#and she’s not really doing anything wrong bc I haven’t shut her down super directly

[hey-scully-itsme]

one of my coworkers seems to have a different understanding of polite refusals than I do and it’s driving me nuts because when I try and hold firm and say ‘no, I’m good, but thank you!’ when she offers me soup for the millionth time she keeps coming back with it. I know social signals can be confusing and some people feel the need to refuse before accepting but we once went back and forth literally for days about one soup until I caved.

[fuck-customers]

I Didn't Take Your Fucking Paper

I am....livid, honestly. (Long story ahead, apologies).

So we have this coworker, we'll call her T. And she's worked for Greenwalls on and off for literal years, but then she got diagnosed with MS and took some leave time. She came back mid-last year and for a while everything was chill. Like, she sometimes had lapses in memory and she always reeks of cigarette smoke, but she was typically an okay person so most of us just worked with it.

Recently, though, she's been getting really, really nasty and a little paranoid.

For clarification, we had a notebook behind our front register. We used it for between shifts, to leave notes like "hey, this coupon isn't ringing" or "so and so left their bag behind, they'll come back for it tonight." Things like that, we do it in photo to, its just a precaution in case we don't have time to verbally explain things to each other.

T....thinks its an "idea" book. She writes down random thoughts in it and makes notes about things we have no control over (pharmacy times and cosmetics complaints, mainly) that should be taken directly to managers, not written in a book.

We tried clarifying with her what the book was for, but she completely ignored us.

The other week, I ripped out most of the old pages from the book. I do this in photo too, once the month is up and any coupon or sales comments become obsolete, and didnt think much of it. I left a quick note on the inside, reminding everyone that the book was for notes on problems or forgotten merch, and didn't think anything of it.

T was PISSED. I guess she took me tearing the pages out as a personal attack on her, bc she went straight to our head manager, L, and ranted for a solid 30 minutes. When she came back, she was super snotty to me. L talked to me about it to get my side of the story, and when I explained she p much just rolled her eyes and was like "okay, got it, just make sure to tell someone before you tear the pages out next time."

I say sure and move on with life.

T had ripped my page from the book (hypocrite, much?) and at some point within the next twenty four hours, someone else wrote another note that p much said the same thing as mine. I still have no idea who. She got mad at me again, like, genuinely pissy, even though it clearly wasn't my handwriting, and went AGAIN to L.

L knew it wasn't me, bc she knows I was trying not to start shit, so she basically told T that we weren't allowed to have the book up front anymore if it was causing so many problems.

T came back up to where I was ringing and snidely went "L says we cant have the idea book anymore. Shame. It was a good idea."

I kinda just rolled my eyes to myself and nodded, p much ignoring the statement. I thought she'd be whiny for a few days and then get over it but oh boy was I wrong.

Over the last week, she's been making snide comments to me every chance she gets, talking about how communication and teamwork are so important and how its a shame we can't have that anymore bc the book is gone. She starts talking shit about me to my other coworkers, who....all like me? So they've been keeping me informed, and she's been talking about how I'm a thief and how I don't care about the store. She actually told one of my friends that she hated me.

I can ignore shit like that. I just played nice at work and tried to ignore it. But last night....Jesus fucking Christ.

I'm ringing out my favorite coworker in photo and T is up front talking to one of our floor managers, R. She's not being quiet about it.

She had had a piece of paper up front about new pharmacy policies that I guess she was reading for fun, and it had gone MIA. She'd asked me and every other employee there if we'd seen it, and we all said no. I'd had the day prior off, so I literally had no clue what she was talking about.

She says to R "well I asked (my name) if she had seen it and she said no, but I don't believe her, she lies about everything."

I step in this time, bc A, I can hear her, which means customers can too, and B, I was really fucking tired of getting shit on by this bitch. I tell R "I wasn't here yesterday and I haven't been up front today at all. I have no reason to take her paper."

T starts SHOUTING at me, poor R in between us, going "You're a LIAR, you're a THIEF, you are a DISHONEST PERSON, you TOOK my paper, you HARASS ME" etc etc. I can barely get a word in edgewise.

I have been nothing but polite to T since she started back here, even when I'm pissed at her. The moment she started bringing up "all the shifts she's covered for me" (failing to bring up the DOZENS I've covered for her) I shut down and just walked away.

R followed me and I had a meltdown in the break room. He was really nice about it, heard me out, and then he and my other coworker who witnessed the whole thing said they'd talk to L about it, but i have no hope anything will change. T is constantly talking about how Greenwalls can't fire her bc she'll sue them for discrimination of the elderly (again, ignoring the fact that most of our store is over 50).

I'm just so frustrated and angry. I'm about two seconds from quitting at any given moment in time, I'm trying to wait it out until the end of June, but I don't know if I can hold on that long. If T doesn't get any kind of repercussion from actively screaming at me in front of customers...I don't know. I just don't know. My depression and anxiety are on high alert constantly anymore and its so draining.

[shellheadtm-a]

alright, y'all, fuck it, i'm not going back and rereading civil war again bc it literally breaks me every goddamn time bc my stupid ass will literally always reread the confession and the road to civil war, and leads to me rereading iron man: director of shield, which also breaks me, which makes me read secret invasion and dark reign, which makes me read fraction's run, which makes me-

you get the idea.

but let's.  let's talk about this a minute.  i'm not gonna rehash the entire comic civil war here, it's a lot, but you should read it if you haven't.  it's a big turning point in the 616 world and leads almost directly to the current state of things as they stand today.  you should read it.  period.  if you're mcu be prepared for a bigger gut punch than anything the films gave you, i sob like a fucking baby every time i read fallen son and the confession.  and...the end of the brain wipe, which i'll also get to here in a minute, when tony starts filling himself in on what he's missing.  it's different.  it's bigger, but more contained (as in us-based only).  it's nastier.  and it drags on a hell of a lot longer than what amounts to one fight in a walmart parking lot, i'm talking months.  there is no nomad bullshit in this (steve hasn't picked up nomad in a very, very long time and the circumstances were different).  what i'm saying is, civil war literally divided and tore the entire us superhero community apart.  people that were friends were suddenly on opposite sides of the debate.  it didn't just tear apart tony and steve, think of carol and jess.  think of peter parker caught in the middle.  think of all the people who loved tony and steve equally and found themselves torn on who to support.  think of sue and reed, and johnny and ben, who were all over the board and nearly ripped their family apart permanently over it.

