Hello again. It's been too long. too long. Hello again

Hi. Not going to bore you with empty promises to update more.. Just going to update. 

A list. Because I'm a woman and a mom and lists are the only way that I can organize my thoughts anymore. 

1. Harper is growing like a weed. She's 9.5 months, just started to get her first tooth and is getting into everything. 

2. I'm still doing The Mommy Movement. I'm enjoying it a great deal. Had class this morning and it felt good to be active. 

3. Started a food journal to look into what's going into my body. I'm counting calories, recording thoughts, and thinking about what I'm eating. 

4. Rob got me a Nike+ Sportband for our anniversary so I'm able to see how many calories my workouts are burning.  

5. I'm discovering that tech-wear for working out is expensive. 

6. I just bought my first pair of rollerblades. Wrong time of year to fall in love with this activity, but I'm going to try to get back out there a few more times before it is too cold. 

7. Harper just dumped her entire snackball full of puffs out on the floor. Fun! 

8. Buying baby clothes is way more fun that buying adult clothing. Little outfits for little prices. 

9. I'm currently addicted to Doctor Who. We watch a couple episodes each night on DVD. 

10.  I just finished knitting my first sweater for Harper. It's the first thing I've knitted that wasn't flat. It isn't perfect, but I'm still proud. 

Another random update entry accomplished! 

this is a test for kim!

Watching the numbers get bigger...

There is nothing scarier than the first time your child has a fever. How do I know this? Because it is 10:53pm and Harper has a fever. She hasn't been herself today, and tonight the numbers on the thermometer crept up and up before our very eyes.

There are a million things that could be causing this little body to be burning up. The tamest is teething. The worst is probably some undiscovered disease caused by breathing air in a new grocery store. (Did I mention we went to the opening of the new Whole Foods today?)

I have learned many things as a parent in these few months. Tonight I learned that watching your baby suffer because of a fever is very scary... and that the difference between vomit and spit-up is a.) the smell and b.) the horrid convulsions that go with throwing up. Watching your infant throw up is second on the scary scale for the evening.

I have been absent from blogging lately, but have been here reading. It's hard to write daily or even weekly when you have a very curious little girl. She isn't content just to sit. She wants to explore and touch everything.. and promptly put it in her mouth.

As I mentioned above, today was the grand opening of a new Whole Foods. This made me very happy as this one is HUGE and closer to my house. This means that shopping there on a regular basis is a reality. Harper will be eating organically and I will be making the majority of her baby food for her. The nearby Whole Foods will make that much easier. Today I purchased some avocados, black beans, and garbanzo beans for myself and mangoes, peaches, misc babyfood for Harper. I am purchasing the organic (Earth's Best) baby food that I don't think I could make myself. This means peas and pears. Peas because I hate them and pears because they are the ninjas of the fruit world when it comes to ripening. They always seem to go from under ripe to over ripe under my care. No stopping at just right in between.

On my way home from Whole Foods today, I started to experience aura. This, to put it simply, completely sucked. I raced home as quickly as I could and started to treat. My mom came over and watched Harper while I took a heavily medicated nap.

Today was an exciting day. Not the type of excitement I'd like, but eventful to say the least. I'm hoping that Harper has a good night and is fairly comfortable. Even better would be if her fever would break and she would be better from here on out. If this is all caused by teething, then we can expect to go through this another 20 or so more times. FUN!

An Executive List for an Executive Transvestite

1. It is Eddie Izzard Day!
2. There is a cute, squirmy infant strapped to my chest.
3. I'm listening to the Blast! Soundtrack. Love Simple Gifts and Appalachian Spring.
4. DMB is 8 days away.
5. Bestie Kim is awesome and moving to England. I am both excited and sad about this.
6. Rob is kicking ass on Operation: Rip All CDs owned.
7. Kiddo hasn't been sleeping 100% lately. I'm thinking it's either teething or a growth spurt/mental development time. Co-Sleeping has been the only thing that has been working.
8. I don't know what I'm going to wear to Eddie Izzard tonight.
9. Staying at home is awesome. I love it.
10. Picking strawberries on Tuesday. Looking forward to it very much.
11. This list goes all the way up to 11.

