Thanksgiving and Family

Yes... a typical post that I'm sure a bazillion people have made in some respect in regards to the holidays. Oh well. Here's my version.

We hosted Thanksgiving this year at our house. It was nice having family over - although a little cramped with 11 adults and two babies. But it all worked out. Despite ruining our turkey - before it was cooked. We left it out over night instead of putting it in the fridge to thaw. Now, don't get me wrong, we had it in one side of the sink in ice water that we were adding ice to every hour. But when we woke up Thursday morning ... poo. Luckily we had someone available to run to the store to get one that was not frozen and on our way we went. I found a recipe online that called for chicken broth and champagne. It was good and tender and juicy. Yummy. Now we have leftovers for a few days (which I'm sure most people do). My parents are sending me a packet of curry mix to make turkey curry because that is something we have always done with leftover turkey... and something that Thomas loves. I have never cooked it before myself, but we'll see how it goes.

We had our immediate family over and some grandparents. Unfortunately, some of our other grandparents were not able to make it because they were sick and didn't particularly want to drive four to five hours to meet people to make them sick. Thomas and I have decided that we will drive down to see them sometime soon. We took a few pictures last minute, but here's one of my favorites. It's a generation picture - four generations total. Awesome. Happy Turkey Day.


P.S. As for working out, I've gone just about everyday for either strength training, cardio, or a class (yoga, pilates, step, etc), minus a three day span in there when I was totally pooped and ended up cleaning the house. Does cleaning the house count? I think it should - vacuuming and sweeping on crack (aka super speed mode because I didn't allot enough time to do it all) is definitely a workout. My sister-in-law and I even worked out yesterday (Black Friday) for two hours straight in a mix of dance classes, pilates, yoga, resistance training, and cardio in general. It was awesome. But I'm not sure if I burned enough of that sweet potato casserole off yet. :-)

Busy and a new job

Is it possible to have been so busy really doing nothing? I guess so. I look back at last week and realize that all I did was go to the gym and go to one meeting for my new job (more on that later). How does a whole week go by doing only that? Oh... I didn't mention that I went to the gym every day, sometimes twice, for classes, strength training, and personal training appointments. Then came home and cleaned the house, played with Sadie, worked on a project for some Christmas presents that I'm making, and made dinner. Wheew.

In the world of Sadie-dom, I took all last week making sure she is comfortable with bottles again because that's what she'll be getting when she goes to daycare starting next week. I also have made sure she is good with formula in case I run out of supply for the day for her. She's good in both departments. No issues whatsoever. Ok, well, maybe one small - stinky, really - issue... gas. She can beat the biggest dude you can imagine on gas. And then she smiles and it's all adorable from there on out, regardless if your nostrils are burning or you may feel like you need to vomit in your mouth a little. That's my sweet little Sadie for you.

Now to details on my new job. First off, let my just point out that this is something that I have thought long and hard about in terms of working and having Sadie. I love being home with Sadie, watching her grow and be silly and changing diapers left and right. But my brain is going total mush. And as an educated person, I can't take much more of it. Neither can my wallet. I've been better, but when there is nothing to do around the house, and you've already went to the gym, shopping is all that is left. Don't get me wrong - I don't blow money left and right on total frivolous things... but there are all the small things here and there that I think I need that slowly gnaw my wallet to pennies. If I have a job, my brain will thank me and so will my wallet, in more ways than one.

The job itself is awesome (or so I hope, I'll update more next week after I have been there for a few days). I actually did the interview in the middle of September for the position. Played the waiting game since then because I was in no hurry to truly start with Sadie being so little. The company offered me the position and I start next week. Sadie will be 3.5 months, so I've been home to enjoy her for sure - to the point that my brain doesn't go total mush. I'll be doing environmental and GIS consulting type of work for an engineering consulting firm. Let me clarify why this is awesome to some extent - I'm not an engineer. I'm a biologist with GIS training. The company sees a lot of potential in how they can use me to their advantage in numerous projects that they are running and are looking to do in the future. Awesome.