civil war was no bullshit.  it hit hard.  it hit fast.  people died.  it left the superhero community in complete tatters.

so let's get going.

extremis:  there are things concerning this i want to touch on.  one:  steve rogers did not like extremis.  this isn't fanon, he vocally was displeased about what tony had done to himself.  he thought it made tony strange.  distant.  more machine than man. (he wasn't really wrong in some ways.)  but something i really want to point in connection with it, outside of execute program which is a nice move into civil war, is that...tony never once really used it to find the rogue avengers.  not once, not really.  he had access to every camera, every satellite, every...digital anything.  he had the upper ground there.  and yet, somehow, the new avengers always managed to mostly stay free.  funny, huh.

miriam sharpe:  there's something too right about her, which makes her feel too wrong, you get me?  there's something about her that...is too perfect at pressing tony's emotional buttons to make her...mmm...legit.  i don't know if she was a plant for sure.  i don't.  but i'd be completely, utterly unsurprised to find out she was.  i also wouldn’t be surprised if she also turned out to be a skrull, tbh.

the night before registration was signed into law:  the team leads were separated.  god, folks, outside of steve's touchiness about extremis, and execute program, this was one of the best teams of avengers since the early mansion years.  tony and steve were closer than ever, they'd put down the avengers and then when steve wanted them back, tony couldn't tell him no.  they were doing what they do best, and doing it next to each other (and i'm sorry, you can fight me, but steve and tony are at their absolute peak when they're working together as an unstoppable duo, they're a team within a team, they're partners, they're best friends - in a lot of ways they're each other's whole world and driving force).  but the night before while they'd all gathered together, steve got called to the helicarrier.  tony and steve were separated.  steve was given an illegal order and refused.  he had fire opened on him.  and he bolted.  he and tony never did regroup and circle the wagons, not really, to actually talk about it.  i don't think...in any way...things would have gone as sideways as they did if steve and tony had been together and presenting a united front.  and i think certain powers that be were well, well aware of that fact.

thor clone:  tony might have had a thor hair, okay.  sure.  i can see him thinking at some point it would be neat to see what asgardian dna looked like but uh.  did everyone forget that biochem's not his thing?  it's not his wheelhouse?  he's an engineer.  an electrical and mechanical engineer.  now...who do we know that's a biochem person that supported registration, one of the foremost scientists in the field, hmm...oh, that's right.  hank pym.  and...gasp.  it turned out...hank pym...was a skrull.  wow, what a coinkidink.  i'm sure that totally absolutely doesn't mean a thing.

steve's extremes:  okay, so...steve does some stuff that is...drastic.  like steve is stubborn.  he's bullheaded.  once he plants his feet, getting him to move is damned near impossible.  you know who can usually bring him around to some form of compromise or agreeing to disagree?  ding ding ding, tony stark can.  this is not the first time tony and steve have had a bitchfit at each other.  they're in each other's pockets, literally, at almost all times, they fight sometimes.  it happens.  but they always, always manage to patch up and walk away friends and better for having had that talk.  the supreme intelligence.  tony erasing him being known as iron man.  the whole shebang, if you're familiar with the older comics.  they fight, they make up, they climb back in each other's back pockets again and they go home happy.  so...this is it?  they've had bigger shit on their plate and this is the one that does them in as friends?  this is the one that makes them fight like they do?  steve...does some hinky as fuck shit here, no one is blameless in this, steve is not in the right, tony is not in the right, no one is.  that's the fucking point.  but the extremes steve went to:  tony meeting him in good faith to actually talk because they haven't and need to and tony knows that, and steve taking him out with an emp (which if it had shut down extremis completely it would have killed tony and don't think steve isn't aware of that - steve is far more tech savvy than you'd think).  tony begging for another talk to ask steve directly if he had anything to do with happy hogan's death and yet another ambush by team steve.  meeting in the mansion one final time to talk and he and tony literally beating the shit out of each other (or rather, steve really unfairly smacking tony around because tony dropped his armor, and had been practically sobbing, begging steve to talk to him) and parting ways for good.  the thing here is:  tony called steve and steve still picked up.  steve still fucking picked up even though they were at war with each other.  and...of course...that final fight.  tony's armor was disabled by the vision.  he was a fucking sitting duck, he could not fight back in any meaningful way against 220+lbs of pissed off super soldier.  his armor was dead.  and steve beat the everloving fuck out of him.  tony, laying there in the street, his helmet smashed to hell, jaw broken, face swollen, steve on top of him with the shield raised about to drop it on tony's unprotected face, and tony laying there...begging steve to end it.  begging him.  and then steve getting yanked off of tony by a bunch of civilians who saw steve about to murder tony right there in the street and took action.

is it all steve's fault?  fuck no, tony did some nasty shit, too.  which is my point.  they both did things that overall, were out of character for both of them.  tony okaying hit squads?  of supervillains?  to bring in kid superheroes?  tony?  are you fucking serious right now?  that is not typical tony stark behavior.  see:  young avengers for details, when it's very obvious he doesn't think steve coming down so hard on kids wanting to help make the world better place was necessarily the right thing to do.  steve rogers, the man who mourned bucky barnes for years?  because he lost his best friend?  about to kill his other best friend in cold blood?  in the middle of a street?  really?  really???

steve in his cell:  when steve surrenders and steve's in the helicarrier, power dampner on, under arrest, awaiting arraignment, and tony comes to talk to him...things i want to point out:  this wasn't like an extended period of time after steve surrendered.  this was...very soon after that.  please remember, tony had been beat to all fucking hell by steve.  he shows up in full armor, never removes his helmet, nothing.  extremis's healing factor is good, but it's not that good.  tony's still beat to hell.  i'm willing to bet he was using the armor's autopilot function, too, because if he could actually stand up straight i'd call you a fucking a liar.  steve flinging out accusations on tony's mental health like barbs (he's not wrong, though, but you can bet tony takes every fucking word to heart in the absolute worst way).  the last words steve rogers says to tony stark is "was it worth it?  answer me."  as tony walks away.

