RigganOnline

Stressing Out!

2012-03-28T21:23:00.000-04:00

There is so much going on, I don't even know where to start! I've been meaning to write a post about how selling a house sucks. Well, it sucks. You can't leave your house messy. Some real estate agents give you a day's notice, some give you thirty minutes notice. I've pretty much have had to keep my house clean at every waking moment for the past two months, and I've been waiting for a day where I can just not make the bed. That's a luxury that I truly miss.

Well, we finally received an offer on our house! I got the call on Saturday (while sitting in the movie theater), and the offer was just right to where we just accepted it without a counter offer. We are truly blessed to be able to sell our house in such a short period of time (two months) in this kind of economy without having to do a short sale or foreclose.

Now, I'm truly stressing. We have four weeks to find a new house, pack up our old house, and move. We will most likely be homeless for a couple of weeks. Both sides of the family have offered to shack us up for awhile, so we will have places to stay. However, in my very pregnant state (I hit 21 weeks yesterday!), I don't want to have to wait on buying a house for too long. I'm not sure if today's heartburn was brought on by food or by the stress! Perhaps both.

Anyway, that's the skinny on us. We will be packing up the house, doing whatever fixes that need to be made from the inspection, and trying to figure out how to time everything out. If you can help us load furniture into the POD (which will most likely be what we're using to move), we would gladly take the help. We'll let you know when that will be. :)

Round two

2012-02-05T14:39:00.001-05:00

First of all, I want to apologize that the spacing sucks in this post. I'm writing this in my iPad, and for some reason, the formatting doesn't seem to translate well when I publish. Secondly, house selling is stressful. I feel like I'm having to keep a tidy house all the time. The anxiety of the unknown is unbearable too, but it's something that needs to be done. The first three weeks have been a little uneventful. We've had two calls for showings, so it is a beginning. I'm just ready to go buy our new home! Well, another reason why this house process is so stressful is because we have an August deadline. Thats when the next baby is due. Yep. You read that right. I'm pregnant with our second child! I just started the second trimester this week and holding this secret for this long has been killing me. We are extremely excited and ready to begin the next chapter for our family. We will know in March what the sex of the baby will be.

Elmo has brainwashed my child

2012-01-12T09:18:00.001-05:00

Apparently, there is a huge debate about tv and children. Some people believe that children should not each any tv until they are at least two. We thought about it for awhile, but sometimes, it is just easy to turn on the tv and distract Elijah. We have restricted the shows to educational only and on public television. I don't know when, but Elijah fell in love with Elmo. We would watch Sesame Street, but Elijah would only get interested unless Elmo would be on. For Christmas, Elijah ended up getting two stuffed Elmo's and an Elmo dish set, which he loves! Since we started watching Sesame Street, Elijah's vocabulary has exploded. I had already been working on naming body parts, but now Elijah can identify people, food, and all his toys. He also can identify the number 2, but not any other numbers yet. When I mention that we are about to watch Sesame Street, Elijah will now get his chair in position and sit in front of the tv in anticipation. When the credits run, Elijah can name half of the characters. So, even though Elijah's world evolves around Elmo, at least he's learning as he watches. On a side note, we are placing our house on the market this week. We have met our real estate agent, started to de-clutter our house, and do some minor repairs to make our house more appealing. We are definitely losing money from selling this house, but we will definitely going to make up for it with our next purchase. I can't wait to move! We will keep you updated as we continue on this journey.

Holiday Cheer

2011-12-16T20:27:00.004-05:00

This past month has been a whirlwind of holiday activities. Thanksgiving was hectic. We met with my family on Thanksgiving day. That night, I went into work at Michael Kors in Dawsonville, and worked an eight hours shift from 9:30PM to 6:30AM. Midnight Madness is just that--madness. The store opened at 9:00PM on Thanksgiving, and when I arrived there at 9:30, the store had already hit maximum capacity! I hadn't slept all day, so I was worried that I would be struggling to stay awake. However, amongst the chaos, I had no time to get sleepy! I did capitalize on the great sale the store had and my temporary employee discount to buy some clothes and a purse. This will probably be the most expensive purse I'll ever own.

