Just because

Just because I am in a crazy good mood, and  because Leigha has been crawling to me to give me kisses and just crawling up a storm in general, I am going to do this tagged survey thingy that has been flying around the blogs that I read just for kicks even though I wasn't tagged LOL. One good thing though is I don't have to entirely follow the rules that way either ;)  And because most of the blogs that I read have been tagged by Laura and I dont know of any others who would do it.

So I thought this would be fun.  Here it goes.
11 Random facts about me:

1) I won a patriotic art contest in High School and won $100 bucks for a drawing that I did of the Statue of Liberty with Ellis Island in the background.  I can't really stand the drawing now because I see all of the flaws, but I still think its pretty cool that I won.  I can't remember what I did with the money. 

2) I love cooking.  Not just regular ole dinners, although I do love doing that too, but I really love making complicated things that I make at least just once to see if I can do it.  In another life I would probably have become a chef, but I don't like a lot of foods.

3) I am a night owl.  I don't like waking up in the mornings AT ALL.  When I was in school and we were out on summer break I would stay up until 3-4 in the morning and then sleep all day.  I loved it.   I wish I could do that now! 

4) I love infomercials.  There is just something so over the top stupid about the "real life scenarios" that they show that makes me laugh.  I mean seriously do people really have that much of a hard time painting, or grilling a hamburger or weeding? LOL.

5)  I still think of myself as a girl as in a young girl.  I may be closing in quickly on 31, but I can't think of myself as a woman.  its super weird and I just can't do it.  It weird for me to hear people call me a woman.  I guess to me it just sounds old, and I definitely am NOT old!!  LOL.

6)  I always said that I was going to marry a rich man and have a maid who would clean up after me and someone to cook my meals so that all I would have to do is take care of the kids all day.  Obviously that never happened LOL.

7)  I love building things.  Growing up, my parents would get the "some assembly required" things for around the house and I would always beg to put them together, but they would always give the task to my brother.  I hated it.  The only thing that I remember ever putting together is a bookcase that they bought me, and I'm pretty sure that they only let me do that because they brought my brother an identical one.  I guess its a good thing that I married a man who would let me build almost anything I wanted.

8)  I can't do any kind of math without a calculator.  Well, except for super simple basics, but the rest, forget it.  I hated it in school, and never could understand why we had to learn it if they made calculators.  Seemed like a waste of my time.

9)  My husband is the first real boyfriend that I ever had.  I had gone on a couple of dates with literally a couple of different guys, but he's the only one I ever dated.

10)  I never liked any kind of sports until I met Richard.  He taught me to like them.  My favorite now is basketball.

11)  I had back surgery when I was 22.  I had a hunch back and it was starting to really hurt not to mention I was EXTREMELY self conscious about it.  I went to a doctor who suggested a surgery where they put metal hooks and screws in your spine which supported 2 metal rods that run the length of my spine from my neck to my tailbone.  Recovery was 3 weeks of pure hell, but its the best thing that I have ever done.  I'm convinced that if I hadn't done it, I wouldn't have gotten married to Richard when I did because it was when I was having surgery that he realized that he couldn't live without me and had to marry me.  Oh and I gained 3 inches of height!  That's how bad the curve was!  :(


1) What are your top five all-time favorite bands?
I was talking to my Dad the other night and realized that I have only ever been to 5 concerts in my lifetime, and those are really the only bands that I can remember at this point in the day, and I wouldn't go to a concert for a band that I didn't love, so....

• Garth Brooks ~ Saw him December 2010 at a benefit concert for the victims of the May 2010 floods here in Nashville.  It was an AMAZING performance and the whole time Richard was worried that the baby's developing ears would be damaged by the loud music, and needless to say I didn't care at all....I was watching Garth Brooks IN CONCERT!  Weeee!!!  :D
• Matchbox 20 ~ This was the first concert that I had ever gone to.  I went with my SIL at the time (although then it was just my boyfriend's sister LOL).  I had a BLAST!  It was so much fun, and they are one of the few bands/singers that I know most of the words to their songs.  
• Elton John ~ Need I say more?  He's awesome,  I love his songs, He's one of the few that I can pick out on the radio every single time (I am horrible with bands/songs/lyrics) 
• Kid Rock ~ Crazy pick, yes, I know.  But his concert was really cool actually.  There is something about his singing that I like.  I think its the whole bad boy image that I am attracted to.  
• Aerosmith ~ No, I never saw Aerosmith in concert, BUT they are one of my favs.  Even though Steven Tyler is a little odd looking.  I really like his voice.  :) 

