Mom Crawls

So, this just happened…

Elle is napping (like a champ since we got her on the mend now…). And while she naps, I’m cleaning the house, showering and getting ready to attend Holden’s first birthday party later this afternoon (Elle’s going too).

I go to dry my hair and have decided that the last time I got compliments on my hair, I dried it with the round brush (which makes my arms hurt and I’m no good at it and it takes For.Ev.Er. BUT – I want my hair to look its finest. For whatever reason.

So, I go to the bathroom drawer and pull out…four hairbrushes that I put back into the drawer about five times per day (Elle’s on a hair brush kick and an emptying-everything-from-a-drawer kick too). But, no round brush.

Think, brain. Where is the round brush?

Ah, yes.

In my mind, I see it.

Laying in the middle of the floor of Elle’s bedroom.

(Told you she’s on a hair brush kick).

The bedroom where that girlie girl is napping.

Soooo…

I do what any mother would do…

Put on my softest slippers (damning our hard wood floors the entire time) and head toward her barely-open-a-crack door.

It sticks, and knowing this I try to do a shimmy/jimmy lift thing.

It fails.

The door makes a loud creak.

I stop, fearful.

Will she wake up and pop her head over the edge of the crib?

No! I need more time.

So, I quickly close the door back again and drop onto all fours outside the door, waiting anxiously.

I hear the sound of her sucking on her pacifier, hope that she doesn’t wake further.

But I NEED beautiful, lustrous hair. And the only way to get it is with the brush that is JUST beyond my grasp inside that room.

So, I decide to try once more. Evidently the risk being worth it…

I open the door, and I gingerly continue on all fours (less of a chance I’m spotted that way). I reach for the brush. I’m not close enough. I will my arm to grow a half inch – and somehow, it does (or I pulled a muscle in my side while I stretched for it).

I’ve got it!

So, I won that mild battle and headed for the hair dryer…only to realize that it really does hurt my arms to use that stupid round brush and it’s taking forever and I don’t have that kind of time, dammit, so I give up and go to the hairdryer-roundbrush all-in-one that was safely in the cupboard the whole time.

And, in the end, I’m having a moderately good hair day.

But I had to pull a muscle to get there…

 

Ahh, motherhood!

🙂

My Week Off

Well, my week ‘off’ – between jobs – is nearly mid-way over! How crazy is that?!

Elle has continued to go to ‘school’ the past three days which means that I got the downstairs kitchen/bar painted (trim and all!) and now have been trying to figure out what exactly I’m going to hang on the walls to make it less, well, outdated. Jon’s Dad came over and helped me hang some stuff on the walls – including my entry coat rack, which is a HUGE help to our garage-entryway. Can’t even believe how nice it will make coming and going this fall. We also hung a little key holder in the entry way. And some photo rail shelves that my Dad made for me. So yeah, well on our way to having the downstairs put back together.

I played 18 holes of golf yesterday and today, by myself. Which has been sort of nice and doesn’t take nearly so long as when you play with a bunch of people. Nothing like a stay-cation in one’s own backyard!

I didn’t even play that terribly bad. I mean, it’s not like I played GOOD, but I didn’t play bad. Seeing’s how I played in high school and college, my expectations of myself are a bit high…however…I haven’t played much in the last 10 years…so. Playing 18 holes two days in a row is quite something for me.

I have a full list of things to do – which I’m coming closer and closer to completing.

I went and filled out the paperwork for my new job – have to go finalize all of it tomorrow!

I’m a little nervous, quite honestly. But I’ll address that in a different post. Who WOULDN’T be a little nervous for a whole new job. I’m feeling good that I’m feeling JUST as I should.

Tonight marks night one that we’ve tried the not-rocking-Elle-all-the-way-to-sleep. In fact, it went something like:
Bath

Dinner (her second dinner…she’s a tough eater)

Book

Bottle

Rocking Chair

Done with the bottle, so you’re going into the bed.

10 minutes of screaming and I went in and and did the sh…sh…sh… thing. (As I’ve read about and discussed just this morning with one of Elle’s teachers).

Then 7 more minutes of screaming and then…nothing for the last 20 minutes.

Not claiming that it worked…just that all’s quiet from our Picasso nursery!

Alright – just wanted to let you know I’m still here and kicking, but quite honestly enjoying my do-nothing vacation.

More soon, promise.

Ahhhhh…That Feels Good

With a sleeping baby (hello “Sleep Pillow” iPhone app – white noise is the answer, at least for tonight) before 7:30 p.m. – in jammies, in her own bed – I opted to make myself a tasty dinner.

I’ve been really REALLY trying to watch what I eat – not just watch it flow past my lips and onto my thighs, but making smarter choices before that taste hits my lips. And, so far, I’ve been doing pretty darn good. The scale shows me down about 4-5 pounds depending on the time of day, so I feel pretty solid about that, too.

I made myself whole grain linguine (and just one portion, not my usual 18 1/2 for me and my thighs and mid-section) with shrimp scampi (got conned into that one on a Saturday sample-day at Sam’s Club), a Caesar salad with a few grilled chicken strips and some Italian dressing. And oh, there it is, in the shadow, in front of the books on the coffee table, a big glass of Red Wine.

I lit a candle.

I turned on the TV to PBS, to Antiques Roadshow. (helllooo guilty pleasure-normally I fall asleep to the first five minutes of it on the iPad in bed).

I sipped my wine, I twirled pasta on my fork.

I enjoyed that all the toys were put away, that there was a candle burning, that the dishwasher was running, that my baby was sleeping – SLEEPING! – and I was enjoying a relatively healthy meal in a NORMAL manner.

I even laid on the couch and for a split second thought ‘this must have been what I felt like BEFORE I had a baby’.

And, whatever you might think of me…

It.

Was.

Awesome.

I felt like I was firing on all cylinders today.

I spent some time thinking long and hard about a new approach to swim class. And, I found it in our trusty stroller.