steve's death:  hoo boy.  okay.  so, let me just...throw this out here:  steve's death fucking broke tony.  broke him.  completely.  utterly.  unmade him entirely.  steve on his way to arraignment takes a sniper shot for someone else, because steve is that kind of guy.  sharon, under mind control, pumps three bullets (time bullets it later turns out) into steve's stomach.  steve bleeds out.  dies.  you know what happens?  tony, who was supposed to give steve's eulogy, loses it.  breaks down when he gets up to speak.  starts sobbing hopelessly.  has to step down, there's no way in fuck tony stark will ever hold it together to deliver a real eulogy like that for steve.  i keep saying i cannot overstate how important they are to each other.  i can't.  i really can't.  like...they're so close at some points i feel like they're one soul in two bodies.  anyway.  when asked, tony says finding steve was the greatest day of his life.  not only does tony just fucking lose it, it turns out they don't bury steve that day.  instead, the remaining of the original avengers (tony, hank, jan) meet in the ice fields they found steve in.  they give him a quiet send off, for just the three of them and steve.  it's where "i miss your battlecry" comes from.  namor takes steve's coffin, promises no one will ever bother it.  they put steve back in the ice they found him.  yeah that...sure sounds like...the treatment of a guy who hated steve rogers, huh, and this on top of the fact that, yes, tony watched steve's autopsy (through the helicarrier camers).  he tortured himself just like that.  clint never had to tell tony he might as well have pulled the trigger himself, tony was already telling himself that.  he saw what happened to steve's body after, just...what it looked like.  he argued with sharon.  and then made sure sharon was taken care of, as completely as he could, after everything, because that's the kind of person tony is.  he continued to completely fall apart and not deal with steve's death in any fucking meaningful way.  he talked to steve's body after they brought him to the helicarrier before his autopsy.  he told him literally everything.  he told him through snot and tears and sobs and a complete and utter breakdown.  he told him it wasn't worth it, because the truth is, tony stark cannot bear the thought of living in a world where steve rogers does not exist.  there's a flipside to this, hold that thought.

tony's breakdowns:  post civil war tony has...quite a few of these.  he hallucinates steve (a side effect of extremis, all the info he takes in on a daily basis gets shoved into the part of his brain that processes guilt to be sorted through, and then his brain spits out important information in the form of people who are dead that tony blames himself for - steve played a prominent role there).  everyone can see it.  he doesn't leave the armor most of the time.  he flips out randomly.  he loses his shit utterly.  he's put on admin leave barring a psyche eval as direct of shield (a position he got ultimately railroaded into).  tony doesn't deal, is what i'm saying.  steve's death?  fucking breaks him.  totally.  tony does not pull himself back together at fucking all.  he doesn't handle it.  he blames himself for everything.  utterly everything.  yes, he was at fault for some things.  yes, he made a lot of bad calls.  but he canonizes steve (who also did hinky shit) and then turns around and tells himself he doesn't deserve even the modicum of happiness.  he has good days and bad days.  sometimes he almost seems like his old self.  most of the time he's barely holding himself together with spit and bubblegum.  ...i'd argue he may have been more than a little suicidal, at points.  he does some really, really risky shit - riskier than normal.

bucky/steve's letter:  bucky comes to kill tony.  there's just no other way to put it.  and they fight.  and tony does his absolute best not to hurt bucky.  he'd just gotten steve's letter - via execution of steve's estate - and even in the thick of it...steve still reached out to tony.  that letter was like...a friendly shoulder squeeze through the veil, you get me?  tony needed that, he really did.  it was a bandaid over a bullet wound, but he needed it.  and he turned around, and because steve utterly believed in bucky, put the weight of his faith and his trust behind bucky completely.  gave him the shield.  knew no one else would carry on steve's legacy the way bucky would.  ended up trusting bucky enough as the new cap to give him all the info on iron man, and how to shut tony down permanently, if need be.

frank castle:  steve damn near kills him.  steve.  that steve.  steve rogers.  y'all get how weird that is, right?  steve is wound like a bowstring the entire goddamn length of civil war.  i wonder if...the purpose...wasn't to get him to snap utterly and you know what that could have culminated in?  that's right.  tony's death at steve's hands.  you'd never get tony to kill steve.  ever.  ever.  but the other way around?  if you...tweak it just right?  hmmm.

the brain wipe:  so tony just...magically doesn't have any backups that include the worst year of his life.  i'm supposed to believe tony "meticulous to a fault" stark didn't back up his brain more than once.  uh huh.  okay.  so he just...manages to forget completely how unfunctioning he was after steve's death.  wipes out how utterly devastated and destroyed he was because steve was no longer in the world, who was fine with steve hating him and never speaking to him again as long as tony could protect him.  okay.  sure, karen.  but also, as a point, he left the decision up to thor and cap, ultimately, whether or not to bring him back.  at the time, thor was...mmm... but they had don.  and cap was bucky.  but they also brought steve in, who was alive at that point, because everyone knew when tony said cap in that recording he meant steve rogers.  and the holdout was pepper.  no one else really hesitated.  of course they bring tony back.  the world needs iron man.  the world needs tony stark.  gee, does...does that sound...like the guy ready to turn his best friend's head to mush with his shield?  hmmmm hmmmm hmmmm.

brain wipe aftermath:  tony's not wrangled well enough.  i...will argue that leaving him alone with pepper and maria hill might not have been the best of things to do.  i get it, osborn was being osborn, but.  it played out as being vindictive, letting tony stumble upon all of that himself.  but the huge, key thing to note here is steve fucking rogers tearing into the building where tony's being kept, knowing what's up, demanding to know where tony is because tony's only very recently woken up and...it turns...out...he's playing catch up on the last year and...has found...he thinks steve is dead.  in that moment tony stark thinks steve rogers is dead and you know what he does?  what tony always does when confronted with steve's mortality:  he starts crying.  he gets upset.  and i definitely think how tony finds out sets the tony for things for...a good long while, especially between himself and steve.

