Here we have most of Rissa’s favorite toys!

Pony, Dolly, Kitties, Harry the bunny, Scribbles, Blue, Maggie, Coral and Jewel.

These are the names she knows them by and calls them. Well, she calls all 3 Lalaloopsy dolls Coral and Harry is just a bunny nose wiggle, but she knows who they are if I call them by name!

Not pictured: Watson, Wince, Buckleyboo, Pookie, Stitch, and Pooh. Not sure how we missed adding them to the line up!

I started this blog about halfway through my first pregnancy, but it was mostly for family and there weren’t a lot of exciting posts… Except the biological sex reveal! So this time I definitely want to document the journey more and compare/contrast it to last time. I hear that every pregnancy is different, but I feel a sense of “no worries, I’ve done this before!” too.

But, that doesn’t mean I don’t have any worries at all!

Can I handle running after a toddler while pregnant?

Is two in cloth diapers going to be manageable? Will I do anything other than laundry?

How will they get along?

When will Rissa understand our family is growing?

Will I love them equally? Do parents really play favorites?

Will I have gestational diabetes again?

Can I handle another unmediated birth? Will my birth go to plan again?

Will this one be as needy as Rissa was to be held all the time?

Does my mind ever shut off? LOL

If you have multiple children, do you have any words of wisdom to share with me?

I was able to screen The Odd Life of Timothy Green while I was in NYC for The Avengers Event.  I can’t wait until I can share more of my thoughts about this movie with all of you (as well as the fun chat we had with the director, Peter Hedges, after viewing the film).  I haven’t cried this much throughout a movie in …. I don’t know how long.  It is touching and moving for parents and those wanting to be parents alike.   It’s not all sad though!

Anyway, I need to stop before I give too much away!  Here is the new trailer for it and I’ll be sharing my full review when we get closer to release!

“Like” THE ODD LIFE OF TIMOTHY GREEN on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/oddlifemovie

In theaters August 15, 2012.

Prizes!

One US reader will win 4 e.p.t pregnancy kits – 2 digital test (each with 2 tests) and 2 analog tests (each with 2 tests)!

Giveaway!

• Log into the Rafflecopter form either with your Facebook account OR just name & email (this will help it remember if you entered already!)
• Required entry to enter is the main entry – the rest are optional extras.
• Click “Do It!” to see the directions for the entry option. Read the instructions and complete them, then click “Enter!” to fill in the requested information. If you submit without completing tasks, your entries will be invalid.

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Thank you to e.p.t. for sponsoring this giveaway!

We wondered if it would still take 3 years like it did to concee Rissa or would we be successful sooner?

We officially started trying in March which was around the same time I received a few e.p.t. tests to review – the analog (interpret the lines!) and digital ones.

e.p.t. is the pregnancy test brand I prefer and it was one of their digital ones that clearly told me I was pregnant with Rissa.

At the end of March I started to feel very, very tired, and my period was late. Normally that meant little to me, but the past three months had been like clockwork. I took an analog test the first day of my missed period.

The proof is in the test!

Of course, being excited and wanting to be certain, I also took another two, three, four tests! A couple digital and another analog – which are all easy to take and read. All were positive!

I trust e.p.t. but couldn’t wait to see the doctor and determine the due date. I had a pretty good idea based on the ovulation calendar though!

I’m happy to announce today that I’m going to be a mom again (not that I ever stopped!). Baby #2 is due to arrive around the beginning of December! As of today I am 11 weeks and one day along. Normally I would wait until 12 weeks to make a big announcement, but I thought Mother’s Day would be a good day to share my news!  My only thing now is trying to figure out how to turn off the ovulation email alerts!

Disclosure: e.p.t. provided pregnancy tests at no cost to me in order to conduct my review. No other compensation was received. The app is free! You can connect with e.p.t. on Facebook and Twitter.

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In theaters June 22, 2012!

1 – Use a baby/toddler tub. The size of the tub will seem less scary when they can sit inside a smaller version.

2 – Have plenty of bath friendly toys. Rubber duckies, buckets with holes, boats, letters and more can be great fun. A doll or other “non-tub” toy that is okay to be in the tub can also provide transition reassurance.

3 – Don’t use bubble bath. I know it seems like it should be fun but it can irritate their skin to sit in it, especially for little girls.

