Friday Favorites - April 1

It's April 1st, or April Fools Day. I'm really not a practical jokester though. Will you be playing a joke today? Here are my favorite things I read or found this week.

1. I got another clogged duct this week. This is the second time in 4 months. I really hate these things. Kelly mom has a great comparison of clogged ducts vs. mastitis and how to treat each.


2. I've decided I want to go to a Sandals Resort to get married. No kids, no stress, no planning.... I'm in! B's on board too. Now we just need to sell my house so we can save up to go when E's done nursing.


3. Soccer Season started this week with little A's first practice last night. This gave B and I a chance to try out our new Quest shade chairs. I LOVE these things!


4. We cloth diaper primarily, but use Pampers at night. Another lovely blogger linked up various GTG points totaling 320!


5. Even though I'm not 40 yet, this blog post comparing 20 vs. 40 totally applies. I definitely agree the 40 year old man is better than the 20 year old man!

Wordless Wednesday - Feet & Pie

How exactly did she get her foot in the pie?

Menu Monday - March 28

I can't believe it's already the last week of March. It seems like 2011 is flying by. I really hope my house sells this spring or summer since it's been on the market for 6 months now. I've linked up this menu to Menu Plan Monday over at Orgjunkie.com.

Sunday: Potato Soup and Mandarian Salad (Big A's request)

Monday: Banana Chocolate Chip Pancakes with Sausage

Tuesday: Grilled Pork Tenderloin, Cheddar Broccoli Rice, Veggies

Wednesday: Grouper Sammies, Potato Salad, Mixed Veggies (carried over from last week)

Thursday: Meatloaf, Mac n Cheese, Veggies

Friday: Take Out

Saturday: Spaghetti, Salad, Garlic Cheese Breadsticks

What's Harder to Find than a Good Nursing Bra?

A dress for a wedding that can be nursed in. T is getting married next month. This means I need a new dress for two reasons. 1 - The father of the bride is my pretend hubby. 2 - I'm nursing a baby. I need something fancy enough to fit number 1 and practical enough to fit number 2.

I went with two friends and E to an upscale mall last weekend to hunt for the perfect dress. I figured if this mall didn't have a workable dress I wasn't going to find one. We spent three hours going in every store that may have a suitable dress. Unfortunately I only found three that would even be contenders to try on. These are the two dresses I really wanted, but obviously will not work since I'd rather not go to the bathroom and undress every 2 hours.

All three of the realistic contenders were wrap dresses. One dress was out of stock in my size. One dress was $200 and cute, but not $200 cute. That left dress number three. It was the very first dress I tried on and is from White House Black Market. This is my new favorite store for work clothes I can't afford on a daily basis.

The dress I ended up with isn't very fancy on it's own. It could be worn to work as well, but I got some great jewelry and have some fantastic shoes to dress it up. This is what I ended up with:

So, how did I do? Where have you found good dresses for nursing?

The Illusive Hunt for a Great Nursing Bra

Why is it so hard to find a good nursing bra? I have tried 6 different nursing bras so far with E. There is only 1 I like. I like it not love it. I had 2 and the hooks on 1 broke. I figured it was a fluke so I went to order another the other morning and they're not available anymore. (probably not a fluke then)

Instead I spent $150 on 3 nursing bras and a pair of panties. This was AFTER a 15% discount! I don't spend that much on my real bras! Granted, the panties and 1 of the bras are fancy to wear under a dress for T's wedding next month, but still. E better want to nurse until she's 10 so I can get good use out of these suckers.

Let's review what I've tried in my hunt. For reference, I'm a 36C.

Like

The hook broke on one when washing and the other seems to be stretching out fast. It's only $14 though at target. Probably not great for large sizes. It doesn't seem like it would support heavier breasts.

Dislike

Gilligan & O’Malley® Women's Nursing Soft Cup Bra - Ebony from Target. For some reason I can't get the picture in here, so if you really want to see it you can follow the link. I wouldn't recommend it though.

The cups were molded and super uncomfortable and hard to pull down. They're very stiff and scratchy.



This bra came from JC Penney's. It just had a weird fit.


This bra also came from JC Penneys. It also had molded cups, so it had the same issues as the Gillian O' Malley bra linked above.


This is a sleep bra from Motherwear. Apparently my boobs hang to low from my shoulders for this and the straps are not adjustable.


This bra also came from Motherwear. I have no idea how it fits since the elastic on the straps snapped from the band the first time I put it on.

Loving

The bras in this section are the 3 that cost me $150. I found out why though. They're all great. I got them from Bare Necessities. They currently have 41 different styles of nursing bras to choose from! I've decided when I'm done nursing and regulate to a consistent size again I'm restocking ALL of my undergarments and getting the good stuff.

Le Mysterie underwire nursing bra. It's recommended to stay away from underwire in a nursing bra to avoid plugged ducts and mastitis. I bought this one specifically to wear under a dress for a wedding, so it's not my daily bra.