Where am I? Why am I here?

Hi. Remember me? I sure as hell hardly remember you, ol' blog. What have you been doing while I have been away?

Nothing?

You're lazy.

I have been raising a wonderful little girl. She's sleeping 10 hours a night and growing like a weed. She smiles and laughs and grabs for toys and daddy's face. She doesn't fuss much and when she does, she's fairly easy to calm down.

I've been doing quite a bit of reading. I've been sucked (har-dee-har-har) into Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter books. I'm on book 6, and there are about 16 books. I'm averaging one book every 2 days. I'll be done in no time.

I'm starting to cook almost every night. We plan our meals for two weeks out and actually make them happen! I bake on Sundays, meaning that we have fresh whole wheat bread at our house currently. There will be more goodies and experimentations as the weeks fly by. I hope to post about some of them.

Along with the current cooking, I'm going to begin exploring some vegan recipes. No, we're not going all vegan in this household, and I have a freezer full of meat to prove it. (Sorry, Liz.) I am looking for new ways to incorporate veggies into our meals. Vegan cooking tends to be more creative, so I'm looking into it.

Spring is here, so I'm starting to plant, and as per usual, failing at it. I'm hoping to buy fruits and veggies while they are in season this year and do some canning and freezing. I want to make my own baby food for Harper and I'd like to use the most flavorful fruits and veggies if possible... even if that means freezing. The flavor is still better than the shipped in stuff. (And I'll be supporting local farmers!)

I'm generally looking into making my life and home greener and more efficient. I'm using earth-friendly cleaners, still using the cloth diapers (and loving them!) and trying to consume less. It's a small start, but I hope to grow with it.

You see, Blog, while you've just been sitting here, I've been playing housewife and doing a fairly good job at it. I have big plans for the remainder of the year and I hope to be able to come here to talk about them. Will you be here, Blog?

Of course you will, lazy ass.

I swear I'm still alive!

I have a 2 month old now. She's 12lbs and cute as can be!

In other news, I need your opinions. I'm currently interested in one of 3 cases for my new cell phone. I'm getting a Samsung Blackjack II, which just happens to be the same size as an iPhone. This means that there are many more cute sleeves out there for me to choose from.

These are the three that I like best. All are from Etsy.com because I like to support crafters and buy handmade!

1. Cherry Blossoms from Janine King Designs.
Thoughts: I love the elegant and simple design of this one. Zipper closure, padded and has a clip for all my clipping needs.

2. Baby Duckles' Rock N Roll Part II
Thoughts: The main perk of this one, besides being kick ass green, is that it has a pocket that I could possibly use for my bluetooth headset. My only concern is magnetic closure - what?

3. Jasmine Flora from Oh My Guiles!
Thoughts: Cute fabric, padded, soft interior to prevent scratching and a clip. Doesn't close like the Janine King one - is just a sleeve.

Your opinions - I wants them.

On a side note - as my daughter is getting into some sort of routine, I hope to be appearing here more often. :)

Pay attention to the post time...

As you can probably see - It's approximately 3am as I'm writing this. My daughter from the time she was born, didn't want to sleep anywhere but in my arms. This trend has continued, and I believe that at this point, it's only 75% her doing. I have to admit that there is a part of me that loves having this tiny person snuggled into my chest each night.

But tonight is different. Tonight, I'm not tired. I've been up since I fed her at 1:30am, watching 30Rock on the Netflix streaming video. I've watched the clock and wondered when she's going to get hungry again. I'm sure it will be about 10 minutes after I finally fall asleep.

In the first week or so that she was home, she had her days and nights reversed. We have this straightened out, but I think it's me who has my days and nights reversed at this point.

I'm giving her (and myself) until she's a month old to continue with the current sleeping arrangement. After that, I will be trying to train her to sleep on her own in the cradle or the pack n play. I really think this is going to be just as difficult for me as it is for her. Every noise she makes, I want to check on her. Every time she hasn't made any noises for a while, I want to check on her. I'm sure you can see where this can be a problem.