4 – Sing songs and gently splish-splash along with them. Let them know it’s okay to have fun!

5 – Use natural products that are naturally tear free and save hair washing for last. It can make them cold to wet their head right away. Plus, most little ones don’t like water running down their face or into their ears. Saving the hair washing for last can keep most of bath time fun.

There are quite a few different natural bath products out there. Recently I’ve been using the line from Happy Future. All the ingredients are natural. It smells a little unusual but not bad. It reminds me of products made with tea tree oil – it is a distinct but not unpleasant scent.

My favorite Happy Future product is the nappy change lotion. It’s a cleanser that does not need to be rinsed off. I like it for dirty diaper changes and in the morning to freshen up her bottom without a full bath. This also keeps baths fun – we only do full baths a couple times a week. So, Rissa looks forward to them and she isn’t very dirty for most of them!

Disclosure: I received Happy Future products to try at no cost to me. I was not compensated in any other way. All thoughts shared here are my own!

Yes, thanks, TIME for driving a bigger wedge among moms and those of us who would like to NORMALIZE breastfeeding in our society and NORMALIZE natural (attachment) parenting. Things that are normal and natural yet are not treated as such. Instead it’s being sensationalized as extreme and weird.

Now, admittedly I do not like the cover. I think it further pushes the agenda of those against extended breastfeeding rather than helping to reduce shame and scorn of mothers who nurse their toddlers. What bothers me even more is the most ridiculous responses I’ve heard and read from people commenting on this cover with their ideas about when to stop breastfeeding. Mostly these come from people without kids or people who have never breastfed … People who already judge and shame Mothers more than they should, if you ask me.

I am an attachment parent. I still nurse my 18 month old. I am not extreme nor inappropriate. In fact, I thought what I’m doing now WAS weird before I had my daughter.

Anyway, here are some misconceptions about when to stop breastfeeding:

It’s weird to breastfeed after they are a year old.

It is not weird, it’s recommended. The World Health Organization recommends nursing a child until at least the age of two. They are still very much babies.

it’s time to stop when a kid can walk and talk. If they can ask for it, they shouldn’t be breastfed.

Really? My daughter could sign for milk before she was a year old. I was ecstatic that she could clearly tell me what she wanted. It made things less frustrating because we could communicate and meet her needs adequately. When babies learn to communicate, they start by communicating needs. Breastfeeding is a need.

Babies don’t all learn how to walk and talk at the same time so this is a very poor way to determine what nutrition she needs and when to alter it.

They should be eating an adult diet when they are a year old.

This is just dumb. They aren’t adults, so no, they don’t require the same diet. They are still growing and breastmilk is great brain food. Just because I still nurse her at 18 months does not mean she doesn’t eat solids. She does eat meals and snacks, but she nurses too. It’s not even as often as before, so it’s not a big deal.

Breastmilk is more than about nutrition. It also is bonding, nurturing, and helps with their emotional well being. It provides antibodies and helps their immune system. In 18 months my daughter has had only one cold and one stomach bug. She’s been around sick and germy kids too. And when she was sick, my breastmilk gave her what she needed to keep her hydrated and nourished since she didn’t want to eat while having diarrhea.

If you must continue giving breastmilk, you should pump.

How absurd to tell someone to work harder rather than smarter. If you want to keep drinking cow’s milk, then you better go milk it yourself!

I like nursing because I don’t have to deal with bottles. If I pumped it takes more work and time to extract what I need. My daughter is more efficient than any pump on the market. (It’s like being intimate…fake plastic can do an ok job but it’s not the same as the skin contact with your partner.). Then there would be pump parts to wash, milk to store, bottles to wash, milk to heat up… no thanks. From the tap is better and easier.

I could go on, but I’ll stop there…

Bottom line, if it’s not your kid maybe you shouldn’t worry so much about what someone else chooses to do (unless it is putting the child in immediate and eminent danger). Everyone does not parent the same way and there’s no such thing as the right way to parent nor do perfect parents exist. We are all just trying to do the best job we can. Judging each other isn’t helping especially since we all have something to be judged on.

With special flavors created just for Mother’s Day and priced just under $10, gifting Godiva Coffee is a great way to connect with Mom!