I simply loaded up our swim bag, the stroller and Elle (ok, wrapped in a Snuggie, because I forgot a blanket – I lied about firing on all cylinders – maybe like 5 of 6 or something.

Anyway, Elle, the stroller, the swim bag and the Snuggie and I make our way into the Y.

I ask if there’s an elevator that goes to the women’s locker room (there’s got to be one, right) and the directions resemble something akin to pointing west and saying ‘GOLD!’. So, yeah, didn’t find the elevator and didn’t want to waste time, so I just picked up the stroller (yea for lightweight Baby Jogger strollers!) and walked down the two flights of stairs to the women’s locker room.

Not kidding.

And I wasn’t even winded. (Not exercising and watching what I eat have me in great shape ALREADY!).

I chose to bring the stroller, because I was honestly kind of grossed out about the floor of the locker room last week. So, I figured that I could load up warm fluffy towels in the stroller, I could load the stroller up with a bottle, a binky and my own flip flops and camera, and I would have a nice little carryall.

She's in there, I swear. Just hanging out with the towels and her toes.

See, not kidding - that burgundy thing is a Snuggie. And when I keep saying 'swim bag' I really mean, the 99 cent TJ Maxx shopping bags - but they work.

Elle ROCKED swim class this week – despite that turd of a teacher being back.

I actually kind of want to punch the kid in the face, but I’m not very violent, so I won’t.

He began our interlude today with, “Well, we’ll see if she likes the water any better this time,”

And my cool response was, “Do NOT fire water at her face this time and we should be ok.”

Sheepishly, he replied, “Yeah, that wasn’t a very good idea.”

I feel like he may be trainable some day in that he can recognize his foul behavior.

Ok, I know I’m just being a bitch now, but seriously, mr-junior-in-high-school you’ve never even INTRODUCED yourself and you can NOT remember the words to songs that you are singing THREE nights a week. I can’t handle you, but I want my daughter to love the water, so I put up with you.

It is a great character flaw of mine that I believe that myself or my brother can most certainly teach small babies how to swim better than, well, at least this guy. I have a tendency to believe that, in general, I can do a lot of things better than others — I recognize this as a flaw, so at least there’s that.But this kid, this kid is just – complacent and dweeby and doesn’t think he is – he thinks he’s the SHIT because he teaches Baby Swim at the YMCA. (Ok, rant, over.)

Anyway, swim class was a raging success. We got there and into the pool AT 5:02 p.m., and we swam and opted out of the final five minutes of ‘free swim’ and instead we made a beeline for the locker room, Elle in her stroller under a pile of warm towels.

While she chilled out and had a bottle (which I expertly propped beneath a duck robe), I quickly changed into dry clothes and hoped that she wouldn’t melt down before I could get myself put back together.

Success!

Wasn't kidding about the bottle propping. Heck, we're still on the pool deck in this photo, making a run for it.

Got her dried off and clothed, etc., and headed for the car. Fed her the rest of the bottle in the car and then headed toward home.

Managed to get in some FaceTime (yeah, new iPhone) with Jon and got a tour of the place he’s staying over in South Haven. FaceTime is so cool – I know, I’m late to the party.

I got the bottles washed, the kitchen cleaned, even fed Elle some extra cereal to try to help her sleep (that’s my Dad’s idea and I’m entertaining all ideas that end in more sleep for the mom). I gave her a bath, picked up then made myself a dinner that wasn’t totally frozen to begin with.

Anyway – firing on 5 of 6 cylinders, while I wrote this diatribe (is that even the right word?!) Elle woke up again. I gave myself  four – now three – more minutes to have this post done and up and getting myself into bed.

But man, tonight felt good – and so did that glass of wine!

 

Today We Went Swimming

Today was Elle’s first swim class!

I definitely over-prepared myself for how great it was going to be. I think I thought I’d meet other Mom’s and we’d commiserate in the locker room or something. That didn’t happen.

I did, however, learn a few things.

1. Do NOT expect to capture the photographic moment of baby’s first swim lessons when you are the lone parent with your child. There is no physical way to have your camera, photograph your baby, not drown your camera and not lose the grip on your child. So, two locker room photos it was.

2. That old wives tale about not eating 30 minutes before swimming. Let that one fly out the window. I picked Elle up from school and we headed to the YMCA for baby swimming class and I wanted to be sure we were early because I didn’t know what to expect. I SHOULD have fed Elle so she wouldn’t get cranky. Lesson, learned.

3. Wearing my bathing suit TO the gym was the best plan I made in the entire day. This made it much easier to get both of us ready for the pool.

4. You’re going to HAVE to put the baby down SOMEWHERE. I’m not a germaphobe by ANY stretch, but putting your baby on the floor of the gym seems a BIT risky to me (athlete’s foot on your chest, anyone?). So, I was glad I had Elle’s car seat blanket with me to throw on the floor so I could get changed.

5. Pool time for a baby who likes the pool can be capped at 30 minutes. At least this baby, on her first time. We got in the pool a little early because I was there early. So at 15 minutes til class was to start, I was in the pool and Elle and I were watching the lap swimmers, she was floating and kicking and splashing and generally loving the experience. That idyll did not last, however.

6. Bring two towels per person. You get SO wet and those Lil Swimmers diapers get SO WET that they just pour water onto your blanket.

7. It’s cold outside of the water, so plan accordingly. I’m not sure how to combat that the locker room temperature was so darn cold and how to have Elle not have a fit as a result…but I’ll figure it out. I did make sure to get both of us under the warm shower when we got into the locker room, which helped, but then we were just more wet.

8. If you are looking for the camaraderie of other parents, signing up for the Saturday class is probably the better idea. I figured that we’d have not QUITE as many kiddos in this class, but there was ONE other little boy. Not as fun with only one other little boy who’s two years older than your baby.

9. Find a teacher who is not a ‘sorry I’m five minutes late’ junior in high school who decides to take a bath toy and squirt your infant in the face with it mid-meltdown.