I'm learning that being a parent is confusing at the very least. On one hand, I want nothing more for her to sleep on her own, but at the same time, I want to hold her every second of every day. Even if it isn't the best thing for either one of us.

It's amazing how much you can love something. This love started before she was even born. We knew we loved our daughter unbelievably. Now that she's here - well, you don't know how much you're willing to sacrifice yourself, or what you believed you were, for another person. The hours I've lost in sleep and time to breastfeeding, diapers, and comforting my daughter are nothing. Ask anyone if they want to be woken up every 2 hours (or every hour during a growth spurt) and have their body mangled and tugged on - I'd be willing to bet it's not high on their priority list. Ask a parent if they want that, and they don't seem to mind. At least I know I don't. It's an adjustment, but it's not impossible.

I'm sure I seem like I'm rambling or that I'm on some parenting soapbox, but it's not my intention. (C'mon! It's 3am for Christ's sake!) It's just me getting what I'm thinking down somewhere. I can't talk to anyone about it right now, because Harper is resting peacefully on my chest and Rob is lying in bed...snoring.

I'm just going to continue to get as comfortable as I can in my recliner and watch more 30Rock in hopes of drifting off to sleep. I'm sure someone will get hungry in about an hour anyhow.

Thanks for listening.

Little hands, little feet... little baby!

We've been home for a little over a week and Harper is 11 days old. Having her in our everyday life has been an adjustment, but a welcome one. We're adjusting to our new sleep schedules or lack there of. Harper seems to only want to sleep when she's on one of our chests. This is apparently a common issue, and should resolve itself with a little intervention from us.

Thanks to everyone who sent well wishes and words of encouragement. The 2 days of labor were difficult, to say the least. While I wasn't in a ton of pain for the majority of the time, it still isn't an experience that I would recommend or wish upon anyone.

The c-section and the recovery from that hasn't been all that bad, actually. The worst part has been the sleeping situation. But we'll get better at it.

Rob heads back to work tomorrow. That's when the true test begins.

Cautionary Whale

Just consider this the "before" picture. Here I am, 40 weeks pregnant and trying to make Harper appear via Wii Bowling. She moved around like mad when I would sit between frames. I really thought it might work!

I had no idea how round I was until Rob took these pics. We've been taking periodic pictures of my stomach to track the growth, but this is the first time I actually appear to have a basketball under my shirt.

For those of you who don't know: Unless something amazing happens in the next 16 hours, I'll be heading to the hospital bright and early tomorrow morning (like 5:30AM early...) for an induction. If I'm being honest, I have to say that I'm not 100% happy about this outcome. It's rather nerve wracking to schedule the date that your life is going to change completely. I'd rather be surprised about the time I'm going into labor.

This also means that I'm trying my best to stay busy today and get everything done that I want to get done before Harper arrives. Otherwise, I'd be pacing the hallway while my nerves took over completely.


One thing I've worked on today are these cloth wipes! Cute, aren't they? Rob and I plan on using cloth diapers 99.9% of the time with Harper, so it only makes sense to use cloth wipes as well!

The wipes are pink on one side and this fun grey pattern on the other. I used flannel and decided to make them 2-ply. My hope is to get good at this and be able to set up an Etsy shop and sell a few.

My friend Bek loaned me her serger to complete them. I have to say that I have no idea how I lived without a serger before now. These only took about 45 minutes to complete. So easy! I'm going to be looking into purchasing one for myself and my mom to share.



This will probably be my last blog post for a while. (Not that I've been posting a ton lately, anyhow...) I'm sure that I'll be spending plenty of time getting used to having a 3rd family member and answering her every whim. It's a strange thought that tomorrow, I become a mom. I suppose it's strange for anyone who knows exactly what day their life will begin to change.

Harper will hopefully arrive tomorrow, January 9th. This is providing I don't labor all day and she's born after midnight, making her birthday the 10th. There's a good chance that we'll be coming home with her on Friday, Jan 11th. Happy Birthday to Me!

I'm going to try to post more over at Lammle Lounge to update everyone on how she's doing. Check that site often for updates!

Lizzle! Lookle here!

