No Minivan

• Happy Anniversary to my sweetie of 13 years (married for 8)!!! #

I am very very sad to say that Boo is weaning. He nursed so little on our vacation that I actually started my period on the day we returned. The only times he actually wants to nurse is when he’s ready for nap or bedtime. Otherwise, he latches on for about 1 minute and then pushes away from me and toddles off to play. I don’t even have time to let down before he’s off and running (or rather doing this odd imbalanced zombie walk).

We started giving him a breastmilk bottle at bedtime a month or so ago because he wasn’t sleeping through the night and we thought it might be because he wasn’t getting enough to eat. So I’m already not nursing him during the week since I work all day. I was pumping 3 times a day (before work, at lunch and before bed) so he’d have milk to drink via bottle while I worked. That basically left the weekends as the only time I’d get to physically nurse him. But now even that time is cut short because he’s just not interested. He’s so on the go and bottle feeding is much easier than waiting for my milk to flow.

At this point, it’s not a big deal since he is 14 months old; he’s old enough for cow’s milk. It’s more my missing it than anything else. I should just be happy and proud to have made it this far, but my next goal was 18 months so I’m feeling a little gypped. With the Kid, I stopped physically nursing at 6 months because I was worried he wasn’t getting enough (although the Kid was consistently off the growth chart in weight - I was an idiot) and exclusively pumped until he was a year old. This time, with my very last baby, I wanted to try extended nursing. Not freaky 8-year-old nursing, just a year and a half to 2 years.

But, alas, my little Boo has decided he’s a big boy and entirely too independant to waste time at the breast. So I’m dropping down to pumping twice a day (morning and night) now, which means we’ll soon run out of stock and he’ll be getting cow’s milk about half the time. I gave him some in his cup yesterday and he loved it, so no worries about making the switch. I’m debating with myself as to how long I’ll keep pumping at all. Maybe for another month or so while he transitions to cow’s milk and then dry up. At this point, nursing is more of an emotional thing rather than a nutritional necessity. I love nursing, but pumping is a necessary evil for me.

I will say that it’s very nice to not be pumping at work. No big ass pump bag to lug around, no searching for a private place, no worries about keeping the milk cold if I want to do something right after work. It’s nice to have that freedom back. And it will be nice to have my body back when I do stop pumping. No more worries about what I can eat or medication I can take. I’ve been trying to get pregnant, pregnant or nursing for about 3 years straight now. It will definitely be nice to have my body back all to myself.

I’ll definitely miss that special time with my Boo, but it’s time to realize that he’s not really a baby anymore. He’s big enough to make his choices and while this choice breaks my heart, I know he’s still Mama’s boy.

• So which one of you brought your infected offspring to the Science Center on Friday and gave my kid Strep? #

• Back to work tomorrow after a 9 day hiatus. I guess I should probably go to bed. Should get the news and I want to be awake for that. #
• Dear @NathanFillion - I miss Castle. Please return soon. Love, Nominimom P.S. If you need a place to stash Firefly stuff, my house is free. #
• Ugh, I am so tired of hearing about a certain authors girlfriend. She is not that interesting. Go back to talking about your books and kids. #
• For the record, the ex-BFF hasn’t said boo to me since I accepted her as a “Friend” on Facebook. Why did she even bother to add me? #
• Look at me! I’m tweeting like mad after days and days of little to no tweets! Don’t get use to this. OK, I’m off to bed now. As you were. #

Disclaimer: The can was empty and I was just at the end of the raft, off camera. So there’s no need to call DFS.

Additional disclaimer: This is just an honest review and recap. I was in no way compensated for this post. Unfortunately.

Times are tough and with two small kids, your vacation options are limited. We’re too poor for Disney and they’re too young for much else. So when a mom from Hubby’s playgroup mentioned the super fun time they had at Eagle Hurst Ranch in Steelville, MO and the low price they paid for it, we decided to give it a try. Basically, you get a 2 bedroom cabin and 3 homecooked meals a day for $80/adult and $25/kid ages 4-11 (Baby Boo was FREE!).

The meals were delicious. One day’s breakfast was sausage gravy and biscuits, sausage links, eggs, fruit and cereal. All in one meal. All the meals were huge and satisfying, served family style at your designated table in the dining hall. We were very lucky in that there was only one other family there during our stay so we never had to wait long to be served. The staff was very friendly and quickly got to know everyone’s names and preferences.

The cabins are rustic, but very clean and well maintained. The only room I found a bug in was a spider in the bathroom, but we were in the woods! (Speaking of bugs: I am a mosquito magnet most of the time, but I only got bit once outside and I only wore bug spray one night.) All of the linens were pristine and in great shape. Every bed had a pretty handmade quilt. Our cabin had 2 full size beds and a twin bed, 2 large dressers, 2 chairs, a small refrigerator with freezer compartment, a full bathroom with bathtub and shower, and enough space leftover in the bedrooms for the kids to play and to set up Boo’s pack n’ play. We had one window unit air conditioner in our bedroom and it kept the cabin plenty cool. There was also a screened in porch with a table and 2 chairs, plus a line for hanging wet clothes.

Throughout the day the Ranch hosts activities like pony rides, volleyball, capture the flag, bonfires with Smores, scavenger hunts, tennis, movies and popcorn, ice cream socials and swimming in the pool or in the Huzzah River. You can participate as little or as much as you want. We spent a lot of hot afternoons hanging out in the Lodge which was equipped with a large game room with a pool table, ping pong and video games. The cabins don’t have TVs, but there is one in the Lodge with a DVD player and VCR and they have a decent movie selection. They also have a great stash of books for all ages.
Read the rest of this entry »