M’s Birthday Party!

Today was M’s 1st Birthday Party! And even though it went by fast, it went great! M did really well and only cried twice :) The decorations came out beautifully, the cake was great (a little too much frosting) and she got some great gifts! Yes, mommy does get a little control crazy but thankfully I have Marc, my mommy and sister that try to buffer my madness! (I thank them for their efforts). Also thankful that M has her daddy's demeanor and seems pretty laid back in any situation (any situation except sitting on Santa's lap, but that's another story). So, needless to say, M was a pretty cool cucumber and just sat back and watched for the most part. There were two incidents of tears which involved the birthday hat I crafted for her. She didn't hate the hat, in fact she loved looking at herself in the mirror wearing it, the incidents just happened to involve the hat. As for her gifts, she got a little bit of everything, but not as many books as I'd hoped for! Guess we know what to get her for Christmas!
Our sweet birthday angel! Well, without further ado, here are some pictures from her party! :)

31

It's been far too long since I last wrote. I think about it everyday but it seems like I run out of time to do that 'one more thing'. Yesterday was my and my twin sisters 31st birthday! I don't feel like I'm older, but this year I have an almost 1 year old daughter. For my birthday I took the day off of work. My main reason wasn't to celebrate my birthday but to finish planning her birthday party. I felt like I was just going all day. I had dropped her off at daycare like it was a normal work day but I was able to put up our Christmas tree and finish some errands for her party. Today at work we had cake to mark my birthday as they try to do for every employee there. They asked what I had done for my birthday and what my husband had gotten me. I told them I didn't really do anything and he hadn't gotten anything because I really didn't want or ask for anything. Most of them said "So!" One of the attorneys said if his wife tells him she doesn't want anything that it still means he better get her something. Well, not me. Give me a card and a nice thought and I'm happy. I don't need to get a gift to celebrate my life. As the saying goes, "Everyday is a gift that's why it's called The Present". Sure, many days I complain about my boring job and the long commute, but indeed I do have a job and it provides for me and my family, and my day off that I utilized for errands. I have a loving and supportive family and my husband and I have started a beautiful family of our own in our little girl and our pup. I was thinking the other day how I'm a little sad that our daughter will soon be 1. But then I realized I should be happy. Embrace the fact that our baby girl is a beautiful, healthy, growing baby girl and she has more to look forward too, more to learn, laugh and love in her life to come. Although it passes entirely too fast I have to accept it and not regret that she's grown from the tiny sleepy head she was to the talkative, smart and very loving little girl that she is. (It was still hard to write 'little girl' instead of 'baby girl', I erased it and rewrote it twice!). Sunday we'll celebrate her 1st birthday, about a week before her actual birthday, and I can't wait to see my little one's smiling face covered in frosting.

Debacle's and Dilemma's

The weeks seem to pass so quickly but while I am in the midst of them, so slow as well. Lately things have become a bit complicated with daycare for the little one. There were some disturbing rumors involving child safety and one of the teachers in the toddler 1 room, the room where M will be in about a month. Two of M’s little friends parents decided they didn't want to continue at the center and, as of yesterday, have moved to a different center. I feel like I'm in a dilemma...as we pay a steal of a price for daycare, but that these rumors have to deal with the safety of my baby girl I'd rather er on the side of caution and just have to pay a higher price elsewhere. So now I'm left with having to start the search for a new center, and my heart just aches because I'm not able to just say..."heck with it, I'll just stay home with her". No, unfortunately, with our bills the way they are at the present I am unable to do so. But just thinking about looking for a new center causes me anxiety. Do I look for a center that's closer to my job so that I can check in on her and the center every now and then. I am unable to do that with this center as it is closer to our home which is almost 1/2 hour from my job. Secondly, I don't want to stay at that job. I've been there 8 long years and yes, it is a good job but I'm not happy there. So then what would I do if I found work elsewhere?

On my way to work I always see people on their morning jog with their dogs or moms strolling their babies for a walk or jog and other moms walking their kids to school. I yearn desperately to be able to do those things. I want to be able to take my daughter to school without feeling like I have to drop her off early so that I can get to work on time. I want to be able to pick her up from school and get home and make dinner for my family, not rush home with a little time to feed her, bathe her and put her down for bed barely spending an hour as a family. I feel like my path has been stalled for so long at this job, but that I am stuck, my feet cemented to the road. How do I chisel out of here and start down a new road?

For now I must endure...

M just did the most adorable thing while I was writing this, I was watching her on the video monitor and she was supposed to be napping. Sitting in her crib, she grabs her stuffed lamb and gives it the most adorable, heart warming hug, and rocks back and forth with it. Makes all the complaining I do disappear... at least for a little bit.

Little Person

Another month has gone in a flash. Here I sit watching my now 10 month old angel sleep in her crib via the video monitor. A brief halt of my typing as she squirms to a new position, head in the corner, butt at an angle, legs to the side. A smile crosses my lips as I remember her daddy saying that she's just like me in that regard, can't sit still, even when sleeping. So many changes in this little person, in fact she's now becoming just that, a little person, with her own personality beginning to surface as she explores the world and reacts to its challenges. Some recent observations of this new little person.

She loves socks! Not wearing them, but pulling them off of her, and I've learned from daycare, off of other babies feet! She loves to hold them in her hands, examine them, talk to them, and toss them into the air to watch them fall, only to pick them up and do it again... until she tires of the exercise and moves on to some other interest.

She loves music. Any of her toys that play music, she'll sit there rocking her little hips or clapping her hands with the music. And if someone is there to dance with her, all the better. Today when I got to mom's to pick her up they were dancing to a dance beat that grandma found on her phone. But since it was just a short preview, whenever the music would end, M would listen for a second and then start moving to the beat like, "Play it again!"
I also call her my xylophone prodigy because when she takes that little mallet to her xylophone, it's like she's playing a tune she hears and she hits those tiles so matter-of-factly!

She doesn't like peas. (We'll have to work on that one.)