Oh and just for a random fact, the 5th concert that I have seen was for Earth Wind and Fire with Chicago.  Richard took me on my Birthday the year after we were married because our song is "your My Inspiration" by Chicago.  We were both very much disappointed, not a good concert at all, but still a nice birthday date with the hubby.

2) What are your top five all-time favorite books?

• Lucky Man / Michael J. Fox   ~ Its a great story about him finding out that he had Parkinson's and his life with it.
• Love Greg and Laura ~ A story about a woman who was injured in the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center and her Husband's emails to friends and family about her recovery.  I think I cried during the entire book.
• I can't for the life of me remember the title but it is the autobiography of Christopher Reeves.  Another amazing story. 
• Hunger Games ~ Honestly, I never even really wanted to read the book once I figured out what it was about (after I won it from Laura's giveaway) But then I told myself that I would only read a couple of chapters.  I ended up finishing it is less than 24 hours and it took me that long because I had to sleep.  And then I had to immediately go out and buy the other 2 books in the series.  Laura, you created a monster! LOL  (Thanks! :D )
• Black Heels to Tractor Wheels. ~ I'm a sucker for a romantic book, and since I am almost finished with it, its becoming one of my favorites :)

 3) What is the craziest thing you have ever done?
Riding on the back of Richard's motorcycle without a helmet.  We went to Daytona back a long time ago when we were still dating and they have an optional helmet law down there, so I didn't wear one and we rode that thing all over the place.  Still makes me shudder whenever I think about it.  At least nothing happened except maybe the occasional bug in the face..Eww!

4) What is your favorite treat?
Anything chocolate really.  I will not pass up anything that has chocolate.  Although my favorite non-chocolate treat is the Raspberry Lemon Cheesecake from the Cheesecake factory.  To me it tastes like summer.

5) What are you the proudest of?
I recently learned how to sew, and I am super proud that I have even made Leigha some clothes that she has worn out in public and has even gotten comments on it without knowing that they were homemade!  I'm too afraid to try to make something for myself though.

6) What are you the most ashamed of?
That I dropped out of college, that I don't have a degree in anything.  I had once wanted to be a doctor.  Even took a bunch of pre-med courses, I just couldn't handle being away from home.  I just wish that I had stuck with it and gotten a degree in SOMETHING so that I could contribute more to our family finances.

 7) What is your guilty pleasure?
Buying clothes for myself.  I have to force myself to do it.  I have lots of gift certificates that I need to use, but I feel bad buying things for me when Richard and Leigha need things too.

8) What are you really, really good at?
At this moment in time, I have to say sewing.

9) What does your handwriting look like? (post a pic!!!)

Nothing fancy.  This is a shopping list I wrote a couple of weeks ago for a mug cheesecake I found on pinterest.  Its not all that. 

10) Which chores do you refuse to do (or do your best to get out of)
Any of them.  I don't like cleaning, but If I had to say one of them that I hate doing more than anything is moping.  I just don't like it.  The dirty water, whats in it, etc.  I just can't stand it.  Oh and dusting.  I hate them equally.  I like things, nicknacks and stuff, but I hate to clean around them.

11) Do you have any tattoos, body piercings, etc.?
I have my ears pierced but that's it.  I was going to have my belly button pierced a long time ago, but never did and now that I have had Leigha and my stomach looks all flabby and disgusting and looks like I was attacked by a tiger from all the stretch marks, I'm super glad that I didn't.  BUT I do plan on someday getting a tattoo with my Children's names incorporated in it somehow.  I just haven't figured out any of the details of it, but I think its a super sweet thing to do.

Look at what my Leigha can do!