and going on in the background of all of this melodrama is...civil war itself, of course, everyone fighting each other viciously over registration, the nightmare of the fifty state initiative, which does not...go well.  the shit with the negative zone and a huge flashing warning light in the form of tony telling carol that of course they have to bring their friends into custody.  if he and the mighty avengers don't, they will.  they being shield.  remember project wideawake?  think microchipping every superhuman.  think genetic testing for powers.  think sentinals for everyone, not just mutants.  think people like spider-man on a dissection table.  all the shit tony was trying to get in front of, and put a stop to.

secret invasion happens.  and the first person in the entire thing, openly, that gets taken out?  tony stark.  extremis is mostly shut down.  his tech gets taken down.  iron man is, for a time, effectively removed from the picture completely.  tony, having seen it coming, has set rhodey up with a suit that has no starktech.  has a plan in place.  tony seizes.  he damned near dies, really.  almost gets taken in by the skrull queen (who's been psing as spider-woman all this time).  and during all of this steve's floating through time, trying to make his way back to his own body so the red skull can't take it.  eventually succeeds at that.  what i'm saying is everything was a complete and utter shitshow.

norman osborn?  now director of shield.  it goes about as well as you think it does, him and his dark avengers.  he tries to lay siege to asgard (which is floating up above and near broxton, oklahoma) after going off the rails.  he does some naughty naughty things.  it's not good.  he steals tony's tech.  he damned near beats tony to death on live tv.  the rt in tony's chest doesn't just cover the brain wipe, folks, it handles the fucking brain damage norman osborn did to him.

things to particularly consider:  jessica drew was a skrull during all of this.  with pheromone powers.  firmly on the side of team steve.  just...think about that.  think about steve's aggressiveness.  think about how easily the real jess is able to like.  sweeten up the hulk (he made her a sandwich and it's the most precious thing) even when he's angry and in pain.  just.  think about it.

think about project wideawake.  think about how firmly tony opposed it.  think about how he saw the writing on the wall after stamford and knew they had to get in front of it.  think about tony going to all those kids' funerals.  think about how emotionally open he'd be.  think about how perfectly miriam sharpe played into things.  think about all the praise she heaped on tony every time he did something she wanted.  think about how tony's self-esteem issues work.  just...think about that.

think about how a lot of players in shra were all involved in anti-mutant stuff.  consider that a moment.

think about how easily the green fucking goblin was able to get into the good public graces by killing the skrull queen.

and the most important piece of evidence i'll give you:  civil war: warzones.  it's a what if.  a what if had civil war dragged on instead of ending in steve's death.  guess what.  turns out the skrulls had been escalating and manipulating the entire fucking time.

just.  think about it.  all of it.  and civil war starts to make a hell of a lot more sense.

[aguestinourhome]

Then the next step is to send a warranty claim and they warn in big bold letters: If you send two claims, we will deny your warranty request!!

I almost feel like i'm causing them a serious inconvenience with my warranty claim. mastitis, engorgement, baby feeding, not having a pump for two weeks are all problems that they seem very unconcerned about.

Buy this pump. Seriously, stop looking, buy it. This review is long but will hopefully answer any questions you have. Or post one and I'll try to answer it.

Earlier this year I had twins born at 34 weeks. They were doing well, but did spend some time in the NICU. When babies are in the NICU, you become super obsessed with how much milk they are getting. They can't go home until they take their "minimums" and gain weight. As a result, I've pretty much been exclusively pumping since they were born. My girl would latch, but I couldn't tell how much she was getting and she would get tired after a few minutes and wouldn't take the rest of her bottle. My boy had breathing problems at first and was being fed with a tube for the first 10 days. After that he had to learn how to eat and would get tired, so I didn't try to nurse him. Since I had to feed two and wanted to share my supply, pumping was the way to go.

Since I had preemies, my insurance paid for me to use a Medela Lactina pump. This is the big blue thing that is "hospital grade" and retails for a boatload ($1500 for the love!). I used the Lactina for the first two months but wanted something more portable (I bought a car adapter so I could plug it in and pump in the car on long days out). And, the Lactina is loud as all get out, which was annoying and I actually covered it with a blanket to muffle the sound so I could pump in the same room my husband and 3 year old daughter were watching TV in so I could be part of the family. I contemplated getting a Medela Freestyle, but read mixed reviews about being able to maintain supply. Having twins I did not want to risk my supply going down.

I took a leap of faith and bought this pump using gift cards for about half the cost. I figured if it didn't work at least I wasn't out all the money. Best. Decision. Ever.

Awesomeness: -It is SUPER quiet compared to the Lactina. I have no idea how it compares to other pumps, but it is going to be nice to have at work and be able to answer the phone while pumping. -It is pretty portable. I wanted something I could clip to my belt and walk around the house, but that is the Freestyle and I couldn't risk it. This is pretty lightweight, and I'm actually contemplating putting a ribbon through the handle and putting it over my neck. It never fails that when I'm pumping my husband is out of the house and my older daughter needs something. At the very least, I've put it on with my hands-free pumping bra (Simple Wishes brand- buy that too) and been able to put it on the kitchen counter to make bottles or lunch or whatever. Haven't tried cooking dinner yet, but that may happen. -Nightlight is pretty neat, and has two levels. -Timer is a cool feature. Most folks don't need to pump for more than 15-20 minutes, but most folks don't have twins. The timer shuts the pump off after 30 minutes which is how long I pump for. I used to set a timer on my phone, but don't need to do that so much anymore. -Massage feature is pretty nifty. This pump almost pulses when creating suction. It was kind of weird at first since the other pump didn't do it, but it actually makes pumping pretty comfortable. The "massage" feature speeds up the pump and is designed to stimulate letdown. Once you have letdown, you are supposed to turn off the massage feature. (I don't, I like the fastest speed for my pumping. But again, twins.) -Memory feature- the pump remembers what your last "normal" and "massage" settings were and goes back to them. -Vacuum control- I use the pump on either level 2 or 3. It has 12 levels. Wow. As a nurse I'm really wondering who would need level 12. Maybe for someone with inverted nipples. Maybe if the battery ever gets weak I'll need to go up.