Dada can always make her laugh. Sure, she's got mama's heart but dada can tickle her funny bone just with a silly look. It's good to see that they have a connection. I hope he can always make her laugh.

She's smart. I've been trying to teach her sign language we've watched the sign language ABCs online at least I try to do once a day. Just in the last couple of days, when I start singing the ABCs and I'm signing them to her, she puts her little hand up and starts to move it and her fingers like she's signing! It's adorable.

She's all smiles. At least 99% of the time and it's the most beautiful smile. I wish I could share it with the world. Marc said last night as he was giving her hugs and kisses and she smiled at him, he said "if babies smiles could cure cancer there wouldn't be any!" Amen to that!

Pumpkin Patch

Yesterday was a great day in more ways than one. First of all, it was our pup's 4th birthday! Which in dog years makes him around our age! Although it seems like he has infinitely more energy. Before celebrating his birthday we took M to the Pumpkin Harvest at the museum. I had been waiting to take her to this because I thought it would be a good outing for us all. It turned out I was right :) It was great because grandma and granpa brought Little E and J and Sara visited with Mark before they went to a shoot. It was a bit of a chilly fall morning but we had M dressed warm and wrapped in a blanket. I didn't have a chance to go buy a wagon which would have been perfect because poor Marc ended up carrying the pumpkin we picked, luckily we weren't there much longer after that. As I said, it was a great outing. Little E had fun running everywhere and getting lost in the kiddie maze. (Which is a really cute maze for the short people and even though they can see the outside they work hard to find they're way out. It's neat to watch their growing minds work). We even got him to sit still for a couple of pictures. M looked adorable because she was wearing a knit hat that Marc's colleague's wife had knit for her that looks like a pumpkin. She was the cutest little pumpkin there! :) See for yourself

Our Little Pumpkin

We timed it perfect because she wasn't yet ready for a nap until just as we were leaving. Can't wait until next year when she'll be walking! I plan to take a wagon for sure!

When we got home, and while she napped, I made Drake a birthday cake. The perfect blend of peanut butter, honey and shredded carrots... some of his favorite snacks. Marc took him for a ride to Sportsman's Warehouse where he loves to be around people and when they got back we sang to him. Oh, my pup, seems like just yesterday we brought you home and you pooped on the carpet :) Here's to many more healthy and youthful years!

Happy 4th Birthday Pup!

Life lost

I'd heard the news just after I picked up my little one from daycare. I honestly don't listen to the regular radio that often anymore, but I turned it on to distract the little one's obvious annoyance that we weren't heading home. The song they were playing had just ended when the DJ came on to share the sad news.They had confirmed that the remains found in the open space area 7 miles from her home were in fact those of Jessica Ridgeway. My heart sank and my eyes welled. But I couldn't cry. My little one was in her carseat still protesting that she was... in her carseat. We were on our way to visit daddy at work so that some coworkers who are moving back to their home country could see her before they left. So I turned off the radio and sang the alphabet to her in the most upbeat tone I could muster. At daddy's work I smiled and beamed as everyone enjoyed my little one's beauty. We got home and went through our routine of dinner, play and then her pre-bedtime nursing. It was then, holding my little angel in my arms as she drifted off into peaceful slumber that I couldn't stop the tears from flowing. I did my best not to sob so as not to startle her and there she nursed and drifted off to sleep. Cradling her gently I prayed. I prayed for Jessica, her family who will never get to hold her again. I prayed for the countless children that go missing everyday that we don't know their names. And I prayed for my baby girl. That she'll always be safe and protected. I know it's every parent's prayer and that life is full of uncertainty, but all we can do is take each day and be thankful for every blessing.

My heart is with the Ridgeway family, the community and every parent praying for the children. God Bless you Jessica.

9 months

My baby girl is getting so big.

The weekdays are tough for me because... well, I have to take her to daycare. Somebody else gets to spend this precious time with our little one. They get to watch her interact with the other babies, watch her crawl progress from tentative to confident, hear her laugh... I have less than an hour in the morning and maybe two hours in the afternoon to get in my mama time. So I try to squeeze every drop out of it. This morning M was playing on the floor while I finished getting ready for work (also known as the evil place that pays me). When I went in to get her dressed she was sitting amongst her toys dancing to the music from one of her battery operated toys while she delicately tapped out music  (i.e. loudly pounded) on her xylophone that she loves. It was adorable. I'm so grateful for those moments. I recorded this one on my phone and I was showing it to my coworker who has a 7 year old girl and a 10 year old boy. She sighed and said "I miss that! Enjoy it!" Oh, she doesn't have to tell me. I savor every moment.

Today M had her 9 month check-up. Kelly, the wonderful PA conducting the exam said that M’s practically perfect in every way. Okay, maybe that's not exactly what she said, but it was something along those lines. The big news from her appointment.... M can now start eating table food! I will no longer have to wait 3 days between different foods to watch for allergic reactions. Of course, there are certain foods that I'll still want to be careful of and others that she still can't eat quite yet, but this is great news for her developing pallet! So, for her first (mostly) non-restricted meal this evening, I made tilapia with squash and broccoli (or squaccoli :). She loved it! Since I've started to put food on her tray she's beginning to use her pincer grasp to try to feed herself. She gets a little frustrated if she's really hungry and isn't getting as much as she wants as quickly as she wants but I always have a bowl full on hand for such frustrations.

Yes, 9 months has come and gone so quickly. Before I know it, it will be her 1st birthday, and after that her 18th *shudder*. But I will continue to cherish every minute.

