There’s been a rash of bra-fitting revelations on the internet recently (for a really good laugh check out Mandy’s), where everyone realized wearing a bra in the right size is SO MUCH BETTER. I’ve been thinking about getting fitted for a long time – it’s one of those things I’ve got on my “To Do Now That I’m A Real Grown Up And Stuff” list. But because I’m still nursing I figured I’d have to suffer through a few more months of horrible saggy chesticles before I could upgrade.

And THEN I got an email from Leading Lady that said even though they knew I was weaning Caroline, they loved my blog and thought might enjoy their nursing bras and would I be interested in doing a review?

How about “Yes” and “Hell Yes” and “HOLY COW this might be the best opportunity I’ve ever gotten from blogging.”

I used the size calculator on the Leading Lady site to figure out my size (they even have a cool printable tape measure in case your kids ran off with yours months ago) and told them if we were going for function I could really use something for Stroller Strides but with Valentine’s Day coming up it sure would be nice to have something that wasn’t hideous, pokey, and ripped.

They sent me a Sport Wirefree Nursing Bra and a Lace-Cup Wirefree Nursing Bra. I love them both SO MUCH I actually took pictures of myself wearing them to show you. Then I thought better than to post topless pictures of myself on my baby blog and deleted them. You’re welcome. But I can assure you they make my boobs look awesome. The sport bra really helped control the, uh, bouncing problem I had when it came to jumping jacks at Stroller Strides. It’s the first bra with a full sling (meaning even when you fold the outer part down there’s still fabric across your boob) that I’ve EVER liked – the opening is large enough to nurse without having to yank it all over the place. The lace bra is GORGEOUS and not even the tiniest bit scratchy. It blows the horrible “sexy” underwire nursing bra I bought at a cheap big-box store out of the water. It was so comfortable I even slept in it. I sort of can’t believe I hadn’t heard of Leading Lady before, but will absolutely be ordering from them again.

Leading Lady is a family owned company that’s been selling nursing, maternity and full-figured bras for more than 70 YEARS so they really know their stuff. Their nursing bras range in size from 34B to 48F and their full-figured bras are available from 34A to 56G – which if you ask me includes a lot of women that wouldn’t really like to be considered “full-figured” *ahem ME ahem*. The site offers bras, tanks and sleepwear. They have a great selection – how clever is a nursing bra with a hidden pattern for the baby? You can search by size, type and category, including specialty categories like latex-free and organic. They even have a Breastfeeding A-Z Guide on their site full of really great information. And if you were wondering, I think their prices are extremely reasonable, especially considering what nursing bras from other companies cost. And right now new Facebook fans will receive 10% off by liking Leading Lady between now & Feb. 14, while all fans of Leading Lady can tweet “I Love @LeadingLadyBras” on Feb. 14 and receive a special 10% off code.

Yes, I’m gushing. I promise there was no gushing required when they offered to send me a bra to try (they’re probably super embarrassed by me right now), but I truly can’t help it. I’m so excited to find a company I like so much, has such a great product AND agreed to let me give YOU a free bra!

That’s right, you could win an e-certificate good for one free bra from the Leading Lady collection PLUS free shipping.

Just leave a comment on this post telling me why you NEED a new bra.

For extra entries, you can follow @LeadingLadyBras on Twitter and like Leading Lady on Facebook or you can follow me on Twitter or like bebehblog on Facebook . Just leave a comment telling me what you did (or what you already do). So if you did all five things it would be five comments.

Right now they only ship to the US and can’t ship to P.O. boxes so giveaway is limited to those who qualify (sorry Canadians!) No duplicate comments or cheating of any kind. I’ll draw a winner using Random.org sometime this weekend.

 Disclaimer: Leading Lady provided me with 2 bras so I could give an honest review for my post, all opinions are my own. No other compensation was provided. They didn’t even ask me to include product links or make you like them for the giveaway. Leading Lady is good people.

I was talking to friends a couple weeks ago and although I have no idea how the topic came up, I was SO RELIEVED to hear I’m not the only person who does this.