I didn't get home from work until about 7AM. I crashed for about an hour and a half before showering and heading over to Taylor's parent's house. We stayed there all day, and then we came home so that I could sleep before heading out to the UGA vs Tech game that Saturday.

Boy, I enjoyed that game. I rarely get to sit beside other UGA fans, but this I was surrounded by them. Of course, the win made it extra enjoyable (hee hee).

Let's see, what else has happened since Thanksgiving? I got to see the beautiful, pregnant April at her baby shower. Even though I didn't know a single person there, it was lots of fun. Chris, that shelf you built was really cool, and that changing table looks amazing! I really hope you like the pillow, even though it doesn't exactly match your color scheme. Right after the Barr baby shower, Taylor and I went to his company's Christmas party.

Okay, first, I gotta mention that we got a hotel room so that we would only be 5 miles away from the country club where the party was located. Second, a whole group that we knew were staying at the same hotel. Third, we took a mini van to the party so that we could all just ride together. The reason why I mention all of this was that I ended up being DD for that... and driving intoxicated coworkers was FASCINATING. There was mentioning of hot tubs, Cheetah, Pink Pony, glitter, and Jesus that night. It was one of the best parties I had ever been to. Not to mention that it was also casino night, and I got to place a $1000 bet of fake money and have Taylor lose it all with one throw of the dice on the craps table.

Christmas is just around the corner, and I can't wait for the upcoming new year. 2011 was so much fun, but I'm looking forward to the change in 2012. Hey, perhaps we can have a family/baby get together before the year ends? Anybody has New Year plans? Let's still all our babies in one room and party hardy in the next. LOL. Just an idea....

Thanksgiving Wrap Up

2011-11-17T15:22:00.001-05:00

This year just keeps going by so fast! I cannot believe that Thanksgiving is next week! I feel like I'm constantly busy, and I can't afford to slow down.

The past couple weeks have been very eventful. Taylor went to Las Vegas for a conference for a week. I finally cut all ties to my old job and decided to stay focused on home. I felt that I was too tired during Elijah's nap to do any work, and that the little pay the company was offering wasn't enough to sacrifice the little down time I had during the day.

Last weekend, I had my sister's youngest kids (10 and 8 years old) stay with me as both parents were out of town. Man, they wore me out. I think having a little toddler is physically exhausting. You're constantly chasing after a toddler, making sure of no physical harm. With older kids, it's mentally exhausting. They have asked a million questions, demanded my attention, or wanted to participate in everything. Between them and Elijah, I was drained. I love them so much, but I was so happy to leave them at their own home on Monday.

On the actual Thanksgiving day, I'll be celebrating with my family, and on Black Friday, we will be eating with Taylor's side of the family. Holidays are all about balancing families. I love this time of the year but also hate it at the same time. There's so much juggling between the schedules, driving, cooking, eating... it's such a hassle all the way up to the point of the meal, and then we can finally relax. I guess it's all worth it in the end, right?

Elijah is growing like a weed. This past weekend, he climbed up the steps, holding onto the handrail. He's almost self sufficient with a fork and spoon now. We're still practicing drinking out of a cup, but there's progress there too. Every week is a new challenge and discovery. I love it!

So, what are you thankful for this year? I'm thankful that I can experience my son on a daily basis, for my husband to have a job that can support all of us and that he enjoys, and very supportive friends and family. There are no complaints here!

Fall Wrap up

2011-10-19T20:16:00.001-04:00

Things have been really hectic the past couple of weeks! We just recently celebrated my birthday, and this past weekend was our anniversary. For my birthday, Taylor got me an iPad. When I first opened the bag, I was in shock, and then I immediately told him to return it! We have spent so much money the past couple of months traveling, I didn't feel right having him spend that kind of money on me. However, he convinced me to keep it, and now it's more of like a birthday/anniversary gift.

We have been trying to spend as much quality time together as possible as Taylor will be traveling more soon. Being married with a spouse that travels for work is rough, but having a kid too makes it feel so... lonely? overwhelming? tiring? Not exactly sure what word to use.