When said instructor said “I can’t tell – I don’t think she likes the water,” my (I thought very tempered response) was “How about let’s not squirt water in her face and see how we do,”.

10. Singing songs in swimming class wasn’t exactly what I had in mind for baby swim class. Again, I think I oversold myself on baby swimming class. It’s not like I thought she’d learn the breaststroke or something, but I thought we’d, you know, talk about kicking or splashing. We did not. The junior-in-high-school instructor, who wanted to tell me how we’d really want to shower/bathe after class because he and all his clothes smell like chlorine from HIS time in the pool (really, duh?…ok, no, thanks for the advice…ummm??).

When we started with a quiet rendition of ‘Wheels on the Bus’ and me and the other kid’s grandma were the only ones singing and I don’t remember the WORDS to Wheels on the Bus, it’s not starting off on a great foot.I wanted to shake this young man and yell ‘TAKE CHARGE!’ but I didn’t.

You know how the song says “The wheels on the bus go round and round, round and round, round and round. The wheels on the bus go round and round, all through the town,”? Well, I kept wanting to sing (loudly, because now the instructor is not singing nor is he helping to keep either of the kiddos in his class from melting down) “…all day long,” at the end. So I kept saying that, then I got tripped up heading into the next verse, so I was always a beat off.

Come on – Elle and I have Rihanna dance parties at our house. I should TOTALLY have this Wheels on the Bus crap down pat.

Ok, so I’m abandoning the numbering at this point.

We swam for about 35 minutes before Elle began melting down. Turns out she was cold, wet and hungry. NOT a good combination for ANYONE I know, especially a 6 month old (yes, my baby will be SIX MONTHS OLD on Saturday!). So, I get out of the pool and head to the locker room to get a binky, maybe, and see if I should just call it a day. But no, I have 10 minutes left, I don’t want to bail early (lest the high school junior instructor think I’m an uncommitted swim Mom…).(By the way, he informs me as I get back into the pool that ‘the last five minutes are free swim…so…I guess we’ll just do that now’ – um, dude, that’s what we’ve BEEN doing this whole time).

So, we head back out to the pool – which is when genius decided to take a squirt toy and, just as I’ve got her loving the water again (want to end on a high note!!) squirts her in the face. Ok, you know, I’ve practiced water on the face with her, we’ve eased into it…start with some dribbles, then gently squirt, then maybe, if she’s enjoying it, take it another step further. Not just a straight shot a la SuperSoaker style. NO. Not a fan.

Oh yeah, I forgot we had to sing the Hokey Pokey too. And he wanted us to put our ears in the water. What? No. I’ve got an infant on the verge of teething and you want me to run pool water in her ears? Nope. Not doing that either. I just ended up singing and swimming all over the pool on my own with her because she liked it and was chill that way.

Elle LOVED swimming – she just didn’t really like swim CLASS. So, we’ll try again next week.

In the meantime, here’s our inaugural bathing suit picture!

I Was Supposed to be Skinny By Now

Let me start with a disclaimer…I feel better about my body right now than I did, say, three months ago.

I don’t feel great about the shape that I exist within, but I don’t abhor it either. I don’t particularly like looking at myself in the mirror before the shower, but I can swallow that bitter pill most of the time.

I’m working on it, I really am. Or, at least I’m talking about working on it. And thinking about trying. And some days, really trying. I went for a walk with Elle tonight when we got home from school. It was nice to be in the sun, to be with her, to be getting a little exercise. I didn’t go far, I didn’t go long, but I did go. And that’s half the battle. And I spent yesterday making my muscles sore, too. So I feel like I’m getting there…slowly – too slowly sometimes – and steadily.And the day before that, two hours digging and working in the pond. I work up a sweat, so that’s something.

But, here’s what happened today…I signed us up for Parent/Tot swim classes. And therefore, I was supposed to be skinn(ier) by now.

I’ve been super looking forward to it, truly. In my head, I don’t think I connected until TODAY that I, too, would have to be in a bathing suit. That requires – ahem – maintenance of areas. It also requires a bathing suit in which I won’t feel absolutely awful (that’s an oxymoron, for sure). It requires being comfortable and confident in my own skin. I’m going to watch a ton of Dove commercials before I go to the Y next Monday afternoon. Maybe that’ll help.

I’ve been preparing Elle for swimming class diligently. I’ve been splashing water on her face, letting the spray from the spout hit her and force her to get water in her eyes. I pour water over her head to rinse her hair. Tonight, I even filled the tub up a bit more than normal and held her and let her float, so she wouldn’t be totally scared of not touching bottom in the pool. I mean, I’m REALLY TRYING to make sure she LOVES the water and swimming.

However, I was not so diligent in my own preparations.

Gut punch (and reverberations because that gut-area is NOT taut…).

So, yeah, I was supposed to be skinny by now.

But I’m not.

So – what’s that Dove line? Love the skin you’re in? Yup, that’s what I’m going to do. Create a love-fest around myself to love the skin I’m in.

WISH. ME. LUCK.

The %&$!# Back Yard

So, we moved into this house just over a year ago. I wasn’t sentimental about that anniversary coming and going for some reason. Should I have been?

Either way, we’ve done a LOT of projects around here. I’m always excited about each of them…and then they take longer and cost more than originally anticipated OR they just plain require a shit-ton of manual labor/elbow grease.

So goes the story of the backyard. Not that the front yard is any better, but the back yard is…well…on display for golfers all summer long. It’s where our family room walks out to and I like spending time outside, especially in summer, with a cocktail and friends and family.

I wanted the back yard to get some attention too.

I have no good before shots, really. Here are a few…

This is what the backyard used to look like - from the golf course angle. The scrub bushes to the right and left of the stairs, the red landscaping rock EVERYWHERE and the steps that were in need of attention. Plus a teeny tiny patio.

So, the above shows you what it looked like. What you might not get from this angle is how the awful red landscaping rock goes WAAAAAY into the patio area, meaning that the patio is pretty tiny. Our patio table barely fit with people around it. It was awkward, to say the least.