For the past month or so Leigha has been one crabby little kid LOL.  She had been trying to learn how to crawl and sit up and all that kind of stuff, and when she doesn't get what she wants right away, or when she thinks that she can't do something she gets frustrated and crabby.  Well last week, my mom showed her how she could sit up by herself, and she has been doing that ever since.  She has started to learn how to wave hello and good bye, and just this morning she started crawling.

She has had the turning part down for a while, and she would slowly inch her way forward, but she would never crawl.  Last night she crawled 4 steps once, but never would do it again.  This morning however I set her on the floor to let the dogs out and when I had come back inside, she had crawled about 10 feet to get a hold of a plastic bag that I had on the floor from going shopping.

She wouldn't crawl for anything else, so of course like any good mother would I put the bag back on the floor and let her crawl to it and have a field day waving it around.  (Don't worry, she was supervised the whole time, and I never once let her put it near her face)

Of course this means that we have to quickly finish the kitchen floor (the last major thing left in our remodel) and start to really be serious about baby proofing and keeping things off the floor.  This is not a milestone that I was prepared for.  She totally needs to go back and be the cute little baby that I can lay somewhere and when I come back she is still in the same place....I'm not ready for this to go so fast!!!

And of course for your viewing pleasure, I took some videos.

 

 

  

 I know that they are all pretty much the same thing, but hey, I was here with her by myself and I had to take some videos so Richard could see his baby girl crawl for the first time!  :)

Day in the Life ~ Winter 2012 ~ Feb 14. 2012

Laura from Navigating the Mothership is doing her quarterly "Day in the Life" project again.  I had so much fun doing it last October that I am doing it again this time too.

If you don't read Laura's blog, you really should.  She's one of the only blogs that I read right away when it appears in my reader and I really enjoy her wit and sense of humor and honesty. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 (I don't have many pictures till about 9am when I really start my day because before then I'm not very coherent and awake and don't think about it being my 'Day in the Life' day LOL).

12:00 am.  Since its a day in the life post my day starts with me watching some TV because as usual I can't sleep.   I'm watching  'My Wife and Kids'

Sometime between 12:30 and 1:30 I manage to fall asleep, even with the TV on. 

1:30 am  I wake up to hear Leigha complaining in her crib.  I grab the monitor and turn it down so it doesn't wake Richard up.  I wait to go get her because we are having issues with her sleeping through the night....she doesn't LOL, she usually tries to wake up about 2-3 times a night.  I'm so beyond exhausted I need to come up with a new word for it.

4:30 am She is up again.  She must have fallen back asleep because I did LOL.  So this time since it has now been about 9 hours since she last nursed and she is going nuts crying, and I am going to get up because Richards alarm is about to go off I get up and nurse her.  As I nurse her I think I'm probably sending her mixed messages, but her cries pretty much all sound the same to me in the middle of the night except for when she is complaining so I don't know when she is hungry and when she is just being cranky.

5:00 am She is finished and looking around.  Since I can't fall asleep when I go to bed like a normal person, I put her down in her crib and head to bed because I am SUPER exhausted.  I grab the monitor and crawl in and start to fall back asleep.

5:15 am Richard asks if I was able to transfer some recordings from his weekly meetings at work to the computer because he has another meeting this morning and they record them all because this job has been crazy and they need proof of things that were said in case anything were to happen.  Of course I had forgotten to do this last night, so I get up and head to the living room and start transferring the tapes.

5:30 am I'm finally finished transferring the files and Richard is getting ready to leave.  He wishes me a Happy Valentines Day and gives me a card and heads out the door.  I don't open the card because I want him to be around when I open them. (its a weird quirk, but it is what it is LOL) and I also haven't finished his present yet.  I head back to bed.

8:00 am.  Leigha starts to wake up again, but she isn't crying yet, so I quickly run to the bathroom and let Espn and Allie out and feed them, I turn on the kerosene heater because its kinda cold and then go get her change and nurse her.

8:18 am  Leigha is finished nursing and is starting to want to cuddle.  She doesn't wake up too well and DEFINITELY isn't a morning person, and who doesn't want baby cuddles.  

8:35 am  She is starting to get more active so I put her down on the ground to play a little and I notice that I am wet, she has peed through her diaper.  I strip her down and leave her to play and run and get some clothes.