But I have to brag that my kid is great. He still doesn't know how to be gently with kids smaller than him, but he's such a sweetie. We had dinner today with a neighbor and her two kids. He was giving them hugs by the time we were leaving the restaurant. He learns something new every week, and I get a little anxious about him growing up too fast. I keep telling Taylor, "My baby isn't a baby any more."

This morning, I woke up and went to pick up Elijah, and this is what I found.

I have no clue how he got his arm out of the one sleeve of his PJs, but he did it! He is such a goofy. He is a good blend of both of his parents, but he definitely gets his cheese from his mama.

Taylor will be traveling to Vegas the first week of November, so if anybody wants to hang out, let's do it then! :D

Catch up

2011-09-23T11:12:00.001-04:00

Lots has happened in the past couple of weeks, and it might be better if I give the run down on everything, bullet point style.

For those who are interested, my blood test FINALLY came back negative... meaning, I'm in the clear for the ectopic pregnancy. This only took like 8 weeks to get straightened out. I'm looking forward to that insurance bill.
We took Elijah on an airplane for the first time two weeks ago. We went to visit Alan (Taylor's brother) in San Diego for a week. Elijah did pretty well. He ate a TON (food is definitely the key to a successful flight), and on the way out to CA, he didn't fall asleep until the last ten minutes of the flight. Boo. On the way back home, he fell asleep immediately and slept for about 1.5 hours. If you ever go out to San Diego, the zoo and the safari are the best attractions. To us, Sea World was overrated, especially if you have kids younger than 5.
We traveled to Savannah to see Craig get married this past weekend. This was our first weekend spent away from Elijah. It was a complete luxury, but at the same time, I spent the whole weekend looking at other kids and wondering how Elijah was doing. He didn't even notice we were gone. He was having that much fun at grandma's and grandpa's. The wedding and reception was fun. It was really nice to catch up with Chris and April and to hang out with the Hansens.
Elijah and I joined Gymboree classes. Gymboree have classes for specific age groups. We go twice a week, and for 45 minutes, Elijah learns a lesson while playing with different toys. At the end, there's a cheesy singing thing, bubbles, and other stuff, but Elijah loves it. I also like having something to look forward to every week to help the days go by faster.
Speaking of Elijah, he's starting to talk more. He's still shy about it, but it's encouraging to see. He does sign language well, but I feel like it's hard to teach him stuff when he doesn't repeat back to me! In Gymboree, there are girls (who naturally speak faster than boys) who know their shapes and colors. Yeah.... Elijah just got body parts down. I know we'll get there, and I can't compare kids but I can't help it! I will probably always wonder if I'm doing enough... welcome to parenthood, I guess!
The next two weekends will be spent celebrating my birthday. I look forward to lots of yummy food. I'd rather have a fancy meal than a gift, and Taylor and his family are accommodating me this year. :)

Alright, that's it for now. I'm sure it'll be another 6 to 8 weeks before I post again. :)

My story

2011-08-12T16:00:00.003-04:00

I have been debating if I should share some recent news here, but I feel that family members have already disclosed my story to their friends, so why can't I? Some of you have read from my tweets that the past week or so have been difficult, and I haven't been feeling under the weather. Last week was one of the most difficult weeks I've gone through, and I'll try not to be too dramatic as I recap.

To make a very long story short, I knew something was wrong with my body when I went to Indiana for a family reunion at the end of July. When we came back, I felt compelled to take a pregnancy test, and behold! I was pregnant! Problem is, I had an IUD put in place right after Elijah was born. I immediately called my doctor, who then had me come in to do blood work to confirm. While I was there, the doctor checked to make sure my IUD was still intact, but the strings couldn't be found. I was then scheduled for an ultrasound and a followup blood test two days later.

Two days later, the ultrasound confirms that the IUD is still there. I give blood and was told to wait for further instructions. Next morning, the doctor calls me and lets me know that I need to go to the Diagnostic Treatment Center (DTC) at DeKalb Medical immediately and that the on-call doctor has been notified. I try not to freak out as I drop Elijah off at the in-laws and head over to the hospital.

