Friday, December 31, 2010

P.J's and apple juice...

My exciting New Year's Eve plans include, shower, p.j's, a movie and a nap before the ball drops. That is if Benjamin sleeps. I have fruit, fruit dip, cheese and crackers and drinks ready. Drinks include Sprite mixed with a choice of either apple juice or what ever type of juice it is on the bottle with Elmo. For a last minute party planning, not bad huh? Don'y worry not entertaining guests, just the hubs and me. My mom's side does a big NYE party every year, but when you are 9 days away from giving birth, already have one baby that is no longer sleeping through the night...you get to do what you want for the most part! So p.j's, movie and a nap is in the plans until the ball drops in about 4 hours.

Hope everyone has a safe night and a new year filled with much joy and love.

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Miss you blog...

They aren't kidding motherhood is hard, not that I thought it would be a piece of cheesecake! But you know what I mean. Our lil boy is now a year old, how fast the time went by! All the 'firsts' we got to experience with him, wouldn't have missed it for the world! I am so blessed that I have been able to stay home with him! However, that isn't all fun and games all the time...I do work from home. Thankfully he takes awesome naps and I haven't had to stay up too late or wake up in the wee hours of the morning (unless I couldn't sleep) to crank out articles. We are saving on daycare and I'm paying part of the bills, but I may have lost my sanity in the process. Not sure about that yet. I still seem somewhat sane. At least now that my husband is back. With his job he works 12+ hours days M-F and sometimes the entire weekend during the late spring, summer and fall. I'm a concrete widow during that time. So I really enjoy the winter when the concrete industry almost comes to a screeching halt due to the weather. Can't pour concrete when its too cold! Bring on the snow, ice and sub-freezing temps! We actually get to spend time together and he helps with the housework and Benjamin. Huge blessing right now as I am about 3 weeks from having our lil girl and the late pregnancy aches and pains have showed up.

Benjamin's first real experience with snow, wasn't sure at first, but he loves to eat it!




Ok...the spinach and cheese calzones are done and I'm going to freeze them for when our lil girl arrives and I have two babies and articles to write!

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Time for an update...

We have been very busy over here with walking, running, writing articles and growing baby sister! Benjamin is walking and running. He took his first steps while at my great-grandparent's house about a month ago. He is still a little unsure, but everyday he seems to gain more confidence and is even discovered running. Which has lead us to our first busted lip; left two tooth marks on the window sill. He can feed himself with a spoon, though very messy he enjoys it! First birthday is also approaching quickly! How can my baby be almost one??

Baby sister, who now has a name: Meredith Grace is busy growing and kicking the heck out of me. I've gained about 14 pounds so far and she is sitting high. Back and hip pain have sent me to the couch with a heating pad half way through the day (so with any luck, I may have time to update the blog more!) for about an hour during Benjamin's nap. Her room is coming along and pretty much complete, still need to take some pictures. So stay tuned for that. And belly pictures, poor lil girl will have no idea what I looked like while pregnant with her. She will have to refer to the weekly belly pictures of her brother. I really wish I had taken some since I am carrying her so differently. Sorry, Meredith!

Working from home is going great, I have been writing about 4 articles a day Monday through Friday. This will allow me to put money towards bills for the current month and save for when Meredith arrives. So far, if all goes well (and looks like its on track) I will have enough money saved up to pay bills for 5 months. I hope that I can get back to writing before five months is up, but I wanted to be able to have enough in case taking care of two little ones will be much more than I can handle with writing.

Well, that is the update for now. We are currently waiting for Alan's parents and brother to get here from FL. to spend Thanksgiving with us. His sister is flying in this week too, it will be good to see everyone and have some fun while they are here. Plus, my dear hubby who has worked his tail off  working 6-7 days a week for the past two, almost three months has the entire week off!!! :) Benjamin and I couldn't be happier!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Monday, September 13, 2010

Benjamin is getting a sister!!!

The lil' lady was all flips and moves and showing off her goods during the ultrasound. Everything looks great and we will be talking due dates in the next month or two; hospitals don't like doctors scheduling c-sections too far in advance. This gives me relief (its still far away) and scares me (we are going to have another baby!). Oh well, Alan is all about getting this lil' lady's room ready in advance (he is painting as we speak) as I crank out the articles. So far I am ahead of schedule with articles and hoping that I can have enough money saved by the end of Nov. to take off for six months with our lil' lady and B. Speaking of the lil' monkey, he is all over the place, trying to crawl or climb up and over everything! And his personality is really starting to show, making us laugh and smile with everything he does. I love him.

Sunday, September 5, 2010

You Know What They Say...