Signing

I've said it before and I'll say it again. Time goes too quickly! My last update had M crawling for the first time. That was only 14 days ago. Since then, she's pulled herself up to a standing position first in her playpen and then in her crib (causing me to move the mattress all the way down) and now on the gate that keeps the dog out of her room! It's just so amazing how quickly she catches on. She did take a header into the couch this morning. I felt so bad. Her little had was resting on the couch and the other was on the floor and the couch hand slipped off causing her little face to ram the couch. Luckily it was only a quick cry and no bruise or swelling :)

So, life speeds on with each new day. Sometimes I let the monotony get me down when I have to go to that job I don't enjoy instead of spending my time with M. I know I'd at least feel better about having to work if I were doing something that I enjoyed and was interesting! That is how I came to my new adventure. Since M was born, I've wanted to try baby signing with her. I learned a few of the signs that would be used everyday like mommy, daddy, eat, milk, and I started to try using them consistently about 7.5 months with her. Well, my sister had found a website she liked and forwarded the info to me. It's called My Smart Hands. It's a program developed by Laura Berg for parents to teach their hearing baby signs. She has a lot of great information for free, even an iPhone ap that I downloaded. Well, one day, I was perusing the website and their was a link to "teach". So I emailed for information. Long story short, I'm going to be an instructor! I am currently taking a signing 101 class online and will have to take a quiz first. Then I have to learn all of the Lesson 1 for Laura's program so that I can teach it proficiently. I'm excited! I'm going to have to find venues to host the classes and start marketing for my classes but it's something new and exciting and I'm learning a new skill! The only downside is that I will be still working my regular job and will be doing only a couple classes on weekends. Hopefully, if I can get a good start at it, maybe I can find a way to work part-time with this and another part-time job but be able to spend more time with M!

That's the goal anyway. Well, I better get back to practicing my signing before M wakes up from her nap!

Mobile M

We have a crawler! She's been getting herself into a crawling position for the last couple of weeks. At first, she would just go directly to her stomach and do her "air swimming" motions. Then, the week before last she started going... backwards. I called it her "moon crawling" because it was smooth like MJ's moon walk. But as of Friday evening, she crawled! We had to motivate her so we used toys, our cell phones and at first, nothing! But then, she saw it, and zeroed in on her target. One knee... one hand... the other knee... and other hand... she was crawling! And she reached her objective, the filthy dog toy! Well, I wasn't gonna stop her! She had her mind made up and it was dog toy or bust! It's the cutest crawl too, we've come to call it the M shuffle. And she does it like she knew the whole time how to do it, when just last week she was looking at her little limbs thinking, I know I can do this, but how? So now, she'll be moving up with the crawlers in daycare. *Sigh* they grow so quickly! *Sniff Sniff*

Other new accomplishments for M... she's sitting up in her crib! and if she's fine in there by herself, she just sits and looks around. Or she'll play with her blanket, or the crib bumpers. But if she's not fine by herself and she's ready to get up, she'll definitely let you know about it!

She's tried lots of new foods over the last couple of weeks including green beans, pears, peaches, pork and eggs! And none of them got a yucky face or got spit out! I think upcoming we'll try carrots, barley cereal, potatoes, beef, bell peppers, pumpkin, yogurt and possibly blueberries. The food adventure continues! As does the adventure I like to call "what's in M’s diaper?" as the new food brings new... shall we say, texture, to the number 2!

I'll leave you with that thought to ponder :)

Say Cheese! Well... almost

Recently, the little one has taken to making a variety of sucking noises with her tongue. I had attributed this to the fact that we had taken away her pacifier at the beginning of the month, but apparently it was in response to the pressure her little gums were feeling from the start of her first tooth coming through! I know... bad mama! How could I not notice?! In my defense, this weekend I noticed her little gums looked a little red and possibly swollen but when I cleaned her gums after her meals I didn't feel anything (see, I'm really not so bad :). Well, grandma decided to take the initiative yesterday and low and behold she felt the tiny tooth breaking through! It's her left central lower incisor (look at me getting all technical). I can't see it yet but I can feel it when I run my finger over her little gums and... ahem I can also feel it when I'm nursing. I'm crossing my fingers that she has, shall I say, a gentle disposition and wants to continue nursing. I know I want her too and don't want to switch exclusively to bottled breastmilk. I guess we'll see! It's the beginning of the end for my favorite little gummy smile! I just love that glistening, pink mush mouth! Soon, she'll be able to say cheese with the best of them! But for now I'll soak up all of the little gummy moments I can!

That's an Olympic Sport?!

The other day, while catching up on some Olympic news, I came across an article about Olympic athlete Alex Schwazer had been disqualified from the 2012 Olympics for blood doping. It's alway sad to me when an athlete believes the best way to win is by cheating in an attempt to chemically enhance their athletic ability. I went on to  read that Schwazer, an Italian, had won the gold medal in 2008 in his event and he thought it necessary to blood dope in order to defend his title. Oh yes, I forgot to mention what his event is, it's race walking. Now if you're like me, you had never heard of race walking before. Maybe it's just me and I live in a bubble but I would have never guessed race walking would be considered a sport, much less an Olympic event! I had to Google "race walking" to make sure it was what I thought it was, and sure enough... it was! It's a little funny to watch but apparently it's been a part of the Olympics since almost the beginning of the official Olympic games. I can imagine, though it may seem easy, how hard it would be to race walk 20 km (12.76 miles) and you're trying to win so it would be irritating to me to watch someone wiggle past you (because that's what it looks like they're doing from behind) and you can't run to pass their wiggly butt! But seriously... blood doping?!

VS

On another note... so I can kind of understand how race walking can be an olympic sport but what about ping pong?! Oh, excuse me "table tennis". How can table tennis be an Olympic sport but softball didn't warrant enough votes from the IOC to remain part of the games?! I say softball is more of a sport. Ping Pong is more of a hang out in the basement holding a tourney with your college buds kind of talent in my opinion. What do you think?

