10/18/10=the date of my last post :-P

Okay, so I'm not into blogging. But, I will give everyone a quick update on the happenings of my life (if you haven't already seen/read on fb).

This winter has been quite uneventful, weather-wise, but we made up for that by welcoming Clara Marie Starr on Jan. 19, 2012. She weighed 6 lbs. 9 oz. & was 20 in. I had a doctor's appointment that day (Thursday) at noon. At my appointment the week before, I remember not feeling ready (physically) to have the baby. I could tell that things were happening/progressing, but I felt pretty "normal" overall. Well, things can certainly change quickly when you're that far along. So, before my doctor's appointment at noon, I began to feel like my water was leaking. You know, that sensation that you've just peed your pants, but you didn't? ;-) Then, when I was at the doctor's office, I felt a little more water leaking. The first thing the doc said to me was, "What do you think about having the baby on Saturday?" She mentioned being induced on Friday at my last appointment, but she said she had 2 other people being induced on Friday at a different hospital, so the logistics of it all could be problematic. I told her that Saturday worked for me if that worked better for her. I told her that I thought my water was leaking, & when she checked me I could tell, b/c of how little effort she put into feeling the baby's head, that the baby was lower than she was last time. She said I was about 4 cm. dilated & that I was probably going into labor. She told me that I probably wouldn't make it until Saturday, scheduled me for Friday at 6 a.m., & told me to come in earlier if I needed to. Well, I only had 1 person to see at work & it was my last day before having the baby. So, I thought, "I'm going to head to work, see my person for 30-45 minutes, & then head home." I got to work, headed toward the nurses station, & by then my water had started to leak every 10 seconds or so. The doctor broke my water with the first pregnancy, so this was the first time I had experienced my water starting to break on its own, but I knew that if it REALLY decided to break that it would be a huge mess (and that it could happen any second). So, even with my water leaking more, I was still determined to see my patient!...lol I thought, "I'm at a nursing home, there are pads & diapers here, I'll just use those while I'm seeing my patient." One of staff members gave me some pads, & when I went to put them on, water was running down my leg & my pants were starting to get a little soaked. I didn't end up seeing my patient. :-) The nurses told me to get out of there & get to the hospital. I'm kind of glad all that happened, b/c I like my work peeps & it'll be something we can laugh about for a long time. :-P I failed to mention that, even though the winter has been uneventful weather-wise, it was certainly NOT that on this particular day. It was snowing like crazy & the roads were bad. So, add that to your mental image as you picture me heading home from work. Fortunately, I wasn't in any pain. I could feel the baby was low & it certainly wasn't comfortable feeling like I was constantly peeing my pants, but being pain free was a huge plus. I was also very prepared as far as having things at the house taken care of (clean, laundry done, etc.), so that was one less thing to worry about before having the baby. Dan's parents came over & watched Miryam for the day & then his sister came into town & took care of her while we were at the hospital...so glad she did that for us. The only thing we had to do when I got home was throw some stuff in a suitcase & head out the door to the hospital. And we even made a quick stop at Subway, b/c I didn't want to be starving once the whole process was started at the hospital. When I got to the hospital I was dilated 5 cm. They gave me some Pitocin to move the process along. Even when I was around a 6 or so I still didn't feel any pain (just some pressure). I let the nurse know right away that I had no interest in feeling any pain. ;-) So, she told me when I should get my epidural. I was waiting to ask for it, but she said that she didn't want my contractions to come on real strong all of the sudden, so I got the epidural when I was around a 6. I was able to relax for a few hours with the epidural. It's really nice to have that relaxing time before having to push the baby out. When it came time to push, I pushed for about 15 minutes & there was our sweet baby girl! I definitely knew what I was doing this time around & was more comfortable with the whole delivery process. It also helped that my bp wasn't super high like it was with Miryam. And, just the fact that my water started to break...baby girl was ready. :-) So, Clara is a little over 2 weeks old now & doing great with everything. We're definitely blessed & love our cute little family.