“Every pregnancy is different.” No kidding. With Benjamin, I was a little nauseated but ended around nine or ten weeks. This one…ha, I am 21 weeks pregnant and a wave of nausea will still come over me out of the blue. However; I am grateful I am not throwing up anymore. That was the worst. I was sick with this one starting at eight weeks and continued to get worse until 14 weeks (I think). Like, I said I still get a little green now and then, but I haven’t taken a Zofran in weeks! I am carrying different than with Benjamin, but how would you know, I haven’t taken any belly pictures! I can still fit into some of my jeans; shirts are out of the question! This uterus knows exactly what it is supposed to do and expand it has! I have gained three pounds at 17 weeks, with Benjamin I had gained a lot more than that! I did feel this little one earlier, I am almost positive I felt a little flip-flop around 13 weeks, because I know what it feels like. This little one loves spicy, the hotter the better. With Benjamin I had the worst heartburn when I ate spicy foods. So far, not the case. Pickles, how I love pickles with this one. I remember telling Alan one day “I would drink the juice out of the pickle jar if you weren’t home.” He gave me a strange look. I have more energy with this one, thank goodness! Well at least I do know, the first trimester kicked my butt. Between throwing up and taking care of Benjamin I was sleeping. I have my energy back and enjoying working out most days. We go for a walk every evening and now that the weather is a bit cooler, we are out for a run/walk in the morning. Two mornings a week I do the 30 Day Shred workout video. I am only doing level one and not doing the abs. I was doing this before I got pregnant, so I’m alright to continue. So those are the differences between these two so far. We find out Wed. morning if the little one is a boy or girl. I hope he or she is healthy and growing well! I have a lot to write about in regards to working from home, it’s been a challenge, but so rewarding. 

Saturday, June 19, 2010

Expecting the Unexpected

So I bought another pregnancy test (didn't I just go through this???) and took it in the store's bathroom. I knew the result before the two lines ever showed up (which took all of 30 seconds). I cried. I looked at my sweet baby boy sitting in his infant carrier staring up at me and I cried. My baby is still a baby and I'm going to have another one? I stuck the pregnancy test in the diaper bag and I wondered aimlessly through the store. I finally came home, laughing and I couldn't stop. Alan was coming home from lunch and I thought I should wait until after dinner to tell him. But I blurted something stupid and he said "are you serious?" I said "yep. positive. (pun intended)." He cried, because he knew I wanted to do some running races next year and get back into triathlons. I reassured him that it would be ok (I guess by this point I was coming to terms with the idea). We laughed and figured that they would be about 13 months apart give or take a few days.

The following days we didn't really say much about it, per my request. I wanted to be in denial for as long as possible. Well that didn't last too long as morning sickness came upon me. I tried ginger ale, saltine crackers, ginger (which by the way is disgusting. I could only suck on it and it worked until I had to spit it out which then made me gag). I tried sea bands and they worked for about a week, that and ice cold water with lemon. Then one morning, Alan was getting ready to go to work and I asked for a piece of toast with butter. He brought it to me and it tasted so good, I ate it all and asked for another. Like a wonderful husband, he fixed me another and brought it to me and my stomach started turning. I said "maybe not." He took it away and got ready to leave. He said to call if I needed anything. He left and I got up, sipped on some ginger ale on the couch and then ran to the trash can. I finally was able to call Alan and he came home. I broke down and called the Dr. I knew if I couldn't keep fluids down I would be in trouble. Thankfully I have an amazing Dr. who called me in Zofran without even seeing me!

Alan went to go pick it up and I felt immediate relief within ten minutes. I had a horrible headache which is part of the side effects, but I could deal with a headache. I was happy that I could function! I went to the Dr. the next week (I was 9 weeks at that appointment) and my Dr. said that I have nothing to worry about and all will be fine. The due date looks to be Jan. 16, 2011 one day before my mom's birthday! However, with repeat c-sections, they will probably take me earlier. They drew blood and scheduled me for the NT scan at 12 weeks. Can't wait to see the lil' person!

We told out families for Father's Day, it was a hit. We put a sign that said "Expecting the Unexpected first arriving Jan. 2011" in their shirts. Everyone was shocked and happy for us! Alan is so relieved that we told the families! He is so excited about this one, talking about cribs, rooms, strollers makes me a little more at ease with the whole thing!

I know it will be hard and crazy, but I am looking forward to it. I loved being pregnant the last time and I know I will enjoy it once this morning sickness subsides!

Monday, May 31, 2010

6 months


Dear Benjamin,

You are 6 months old (and a few days) and its amazing, seems like you just got here yesterday and in other ways it seems like you have been here forever. Daddy and I cannot imagine our lives without you! You are currently up and jumping in your jumper because you decided that sleeping from 8:30pm-9:30pm was good enough and its now time to play. So we are waiting for you to get sleepy.

