Proud

Lord have mercy....hold on....I am just trying to catch my breath, breathe, and take 5 minutes to collect my thoughts.  My babysitter was sick today so I had my boy and girl from sun up to sundown. It's been awhile since I haven't had any help at all, even a drop in.....so I am beat.  I keep saying this but I just don't know how stay at home mom's do it. I've been home after having the baby, yes, but I pay for help just about every day. It keeps my sanity and worth every penny.

I wrote proud in my post title because that's what I am.  I took the kids by myself to music story time at the local library for the very first time.  I had no idea how she/they would react or even what the program was. They just said music time started at 11am w/ a special guest. Sign us up!  AND.......I also took them to the other local library at 3:30pm for story/craft time. Two outings in one day!!  I have learned that getting out of the house is really the best way to keep us all going positively...even through the whining, crying....and did I mention whining. My son does much better when we are on the go, you'll see why in a minute.

So my boy--He is almost 4 months old. He is wearing size 2 diapers, size 6-12mo clothes depending on brand, drinks 6 oz at at time (has been doing that for awhile).  He is one of the most smiley babies I've been around. I just have to barely look at him and his whole face lights up--and it's just infectious. He is laughing too, which is just the cutest....but I haven't been able to catch it on video yet.  He sleeps through the night from about 7-8 until 5-6am. He loves to sit up in your lap and look around. He likes to watch and I've noticed his vision is getting better as he's catching things farther away.
Now, for his 'challenges'......he does...not...sleep...during...the day.  Oh my gosh have I tried everything. Well, here's the caveat...he WILL sleep if a) someone is holding him the entire time or b) he's moving in his stroller or car.  The minute I put that boy down he wakes up w/in a few minutes. Every time.  And how many have tried to hold a baby to sleep w/ a 2 year old around? Right, forget it.  I just about have him sleeping and she will yell 'MAMA' or start crying herself or whatever. It makes me sooo tense when I just need quiet for him. AGH.  I'm obsessed about worrying about his flathead.  The Dr. says it's not bad and we just need to give it time. He cries a lot during the day....why? because he's so darn tired.  He just can't stay asleep so he doesn't get the deep sleep time he needs to make it until bed time. Today was one of those days....he did pretty good while we were out, but I felt like he cried half the day. At least.

Now my girl--she is really getting quite verbal. She can carry a conversation, remember things....and her favorite thing now is when I put her to bed.."Wet's talk mommy, wet's talk". She wants to tell me what's on her mind. I try to speak and sometimes she just talks over me. Ahhhh, that's okay. I want her to know she is being heard. I'm really proud of her that she knows all her colors, shapes, and the alphabet. The next thing to learn is words! Just today she had a book and was making up a story w/ it outloud. Too cute. She also did a great job at the craft library time. She sat at the table, put the beads on the pipecleaner to make a snowflake. I didn't know if she could do it because the beads were really small....she needed some fine motor skills and she did it! Now, mama had to help or we'd have been there a long time, and under the table was calling her name....but I was just surprised and proud of how she behaved and what she could do.
It's interesting because at the a.m. music library visit she was much more timid. She sat in my lap, was quite shy, and really wanted to stay by me. Very unusual for her. It reminded me of when we went to daycare a year ago....I just don't think she likes a lot of kids and stimulation all at once.  At one point she covered her ears.  I think she's much more outgoing when she is confident w/ where we are--like at the park she will walk up to most any kid and say hi. Just yesterday she met a new friend and kept calling him little boy. Too funny. She is also interacting a lot more w/ her brother. She will go up to him and will want me to put her finger in his hand, or if he's waving his arms she'll put her head near so he touches her. She will get in his face and because he's such a smiley baby he smiles, she starts laughing, then he does too.....just...too...cute.
Her challenges----she continues to cry/whine constantly and she will not sleep through the night.  I don't know what's happened but she wakes up more than my newborn.  Anywhere from 2-5,6 times a night.  Sometimes she can put herself back to sleep but usually at least once per night I go in there otherwise she gets louder and louder and will wake the baby.  I did take her bed bottle away a few weeks ago but she was doing this when she had the bottle too. Taking the bed bottle away wasn't that bad either...I think my anxiety about it made it worse than it actually was......it took about three nights (first couple were pretty rough) and she learned that she's not having a bottle in her bed anymore.  Back to the sleeping--I don't have a clue as to what to do about it. I tried making sure she's full....she knows how to put her covers back on if she's cold.....I don't know.
The crying. The whining.  My new tactic to stop it......the minute she starts it I simply tell her 'stop crying' in a stern voice.  I had to have said it 25 times today. BUT, it worked. She would say 'OK trying' and stop crying/whining. Again, I have no idea if this will stick or make it happen less, but this has been an issue w/ her I swear since birth.  I also found a way to discipline that seems to work somewhat these days....'go to your room'. No kidding.  One day I told her to go to her room and she didn't want to....so AHA!  If she doesn't listen I ask her if she wants to go to her room.....most of the time she says no, but sometimes she will say yes. So, I haul her to her room. I don't leave her in there but a min or so and I ask her if she will listen? If she says yes, she can come out.