Here’s a good shot from above that shows you how what should have been usable patio space was overwhelmed by that crappy red rock. For the record, if you’re ever thinking of using it – DON’T. It’s the WORST. It doesn’t stay in the beds where you put it, it blows all over the yard, it crushes in the lawn mower or when you step on it, and yet somehow, when dead leaves and sticks fall in it, you can’t get those out of it. It’s straight-up awful stuff.

So this photo, you can see, is taken from the patio area toward the driveway. Some overgrown bushes (which look nice strictly because they’re green, I assure you).

Here’s what that area looks like from the deck above. A nice blue stone walkway from the driveway over with that obnoxious red landscaping rock (can you tell I abhor it?!) and some more randomly-placed bushes. Oh, yeah, all surrounded by a nice border of red brick. What? Why? Random.

Here’s another shot of that walkway…(FYI – this was at the gender-reveal part we hosted back in June!).

Ignore me in this photo – but notice the random red wood behind me? Some of those posts are used to hold up the deck above. But the other ones with the lattice work – a four foot opening onto the teeny tiny patio. And, you can see the expanse of red rock, blue stone and red brick mess between where I sit and the driveway.

These photos were captured in September and are taken from the golf course. In the top photo, you can see on the right side of the frame, the pond which is the bane of my existence right now. It is on the left in the bottom photo. It has gone untended for approximately 10 years. There are beautiful iris and lillies in the pond – but there is about 2 feet of mud and sludge and it is completely overrun with cattails. So, I’m also in the process of cleaning out the pond down to its liner and ridding it of EVERYTHING. Jon’s Mom, Karen, came over yesterday to help me and it was great to have an extra set of hands. She’s got great ponds at her house, so she knows what she’s doing. She even rescued some of the good stuff from the pond and is going to pot them and see what happens. If it were me all alone, it’d all be trash-bound.

The other exciting thing you’ll notice at the right edge of the house is a pitiful excuse for a tree. It was already leaning when we moved in. The area below it washes out when we get heavy rain because it’s a main thoroughfare (I don’t know terms like this…) for the drainage from the neighbors across the street. Then it got hit by lightning or something and lost another limb over 4th of July last year. It’s a hideous looking tree from every angle but our bedroom…so it’s coming down. (Not to mention it’s SUPER messy). Another item on the list.

What’s most exciting, though, is the progress that’s been made already. My Dad and Jon and Trevor and my Uncle Bill (and even Frank, Andrea’s husband, one night) re-did the patio. It was an almost-fight for Jon and I, but I think we’re both glad it’s done (and done early) now.

Here are some photos of Jon and my Dad working on the patio.

So, if you use your imagination, you might be able to understand that ALL THE RED ROCK IS GONE (buried a quick and painless death beneath what you’re now viewing). The patio stone was salvaged from the walkway pictured above, from the steps that were already there, and from some other areas, too. It was all torn up and re-laid in large part by these two guys! How much do they rock?! It was my Dad’s vision, and I’m so glad that it came to life already.

Sorry to bore with such an uneventful post tonight, but I wanted to capture the things we’re doing behind the scenes. Oh yeah, and put into posterity’s vault the fact that I will NOT be able to lift my arms above my head tomorrow. This afternoon while Jon and Elle were napping, I buried the remaining red rock, tore out four HUGE bushes, began leveling out the topsoil and got attacked my an army of gnats the entire time.

So, I will post some updates as the summer goes on, but here’s our starting point. I can’t wait to post pictures of the finished products AND of us enjoying it with Elle, our families and our friends all summer long!

Day In The Life: February 2012

The “Day in the Life” project is hosted quarterly by Navigating the Mothership. I think you should check out her blog – I enjoy following her! The Day in the Life’s are cool to read and they seem to grow each time they’re hosted. Can’t wait to see what this winter’s holds.

If you’re interested, check out the Mothership blog and see if you’re up for it.

If you want to see what mine looked like when I did it the first time, here’s mine from October 2011, one week before Elle came to our world.

And without further ado, here’s mine for Winter 2012.

Enjoy!

Saturday, February 11, 2012

6:56 a.m.: Elle’s awake. Time to get medicine, a bottle and the like going for the day. (Let it be said that Jon took the middle of the night dining event, so that wasn’t a part of my day).
7:00 a.m.: Here I don’t have enough hands to make the bottle, get the medicine and the whatnot going – so Elle takes refuge on the floor of the kitchen. And no, the floor is NOT clean. Whatev’s.
I choose the Avent bottle over the Playtex Ventaire bottles for no particular reason, other than the Avent’s are clean and the Playtex are all used and need washed.

Here’s Elle (still laying on the floor) getting her medicine. It’s propanalol for her hemangioma and it’s working wonders. She gets this dosage three times each day.
Elle loves her medicine AND the mornings. Here’s our happy girl!

7:03 a.m.: Bottle made and medicine administered, it’s back to Elle’s room to photograph the evidence as well as change a diaper.
The blanket made its way to the floor in the middle of the night, and I had to use the flash to shoot this photo because it’s still so dark out.

7:13 a.m. : Here are Jon (gray sweatshirt on the left), Elle and I laying in bed as Elle eats breakfast. Let me add the disclaimer that MANY of the photos you’ll see of me are unfortunate looking…but whatever, this is my life.

7:17 a.m. : This is what I find in the living room upon my entrance this morning…the remnants of Jon’s Call of Duty Modern Warfare festival last night. In other words…a bean bag chair and the boppy on Elle’s blanket, in front of the tv. Glad that the boppy has found good use – holding up Jon’s rear for marathon COD events.

Just another view of Jon’s setup for COD playing.

Playing with her feet – a new trick of Elle’s! The blanket was made by my grandma’s sister in law, my Aunt Julie.

Realize that my camera time and actual time are off by several minutes. Take this photo to be able to calibrate the timing for my Day in the Life blog.