You have a wonderful laid back personality and love talking to people you know. You laugh all the time and are interested in so many things. You love watching the cars go by and finger painting (yes daddy thinks mommy is crazy for a 6 month old to be finger painting, but you love it!) You still slam your legs down on your mattress at night and you have learned to put your paci in all by yourself. You can hold a bottle and easily turn onto your side, sometimes your belly in the middle of the night. You LOVE your jumper and have figured out how to swing in it. You love anything that makes noise and thinks peek-a-boo with the shower curtain and daddy after a bath is the funniest thing ever! You are in love with the book Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, you laugh every time I read it to you or sing a verse when you are crying.

Baby, there are going to be so many changes and so many wonderful things happening, just sit back and hold on; mama and daddy will be with you all the way!

Love you to the moon and back,
Mama and Daddy


Monday, May 24, 2010

It's been awhile...


So the day after Mother's Day is my hubs birthday! We had celebrated it when his mom and dad were in town a few weeks ago and surprised him with an awesome Nikon D70s camera. I am not sure who loves it more; him or me, anyway we are getting some great pictures of Benjamin! So on his actual birthday I cooked him dinner an amazing dinner, not the everyday dinner. So he had a great 31st birthday!

Fast forward from then to now and life is changing at warp speed. Where is the time going? My baby is going to be 6 months in a few days and its crazy how big he is gotten! We weighed him on a scale and he is 16.6 pounds which puts him in the 10% for weight. My lil' peanut, however he looks like a chunky monkey ;)

Anyway, here are pictures from our first swim in the pool:

Sunday, May 9, 2010

Happy Momma's Day!

Sorry to have neglected the blog; after I recovered from my cold that lasted two weeks, the brother-in-law came to town and stayed for a week. Then the mother and father-in-law came to town and stayed for 4 and a half days. I pulled off a 40th wedding anniversary dinner for the inlaws and a surprise birthday party for the husband! He loved the Nikon D70s camera that we all got him!

Today is Mother's Day and I woke up to a laughing son in the next room, something (probably his feet he has been chewing on) was cracking him up! I laid there listening to that wonderful sound and then realized that I got an entire nights sleep! The little man let me sleep through the night! yay!

The husband did great, two dozen roses, one form him and one from the bebe, plus cards! We then went to McAlisters (yum, potato soup!) for lunch and then went shopping for a Magnolia tree (no such luck, put trying again tomorrow). We then headed over to Macy's to see about getting a new set of sheets and a mixer (we had gift cards still from out wedding!) Scored sheets on clearance and a Sun Beam mixer on sale! Came home played with little man and fed him. He then pooped a very smelly horrible diaper that the husband changed without hesitation! Next up on the list is the husband cooking me dinner, pork on the grill sweet potato and a salad! Yum Yum!

I leave you with what popped up in our garden:


we had to get the tomato plants planted somehow!

Friday, April 23, 2010

Who do I give my sick day request to?

oh wait. I don't get sick days to lay on the couch and watch movies while I try to get over this cold that has been with me for five days. Stuffy nose, coughing, sneezing, sore throat equals a very tired and miserable mama. Benjamin doesn't seem to care that my eyes are red and I'm coughing to the point of almost throwing up. In fact, he thinks its quite hilarious as he is imitating my cough. Kids really have a way of cheering you up when you are feeling down.

Sunday, April 18, 2010

New Favorite Song


Listen to the words by the Dixie Chicks. Amazing. Enjoy. 


"Lullaby"

They didn't have you where I come from
Never knew the best was yet to come
Life began when I saw your face
And I hear your laugh like a serenade

How long do you want to be loved
Is forever enough, is forever enough
How long do you want to be loved
Is forever enough
Cause I'm never, never giving you up

I slip in bed when you're asleep
To hold you close and feel your breath on me
Tomorrow there'll be so much to do
So tonight I'll drift in a dream with you

How long do you want to be loved
Is forever enough, is forever enough
How long do you want to be loved
Is forever enough
Cause I'm never, never giving you up

As you wander through this troubled world
In search of all things beautiful
You can close your eyes when you're miles away
And hear my voice like a serenade

How long do you want to be loved
Is forever enough, is forever enough
How long do you want to be loved
Is forever enough
Cause I'm never, never giving you up

How long do you want to be loved
Is forever enough, is forever enough
How long do you want to be loved
Is forever enough
Cause I'm never, never giving you up
Is forever enough
Cause I'm never, never giving you up

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Attention Mommas...Tell Me the Truth

I am going to be applying for a grant that will allow me to create a manual/book. I want to reach out to mothers (first timers or experienced mommas, makes no difference) and create something that will help them  regarding their health (possibly the health of their newborn as well). Ideas are still flowing on this side. So I need your input please. Was there anything about pregnancy, childbirth or postpartum that you felt you needed more information on? I know that there seemed to be a lot of information I was lacking on the postpartum topic and caring for my newborn (and yes, I took a lot of classes) So if you could, leave me a comment about what you would have liked to know more about. And if you don't mind, let me know if you took any classes and the type (Bradley, hospital, etc).