Quirks: -It took a LONG time (probably 12 hours) to fully charge the battery when I first got the pump. It also says it can run plugged in, which is true, but so far as I can tell actually uses the battery regardless of whether or not it is plugged in. I could be wrong. -If you use the nightlight feature while pumping it will drain your battery faster, and you will likely not get a full three hours of pump time. Probably not a problem for most people but worth noting. -The bottles and pump kit are pretty cheap. That would probably be my biggest gripe about the whole thing. If we are spending this much money on a pump, the kit should be stellar. (Most pump kits are pretty terrible, so this is about par for the course.) But all is not lost. The ends of the tubing actually fit into my kit I had been using with my Medela. Also, and this is a problem with most pump kits, most women would need to lean forward to get the milk to drop down when sitting upright. So, my Lactina kit had removable flanges which I promptly tossed and used the angled ones from Pumpin' Pal. (Buy those too.) Also, I bought a pump adapter kit that worked with the Playtex bottles I was using so I could pump directly into the drop-in liners. (Cleaner that way, eventually the bottles will get gross no matter what you do.) -If you are not using their backflow valves, you need to pay attention to your tubing. I am not, and have gotten some moisture into one of the tubes on the end. I just blow it out with a hair dryer in a couple of seconds. The tubing is nothing special and you could easily replace it with something from the hardware store if you needed to. It would also be pretty easy to jerryrig the tubing from another pump kit, which I may do so I can attach the backflow valves.

The "cons" I listed here may seem like a lot, but to me it wasn't enough that I would take away a star. I've had it for two weeks and I love it, and haven't noticed a drop in supply. I'll update this review if anything changes, but I don't see that happening.

So go buy this pump. Or put it on your registry or wishlist. You won't be sorry.

Links for the products I mentioned: Pumpin' Pal Super Shields, Angled Pumping Flanges, the Best Flanges By Far in a Complete Set of All Sizes Mom Will Need Simple Wishes Hands-Free Breastpump Bra, Pink, XS-L Playtex Drop-Ins System Breast Milk Storage Kit

Updated 10/16/13 -A couple more product links for all the parts I'm using with my cobbled-together homemade kit. You really don't NEED anything but the angled flanges and hands-free pumping bra, but if you wanted to piece something together that's a bit more user-friendly, here are the links: Medela Personal Fit Breastsheild Connectors - Medela 87071 Medela Valves & Membranes (Set of 1)

UPDATE 10/28/13- I've gone back to work and am taking this pump back and forth. I just put it in a small tote bag I had at home. I made two pump kits so I can leave one at home and one in my office at work and all I take back and forth is the pump. That probably wasn't necessary, but I probably would have ended up forgetting something one day so this was my way to make sure that didn't happen. Pump is awesome, and nobody can hear it when I answer the phone. The doctor in the office next to me is pumping as well, and you can hear her pump down the hall... -Also, I finally attached the backflow valves. I basically just cut the tubing and attached one piece to either side of the valve. It's a small challenge to get the tubing on the large side, but it does fit. Now I can still stick the end of the tubing into my homemade Medela kit and it works great and I don't need to worry about moisture getting into my pump.

If you've got questions, post 'em and I'll do my best to answer! (I should probably just make a video...)

Best pump ever (only pump I've used but only one I will ever need!) I am a full time working mom. I was lucky to get 13 weeks of maternity leave. I was concerned when I had my baby because I have breast implants (below muscle). But after birth (via csection), my baby latched and we were in business.

I breastfed only for first 3 weeks. Then I introduced 1-2 pumps a day. I didn't get much-but that was expected. Around the 5-6week mark I began pumping and stashing more frequently. By the time I went back to work at 13 weeks pp I had 800oz in my deep freezer.

My baby is now 23 weeks old and I have 1750oz in my deep freezer and she still nurses. This pump is AMAZING! It's nice to have the mobility of a rechargeable battery Bc I can pump and do chores and even pump in the backseat of a car while someone else is driving.

I have been separated from my baby for up to 20 hours and this pump is amazing! I would highly recommend to anyone over any of the other brands. I have even convinced some of my second time moms to switch to this pump (since it is free w insurance) and they have loved it and thanked me a 100times over.

The attached pictures are of my frozen milk stash and the other is a picture of my morning pump (after breastfeeding my baby girl).

Cheers and happy baby feeding!

I purchased this pump out of pocket and then mailed receipt and reimbursement application to tricare and they returned my money 100%. So worth it because if you go through a retailer they will only give you the S2 (which is not rechargeable).

Wow. Just wow. Why did I not hear of this pump sooner? Comfortable, portable, lightweight, oh- and more than double the milk!! Seriously, it is almost a crime that the insurance companies just give out inferior pumps when this is available. I was concerned when returning to work with my second baby that I would not be able to produce enough milk. With my first, I pumped like 6 times a day at work to make enough with my Medela PISA. Now, those worries are gone. Totally gone! The proof is in the pictures. 10 mins of total comfort and quiet on the Spectra vs 20 mins of loud wrenching and pulling on the PISA.

[thelastspeecher]

Super hero au, baking, After discovering his ability to manipulate flames, Stanley decides to abuse this power by baking the cakes his mother used to make when he was younger. And as it turned out, criminals are less likely to mug people in dark alleys if they're given free food. So now Stan is fighting crime both with and without his mask!

🍰 - baking

In what has become a very obvious pattern, I didn’t completely follow your suggestion nor baking prompt.  Technically, it’s related, and inspired by both those things.  Also, I decided to set this in the Superhero AU where Angie’s a supervillain named Sirocco, bc that was what I got inspired for.  Anyways, hope you like it!

