Almost a year...

In about three weeks it will officially be a year since we moved to England.
A year!
It has flown by at times.
I don't know where to start this post to be honest.
I apologize for being so absent...I think I got overwhelmed with the prospect of updating here with all sorts of information about moving to the UK etc.
I think I will just leave it up to you dear reader. If you have any questions, feel free to email me and I will do my best to answer them.
For now, I will move forward and use this space just for everyday musings again. About our day to day life here in the UK.

I hope you all have been well xoxoxo

PS: I am heading to Switzerland for a very short (but sweet) visit soon, and can't wait to share some photos of my adventures from there. 

Things to consider...

I guess my second post about us deciding to move to the UK should be about the things we considered in making that big decision.

If you have been following my blog, you are well aware of us wanting to move to Europe (specifically Switzerland) for a number of years now (going on four!). We have sacrificed a lot to get to this point and have done extensive research. When we first decided to move overseas, we gave up our house in NB, sold most of our furniture, packed the rest in storage and moved to ON and rented out half of my mom's house while Justin went back to school to get his teaching degree. Ever since he graduated, he has been applying to international schools in Switzerland....and later we included Germany as well. The full time teaching jobs in ON are very hard to come by if you don't speak French...and you are lucky to get on the supply list at this moment in time. We were even up for moving to the Yukon. England entered our world a couple of years ago when Justin got an offer for supply work in London (that we turned down). That offer though, made us research the UK and be open to it if the right opportunity came along....which it did! :)

Hey, at least now we are in easier (and cheaper!) travel distance to Switzerland ;)

Once we were given the details of where exactly we would be living, I went on an internet research binge....thank you internet...you are a handy dandy machine!

I researched the area extensively...even found a blog from a fellow Canadian that recently moved to the area we would be living! I emailed her and she was ever so kind and helpful...answered all my questions and more! It was really helpful to get an actual insiders perspective on the area.

So here is my list, in no particular order, of what we researched before deciding to take the plunge and move to the UK that you might find useful in your plans:

* Research the area extensively....Find the city online newspaper, try to find blogs about it, instagram users...anyone that might be able to give you an insiders perspective about living there. Use common sense, you will come across the tourist page which will paint the area in nothing but a positive light, and you will come across the jaded people as well. Find the balance of what is important to you in an area and take everything with a grain of salt!

* We already knew about the school, so we didn't overly have to research that part for the kids, something to keep in mind though! We also looked at the daycare available in the area.

* What amenities are in the area? Swimming pools, grocery stores etc....

* Transportation....Is everything easily accessible without a car (since we will not have one over there).

* Are there houses/apartments for rent regularly in the area (and the average cost of those)?  I LOVE Rightmove UK ! It has come in so handy!

* Will groceries and things in general be affordable? Check what grocery stores are around your area and look them up online....check their flyers and maybe do an online grocery shop to find out what your weekly grocery bill might be.

* We checked online about basic costs of utilities, phones, taxes, etc... The UK GOV website was beyond helpful with tax information and all that other fun stuff adults have to know.

Basically we wanted to know if we could live on the income that Justin will be bringing home until I am able to find some part time work. It was really important to us to not dip into our savings at all with the move, and with all our planning, we wont have to. The sale of our car and the relocation money that the school is providing us with, should cover all our costs: (which is another thing to consider when moving overseas).

-Flights & train tickets
-Shipping over a few things (12 boxes to be exact)
-Up front rent (rental fees and first and last month and any extra costs)
-Start up utility costs
-New phones
-First large grocery trip to restock all the essentials
-Felix's school uniform (we need one for him right away...and note, in England even public schools have uniforms!)
-Basic furniture (we checked if the Ikea delivers to our area (it doesn't :( ) but there is an awesome second hand furniture store right in town and also Asda)
-Stocking up again on all the electronic basics (iron, computer cord, toaster, coffeee maker, vacuum etc)

It can all add up very quickly!!! It is crazy when you start to write it all down.
I hope this has helped you a bit if you are planning a big move overseas, or was at least a bit interesting even if you are not! :)

In the next post, I plan on writing about how we have been preparing for the move over the last little while, steps you can take to prepare for a big overseas move to make it go smoother. 