Thanks in advance!

Monday, April 5, 2010

Like scratching an itch...

Today was beautiful sunny, warm 80* and the mister was not happy. I'm thinking he had too much Easter (pictures to come after the game is over). Anyway, mister would not take a nap, granted he slept through the night (yea!) he woke up at 7:30 and by 10am he was tired but refused to sleep. I ended up going over to my mom's around 1pm to have lunch. She kept Benjamin while I made a Target run for formula, bread, sugar and milk. Get done at Target and he is still sleeping with my mom, so I rush home (dark clouds go away) to get on my bike. I have been *dying* to get on my bike, its like an itch I could not scratch. Finally, I am babe free and the weather, although threatening looking, I am excited. Dust off my bike, pump up the tires, and then the back tire wasn't cooperating and not inflating. I work with it a little and still nothing. The dark clouds pressure me to work faster, because I am going for a ride today! In the moment of panic over the weather, I had an idea. Switch out the tires with my old bike. Worked like a charm. Run upstairs covered in grease, look outside (no rain) and rush to get dressed and attempt to put my hair in a pony tail (darn hair stylist who cut my hair too short!) grab a water bottle and out the door I go. I will admit I was a little nervous, it had been almost a year since I had gotten on my bike (thanks to pregnancy). I decide that circling the court would be the best option to check out the bike and my coordination. I run through the gears and everything seems to come back, so I venture out through the neighborhoods. I guess its like they say, you never forget how to ride a bike. I didn't attempt the aero bars; saving that one for another day.

I rode for a half an hour and it was pure heaven! And it never rained! The wind, the feeling of going fast and grinding it out on the hills (even if they were small hills compared to what I used to climb). I love that feeling of satisfaction and tiredness after completing a ride. I shower and go pick up the mister who slept for two hours with his grandma. Happy babe and happy momma. The itch has been scratched.

Now, I am itching to do another triathlon.....

Thursday, March 25, 2010

A different point of view

With the beautiful spring weather (70* and sunny!) here in KY I decided that it was time to take Benjamin for his first of many trips to the park. I called my sister, Jenny to accompany us on this joyous adventure with the family dog, Jesse. So we head to the park and start out with great expectations of walking a few miles. We must have looked like a sightly group, me hiking up my in between jeans (yes, they are not maternity but they are not my old, pre-pregnancy jeans) that are getting too big *grins* babe in stroller screaming because he much rather be held and Jenny trying to keep a 9 month old golden retriever who happens to weigh 80 pounds from pooping on the walk!

Anyway...back to the reason for this post (other than to make you laugh at the mental image you just conjured up in your mind. Sorry). As we were walking I noticed many cyclists and runners. And then there was this small twinge of...not sure what to call it, jealousy? envious? It was a feeling of, "oh  yeah, I remember what that feels like, I miss it." It kind of reminds me of being injured and wanting to get back out there. I watched them fly past us on their sleek bikes, the riders decked out in spandex in cool colors (yes spandex is cool in the cycling world). I saw runners with GU packs (I have to admit, I actually miss the taste of GU! Am I crazy? Probably, but the chocolate tasted like frosting. Honest.) and hydration belts on skinny little waists, ready for a long run. I miss that runner's high, the feeling of accomplishment after completing the assigned mileage for the day. As I reminisce of my triathlon days I am brought back to reality of a 80 pound golden pooping, despite Jenny's best efforts to keep him not pooping and my son who is screaming because the sun is in his eyes. oops. I take a hard look at where I am now. Pushing a stroller (not even a jogging stroller) instead of riding my new fantastic bike that the hubby gave me as a wedding gift. Unfortunately I haven't got to ride it much because winter came and I got knocked up. Instead of wearing cool spandex shorts and a colorful jersey, I am wearing jeans that are too big. But I notice that there is still one thing in common, they have their cool water bottle and I do too! Except my Gatorade bottle is filled with plain water and their is probably filled with either a protein drink (which I disliked anyway) or some tasty flavor of Gatorade.And then I realize that I have something way cooler than them, my son. (And yes, I know that they probably have a just-as-cute kid(s) at home) I have the chance to work at home during the night and be able to spend my days with my little guy.
How cool is that?