I wore it last weekend when we went shopping to find the dress and really love it. I forgot how much I miss my non-nursing, non-maternity underwire. It's pretty, supportive, and has a lining so you could wear nursing pads and not see them from the outside of the bra. This would be a great sexy time bra to avoid leaking. ;)

This is a Bravado seamless silk. FANTASTIC every day bra. It's supportive and looks great under all tops whether I'm full or just nursed or pumped. It definitely adapts to my cup size throughout the day.

This last bra is a Bravado sublime. It's very pretty and feminine. Support is similar to the Target bra I like, but not as good as the Bravado seamless silk. This bra fits the best when I'm full since that's when I fill out more on the top side of my breast.

Friday Favorites

I've decided to try a new weekly posting of my favorite things I learned about or read during the week.

Domestic Enemies of the Single Mom - Having been a single mom I found this hysterical and really pretty accurate.

Dave Ramsey Giveaway - I did FPU a few years ago and it's fantastic. Here's a giveaway not only for FPU, but some of Dave's other resources as well.

Lemon Loves Lime - Incredible girly cuteness. This could put my Dave Ramsey skills to the test!

Largest LLL for best price - Even I have limits on how much I'll spend for cuteness.

Carseat guidelines - New extended rear facing suggestion explained.

Dunk-a-Roos - Fantastic cookie in icing dippers are back! Definitely going on my grocery list this week.

Menu Monday - March 21

Spring is in the air, which means with the warmer weather at the begining of the week we're grilling out! Unfortunately the dairy experiment from last week was a fail, so it's back to dairy free diet for me for another month.

On to the menu for the week.

I've linked up this menu to Menu Plan Monday over at Orgjunkie.com.

Sunday: Clean out the Fridge

Monday: Hamburgers & Hot Dogs on the Grill, Tots

Tuesday: Grilled Pork Tenderloin, Carrots, Roasted Potatoes

Wednesday: Grouper Sammies, Potato Salad, Mixed Veggies (carried over from last week)

Thursday: Sesame Chicken, Mushroom Orzo, Salad

Friday: Leftovers

Saturday: Mac n Cheese with Bacon & California Veggies (carried over from last week)

Monday Menu - March 14

Tommorw E will be 4 months old! I'm trying dairy back in my diet this week. I had a yogurt with lunch. I really hope it doesn't bother her. She developed a seal like cough yesterday so now I'm watching her. I'd hate for her to have an upset tummy with the cough.

On to the menu for the week.

I've linked up this menu to Menu Plan Monday over at Orgjunkie.com.

Sunday: Individual Pizzas and Salad

Monday: Banana and Chocolate Chip Pancakes and Bacon

Tuesday: Mac N Cheese with Bacon Topper and California Veggies

Wednesday: Grouper Sammies, Potato Salad, Mixed Veggies

Thursday: Corned Beef with Potatoes and Carrots, Irish Soda Bread, Grasshopper Pie

Friday: MCL

Saturday: Dinner on your own. I'm shopping with a friend and B will be kid free!

Dressing kids with an opinion

I have always loved to dress little A. My theory is that just because he's a boy doesn't mean he can't be stylish. He had the matching socks in the fall and winter and the matching hats in the summer. It was fun to hunt down deals and choose his outfits in the morning. Then this fall he got..... AN OPINION! He refuses to wear most of his clothing opting for jeans, tees, and Gap underwear. He literally will have a melt down if there are no Gap underwear clean.

My favorite stores for him continue to be Gymboree, Crazy 8, Gap, Old Navy, Children's Place, Boden, and NEXT. Of course, we can't forget the Carter's and Oshkosh outlets too. It looks like this year he'll be coming with me though so we don't end up with a closet full of clothing he refuses to wear for summer.

The big boys are also jeans and tee shirt kind of guys. We're lucky if we can get a coat on them. They definitely have opinions, but refuse to go shopping. That means we do a lot of buying and returning. I think with them we're either going to have to start shopping on line or refusing to dress them unless they go.

They are very much into labels right now and want the brand plastered across their shirts. Hollister and Fox racing are the 2 biggies. I'm still trying to learn to get the best deal with those and it's not easy.

E I'm not sure what to do with. I really haven't found my girly style yet and she is growing like crazy. She's already 15lbs and not quite 4 months old yet! The 3-6 month sized spring stuff I have is not going to fit much longer so it looks like I'm shopping for more spring in 6-12 month!

Accessories are a challenge at the moment too. I love the headband and big matching bow look, but it's impossible to nurse with those on so we don't have many. Finding socks to fit her big feet is challenging as well. Hopefully by this summer we'll hit a stride since she's the only kid without an opinion on clothing yet!

I still love all the same stores I love with little A with the addition of two more; Pumpkin Patch and Tea. I really like the dress & leggin combo on girls and I'm lusting after this from Tea:



I love the colors in this dress and the pattern is so different from what you normally see on kids clothing.

Right now Dawn's Great Finds is giving away a $50 gift card to Tea Collection! It's the perfect amount for the outfit above. Maybe I'll get lucky enough to win it and E will have some clothes that fit! Then I'll just be on the perfect made to match bow.