frequently these days. Taking in the last snuggles before my babies become toddlers. Kissing necks & tickling toes. And reflecting.

The me of 52 weeks ago was as prepared as she possibly could be. I’d read multiple multiples books, spoke with LCs & the head of the NICU, read blogs of & chatted with multi momma & preemie momma friends. I knew I probably wouldn’t be able to immediately hold my tiny babies. I was just praying they’d arrive okay. That I’d be able to handle it all.

And y’all, with the help of family & friends who showed up, cleaned, cooked, held Zach & Lucy & gave tiny pumped bottles so I could sleep, I’ve handled it. Don’t get me wrong, there were & are bumping patches: where raised voices & dark under eye circles occurred more often than sweet words to my spouse & time for make-up applications.

But together my little family battled through a CPAP machine, IVs, dual days of jaundice, feeding tubes & sucking/breastfeeding struggles & that was just the first 10 days. We’ve learned so much from each other. And grown so much as a foursome since.

I can’t wait to see how far we’ll come in the next year.

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May 17, 2013
by Suz
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Jury Duty

In 31 years, I’d never received a certain piece of mail. A jury duty summons. Until about a month ago. Honestly, I laughed when I got it. I tweeted & was assured as a nursing/pumping working mom, I’d easily get out of it. I threw May 13th jury duty on my work calendar & kinda forgot about it.

Until last Friday afternoon when I called the jury duty line & heard my juror number was one of the ones who had to report to the courthouse at 830a. I {still laughing} told my boss I’d be in late & left my desk as is at 5p.

When I arrived at Wake Co courthouse Monday morning, I told the jury clerk I needed to pump {& that my 11 mo old was throwing up}. She said {nicely} sorry your son’s sick & let me know when you need to pump as my office/copy room is also the pump room. So much for quickly & easily escaping my civil service.

Thankfully I’d brought a book {Defending Jacob which will have it’s own post soon} & I spent from 830-11a reading surrounded by 198 others in slightly comfy chairs. At 11, she called out 44 names to report to a courtroom needing a jury. Mine was called. I texted the husband who was home taking care of sick Zach that I wouldn’t be home soon but would be in touch.

As our elevator got off on the 3rd floor & I read that was the criminal courtrooms, I got a little nervous. Then we filed in & the judge advised us potential jurors that this was a first degree murder trial with media coverage {I wasn’t familiar with the 2 year old crime} & I got more nervous.

From here on, I received a lesson in jury selection as done by the NC court system. Twelve potential jurors were called up, interviewed individually & as a group & dismissed by either the DA or the defense attorney. After jurors were dismissed, at random, those of us remaining in the pews were called. My name continued to not be called Monday & since the selection wasn’t complete at 5p, I had to report back to the courthouse Tues morning.

Tuesday was more of the same, sitting in a wooden bench with knots in my stomach waiting to be called. I was unsure whether or not I wanted to hear my name. If I did, I could {finally} tell them I was a nursing mom who needed to pump more often than the 930a & 2p that I did Monday & hopefully be let go. If I never did, I’d be dismissed once all parties were satisfied with the jury. The latter is what finally happened Tuesday around lunch time.

I left downtown with a sigh of relief, a lot more knowledge & respect for our court system, & knowing they’ll be a $32 check for my two days coming soon. And knowing I can’t be called upon to serve again for two years.

Any of y’all had jury duty?

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May 16, 2013
by Suz
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PackIt Love {giveaway}

I discovered PackIt through a friend a little of a year ago. I won a blog giveaway for their original Personal Cooler. When they heard I was expecting two babies, they graciously also included two of their smaller sized mini coolers too.

I use the Personal Cooler as a lunch bag for myself or as the bag to take Zach & Lucy’s 6 daycare bottles & food in. At 8″ x 10″ x 5″, it’s big enough while still fitting in our {giant} diaper bag along with their cloth diaper wet bags.

The Mini Cooler has become my go to so much that I asked for {& received!} a third as a Christmas gift. I take one every day to bring home my pumped bottles. Three 9oz tall Gerber bottles fit perfectly in the 8″ x 8″ x 3″ bag. I store the bag & bottles in my work mini fridge door through out the day then know my milk will stay cold while running errands & on the drive home in my PackIt. The mini will also hold three daycare bottles & a couple small baby food containers, so when we don’t use another PackIt cooler for daycare, we use two minis. I pack the Packits the night before so I rotate between the different sized bags.