It is official!

I can finally say it out loud (and write about it!)...we are moving to England!

We are moving this August to a seaside town in Lincolnshire county, about five hours outside of London. Justin signed a two year full time teaching contract with an awesome school.

We are over the moon excited and have been preparing for this move for a few months now. I think I will break up a big blog post into a few covering different aspects of the move and applying for a permit/visa for Justin etc and the whole process in general. I think that would be best, instead of having one epic blog post that has way too much information in it :)

I guess I will start with how this all came about!

We had literally 24 hours beforehand accepted our fate of spending at least another year (or two) here in town (which wasn't bad, just not what we wanted, since there are no full time teaching positions to be had for a newly non-french speaking teacher in Ontario). We had even discussed finally giving in and buying a television (ours broke a year ago or so and we never replaced it, watching most things we like on the laptop). I think in our minds, buying a brand new electronic was like finally admitting that we were not leaving Canada any time soon.

The very next morning, Justin had an email waiting for him from a recruitment agency from the UK. He has his profile set as public on the teacher list in ON and has "interested in working internationally" checked off. The recruitment lady mentioned teaching in the UK and that if he was interested he could email her back and they could set up a phone chat.
He was going to delete the email, when I said that he should maybe do the phone call for practice. It might be good to start getting use to phone interviews.

If you have been reading my blog for a while, you might remember almost three years ago now that he was offered a position in London that he turned down. That is why he was going to delete the email right away, we thought that it was going to be a similar offer (no relocation, supply work, expensive London). Turns out, the interview went amazingly and the offer was completely different...everything we could hope for! :) Relocation help, full time in one class (over summer pay as well), two years, small seaside town far away from expensive London. Don't get me wrong, we are so excited to visit London and I have always thought it was amazing, but after researching the cost of living there, it was not feasible for us to live there.

The whole opportunity just fit us as a family perfectly. The fact that Justin will get a chance to finally teach, and teach full time is absolutely major.
To say that we are excited is an understatement!

I will sign off for now and continue the next blog post on the things we considered before accepting the teaching offer and relocating to the UK.

This moment...

This moment I am...

:: Excited & nervous for what might come...

:: Ready for change...

:: Organizing and donating a lot of things around the house...

:: Feeling good about cleansing our living space...

:: Trying to not be so hard on myself...

:: At peace with the decision we made...

:: Finding a balance...

:: Taking a moment to breathe and take it all in...

:: Nursing a very sick little Uli bear....crazy high fevers are no fun!

:: Being patient with our newly five!!! year old...do they ever stop talking incessantly? ;)

Little ways we save money...Part Two...

My previous post about the little ways we save money was quite popular, so I thought I would share another...or more so a continuation of what we do daily/weekly/monthly to save money. These are in no particular order...just what sprang to my mind at the moment...

~cloth diapering & diapering in general...we use both cloth and disposables. The cloth I had from when Felix was a baby and some were given to us second hand and some as gifts. I like one particular brand especially (Applecheeks) since Felix was a baby. They have great re-sale value (as in, I made more money back selling them than I did buying them new!). I don't want to turn this into a cloth diapering post though...but I should mention that we rent and don't pay for water...so cloth diapering is even cheaper for us. The disposables that we do buy, we buy no name brands/store brands. They aren't as pretty and as sturdy looking as the name brand one's, but they are soooo much cheaper in the long run. You might score a great sale on the name brand diapers sometimes, but do make sure to compare the price to the store brand one's first...they usually are still cheaper, even when there is a sale. Same goes with baby wipes...no name/store brand. They are fine to use, we have had no leak issues! :)

...which brings me to the next point...

~When grocery shopping we usually buy store brand/no name brands. There are only about a handful of products I refuse to budge on and still buy name brand for (Heinz ketchup...it has to be!). It might seem like no big deal...but an extra ten cents here and there will add up!

~We are part of a points program with our grocery store (President's Choice)...it doesn't cost a penny and you earn points every time you shop there. It goes towards your groceries. Every 1,000 points I believe is a dollar. They will have deals on for certain products to give you for example 3,000 points etc. They will also email you weekly deals to upload to your card...and they usually use products that you already purchase regularly (which I really like!). We used our points (over a $100!) in the Fall on our groceries, and we already have almost $85 saved up again to use towards groceries! I should mention that particular store also sells home products and clothes etc...so you can always use your free money towards that too!