8:38 am I heard some weird sounds coming from the living room and when I come back in I notice Leigha is not playing her music station with her hands or feet as she sometimes does, but she has started her new way of playing it which is with her mouth.  She has only started doing this and I didn't get a picture of it today, but I did yesterday (So I'm using that one because its SO CUTE!!!)  But this makes me laugh because she looks like she is trying to eat the thing, which of course gets her laughing.

9:00 am. I never did get Leigha dressed, I decided that I wanted to play with her on the floor.  Its really warm because of the heater and now we have carpet in the house (a new addition since last October) so I'm not worried about her getting cold. 

9:11 am.  While Leigha plays on the floor I check my facebook page because I can't live without facebook.  Wanna be my friend on facebook? I like 'meeting' new people, let me know and maybe I'll look you up  :D.  

9:20 am  I finish up my list of things that I need to get from the store and I get Leigha dressed.  I put her in a cute little heart outfit perfect for Valentines day with some warm fleece pants that I made her.  Very festive.

9:25 am  I set Leigha on the floor in my room so that I can get a load of laundry started and keep an eye on her.

9:45 am  I notice that Leigha is acting like she is tired.  I try and put her in her crib and of course she protests but is asleep within minutes. 

10:00 am  Good Eats is on.  I'm set.

10:30 am  Leigha is still asleep so I run and take a shower.  I take the monitor in the bathroom with me and decide to take a good nice long showed and take advantage of not having to put Leigha in her jumper and play peek-a-boo throughout the entire shower.

11:15 am Leigha is starting to wake up so I get out of the shower, yup, I took a 45 minute shower and it felt wonderful.  I haven't done that in so long.  I hurry up and get dressed and go get the girl.

11:18 am I bring her back to my room and set her outside the bathroom door with some toys so that I can dry my hair.

11:30 am We head out to get the things we need for today.  I have to go to Hobby Lobby and Walmart.  But I of course forgot my camera.

1:30 pm.  I'm back from Walmart after spending entirely too much money and getting things I didn't need, and I had to get some lunch too, taco bell.

1:45 pm  I get everyone and everything out of the carseats and bags and get ready to start the dinner that I decided to make for tonight, spaghetti.

1:50 pm I chop the onions and bell peppers, put the oil in the pan and cut the sausages in half and take off the casings and start browning them. 

2:20 pm I start browning the onions and peppers and then add the tomatoes, tomato sauce, paste sugar and add the sausages back in.

2:45 pm Leigha is fussy and I can't get her to calm down, so I feed her some veggies, peas I think, and nurse her and into her crib she goes.  She is asleep within about 5 minutes.

3:10 pm I start melting butter and marshmallows and measure the rice krispies.

3:15 pm I burn my hand trying to get the rice krispie treats out of the pan and into a Hershey Kiss shape, and then I sprinkle some chocolate chips on them and wrap them in foil.  I made the super big because I thought they looked better, but one krispie fed us both, so if I go to make them again, I will probably make them a little smaller.

3:20 pm  One of the neighbor kids comes over and gives me a Valentines day present for Leigha.  Its the cutest little stuffed rabbit with a cute little and written card and cut out hearts that is signed by the whole family.  I promise to bring Leigha by later to say thank you since she is still napping.

3:30 pm  I start cutting and gluing the paper I bought at Hobby Lobby to fit inside the box that I am going to put Richard's Valentines gift in, and painting it silver.

4:00 pm.  Ugh, I have to start working.  I really wish I had a day shift or better yet, could afford to just be a stay at home Mom and concentrate on raising Leigha, but I am super thankful that I can work from home for a company that is super understanding of me being a new Mom.  I spend the next couple of hours working, stirring the sauce, and making Richard's present.  We are pretty busy at work, although they are all pretty long reports, so I don't make much money and just end up getting frustrated.

6:00 pm  Richard is finally home.  He takes a shower and then he takes over watching Leigha, she's super cranky so we fast track feeding, bathing and getting her in bed, which I work during the whole time :( so I didn't get any pictures.

7:30 pm He comes into my office with a sleeping Leigha in his arms.  I love how he can put her to sleep, but she always sleeps on his shoulder and wakes up when he tries to put her in her bed, so I help him get her into bed.