Olympics 2012

The 2012 Summer Olympics are getting ready to come to a close. The United States currently leads the medal count at 90 to China's 80 with just a couple more days to go! It's been a busy and exciting games starting off with Danny Boyle's magnificent opening ceremony and loads of excitement in swimming with our local girl Missy Franklin taking four golds, a bronze and two world records! There's been some amazing and laudable firsts such as the first Saudi women to compete in the games. On the lighter side of the games, there's always some interesting "bet you didn't know"moments. I came across one of those while I was catching up on the latest events and winners articles.Did you know there's an official Olympic condom provider? I didn't either! Why did this make the news, you might ask?  The story of "Condom-gate", as it has been dubbed, broke yesterday when a bucket of "unauthorized" condoms was found in the Olympic Village! For shame! How many condoms could a village of athletes really need?  I'll tell you, this year sets a record for the number of condoms provided to the Olympic athletes. Take a guess how many... I'll give you a hint, in the 2000 Sydney games, 70,000 condoms were not enough and 20,000 additional condoms had to be provided! In the 2008 Beijing games 100,000 were provided. This year, a whopping 150,000 condoms were provided for the 10,000 athletes! That's 15 each! Holy rubber raincoats batman! Now, I must first commend the IOC for promoting safe practices for the athletes, but really? 150k condoms! Ok, perhaps some of them are taken from the games still in the package as keepsakes or souvenirs and others, possibly may be used to make "balloon" bouquets/animals but honestly what are they doing in that village!?

Tomorrow, strange Olympic sports...

If the shoe fits

Whenever I have time to organize things I always find things that are either going to Goodwill or things that have reached the end of their useful life. I always try to find a way to recycle but in the past have been lazy and if I don't find something right away, I end up throwing it away. But no more! This morning I had some time as the baby was down for a nap and I decided to try and do some organizing in the "room of no return" as I call it, that is, the room where everything gets tossed and the door closed. I hate having that room like that and I intend to organize it once and for all! Anyway... I had just started organizing when I found a cute pair of wedge shoes that Drake had chewed on. It's a good thing I don't buy expensive, name brand shoes because more often than not they have become a chew toy. And it's only my shoes! He won't touch Marc's shoes! So the one or two times I've forgotten to put my shoes away, Drake gives them an all too early retirement. Well, I thought that there has to be somewhere that recycles shoes that are no longer wearable. So, I grabbed the trusty MacBook and ran a search. It turned out it wasn't as easy as I was hoping. Several blogs offered suggestions like "give them to a thrift store" or reputable organizations like SoulsforSoles, all good suggestions for shoes that still have life in them, but I'm pretty sure someone's not going to appreciate shoes with gnaw marks on them. I did find that Nike has a program to recycle old athletic shoes called Reuse-a-shoe This is actually great because during my short organization moment, I also found an old pair of tennis shoes that would be put to better use as interlocking gym floor, playground surfacing or other athletic surfaces than on someone's feet. So, one goal down... now what to do with those chewed on wedges? Another website suggested making them into small planters

I thought that was a really neat idea except that I really have no where to put them where Drake won't be able to reach and they definitely wouldn't last very long as planter or shoe in that scenario and then I'm back to square one. So I'm determined to find somewhere and someway to recycle them. Anybody have any suggestions!?

Well, there went my chance to organize because the baby woke up!

Field Day

No, this wasn't the field day at the end of the school year where we played egg toss or ran a three legged race (which my sister and I rocked at by the way), this was me trying to get back into the field at an archaeology dig! Yes, I was excited as it has been quiet a while since I've dusted off my old trowel but ti was waiting with dirt from my last archaeological adventure. Sunday I volunteered at a dig right near my home at Chatfield State Park. It was a mammoth dig! Don't get too excited, it wasn't an entire mammoth, but currently they have revealed a mammoth tusk and the day before I was on site, a mammoth tooth. It's all a part of a bigger project of scientists from the Denver Museum of Nature and Science to discover and reexamine mammoth sites and collections in order to gain more evidence that humans reached North America much earlier than what is widely accepted. This project is led by Dr. Steven Holen who I got to meet briefly at the site.

Well, getting back into the field was definitely fun, but Sunday was a HOT day. Because I'm still nursing I ended up leaving halfway through the day so as not to get dehydrated. I was disappointed that I wasn't able to finish the day but I had to remind myself that I'm literally taking baby steps back into these kinds of things. I did enjoy getting my trowel dirty and got to see mammoth bones in situ that have been there for several millennia so it was a good experience.

My next task is to find a way to gain some contacts so that I can market and network my skills! Hmmm... where to start?!

Sad Day

Yesterday was a very sad day here in Colorado. A young man decided he needed to take the lives of innocent people and to physically and emotionally wound those who somehow escaped his murderous rampage. There is no use in trying to determine why this was done. Only one person knows and that would be the shooter. God doesn't even know why people do such things. Twelve people lost their lives, the youngest being a 6 year old girl. My heart aches for the victims and their families. As I read about people those who lost their lives they all had so much life to live and it was just taken from them in an instant. Those who survived, no doubt will carry a heartache that I can't imagine. I pray for them all.

I look at my baby girl sleeping peacefully in her crib and think about what her future holds in such a world. But I can't think like that. I have always felt that each and every moment we have on this Earth to be a blessing. Jessica Ghawi, one of the victims shared the same view. So although we like to prepare for future events, the future is not guaranteed. Take each moment, be thankful in that moment.

Say a prayer and remember and celebrate life and the lives of those who lost theirs yesterday.

Values

What values are you looking for in a job?

When I was asked that question, I must admit I was slightly confused. Values... values... values... I kept thinking in my head. "Learning... growth... flexibility?" No, those aren't values, those are benefits. This took a bit more contemplation on my part. The question was posed by a career coach that I've been working with. Why would I need a career coach? Well, the obvious reason is to get out of the job I've been at for almost 8 years. But as we've progressed it's more than that, it's to gain focus.

So what are the values I want in a job?

4. Integrity

After working so long with lawyers (you know the old "Dewey Cheatem & Howe") I'd like to be in a career that I feel is honest and ethical.

3. Initiative

For so long my job has consisted of monotonous, repetitive tasks. I would like to work in something where I can take on responsibility and challenges.

2. Independence

As an assistant to others I can have my own way of getting things done but I always have to be "on call" for the attorney's immediate requests. I would like to be in a position where I can work independently but also be able to bring results to a team.

