Category: personal

quick takes

one

Here’s what I’ve been doing with myself during the days the last couple of weeks: I’m almost completely caught up with Downton Abbey, I finished 30 Rock, made more progress on my autumn sampler, framed another old completed project, and am almost done with a birth cross stitch for Liam (will share both soon). I finished my 2013 Project Life album and have started planning for 2014, I read the book Redeeming Love and am currently working my way through both Joyland by Stephen King and Cold Sassy Tree by Olive Ann Burns. I’m also doing a Bible study with the women at my church even though I can only attend a couple of the meetings, but I am doing the workbook on my own. It’s Living Beyond Yourself by Beth Moore and so far it might be my favorite of hers I’ve done, and it is very needed at this point in my life.

two

I love the Mei tai baby carrier for newborns. I can’t do slings (I need the symmetry of both shoulders), wraps take too much time, and the Ergo (my all-time fave) is for older babies (I have the infant insert but can’t master it). Since we don’t have a good double stroller I’ve been doing all our neighborhood walks with it.

three

Speaking of neighborhood walks, a fellow mom introduced herself to me while we were walking last week. I was so excited because she was super friendly and has kids the same age as mine. I wanted to follow up on it so I left a note on her door with my contact info, she texted me a few days later, and since then we have gone for a walk together and I went to her house for breakfast and coffee. We have a lot in common and I’m just so happy to have a friend in the neighborhood.

four

I finally broke down and bought a couple of pairs of transitional jeans in the size I’m at now. I won’t lie, it was hard, but at least I can feel more normal when getting dressed now. I am currently planning an overhaul of my entire wardrobe. This week I went through and got rid of everything that I never wear, doesn’t fit, or was worn out. I probably cut my clothes in half or more, and it felt so good. From now on I am going to be extremely selective about the clothes I buy, and I will save up for higher quality items that I really love.

five

Liam is six weeks old now, and at his one month checkup he was in the 85th percentile for both height and weight. He’s doing great and I’m cherishing these last few weeks we get to spend together.

six

I’m feeling more and more like myself these days. I can tell by the energy I have and the fact that the list of projects I want to complete is growing longer and longer. Right now they all revolve around decorating and simplifying. I can’t do it all at once though, so for now I’m trying to stick to one goal at a time and to keep from adding any more stuff to the house. I also want to set up some new routines to get back into normal life. Some things with work are changing (in a good way…will share soon) so that I will have more time at home and I’m hoping to be able to exercise and cook again. I’m really not dreading going back to work, and I am so grateful for that. Perhaps it’s easier the second time around, or maybe I just love my job. Either way, I’m at a good place right now.

February 28, 2014
quick takes

one

This has been a really long and stressful week, and I’m not even working right now. The emotions of losing our dog have gotten to all of us. Monday night after the long day at the vet Meredith had a fever, so she stayed home with me on Tuesday. She was cranky and didn’t nap, so by the end of the day I was in tears exhausted. Wednesday our other dog Eddie had a panic attack that wouldn’t go away so I spent much of the day standing up because if I sat down she wouldn’t stop clawing me and Liam. Yesterday was better but I had a doctor’s appointment so I made the long trek to the medical center in the middle of the day (found out my blood pressure is still high), then I stopped by my work unit and spent a couple of hours talking which was nice but drained my energy. I am really trying to enjoy today since nothing is going on. Tomorrow and Monday I will have both kids home with me by myself again.

two

David and I don’t do anything big for Valentine’s Day, but he surprised me with a few treats this morning and it really brightened my day.

Tomorrow we are also planning an at-home movie date, and if I can bring myself to start pumping today we might even get to be completely alone.

three

Random hobby updates: I finished season 2 of Downton Abbey yesterday and I’m way into it right now. I’m also so close to finishing 30 Rock. I’m halfway through Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers for book club. Liam’s baby book is updated. And the autumn sampler I’m stitching is coming along well:

These were probably my favorite squares to stitch so far.

Next week I’m going to start tackling Project Life. I would also like to start planning some updates to the nursery to make it a little less girly. I ordered Liam’s birth announcements, so as soon as they arrive I want to address them and get them sent.

four

I have a bunch of other things on my mind that I am working through in my personal life and can’t update on yet, or am planning to blog about soon. Stuff like Bible study, my job, my personal style as I transition out of maternity clothes, the diaper situation, natural health & beauty products, photo printing, how to fit exercise back into my life, and eating well – for starters. As you can see, I have a lot of time to think lately and my mind has been busy. So look for some of that in the future.

five

What would this be without a baby picture? My littlest Valentine and I wish you a happy weekend.

He’s totally looking at me with love and not just hunger, right?

February 14, 2014
holiday minibook complete!

Okay, after two days of emotional posts I need to focus on some lighthearted things for awhile. Let’s start with this, our finished holiday minibook! I know it’s almost Valentine’s Day but since nothing was getting done but the bare minimum until this baby was born, I’m pretty happy that I finished it while it’s still winter anyway.