~Speaking of President's Choice...we also use their banking. Absolutely no monthly/yearly fees and free cheques! We were with a different bank before that was charging us almost $13 a month each for our chequing accounts! That is a lot of money going down the drain a month! 13x2=26...26x12=312...$312 that could be saved a year...by just switching to a no fee bank!

~Since we live in an apartment, we have washers and dryers in the basement...that you have to pay for...Our landlord is awesome and allowed us a portable washer for our cloth diapers. We very rarely, if ever, use the dryers downstairs. They are $1.50 per cycle...again, seems like a little bit of money, but in the long run adds up...if we dried our laundry twice a week at two cycles each...equals $6 a week....$288 a year...on just drying clothes. So we hang everything up to dry. We bought two fold up drying racks from Ikea and they are always in use. It honestly takes usually less than a day to dry. We have gotten so use to it. We can even pat ourselves on our backs for being environmentally friendly! :)

That is all my brain can think of at the moment...I'm sure I will come up with more...so stay tuned for a part three! Happy saving!

Hello 2016...

This is the first new year that I officially have no idea what it will bring...I hope for good things...I have my fingers and toes crossed.

We celebrated New Year's eve with copious amounts of Chinese food and watching "Back to the Future" while both little one's slept...it was a good night. The next day we headed to the Toronto zoo...which started out a bit rough, but ended with a lovely thick snowflake winter wonderland...which was absolutely lovely and calming...perfect really.

I am excited and scared of what the new year will bring us. Last year, I feel, was all about getting our money in order. The last few years (since we moved to NB and then back to ON) our finances took a big hit...we had a rough three plus years. This past year we finally feel in control again and have been able to set up not one, but two saving accounts. I feel very proud of us, and it feels good to be back in control of everything. We lost a lot that first year being new parents, with Justin going back to school, with moving provinces, not once, but twice! It's been hard staying in one place, but financially we are better for it. We built a nest egg that we hope to add to for years to come...and damn it, we sacrificed (still are) for it and worked our butts off! (like I said, I am proud of us :) )

I don't know where we will be at the end of this year...still in this apartment at the same work places? Still in this apartment and Justin being on the supply list finally? Yukon? Germany?
Having more knowledge about the international teaching world, it is a far fetch for us to be in Germany at the end of the Summer, but one can still dream and apply for teaching positions when they come up. The more than likely scenario is right here...with hopefully some supply work added to the mix. Another year or two to save up a bigger nest egg and lay low and safe doesn't sound as stifling as it use to. We have connections here now, friends, family, familiar places we grew up around, routines we enjoy...living in the now (and enjoying it), but never stopping the daydreaming.

I am not huge on New Year's resolutions, but I do want to make a couple things happen this year...

~take more photos (and be in them too)
~blog more (it makes me feel good)
~keep saving!
~finally take care of myself better and get rid of those few little pounds that weigh my mind & confidence down so heavily

I hope you had a good start to the new year...I hope that you are filled with good thoughts and excitement for the coming year too!

One!

A couple of weeks ago we celebrated Uli's first birthday...just a small family gathering....

Our tradition (one I grew up with) of having a birthday table (always with some fresh flowers) has continued...since we have had Felix and Uli, we have also added the tradition of a balloon bouquet...always a hit with the kids :)

 Her cake was pumpkin with cream cheese icing...we kept the decorating minimal...I like to make cakes reflect what the kids are into...for his second birthday cake, Felix had a Thomas the train one, third was Curious George...and last year it was a construction site :) This year I might do a hot wheels cake...it's always so much fun...I am by no means a professional cake decorator...and they do not look like it either ha ha...but the kids love it and they taste good...always a plus!

When we first had Felix we sent out a birth announcement bookmark card...we never did anything like that for Uli...which I felt bad about. So a few months ago, we decided that we would do a special printed card for her first birthday instead...that way each of the kids will have a special print announcement card in their memory boxes. This was made by the Twisted Sister Etsy shop...and we LOVE it...we had a print done on the back as well.