1. Achievement

My number 1 value is Achievement. As I said, I've been in a monotonous, unfulfilling job for so long, I want to be in a career where I am able to utilize my abilities and feel accomplished at the end of the day.

These values aren't just what I want in a career. I want to make them a part of my every day life. Since my graduation in Decemeber 2010, I feel like I have been complacent in my values as they pertain to my responsibilities to the earth. Most especially since I will be bequeathing our Earth to my baby girl I think I should make more of a concerted effort in how I live. Not only how I live but taking the initiative (one of my values) to take part in things I feel need to be changed. I recently came across a project called "The Story of Stuff Project" and it described exactly what I was looking for. Annie Leonard founded this non-profit in 2008 after she had created a 20-minute movie about stuff and our relationship to it. There is a big problem in our policy and our treadmill economy and I want to be a part of the change. So along with my career search, this will also be a big part of my next adventure. In fact, it may even be a part of my career focus direction... only time will tell. Come along with me as I take this journey!

Focus

Yes, I know I said I was going to do better on keeping up with my blog and here I am two weeks after my last blog. I had been doing so good! Well, no worries, I intend to get back on track. The last couple of months I have been trying to gain focus on where I want to go in my career life. I've been at my current job almost 8 years! That would be great for someone who wanted to be in law but I started my current job as a way to pay the bills and work through school. I've done both of those (still paying the bills though) and graduated almost 2 years ago and here I am, still in the same position. I am very grateful to have a job in this economy but I feel slightly selfish in saying... I want more. So I've been reevaluating my core values and what I want in a career. And well, let's face it, in life also because so much of our time is spent at our jobs I think it needs to be something worthwhile if you're spending time away from those you love most.

Through this introspection, as well as the professional help of the MBTI and Strong assessment, I've discovered that I have a need to find personal meaning in my work, I like to solve problems and I am committed to institutions and projects that reflect my values. And of all the areas listed in my assessment, I am drawn to the Life and Social Sciences category. What a co-inky-dink! My degree in Anthropology fits right in with that!

Now it is time for me to focus my broad goals into a well defined career and life goals. It seems like a daunting task... we shall see! But we always have to have a place to start and what better place to start then with my values.

Stay tuned...

1st trip to the mountains

This weekend was M’s first camping trip! I must clarify, not camping in the traditional sense with tent and cook stove bit with our trailer which can be hooked up to a power source. :) baby steps as the saying goes! It was a short trip as we headed up Saturday morning and left sunday mid morning but we had fun. And M did great! She took good naps, she slept mostly through the night. There was an hour from 2:00 am - 3 that she decided she was done sleeping but after a lot of rocking and patting, and eventually nursing her is what got her back to sleep. Then she just wanted to keep sleeping after that! It was the dog that had an issue when we wanted to nap with the baby and he kept pacing inside the trailer! I was hoping he wouldn't do that in the evening and he actually did better than the baby at that time! He even missed the coyotes tipping and howling! It was right after I had gotten M back to sleep and I thought for sure he was going to her them and start pacing and barking but thankfully, he didn't even move!

The weather was a beautiful mid 70s with an afternoon rain on Saturday to cool down. But in the direct sunlight we could still feel that heat!

I, being a diligent mom (overprotective some might say) made sure the little one's delicate skin was covered as much as possible and used baby safe sunscreen on the skin that wasn't. She had her always fashionable hat to top it all off. She doesn't look like it bothered her does she?! :)

So our first family camping trip was a success. I would eventually like to try tent camping with her, but I'll need to make sure we're fully prepared for that!

What's wrong with this picture?

What's wrong with this picture? Lets forget for the moment that this might not be considered the safest arrangement of...stuff. And we'll set aside the fact that this guys loading/packing skills leave a little something to be desired. And maybe his rear tires really don't need a wheel well... Or tread for that matter. No no, the main thing I'd like to point out is that there's a refrigerator on the tailgate. A refrigerator. Now, I'm no expert on loading things but I'm pretty sure you don't load a refrigerator on the tailgate. I could be wrong...yes, its been known to happen, but I'm pretty confident on this one. Just looking at the other stuff... Oh, let's just call a spade a spade... Its crap, he's hauling crap. The other crap in that truck bed, there are several more suitable items for the tailgate should you need to use the tailgate. For example the lawn chairs or perhaps the bicycle hanging out the top.

I can only speculate as to whether he made it to his destination, and if he did, whether or not he was able to unload that refrigerator seeing as the hand truck is "packed" below the heavy looking object precariously topping off this crap hauling sundae. You think you might want that more easily accessible.

As I said, I'm no expert.

Pray for relief

Colorado is on fire! This hot, dry June has brought an unprecedented number of wildfires to our front range. Currently, approximately 135,000 acres are burning from a combined 6 active fires!! The last few record setting days of heat have only increased the danger. Yesterday afternoon one of the fires took a turn for the worse and jumped a road an with the help of 65 mile per hour winds climbed up a canyon wall and into subdivisions quickly burning several homes. Many people were at work when this happened and didn't even have a chance to collect belongings. So far there are no reports of deaths caused by this fire, I only pray it remains as such. It's a scary situation and I can't even imagine the devastation of the families affected. The pictures say it all http://blogs.denverpost.com/captured/2012/06/27/colorado-wildfires-waldo-canyon-fire-colorado-springs/5732/

My prayers go out to them and to all the brave firefighters that are risking their lives in fighting these flames.

Anyone interested in helping in some way please visit www. HelpColoradoNow.org and please pray for relief!

Perfect Sunday

Taking in a great movie with my mom and sister.
Lunch with mom, dad, sister, hubby, baby girl and mother-in-law.
Chillin on the couch while baby girl naps on my chest.

What more could I ask for.