Miryam is starting to adjust. She had a rough first week. :-) She has acted a bit jealous & angry, but I don't think she even realizes why she feels that way. She loves the baby & always asks to hold her...even though the baby is the source of her frustration...b/c she doesn't always have our complete & undivided attention. So, we're trying to be patient with her, but also not tolerating some of her behavior. Everyone tells me that she's acting very normal in this situation & she'll get better with time. I can already see that she's better. It does make me feel bad, at times, that I can't give her as much attention as I did before the baby arrived, but she still gets so much more attention than a lot of kids get, so I think she'll be just fine. There's just something a little sad about your baby not being the littlest baby anymore. I remember feeling that way even when I found out I was pregnant...that my baby was going to be a big sister. But, I'm the oldest of 4 (and survived) & have 2 sisters...and I hope my girls are close & love each other like I love my sisters. I love, my brother, too. ;-) But, I have a special bond with my sisters.

Anyway, that's my update. :-) Who knows when I'll update again?...haha

Hope all you peeps are doing well. :-D

Well, I'm staying consistent! I didn't check the date of my last post, but I know its been a looooonnnnnggggg time. Most of you know what's going on though thanks to fb. :-)

October is our busiest & most exciting month of the year. The guaranteed beautiful weather is always a plus & our annual trip to the Warren Dunes is slowly approaching. This will be our first dunes trip with a 10 month old, so things will be a bit different, but I have a whole new kind of excitement for this trip when I think about taking her out there & watching her enjoy everything...funny how that works. If any of you are interested in being a part of the trip let me know & I can give you details. It's a blast! :-)

Day to day life is going really well. I'm spending most of my time at home with my Frawg & Nut...hehe ;-) & I'm working ~ 3-4 hours away from home in the afternoon. I usually put Miryam down for her nap & then head out the door. She sleeps for about 2 hours & then Dan takes care of her for the remaining hour or two while I finish up at work (and sometimes he brings her up to my building to see me!). I feel very fortunate that we have this schedule.

Miryam is growing like crazy & it's so fun to watch. She's saying, "momma" "dadda" "bob" (our fat cat) "book" "hi" "bye" & "up"...all of it is beyond cute. She's crawling all over the place, standing while holding onto things/but letting go every now & then, stepping sideways while holding onto things, eating big girl food, clapping, waving, giggling, & anything else you can think of that's cute. I thank God for her every day. She makes us so happy!

Speaking of the Nut...she's now awake. She decided to sleep in today. :-) I hope everyone is doing well.

Once again, its been forever since I last updated. I mean, I find my life quite interesting, but doubt that others find it as interesting as I do. :-P Anyway, I'm doing exactly what you think I'm doing-spending most of my time taking care of Miryam. She's grown quite a bit in the last 2 weeks (I'm guessing she's close to 15 lbs. & around 25 in. long), taking ~29-30 oz. of formula every day & a little bit of cereal, & becoming stronger & more coordinated. She's been rolling from her tummy to back for awhile now, & she's starting to roll from her back to her side (think it's gonna be awhile before she has enough strength to make it to her tummy), she's reaching for/trying to grab everything & putting whatever it is in her mouth. She doesn't realize that she can't grab pictures yet. :-P She's also drooling more-not full blown teething yet, but close. She enjoys looking at books, watching cartoons, listening to music, & bouncing herself silly in her jump-n-jive. It's fun to see her learning new things all the time. She's started to resist being put to sleep at times. She'll be so tired, but if she thinks you're putting her to sleep then that's just unacceptable. It's nice that she doesn't want to be rocked to sleep all the time though. I love rocking her to sleep, but I like being able to just put her down & know that she'll fall asleep (she still really likes her swing & bouncy chair). She's still sleeping in her pack-n-play...lol Hey, it works. We've been crib shopping for awhile now & haven't come across anything that we really like. Dan's parents informed us that they want to buy her crib (hey, that makes shopping more exciting, right?) :-P The other new thing she's doing is realizing when we're (mommy & daddy) not around. She doesn't cry every time we give her to someone else, but she started doing it on & off about a month ago. I have to admit, it makes me feel good. I tell people that I waited a long time & spent a lot of money to have my own baby cry for me. :-) A few people have offered to take her off my hands during bible study so I can go to class & not have to take care of her while trying to listen. I'm able to pay more attention if she's in there with me. If she's not there I'm constantly wondering if she's okay. I did hand her over 2x, & both times she ended up getting really upset. It's just easier to have her in there with me than it is to have to calm her down for 15-20 minutes post meltdown. Anyway, I guess it's pretty obvious that I enjoy being a mommy. So thankful the Lord gave her to us.