When I arrive, more blood is drawn. Come to find out, I had an ectopic pregnancy or more commonly known as tubal pregnancy. I was that 1 in 1000 women who released an egg with an IUD, was able to get pregnant, and then have that embryo implant into my fallopian tube. Luckily, I had caught in time to be able to take two shots of methotrexate to terminate the pregnancy as the fetus would never be able to come to full term and would be fatal to me.

Should I remind you that this all happened within a week?

I am currently getting blood work done to make sure that my beta levels go to zero, and I had the doctor remove the IUD while I was in the hospital. This week has been extremely difficult as I physically cope with losing a baby. Even being in the early weeks of pregnancy, there has been lots of cramping and blood. I actually found this experience more painful than what I had to deal with after giving birth to Elijah.

Emotionally, I have been on a roller coaster. Even though I didn't plan on this pregnancy and knew that this baby wouldn't survive, I feel a giant sense of loss and love. My family has been my rock as they have all checked in on me, prayed for me, and given me moral support through all of this. I'm not sure I would have been able to cope without their constant shower of love.

There. That's my side of the story. It has been a long two weeks.

Lively thoughts

2011-07-14T14:32:00.004-04:00

Today, I heard some upsetting news about a very good friend's sister who had passed away last night. I knew the sister as we met a couple of times, and I knew that recently she had been struggling with alcohol abuse. I don't know the details of her death, although I fear that it might be overdose related.

This death, unlike death of family members (those are the only ones that I know of), is haunting me very differently as she was my age. She had three beautiful children and a loving family. However, in the past couple of months, she seemed to be lost, unhappy... unsettled. It was like she was searching for something to fill her up, and the only thing that made her feel was alcohol.

All day, I have been thinking about my friend and wondering how she must be feeling. I've written to her, and she has thanked me for her support. I don't want to overcrowd her as I know she has family coming in from out of town today. All of this has reminded me of how thankful I am for my life and the lives that surround me.

Even though some of you that read this are not Christians or even "religious," I hope you don't get offended with what I am about to say next. I have joy in my heart even in times of sadness because I know that my God loves me. He completes me. My delight is in the Lord. I don't have to search for other sources of joy, fulfillment, direction... even though the Lord has blessed me with a loving husband, a wonderful son, and a supportive family. I try not to take anything for granted, and today, I am reminded that life is a gift. I struggle every day to be positive, to find the gospel in everything that I do, and it's only through God's grace that I have been able to find peace in my life. My only hope is that my son and other unsaved family members and friends will one day find this same love for my Lord as I have.

I pray that my life is a living example of how great of an impact the Lord can be in one's life. I've always felt a little shy about sharing, but as I am reminded of today, time is of the essence, and we do not know when we are called out of this world. Don't you want to be sure you know the right message when you leave it? Just some thoughts for today...

Summer Days

2011-06-29T21:24:00.002-04:00

This summer, I am tanner than ever. Typically, I hate tanning, but when you have a toddler that is more awake than asleep now, being outside is the easiest activity to do. I've gone to my pool more this summer (and it's only the end of June!) than the entire five years we've lived in our neighborhood!

If it weren't so blistering hot, I would probably head to the park more often, but the playground is not so fun when you're chasing a kid around, in the heat and the sun. Playgrounds are little death traps for not so mobile children. There are stairs, slides, bridges... all of these things that look so fun but are painful to assist your kid up and down. Sigh.

This year, we've had more frequent vacations. Granted, we've been doing cheap vacations by staying with family, but we've been traveling around. We went to Virginia in the early spring and then went to Myrtle Beach a month ago. Now, we're planning on going to Indiana for a family reunion at the end of July and then go to San Diego in the beginning of September. San Diego will be a big challenge as this will be the first time that we take Elijah on a plane. Of course, that means checking a car seat and then hauling a stroller through the airport. I hope all the hassle will be worth it!