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Last day as a 'single mom'

So today is the last day of the hubbs' EMT class. Since Nov. he has been at EMT class Mondays and Wednesdays from 6-10. He is also at fire training on Tuesdays from 6- at least 10pm and sometimes later. And this is all on top of his full time job, where he leaves the homestead at 7am. He tries his best to come home for lunch, but if he doesn't get to then we don't see him until 11pm. That's 16 hours. Now, don't get me wrong, I am sooo proud of him! I honestly don't know how he can keep going like that, he puts the Energizer Bunny to shame!

But its been hard on me to watch him leave every morning, knowing that he won't be home until late. I try to juggle working from home, keeping the home standing, and raising Benjamin. I've gotten used to it, since its all I've known since Benjamin was born. So I am a little curious and excited how our lives are about to change with him being home more. We will actually have a bedtime routine for Benjamin, since M-W evenings we are normally at my parent's house. If it weren't for family I would have gone crazy a long time ago and probably starved to death. (thanks family for all the dinners and helping out with the babe!)

So after today, he will just have fire training on Tuesday nights! I am picturing in my head that hubbs will be able to take over the evening duties and I can work or *gasp* be able to go running! I am sure that it will be an adjustment, but looking forward to seeing and talking to my wonderful, amazing husband!

And honey, if you are reading this, I am sooo proud of you! You continuously amaze me!



Monday, March 15, 2010

This time last year...

We found out that I was pregnant! I remembered feeling so scared and shocked! Now I can't begin to even imagine live without Benjamin. He has made us really look at what is important in life and how each day is a chance to learn, to discover, to laugh and yes, even to cry over the smallest things. For an entertaining story of how we found out, read Surprise!

And I leave you with the happiest babe around! Ok, well sometimes :)

Friday, March 12, 2010

Have you seen my pre-pregnancy body?

I am not sure where it went.The weight I gained during pregnancy is gone (yeah!) and has been for awhile now, but my body....where did it go? How can I weigh less than when I first got pregnant but my clothes still do not fit? Ok, well some of them do. With the warmer weather I decided it was time to put away my winter clothes and get out the spring/summer clothes (I know, I probably jinxed us all, sorry). I started trying on the shirts...anything that was a button down...oh my. I thought the buttons might, at any moment fly off my shirt and hit innocent babe who was sleeping on my bed (how did my size A girls go to size D? I miss them).The shorts, I tried on one pair and that was enough humiliation for me. My hips are not the same, I know they spread during pregnancy, but the question is do they go back? And if they do, how long does it take? *sigh* So for the spring I have a few shirts and no shorts. The good news is that the weather man must have heard that I was having issues, so he has forecasted mid 50's for the next week! Thank you weather man, no shorts needed for at least another week! :)
I will leave you with a picture of what I looked like a few weeks before I delivered Benjamin. It is amazing that I can go from huge to normal size in such a short amount of time.

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

A week of Firsts




Ok, well it was actually last week, but whose counting?

We went to the Little Treasure sale and scored lots of goodies; playpen for $30, rocking caterpillar (take off of the rocking horse, toys, toys, and more toys. Not to mention some oh so cute swimming trunks and summer clothes. Aunt Jenny went along with us on the first day and we had so much fun standing in line for 2 hours to pay for everything! You decided to fill your diaper in the middle of shopping, so Jenny took you to the van and changed you. First diaper change in the van! Anyway, we had a great time.

First Laugh- we went back to the Little Treasure Sale with my grade school friend Melissa and while standing in line, she made you laugh. Not just a little laugh (like you have been doing in your sleep), but a laugh that came from deep down in your belly. Your eyes squinted and arms clenched as you laughed. You had everyone in line laughing with you!

Rolled Over- you were snuggling up next to me one morning and I guess you decided that you were hungry. So instead of crying to wake me, you rolled from your back to your right side and proceeded to grab my shirt to find the boob. You are so your father's son!

Found your hands- you actually found them a few weeks ago, but now you are 100% sure that they are your hands and boy do they taste good! You would be crying and then bring your hand up in front of your face and you would stop crying and then look at me as to say; "momma, look, its my hand!"

Figured out how to use the lower lip- when you don't get your way; like when I take you out of the bath that you have been in for almost 45 minutes; you start whimpering and stick out your lower lip. I wish I had my camera to capture the moment. But I am sure there will be more.

Sitting up with assistance- love to sit up and see your world from a new view. I propped you up in your highchair with blankets and you loved it!

Three months- yep, you turned three months this past Sunday :)

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

It feels like Christmas morning!