This is all I’ve got today – I’m trying to, you know, PARENT better.

p.s. Six coins – 72 cents – in my car radio ended up costing $492 in repairs. TODDLERS, MAN.

Happy Friday!

Despite my hair not being cut or colored professionally in the last zillion years, I have been enjoying my calm, flake-free scalp thanks to the shampoo and conditioner Head and Shoulders sent me to review back in the fall.

I’m really enjoying it, especially now, in this terrible below-freezing weather. It’s easy to resist the urge to scratch my head like a monkey in public when it doesn’t itch in the first place. And not worrying about flakes on my extremely glamorous winter uniform of black cardigan over nursing tank is a definitely plus.

Sadly my bottles were getting mighty empty (I suspect my husband has been enjoying a healthy, flake-free scalp from their HydraZinc formula as well,) so when BlogHer asked if I wanted to try a NEW Head & Shoulders shampoo and conditioner combo I jumped at the chance. Especially when I heard it was shampoo and conditioner with a fresh, naturally inspired green apple fragrance.

Personally, I would like if EVERYTHING in life came in a fresh, naturally inspired green apple fragrance. It’s clean and tangy and comforting, and just knowing my hair smells like apples makes me want to toss my hair around like a model.

Toss sniff toss sniff sniff toss.

I’ve been wearing it down more often just so I can smell it. The shampoo’s scent is definitely stronger than the conditioner’s-strong enough to have me taking hits straight from the bottle as a morning wake-up call – but they both smell delicious.

My husband accused me of wearing some sort of man-attracting perfume, even though I was wearing sweat pants and no makeup, so I would say it’s definitely not too floral or feminine to share with a dude.

Just like all the Head & Shoulders Scalp Care products I’ve tried it leaves my hair healthy and shiny. It’s even pH balanced and gentle enough for everyday use on color treated or permed hair, so even if I do get to the salon for that color I’ve had my eye on, I can keep using it.

I also love that the conditioner doesn’t weigh my hair down even when I use it all the way to my roots, so I can skip a day (or two) of hair washing and still look great.

And once again, BlogHer and Head & Shoulders want to give YOU a chance to win a $50 Visa Gift Card!

Just answer the following question in the comments to be entered for a chance to win:

What beauty routine do use when you get ready for a date night (and don’t tell me you never get to go on date nights anymore-let’s make 2012 the year we all eat at high-chair free restaurants and see R-rated movies in the theater)?

Rules:

No duplicate comments.

You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:

a) Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post

b) Tweet about this promotion and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post

c) Blog about this promotion and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post

d) For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.

This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older.

This sweepstakes runs from 1/30 – 2/28.

Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail.

You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.

The Official Rules are available here.

Be sure to visit the Promotions & Prizes page on BlogHer.com where you can read other bloggers’ reviews and find more chances to win! And visit the Life Well Lived section on BlogHer.com for more great tips on looking your best.

Yesterday, while caring for both children, I…

Got the car emissions test done
Renewed my driver’s license
Mailed a package at the post office
Took Caroline to the lab at the hospital for her lead test
Went to BJ’s
Got copies of Caroline’s birth certificate from town hall
Filled up the car at the gas station
Did ALL the dishes and cleaned the kitchen
Did ALL the laundry, including the sheets
Put away ALL the laundry
Made dinner
Made dessert
Remembered to wash my face
Did not completely lose my mind

Today, I am…

Taking a nap

The End

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I am torn on whether or not doing ALL THE THINGS on one day is a good system, and I think we should discuss it.

Pros: Our usual Stroller Strides/playtime schedule  means I only have time for one or two errands BEFORE nap time and the kids are always a mess if I try to take them out AFTER nap time, so taking a day out of the week to get everything done seems like a good idea. Plus if I’m going to haul the kids in and out of the car a few times I might as well do it a LOT of times. I love crossing so much stuff list in quick succession – Check! Check! Check!! Once I get on a roll, I stay on a roll for a long time and my roll spirals into a super clean and organized house/life without lots of hemming and hawing and eye rolling about how much I don’t want to be doing it. And it’s true that once the house is clean it’s easier to keep it that way – I am less likely to throw dishes in the sink instead of putting them directly in the dishwasher if the sink is totally empty. Mostly, I am no longer totally overwhelmed by all the things I know I need to take care of but dread doing.