So, my thoughts today....parenting is dang hard. It is also fulfilling--as I sit here feeling accomplished from the day we had.

Oh, for my birthday (YES MY 40th!!) my two babysitters each took one child and I had a FREE NIGHT after 4:30pm until the next morning.  When they told me I lit up like a xmas tree because I haven't been childless at night since before my son was born.  The idea was much better than actuality. It was kind of weird.  The house was soo quiet. It gave me space to have some deep thoughts about how much of my life they are and to miss them, even though I get exhausted, frustrated, impatient, and a thousand other emotions.  I also got to think about the fact that I am 40 now. The number just sounds so.....well, older.  I didn't have a super big party, just out to dinner w/ some friends. The way I've decided to look at it is this--I appreciate that I get to be 40+...hey, some folks don't.  Lots to look forward to.

2014....2015

I don't usually take time to reflect on the year I just had and think about what I want for upcoming year. I am somewhat of a 'it will be what it will be', not a big planner type of person. However, I've been reading other posts wrapping up 2014 and looking forward and decided it's time I do it. I think it could be helpful in thinking through--what do I want....and putting those thoughts in the universe could help, who knows, right?

So, when I thought about what all happened in 2014 I think I'll call it the year of change. Ton of it.
--January of last year I had my embryo transfer that created my son.
--We relocated to our new city and I started back working w/ my old company.
--Tried out daycare for a few weeks w/ my girl and it was tough experience for both of us. She was such a baby back then only 18 months old. She was constantly sick while going there w/ stomach bugs, sinus infections, etc.. Missed my first day back due to sickness I got from her.
--Lived w/ my friend for a few weeks while I figured out where we were going to live....ended up in a 2 bedroom apartment from Feb-April because I couldn't find a home to buy. Turned out to be a blessing.
--Struggled for months to find good child care.  Interviewed over 10+ people and still didn't find right fight.
--Fought a lot of morning sickness.
--In May we moved again into our current rental home and flew to my niece's graduation in the midwest w/ baby girl.
--June learned about global reorganization and a few weeks before birth found out my job impacted.
--Became a family of three--had baby boy in October and didn't sleep much for 8 weeks.
--Got a new tenant in November for my rental in old city (lots of work went into coordinating this one).
--Stayed home, no travel, for Thanksgiving and Christmas.
--Started my new diet in December (and doing really well).

Whew.  So many additional details w/in and in addition to what I wrote but I think that hits the high points--moving, becoming a family of three, and now our future is wide open.

2015--Looking forward.
--Fist and foremost all of us stay healthy. I am on the right track w/ my diet plan (almost 13 lbs so far) and I am so proud of myself for staying the course during holidays and did NOT eat anything off plan...no cookies, no pies, no cake balls (even though I helped make 5 dozen of them).  Yay for me.
If we can master this one, the rest is all bonus!
--Along w/ above continue to make my health a priority.  Focusing on weight is one, but making time for myself is another. Continue to do the things I like, get massages, read in the bookstore, ride my bike, etc.. I like to recharge by escaping and think I do a pretty good job here.
--Be open to possibilities for future career that may not be what i've always done.  I've been thinking more about changing careers. My preference would be to create some stability by going back to what I know....then explore more.
--I've always been one to follow my 'gut' and let my intuition lead. I have thoughts/ feelings that I should return to my old city this year.  I would love to get settled in and stay put before my girl starts preschool in the fall of this year at 3. OH M G.  On the flip side I might just stay put and not work for awhile.
--I'm going to put it in the universe.....it would be nice for love to find its way to me. Even typing this gives me anxiety but I'm going to stare it in the face and say it anyway.
--There are several other 'givens' that I don't necessarily need to type out like love/enjoy my children. You always hear it...the good ole phrase 'enjoy it, they grow up fast'.
--Oh yeah....I turn 40. Eek!