I am so excited for today, I have been waiting, crossing off the days on the calendar and finally today is the day. Why and what am I so excited over? The Little Treasure consignment sale. I've heard AMAZING things about this sale. So I have been pumped about this sale for quite some time. The best part is, since I am a new mommy, we get a chance to shop before all the other mommies! Since my mom's friend gave us a pack n play that she didn't want, I am hoping to score a playpen, a decent diaper bag that isn't the size of a suitcase or smaller than a clutch purse. And Benjamin needs some summer clothes and cute swimming trunks!

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

dressing phobia

The Monkey has developed this new phobia of getting dressed. As I put his shirt or onsie on over his head, he holds his breath and his arms and legs go wild. You would think he was going through the birth canal. Except instead of a 10 centimeter hole to squueze through, he had a spacious exit via a c-section.

So looks like he has a dressing phobia. Lovely, my boy doesn't like getting dressed.

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Its Been Awhile...again



My goal of updating the blog hasn't gone over so well. So here is a quick update on things:

What Little B has been up to:
*2 month shots went great, except for the 102 fever he had afterwards. (He weighed 11 lbs, 11 oz! Right on track!)
*his hands, greatest thing to chew on
*laughing in his sleep *love.it*
*smiles when he sees me
*almost sleeping through the night! I put him to bed around 9pm and he wakes up around 4am, I give him his pacifier and he goes back to sleep. He wakes up around 5am and I feed him and then he sleeps until 7 or 8am. Not too bad! I am actually stating to feel like a normal person! Amazing what sleep can do :)

Other than that and growing, the little man is a happy clam, except for when he is hungry. You would think I am starving to poor baby with the way he screams!

Anyway,that is the update for now. I'm sure our lives will become much more interesting in the coming months and will have more stories to share.

Saturday, January 23, 2010

First Run Post C-Section

So I have been *dying* to go running since the Dr. gave me the green light, but finding the time for Alan to watch Benjamin has been difficult with his schedule. Not to mention the weather here hasn't been all that great; you either need a snow plow to get to the streets or a boat. So this morning was clear of snow and rain. Benjamin had just eaten and Alan was home. As I was lacing up my running shoes that haven't been worn in I'm-not-sure-how-long; the newscaster said something to the effect of "a hostage standoff located at ____ and ____. SWAT team has just arrived, one person has died." Are you kidding I ask myself? Why on the one day that I have the chance to go running is there a standoff about two miles from me?" Now the question is, do I stay or do I go? They haven't caught the shooter, but they aren't saying much. I decide that I will take my cell phone and just run up to the corner and back, that will be one mile. And that will be a good start post c-section and all, plus no one dares mess with a new mother who hasn't had much sleep and just got the chance to be baby free for a few minutes! So I ditch the idea that the SWAT team is just a few miles from my home and out the door I went.

I am so excited about getting to run that I am almost laughing out loud, I refrain for the neighbors may think I am truly nuts. I tell myself I am going to take it easy and not run fast and to start out walking for 5 minutes. I walk, look at my watch, walk some more, look at the watch, 5 minutes is taking forever, so I ditch my 5 minute rule and start running. As I start running I begin to assess the damage that pregnancy has had on my once fit body.

My legs and feet have not had the extreme effects of pregnancy that my hips have had to endure, so they were off and running like their old self and attempting 8 minute miles. My hips were loose and not wanting to go fast. It was a weird feeling not to have your legs and hips working together. The legs and feet were about fifty feet ahead of the rest of my body. As I am running to keep up with my legs, I assess the boobs. Two sports bras have done a pretty good job of keeping the girls from making more of a bounce than what is in my stride. So I ignore the boobs and focus on why my legs are now at the corner and the rest of me is still half way back. So I stopped to walk and try to get myself back to one person. I stretch and off I went again. A little better. And just the time it was actually starting to feel like I was back to my old self again, there in front of me was my house. Already? I questioned. Insane. How am I already done? Darn.

Maybe next time I will be able to run a little farther and a little faster and as a whole person!

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

I'll Love You Forever....

"as long as I'm living, my baby you'll be."

The things I love about you;

*your big brown eyes
*tiny fingers grasping my finger
*how you sleep with your arms up above your head
*how inpatient you get if I don't feed you the second you start screaming!
*bath time; you love your bath and will stay in it forever, in fact the only time you cry is when I take you out because you start resembling a rasin.
*love it when daddy tells you, you can stay in our bed until you fall asleep; you and I both know that you will be snuggled between us until morning.
*I love listening to you sing and talk to the ceiling fan and your mobile; those two things are your favorite right now.
*Even though its frustrating when you get fussy in the evening and I am trying to fix dinner; you just want me to hold you.
*I love your sleepy eyes that say rock me to sleep mom.