And back to being busy.... I love writing in circles.... Thomas and I are hosting Thanksgiving this year for the immediate family and some of the grandparents are coming too. It'll be the first time they get to see Sadie. I have the camera ready to go. Hosting calls for more than just having the seats, plates, and silverware ready. It requires a full scrubdown of the house so people don't see how dirty it normally is. It requires that even the closets be somewhat orderly in case you need some random item of them and you need to actually get to it or, heaven forbid, ask someone else to venture into the depths of the messy closet to get it for you. To me, that's unacceptable. So my tasks over the next few days include a good scrubdown and a full organizing/cleaning up spree of the weirdest things - like closets and undersinks. But I have to give credit to hosting - it at least forces me to clean those places that would otherwise not ever be touched until some other big event or great great boredom sits in.

3 Months and a Wedding

Holy crap! Sadie is over three months old now. She's grown so much. According to our inaccurate-but-will-have-to-do-for-now bathroom scale, she weighs about 13.5 pounds. Keep in mind she was born weighing 7 lbs 12oz. She's almost doubled her weight! What an oinker. She's still really tall/long - her pajamas are size 3-6 months, her socks are 6 or 6-12 months (depending on which style), and yesterday she was wearing a pair of pants that are 6-12 months. It's nuts. She's learned so much too - she can roll, she likes tummy time (most of the time), she smiles, she'll tell you a whole story in Sadie talk, and man can she load a diaper (or three) at a time! She likes to let us know in her own (smelly) way that her systems are good to go and functioning correctly. She's getting much better at bath time and likes it when I splash around her. She loves her swing, her jumparoo, her musical car mirror, and especially her ladybug - it plays music and flashes lights. (And you can tell my brain is going mush because my sentence structure has gone down the drain.... they all start with she!)

We have some family pictures that are now a bit fancy - one of our closest friends got married this past weekend so Thomas was in a tux, I was fancy schmancy, and Sadie was in a cute little dress. See? So cute.

Growing - inside and out

So sleep has been my enemy the past few nights. Not so much that I hate sleep, but more along the lines of the sleep that I am getting is crap. I don't mind waking up at 2 or 3 in the morning to feed Sadie and change her diaper. Especially because we've been putting her to bed by 9:30 or 10:00 and she sleeps till about 8 or 9 the next morning. So about 10 hours with waking up only once - I'll take it. The downside is I'm losing sleep. But I can't complain too much because the sleep before waking up and the sleep I get once she falls back aslepp hasn't been the greatest anyhow. All sorts of weird dreams and can't get comfortable in the bed, etc etc. Maybe I'll get Thomas to take over for a full night tonight since he has tomorrow off. Maybe then I can get some solid sleep. Maybe then he'll see what I go through every night. It's just one of those things that you don't get until you do it yourself. He hasn't been forced to experience it yet. That's gotta change.

On a lighter note, Sadie had some more rice cereal two nights ago. She's nuts. She knows the spoon is coming to her face and opens her mouth. Then immediately closes her mouth and turns her head real fast right as you are about to give her a spoonful and SPLAT on her cheeks it goes. Then she laughs because you are laughing and smiling. Oh - did I mention she laughs and giggles on a regular basis now? She is such a happy baby. Other times, she can be a super cranky baby when she has a huge gas bubble stuck - like the other morning when it sounded like Hell opened up in her bedroom and demons were screaming. I should have recorded it and sold it to cities to use as their warning sirens for tornadoes (or hurricanes.... haha, long story, another time). She loves eating her hands and trying to suck on her palms as if there's a nipple somewhere in there.

Did I mention how big she is getting? Her pajamas are a size 3-6 months and fit perfectly. No way that those are going to last on her until 6 months. I bought her some new socks because she kicks off all of the short ones. I have some that I really love and can't find them at any store. Poo. So I've been hunting for ones that she won't kick off. I ended buying a pack from Target, but they are size 6-12 months. And they fit. Slight elf toe, but not like she's sticking her feet into shoes and walking yet. Can you believe it?! Crazy! And she'll be 3 months tomorrow. Woohoo! Mini-birthday congrats to her!

Last but not least, I've been working out every day for the past two weeks - minus one day for a break (and the weather didn't allow me to walk). I've been walking on trails and at parks, hiking, at the gym on the elliptical cross-trainers, lifting weights, doing a lot of body resistance training. Awesome. I'm on the hunt for a pair of jeans that actually fit because the pair I bought two months ago are falling off my butt, even with a belt. The other pair of jeans that I have are sagging too - and those are the ones that I was wearing when I found out that I was pregnant with Sadie nearly a year ago. I'm so fricking proud of myself. Now I just need to keep it up and not eat crap and be lazy because I don't feel like it. I have so much more energy now that I have been constantly active. I love it. Now if only I can convince Thomas to join me in my activities.... yeah right. But a small hope never hurts.