I love coffee. My coffee pot is in use from the moment I wake up in the morning until my head hits the pillow each night. Our 4-year-old refers to strawberry or chocolate milk as strawberry coffee or chocolate coffee so that we can enjoy our morning coffee together. I also love trying different brands and flavors of coffee.

So, if I told you I was excited to have the opportunity to review coffee from Godiva that would be an understatement.

I waited patiently for the package to arrive and couldn’t wait to get my hands on it. Like a kid at Christmas, I tore into that box to see what flavors were inside. I quickly discovered I had received Roasted Almond and Dark Chocolate Raspberry. The Roasted Almond is described as having a “sweet honey roasted almond butter flavor with a creamy Godiva milks chocolate finish” and the Dark Chocolate Raspberry as having a “rich, Godiva dark chocolate flavor paired with fresh, ripe raspberry flavor”.

Both are classified as medium roast blends. I will admit that I saved these coffees for the weekend so that I could enjoy them on a weekend morning when I could take my time a little more and not rush. Both were worth the wait. I was pretty confident that I would like the Roasted Almond, but admittedly not as convinced when it came to the Dark Chocolate Raspberry.

So, I tried the Roasted Almond first and it was amazing. Even my husband, who is not a huge fan of flavored coffee, enjoyed it. I could taste the almond and the chocolate flavors, but neither overpowered the coffee. So as not to confuse my coffee palate, I waited a few hours to try the Dark Chocolate Raspberry and I was pleasantly surprised.

Again, I could taste the raspberry and the chocolate flavors but neither overpowered the coffee. Admittedly, I enjoyed the Roasted Almond more and it has now find it’s way to Mom’s secret stash of coffee that is not for the coffee cups of teenagers who will not truly appreciate the flavors. I may, however, have them try the Dark Chocolate Raspberry to start exposing them to the possibilities of coffee.

Have you ever tried Godiva Coffee? Do you share a cup with your mom on Mother’s Day?

Cyndy is an East Coaster turned Texan who lives outside of Dallas with her family. You can find her at Mama Does It All where she blogs about her faith, living frugally, her faith, and whatever other random thoughts hit her radar.

Boy I was wrong!  Recently we were shopping at Target for more sippy cups and toddler forks when I saw Tommee Tippee Explora Sippy Cups (which are also available at Target.com) and other dining related products.  I wanted to try them, but wasn’t sure what to get.  Their cups come in several stages for different age ranges, but Rissa hardly uses a “sippy” spout.  When she started drinking from a cup well before 12 months old she was using a straw.

So when the opportunity arose to review one of their cups, I thought that was a good way to see if we should invest in more!  We received the last stage (24+ months per the package) Drinking Cup.  Rissa is only 18 months old, but has been trying to drink from open cups like mama.  She was doing okay (even without help) until one day she tipped it too much.  Water went up her nose and it frightened her a bit.

She’s mostly been using straws otherwise.  Unfortunately, the straw cups are not truly spill-proof!  She knows how to get water out and make a mess on her tray no matter what those cup manufacturers say!  After I washed out the new drinking cup, I showed Rissa how to drink from it.  She catches on pretty quick and was happy to use it throughout lunch.

Much to MY happiness it really is spill-proof!  Rissa threw the cup overboard in frustration because she couldn’t get water out onto her tray to splash her hands in.  Somehow the valve inside the lid keeps the water back unless she’s actually drinking from it.  It also keeps the flow slow enough so she doesn’t get overwhelmed.

I can tell she’s happy about graduating to a new big girl cup because she has been pushing away her other cups when offered.  Guess who needs to buy more drinking cups from Tommee Tippee now?

Prize!

One reader from the US will win a Tommee Tippee Explora Sippy Cup product!

Ends 5/14/12

Giveaway!

• Log into the Rafflecopter form either with your Facebook account OR just name & email (this will help it remember if you entered already!)
• Required entry to enter is the main entry – the rest are optional extras.
• Click “Do It!” to see the directions for the entry option. Read the instructions and complete them, then click “Enter!” to fill in the requested information. If you submit without completing tasks, your entries will be invalid.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

________

Disclosure: I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Tommee Tippee Sippy Cups. I received a Tommee Tippee Explora Sippy Cup product as well as a promotional item as a thanks for my participation.