I am sure if I dug deeper there would be other things that would surface, but the above is all just what popped into my mind. If I think of more I certainly will add.

Can't write a post talking about the future w/out including a picture of my loves......my family.

Picture for our 2014 Christmas ornament

Changed my mind

We are done w/ bottles in the crib. The other night she starts crying, yelling mommy, etc. so I go to see what's wrong. She had bitten the end off her bottle-again. It made me nervous because she could easily swallow that and I shudder to think if it got stuck. So, that overrides any worry I have about how the transition will go. We are done.

Tonight was exhausting to say the least. It was over an hour since I put her to bed and she still wasn't sleeping. I don't really know what to do. She's always had her bottle.  How will  she calm herself down? What can I do to help her transition?  The only thing I thought of was a) keep my tiredness in check and b) try to do something to take her mind off that she doesn't have the bottle.  So, before we went to bed I prepped her that we wouldn't take a bottle anymore.  Then, I laid down next to her on the floor and we just talked.  She liked it so much, though, that when I left the room she yells out "let's talk mommy".  I went in/out several times trying to soothe her while she cried and screamed on and off--which woke the baby too. There was a time when both of them were screaming..AGH!  One time I thought I heard "I naked". Sure enough I went in there and she had taken off her jammies and diaper....and peed all over her bed. Jeepers. This was what I was afraid of, but it must be done.

The other thing is my tooth hurts/throbs something terrible.  I had gone to a new dentist (referral from friend) right before holidays. I knew I had a cracked tooth and probably needed a crown. Experience has been seriously miserable.  He initially put on a tin can, as he called it, for the temporary. The ones they normally use broke or something when he was trying to fit it to my tooth. Well, it transfers heat and cold! I couldn't stand the pain so as soon as they opened back up after holiday (about a week) I went back and they had my mold and fit me w/ another temporary. Well, when he did the first and second temporaries-- he put in the numbing meds and hit my nerve causing an electrical current to run through the right side of my face. Hurt like heck. I searched the int.ernet to see if that was normal. I don't think so. And to top it off, the second temporary is broken in the back--I honestly think it was when I left there because I could feel something jagged in the back.....and now I think food is stuck because my tooth hurts something terrible. Again.
Jeepers.

I had this nice long post ready to go and frankly I'm just too tired. I'll just share some pictures of our holidays.  I've thought about 2015 and will write more on that later.

CHRISTMAS 2014

NEW YEARS EVE 2014

Pictures are fun!

Just Kidding. Stop it.

And here's the latest in our food journey.  Here's what she decided to do w/ her eggs tonight.

New Year's Eve

I have another list of things I wanted to capture and have a few minutes quiet. The children are w/ the babysitter at the store.

I was walking w/ my girl the other day in our neighborhood and we came up to the end of the sidewalk and needed to cross the street.  I told her we needed to hold hands, like we always do.....and when we were walking I told her that she behaved very nicely that day (her brother was super fussy) and she played independently, didn't fuss hardly at all, was helpful, and overall we just had a good day. So I told her all of those things and she responds...."I'm so proud of you".
It's nice to know that what I say to her is sticking.

She still has trouble w/ the I, you, me, her, he, him words.....when she wants help she says "Help you". Everyone seems to be a her.  Even Santa and her brother. She usually says you when she means me. Clearly I know what she is saying.

Funny: We were drawing w/ her new cray.ola desk she got for christmas and we were coloring shapes, people, etc. and I decided to draw a slide. Then I drew a swingset and told her there were swings. Next thing I know she has her head on the ground, her bum in the air, and proceeds to bend her bum down to the paper. She says, "I sit.".
Can't remember last time I laughed that hard.....it was hilarious because she was so serious.