7:35 pm, Since I have taken a break to get Leigha into bed, I decide to grab a quick bowl of Spaghetti

7:45 pm back at work till 10.  I know, super exciting, I'm sorry.  But I do enjoy a small dessert of mini chocolate chips.

10:00 pm.  DONE!!!  LOL.  I love 10 pm :)  I can finally give Richard his present and card.  He opens the box says thanks and opens the card, and I finally get to open mine.

10:15 pm.  I'm exhausted.  A crying baby and nothing going right in the afternoon really took it out of me.  My evening plans after I got off work were to spend some quality time with Richard watching a couple TV shows, and just enjoying the evening, but instead we went straight to sleep.

11:30 pm.  Leigha starts whimpering, so I'm awake again.  She doesn't fully wake up, but it doesn't help me to go back to sleep, so up for a while I am, and I don't fall back to sleep till about 1 am.

Will my sleep habits ever be normal again? :(

Oh and since I forgot to take a picture of me doing things throughout the day, here is a quick one I snapped while I was working.  :D  

Its not all sunshine and rainbows

I knew that being a mom would be hard, really hard.  But I wasn't prepared for it to be this hard. 

I know from reading other blogs that Leigha by many standards would be an incredibly easy baby, and I really hate to even talk about this because of that.  I feel like I am complaining, and I am, but I really shouldn't comparatively.  She likes to play and is OK with smiling, she is really easy to read as far as eating, cuddling, diaper changing, that kind of thing.  However once the sun goes down, a completely different baby comes out of the woodwork.  She gets incredibly fussy, cries all the time, only wants me, wont eat hardly for anyone else, doesn't want her diaper changed by anyone else, she screams like someone is trying to tear her arms off if Richard tried to give her a bath or change her or put her lotion on her, change her clothes.  Basically if I'm not doing it, she doesn't like it. 

This is incredibly hard for me.  Its been 6 months and I have yet to figure out how to balance work and being a Mom.  I work from home and everyone that I know tells me how lucky that I am and that I get to spend all day with her and its the ideal situation.  It is in the respect that I don't have to take her to daycare, but its not because I still can't be around her because when I work, I have to work.  I have gotten in trouble recently because I take more time to be with her because she cries so much when others try to do things for her and ultimately end up coming to me for help, or I come out to help.  Its hard.  No one tells you about this part.  I asked several of my friends who do medical transcription how they did and they all hired help.  I can't.

She still isn't sleeping though the night.  She doesn't take naps except for 30 minutes 2-3 times a day, and only if she is exhausted do the naps get to be in the 1-2 hour range.  I would sleep when she does except for that when its light outside I can't sleep, or I'm so worked up trying to get her down or happy again that by the time I actually get tired, she is waking up.  She wakes up 1-2 times a night every night.  She will go down between 11-12.  wake up at 3, wake up at 6 and then up for the day between 8-9.  And lately she has begun this really fun stage of when I put her to sleep and put her in her crib she immediately wakes right back up again and is wide awake for a while before she will go back to sleep.  She does this for naps, in the middle of the night.  I just don't know what to do.  I am at a loss.  I do the whole keep the room dark, don't talk, don't look or smile, no diaper changes unless she wakes up a 3rd time in one feeding period.  I will admit, I have let her cry more than once.  I just don't know how to get her to stay asleep when I put her in her bed.  I'm at a loss.

I had such big plans for what this was supposed to be like.  I would take care of her during the day and have fun and be a mom and then I would go to work and she would nap until Richard came home then he would play with her and watch her and get her ready for bed and she would be asleep by 9 and then would be sleeping through the night by 3 or 4 months and we would start this all over again the next day.  My reality couldn't be further from my dream and I don't know how to get it back to where it needs to be.   

5 Month letter one month late

It just occured to me as I was sitting her reading my google reader that I never wrote a 5 month letter to Leigha.  Now of course she will be 6 months old tomorrow (WTH!  WHERE HAS THE TIME GONE!!!)  But I still want to write a letter to her, and update what she was up to, so here it goes.

