My Babies

Avery 2 Months

Conner 2 months

Conner 7 days old

Avery 5 days old

Affordable Care Act + Breast Pumps

So I am having a hard time figuring out the affordable health care act when it come to breast pumps being covered. I have called my insurance provider Cigna and they tell me that my plan is grandfathered. And according to this My provider has to disclose whether they are a grandfathered plan. I can't find any information on my online portal, which by the way is useless. So I will keep pumping my little hand hand pump till I develop carpel tunnel syndrome. When Conner was born I rented an Ameda hospital pump and it was great but at 50 bucks a month is unaffordable for me now. I am noticing supply issues now that Avery is 3 months old. I need something more efficient and I need it yesterday. Have you been able to get one? Where you given the run around?

No severance pay when you are self employed

What I do for a living is a domestic worker. Which boils down to caring for the elderly in their home.  I work for my Mom and we have been staying with the same lady for 5 years. This is not the job I ever intended to do but it just happened I worked 2 jobs for awhile until the birth of my son 3 years ago. I quit working for a cellular company to be able to have the flexibility of working when I could while returning to school. This job takes it toll on you mentally and physically but I have kept doing because it pays the bills and I could always count on my Mom to cover me if I had an emergency. 
Well things have taken a dramatic turn for the worse. Our lovely lady is passing away and hospice has been setup and we are just keeping her comfortable. While this is a sad time, I also have to plan for the future. My job helps keep us afloat and with a new semester starting in a couple weeks decisions have to be made. I can't start up a new full time job in mid semester. I also would need the new job asap to rework classes around my schedule but since its up to nature it is a unique conundrum. I have just 14 hours left to finish my degree. Dedicating a full time semester with out having to work would be ideal so hopefully we can work things out with income tax and 401k to get through a few months. I don't like the word budget because I feel like you have to know exact figures to make one. We live paycheck to paycheck like many Americans. I also don't believe everything happens for a reason. Shit happens and it sucks you deal with it the best you can and keep moving. Its funny how just a couple days ago we were talking about a possible vacation this year and where we would go and what to do. Well today is a different ballgame and we will play it by ear. In the meantime keep us in your thoughts. Have you ever had life changing things happen? How did you cope?

Cast Iron Skillet

I am a die hard cast iron user. I never thought much about the care of them till I googled caring for your cast iron. Now I'm slightly obsessed. Washing, meticulously drying and lightly oiling before putting away. The reason,  I use to have a hand me down and it got lost. I purchased 3 preseasoned from a popular store. They just do not cook like my old one. I miss it terribly. Years and years of cooking went into the beautiful season to make my cornbread fabulous. Now its just OK. I hope to inherit some from my grandmother one day until then she lets no one near hers. I feel guilty when I leave one in the sink for too long for fear of soaking away what little season I have on the young ones.
Some suggestions for care use pork fat to build up good season. I use it for cornbread, greens, and potatoes. I use canola oil for everything else. The best part is once your have fifty years worth of use you will not need any oil at all that will be the slickest pan ever!
Most cast iron lovers will say to never use soap and in fact don't wash at all. I don't have that luxury because my new pans do stick sometimes. So I use a tiny bit of soap and dry really well usually just stick it in still warm oven then put a nice coat of oil on it for storing.

My little pan it has the best season because I use for cornbread almost daily.

Us a flat metal spatula it helps to fill in grooves as you cook. The best advice is the more you use it the better it gets and the true test of a well seasoned cast iron it to fry an egg.
How do you use your skillets? Any good suggestions please comment!

Baby Wearing Mama

First outing with Avery in wrap 2 weeks old.

We got the hang of it. Avery is sucking her thumb

So for months leading up to the birth of Avery I fretted, researched, and wish listed baby carriers. In fact the moment I found out I was pregnant I wanted to buy a carrier of some sort. I never got to wear Conner when he was little because the concept didn't interest me till he was too big. I went back and forth between a moby like wrap and a soft structured ergo. The problem was I didn't want to fork over cash for something I didn't love and I am notorious for not making up my mind. So Avery was born and I had never got around to making up my mind. While I was in the hospital my husband had taken Conner to his group therapy session and his early interventionist had sent him a baby gift for me. I had mentioned at one time or another that I was looking for a carrier or wrap. Behold I opened up a sleepy wear wrap. She said she used it with her daughter a few times but never got the hang of it. I had actually never heard of this before, but was excited to try it. I practiced wrapping it because I heard so much about a learning curve. The first outing was when baby girl was 2 weeks old and we went to a cornfield maze. I would advise wrapping it before going anywhere so its easier just to tighten and put baby in. The first time it was not tight enough and I kept my hand under her. I would say it takes a few times to get it just right to feel comfortable enough to go completely hands free. I haven't figured out to nurse Avery in it, but its easy just to slip her out and pull it over to nurse on the go. I absolutely love the wrap. This wrap is actually made by boba there was a name change somewhere along the lines but it is the same as the ones they currently sell. I have never used anything else so the only thing I am comparing it to just my two hands or car seat. So obviously the wrap wins hands down. This made going to class so easy I gave birth mid semester and took her to the last 3 lectures and she was so comfy and didn't make a peep but to nurse which is easy to do without taking the wrap off. Avery is almost 3 months old and I can see how a different style may come in handy as she gets bigger so I am definitely looking into some other types of carriers. For now though I love this one. I am so thankful for Conner's therapist for giving this to me it was the best thing I never thought to ask for.   What type of carrier do you use?