All in all, it was a special day...Happy Birthday Uli Bear! <3

This moment...

This moment I am...

:: Trying to be patient with learning a new crochet project (beginner here and having a heck of a time figuring out instructions!)

:: Excited for this Friday...a day with Justin.

:: Sleepy, but happy.

:: Planning a 1st! birthday...already!?

:: Wanting to steal more chocolate from Felix's Halloween haul...but restraining myself...

:: Being patient with my little one while he learns to print his letters...

Dear Autumn...

...I love you...

Little ways...

I know finances are usually a taboo subject, but I honestly think we need to talk about it more. It doesn't have to be details in numbers, but rather an awareness of how we spend our money and if we are being smart about it all.
Since October of last year, we have lived without credit cards or any kind of credit. We deal with cash only (or interact) and it has been so amazing and eye-opening.
You don't realize how much you rely on and abuse credit until you don't have to deal with it anymore. There has been some slight annoyances with going credit card less...such as booking a hotel and amazon shopping (why??? why do you not take paypal amazon???). Other than a couple of hassles though, it has been freeing.
Since October, we also made up a strict budget that we go by every month, which allows us to actually put money into our savings account every month....something we honestly have never been able to do much of at all. When we lived in Fredericton and we had our son, the whole postpartum depression really hit us hard all around....financially as well. Justin missed a lot of work taking care of us. Work was also hard to come by while we lived up there and did not pay well.
We are finally starting to hit a good stride financially again and it feels pretty damn good.
I thought I would share with you some of the things we do to save money in our household...

Food:
~ We make weekly meal plans (I just write one hot meal down for each day) and make a shopping list to support that list (checking our cupboards first to see what we have and can use up that week as well)

~ Try to make a few of those meals vegetarian to save on meat costs (spaghetti with just plain tomato sauce rather than meat sauce for example)

~ Keep your pantry, cupboards and fridge (anywhere food is kept) cleaned and organized. I wipe down and rearrange our fridge and cupboard every couple of weeks or when needed. This helps me see what we have when making up the meal plan and shopping list. It also helps to not waste food in the fridge that might get forgotten.

~ Old bread (we buy the baguette style or fresh loaves a lot) I turn them into croutons and keep them in a air tight jar. All I do is cut it up into bite size pieces, put in a bowl, drizzle some olive oil over it with some salt & pepper, garlic powder and other spices I feel like that day...spread out on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake at 350 until golden and crisp.

~ We make our own granola...the stuff at the store can be quite expensive....again, all I do is put some quick rolled oats in a bowl (about 2-3 cups), melt some butter and honey with some brown sugar in a pot on the stove together....you can add nuts and seeds that you like to the oats....drizzle over the butter mixture....stir together.....spread on a parchment lined baking tray....bake at 350 until golden. Once it is cooled you can add dried fruits like raisins or cranberries etc... to it. Keep it stored in an air tight container.

~ School lunches for Felix are pretty much homemade things all around...I will buy the unsweetened fruit/veggie combo cups for him and yogurt...and I buy dark chocolate to put in as treats. Cookies and other treats I make homemade though, and I think that saves some money in the long run.

~ If bananas are nearing the end...I cut them up and freeze them for smoothies (I do this with other fruit as well).

Homemade granola bars (before being cut) for school lunches

~ We try really hard not to get take out, but also not deprive ourselves...we love food...it's our entertainment ;) BUT it helps to keep track of these habits so you don't go crazy.

We do write down every single thing we buy in a month...even if it's a dollar stamp or a pop from the corner store...everything. Every dollar amount that comes in and goes out gets written down.

At the end of the month everything goes in it's certain category and gets totaled up (and then gets put into a spreadsheet on the computer where we can keep track month by month how we have improved etc). This just helps us become aware. I think being aware of where your money is actually being spent each month is HUGE....and a lot of people don't realize their spending habits.
We are guilty of it...I remember one month we were wanting to go out for food and we mentioned how good we've been this month with our take out budget, how we deserve this treat etc etc (this was near the end of the month). I quickly tallied our take out total for the month from our spending list and we saw that we had spent almost $200!!! that month already!!! (We didn't go out, needless to say)...it adds up so fast! We don't go to fancy places...but $25 here and $10 there...an ice cream trip here....it can add up so fast! (and can easily get forgotten!) So honestly, as annoying as it sounds, writing down everything helps so so so much!!! Trust me. Nothing makes you feel quite as ashamed as realizing that you spent $80 on family ice cream trips in one month (seriously).