My beautiful brown eyed girl,

You are 5 months old.  And you are the most beautiful little 5 month old that I have ever seen.  In the last month you have really found your feet, you CONSTANTLY have them in your hands.  It makes diaper changes pretty hard, but its OK.  We are working on getting you to "stretch" your legs.  You are getting the hang of it. 

We started feeding you rice cereal after your last doctor's appointment in the hopes that it would get you to sleep through the night.  It didn't work.  You woke up 5 times that night.  So we waited a couple of weeks.  Then when we really started giving you cereal on a regular basis it only took you a couple of days till you figured out that you didn't like it.  And honestly, I can't say that I blame you...it was nasty and tasted like cardboard.  So I mixed in some carrots and you tolerated it for a while, but then you started to not like carrots.  You get bored with eating the same food over and over and I can understand it, because I am the same way.

You are really starting to notice the dogs so much more now and smile whenever one of them comes near you.  You like to "pet" them and while you aren't always easy, it sure makes you happy, even if it makes them run off.

You can laugh and you have the sweetest little laugh, but you don't let us hear it unless you are tired, but that's OK, we will hear it sooner or later all the time, and I can't wait.

We try to get you on a schedule, but it like you know what we are doing and you buck the system EVERY TIME.  We do the same thing every night but earlier, and you stay awake till you normally fall asleep which is about 11.  I would love for you to go to bed early every night  like maybe at 7, but we will get there soon enough.  I think its especially hard because work at night and your daddy has a hard time putting you to sleep.  I can't wait for that day that you put yourself to sleep without eating or crying.  It will be heaven.

I love you more and more each day sweetheart.  This may be the hardest job that I have ever had, but when you smile at me in the morning it is totally worth it. 

Mommy

Blogger, you're weird. and other random things

HELP blogger friends!!!  I cannot for the life of me figure out how to stop blogger from filing my posts under the dates that I start them instead of when I post them. 

Take for instance my 2011 in review post (or whatever that thing was LOL)  I started filing it out on December 31st, but I finished it and posted it today.  However, it shows that I posted it on the 31st.  (Which really kinda makes me look like I'm on top of my game, so maybe I should have used a different example LOL).  I know, its not  that big of a deal, but then I have posts that I start like Leigha's letter, back in the beginning of December because I wanted to document exactly what went on that month and not leave anything out and then I am going to have to cut and paste it because I don't want it to say that she turned 5 months back when she was technically only 4 months.  

OK, so maybe its just me that's weird, but I can't help it.  I am who I am, but you still love me anyways right? ;)

======

I got a sewing machine last month and can I just say its INSANELY awesome and has put me into a "gotta make everything myself" spiral that could seriously rival Martha Stewart's craftiness. OK, I'm exaggerating on that one, but it really really bad.  I had all these plans of making all these different kinds of things for Christmas presents and of course because I have a baby who demands lots of attention from me all day, I had to limit my Christmas crafts to only 1 or 2 people who I was having trouble finding things for.  BUT now, I have all year to make things to give to people for Christmas next year, or their birthdays or just for whenever. 

So far with my sewing machine, I have made 2 scarves, a car seat canopy for Leigha, hand warmers, pants for Leigha and mended several ripped blankets and pillowcases.  However, I am trying to find something that I can make for my Mom.  I have no idea what I want to make her.  And then next, I am going to make something for myself.  Something that I can use or wear and be super proud to display on a daily basis.  Maybe a shirt or bag or scarf or something like that.  I don't know, I haven't decided yet. 

I have a stack of T-shirts from Old Navy that I bought like 3 days after Leigha was born and I bought them 2 sizes too big on purpose because at that time my boobs and belly were still GINORMOUS and I of course thought they were going to stay that way, so now I have several shirts that I can't wear because they are too big and the necks are stretched out because I have a baby who likes to hold onto my shirt while nursing...maybe I will steal one (or several) of the T-shirt up-cycles, or would it be re-cycles, and fix those things.  I also have a pair of jeans that I really need to alter because they sent me the wrong size and I can't send them back because they don't sell them anymore, so I need to see if I can make them smaller.  WOW, I don't just start with the small things aparently I just like to dive right into the deep end of the pool! LOL.