I have to call it. My son is sleeping through the night!! YEEHAW ALMIGHTY IS MAMA HAPPY!  It's been a slow progression of skipping feedings. He would settle for the night around 7pm and early on he'd still eat at 9, then 12, then 3, etc....then he started sleeping past the 9 pm many weeks ago. Then several weeks ago he started sleeping through the 12 also.  And NOW??  The last few nights he's slept from around 8 pm to 5:15am!!I couldn't believe it!!  The other thing that is great is he has learned to put himself to sleep. Now, he doesn't nap well during the day so he is exhausted by night.....but after I put babygirl to bed between 7-7:30pm I put him in his rocker in my room next to my bed.  It is nice, dark, and warm for him....sometimes I lay in there, sometimes not. He doesn't cry or scream....he just sort of chews on his hands and makes baby noises. Soon enough it is quiet. I am so hopeful he continues this as I would like him to learn how to put himself to sleep.
His sister on the other hand.....no joke my almost 2 1/2 year old has been up every TWO hours almost for the last 2 nights. How is it that my almost 3 month old sleeps better than she does??????
She keeps waking up and says, "More milk mama" or "come here Mama". She wants her milk to go back to sleep. This terrible habit was created early on when her nanny gave her a bottle in her bed to nap and it's been that way every since because she fought it when not given a bottle.
Hindsight I should have taken her bottles away at 1 year old and not looked back. The little bit of pain then would have helped me now.  Now, I think I will wait until my boy is 1 year old and get rid of them ALL. It has become her comfort and I just don't want to take it away considering he has bottles all day long and they are everywhere.
The other thing I wonder is if she is cold. She doesn't keep blankets on her and I've tried putting another layer underneath her jammies. I may just boil down to she is just used to me coming in her room whenever she wakes up.  A habit we need to fix and it just exhausts me.

I wanted to share a picture of my son's dresser I got refinished. I just got it back in the house the other day and it is absolutely gorgeous. The guy who worked on it did an amazing job and it really is a beautiful piece. I almost don't want to use it for fear of it getting scratched, etc.. It went to him late Sept and I just got it end of Dec...so it took awhile but well worth the wait.
My babysitter had it on her back porch for several months. One of the neighbors had it out on a trash pile so their friend picked it up.  When I had such a hard time finding the right 'stuff' for my nursery, my babysitter told their friend either pick it up or she was going to give it to me.  Well, I got it. I found the refinisher online and here is what is looked like before:

BEFORE:

 AFTER:

Incredible.


We are just staying in for New Year's tonight......my children go to bed around 7pm and I frankly just want to rest and relax. I'll hear plenty of fireworks outside and my T.v. to watch the ball drop works just fine. That is if my eyes are still open.

Happy New Year to all...................

It's Christmas Eve

I was trying to think of the story....the one where it says all is quiet....something..not even a mouse....well, that's what it is right now. The babes are in bed, the wrapping is finally done, and I have picked up the house ready for our day tomorrow.  I am relaxing here in the recliner and looking at the full stockings, one for baby girl, baby boy, and my sister. I have one hanging too and my sister threw something in about 10 minutes ago so I wouldn't feel left out. My eyes are starting to get heavy so this won't be long.....

We had planned to go to a candlelight service tonight but we were just plain too tired.  This afternoon we went downtown to the aquarium and by the time we got home, cooked dinner, and fed the children, we both just said heck w/ it. It was amazingly quiet at the aquarium so we got to see all the exhibits/tanks w/ relatively no one around. It was GREAT.  We saw the penguin feeding time which was kind of neat. My girl really enjoyed it, the seahorses especially....but mostly climbing on whatever she could. My son slept almost the entire time.

I'll leave you w/ this. I've mentioned that my girl can be unpredictable at meal times and quite picky about what she eats....well, now we can add pancake artist. Here's what I saw the other night when she was 'finished' eating.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

My toddler

In case I haven't been clear in previous posts....toddlers can be so tough. I mean really tough.  My daughter has been a handful....in the beginning she just whined a lot. Now, in addition to the whining there are temper tantrums, throwing everything she can get her hands on, hitting phases, and now....dum dum dum.....NOT LISTENING AT ALL!  I mean to almost anything.

Maybe I was spoiled earlier on in that I didn't realize how well she listened when I asked her to do something.
Example: "Baby, come here let's put on your shoes."  Over she would walk and we would put on her shoes.