Send in an emoji and I’ll write a ficlet!

              Stan groaned silentlyto himself.

              I hate going to the bank.  Ialways get stuck behind some moldy oldie who insists on paying their bills orwhatever with pennies.  Currently, hehad been waiting for fifteen minutes, and was still at the back of theline.  Stan sighed and looked around thequiet, calm bank.  Man, what I wouldn’t give for a distraction.  Somethin’ to keep me from dying of boredom.

              Crash!  Stan instinctivelyducked at the sound of a glass breaking.

              What the hell happened?

              “All right,everybody on the ground, now!” a voice shouted. Stan’s eyes widened; the voice sounded familiar.  He turned around.  Standing proudly in front of the broken glassdoors was his archnemesis, the supervillainess named Sirocco.

              Fuck!  I don’t have my heroingduds on me.  And even if I did, I wouldn’tbe able to mask up without everyone here seeing.  Stan subtly pressed the “SOS” button on hissquad communicator, kept in his back pocket. Hopefully someone can show upbefore Sirocco takes all my dough.

              “Hey, you!” Siroccosaid, noticing him.

              “Uh, me?” Stanasked.

              “Yeah.  Why aren’t you on the floor?”

              “There’s kinda glasseverywhere,” Stan pointed out.  Siroccostormed over to him.  Stan stood stockstill as she stared directly into his face.

              Shit, shit, shit.  What if sherecognizes me?  Sure, she’s never seen mewithout my mask.  But Shermie recognizedme before I even had a chance to introduce myself as Flamethrower.  Sirocco frowned at him.  Something akin to recognition flashed in herblue eyes.  Stan swallowed nervously.  After a moment, Sirocco took a step back fromhim.

              “You seem familiar, stranger,”she said.  

              “I, uh, I hear thata lot.”

              “Hmm.”  Sirocco looked him up and down.  “Don’t know if I buy that, but whatever.”  She began to make her way to the teller.

              “Hey!” Stan blurtedout impulsively.  Sirocco spunaround.  A hot wind picked up in the banklobby.

              “Are you reallygoing to try my patience?  You know who Iam, right?” Sirocco demanded.

              “Yeah.  You’re one of the Twister Twins.”

              “That I am.  I’m a supervillain.  You don’t want to mess with me.”

              “Okay, yeah, yeah,”Stan said, his mind working furiously to come up with a solution that didn’tinvolve revealing his secret identity to everyone at his bank.  “But…maybe you could, I dunno, not…steal ourmoney?”  Sirocco cracked a half-smile.

              “Heh.”  She sounded genuinely amused.  “You’ve got guts.  But what could you offer me that’s betterthan a bunch of money?”  Stan looked at hisbag.  He didn’t really have anything onhim, except for…

              “Homemadesnickerdoodles,” Stan said.  Heimmediately squeezed his eyes shut.

              Fuck, shit, damn! That was a mistake!

              “Homemade…snickerdoodles?”Sirocco said.  Stan opened his eyes.  Sirocco was completely taken off guard.  She stared at him in confusion.  “What- why would ya offer somethin’ likethat?”

              Hold on, Sirocco has a southern accent? She must cover it up normally. Sirocco’s eyes widened as she realized that she had let her accentslip.  She cleared her throat loudly.

              “Those must be the bestcookies in the world,” she said.

              Aaaand the accent’s gone.

              “Nah, I mean, I made‘em.  I dunno if they’re the best in theworld.”

              “You made them?  You don’t look like the type.”

              “Yeah, but, I, uh, Iam.”  Stan opted to not tell her that thereason he was into baking was due to his heat and fire-related abilities.  Sirocco chuckled softly.

              “You’re aninteresting person, Mr…?”

              “I’d rather not say,”Stan said.  Sirocco raised an eyebrow athim.

              “Oh?”

              Was that the wrong thing to do? Sirocco stared at him for a moment. She nodded, marched back to him, and held her hand out.

              “You amused me, stranger,” she said, emphasizing thelast word.

              Oh, no.  That can’t be good.

              “Give me thosesnickerdoodles, and I’ll be on my way.”

              “Wait, really?”

              “Really.”  Sirocco smiled charmingly at him.

              She definitely knows something. Stan rummaged around in his bag and pulled out the plastic containerwith the snickerdoodles he had planned on bringing to Shermie.  I canalways make more.  He handed her thecookies.

              “Thanks,” Sirocco chirped.  She winked at him, then turned on her heeland exited the bank, stepping daintily through the broken glass doors.  Stan stared after her, dumbstruck.

              How the fuck did that work?

----- 

Six Months Later

              Stan landed at thebrawl just as it was ending.  He huffedand shut off his flames.

              Great, missed another fight. He looked around.  Most of themasks involved had dispersed already, but he caught a glimpse of one of theTwister Twins ducking into an alley.  He ranafter the supervillain.

              “Hey, Tsunami!” Stancalled.  The male Twister Twin froze.  “I know that’s your codename.”  Tsunami, the Twister Twin, spun around.

              “How do you know that?” Tsunami snarled,marching over to him.

              “Sirocco told me,”Stan answered.  Tsunami’s eyes widened.

              Huh.  Gray, notblue like Sirocco.

              “Wha- you know her codename too?  What’s going on with you and my sister, huh,Flamethrower?”  

              “It’s…complicated,”Stan managed.  Tsunami scowled.

              “That’s not goodenough.  Look, buddy, Sirocco might be mytwin, but she’s younger ‘n me.  So thatmeans she’s my baby sister.  I don’t likewhatever weird thing is goin’ on with her and some hero.”  Tsunami was getting upset to the point thathis accent was starting to slip.

              Pretty sure he’d kill me if I told him that we’vehooked up twice.  Masks on, yeah, butstill.  If he’s the older twin…

              “I don’t think you wannaknow the details,” Stan said quietly.  Tsunamifrowned at him, confused.

              “What does-”  Tsunami cut himself off and took a stepback.  “Oh.  Oh, no. No.”