OK, now I'm almost off work, and I really need to get Leigha's 5 month old letter done and posted...well maybe just done ;)

Mark it in your calenders!

I just had to announce it everywhere because it has NEVER happened before, but Leigha has been asleep for 12 HOURS!!!  She went down at 10:30 p.m. last night.  She did have a brief crying session at 12 but I was able to put her pacifier in her mouth and pat her back and put her back to sleep.  She then woke up to nurse for 30 minutes at 5:00 am, and she has been asleep ever since. 

I am estatic about this because for the past 2 weeks she has decided that essentially she doesn't need to nap for longer than 30 minutes a day....which as any parent knows only leads to extreme crying in the evenings, or really any time of day.

I am relishing this time.  We are planning on delivering rice krispie treats to our neighbors today and I have been fast and furiously been making batches and batches of the things while she is sleeping.  

Well it was a short post, but I hear her waking up.  Maybe she will get to watch some of the rose parade afterall.  :D 

2011 in review

1. What did you do in 2011 that you’d never done before?
A whole heck of a lot....but the main thing...had a baby

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I can't really remember my resolution if I did make one.  However, I am assuming that if I did since I was all consumed at this point with my new pregnancy, it would probably have something to do with have a happy healthy baby.  So in that regard yes.  But my long standing resolution (which is of course the same one for this year is to be more organized) and that one I failed COMPLETELY!

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Me! and my friends Diana, Sara, and Jennifer

4. Did anyone close to you die?
My great Uncle died this year, but I wasn't close with him

5. What places did you visit?
No where.  I'm a homebody.

6. What would you like to have in 2012 that you lacked in 2011?
I would like to have a better grip on things.  I hate the feeling like you are slipping backwards....I only want to go forwards, even if it means starting some things over...just in a different direction.

7. What dates from 2011 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
July 24 - Leigha is born!

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Getting to 9 cm dilated by myself.  I got to the hospital at 7 cm dilated, but they checked me after I got the epidural and I was at 9, so I'm counting it as 9.

9. What was your biggest failure?
Being a good friend since Leigha was born.  I still haven't really figured out how to put my friends on the front line and manage being a mom at the same time.  Also, I haven't been as good at keeping it all together as I had hoped.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
If you consider the INSANE rash that I got after having Leigha, then yes, but in general, no.

11. What was the best thing you bought? I haven't really bought anything really, except for some clothes for Leigha and a few for myself.


12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
I have 2 that go in this category.  Richard.  He was much better than I expected when I was delivering Leigha and that just blew my mind.  Also my mom.  I expected her to be way overbearing this year with having her first grand baby and all, but she has been awesome...she has been my rock and my go to person for advice.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
Again, I have 2.  Richard.  I had expectations and dreams and they haven't turned out as I wanted and I am REALLY struggling with this.  Myself.  I wish that I wasn't so moody and that I was able to hold it together more.

14. Where did most of your money go?
Bills and baby stuff.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Leigha.  How could I not?  She is a good baby all in all.  And I don't know how I couldn't not be really excited about my first.

16. What song will always remind you of 2011?
I'm so horrible with music and titles and singers.  Its really sad.  Although pretty much everyone has listed a song by Adele and the only one that I can think of now because of that is 'rollin in the deep'  At least I think that's what it was called. 

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder?Today, sadder...Overall, definitely happier.
b) thinner or fatter? Thinner!  Whooo for remodeling the kitchen...its easy to loose when you don't have a kitchen to cook in LOL  I am currently 20 pounds under pre-pregnancy weight, and I hope to keep going.  I know how good it feels to loose that weight now...and it makes me want to keep going.
c) richer or poorer?Moneywise, poorer (such is life with a baby and getting laid off work)....lifewise Richer.

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
Spend more time with friends and then in the later half, I wish I had taken more naps with Leigha after she was born...I think it would have kept me more sane.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
worrying, and freaking out.

20. How did you spend Christmas?
With our families.  I can't wait till next year when we are hosting!


21. Did you fall in love in 2011?
Oh yes, I did... with Leigha, and even more with Richard when I see her with him sometimes when he is playing with her.