A great adventure

Yesterday we decided to do something new. Go somewhere new. It was awesome. And we only did about half of it. We went hiking with some family members at Eagle Mountain Park. It was definitely hiking - no paved pathways, trees and brush overhanging paths everywhere. Some of the paths were really steep, others fairly flat. Some where through wooded areas, others through open meadows. Some up the sides of hills/mini mountains, while others along the lake shoreline. It was great fun. Especially watching Thomas carry Sadie in her Snugli carrier.

On another note, Sadie had her first taste of rice cereal the other night. As well as sitting in her high chair for the first time. It was a complete mess but so much fun trying to shovel little spoonfuls of cereal into her mouth. She got the idea of the spoon without any problem, but kept spitting out her food to taste it a few more times before swallowing it. Silly girl. Here's a few pictures.

Wake up, go to sleep

So I've been awake for over 4 hours now, and it's only 9:00 am. Sad. I know. No, Sadie didn't wake me up. I just woke up and was awake. Normally I would say that that sucks, but I decided to make the best of it. So I checked on Sadie, and she decided to eat from 5:15 to about 5:40, then I got dressed and went to the gym. Yes, the gym. I got there a couples minutes after 6:00 am. I walked up the stairs to all the cardio equipment, got on an elliptical cross trainer, and went to town. I was actually awake, energized, and pumped up during the whole thing. Awesome. Plus, listening to an oldie but goodie Static X's Wiscons Death Trip cd, I was truly pumped. I didn't realize how fast my legs were going until I looked down at them. I was going about 160 strides per minute. Which is pretty darn fast without holding on. Some people go insane and go about 200 strides per minute. But they look like they are holding for dear life. Not my preferred style if you ask me. Then I did some core strength training. Go me.

I also plan on going walking this aftermoon. I've been pretty good about walking at least once every other day. A few days ago I was going to Chipotle for lunch. I walked there. No point in loading up Sadie in the car and driving the not even half of mile there. I don't even think it's a quarter of a mile. So I walked. It only took about 12 minutes or so. A few weeks ago I had to run to our city's permit building/water tower to get a permit for our shed. Yeah, I walked there too. That was maybe three quarters of a mile one way. I know walking isn't much compared to running eight miles a day or what not, but it's something. It's been time outside, away from the tv and internet (don't worry internet, I still love you), and it's been great taking Sadie with me. She really enjoys being outside. All the sights, sounds, smells, and sensations - she loves them. By the way, we are now 15+ days of 6.5 hours or more of solid sleeping at night. The past two nights I haven't even gotten up to check on her. And for the count, we are 3 days of 7.5 hours or more. Two nights ago was 9 hours straight! Woohoo!

That morning

It's been a full year. I've survived. Part of me didn't. It was a part of me. I loved it. It didn't have a name. It didn't have an idea of what the world is like. It didn't have a gender. It had a purpose. It had somewhere to call home. It had a home to come to. It had a family to meet. But it never got that far in its plans. Something was wrong. Something out of my control. I was deeply saddened that that part of me didn't want to join me. Couldn't join me. Couldn't come home. Couldn't meet its family. Couldn't fulfill its goals, dreams, aspirations, or purpose. But I loved it. I still do. I can't forget it. I won't let myself forget it. A bittersweet memory, but all for the best.

On November 3, 2007, I woke up to what no one should ever have to go through. But come to find out that it happens nearly 25% of the time. I was pregnant when I went to sleep the night before. My little growing beanpole stopped growing. Something was wrong. It didn't like the world. Or it didn't like the environment I was providing for it. Or it just knew it wouldn't survive. I woke up not pregnant. I had a miscarriage. It was horrifying. I tried to act strong and in control of myself. I faired pretty well with going to the doctor's clinic, then being told to go the hospital because they thought it may have been ectopic, which could have posed further problems for me if things weren't checked out. I could have bled to death if not taken care of properly if it was truly ectopic. I looked ok but was checked in for an overnight stay for safety precautions.