For the base I purchased a mixed paper book from Petaline Prints (currently none are available but maybe she’ll have more next holiday season) which I loved and was perfect for what I intended. During the holidays I saved anything I thought I might want to add to the book, took lots of photos, and then after Christmas I printed them all and gathered together any extra paper, stickers, or supplies I thought I might want to use.

That pile sat around until last week when I spent just a few days putting it all together. I have never done a minibook before so this is kind of a trial run to figure out my style. I changed a lot of things around during the process as I decided what I did and didn’t like, and then tried to keep things somewhat consistent like the placement of photos and the way I did labels and journaling. I really enjoyed it and I am looking forward to doing this every year, although right now I don’t plan to make any additional minibooks other than for the holidays.

Below you’ll see the finished project, and a few notes on particular pages. If you have any questions about any of it let me know!

The “making a list” printable was found at A Pair of Pears.

That drawing was made by an artist at the church we went to for Christmas Eve service. It’s supposed to be our family although it took me a long time before I realized he hadn’t given me someone else’s. :)

Inside the envelope are about 5-6 more Instax photos of Christmas Day. I didn’t want to overload the album with them, so I just pulled out the ones of our family to display.

Pretty simple overall, and very satisfying! Right now I’m in the middle of updating Liam’s baby book, then my next big maternity leave project will be catching up on Project Life. Yay crafting time.

February 12, 2014
remembering cleo

Yesterday we had to say goodbye to our sweet dog Cleo. It came as a huge surprise and we are still in shock. She was about nine years old and seemed very healthy, but had been throwing up for a few days. She has a sensitive stomach in general so I didn’t worry much until yesterday she was still not keeping down even water and was very lethargic, so I took her to the vet.

They did an x-ray and told us that first, she had a pellet in her abdomen (like from a pellet gun, most likely swallowed) but it was unclear exactly where it was because second, there was a whole lot of inflammation which probably indicated a raging infection/abscess. They did bloodwork and all signs pointed that direction, but the problem was we couldn’t tell what was really causing it. Could have just been the pellet, could be a tumor. Either way, they would have had to do serious surgery to even give her a chance, and her prognosis was still poor.

She was obviously miserable and after a lot of talking, questioning the vet, and crying we made the decision to put her down. It was such a hard call to make but in the end we couldn’t see putting her through all that when her chances weren’t good. David came from work to be with me when she went, and we held her and it was easy and painless. I am so glad that she had a good life and didn’t suffer long.

Cleo was my dog from before I was married and I loved her so much. She was super sweet and was great with Meredith. She saw me through the biggest changes of my life and I will always miss her.

February 11, 2014
thoughts on a birthday

Today is my birthday, I am 32 years old. So I’m giving myself the gift of a completely random blog post.

Here I am right now:

I have a cute baby. A fun and adorable toddler who is at school right now. An awesome, supportive husband. A close extended family and the best in-laws. I love my job, and I also love that I’m on break from it right now. I have it good. And yet this morning I was crying in the shower. Why? Hormones have to do with it. Meredith screaming all morning didn’t help. Taking this blood pressure medication that gives me frequent headaches and fatigue is throwing me off my game. Postpartum depression? I don’t know. Maybe a little. But I’m not myself these days, and I miss myself.

For the past three weeks I’ve been at home hanging out with Liam, not leaving the couch much. I’d say 50% of my days have been spent there, watching TV and stitching or reading. The rest of my time includes when David and Meredith are home, occasional showers, housework, and a few little outings. It’s become very comfortable for me on the couch, but there are other things I want to do and yet I’m finding it very hard to muster up the energy for them. I’m becoming a little lonely and sometimes sad.

Yesterday I finally made myself work on something new. First I filled out as much of Liam’s baby book as I could so far, and made a list of pictures to print for it. Then I prepped supplies for my 2013 holiday minibook:

I hope it will come together quickly, because I still have a whole lot of Project Life to catch up on. These things sound fun in my head but when I sit down to work on them I just stare.

So far on my leave I have read one book (Margot by Jillian Cantor) and started another (Joyland by Stephen King). I have watched the entire series of Sherlock and season one of Game of Thrones, plus a couple seasons of 30 Rock (I only have about ten episodes left in the whole series). I’m starting season two of Downton Abbey this week. I have stitched the frame and six squares of the autumn sampler. I have eaten lots and lots of food and drank more coffee than I need. I took Meredith and Liam on one walk and felt like a rockstar while I was doing it, then I came home and collapsed.

I don’t want today to feel just like every other day. So I’m going to go have another cup of coffee and add some hot chocolate mix to it. Then I’m going to put Liam in a carrier and wear him while making chocolate chip cookies and eating the dough. I’m going to browse my favorite websites for inspiration, and then I’m going to work on my minibook for awhile. And then I’ll probably come back to the couch because I’m tired already just thinking about all of this.

February 5, 2014