Serve it up Sunday!--Greek Quinoa Salad

I am constantly searching for new recipes and ideas to try in the kitchen!  I am also looking for fun, easy and healthy things to prepare for the workweek to make lunches a breeze!  You see, I am "that" girl at work.  I rarely buy my lunch from the school cafeteria (unless it is homemade chicken pie day!) When I sit down for a lunchtime meeting and look around the table, I see sandwiches, leftovers and school lunches in front of my coworkers.  I typically pull out a container filled with a grain-based salad, varieties of chicken salad, or a wrap of some sort.  "How do you have time to prepare that lunch each day?" my friends ask.  The secret?  I do 90% of my prep work on Sunday afternoon and I eat the same thing for lunch several days in a row.  I prepare the ingredients, store them in glass containers and just mix it up or roll it up (if it's a wrap) the evening before!  It makes the mornings less stressful and ensures that each family member gets the things they like in their lunch (i.e. I don't mix tomatoes into the bowl since hubby doesn't eat them!).  I get so many questions and comments about my lunch each week, that I thought I would start sharing recipes and ideas with you!  So, here you have it--Serve it up Sunday!


Week 1: Greek Quinoa Salad


If you have never tried quinoa before, you should!  It is a yummy grain that is easy to cook and mixes well in many dishes.  It is full of protein, too! The key to using Quinoa is to rinse it first. Use a fine mesh strainer to rinse!

This is multicolored quinoa--you can buy it in bulk at our local food co-op  (bonus if it is bulk food discount day!).  You can also find quinoa in the grocery store near the grains (rice, noodles, couscous) usually in a box and only one color.

Then cook your quinoa as follows: Measure out 1 cup of Quinoa and rinse.  In a medium sized pot, stir together rinsed quinoa and 2 cups of water.  Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 15 minutes. You know it is ready when the quinoa plumps up and the little "tails" pop out!

While the quinoa is cooking, I get to work chopping!  I use the same basic ingredients that you would find in a Greek salad, minus the lettuce:

Chop:

 1 large cucumber (I peel it first for The Reporter!) 

About 4 medium Roma tomatoes (or a handful of cherry tomatoes, OR a large slicing tomato, OR whatever happens to be in our CSA box!)

Half of a red onion (more or less for your preference)

Add in:

a handful of crumbled feta cheese (Yes, this is one time I indulge in a bit of dairy.)

either a small can of sliced black olives or sliced kalamata olives (Just depends on what is in the pantry)

Once the Quinoa has cooked and cooled a bit, I stir it into the chopped veggies and cheese.  Then I dress the whole bowl to taste with a little olive oil (1-2 Tbsp--man, I hate to measure!), Red wine vinegar (again, I don't measure, but I would estimate about 1 Tbsp), a splash of lemon juice, salt, pepper, and oregano.  I taste as I go and start off conservatively--then I can add if I need to!

Since the quinoa is full of protein (8 grams per cup) and you can add veggies to your liking, I consider this a main course.  I usually pair it with a side of fruit and a bit of chocolate (of course) for a delicious lunch!  Quick, easy and keeps wonderfully in the fridge for a few days, so you can just dish it up as you need it, or pre-package it in your lunch containers on Sunday and just grab and go in the morning! Yum!

Next week, I have a kiddo lunch idea planed! One of the Reporter's favorites--she is helping with the photo shoot!

And. . . if breakfast has you stumped and you need a quick grab-and-go something, check out my friend's blog for a yummy granola bar recipe! De-lish!

Lots of happenings around here since I last posted. . . earthquake, hurricane, Reporter went back to school, craft projects completed, quilting progress made. . . lots of updates to blog about this week!  Stay tuned!

Friday Finds!--Taking it Back to the Old School!

It's the most wonderful time of the year, right? Well, if you are a school supply junkie like me, then yes!  The smell of new crayons, the feel of a brand new pencil in hand, the possibilities in front of me when I open a yet-to-be-filled composition book. . . .I'm such a nerd!

This week, teachers in our area returned to work to set-up classrooms and prepare to meet a new group of students to guide through a year of "love, laughter and learning" (my school's motto).  As teachers, some of us are reluctant to give up our freedom of summer and return to the long days of teaching, meetings, meetings and more meetings.  Ultimately, though, we are returning to what we love--children who are hungry for learning.  These children will return next week with enthusiasm (we hope) and excitement about a new school year!