7:18 a.m.: NEED COFFEE. Dunkin Donuts Hazelnut is my absolute favorite these days. One scoop per two cups for this gal…does that make it weak? I don’t know if it does or doesn’t, but it sure makes it taste good.

For the record, I realize after I take this photo that the clock on my coffee maker is horribly wrong, so I set out to fix it. I thought it was going to be one of those awful things…but turns out, I just had to push ‘hour’ until it came back to 7 a.m. and I was done. TOO EASY.
7:24 a.m.: I notice this stack of ‘stuff’ in the kitchen next to my dying Peace Lily. The pile includes anything out of the dishwasher that Jon didn’t know where it went. A cutting board and a decorative appetizer plate. Put those away…

Speaking of, I decide to try to figure out why the lily is dying. Because it’s really pitiful.

Over-watering seems to be the culprit. I dump the water out from the container and jot a mental note to stop watering the thing. Realize that I haven’t watered the poinsettias by the front door in over a month, but they’re still doing alright so I don’t worry about it. I’m hoping they die anyway.

7:28 a.m.: As mentioned in a previous post here, I recognize that my kitchen counters really need to be wiped down, so I grab my favorite stuff (which I can no longer find at the Dollar Tree) and begin cleaning the countertops. LA’s Totally Awesome, Lavender.

Were you wondering where Elle was this entire time? Me too. No, kidding, but she was back in bed with Jon for some quality snuggle time, which allowed me the time to clean the counters and get ready for the race.

More to come on that whole race thing…

Evidence that I fixed the clock, at 7:43 a.m.

And, with that the coffee is FINALLY ready.

I grab my favorite cup, so that it can make it into “Day in the Life” blog. It says “Peace Also Takes Courage”. The coffee tastes better out of this particular mug.

Notice the spilled coffee spot on the counter…I hadn’t gotten around to that side of the kitchen with my Totally Awesome yet, but I did manage to do it after the photo.

As I’m now snapping pictures, I realize that the scene with Elle’s bottles and mine (mine are the ones with wine in them) is kind of a neat (weird) photo, so I capture it. Also, I really wanted you to see how cool that compass thing looks on the wall of my kitchen. Honestly, that’s really why I took the picture. It was a Pier One purchase, but it’s supposed to be an outside decor thing, but I loved it for my kitchen. So there.

8:53 a.m.: Text back and forth with Molly after turning on Good Morning America and the local weather. Turns out, that after the weirdest winter ever where it was like living in the Carolinas or something, winter had finally come to mid-Michigan. It was seven degrees with a wind chill of -12 (so it felt like 12 below for anyone who doesn’t understand wind chill). Molly and I had been planning to run the Sweetheart 5K in Flushing all week, but the weather seemed to be a big road block for me. But, I’d said since the first of the year I was going to run this race. So, I text Molly to see if she wants to back out.

No, she says, reminding me of Rocky with her reference to Eye of the Tiger. She’s in if I’m in.

Ok, crap, I’m in. This is gonna be cold.

Yes, it’s going to be cold. I gather my cold weather gear, including long johns and Dri Fit shirt. That was layer number one. To prove it, I took a picture. I apologize for the body…but…it’s what I’m working with!

8:05 a.m.

Molly is picking me up at 8:45ish. Race registration opens at 9 a.m. and the race begins at 10 a.m. For the record, I printed off the registration form and began to fill it out. Except, I realized only too late that I had written my last name and Molly’s first name onto the form. I swear. So, ripped it in half and threw it away. Only to realize that the directions on how to get to the school were on the sheet. So, I dug through the trash and set my mistake paper into the bag to take with.

8:18 a.m.

Jon and Elle are in bed, and she’s awake, waiting for him to wake up. We hang out in our room just taking photos for my blog and talking about the day. I tell Jon he can always run Elle to my Mom and Dad’s if he wants to get started painting our room, or if he needs to get the driveway cleared of last night’s snow.

This is for photographic proof that I do exist and hold my baby…but since I’m the one that typically takes photos, I have to force others to capture the moment with me and our girl.

Jon’s enthusiasm for my blog and being awake is short-lived.

8:25 a.m.

I’m set and ready to go with more layers to add on waiting at the stairs for Molly’s arrival.

Waiting for Molly to arrive…

Elle and Jon, watching morning cartoons!

Here, a photo of my Valentine’s gift from Jon’s Mom, Karen. She loves orchids and got me own of my very own that I swear I’m not going to make look like the peace lily.

8:45ish: Molly arrives and picks me up. I grab a couple of bottles of water on the way out the door.

9:25 a.m.: Arrive at Flushing Central Elementary. Here’s Molly’s pre-race look.

9:45 a.m.: 15 minutes til race time, I’m just snapping pictures to post to my Day in the Life. Here we are in the elementary school gym. It was pretty well-attended for a race that faced down sub-freezing temps.

9:59 a.m.: One minute til race time. Here’s the crowd amassing for the start of the race.

Here are Molly and I. Again, an unfortunate look about me, but whatever. This is what I looked like for the race. It was cold, so I was certainly not about to make this a beauty contest!

For the record, I did put on eyeliner and a bit of foundation just to try to make myself look a bit better.

10:28 a.m.: Not sure where I was on the race course, but here’s what my run generally looked like. Like running in sand, the snow sucked to run in, but I kept pushing. Not like I didn’t stop and walk, but I felt good that I did it at all. All I wanted to do was finish, and I did that and in a semi-respectable time!

There was one couple who I ended up keeping pace with the whole time. They would jog and then walk, and I was on sort of a separate jog/walk schedule than them. With just two tenths of a mile to go, I had jogged past them and they were walking. I took off my headphones, said ‘come on, I’ve followed you guys the entire race, I’m not going to finish ahead of you now.’ and we chatted across the finish line. That’s them, holding hands as they cross the finish line. I thought it was very non-competitive (or, perhaps, VERY competitive) of me to do this. Either way, it made me feel good.