Example Now: "Baby, come here let's put on your shoes."  Blank stare.  "Baby, it's time to go, let's put on your shoes." Rolls over says no. "BAby...C'mon...we have to go." Silence.  "If you don't get over here by the count of 3 I'm going to come get you" Blank stare, half smile. "1-2-3". No movement.  "Alright I've had it, get over here and get your shoes on NOW".
Because of this newfound selective hearing, it seems to take forever to do anything these days....put her pajamas on, put her shoes on, change clothes, get in the bathtub, get in the car and in her seat, back in the house after playtime.....Oh.Em. Gee.
I also haven't found anything that has worked to get her to listen better. I've explained that she needs to listen, tried to tell her it upsets mama, I've raised my voice.....the only thing that has a mild effect is now I use the "Go to your room". She will go, but even that doesn't do much to stop it further.
I am hopeful this is something she will outgrow....and soon.

I've been carrying around a piece of paper of all the little things she's been saying or doing over last few months. I've had to capture things 'old school' since it takes awhile for me to actually log in and type it all out! Anyway.....
--the other night at dinner she was trying to get a peach on her fork. She kept trying and trying and couldn't do it.....she was so intent and says..."C'MON peach..."  It was just cute.
--she loves to go outside. She will come grab my hand, pull me, and say "Wet's go mommy, wet's go".
--When she is whining, crying, or otherwise upset I'll tell her to calm down.  She says "OK, trying".
--She still isn't the best sleeper. Getting her to sleep can sometimes be rough. After I've put her down and she can't settle down she will call out for me.  It starts by her saying "mommy" (low voice). If I don't answer she gets progressively louder. "Mah-may." "MAH-may." " MAAAAH-MAAAAAY!."  One night I just yelled out drink your bottle. She simply said OK, and went back to sleep!  On another night night I went to her crib and I told her to stop yelling. She said ok. I went out to the living room and I hear her little voice say quite calmly and clearly  "Come here please".
--She runs down the sidewalk and yells...."I'm runnang! I'm runnaaaaaang!"
--She loves to drink whatever anyone else has.  She will walk over, put her finger to her mouth, tap on it and say "one sip, one sip".
--She knows her alphabet letters and all her colors.
--When the baby sneezes she says "Bless you Baby".
--She is pretty good about saying thank you.  It's so funny to hear this little voice say, "tank you mommy" after giving her a popsicle.
--At night and in the morning she typically sits on my lap in the rocker.  I think we both enjoy this time because she asks regularly for "rocker" "snuggle wuggle".
--She was watching a show where she was learning letters and one day they said 'saddle'. For some reason she loved that word because right in the middle of saying her letters she'll say, A....B....F....SADDLE!
--In the morning she sometimes soaks through her jammies. We call this super-soaked. If that happens, when I come in to get her she says supsoak tu-tub. She's supersoaked and wants a bath. I take her out and hold her at arms length through to the bathroom door and she holds her leg out behind her to kick open the door almost every time.
--If she leaves the room for awhile I'll call for her and ask her what she's doing. I hear her yell out.."I'm still pooping."  Sometimes she'll come to me and say 'hard one'.
--My heart melted the other day when on her own she came up, sat on my lap, gave me a hug, and said "I wuv you mommy, I wuv you". Oh my word did my heart swell on that one.
--The only kind of discipline that semi-works is for me to tell her to go to her room.  It's kind of hilarious......she runs to her room, yells out WAH, WAH twice. Says I all done, and comes back out.
If only it stayed that simple.
--When she's done something she thinks is naughty she says "Oh Honeeeey". I couldn't figure out why she kept saying that until I realized that's what I say to her when I find her doing something--like tearing up a favorite book. I would walk over and say "Oh honey, what did you do?".

I still haven't figured out what to do about her diet. She is not adventurous and doesn't like to try new things. She likes her mac/cheese, chicken nuggets, hot dogs, eggs. What I try to do is at least give her turkey dogs, non-fried chicken nuggets, organic mac and cheese......but still. I know it's a toddler thing, but it's just so difficult to add something new to the mix. If it doesn't come out of a box and is pre-made, she just doesn't seem to want it.  At least she will eat some vegetables--cucumber, green beans, broccoli, carrots and many different fruits.  Ironically, one of her favorite things to eat is the 'fruit' snacks.