I think I will end this post for now...but continue it another day with more ways I try to save money around the house and with our budget.

New Look...

I just wanted to say a quick thank you to Swiss Lark for bringing to my attention the lovely Angela from The Sunday Studio and her awesome graphic design Etsy Shop! 

I love how the blog looks after her revamp...it was so affordable and quick! Makes it such a nice & fresh new space to work in...thank you! 

This Moment...

This moment I am...

:: looking forward to a sushi lunch date with my husband tomorrow (we have a 10 month old tag along, but you  take what you can get ;) )

:: grateful for the cooler weather...

:: So excited for Fall!!!

:: Getting ready for my mom's big 70th birthday this weekend...

:: Trying not to eat ice cream (it's calling to me from the freezer)...

:: Figuring out how to crochet a Christmas stocking...

• 
  

Walking in an Autumn wonderland...

My favourite season is here!!!

Another Reason...

One of many butternut squash that we grew this year in our little rent-a-garden space...

Just wanted to share this article I came across a few weeks ago....

Wishing you a lovely weekend...

Expectations...

I'm 35 years old...I honestly never had expectations for where I would be at in life at this point. I mean, I hoped that I would be happy and stable, but actual goals ticked off...not really. I never felt crazy passionate about a certain career...I think every 9 year old wants to be a veterinarian when they grow up, right? More so in the last 5 years (since having kids...go figure) have we set a clear goal of what we really want out of life. The big thing being a move to Europe.

To further ourselves towards that finish line (and it seems oh so far away still) we gave up a lot...but we also gained a lot and are very lucky. I think I have gotten caught up in societal expectations since having our second child. With one child you can get away with being a bit topsy turfy still in your life...but once you have a second (I think) people start to expect things from you more. This is all my thinking really...I think I just feel this pressure to own a house and be settled somewhere already...to have a career of my own. 

Justin and I had good long talk about all this lately (an ongoing chat I guess ;) )...we've just been struggling lately to just take a breath and enjoy the now (something we struggle with a lot)....this is our life right now....we are living it...we should enjoy it....and stop worrying about where we think we should be...where others think we should be in life...just be in the moment. 

We are lucky. We have a lovely (yes, cramped...errr...cozy!) rented apartment right downtown...a minute walk from an amazing cafe I work at with awesome people. Justin has a good steady job while he is looking for teaching work. Our children are crazy and healthy. We are healthy. We love each other...even on the hard days we can make each other laugh. 

We. Are. Lucky. 

...and I am thankful. 

I am actively going to rid myself of negativity when it creeps in my head...that is my goal for right now. Concentrate on us...the now. Be happy with what we have right now and stop constantly looking ahead and missing what is right in front of me. I know it sounds cliche because we hear it all the time, but it is so very true!

On that note...I wish you all a pleasant (and hopefully cool) Summer evening....

Still hoping...

 I just thoght I would give an update as to where we are at the moment for our moving to Switzerland. We are still hopeful...though some days, I must admit, I feel defeated...

We half hardheartedly applied to some schools this year (for August 2015)...not really making it a main priority for this year due to us having a new baby and also wanting to get some money saved up.

We have been feeling defeated due to the fact that teaching jobs (supply work to begin with) is beyond hard to come by here in Ontario at the moment. Pretty much all international schools in Switzerland want at least 3 years full time teaching experience on your resume to even be considered. It is beyond discouraging. We have been racking our brains on how to get the teaching experience that Justin needs. We are toying around with the idea of moving to the Yukon for a few years. We have done some research and found out that they actually hire full time teachers...the pay is excellent and the area is gorgeous.We did re-think London again to get the teaching experience since they also hire you on full time, but again, money was the main issue. If we weren't a family of four, it would work, but with kids, it just doesn't. The Yukon seems to have a lot of amazing opportunities, both professionally and for family life (lots of new hobbies etc). Housing seems to be really expensive (more than some of the places we looked at for Switzerland!), but it evens out with the pay.