About this time, Jon probably took Elle to my parents so he could begin painting after he got the driveway shoveled. Just so you won’t wonder where Elle is when you keep reading…

11:07 a.m.: I’m waiting for Molly in the car. She arrives after completing the 10K. Woohoo! Go Molly. (Forgot to take a picture, but she looked pretty much the same as she did pre-race, except with redder cheeks (hello, wind!).

11:22 a.m.: Bob (Molly’s man) was working on a roofing project around the corner from the race and was freezing. He asked for some coffee, so we stopped at this gas station to pick up a cup for he and his buddy. When I say ‘we’ I really mean ‘Molly’. I didn’t get out of the car, and just let her…Nice of me, right?

I also captured the moment with a self-portrait.

11:30 a.m.: Bob and his buddy get off the roof of the airplane hangar where they’re working to grab the coffee. I tell them I need a picture so I can post it to my blog. The buddy thinks that sounds cool. I don’t let him know how semi-dweeby it really is…because I personally think it’s cool too.

Bob had the door to the hangar open and asked if we wanted to see the planes. What a treat (and, I thought it’d make my Day in the Life seem uber-cool, too). So, we parked the car and hopped out.

Here are some snapshots:

Acting (not very well) like I’m going to start the plane by turning the propeller (isn’t that what it’s called, I had a total mental block when I was getting this pic taken).

In the meantime between the race and the plane hangar, Andrea texted and asked if Jon and I wanted to do pizza and cards at their house later. I get a hold of Jon and he says ‘sure’. So, we now have dinner plans!!

11:42 a.m.: Head to Bob Evans for a post-race breakfast. I totally forgot to take pictures of the food, but at least I took a photo to prove we were there. By the way, I’m SO getting a quart of soup to go (they have them on special for $5 to go). It’s a great deal and it sounds so, so good. That’s probably going to be dinner tomorrow night if I can help it!

12:09 p.m.: And, just to prove I paid the bill, here’s evidence of what I actually ate.

12:30 p.m.: Home again, home again jiggity jog. Here’s a picture from our driveway out onto our backyard and the golf course after the night before’s snow.

12:45 p.m.: We are painting the blue color on our walls in our room today and this is a ‘before’ photo. I have better before photos of the room – this was just for the day’s cataloging purposes.

1:32 p.m.: Progress on the cutting-in. Ugh, tedious. And the color is a BIT brighter than I anticipated. Of. Course.The good news is that I turned on the Pandora “Old School Rap” station, and Jon and I are completely enjoying the tunes.

 

2:00 p.m.: Still painting.

3:00 p.m.: Still painting. And the Old School Rap station is now repeating songs. Been at this too long. Good news is, Jon and I had decided we’d paint til about 4, get cleaned up, pick up Elle (oh yeah, she was hanging out at my parents house so we could focus on painting) and head to Frank and Andrea’s by 6. Good plan.

4:57 p.m.: Still painting. Or rather, I’m still painting. Jon quietly washed his brush and grabbed a snack and watched some dumb show on E! after the 4 o’clock mark hit. When I asked what time it was and he said “Oh, almost 5.” I about fell off my stool. So, I finished up what I was doing and got ready to go. Sweet, no shower after the race and painting all day. Whatever. They’re not our friends because of our cleanliness, I suppose.

Here’s how much further we got with the awful paint in the looks-like-painters-tape blue.

 

5:06 p.m.: Select an outfit that doesn’t make me feel awful and slap some make-up on my face. The bathroom is a mess, because we just tried to get everything OUT of our room, and the bathroom worked at the time. Not so much now, but it did at the time.

I also decide I’ll show you how gross it was behind the bed and under the dressers when we moved them. The dust mop is holding my clean-up rag for painting but the dust bunnies…ugh. I was disgusted. I thought I had a relatively clean house. Not so much.

Time for the make-up. (And a different bathroom).

 

5:12 p.m.: Well, not too shabby for not showering at all.

I need to run and pick Elle up from my parents house. I suggest to Jon that he shower while I go grab her.

So, I need shoes. Unfortunately, I’m still wearing white athletic socks. And I choose the black and white heels. Bad choice in the ice and with the socks. But, here were my choices sitting outside the garage door…

5:13 p.m.: Opening the garage door and heading out to get Elle – nine houses down from ours.

Treacherous driveway.

And with a windshield like this, it could be scary. Evidently, when Jon moved cars around and pulled mine in to the garage, it hadn’t had enough time to warm up.

5:14 p.m.: Didn’t let the car warm up very long, did I?

Here’s our house in the snow.

And, nine houses later, here we are at my Mom & Dad’s.

5:15 p.m.:

Here’s Grandpa, making pork chops (or something that smelled equally as delicious).

My Grandma, Ruth, is in town visiting at my parents. She claimed Elle was totally happy until my Uncle Bill had arrived. So, we are proving here that Elle isn’t 100% happy ALL. THE. TIME. And, she loves her Uncle Bill. So. It is what it is.

5:17 p.m.: Uncle Bill and my Dad.My Uncle Bill has been doing a lot of genealogy research on our family and I asked if I could be a D.A.R. and he found about four ways I can. So, he was telling me all about it while we were there. I tried to wait for my Mom to get home from the grocery store, but it didn’t work out that way. We had to get our show on the road.

Here’s my Grandma – Elle’s Great Grandma. So glad she and Elle have been able to meet one another!

5:21 p.m.: Still waiting on my Mom. Elle and I take a self-portrait on the couch. For the record, Jon dressed her for the day. Typically, I lay out clothes for each day but didn’t before I left on Saturday. Jon’s a snazzy dresser generally and he did a good job dressing Elle. Not an outfit I would have put together, but terribly cute. Purple long-sleeve onesie, purple fleece pants, purple socks. Lots and lots of purple – but at least it all coordinated!

Here’s the view from the couch and my senior year headshot above the fireplace. That handsome guy adjacent to me? Uncle Trevor!

5:47 p.m.: We have now gone home, picked up Jon and got back into his car to head to Frank and Andrea’s. I tell Jon about my Day in the Life project and he’s grouchy about it and tries to look out the opposite window instead of on the road. Which makes him mad. He snaps at me. We sit in silence for about 7 minutes until he cracks. I win. And I got the picture!

