A Bitter Battle, Reasons to Smile, and Nursing

A BITTER BATTLE:

Doug and I are moving to Pocatello, Idaho, as I've mentioned. But when are we going? If you talk to Doug, he'll say he'd like to go ASAP and if you talk to me, I'll give you a pained look and say I'd like to put it off until August when Doug's job begins so I can hang out with my family this summer. So there's the rub. We've discussed and discussed and discussed and it's still a tough one. We've done a lot of research, talked to lots of loan officers and real estate agents (and by that, I mean I've looked at houses and talked to two loan officers--Doug's done everything else) and we've decided on the right loan officer and real estate agent for us. Doug will go up to talk with them and look at houses on Monday, and I'll go with him again on Friday.

REASONS TO SMILE:

Behold our lovely day at the park. I realize that this blog is disproportionately focused on Lucy and her cuteness, but she's my new toy, so there ya go.

Behold my other reason to smile:

With the women in these pictures (and other women who I wish were there as well!) I grew up. My freshman year of college was a roller coaster--sometimes joyful, sometimes painful, usually pretty funny. And my beloved friends took that ride with me. A quote in one of the recent Ensigns discusses how one woman realized she was annoyed with the imperfections of the people around her, rather than delighted to go through life surrounded by people she loved. I love that examination, and cherish these dear friends with whom I grew. Christine, I know it was tough to fly across the country with your daughter, without your spouse, and you gave us such a tremendous gift in coming to spend time with us. Mary Ann, you have GOT to keep these visits up! I love that I've gotten to see you every few months. Lindsay, you and I both know we're fired. And to the rest of my freshman women, I adore you too!

AND NURSING:

I apologize to my male readers for this section, but I have recently been called to repentance for not sharing my knowledge regarding nursing. So here it is:

1) Buy your nursing bra at Motherhood if you miss your Victoria's Secret bras. The Motherhood bras are seriously comparable, with slight padding (which means, among other benefits, that leaking isn't devastating) and underwire. The bras are under $20, I think, and come in a variety of colors.

and 2) Lily Padz are okay. You can also buy them at Motherhood, and while they aren't perfect (you'll still leak a little), they work fine and it's better than having cardboard boobs for a year.

I know this was long, but I feel like I need to get this all "out there" before Doug's graduation and the turn toward our move. Can you believe that Spellcheck doesn't acknowledge "underwire" as a legitimate word? Oddsfish.