In other news, I'm working around 2-3 hours/day Mon.-Fri. I'm doing pretty well with it. The Peanut withdrawal doesn't kick in until about 3 hours. I have a lot of flexibility & control over my schedule. And, it actually feels good to get out of the house for a little while during the day. The fact that Dan is the one home with her makes a huge difference. I'm really glad that he gets to spend so much time with her (good for baby girl to be close to her daddy). I'm hoping to go down to prn in about a year. Our goal is to be debt free in about a year to a year & a half. We also have to pay for our health insurance, which is no small thing, but very thankful that the church is helping with the expense. This might be a little less interesting to some, but my main building is expanding & about to go skilled. It's an exciting time for me as far as work goes, & I hope things work out so that I can continue to work a few hours/day at that building. I only live about 10 minutes away, the building is really nice, & the staff is good to me.

We're going to Chicago to celebrate my Gram & Gramps 55th anniversary at the end of July. It'll be nice to spend time with my family. Our friends, Luke & Quinn (and Grant), are heading our way some time in October. I think they're going to do the dunes trip with us this year. That should be a blast! And, I'm pretty sure we're heading down to Dallas for Christmas/New Years. That's all I know about traveling this year. Definitely looking forward to those good times.

Alright, I'm gonna get a bite to eat before I head out. I hope everyone is doing well & enjoying spring. :-)

How is everyone in the pleo world? Wow, I just don't blog very often, but I check my account every day & enjoy reading other people's blogs. :-) I am, however, a major facebooker. So, it's not like most people don't know what's going on in my life. Anyway...life is great! Dan & I are enjoying parenthood soooo much. Miryam will be 12 weeks on Tuesday & everything about her is wonderful/cute/special...etc. We're not in survival mode anymore. She's been sleeping through the night in her own room for some time now, she eats regularly, naps regularly, & is pretty predictable throughout the day as far as her mood goes. Having her in our lives has been quite an adjustment (we were married a little over 8 years when she was born). In the beginning everything felt like so much work...work that never ended. And, now, everything is still a lot of work, but doesn't feel like it. We've gotten used to our new life & love all the precious moments with her. We're still able to do a lot of the things we did before. We just take her along. :-) She's been on 2 road trips. We took a trip to FL in late Jan./early Feb. (stopped at various places along the way) Then, I took her to TX to meet her newest cousin, Kinzie, & to show her off to all my family & friends. I was nervous about the plane ride. It was a little tough at first b/c she got startled when people started to slam the overhead bins. It took me about 10 minutes to calm her down. I was thinking to myself, "If she's like this the whole flight, uhh...I'll probably cry"...lol. But, once I got her calmed down, she was good the rest of the way. And, she was amazing on the flight home. There was an open seat next to me, so I just put her down, wrapped her up, & she slept the entire time! I was also nervous about being with her by myself at night. Dan & I have always tag teamed. So, if one of us is just beyond exhausted, the other one gets up with her. Well, she did wake up rather early to eat, but she slept all night every night. And, after eating, she went back to sleep so I could catch up on my sleep. I know...I'm spoiled. :-P Anyway, I'm so happy that she's a good traveler (and I hope it stays that way).

I had to go back to work this past week. I have to do 6 hours/day for 30 days & then I'm dropping down to 4 hours/day. It's tough to leave her in the morning, but, knowing that she's at home with Dan while I'm gone helps. I still miss her throughout the day, but I stay busy at work so that time will fly. When I go down to 4 hours we'll be switching health insurance. We've always had health insurance through me b/c it's just easier that way, but can't get it through my company only working 20 hours/week (don't get me started on preachers & health insurance). Anyway, the switch is a little scary to me, but I keep telling myself that things will be alright. I want to be home with her as much as I possibly can.

Well, it's time for a nap. :-) Hope all of you are doing well.