There are so many more things that I love about you and I am sure there will be more to come!

Monday, January 11, 2010

My New Year's Resolutions...


A little late getting started, but better late than never! Life changes when you have a baby! So I am focusing my resolutions to help Alan and I transition from couple to parents. With the opportunity to work for Demand Studios and write articles from home, I will be able to focus more on keeping our life a little more organized and less chaotic. I am hoping that I stick to these resolutions and will make them part of our life. I want to start good habits now, instead of trying to figure it out when we have more than just Benjamin to take care of. So here they are;

  1. Home: Set the timer for 15 minutes and straighten the house. Also, complete one cleaning chore a day. This works out to be; Monday: laundry day Tuesday: vacuum and mop the floors. Wednesday: run errands. Thursday: clean bathrooms. Friday: clean kitchen. Saturday: big projects. Sunday: planning for the week ahead.
  2. Cook healthy meals: follow the Mediterranean food pyramid. Develop a weekly menu (this will help ensure healthy meals and cut costs at the grocery store)
  3. Exercise 4 times a week. I would like to run the mini marathon (aka 1/2 marathon) again this year, but with Alan being gone 3-4 nights during the week, I'm not sure how it will go.
  4. Read one book a month
  5. Date night at least once a month
I may have to tweak them as I find out what works for our little family.

Saturday, January 9, 2010

Snowy Days...










































It has snowed here and thankfully I don't have to be out in it! I can enjoy the beautiful snow from my couch with a hot cup of coffee and a sleeping baby in my arms! However, we did venture out (just to the front and backyard) to take some picture of Benjamin in his first snow. Benjamin looked a little confused but okay with the fact he was bundled up so much that he couldn't move. We took a few pictures and then I went to go inside with the little man. Headed up the steps and went to open the door, when the door didn't open I knew we had locked ourselves out. Told Alan and he thought I was joking. Haha...no! We got back in and unbundled Benjamin who was nice and warm in his snowsuit.

He ate and then took a nice long nap! We have about 4 inches of snow and its sticking around for more than a day or two. Temperatures have been freezing; lows have been about 10 and high's around 20 give or take a couple of degrees each way.

Best get going, never know how long these naps of his may last and so I try to get as much stuff done as possible!

Till we see you in person, lots of love and hugs!

Thursday, January 7, 2010

How Time Does Fly





We have survived the first month, Benjamin is now almost 6 weeks old. That first month was the hardest but the most rewarding month of my life. He has grown so much already, little fat rolls have now appeared on his once skinny bird legs. When he cries crocodile tears run down his face and when he smiles it melts my heart.

Benjamin had his first fever last weekend. He had been coughing and sneezing and when I woke up Saturday morning, he felt warm. I took his temp (yep, stuck it you know where) and it was 101.3 I called the Dr. and they wanted to see him right away. They tested him for RSV and checked his white blood count. RSV came back negative, but he wanted to see him back Monday morning to recheck. We went home with instructions to give him infant Tylenol, watch his fever, and how fussy he gets. If he gets so fussy he can't be consoled or his fever stays high despite the Tylenol head to Kosiar Children's Hospital and call him and he would meet us down there. I never thought I would be scared for my child to have a fever. But as the Dr. said with a baby at 5 weeks having a fever it wasn't good. Thankfully his fever stayed down and only spiked once on Sunday. Monday my mom and I headed back to the Dr. and Benjamin checked out just fine.

So now with that behind us and a mark added in the book of parenthood, I am feeling a little more confident and experienced. However, I know I have a lot more to learn!

Sunday, January 3, 2010

The Birth Story (from laboring woman's point of view)






Benjamin's estimated due date, Nov. 24th came and went without Benjamin showing up or any sign that he may be making his entrance into the world anytime soon. Only 5% of babies are born on their estimated due dates, so I didn't think too much of it. Thanksgiving was spent over at Kim and Hugh's house, ate turkey and lots of other good food. We threatened Benjamin that this was his last meal if he didn't start making any progress! Guess it worked because Friday morning at 2:30 in the morning I woke up with contractions.

The contractions weren't too painful and nothing timeable, so didn't wake Alan. We did things around the house Friday and then went to Lowes and Meijers to stock up on food and other items since we figured that we would be having a baby by the weekend. I'm sure people at Lowes and the grocery store thought we were crazy since I would have to stop walking and breathe through contractions. We came home and Alan finished painting the closet doors and I did some cleaning. The contractions were all over the place, time wise; they would be 10 minutes apart for an hour and then go to 6 minutes and then back to 8 minutes and then 5 minutes. When they got to 4 minutes apart for an hour, we decided it was time to go to the hospital; that was at 7pm Friday.

