Sometimes, life kicks your butt!

The following post was written over 2 weeks ago... our internet was down for a long time, and, well, I haven't been home much, so this post is a bit late...

I haven't written for a month. Here's why:

4 weeks ago: Mastitis case #1, in addition to plugged milk ducts. NOT fun.
4 weeks ago: jacked my shoulder. It happened sometime during pregnancy, just got worse while lifting my 2 40-lb children, and my 12-lb newborn in his carseat (which I swear adds at least 20 lbs!)
3 weeks ago: my dear, sweet friend whom I have been visiting teaching for the past 5 years passed away. Pancreatic cancer. I was so sad & I miss her very much!
3 weeks ago: 80 lbs of pre-ordered pears arrived. Fortunately, they were still green. And they didn't all ripen at the same time...
3 weeks ago: kids started school. That means summer camp ended & driving time started. Guess what... it's much harder getting everyone ready for the day and out the door, into the car, with a newborn. Having to start meal planning & cooking again has been tricky.
3 weeks ago: No less than SEVEN cold sores popped out. Half on my upper left lip, half on my lower right lip. Horrible.
3 weeks ago: Attended the funeral.
2 weeks ago: Mastitis #2, on the OTHER side, along with more plugged milk ducts. TEN times worse! Almost couldn't even get an antibiotic from my doc because it was too soon after the last case. Cried all day trying to manage the pain of nursing. Decided then & there I needed to wean. Cried even more when realizing that my baby was barely 7 weeks old and I needed to wean him... but having him constantly medicated through my milk was not a good thing for him. Lots of tears that weekend.
2 weeks ago: Fall Soccer for Aspen started up. Games twice a week, practice once a week. At least 2 late nights downtown a week (one game is always on Saturday mornings).
1 week ago: FINALLY finished the last of the pears. 23 quarts & 28 pints later, we will not starve this winter! Of course I still need to do some peaches, but you can bet your britches I will not be doing 80 lbs worth.
Almost 1 week ago: Brysen's Baby Blessing. What a special day it was. But I realize that I didn't even take one single picture that day & felt really bad about that.

Present day: Went back to the gym for the first time after 5 months. Realizing how much my body changed & regressed after a tough pregnancy & child birth.
Present day: tapering off nursing. For some reason, I have the "blessing" of over-producing, so tapering off is quite difficult because I feel constant engorgement. I think I finally have it under control, and nurse (or pump, depending on baby's schedule) about every 5-6 hours. It seems to be going much better- I just wish I had a good nursing bra. I went shopping for one a few weeks ago and NO stores carry them. Not even Dillards, who have an entire back corner of their store devoted to lingerie. Apparently you have to shop for those online. Seriously, who wants to buy a bra online??

Silver linings on the cloud:
-Mastitis finally gone, let's hope for good!
-I have a wonderful husband who has been really patient with me this past month, helping me in any way he can even though this is his busiest time of year. Times Ten this year, considering his boss just retired & Jim is absorbing a lot of the extra workload.
-Many great friends in our ward & family have been so helpful, there is no way I could have gotten through all this on my own.
-I have wonderful children who are so sweet. Aspen is a BIG help and loves to help take care of Brysen. And having Madi in school again is really a blessing- she is back with her therapists and getting the attention she has needed all summer to work on her goals... attention that I was not able to give her while trying to take care of Brysen in survival mode.