It was devastating. I was so deeply saddened and taken back by what happened. I was a healthy, young woman. What did I do wrong? Nothing. Just something wasn't right. It took me a few weeks to really admit the fact that I can't act as strong as I do without being that strong. But I can't put up a stone wall to every horrible thing that comes my way. So about two weeks after the event, I came to terms with myself that it was truly out of my control. All I could do was keep staying healthy and taking care of myself. Wait for the next round when my body would be able to support another being. Give my body some time to recover. I was so in love with the little beanpole, I was torn between its loss of life and trying again.

Here's a note of how weirdly in tune I am with my family, even though they live in Florida. That same morning, a few states away, my step-dad woke up and asked my mom if she had ever had a miscarriage because he had a dream about one happening. They weren't too terribly surprised to get a call from me later that day saying I was in the hospital for overnight surveillance because I had a miscarriage. They were sad and felt horrible for my loss, but they kind of had a weird heads-up moment. Unfortunately, I didn't get to see them until around Christmas. I could have really used my mom's support then especially, but a phone call will do. I saw them a few weeks later and it was nice.

Then a month later, on December 9th, I found out that I was pregnant again. I was ecstatic. I was scared. I didn't want to go through another horrible morning like a month before. But this one stuck it out, no stops, guns slinging. And now, writing this a year after that morning, I have my sweet little Sadie to laugh with, hold, snuggle, get barfed on by, get peed on by, nap with, and love. I will never forget my first beanpole, nor how it made me grow as a person inside.

Changing Times

Does anybody else get weirded out by the time change? It just puts me off kilter when one day it's daylight at 5:00 pm, whereas the next is pitch black by 5:00 pm. It makes me question if my clocks aren't three hours off or something. At least it's done over a weekend so everybody can have a day to adjust. How bad would it suck if it were between a Sunday and a Monday? Yuck. I can bet that a bajillion people would be late (or early, depending on which time change) to work.

So that brings me to a funny story about me from this time last year. Last year was the first year that the government had decided to extend daylight savings time. That was nice, a few extra days of extended daylight. Until you realize that you have one of those "smart" clocks that you've had for a few years now. Which by the way weren't updated to the new time changes. So, dummy me, I don't pay attention to when the time change is supposed to happen, I just relied on my clock. Well, that particular day I had to be at UTA (yes, on a Sunday... dumb class project) at 9:00 am. So I set my alarm to get up at 7:45 am to give myself time to shower, get ready, and drive out to Arlington. One of the other students in the class calls me at about 8:20 am, and asks where I am. I told her at home getting ready to leave. She told me that I was already 20 minutes late. I was like what?! Yeah, dummy, time change was last night. Stupid "smart" clock. Time for a new one obviously. So then I rushed my happy little butt up to UTA to finish the project. The professor make a remark about me being late, but then again he didn't say much past that because other people didn't even bother to show up at all. Funny thing is that the previous weekend I did the same thing about thinking I was on time for something, but was actually late. And that was just because I thought the event started later than scheduled.

On a side note, Sadie quite enjoyed the time change yesterday - she was out like a light by 9:30 pm tops. I was even able to put her in her bed and she slept until about 4:30 am without waking up once. Then I fed her, changed her diaper, and but her back to bed. And she was fine until "regular" wake-up time for the rest of the day, which today was around 9:00 am. Woohoo!

Halloween

My favorite holiday of the year. Nothing like dressing up like an idiot (in most cases) to beg for candy or at least laugh at all the little kids. Sadie's first Halloween was great. We went to a friends house for a party and we all dressed up. Sadie was a cow. Thomas and I were cowboy/cowgirl. See?


On another note, Sadie is now going 10+ days in terms of sleeping 6.5 or more hours per night. Granted I still get up every three hours or so to check on her to make sure she hasn't face planted into the sides of her crib. But that's ok. First time moms get a break on somethings... don't they? We're still learning. Like learning how to modify a jumparoo seat with a small blanket and a pillow below to make it snug enough for Sadie to sit it. Don't get me wrong - she loves to bounce and smack the rolling rattle thing. And the music makes her smile and giggle (if that's what you want to call it), especially when the monkey or the elephant sound effects kick in. That's until she wears herself out and decides to fall asleep.