Today's Five Friday Finds encourage just that--excitement about a new school year and the promise of new possibilities.  I have found 5 ideas to help you celebrate the start of a new school year.  Whether you are a teacher, parent, or friend of a student, check these out for some inspiration!  I know they inspired me! What's more? Many of the websites links take you to a whole host of ideas for school and many of them contain FREE printables!!  Woo hoo--every teacher's favorite word!

These will be featured in The Reporter's FIRST GRADE (!!) classroom as a welcome back snack!!

link

What could be better than a new calculator?!

link

I love a note in the lunchbox and this one serves as a sandwich wrap!

link

Free printables, here and some great ideas for how to use them!

link

Midafternoon sugar-rush anyone?

link

Not only should you celebrate your favorite kiddo, but teachers like "Welcome Back" gifts, too!  I have something special in the works for The Reporter's new classroom teachers. . . stay tuned!

Happy Weekending!

What's Cooking?

As I have mentioned before, I love food!  I love to cook, eat, and read about food.  So you can imagine my frustration when my oven decided to stop working a few weeks ago.  Here in the heat of the summer, I must admit, I do not use my oven often. We live in a very old house with poor insulation and a kitchen that feels like it is centered on the Equator for most of the summer.  However, when the oven went, my whole kitchen seemed to close down.  It didn't matter that I still had the stove top to use or even the microwave.  I just quit cooking.  I could sense the frustration from the hubby and honestly I missed creating in the kitchen, so I decided to do something about this.

I bought a toaster oven.  Yep.  No need to fix the oven at this point in the summer, so I opted for a smaller, cooler appliance that could serve our needs until it cools enough to worry about the oven for Fall cooking.  And you know what?  I got my kitchen groove back.  That's right.

Now we're cooking!  And just in time, too!  It is the time of year to "Clean out the Garden".  You know the feeling. . . you have cooked squash and zucchini every imaginable way--grilled, fried, sauteed, on pizza, in casserole. . . and if you see another squash any time soon, you might go crazy.  So imagine your surprise when you are cleaning in the garden and lift up those giant squash leaves to find this:

Bottom: average size zucchini
Top: GIGANTIC zucchini

I guess this guy was hiding before we went on vacation and once we returned, he was gargantuan!  Not only was he hiding, but there was obviously a game of hide and seek going on in the squash patch, as I found 2 others this big, if not larger later in the week!  Now typically, I would share this bounty with our chickens, but a few years ago I found a fantastic recipe for both zucchini cookies and zucchini brownies that The Reporter begs for.  Yes, you heard me. A six year old that begs for zucchini!

So I took this guy and his friends inside and ran them through the food processor, measured out 3 cups at a time and bagged them up for future use!

Four of the 12 bags of zucchini now nestled in my deep-freezer

I saved out enough to whip up a batch of zucchini brownies with a twist--I decided to try out my cupcake making skills and poured the batter into muffin tins, adjusted the time accordingly and whipped up some dairy-free icing. As you can see, all those sleepless nights nursing and watching "Cupcake Wars" is paying off--I've never iced a cupcake so well!

I still had just enough zucchini left to whip up some yummy spiced zucchini muffins adapted from this recipe over at Real Simple.  (I used whole wheat pastry flour and added in 1/4 c flax seed and 1/4 c wheat germ) 

Do you think they were a hit?

The Little Guy can't get enough of these!!

So, if you are about "squashed-out" try one of these tasty recipes now or freeze some shredded squash and enjoy them later! 

Zucchini Brownies

This recipe is adapted from the book "Simply in Season--a World Community Cookbook" Compiled by Mary Beth Lind and Cathleen Hockman-Wert. If you enjoy fresh, local foods, it is well-worth the small investment. The book is divided by seasons and the recipes feature foods that are available in each season.

 I hardly ever follow a recipe as it is written, so I have changed it to reflect how I make these.

Combine in a large bowl:
1 3/4 cup Whole Wheat Pastry Flour 1/3 cup baking cocoa
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt 1/4 cup flax seed  and 1/4 cup wheat germ
Stir in:
2-3 cups shredded zucchini

In a separate bowl, combine and beat with a fork:
1 egg

  (if you want to make these vegan, you can use 1/2 c applesauce!)
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup coconut milk yogurt (You can use regular yogurt, but I wanted them to be dairy-free!)
1/2 cup oil
1 tsp vanilla

Stir wet mixture (sugar, egg, etc) into zucchini/flour mixture.