I chatted again recently with PackIt as they just launched a couple new bags. My babies big bottles & ever increasing solids containers for daycare means we’ve started almost outgrowing our smaller PackIts. Just in time, PackIt sent me the Social Cooler. This bag is like my others that its gel lined so the bag itself goes right in the freezer then keeps bottles {or whatever you want} cool for up to 10 hours. But the social cooler is big! It’s a roomie 12″ x 13″ x 5″. Perfect for six bottles, four containers of baby food & room to spare. It’d also be great for a day at the beach or a family picnic lunch.

PackIt

My PackIt freezer shelf, the social cooler: front, back & all ready for daycare.

PackIt is willing to generously offer you, my awesome readers, a PackIt bag of your choice. Do you want a wine bag {or two!} for your BYOB girls’ nights? Or is a double baby bottle bag more your speed right now? Check out the different bags & leave a comment letting me know what you’d choose & why as your giveaway entry.

As a second entry, follow me {@suzstreats} & PackIt {@packitcool} on twitter & tweet something like “Enter to win a @packitcool cooler #giveaway of your choice with @suzstreats http://suzstreats.com/packit-love-giveaway/”. Leave a link to your tweet in another comment, please.

Feel free to also like PackIt on facebook & instagram.

I’ll leave the giveaway open until next Friday May 24th at midnight. I’ll draw a winner using random.org & let the winner know by Memorial Day Monday May 27th. Good luck!

I won three PackIts in a long ago giveaway. I was sent the social cooler for purpose of this review but I was not compensated in any other way. Nor did their generosity sway my honest opinion on their awesome product. 

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May 14, 2013
by Suz
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Mother’s Day

Husband came home Saturday night after being on a work trip to CA for two weeks. It was the longest we’d spent apart since we met 9 years ago. It was also the longest he’d been away from the babies by far. He missed us & we were very glad to see him too.

As I’d mentioned, I was lucky to have my dad helping out while J was gone. And we were lucky that my mom drove back & forth on the weekends & cooked enough for most weekday meals in between. That also meant they were still in town Sunday.

It was very special to spend my first mother’s day with outside babies with my mom here too. We shared cards in the morning. Jason gave me a new 50mm DSLR lens {yay for actually being able to take pics in my dimly lit den!} & the babies via my MIL gave me a sweet bracelet. Mom, Lucy, Zach & I went to church then picked up Boj’s on the way home. No big cooking for us!

I did make Lucy & Zach purees for the week & heated up a chicken soufflé casserole {recipe post to come} that Mom had put together Sat. Mom & I took Lucy & Zach for a walk around the neighborhood with a dual purpose: a much needed nap for them & getting them out if the house while their Dada & Pops put together a water table & play coupé {birthday gifts for next week}.

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Post-walk front yard napping

Jason snapped the below photo of my favorite part of the day though.

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Mama mama

Both L & Z have been close to/almost/kinda/maybe putting m & a syllables together for a week or so. But no ‘mama mama’ & never to me. Until Sun evening! I put Zach down to take out dinner out of the even & pull out dinner from the fridge for them. As I walked away he screamed out ‘mama mama!’. I whipped around, scooped him up & cried! My tiny lil guy called me by name, y’all!!

Hope all my mother readers {moms, moms-to-be, grandmas, aunts, pet moms & those praying for motherhood} had a great day!

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May 9, 2013
by Suz
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Fever & Labor Day

Fever by Mary Beth Keane is my books clubs’ September pick. But it became available from the library quickly & even more amazing, I found time to make it there to pick it up before my hold expired.

Fever tells the story of Mary Mallon, who you might know as Typhoid Mary. The author does a great job telling Mary’s story. Making us see her as the human, the lady with real feelings & sense of self behind the scary nickname.

Before Fever, I didn’t know that much about typhoid nor the sanitation of NYC in the early 1900s. I also thought all the discussion of the working class was very interesting. I wasn’t familiar with North Brother island & that sick & seriously ill were isolated like they were.

If you’re interested in reading about the person behind the typhoid headlines, read Fever. But don’t wikipedia her first if you want to be surprised. I did & then it took away some of the book for it. I still thought it was very interesting & a good book.

Labor DayLabor Day had been passed down to me when a friend moved. I’m pretty sure it sat untouched on my den floor for a year before about a month ago I snatched it up.

I read the book in under a week while pumping. It wasn’t a can’t-put-it-down thriller, but I liked it none the less. Labor Day takes place over {you guessed it} Labor day weekend in a small town in the northeast. It’s told from the perspective of a coming-of-age boy in regards to how a chance meeting on this weekend changed his life.

It was good. Not great in a over the top super memorable way. But I’m glad I read it.

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