Growing strong

M’s 6 month check up went well yesterday, all except the part where she has fluid in both ears! :( I really hope this isn't going to be a regular thing for her. So this time they put her on a different class of antibiotic since the amoxicillin may have given her hives last time. We'll see how this one goes! She also got her shots of course. She didn't like those but was fine once I picked her up. She gave the nurse Erik a bit of a glare. Although she may just remember him from the heel pokes when she was two days old.

Other than that, she's developing great! She's a long baby in the 75th percentile and also petite as far as weight. Today she's been a happy baby as usual but with a low grade fever all day. I had her in just her diaper for most of the day because it's been 100 degrees! She looks so cute and she loves the freedom.

Tomorrow we're having a girls morning with mom, sister, Ayrin and Raquelle going to see the animated movie Brave. I'm going to miss my little bear but hopefully when she's older she'll like having days like that with me!

A letter to my baby girl on her 6 month half birthday

My precious angel,

Today you have reached your six month birthday! I can't believe how much you've changed in these 6 short months! From the small, sleepy, sweet newborn to the smiley happy baby I see everyday! You are such a happy baby and your daddy and I feel so blessed each moment we have with you to see you smile, to hear your magical laugh, to watch you learn and wonder at everything around you! We watch with excitement at each new milestone you reach. Right now you are sitting so good! You'll sit on your blanket and play with your cups and rattles. You particularly like the one I have named 'moo cow rattle' but you also love to mum on your cups! You can roll both ways and a couple of times I've left you playing on your tummy in the middle of your room for a moment and you'll have rolled off the blanket when I get back! You haven't gotten your knees under you yet in preparation for crawling but grandma Pauline recently caught you up on your toes!

You are such a joy my angel and it is with excitement and joy that I watch you grow. You have so many adventures yet to experience and you have so much love surrounding you.

God has truly blessed our family with you!

Love your mama.

Blog alarm!

No matter how much I tell myself "I'm going to blog tonight" it never seems to happen. So today I decided to set an alarm to blog during my lunch hour. Even if it's a quick little observation of the day, at least I won't be neglecting my blog responsibilities. Plus, I can always snooze my alarm if need be but at least it's a reminder. A second plus is that it gives me a chance to pause and reflect on my morning, or the previous afternoon's events that may not have made it into the earlier blog. And it's a good thing I decided this and set my alarm this morning because I had already forgotten until my phone alarm went off!

Does it seem sad that I have to schedule time to do something that I enjoy? No, because if I'm running around daily and forget to do things I enjoy a simple alarm can go a long way in making today better, even if it's just a chance to vent. So I recommend if you never have a moment to do one small thing that you enjoy doing, set an alarm. Even if the alarm is just to remind you to smile or take a breath. Take a moment for yourself, even if it is scheduled. You may be like me and not remember until your alarm goes off and then it's a welcome reminder, or it may be a part of the day to look forward to. Either way, make it count.

A little cheese with that whine?

This sucks! It's almost been a month since my last entry! I hate that I can't write when I want to. I need a new routine. I need to get out of my current position. I just don't know where to go! Oh... Woe is me...


Ok, sorry for the outburst of frustration. I just wish I could get past this block in my otherwise wonderful life. I have a wonderful husband, a beautiful baby girl, a somewhat frustrating but loving dog, and the most supporting and helpful mom, dad, and sister in the world. If only I could enjoy all of it as often as I truly wanted too! It's like the song lyrics go 'if I could make a living out of loving you, I'd be a millionaire in a week or two'! Fitting, right?!

Well that's all I have time for right now as I'm fitting this note in while pumping milk in the cubicle at work... :) the adventure continues!

A little funny

This might be one of those “guess you had to be there” kind of stories, but I’m going to tell it anyway. The other night I had Marc run to the grocery store because I needed a few things, one of them being dish soap. Well, apparently he doesn’t like the “natural” dish soap I’ve been getting and he said so…

Marc: I’m going to get Dawn

Me: Why?

Marc: (sarcastically) Because it saves penguins! It washes off the oil!

Me: But…

Marc: (walking out the door) It saves penguins!!

So he gets home from the store with the few items I needed (plus some others because you can never send your husband to the store without him picking up extra) and the Dawn. And guess what? There’s a picture of penguins on the front!

"Helps Save Wildlife"

5 months

Five Months... how can it be that it's been 5 months since she was born? She's changed so much and grown so much! She's now rolling over both ways. She laughs and giggles, squeals and screams! I love to listen to her experiment with her voice while she's playing in her crib and I'm in the bathroom getting ready. She even tries to imitate me when I sing or hum to her she seems to hum too. Sometimes when she is upset daddy's low, soft singing can calm her. She gazes at everything with curiosity and wonder.  She's almost always smiling her sweet beautiful smile. She truly does light up when she smiles. .It's a part of her personality already. I hope it's something that she keeps as she grows up because a positive outlook and a smile are often difficult to come by in this world. But daddy always makes her smile. That's another thing I hope will stay with her.

This month, mom and Sara helped me put up wall decals for M’s room. Now she finally has something to look at and you can tell she loves it. I'll be nursing her and she'll be staring at the tree decal or the flowers on the closet doors. They look really great!

Full tree decal with animals and flowers.

Flower decals on the closet doors and branch on wall.

ABC decals with the cutest animals!

Coming in the next couple weeks M will start swimming lessons! Well, play in the water lessons anyway. I'm a little apprehensive about it but it'll be a good thing for her to get into a big area of water. She loves bathtime! Hopefully this will be like a big bath to her! It also means mommmy has to buy a new swimsuit. Dun Dun duuuun! Guess that's my assignment for this weekend. We'll see what I come up with. Until then!

Caffeine Jolt!

I’ve never been a regular coffee or caffeine consumer. A soda here or there, some iced or hot tea sometimes. When I was younger I didn’t like coffee unless it was mostly milk/half & half with a teeny tiny bit of coffee for flavoring. When Starbucks came around, it was “cool” for kids at school to get Starbucks because it was trendy. I wasn’t trendy, nor did I want to be, but I tried it a couple times. The coffee drinks were not my thing because, well obviously a coffee shop is going to make coffee for people who like caffeine, i.e. too strong for me! I did find that I liked the Chai Latte. The blend of spices in Chai is very tasty to me. So whenever I went to Sbux that would be my drink of choice, iced in the summer and hot in the winter. I would also indulge in a frapaccino or two at times. Either way, I never got much of a caffeine jolt out of such drinks.