I just picked up the book, Raising Baby Green by Alan Greene and I thought it might be something that you'd be interested in. The title is rather misleading. While yes, it touches on having a green pregnancy, childbirth, and child products - it's mostly a great resource for greening up ones home.

Anyhow - I found a copy at Barnes & Noble. Check it out if you're interested! :)

37.5 weeks

Today starts my maternity leave. It's awesome. I'm not going to lie. The only thing that could possibly make it better was if I was being paid for it.

I'm 37.5 weeks pregnant. I had an appointment on Friday and found out that I'm a little over 1cm dilated. This basically means that my body is progressing towards labor.

After coming home, and throughout the weekend this and this happened. (Do not click if you're squeamish. It can be gross for you non-breeding types.) Sunday, I started to feel a few pains in my lower abdomen. Today, I've felt some on and off throughout the day. I called my Dr.'s office to talk to a nurse and she said it sounds like contractions and chances are good that Harper will make an appearance before Christmas. I'm excited, but at the same time wish there was a way to know for sure that it was the real thing. (Besides the whole water breaking thing - which only happens to about 1/3 of women before labor.)

Anyhow... that's my update for the day. Exciting, eh? I'll keep everyone posted as things progress and hopefully - I'll be sharing pictures of my daughter before the end of the year!

Currently, I'm starting my quest for a diaper bag. I really like this one, but don't know if I'm going to like it as much in person. If anyone has any diaper bag suggestions - I'm all ears!

If I don't get a chance to blog again before Christmas, I hope everyone has a safe and warm holiday!!!

Went through the desert on a horse with no name...

Have you ever packed for a destination unknown? That's how I've been feeling lately as I try to wrap my head around going to the hospital a two-some and coming home a three-some. I'm trying to pack for myself and Harper so Rob doesn't have to make trip after trip out to get things, but it's rather difficult.

I feel that the lists you read in the books tell you to bring way too much. My hospital is about 10 minutes away from my house... 15 if there is traffic. I can't imagine there would be anything that I'd forget at home that couldn't be replaced. I wonder if this is a normal way to feel.

Then, there's the fact that I probably won't be leaving the house much (if at all) in the two weeks following Harper's birth. That's another aspect that's difficult for me to wrap my head around.

Right now, I'm trying to figure out what bag to pack, what to bring with me, and what I need to purchase new. For example - I'm looking at nursing night gowns. That's one thing that I think I'm going to want in the hospital. I tend to sleep wearing a tank-top or nightgown anyhow - so sleeping in something with a high collar doesn't appeal to me (like a hospital gown). The two I'm looking at are this one at Gap.com and this set at OldNavy.com.

I'm certainly open to opinions if anyone has any. In addition to needing a gown, I'm thinking about getting a long robe to wear during my stay and beyond. I have a short one that I wear at home, but even that is a little cold now that it has turned to winter. I don't really like fleece or terry-cloth robes, so finding one has been difficult. Does anyone else like robes and have a good source for picking one up?

I suppose I'm writing this post to complain that packing for a trip where you don't know what to expect and you don't know when it could happen, makes things difficult. It also makes it hard to be completely motivated. I guess just the fact that I'm looking around and considering makes me more motivated than if I were sitting here doing nothing.

Doesn't it?

A moment of your time...

1. Project Runway starts tonight!
2. I have 50 days until my due date.
3. My toes are cold.

Bad blogger!

Okay, so I forgot to post yesterday, but I swear I have a very good reason. Since I wasn't really trying to win anything with this NaBloPoMo thing... I don't feel that bad.

Yesterday was our marathon day of learning where babies come from. We started the day at 8:30 am in a small classroom. There were 11 couples. There were supposed to be 12, but Vickie, our instructor told us that one of the couples that was supposed to attend gave birth early. After sitting through the entire day of information yesterday, I can not imagine giving birth for the first time without having attended the class. This couple was cutting it close.