              “Uh…surprise?” Stansaid.  Tsunami slammed a fist against oneof the brick walls of the alley.

              “Consarnit!  No wonder she told me to go easy on ya!”  Tsunami glared at Stan.

              If looks could kill, I’d be six feet under rightnow.  Damn.  This seems like an overreaction to finding outyour sister has an active sex life.

              “Whattaya want,Flamethrower?  Spit it out, so that I cango home and talk to my sister about this,” Tsunami spat.

              “I just- I made hersome cookies.”  Tsunami stared at him.

              “…What?”

              “I, uh, I haven’tseen her robbing banks for a while.  Ipoked around, heard that she’s on some kinda sick leave?”

              “You could call itthat,” Tsunami muttered.

              “And, uh, I mean- yeah,we’re archenemies or whatever, but…I like to think I’m getting through toher.  And even if we punch each other inthe face all the time, doesn’t mean I want her to be so sick that she’s gottatake months off.”

              “Yeah, that soundslike a ‘hero’ thing to do.  ‘Speciallysince ya have a…thing goin’ on.”  Tsunamirolled his eyes.  “Hand ‘em over, BoyScout.”

              “I’m not a Boy Scout,”Stan said, digging the small package of cookies he had stashed out of hispocket.  He gave the cookies toTsunami.  “Pretty damn far from it,actually.”

              “Hmph.”  Tsunami frowned at the cookies.  “These aren’t goin’ to poison An- Sirocco orsomethin’, are they?”

              Wait.  Did healmost slip up on his sister’s name?  Hemust be really putoff by all this.

              “No, they’re normalsnickerdoodles,” Stan said.  Tsunamisighed.

              “I’ll test ‘em justto make sure.”  Tsunami turnedaround.  “Thanks or whatever.”

              “Yeah, no- noproblem,” Stan said.  His heart wasracing.

              I knew I shouldn’t have hooked up with Sirocco.  I caught feelings for her, and she’s agoddamn supervillain.  Stan watchedTsunami walk away.  A sick supervillain.  Really sick.  For three months.  Stan frowned. Yeah, three months.  About a month after we did it the secondtime.  Eh, more like six weeks after thathookup.  Stan turned around and beganto walk away.  He froze, rememberingsomething.  Hang on, didn’t Shermie say something aboutsix weeks, when they had that “surprise” kid?  Ice suddenly filled Stan’s veins.  Itusually takes about six weeks for someone to realize…

              “Shit,” Stanwhispered.

              Tsunami was angry about more thanjust his sister hooking up with me.

[writefanficssometimes]

Remus X Reader- Light Hearted Air

Hi! I was wondering if you could do a imagine where you are pregnant of Remus and you don't dare to tell him bc you are afraid he wil leave you but he is super happy. Thanks I love your work you inspire me. <3

First off, Anon, thank you so much! Your message was really sweet. I'm really excited to write this for you, I hope you enjoy! I hope I did Remus justice, it’s my first time writing him.

A breeze lightly rattles the window. The same breeze gently shaking the foliage covered branches. Birds bask in the rising sun trying to warm themselves from the previous night's chill.

A small content sigh escapes you. Turning back over, greeted by the peaceful face of your boyfriend, Remus. You'd moved in together after three years of dating, the day he asked you to move in with him had been one of the best you'd ever had. Glancing back at the window you decide it's too early to start the day and slowly try and cuddle back up to Remus.

Just as sleep was beginning to overtake you again the warmth enveloping you began to stir. Cracking open an eye you peek up at the stirring man. His eyes flutter open, the peaceful look briefly leaving his eyes were attacked by the now blinding sun peering through the glass window panes. His arms wrap back around you as he pulls you closer. A tired groan leaves the man currently burying his face in your hair.

"Come on, Rem, we should probably get up." You suggest pulling out of the embrace and pushing the duvet aside. Leaving the comfort of your bed, Remus following suite. Eventually, you made it to the kitchen and pull down a book of cereal from atop the fridge. After making yourself a bowl you plop down at the table and dig in. About five minutes into your bowl Remus casually saunters back in completely ready for the day ahead.

"Going somewhere?"  Curious as to why he was prepared to go somewhere on a Sunday, a day the two of you usually spend inside together, you decided to ask.

"There are a few things I need to grab before we go to the order on Thursday." Before he walks past he plants a swift kiss on your cheek, a quick 'I love you' and then he was out the door. A few minutes pass and your thoughts start to swirl around in your head. One particular one planted itself in the front of your mind. That one thought, the baby now growing inside of you.

You found out that you were pregnant a week prior. There was just one catch, you haven't told Remus yet. It's not that you're ashamed of yourself or that you were unhappy about the news. You're just worried that Remus might not share the same view. For the past week, you've been trying to figure out how to tell him or even if you would. You had a few ideas as to what may be the best way to tell him, but you wanted an outside opinion.

If there was one person who knew a lot about telling someone they were pregnant, it was Molly Weasley. She's had seven kids, this makes her an expert in your eyes. A good hour of your morning was spent trying to find the right way to ask her.

By noon a letter had been sent off. You really don't like keeping anything from Remus, you had always said that you would be 100% open with each other. It almost felt like you were lying in a way. Again your thoughts slip back to the overwhelming presence of the growing baby.

No longer wanted to dwell on it, you head to the living room and pull a book from the mahogany shelf. Nestling up on the couch you get comfortable and dive into the pages of the book. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A few hours had passed and you'd lost yourself in the pages. So absorbed in your book you didn't even notice Remus had returned until you felt a hand brush some of your hair out of your face. Jumping at the sudden touch you lose your page. Snapping your head in the direction of the contact, your eyes land on the now amused man, all panic flees your body.