Spread evenly in a 9x13 inch pan or divide evenly into a muffin tin to make cupcakes

Sprinkle the following on top of batter:
1/2 to 1 cup semisweet or mint chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional) 

Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean (35-40 minutes) 

For cupcakes/muffins: Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

Chocolate Icing:

1/2 c butter or vegan butter substitute

8 Tbsp cocoa

~3 c confectioner's sugar

1/3 c milk, almond milk, or coconut milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

Melt butter and stir in cocoa.  Add sugar and milk while mixing at low speed, alternating wet and dry ingredients until desired consistency is formed.  Stir in vanilla extract. Pipe onto cupcakes using a pastry bag. (Adapted from Hershey's cocoa box)

And while we are on the subject of food, stay tuned for some yummy lunch ideas that we enjoy around here during the school year!

Now, I need ideas for all these peppers. . . 

One Little Word

Have you heard of this concept?  This idea of "One Little Word"?  I discovered this movement early in 2011 when a blogger and artist that I love held a contest, a give-away based on the idea of "One Little Word".  Since then I have heard it mentioned on several blogs as well as on a popular Christian Radio Station.

The idea is that YOU choose One Little Word to guide you through the year.  A word that inspires you, motivates you, leads you through times that are tough or wonderful.  You keep your eyes, mind and heart fixed upon that word and when you need lifting up or reviving, then you focus on YOUR One Little Word.

Lately, I have been thinking a lot about my One Little Word this year, especially with the summer winding down and my return to work just days away.

Celebrate

That's my One Little Word, and a powerful word it is.  I have read about people who have chosen faith-based words/ideas for their One Little Word--faith, hope, pray.  And while I, too believe in and reflect on those words, I felt like "Celebrate" was a fitting word for 2011.  You see, I tend to dwell on the negatives, the what-ifs, the have-nots, could'ves, should'ves, would'ves, and all their cousins and kin.  It is so easy to see the things you are missing or longing for.  But this year, I wanted to help turn that negativity around into celebrating everyday--big things, small things, normally insignificant things, everything. . .

As the summer draws to a close, I am sad to think about losing long days with my babies eating popsicles and swinging beside the chicken coop.  I am quick to focus on the fact that I should have taken more time to clean the house this summer or regret not taking more day-trips to "fun places" with my little loves.  In fact yesterday, I had a little pity party about my lack of me-time this summer--no not for a pedicure, a massage, or a girl's weekend away.  Just a chance to clean the house, get organized and feel human again.  Yet, as I drove alone this morning, sans radio noise and children in the backseat, I thought about all the things I should celebrate about my summer.  I have two wonderfully healthy children that I have been able to spend lots of time with watching them grow and learn and love.  I have been able to make time to exercise (with children in tow) in order to complete several triathlons and inspire others through teaching fitness classes.  I have tended a weedy garden that has provided us with yummy goodness each time we visit the backyard.  I have dusted off my sewing machine, and my sewing skills, to produce some fun and wonderful handmade gifts.  I have gotten a jump start on some Christmas gifts (gasp) that I would otherwise be making in the Eleventh Hour on December 24th.  I have spent valuable time with my husband as we have grown together as parents and partners.

I really could go on and on and on about things I could celebrate this summer--it really has been great--short, but great.  So, I enter into these last few days of rest with a renewed spirit.  A spirit that may not get the floors mopped before Thursday and still has piles of clothes to mend.  However, my spirit is full of love for my children and husband that I have spent quality time with this summer, laughter from our many adventures, and hope for many wonderful summers to come.  I will continue to celebrate these feelings until summer closes it's door and the rush of Fall blows in.

Then, I will find more to celebrate each and everyday--celebrating my many blessings in this wonderful life.  The power of One Little Word is remarkable, isn't it?

What's YOUR One Little Word?  It isn't too late to embrace one. . . .

Friday Finds! Get Your Knit On!

Do you knit or crochet?  Do you know someone who does? If so, please join me in a bit of charity knitting!