The day filled our brains with any and all information we could possibly want. At the end of the day, I felt really good about our choice to deliver at that hospital. The hospital really allows the mom to create their own experience while staying there. They have LDRP (Labor, Delivery, Recovery, postpartum) Rooms - This means that I check into one room and that's where everything happens. The only time I leave that room for anything is if, by some chance, I require a c-section. Most babies stay with their mom's in the room as well, unless Mom requests that the baby have some time in the nursery so she can rest a little. The hospital seems to know that everything about childbirth is extremely personal and that every woman has their own choice and preference. I really appreciate that.

The one thing I wish they would have mentioned was cloth diapering. For those of you who don't know, Rob and I plan on cloth diapering Harper. We will use a combination of cloth and gdiapers, but mostly cloth. We will have one pack of disposables around at all times for emergencies, but it really is just for emergencies.

It was I that initiated the interest in cloth and gdiapers, for environmental reasons. Your thoughts on impact on the world change significantly when you're bringing another generation into the world. After researching cloth (almost to death - more on that later), I discovered that there are many other benefits to using cloth besides environmental impact. The average baby goes through 6000 diapers before potty training. That's a lot of money! Cloth is re-usable, most times for more than one child! The financial reasons sealed the deal for the two of us.

I understand that this choice isn't for everyone, but it makes so much sense for us. We don't mind doing laundry, and with so many cloth diapering choices out there today (it's not just pins and prefolds like our parents put us in...) it makes it really easy to use.

I'm thinking of starting a new blog about my adventures in discovering cloth diapers. That will be the basis of it, but it will also expand into other green ways to raise a child and articles of interest. I'm in no-way trying to convert anyone, but sharing the information makes me feel as if I'm doing a little bit more for the world.

Color me magenta!

you are deeppink #FF1493

Your dominant hues are red and magenta. You love doing your own thing and going on your own adventures, but there are close friends you know you just can't leave behind. You can influence others on days when you're patient, but most times you just want to go out, have fun, and do your own thing. Your saturation level is high - you get into life and have a strong personality. Everyone you meet will either love you or hate you - either way, your goal is to get them to change the world with you. You are very hard working and don't have much patience for people without your initiative. Your outlook on life is very bright. You are sunny and optimistic about life and others find it very encouraging, but remember to tone it down if you sense irritation.

the spacefem.com html color quiz

For today's post, I found out what color I was. You should do the same.

I don't feel like dancing, no. No dancing today.

Another day, another post.

This is a quickie I'm trying to crank out before anyone else comes into the shop (workers, customers, etc).

A good day is started with a peppermint mocha. Even in decaf it's still yummy on a chilly morning... even if this morning wasn't chilly enough for me. Then again, I'm crazy.

I do love this time of year tho. The tree across the street from my office is really pretty right now. You know... the one in front of the place that teaches you how to cage fight. (I wish I was kidding...) The weather is cool enough that I'm wearing a nice black cowl neck sweater with a pumpkin colored tank under it.

I'm getting sidetracked easily, because I'm no longer the only one in the office. Must be time for me to get to work!

Hello again!

Have you ever Etsy'd?

For those of you who aren't familiar, Etsy is a place where crafters and other handy people can sell their wares for the public to purchase.

Here's a few of my favorites I've found tonight:

A pair of cute felted baby shoes.

I love everything in this Joanna Goldman shop.

How about a rockin' wallet?

I've kicked around the idea of starting my own Etsy. I have several items mulling around in my brain that I believe could make me some extra cash and make a few people smile. Now, all I need is time.

I'm sure once the baby is here I'll have plenty of time, won't I? Won't I? Guys? Anyone? All I can hear is the deafening sound of laughter...

Weekend Wrap-up

Friday - Came home to find Rob, who had a "compromised cornea" laying down to relieve a headache. Sat next to him and got on the laptop for a while. Eventually ended up drifting off to sleep myself. Woke up around 8:30 and rousted Rob as well. We headed to Little Caesar's for $5 pizza and then back home to relax while eating pizza and watching season 1 of Project Runway. Eventually, I headed to bed.