"You scared the shit out of me." Playfully slap his shoulder. "Well, I called out to you a few times but you never responded," As he spoke he dug around in his pockets. With a brief pause, he continued to speak as he pulled something from said pockets. "Here I bought you something while I was out." Finishing his sentence he hands you a chocolate bar, his and your favorite kind. A smile spreads your face and you lean in and the two of you share a loving kiss. Once you break apart you glance over at the clock on the wall,  7 p.m. "Did you eat while you were out? Because I have not eaten yet and I want tacos. You in?" Sliding your arms around Remus's neck you rest your head on his shoulder. There was a brief, peaceful silence before Remus answered. "If you're making them, I'm all for it." After another quick kiss, you head to the kitchen to start preparing dinner. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- After the pair of you finished dinner you both decided to curl up with a good book for an hour or two. You ended up falling asleep on Remus while reading, he picked you up bridal style and started carrying you back to your shared bedroom. As gentle as he was being the movement woke you up. He didn't seem to notice you stirring. Looking up at your lover you feel an overwhelming feeling of love and protection. Closing your eyes again you let him settle down in the bed with you in his arms and let sleep's grasp take hold. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A gentle hand running through your hair lulled you out of your sleep. Your eyes flutter open and peer into the hand owner's green ones. A soft smile spreads works it's way across your face matching his. The details of the upcoming day slowly creep into your mind and small groan of annoyance left you as you remembered you had plans with an old friend, Tonks, in about three hours. This pulls you out of bed to start the day.

You go through the motions of your normal routine, kiss Remus goodbye and head out to start your day. You and Tonks had been friends since your first year at Hogwarts, the plans you two had made took away any thought of your growing problem. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Currently sitting at home reading, Remus is pulled from his book as he hears a soft pecking from the window across the room. Looking up he sees (Y/N's) owl carrying a few letters and pecking at the window to try and get in. Crossing the floor he unlatches the black metal latch and pushes the window open. Greeting the bird with a good head scratch, he takes the letters and shuts the window. Shuffling through the letters he sees one from Molly. He flipped the letter in his hands, no name. Curious, he opened the letter and began reading. '...The best thing is to be honest and up front. We all have these worries when we find out, I'm sure he'll be happy. I highly doubt he would leave you over such a thing, he loves you and is a good man. Just tell him.         -Best of Luck,                                  Molly' He was puzzled, nowhere in the letter did it mention what exactly you were trying to tell him. Possibilities swamped his mind, there were so many he didn't want to assume the wrong one. He knew that you'll tell him when the time is right. He thought back to see if he could find any recollection of you seeming unhappy with him or the relationship, he failed to find any signs. No longer wanting to dwell on what may be nothing, he continues to read the rest of his letters and then back to his book. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Yes, see you soon, Tonks. I had a great time. Take care." Bidding your friend farewell you walk into your shared flat, a smile stretched from ear to ear. "Rem! I'm home!" Kicking off your shoes you walk into the living room. Remus sitting on the couch, asleep with a book over his face. You let out a small laugh walk over to him and remove the book covering his face. Walking over to the bookshelf, a pile of letters sitting on a nearby coffee table caught my attention. Picking them up I shift through the letters to see if any were mine. Tonks, Harry, Moody, and Molly. All normal letters, shuffling back through you notice that one looked as though it had already been opened. Examining the envelope, all that it said was that it was from Molly. When I found it in my pile I assumed it had been addressed to me, I mean I knew that I wrote to her yesterday, but Remus didn't so it was logical for him to open it and see if it was for one or both of us. Remembering what the letter I sent yesterday had entailed my blood ran cold. 'Wait, did Rem read the whole letter? Does he know? Is he upset?' Those and a million more thought swarm your head, in the midst of your mini freak out, Remus had woken up and was now just sitting and watching you. Taking a deep breath to try and calm yourself, you turn to start heading towards the kitchen. Your eyes fall on the now awake Remus, the undetected change in the environment startled you, a sharp exhale was all that was heard for a good 30 seconds. "God, Rem, you've got to stop scaring me like that!" You laugh from both nerve and being scared by your boyfriend sitting up. Looking back at the letters in your hand you decide it's better now than never, he may already know somethings up.

"Rem, um, I, uh, need to tell you... something." It sounded a lot more confident in your head, but came out was an awkward string of words. "Yes, Love, what is it?" He looks at you expectantly, but no trace of anger. 'Confidence: Boosted! I can do this, I can do this.' "Remus," You take another deep breath "I'm," another pause. You look him directly in the eye, knowing that if you were going to do this you might as well be as confident as you could, there was no going back now. "I'm pregnant." You finally managed to get the words out. The second those words left your mouth your eyes shot to the floor and your teeth were on your lip, you prepared for the worst.

The silence was taking over an indistinguishable emotion hung in the air. Remus is just sitting there. After a few seconds, a look of realization hit his face, but your eyes are still on the floor. "You are?" He needs to be sure he heard you correctly. "Yes, I'm pregnant." Tears started to prick at the corner of your eyes, taking his original silence as him being upset.

Within the next few seconds, arms were around your waist and your feet off the ground. Blinking in shock you realize Remus was spinning you around. "You're serious?" A broad smile on his handsome face. "Huh? Well, yeah. You aren't upset?" You didn't believe your eyes at first. "Why in the world would I be? I love you and I love this baby." He kisses you passionately his hand on your waist, yours in his hair. Breaking away your foreheads pressed together. "How long have you known?" A look of pure happiness on his face. "Um, only a little over a week now." "Are we going to tell the order?" "Well, I, sure. I mean, should we?" -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The whole order was gathered at the Weasley's home for a get-together. You and the rest of the order were currently all sitting down for a meal, Remus to your right, Molly to your left. Turning to Molly you pull her closer. "Do you mind if Remus and I make an announcement?" You whispered into the red-heads ear. "If it's what I think it is that go right on ahead, Dear." Sharing a look you both smile. Turning to Remus you give him a curt nod.

Remus clears his throat and quickly glances at you. You smile at him. "If you don't mind (Y/N) and I have some news we'd like to share with you." It took a little bit but all of the eyes in the room made their way to the two, no, three of you. Smiling at Remus you decide to speak up. "We're having a baby! We wanted to tell all of you because you're like family to us and hope that you will continue to be."

A light air overtook the atmosphere. In a time of such tension, moments like these were what everyone yearned for. And this moment would only create more to come.