I made a resolution to do some charity knitting each month this year, whether it is a baby hat for the local hospital, a prayer shawl for a friend in need, or a dishcloth for our Threads of Hope ministry at church.  Sometimes, I get so excited about a project for myself (or my sweet babies) that I forget to share this wonderful gift with others.  However, my resolution has made this year different and I have enjoyed each project (not to mention it is a fabulous way to use up stash yarn!)  So I am asking you to join me in this challenge!

Click for Babies is working to inspire knitters and crocheters to come together to make sweet little purple hats for babies as part of an awareness program that addresses The Period of Purple Crying.  The hope is that new parents will be sent home with information to help them cope with this stressful period of infancy along with a handmade purple hat.

My personal goal is to knit at least 5 purple hats to donate (I donated 5 in 2010, as well).  One of my favorite local yarn shops is collecting hats to be donated until October 15.  Won't you join me in knitting or crocheting a few hats for this wonderful project?  Need some inspiration?  Check out my Five Friday Finds this week--Links to Five FREE hat patterns to get you started!

Baby Berry Hat

Little Sister Hat

Preemie Hats for Charity

Perfect Fit Baby Hat

Lazy Daisy Turban

And if you need more inspiration, check out Ravelry for more patterns than you could ever dream of! 

Specifics about the hats being collected can be found on the Click for Babies page, along with information about where to send finished hats. You can also follow The Period of Purple Crying on Facebook!

Have a Fabulous Weekend and Happy Knitting!

Coming Clean

So, Worldwide Breastfeeding Week has come and gone, and in true fashion, I fell behind in my posting. I had two or three additional posts planned, but as I mentioned before, why highlight breastfeeding once a year?  Why not talk about it year-round?  So perhaps those posts and stories will appear at a later date, but for now, I will wrap up what I started last week. 

Now where was I?

Oh yes.  I was saying that the hubby and I felt certain that if we were blessed with another baby, he or she would surely accept a bottle, right?  Well. . .  The Little Guy proved right away that he would be a champion nurser, knowing  just what to do.  Again, I was blessed with enough milk to feed a small village, so I began freezing milk for my return to work.  A few weeks after The Little Guy was born we decided to introduce both a bottle and a pacifier. (The Reporter was a lover of the pacifier.  She never left home without it.  It was our saving grace when I was away since she wouldn’t accept a bottle.  As a Speech and Language Pathologist, I was mortified to admit that she still used a pacifier after her second birthday, but she eventually gave it up/lost it and moved on.)  Breastfeeding was well established at that point and I had no fear of confusion, only fear of preference.  Once again we tried multiple bottles and multiple scenarios to encourage The Little Guy to accept the bottle, but had zero luck.  He was just as determined and feisty as his sister in that department.  Once again, I had no choice but to return to work.  Again I was blessed with a boss (a different one this time, and she in fact did not have the experience of feeding a little one) who welcomed my son to work twice a day to feed.  I nursed in the school parking lot, my office, the guidance counselor’s office and even the assistant principal’s office.  I worked each and every meeting and student around my strict schedule to feed and can honestly say that I didn’t miss a single appointment all year to feed The Little Guy.  I was able to support my argument for feeding on campus by pointing out that the time required to set-up, pump, store milk and clean pump parts would take longer than actually nursing on-site.  Fortunately, I was able to cite my previous experience with The Reporter to support our needs, as well.  I never advertised the fact that I had twice daily dates with The Little Guy, but little by little people began to notice my daily trek to the back parking lot.  I was often faced with questions about my little visitor and I openly talked to my co-workers about my decision to breastfeed and the roadblocks we had faced.  (If you read my dairy-free post, you know that bottle refusal and oversupply were not our only issues this time—we had a dairy and soy sensitivity to attend to, also.)  Yet again, I persevered, we addressed needs as they came up and we took each day as it came with the big picture in mind.

What is the big picture, though?  The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends at least one year of breast milk while the World Health Organization pushes for two.  However, many moms don’t make it to either of those milestones for a variety of reasons.  Returning to work, a dwindling supply, a fussy baby, an unsupportive spouse. . . so many factors can impact a nursing relationship.  Sometimes, though it seems rare, a mother does in fact make it to a child’s first birthday with a strong nursing relationship intact.  What then?

 Now that The Little Guy has celebrated his first birthday, the questions have begun.