We just want to keep moving forward to our goal of moving to Switzerland, and for that to happen, Justin needs full time teaching experience. If we do end up in the Yukon next year, we will embrace it for as long as we have to....it seems like a beautiful stepping stone to our main goal.
It is exciting to have a possible new adventure on the horizon. We shall see what happens :)

Or maybe we will win a million dollars and be able to move to Switzerland without having to have work lined up already? ;) 

So close...

...to actual Spring time....I can feel it! This photo is from about three years ago...it makes me hopeful :) 

With Spring comes a fresh new start....Spring cleaning and all that other fun stuff.

Plans are being put in motion...lots of fun stuff in the works for us this year and possibly next.

This August I will be taking a short course to become a Montessori teacher's assistant...I am super nervous and excited :) 

I don't plan on using my certificate right away, rather keeping it in my back pocket for when the kid's are both in school. It also might lead to more schooling possibly down the road in (hopefully) Switzerland. 

We are also planning a small weekend trip into Montreal sometime in July possibly. They closed down the Swiss consulate in Toronto last year, so we have to travel to the nearest one in Montreal in order to get Uli's passport. It will be a fun adventure...I have not been there since I was a kid and I don't remember any of it to be honest. 

I am looking forward to warmer weather in general...taking the kids on long creek walks and to the park again....it has been so cold, wet and muddy. 

We are renting a garden plot this year in town (we live in an apartment, so no yard unfortunately). We ordered seeds from  Nimble NiteCap ....I am super excited for these lemon cucumbers to grow this year...apparently you can eat them like an apple? Never heard of them before, so I am super excited!

Image from Nimble NiteCap Etsy shop

Image from Nimble NiteCap Etsy shop

The Garden plot we are renting is local to us and is about 4x45 feet....which is huge! We have it for the whole year and it cost us only $30! We started some seedlings last week already. We had a rented garden plot in Fredericton when we lived there and loved it. I will definitely keep a little garden journal with photos on here this Summer of the progress. 

Here\s hoping to warmer weather and blue skies soon!

My breastfeeding journey...

So, when I had Felix, I tried breastfeeding. I fed him exclusively breast milk the first three days in the hospital. He wanted to be on me constantly....I remember feeding him for 12 hours straight in the hospital while my milk was coming in (so basically he wasn't feeding, more trying to get my milk to come in at that point). I was exhausted. Once we got home with him, it was the same (even after my milk came in)....constantly on me. I couldn't cope. We started supplementing with formula. With Felix I did a combination of breast milk and formula up until he was 3 months old, then exclusively formula fed him. That is what I needed to do to keep myself sane at the time....you can read this post to get a better idea of what I was going through at that time.

I would like to mention at this point that I am pro feeding....breast, bottle, formula etc....whatever works best for you and yours! Let's just feed these babies!

This time around...I am exclusively breastfeeding (is it still called that when we also give her bottles of breast milk?)! It has been an interesting journey so far. 
I did supplement with formula about 7 different times in the first 3 weeks, but that is it. I had always read about "getting over" that initial hard bump of constant feeding and getting your supply established and not supplementing (because it can mess with your initial supply) etc... They say once you hit day 40, you will have established your supply (that will last throughout the entire breastfeeding journey). This actually happened for me! I stuck it out....I think it helped that Justin works nights, so I HAD to get up and feed Uli no matter what....Justin wasn't there to feed her a bottle of formula (and at that time I hadn't started pumping yet, or had enough to pump yet so no breast milk to bottle feed either). It was easier to have her on me when I knew I had no choice....I did have samples of formula in the house, and that is what I used in those first 3 weeks when I was literally weeping from exhaustion (and my midwife suggested it a couple of times when Uli hadn't pooped in a few days at the very beginning). It was definitely exhausting, and I was so sick of having someone on me constantly, but I am happy I stuck to it...it is very easy now that my supply is established and that she only gets up once or twice a night now.