In the recent past, I was, for a while, having a cup of coffee every morning (again, mostly half and half with a bit of coffee) because Marc would make a pot. (It was also because we had found this really good blend of Pinon hazelnut… yum!) But when I got pregnant I stopped drinking it and anything else with caffeine.

Now since I’m nursing I try to avoid most caffeine, at least in drinks. I do allow myself some chocolate but the bit that I eat wouldn’t have much caffeine to contend with. According to Baby Center it’s acceptable to have a little caffeine on occasion, even regularly for some people. So it wasn’t until recently that I decided to stop on my way to work and get a Chai Latte at Sbux. The first time I stopped to get it was because I missed the flavor. So there I was at work, sipping away at my long missed treat when I realized I was zooming about the office with extra pep in my step! I was also humming to myself and probably talking faster than usual as some of my coworkers appeared to be catching only half of what I was saying. 

What a difference in how my body reacts to the caffeine! Talk about a jolt! The funny thing is, I ge a "tall" which is 12 oz. (I thought it was 8 oz but I guess they have a "short" that's the 8 oz.) I mean, how much caffeine can that have in it? Being a curious person, I looked it up. It has 75mg of caffeine in it. So, how much caffeine is too much? According to the Mayo Clinic  "For most healthy adults, moderate doeses of caffeine - 200 to 300 milligrams (mg), or about two to four cups of brewed coffee a day - aren't harmful". 200-300mg? And I only had 75mg or 25% of a moderate consumers dose! That's just sad! I'm a caffeine light weight! 

Well, that's ok. At least I know that when I need a boost, it won't take much! For now, I'll definitely keep my caffeine consumption to a minimum, because if I have anything more than that I might just learn how to fly!

Where did April go?

Wow, it’s been a month since my last entry… and I had been so determined to try to do at least one entry a week. This month flew by and it seems I live for the weekend. And we all know how that goes… quick as it starts it’s over again and I’m back at work wishing I were home with my baby girl. She turned 4 months old a week ago. Four months! How the time flies and how I wish I could be with her every second, watching her grow and learn and wonder. With four months gone so quickly I cherish every second that I do get to be with her. Even when she wakes me up at 3:00 in the morning and my eyes don’t want to stay open while hers light up so brightly in the dark as was the case this morning.

Speaking of her beautiful eyes, I think the color(s) have finally settled in. That’s the neat thing, she has very unique eyes. They appear to have a hazel/brown as the main color (different from my brown) and appear to be rimmed with a dark blue and sometimes green color around the outer part of the iris.

Another update is that she’s laughing more often now. She likes to make it hard to make her laugh though but she’s squealing and voicing her opinions loudly J

Saturday she attended her first wedding. It was for a somewhat distant relative on Marc’s side of the family that we don’t see at all on except on such occasions as weddings or funerals. But we went at the request of Marc’s mom. This was a trial for me as everyone wanted to hold my baby. And one of Marc’s other relatives practically horded her the whole evening! I kept my hawk eye on her at all times, not even trying to be covert about it. Luckily, it was at a small venue and I didn’t have to search for her but I couldn’t sit next to her because it was, as I said a small venue, the VFW. And if any of you have been to any kind of event at a VFW building at least in the metro area, they are all small and stuffy and never have air conditioning. They’re even hot in the winter. It was unbearable hot as the day had been at least 80 degrees! So I had to take her outside to get some air as her little cheeks would keep getting red! But she did so good, just sat and watched and smiled. Never cried at all the strange unknown family members that wanted to hold her or oogle her. Such a good mannered baby I have. At least most of the time.

So that was M’s recent adventure and she breezed through it like it was nothing. It’s such a joy to watch my little one grow. I can only imagine how my parents felt with three of us and watching us interact. I’m excited to see what she starts doing in this next month! I’m hoping against teeth for now as I enjoy her little toothless grin, but I promise to try to write more than this post.

From this bleary eyed mama…signing off.

Baby Thoughts

I absolutely love to see her beautiful little steel colored eyes watching ever so intently at everything within their range. The hints of green and hazel and sometimes blue, glint with reflections of her world. What is she thinking? Sometimes watching with quiet contemplation having either just awakened from a nap or slowly succumbing to slumber. Other times excitedly surveying the commotion the surrounds her. How does she see the things that often times we see as mundane everyday features of our existence. I can only imagine how her beautiful developing mind views the eccentricities of life. When I ask her what she's thinking, that enchanting little sideways smile is response enough for me that she's pleasantly working it out and it's much less mundane and much more fascinating than we have come to see it. Maybe I should try seeing it from her perspective more often. Maybe we all should.

Cloth Diaper Weekend

Well, cloth diaper (CD) trial weekend went pretty well! Tried her in all different diapers including all my pocket brands (rumparooz, fuzzibunz and bumgenius) and the All-in-One Grovia’s that I have. Her bum was a little tiny bit red to start the weekend and I didn’t have an appropriate butt cream that is okay to use on CD’s so I’ll have to get something before going full out! But I actually plan on starting the CD’s at daycare next week. I’m excited! She looks so cute in her fluffy bum covers :). Although Marc made the comment that she looks like how some old ladies look with big bottoms on. That’s another thing, I’ll have to see how Marc does with the CD’s because he has yet to change one! :)

Starting daycare with CD’s will be interesting. I’ll have to see which ones work best for her little bum because I may need to get a few more to fill out my stash. It’s kind of addicting getting new ones! Ms. Sue, who takes care of M at daycare, said her son and daughter-in-law will be using CD’s for their little one due in May. She said her son was all excited to find a camo patterned CD. I said, there’s Marc all over! Guess I might have to find her one too!