“How long are you going to do THAT?”  

“Isn’t it weird to nurse a baby with TEETH?” 

“Don’t you want to have your body back?”

And then you get the comments. . .

“Once they can ask for IT, it is time to stop.”

“You should wean soon, so he won’t be so dependent on you.”

In my typical “people-pleasing” fashion, I smile and nod and don’t say much, but deep down inside I want to tell these well-meaning “advisors” how I really feel.  I want to tell them that I will nurse my child as long as it is mutually agreeable, whether that is 6 months or 16 months, or longer.  I want to tell them, “No it isn’t weird to nurse a baby with teeth, nor does it hurt since babies don’t use their teeth to nurse”.  My body is just fine, thank you—I can run half-marathons and complete triathlons while nursing, as long as I hydrate properly.  I want to ask what they consider “asking for IT” means, since the last time I checked a screaming, hungry newborn baby was indeed “asking for IT”. I want to point out that nursing does not make a child “dependent”, weak, or immature —Just ask basketball great Michael Jordan.  He nursed until he was three.  On my snarkiest days I want to respond with, “Hello?  Give up these nursing boobs, the extra 500 calories burned per day, and the absence of a monthly headache for up to a year?  Are you crazy?”  But I don’t.  I just smile and nod.  Why?  Because I feel judged when I admit to still nursing my children past their first birthday.  It isn’t “normal” or status quo.  So I go about my business in secret, being very elusive in my answers to friends and family.  However, it’s time to come clean. 

Yes.  I nurse my babies past their first birthday.  I sure do.  I don’t feel that there is some “magic” age that babies stop needing breast milk.  How is day 366 of a baby’s life that different than day 365 as far as nutritional needs go? 

So, I’m not putting a date on the calendar and worrying over when to “stop”.  Instead I am drinking in every minute with my little one curled in my arms, watching long lashes fall on chunky cheeks, and thanking God for this opportunity because I realize I have been so very blessed.

Got Milk?

World Breastfeeding Week Continues!  Did you miss my first post? Here I am for the second installment in our "Adventures in Breastfeeding"! This one is about some roadblocks we experienced, what we learned along the way and why it is worth it to persevere!

As new parents, life with the Reporter was all that we envisioned and more--crying, crying and more crying (and that was just me!), sleepless nights, and loads of laundry.  However, breastfeeding seemed to be the bright spot in all the cloudy days of new-parenthood.  It was the one thing that I felt confident in until about week three when we hit our first roadblock--oversupply.  I will spare you the details, but you should know that oversupply results in TONS of extra bags of frozen milk--a big plus when you are thinking about how you will escape from this screaming being at some point for more than 2 hours at a time.

I was giddy with excitement, thinking that I would have an incredible freezer-stash when I returned to work or just wanted to go get a few highlights in my hair to bring back some color to my life (besides the dark circles under my eyes).  However, that would require a baby that would accept milk from a BOTTLE.  Well, what was I thinking?  The Reporter would have NONE of that.  Yep, roadblock number 2.  And before you ask, yes, we tried EVERY trick in the book short of drilling a hole in her pacifier and hooking up a feeding tube. I would leave for extended periods of time (more than 2 hours in mommy-speak), thinking that she would surely get hungry enough to take milk from a bottle. "No baby will starve themselves to death," older women would tell me.  Well, obviously they had not met my little love.  I would return after a brief hiatus to screams and tears and an overly hungry baby.  Next up, The hubby tried holding the bottle under his arm to feed her, as if to simulate the position of breastfeeding.  Um, no.  Not happening.  We even went as far as to have me wear a shirt prior to the feeding, let the hubby put the shirt on to feed The Reporter and hope that he smelled enough like me to make her calm and encourage feeding.  Again, no go.  Luckily, I worked with a woman at that time, that had dealt with a similar situation.  She helped me to realize that some babies just have a preference, and you are it.  She was able to use a medicine cup to feed her girl, if push came to shove, but I knew that a medicine cup would only help so much.