I think it was easier for me to deal with this time around because well, I wasn't dealing with post partum depression this time and I knew what to expect more (the constant feeding at the very beginning).

I am still not that comfortable breastfeeding out and about...I prefer to be covered and have privacy....just my preference...no judgement either way....we should all be able to do what is comfortable for us :)

Some things I found really useful to have around me those first 40 days (and now too) were snacks (easy to eat with one hand works best), lots of water, a phone/computer/book etc....some kind of entertainment for hours....lots of pillows to prop yourself up well and your baby....you don't want a sore back...and believe me, you will spend a long time sitting in one spot. A nursing pillow is super helpful!

 Pumping also helps bring up your supply in those early days...and helps you be able to build a supply for your freezer for later use etc... I bought the above....I got it on sale at Target for $33....it is just a single manual pump....and it works great for me. I had a super expensive double electric pump when I had Felix...it also worked great. I didn't want to spend that kind of money this time around because I wasn't sure how long I would be breastfeeding for etc... This works well for me, I pump twice a day now purely for storage in the freezer for when I go back to work in September and will have to stop breastfeeding. I pump about 2 hours after Uli has gone to bed for her big sleep at night....she falls asleep around 8pm or 9pm and on a good night wakes around 4:30am. I pump around 10:30pm or 11pm both sides....I usually get about 5oz by pumping each side about 8-10 minutes.... after I feed her from one side at 4:30am for example, I will then pump the opposite side (and sometimes the one she just fed off of as well if she didn't feed a lot) \after I have gotten her back asleep. I pump for about 10 minutes and once again get about 5oz. I could technically pump after each feed the opposite side, but I prefer just to do this. They say early mornings are best for pumping large amounts.
My advice is to drink a ton of water always, this helps. I also made up a batch of lactation cookies...you can find a ton of recipes online....main ingredient to look for is brewer's yeast....that helps with supply.

These are the freezer bags I use...very handy to have!

Nursing bras are important for your comfort and easy access for your little one! I found MilkFace to be a great shop for nursing bras. I bought both of mine there when I had Felix and I am using them again this time around.

 You will definitely want some cream on hand to help with soreness...especially at the very beginning when you are figuring out latch etc... I had a lot of pain and bleeding until I figured out how to get a better latch from Uli with the help of my midwife...she also prescribed what I believe might have been Dr. Jack Newman's ointment....which worked wonders!!! I used that and the above cream and they helped so much with pain etc.

 Some resources I found helpful:

https://www.facebook.com/DrJackNewman and https://nbci.ca/index.php

The point of all this was to just share my experience....and it is just mine....yours might be similar or completely different....and that is okay! I just wanted to show and honest look into the whole breastfeeding thing :)
Uli is just over 4 months now....I am not sure how long I will go with breastfeeding...maybe until 6 months, maybe right up until August (I go back to work in September)...we shall see!

What I'm Watching...

With a newborn comes lots of sleepless nights...and I have found myself watching lots of shows & movies lately to keep myself entertained (and awake) while breastfeeding my new demanding boobie monster...ahem.

We don't have cable...just a TV set up with a small DVD player...we like it that way...no commercials to have to deal with, and we find that we don't just have it on as background noise. We just have some DVD's for Felix of shows/movies that he loves (and we loved as kids) and ditto for us. I mostly download shows and movies that I like.

Here are a few that stick out to me of late, that I really enjoyed watching...

 I LOVE Wes Anderson movies...my favourite being The Royal Tenenbaums...The newest of his films being The Grand Budapest Hotel...it is a tight contender for my favourite Wes Anderson movie now....I love the dialogue and as always, the movie's styling...it's beautiful.

Gorgeous cinematography...enough said. (beautiful story....okay, now I'm done)

Holy crap! Sooooooo good and funny!!! Definitely a must watch! I love their friendship...the dialogue between them is hilarious...and the mysteries will keep you guessing for sure.

This show I just find fascinating. I have always been intrigued by the whole upstairs/downstairs English hierarchy thing....if you liked the movie Gosford Park, you will love this show. 

Well, I am off to (hopefully) catch a bit of sleep...I hope this gave you an idea or two of something that might keep you entertained during the cold Winter months.