Cons: I usually only get to the point were I NEED to do all the things after weeks and weeks of avoiding and putting off and honestly should have done most of it a long time ago. It is really, really exhausting to drag the kids to so many places in one day and they really, really don’t like being dragged. When I am PLANNING to do all the stuff at once I don’t bother even TRYING to keep up with it on a regular basis so my laziness spirals out of control. On the days when I am doing all the things I end up ignoring the kids – obviously it is hard to ignore them in public, but at home they watch too much TV and eat snacks off the floor while I try to organize just ONE MORE junk drawer. No matter how much I DO get done, there are still MORE things on my list so I’m still a little overwhelmed.

Wow, that was also exhausting. I think I need another nap. Or maybe I need to suck it up and stop thinking so much about what I have to do and just do it.

1. In my quest to wean Caroline, I actually counted the number of times a day she was nursing and realized it was only 5ish during the day and 2 or 3ish at night. (I know that SOUNDS like a lot but in my head she was still nursing every 2 hours so it was a nice surprise.) The first thing I did was cut her down to one night feeding, which amazingly only took one night of rocking instead of immediately shoving a boob in her mouth in my attempt to get back to bed ASAP. The next thing I’ve done is cut down the rest of our nursing sessions to one in the morning, one before nap and one before bed. I figure even if she doesn’t drop all of those before I leave they can easily be replaced with a cuddle and a cup or bottle of milk. My next goal is to drop the morning feeding this weekend, which means I’ll need to stay in bed until at least 11 am. The suffering I go through for my children.

2. The WORST part about trying to discipline my almost-3-year-old is how much it affects my 1-year-old.Yesterday we had to leave the mall right after Stroller Strides because Evan ran off into a store and wouldn’t come back. I had to be that mom I hate being, the one who shout-whispers and threatens and drags her kid around by his arm. And because I had told him he would lose his chance to play on the playground if he ran away I had to follow through and take them BOTH home. Caroline is still too little to be mad for long but I am upset she is missing out on something fun because her brother has forgotten how to understand English. It happens at home too, when I have to put Evan in time out and she loses her playmate or when I have to take away toys because he won’t share.

3. I am actually looking forward to my weigh in this week. I just need to avoid any carb-related binges between now and Thursday night. Sidenote – If you ever join Weight Watchers, DON’T weigh in at NIGHT. It’s like the total opposite of the first thing in the morning, right after you pee, totally naked weigh in 99% of America does. I swear if I was weighing in at 9 am instead I’d already be down another 5 lbs.

4. I am still obsessing over what tattoo I should get for Caroline. My Pinterest board is filling up with birds and lace but I still haven’t figured out how to make those relate to her. Denae’s idea of a “C” as a bracelet is awesome, although another wrist tattoo is kind of boring. Maybe I need 2 new ones. Or 3. Or a zillion.

5. One of the things I promised E I would do this year is look for a sponsor or sponsors for BlogHer. I am definitely going – New York is really close and I already bought a discounted ticket – but it would be nice if hanging out with my interweb friends didn’t end up costing $1000+ this time. I have absolutely no idea how to go about it and am intimidated by literally every aspect of trying to find one. On the OTHER HAND, if I can get a sponsor for BlogHer I might be able to convince E I should also go to The Blathering, which would be the most fantastic thing ever.

6. I saw a preview for a new show on Fox last night that had Keifer Sutherland on a cell phone talking about how they were RUNNING OUT OF TIME in his raspy voice and I cried a little – both because I miss 24 a crazy-pants amount and because JACK IS BACK Y’ALL. Ok, so he’s playing someone named Martin but whatevs. He will always be Jack. OHPLUSALSO, IMDB has a 24 movie listed in his credits. I have died and gone to man-bag heaven.