Oh my girl...it's during these times I would love to ask my mom if I was like this as a child. I suspect so...always pushing boundaries, into everything, exploring all the time, on the go until put to bed, interested in books....oh wait, back to constantly testing limits!
She may be a handful but she is also very sweet, charming, and can be pretty darn funny at times.....we've been sharing more 'moments' of laughing together and her communication is getting more detailed all the time. She is stringing sentences together, bringing up things she remembered from the day. It's interesting to hear the things that pop out of her mouth i..e what she's thinking about. Sometimes at night when I go to her room after she calls out, she'll just start talking....it's almost like we are having a conversation because she seems very serious/intent on telling me what's on her mind. I secretly enjoy this even though I am usually in there to tell her to go/back to sleep.

We are getting ready for Christmas. Most of my shopping done and house has been decorated for awhile. My sister is coming into town and unfortunately she's had a bah-humbug attitude so I hope she can turn it around. I've been thinking about how I am going to handle it because frankly I don't want her to bring me down. I'd love to have a nice, joyful holiday w/ positive energy. Don't think that's too much to ask. If it gets to be too much I may just call her on the carpet and tell her to get it together. It still bothers me that I am thinking this way because I just wish I could depend on her showing up and we have fun together. I have found w/ the last few trips that we just don't laugh much. I can only hope for the best and be sure that me and the kids have a great one no matter what.

Holidays and Kids...oh my!

I have had countless blogs in my head and a bunch of anxiety about not posting for awhile....there is so much I want to capture and share, but..........would I rather sleep or type?  Sleep wins.  At night if I am lucky enough that I have a little time when both are sleeping, I pretty much throw myself on the couch, try to watch my D.VR'd shows that are almost at 100% full, and fall asleep in about 5 minutes.
I am here tonight because I had some caffeine today (I don't do that very often) and my boy has finally started to sleep better at night. Now sleeping during the day is another story.

If I rewind and sum up how it's been since home from hospital....exhausting in the best way possible. Baby boy is almost 10 weeks now and the first 8 were TOUGH w/ a capital T. I think it's safe to say that he had mild colic.  His tummy gave him sooo much trouble that even after the switching of formulas and all the other stuff I did to try and help, nothing really did. At his 2 month check up the Dr. basically said we've done as much as we could and  it eases up at around 10-12 weeks.  He didn't have the scream for hours for no reason, but he just wasn't comfortable, cried and fussed a lot during he day, and wouldn't go back to sleep at night after eating for a long time.  It's just been over the past few weeks that he's started to sleep better at night i.e. he sometimes sleeps through a 3 hour feed time at 9pm (so sleeps from around 7 or 8 until 12midnight) and falls back asleep after bottles (for the most part). That's mostly because he doesn't nap much during the day, he is wide awake and still somewhat fussy, but at least the nights are better.
A few nights I've put baby girl to bed, then put baby boy in his rocker in my room around same time and Lo and behold I have some time where all is quiet.  Interestingly enough baby boy has learned to put himself to sleep--which I found out by accident.  One night after feeding/changing/rocking, etc. he just wouldn't go to sleep so I said to heck w/ it and put him in my room.  He just laid in there, not crying and soon enough it was quiet.  I've been able to do this a few times and it works! (assuming his sister isn't yelling MAH MAY over and over until I go to her room).

He's already gone from this..........

To this!!

They really look different the two of them......his sister looks just like her donor father and he is resembling me for sure.  I thought my daughter was looking like my side too, but then changed, so I am holding out on saying he looks like me for sure. But, I compared his picture at this age and hers....their eyes and noses look different.  Funny how genetics work! I was hoping they'd look similar (and maybe they will) for my daughter's sake because I don't want her to feel oddly out.....people already look at me, then her, and ask where her curls come from. Or they say she must look like her father. I just nod and say yes. Eventually she will understand the questions but for now, we'll just keep it going.

She is doing well and I have a separate post I'm going to do about all the things she is saying and doing these days, but I wanted to include these as they show her personality plus. Handful this one is. She is coming up w/ some seriously funny stuff and we've had some moments of laughing together--which I love.