Ok, before I go any further, let me tell you what I had pictured Benjamin's birth to be:
1. go natural, but not against the epidural if necessary
2. have Alan cut the cord
3. do NOT want a c-section

Three simple things...ok, back to the story.

We got to Baptist East and checked in, the nurse checked me and I was only dilated a centimeter! I wanted to cry, I had been awake and in labor since 2:30 that morning and I was only a centimeter??? REALLY??? The nurse said that they wanted to check out Benjamin's heart rate and then they will send us home. Sounded like a great plan, didn't want to stay in the hospital if I didn't have to. So the nurse got me hooked up to the contraction monitor and the heart rate monitor. Benjamin's heart rate was all over the place; up and down so they wouldn't let me get out of bed to walk around. Do you know how hard it is to lay in bed while going through contractions? Not fun. Two hours go by and Benjamin isn't calming down, I would have a contraction and his heart rate would go up (which its supposed to do) but wouldn't go back down after the contraction. He would be kicking me after the contractions, which made his heart rate stay elevated, which lead to me being admitted to the hospital. So much for laboring at home. The nurse finally let me walk around a bit and that seemed to help ease the pain.

Ok, here is where is gets a little blurry, now keep in mind I had been awake since 2:30 Friday morning.

I think it was Saturday morning and I had been awake for more than 24 hours, I was exhausted and had progressed to 5 centimeters, half way there (which is a lot further than you think!). I was throwing up and Alan did great, didn't puke! I remember laying in the bed hooked up to the monitors and watching Alan sleep in a chair and being so mad at him for sleeping. I was in pain and I needed his help, but every time I tried to call him a contraction would come on and I couldn't speak. My nurse came in to check on me and she said that I wasn't progressing and she suggested the epidural. I was all game at this point. Give me the drugs! I was exhausted! The epidural was great (other than Alan almost passing out when they had to give it to me) , actually there are no words for how wonderful an epidural is after you have been awake and in labor for more than 30 hours. Once the epidural kicked in, I returned to my normal self and not hating my husband and took back the words "this is it, no more kids, this is your only one!" I was able to relax and I think I slept, but not sure. Alan called my parents around 11am and then his parents. We had many visitors and everyone was so excited, won't be long now!

They broke my water and found that Benjamin had already had a bowl movement, so a neonatologist had to be present at the birth. The then had to slide a wire up me to attach to Benjamin's head so that the monitor more closely how he was doing. The also had to slip a tube up there to flush out the poopy amniotic fluid. Hours passed and by 4pm Saturday I was at 9 centimeters! Woohoo! We are all getting excited! However, little Benjamin wasn't quite in position, he was still very high. They cranked up the pitocin and tried to get me to 10 centimeters, but Benjamin wasn't dropping. The Dr. came in and said that we could wait one more hour, but then we would need to do a c-section.

I cried and I'm pretty sure I saw Alan wiping away tears. I did not want a c-section. Alan almost passed out when we watched a video of one in class! I needed him to be there! My mom and grandma were great (both nurses so they know what they are talking about) and said that we have to do what is best for Benjamin and me. I had been running a fever and my blood pressure was really low, 78/39

Around 4pm Saturday they started prepping me for the surgery. At this point I just wanted it to be over with. Alan said he would be ok to go back with me, he promised he would not look over the sheet to see the surgery. We said goodbye to my family and off we went. They got me ready and then they brought Alan in where he sat on my right hand side by my head. He kissed my forehead and told me everything was going to be ok. The anesthesiologist was a younger guy and was awesome. I was throwing up and he gave me meds to make me feel better. My teeth were chattering and I was shaking, which was normal he said. I asked him what they were doing and he told me every step. "They are making the cut..." "Now you will feel like some one is jumping on you, like a trampoline..." "They are pulling him out..." "He is here!" Alan saw him and looked at me and I said "go." Alan went over to the warmer to see our son. I still hadn't heard him cry, but they reassured me he was ok. I later found out that they had to intubate him and bag him so that the meconium wouldn't get in his lungs. Then I heard him cry! Alan took him out to meet our family. I wish I could have been there to see their face and hear what they had to say. After they put me back together, I went to recovery where Alan and Benjamin sat waiting. The nurse encouraged me to breastfeed and he latched on immediately, there the three of us sat for an hour getting to know each other. At that point it didn't matter how he got here, didn't matter that Alan didn't get to cut the cord, or that I wanted a natural childbirth. Benjamin arrived a healthy, 7 pound 9 ounces and 20 inches long at 5:07 pm Saturday, Nov. 28, 2009.

And that is all that matters.