The other thing I have to think about is getting the diapers washed and sunning them so that they don’t stain. By the time I get home and wash the diapers, there’s not much time left for sunning. So that will be our next baby adventure, cloth diapers here we come!!

On the road to cloth

It has begun! We have started using cloth diapers. Now when I say "we" I mean me and when I say "started" I mean, I have dipped my toe into the greener waters of cloth diaper-dom. The cloth diapers I purchased before M was born were different brands of what are called One-Size Pocket Diapers. For those of you not familiar with the new fangled cloth diaper world, "one size" means they are supposed to fit babies from 7-35 pounds via various snaps and elastic means of sizing as they grow. And pocket is a microfiber/terry insert that gets inserted into a pocket at the back of the diaper. I also purchased 6 "All-In-One", or AIOs, one size diapers. That means there are no inserts but extra linings that are a part of the main diaper. M was 7 lbs when she was born but these diapers were so big on that tiny little tushie! So I decided to wait until her tushie grew a bit. Now the one size diapers seem to fit much better! The other thing I was waiting for was to purchase a diaper sprayer that attaches to the toilet to spray the... poo off of the diapers before putting them in the wash. This weekend mom and I ventured to one of the few "green" baby stores north of Denver called The Giggling Green Bean (cute right?) and mom bought me four "Perfect Size" FuzziBunz to try and I bought the diaper sprayer and two wet/dry bags for transporting clean and dirty diapers while away from home. I've been so excited to start the cloth diaper trial. Because M sleeps through the night I decided to try the diapers at night first. So on Monday night I put her first rumparoo cloth diaper on. She looked so cute!

So we went to bed and in the morning her butt was dry! The diaper insert was wet but she stayed pretty dry! First night success!!

So the trial continues. This week we'll use the cloth diapers during the night and this weekend I plan to try to cloth diaper her all day! We'll see how that goes! And we'll see how Marc likes it because he hasn't changed one yet. After that... we'll have to start them at daycare. I hope they transition into it easily. M will be the only baby in cloth diapers! Who knows, maybe we'll start a trend. But for now, we're dipping our toes in :) I'm still excited about it. Hopefully that doesn't change when I have to come home to dirty daycare diapers! But it will definitely save us money in the long run! I've gotten all of my cloth diapers (except for 2) at a discount from the original prices. I would say I've only spent approximately $200 for 22 diapers. That may seem a lot to most people but if you think about it, we spend $26 for a box of 108 disposable diapers that might last about 2 weeks! So in two months you would spend $208 and that's the same price I bought my 22 diapers for that I can use until she's 35 pounds! 

Our cloth diaper adventure has begun!

3 Months Old

Our baby girl had her 3 month old birthday yesterday! Ms. Sue sang to her when I dropped her off at daycare. Since birth, M’s gained 3 lbs 13.5 oz! She's my little petite peanut. The guy at work who's daughter just turned 1 month has gained 2 lbs since birth! We all grow differently! Today, to mark her 3 month, one day birthday, M let out a full giggle! And she was laughing at the dog of all things! She decided she's going to be a discerning laugher as we tried to make her do it on camera and of course, she wouldn't so much as chuckle! I also broke out the Bumbo Seat today since she's doing so well holding her head up and she sits so cute in it! So many milestones reached and so many more to go! I don't mind being patient for them.

In other news, we got a new faucet in the kitchen! Marc went on a Home Depot bender and got a few things we've been needing. The faucet we had was old, although it was probably one of the few things in our house that wasn't original, and it was leaking. Marc got a beautiful stainless steel faucet that extends and sprays and has a high arch so things don't have to squeeze underneath it. I love it! Alas, now it is nicer than the sink and the counter... but as mom says... a piece at a time!
He also got a new vent fan for the bathroom downstairs. This however turned into quite a project with several trips to Home Depot. First of all, the vent fan we had was original to the house. Well, he had to create a bigger hole in order to mount the new fan in the ceiling. So that meant he had to drywall, mud, sand and paint (a bigger project than he was hoping) but he got it done and it looks great! Now all we have to do is finish the rest of the bathroom around it! Hopefully we can get that done over the summer but we'll see! As things tend to become bigger projects than anticipated, we'll have to take it a step at a time. Repeat to yourself... I love my moneypit... I love my moneypit... Ah... the adventures in home owning! 

One Minute Behind

As an addendum to my previous post that describes my daily routine I must comment on the significance of a minute. To some, one minute may seem but a fraction of time barely worth mentioning when it is lost, yet in the world of a parent, it is a very valuable moment in time and once "lost" can mean the difference between late and on time. Case in point... baby has her first cold this week. Poor little thing has a stuffy nose, and when babies have a stuffy nose, every parent knows where to turn. The notorious bulb syringe, or, a more colorful name that I've heard it referred to as the "booger sucker". Yes, disgusting in the visual it presents yet accurate. Well, the ritual nose cleaning of baby must take place before she eats, before she sleeps and basically any chance we can to help clear the airways. So in the morning, before I take her to daycare, I want to make sure she is as clear as I can get her. This can be tricky as M has gotten particularly good at worming away from the "evil" bulb. So inevitably, with the worming and squirming and the adorable "mewing" noise she makes when she's mad and telling me so, I can fall one or two minutes behind and that, well that just throws the whole schedule out of whack! One minute over and I'm late starting and loading the car, which puts me two minutes behind when I would have left, which puts more cars on the road then would have been two minutes earlier, which inevitably leads to running late. So to be clear, one minute is no minuscule fraction of time, in fact, seconds count because they add up to these precious minutes of time. I'm sure many parents can attest to the sacredness of "the minute" and I'm not only referring to the minute that can make you late, I'm also referring to the minute you get home and get to enjoy every second away from work as you can. After all, every minute counts! Late or not, that doesn't mean you have to rush, it just means you'll be one minute behind. No use trying to rush to catch up because once that minute is gone, it's in the past! So enjoy each one!