22. What was your favorite TV program?
I like Up All Night and Whitney.  And of course my old favs, Big Bang Theory and Rules of Engagement.

23. What was the best book you read?
I haven't read any books this past year sadly :(

25. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Adele I believe.  I really like her music. 

26. What did you want and get?
A healthy baby.

27. What did you want and not get?
An easy baby.  I thought that they existed, but somehow I am beginning to doubt that. 

28. What was your favorite film of this year?
I got Horrible Bosses for Christmas and that was pretty good.  So was Friends with Benefits, and Just go with It and I also got the Help and I can't wait to watch it. I am sure its a good one too. 

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
My birthday was kind of a blur this year.  I had a 2 week old and I seriously don't remember what went on. Kinda sad for my 30th huh?

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
More sleep, more money, more work. 

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2011?
Comfy frumpy.  Jeans and an old Tshirt for the majority of my pregnancy, and then after it was lots and lots of yoga pants and sports bras and sweatshirts.

32. What kept you sane?
I'm not!  I really feel like I am loosing it sometimes.

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
I have discovered the train wreck that is the Kardashian family. They are so beautiful and I am sure that it is all for TV, but they are just so hilarious, I can't help but watch.  And I WANT Kim's hair and Khloe's personality and Kourtney's money sense! LOL

34. What political issue stirred you the most?
Giant FAIL on following political issues.  I HATE POLITICS  I think ALL politicians should take a VERY long walk off a short peer and that the government should just start all over with a new way of thinking.

35. Who did you miss?
My grandparents.  My grandma is still alive, but all the others aren't and I really wish that the were because I know they would adore Leigha.

36. Who was the best new person you met?
Leigha..HANDS DOWN!

37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2011.
I don't think that I did learn a life lesson. 

38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
I said earlier that I'm bad with music and such, and I'm not lying.  The one that seriously keeps popping in my head is the part of the Adele song 'I could have had it all' but somehow that doesn't really seem appropriate in the grand theme of my life this year.   

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Wishing everyone a very blessed Christmas!!!!

Finally!!! A Richard story!

So if you have ever read my husband's blog, you already know that he likes to post some funny stories about me and my pregnancy and Leigha (some funny and some not so funny to me). And if you haven't read his blog, you need to because it really is hilarious. http://itwasfun.wordpress.com/ He started his blog when we found out we were pregnant (although he switched to Wordpress in the middle of the pregnancy and copied and pasted his past enteries, so if you want to read his from the beginning, you would need to go back to April 2011's entries.

Anyways, because I FINALLY have some good dirt on him, I just HAD to post a good one about him.

Leigha has been teething something fierce lately.  Poor thing is drooling constantly and chewing on ANYTHING she can get in her mouth.  Anyway, last night she was fussy as usual so I handed her off to Richard (nice right? ;) LOL) and went to get the Oragel.  I put some on her gums which quieted her a little.

If you don't have kids and have never been around this stuff it smells like cherries. Well Richard caught a wiff of it and asked me to put some on his gums too so that he could see what would happen and what it would taste like.  So I did of course.

At first he said it tasted pretty good, but he couldn't tell a difference.  He said that it felt like there was toothpaste stuck to his gums that couldn't come off and that it had kinda a gritty feel to it.  I laughed and gathered Leigha up to give her a bath. 

As I was stripping her down Richard comes in the bathroom he looks at me and tells me that he was just drooling a little in the living room and that he couldn't feel his top gums or his tongue (which he licked his gums with) at all.  He was making such funny faces while licking his gums and rubbing them and pulling on his lip.  I started laughing at him uncontrollably.  He said that his top lip felt like it was fat and swollen because it was so numb.  I was rolling on the floor so much that I couldn't hardly give Leigha her bath.

This went on probably for about 15-30 minutes with him describing to me what he was feeling and how he was surprised that it was able to numb his mouth that much since its made for infants.  Then finally he told me that he was getting back to normal, although still felt a little odd, but he could see how Leigha would calm down almost instantly when I would rub it on her gums.

OK, now that I have written all this down, it didn't seem nearly as funny as it did last night, but oh well, maybe someone will have a smile about it at my husband's expense!  :D

MERRY CHRISTMAS if I don't post before then!!