Holidays are here and we had a nice Thanksgiving. We didn't fly anywhere....there was no way I was going to take a 2 year old and a newborn on a flight by myself. It's the first time I haven't been around a large group of people for the holiday in my whole life. That part was different, but we made the best of it. One of my babysitters is recently split from her husband and he took the kids to his family (new for her) and my other friend didn't fly home to California for the first time ever because she had just been there for a wedding. A lot of firsts for us all so we just decided to get together at my house and eat some good food. It all came together really well.....only mishap was I ordered a turkey meal from the grocery and assumed the turkey would be cooked. Well, it was, but it still needed to be in oven for over 2 hours. So, we ate all the sides first then had round two with the turkey and stuffing.
We also did these.....I had never done these before if you can believe. Sort of a right of passage when you have kids. They must be done.

Still off of work and will be for remainder of the year. I am taking time to enjoy my children and focus on getting as much rest where I can. I am also focusing on my health because it's so important being their sole parent.  I recently participated in our company's executive physical program where you go to the hospital for a whole day to get 'checked out' and it's all free!  I had all blood work done, chest x-ray, nutritional counseling, ekg, and some other things. It was all very well coordinated and they summarize results w/ you at the end of the day w/ the Dr.  Things overall look pretty good but I need to work on my weight and cholesterol (go hand in hand).  So, I started to work out again and it feels good. I am also thinking about doing a specific diet that a friend of mine is doing and has had great success. I am calling it a diet and not a lifestyle because it really is a diet. Not meant to be 'forever' but helps you to lose weight w/ their food and it's very a.tkin.s like. I want to try something different because I have done w.e.ight w.atchers over the years and I know the program but the last times I've done it (before children) I haven't stuck to it so why not try something different?  It is of utmost importance that I keep my health at the top of my list and addressing weight is part of that. I'm nervous about falling off the wagon when I get stressed--my trigger to eat poorly--and failing.  But, I have a different motivation now.

The other thing I decided to do was to have some cancer genetic screening done. My maternal fetal doctor was great in that she worried about my whole being, not just the baby. We talked at my post-partum visit and discussed getting another mammogram (found out can't do until 6 months out after baby) and given the cancer history in my family had I ever done the screening?  She had a good point and I decided to check into it, see if insurance covered, and do it. The history is my maternal great grandma died early from breast cancer (in 40's), my maternal grandmother died from breast cancer (in her 40's also and I never knew her--sad because from what my mom always said she was an amazing lady) and my mother died from a carcinoid in her abdomen that metastasized to her liver. Family history is not the best.  I am almost positive insurance will cover...I called them ahead of time and they said they do, however the lab was supposed to call me after they verified. I haven't heard back yet. By the way, for the testing I learned a ton I didn't know....as an example, for the BR.C.A gene 1 and 2, you can test positive, negative, or inconclusive. If you test positive you have an 85% chance that you will get breast cancer in your lifetime. Wow.

Even though I have been off of work I have remained super busy.  We are gearing up for Christmas and I am getting excited this year. I think because my daughter's excitement is infectious and she is starting to 'get it'. The live tree is bought and up (okay not decorated but at least in the house). Story behind that is--my idea was we'd have a nice family outing to get a tree fa-la-la-la.....well, it turned out that because I had both kids by myself I was sweating a lot, yes in December. My daughter kept wanting to dart in and out of the trees so I spent most of the time saying don't go too far, come back here, hang on a minute. My son got bitten by a mosquito. However, it was great because they hold each one for you, you pick it, they wrap it, put a stand on it, and put it on your car (you pay for that service, of course, but well worth it when you have two little ones in tow). Well, when I drove home and tried to drive under the carport I didn't realize the stand was sticking up as far as it was and the darn tree flew right off the back of my car. Broke the back windshield wiper on its way. I thought i would have to get a new tree stand but the neighbor fixed it. The tree itself sways more than it should and it makes me so mad, but hey, it is a beautiful tree.  I am so proud of myself because i even went to a craft fair and bought yard ornaments!! ME!! One is an ornament that says merry xmas and the others are two christmas presents.  I also bought a wreath for the door w/ a little snowman on it. I think my mom would be so proud too!

One last picture....I love it because even though it is blurry, it was one of the first interactive play times my children have had.  It was so cute. Well, until she started pulling at him and he started crying, but there will be years more of that to come. I have no idea why my daughter only has a diaper on....