Saturday - Took Rob to the eye doc early in the morning to have his cornea checked, then headed to our favorite thrift store. Found a nifty little ottoman for 5 bucks and brought it home for the nursery. Cleaned a bit in the nursery as well as around the house. Mom stopped by briefly to see the progress in the nursery. After she left, we didn't do a whole lot during the day. Lowns came out around 5:30 and we headed to Boone's Crossing. Beth & I shopped for girly things while Rob and Nate shopped for manly things. Picked the boys back up and headed out in search of dinner. After a frustrating attempt at eating at both Cheeburger Cheeburger and Cheesecake Factory, Harper dictated that a wait would not do, and we had Espino's instead. Yummy Mexican food was had by all. Headed back towards our place via Chocolate Cafe to pick up dessert. Kim joined us at our place and the 5 of us watched Knocked Up.

Sunday - Woke up earlier than normal due to DST ending. LOVE the end of DST. Started to clean up dishes from the night before when Mom showed up. She was picking something up but had the Best Buy ad in her hand. Asked what we thought of a certain laptop. Thought it looked great and the price was right ($600) so we headed over there to get her a computer. Purchased everything she needs and went our separate ways. Rob and I headed to Home Depot for shelving systems for the office. Came home and put it all together and started to organize DVDs while I sat upstairs with Kim. Kim used my laptop while I loaded things onto Mom's. Headed back over to Mom's to have dinner and help her get her wireless network setup.

That's about it for our entire weekend. We didn't do a whoile lot but that's because we didn't really feel that we had a whole lot to get done. It was rather nice. I'm baby brained even more than usual lately, but I've read that's completely normal. I'm making plans and getting everything into place. I only have 8 weeks to go before Harper is scheduled to put in her first appearance. I simply can not wait.

Hi there.

Ever heard of NaBloPoMo? Me either until now. I'm not interested in the drawings or the prizes or whatever, but I think that blogging every day would be a good exercise. Force myself to take time out and actually think, rather than continue to walk through the day in my usual foggy state.

To update everyone, I'm getting bigger. I have 8.5 weeks left to go (approximately). Time has just flown by.

Today is going to consist of laundry and getting shelves up in the office. Rob is in the middle of a major overhaul in the office that will leave each of us with nifty workspaces and plenty of storage. I'm getting to a point where I crave storage. I want everything to be placed somewhere certain in matching boxes so our home looks like a photo out of blueprint mag. Think we can make it happen? I hope so.

Liz, how is your home coming along? I look forward to more pictures soon!

An' another thing...

Here's a great question - what the hell happened to Wal-Mart?

I'm not saying that it's my new favorite place to shop, but when I can't really sit in a car for 6 hours to hit my closest Ikea, I'm starting to find that Wal-Mart online is a resource for affordable modern design furniture.

Tonight, my search has brought me to finding storage solutions for Harper's room. We have a cute dresser we purchased at Value City (another place that can give me the heebie jeebies) and modified with some monkey drawer pulls, but we're also in need of a place to stash diapers, wipes, toiletries and other necessities.

As most of you know, I'm not one to go for the conventional items when it comes to my furniture. I'm often finding new uses for existing items, but this is one place where I was having trouble... until my search lead me to walmart.com's office furniture.


This is the 2-Door cabinet from the W Collection. At $130, it's a great deal for something that might be able to be used as a changing table and storage, and is attractive enough to be moved to another area of the house if Harper somehow decides that she's destined to be a pretty pretty princess, rather than a modern design diva. Also, at $130 for what I'm assuming is pressed board, it's a piece that I will have no qualms about rehabbing, modifying, and finding new uses for in the future. Maybe my daughter will have a creative urge to draw all over everything? One coat of chalkboard paint or chalkboard contact paper will give her storage she can label herself.

This is the W Collection hutch. Made to go on the cabinets I posted above, it's sold separately for $75. I think this would sit rather nicely on the floor and make a modern, affordable, kid-friendly bookcase. With baskets or boxes it could hold small toys as well as Harper's favorite books. As she grows, we could add it to the cabinet to hold a stereo, hair accessories, or anything else a growing girl needs/wants.

I'm not saying that all of my shopping will be at Wal-Mart from now on, (God no!) but I will definitely include their site in my searches for inexpensive storage and furniture solutions.