6:11 p.m.: Arrive at Frank and Andrea’s.

Greeted by Drew on our arrival!

7:27 p.m.: Capture a photo of Jon, Elle, Frank, Steph and Tim (Andrea’s sister and brother-in-law). We had just finished eating pizza and salad.

8:18 p.m.: Girlfriend needed a diaper change AGAIN. And this one was bad. It was reminiscent of hummus. Uck. Ucky uck uck. She, however, couldn’t be more pleased with herself.

We hang out at Frank and Andrea’s, don’t play cards and just chat away. I drink about a bottle of wine. I cuddle Drew up and just have a nice time with our friends. Great night.

Jon drives us home. We get home about 11 p.m.

10:47 p.m.: Spotted…a man in a forever lazy.

Had to snap a picture because it cracks me up that he loves that thing.

10:55 p.m.: Snap a good night picture of Jon and I before he plays Call of Duty and I watch Grey’s Anatomy on the iPad.

10:58 p.m.: Elle had slept on the way home and we put her in bed. She woke up a little and instead of waking her up to change her and properly feed her, I just stood there and fed her the rest of her bottle. And it worked like a charm. I snapped this photo to end the evening.

11: 10 p.m.: Laying in bed, checking “Texts From Last Night” and playing some silly games before turning on Grey’s.

11:15 p.m.: Turns out, I fell asleep before the first commercial of Grey’s. Oops.

Great day, good night. And it was all just a day in my life!

 

Wait, THIS Is My Life?

I was supposed to have a baby named something like Payne (after Payne Stewart, the late, great, knicker-wearing professional golfer). Or maybe a Peyton (played out, by the time my time came around). Or Maddox (after Ford Maddox Ford, because, you know, I WAS an English major) but then Angelina and Brad started their family-building initiative and that name went off the list.

I figured I’d have a dog named Comma, or maybe Fitzgerald (F. Scott, anyone?). Again, I’m an English-major-dweeb.

I was going to host dinner parties with placecards and over-planned menus.

I thought I’d take cooking classes and be a wine snob.

I was sure I’d be married and have birthed all my children (all five of them) by age 27 because, well, that’s OLD.

I’d be one of those annoying, slender, skinny Pilates-doing women with a perky ass, perky tits and arms that Michelle Obama would want.

My house would be my dream house, all the rooms ready for their photography moments and set to be featured on the pages of Pottery Barn-House Beautiful-Restoration Hardware.

I’d be THAT neighbor who had a plate full of sugar cookie cutouts because, as everyone would know, I have an ever-expanding cookie cutter collection. Said neighbors would thoughtfully pick-up obscure cookie cutters on their respective travels and I’d send nice thank you’s on personalized stationery.

And then, last night, I realized, I named my child a name that was NEVER on the short – or the long – list of names I had selected for my children two decades ago.

It was weird. This flash of recognition that my life is different because I didn’t end up choosing a name for my baby that was on my original list (yes, gentlemen, lots of us gals have lists of names we are intent on naming our children years before we cross your path).

Turns out, I still have never had my own dog because, unlike children, you NEVER have to stop picking up their poop.

I haven’t hosted a legitimate dinner party with placecards in my life — though I’ve had parties and I’ve had dinners. I don’t even know anyone who wouldn’t find me incredibly stuffy if I actually thought to make a seating arrangement for a dinner. I have good friends and smart friends and I’m pretty sure they’re capable of choosing their own spot at the table (or in front of the tv, as the case may be).

I’ve wanted to be a wine snob. I know enough about wine glasses to know what is allegedly a good glass (when they’re one piece instead of having a ridge at the bottom and/or top of the stem). But, I drink less-than-$10-a-botttle wine. Michigan wines, wines purchased at Meijer and various grocery stores. Domestic wines. What can I say – just one more way this isn’t the life I envisioned at some random point in my history.

And, as far as having my FIVE children (HA – RIGHT!) by the time I was 27. Well, I didn’t even meet Jon until I was 27 and we’re not approaching marriage any time soon, so…I don’t know exactly WHEN I thought this one up, but at some point before I was 27, I assume.

The last time I did Pilates was, well, I can’t even remember. The last time I did something truly aerobic with a nice, solid sweat was too, too long ago. My arms are flabby and the thing standing between me and being a jogger is that I don’t have a ponytail that swings. Seriously, I’m growing my hair out so I have a better jogging ponytail.

I can’t make this stuff up, folks. This is who I am.

I have the house I loved when I was small. It needs a lot of work. Parts of it I love. Parts of it I abhor. Parts of it I can see coming together. But one – ONE – room in the house is complete and that’s Elle’s room. Ugh.

I haven’t had the energy to make cookie dough, create the mess and clean it up, let alone decorate cookies, and then willingly walk to the neighbors to deliver cookies. Which means, no thank you notes to write for cookie cutter gifts that never arrive. But at least I’ve got boxes full of thank you notes at the ready – just in case. Heck, I can barely get the dishwasher unloaded and don’t get me started on how many times, on average, I wash a load of laundry. I put it in, it’s clean, and then I forget to move it to the dryer. So, it gets re-washed. Current average: 2.1 washes per load. NICE and environmentally friendly.

So, this is my life. My kitchen counters constantly need to be wiped down and Jon and I leave our coats anywhere that’s convenient throughout the house. I haven’t done more than dust-mop the wood floors in way too long. The vacuum is sitting out in the basement, but it hasn’t been run. The laundry is probably still in the wash, waiting for the day, some day in the future, when I finally remember to transfer it to the dryer. Folding it before it’s wrinkled is another story all together.

I have a lived-in house that’s been full of friends and family. I have a PHENOMENAL daughter and a wonderful partner who’s an awesome dad. I have 800+ cookie cutters that I can brag up as a collection of my own. Jon’s painting the bedroom this week — so maybe it’ll be ready for its close-up soon!!