We were a two-income household.  I HAD to return to work and I couldn't let my baby starve all day while I was away.  Again, luck was on my side.  I was able to take a position that allowed my sweet, strong-willed child to come in to feed every 3 hours.  At first, I was worried that it would impact my productivity and scheduling of students/clients.  However, after the first few weeks we got into a great routine and I looked forward to each feeding because it meant that I got to reconnect with my baby and take a minute to breathe during an otherwise busy day at work.  We were blessed with the fact that my mother and the hubby were able to bring the Reporter to me in the morning and I could drive home for her afternoon feeding between clients.  My employer was completely supportive of this arrangement (It certainly helped that she, too, had nursed her babies--there's that motherhood bond thing again).  Not only did it make my transition back to work smoother (hello, seeing your new baby twice a day and having a bath in oxytocin as you nurse), I was happier and more productive because I didn't spend time *thinking* about being with my baby all day.  I also missed less work because I had a super-healthy girl (I didn't miss any sick days for her in her first year of life!).  It was a win-win situation all the way around.

Unfortunately, there was still that little issue of no more than X-number of hours away from my baby at a time.  This didn't allow for more fun-time for mommy or any date-nights away.  But, you know what? I survived.  WE survived.  And in the the grand scheme of things, it was a blink in time.  Sure, it was tough and there were times that I wanted to just spend A DAY ALONE, for ME.  But I also knew that I was doing something that no one else could for my girl, and that made it all worth it.  And the best news was, as she got older the feedings could stretch out more and more and more, allowing for more time for me to take care of me and an occasional date or two!

We made it!  And we just knew that when we decided to have another child, that surely that one would take bottles!

 Right?!

I Make Milk. . . What's Your Superpower?

That's the phrase that started this new world of blogging for me.  I posted it as my Facebook status when The Little Guy was a few weeks old and the response was unbelievable.  Multiple "likes" and comments within minutes resulted in the Hubby challenging me to write a blog.  So here I am.  As soon as I started writing, the Hubby began to ask, "So when are you going to blog about your superpower since that's what started it all?" I thought it over and realized that I have so much to say about breastfeeding--the importance, the benefits, and my personal experiences.  I wanted to save it all up for this week--"World Breastfeeding Week"!  Last week on a road trip the Hubby and I were talking (I was knitting while he drove) about what I might include during a week of blogging about breastfeeding.  I had it all planned out in my head and along came day 1 and life happened--there were toys to play with, corn to shuck and freeze, triathlons to train for, kids to feed. . .

So here I am half-way into World Breastfeeding Week and I haven't blogged a bit about it.  Not one iota.  But then I ask myself, "Why wait until one week a year to celebrate nursing?  Why not talk about it all year long?" Why?  Because for some people this is a very uncomfortable topic.  It brings up guilt, regret, anger, frustration. . . it can be the dividing line in the world of mothering and cause hot debates among friends and in the media.  As I sit here typing, I am filled with the fear that this post will anger a friend or spark a debate.  Honestly, that is not my intention.  I am not writing about breastfeeding to make someone feel guilty--that isn't what motherhood is about--I'm writing about it to raise awareness-- To encourage new moms to stick with it, seek out help and persevere because the benefits are so numerous.

And to share my personal story. You see, breastfeeding is not easy, at least in the beginning.  It is not magical and "all-natural" as it is made out to be in some circles.  Sure, I was blessed with two babies that were quick to latch-on (and stay on and on and on. . . .) in the recovery room post delivery, but the days that followed were filled with frustration and sometimes pain.  Breastfeeding babies is a learned skill, it take patience and practice and does not necessarily come easily to every mother.  In retrospect, I realize just how lucky I have been.  Sure, we had roadblocks--oversupply, teething battles, bottle refusal, and a mommy that went back to work full-time at 4 months and 10 weeks, respectively. However, my babies were both exclusively breastfed from birth--not a drop of formula, ever.  It took patience, practice, perseverance, and support of everyone around me.  My husband and parents were 110% supportive of the decision to breastfeed and never once pressured me to think about an alternative.  Not only that, but I relied on the advice and support of friends that were seasoned mothers who had traveled this path before me and could help me reach my goal of feeding my babies my way.  I never thought to set small goals to reach as far as nursing was concerned ("Well, if I can just make it to 3 weeks, 3 months, 6 months. . . .").  I had the big picture in mind (at least one year) and was determined to make that happen--although the statistics were stacked against me.

So, stay tuned for more posts over the next few days about our "Adventures in Breastfeeding".  Not to make you feel guilty or freak you out, but to raise awareness and celebrate motherhood.