So yeah, THIS is my life.

Not what I planned – but the one I prefer.

Except, I’d still like a perky ass and a good jogging ponytail.

Muffin Top

It’s not like I was an uber-skinny before I got pregnant. I wasn’t even in that great of shape. I would say that prior to peeing on that stick, I wasn’t feeling that great about the condition I had allowed my body to get itself into. I was pushing the boundaries of my size-12 jeans…but I could find a way to loving my body when I needed to.

But then, I got pregnant. I stopped drinking and ate a little bit better than normal. And I swear, I lost weight that first two months. And then, as cataloged here, I gained weight but not much. And as we know, I don’t make a habit of weighing myself. But, I’d guess I’m pretty close to pre-baby weight and if I’d eat just a smidge better, I’d probably be able to drop below that mark. I’ve been doing some running and more walking, but not much in the way of a dedicated workout program.

But today, I put on my size 12 jeans, buttoned them (sweet relief) and could still breathe. Success, right?

Wrong.

Why was so MUCH of my mid-section finding its way over the edge of my jeans? Ick. Ok, so I am not in a position to wear too-clingy shirts. Fine, I’m only verging on five weeks post-baby so that’s ok. Right? But…still. I am only briefly looking at my body in the mirror when I get out of the shower or after I’ve dressed myself. I’m just not loving my body right now.

Which brings me to…I need to get there. I need to get to a place where I feel better about myself and my body. I want to do that not only as a mother, but also for me. I don’t think it’s good to not feel positive about your body – and I want to set an example…for Elle, for who knows who else. And, I also don’t want to go out and wonder if people are thinking ‘wow, she really let herself go’ (don’t deny it, we all think that about people who, well, frankly HAVE let themselves go, especially after a baby).

Why do we women do this to ourselves? For me, it’s about how I feel about myself. I’m obviously not an uber-skinny in my size 12’s – I’m thisclose to plus-size and if I were a model, I WOULD be plus size (six sizes ago). But, I want to be proud of myself, my brain and my body. I want Jon to find me attractive still and not be put off by any ick I pick up along the way.

And yet, sitting at home all day long makes it hard to not raid the cupboards for a sweet treat or to just continue to fill my mouth with food. I’m trying and I hope to catalog here my sweet success in getting below my size 12 pants and gaining just a LITTLE more confidence in the way I look in my jeans.

So, down with the muffins…and the muffin top!

 

One Day To Go: Status Update

October 13, 2011: Less than 24 hours to go.

Due Date: TOMORROW. Seriously, tomorrow?! Seriously – tomorrow!!

Baby Developments: She’s got to be on the verge of about eight pounds right now…she’s ready to enter the world and we are ready to meet her!

Weight Gain: Gained back those two pounds I’d lost, so total weight gain is at like 27 or 28 pounds for the entire pregnancy.

Cravings: Not cravings so much, but I’m still on the cereal, milk, Twizzler, Sprite Zero kick. I accidentally ate an entire box of Frosted Mini Wheats in one day last week and half a bag of Twizzlers. And it pained me, but felt good too. So, the fact that after a showing like that I’m still on board with Mini Wheats and Twizzlers, I feel ok about that.

Aversions: Nothing in particular.

Symptoms: I’m peeing about every 36 seconds or so. Molly and I went to dinner (she treated as a thank you for taking family pics of them earlier this week) and I went before we left her house, then as soon as we got to the bar (a mile from their house) and again when our food came. It’s ridiculous. Molly assures me that that symptom disappears immediately and is exchanged for not being able to tell when you have to pee at all…so, there’s something to look forward to!

I am loving: knowing that we’re meeting our Minnie girl TOMORROW (or pretty quickly thereafter) and that Jon will be there and that I’m going to maximize my time away from work with the baby being here. All good stuff.

Sleep: Jon insisted I sleep last night, which is a good thing since tonight I’m sure I won’t sleep well, with the anticipation, etc., and knowing that we have to be AT the hospital at 5 a.m. So, I did sleep well last night. In bed as soon as the Tigers lost (boo) and up at about 8 a.m. That was as good as I could do today.

I miss: having a beer. It sounded really good last night. Not like I’m a lush, but having the ability to have a drink if I so desire is something that I’m all about. No wonder prohibition never worked out right…as an aside, I’ve been watching Prohibition on PBS and it’s AWESOME. I love that whole era — which is part of the reason I love Boardwalk Empire, too.

I am looking forward to: holding, kissing and loving our Minnie girl. And, revealing her name!

I am spazzing about: a little bit about how to handle the visitors at the hospital. I don’t know what tomorrow will hold and I don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings, but I don’t want a parade of visitors IMMEDIATELY after she’s born. I really want to make sure that Jon and I and Minnie get some time just the three of us to savor the moments. If I have a c-section for some reason, I don’t want anyone else seeing her/holding her before I get to (other than Jon, of course). I’m just really in need of this being about our newly-formed family of three and I feel like having people at the hospital waiting will add this pressure. I think I’m prepared to handle it, but…I just don’t get a do-over on this, so I really want it to be about the three of us.

Best moment of the week: My Mom and I’s full day of enjoying each other on Saturday and Monday, when Dr. Ahmad offered up the chance to be induced this week.

Milestones: The waddle. It’s here, fo’ sho’.

Movement: Moving still, but it’s less and less as she gets bigger and bigger. This means she is SO ready to come out and play!

It’s a….: GIRL!

Exercise: Not much here at the end. The peeing every 36 seconds makes it questionable at best to go too far from facilities.

Diet: Alright.

Boobs & Belly Button: Still have an innie, which is pretty sweet. Boobs have managed to stay the same size. I went to the Motherhood Maternity store and got nursing bras last weekend, so I have that done. Got some nursing tanks too. Hopefully all the right size for these boobs which will inevitably get big as the whole breastfeeding process begins.

Goals for the upcoming week: Deliver a healthy baby, make her happy and bring her home!