What is everybody else doing for the summer? Any fantastic trips planned? I can't wait for Michael and Nina to come back to the States for a visit.

My next post will probably be about food again and GMOs. These are serious issues folks! We have to stay educated about it.

We bought a neighborhood

2011-06-15T10:21:00.003-04:00

When we were searching to buy a house, we spent the first couple of months looking at probably 50 homes, all around Cumming and Sugar Hill. We focused on price and size of the home. After awhile, we realized that this process wasn't working. We finally decided that we would focus on a specific neighborhoods within Sugar Hill. We started off in one subdivision, but our offers kept getting rejected. Then one day, Taylor introduced me to Lenox Park.

We never really looked around Lenox Park because we thought we couldn't afford it. However, we fell in love with the community. Our neighborhood is mainly young families. There's an HOA that keeps the yards clean, makes sure there is coherency throughout the neighborhood and maintains the upkeep to the common grounds. Of course, the pool and the tennis courts were a plus too. We decided to invest the extra money and buy a house here.

Now, with Elijah, it is clear to me that we made the right investment. When we go walking, the little kids say hi to him, and all the dog walkers say hi to us. My neighbors remember me as the pregnant lady who went walking every day during my last trimester and marvel at how big Elijah is now. We get complimented on how much improvement we've made to our house's yard. I've taken Elijah to the pool, to the neighborhood playground, and to the local city farmer's market. We've gone walking in the two parks nearby. Yesterday, I took him to Suwanee Town Center, and Elijah had a blast playing the fountain and running in the field with his cousin and neighbor's kids.

I love my house, I love my neighborhood, and I love my family. I always dreamed about having barbeques and kids running in the yard, and now, my dreams are a reality. We didn't just buy a house, but we bought a neighborhood. I hope we can do just as well again when we move (hopefully!) to PTC in the upcoming years.

Foodie thoughts

2011-05-23T10:01:00.004-04:00

I had lunch with a friend of mine a couple of weeks ago, and for some reason, I had mentioned about going to Fresh Market because their sale prices for organic produce were very reasonable. Her response was, "Oh, you've become one of those people."

In reality, I have become one of those people. It started when Elijah was born, and I wanted him to eat almost all organic food. Then, I realized that why should the good stuff only be limited to my son? I'm being a hypocrite by not expecting the same kind of food quality for myself or my husband.

You might ask, "What does she mean by those people?" I think the general stereotype is the hippie that buys everything organic, local, buys Seventh Generation non-toxic cleaners, recycles, and will breast-feed my baby until he's five. For those who know a certain neighbor of mine, you can get a visual. However, I think of those people as food conscious, earth conscious foodies.

So, the progress to a foodie has been a gradual one. Taylor and I always enjoyed a really fancy meal, and I like to experiment with different types of meat, cuts, and ethnicity. But now, I'm focusing more on bringing organic, non-genetically modified food to our dinner table at home. I've been mainly focusing on the big offenders: fruits and tuber vegetables. However, this past weekend, we just bought 20 pounds of grass-fed beef for the first time, and I can't wait to try it out! My next goal is to eventually have all of our meats purchased be either organic, free range, or grass-fed. This past Saturday, I went to the Suwanee Farmers Market, and there were two CSA that provided locally grown beef, pork, and chicken. Some time soon, I hope to join a CSA.

I know that some of you are thinking that we might crazy to fork over the extra expense. Let me tell you, this grass-fed beef was not cheap. However, I think of it as an investment. If we're willing to spend extra money on name brand stuff for our clothing, technology, and cars, why shouldn't we do the same for our food? I want my family to be healthiest it can be, and to do that, we should be eating good quality food with no genetic modifications or pesticides. As one slogan would say, "As nature intended."

Of course, don't expect everything in my fridge or pantry to be organic, and if I have a giant party, not everyone will be eating a grass-fed beef hamburger. But, I think I'm doing my little part in helping to save the planet, promote local farmers, and eating right. If I have to be labeled "one of those people," I'll gladly take the title.

Milestones

2011-05-04T15:02:00.003-04:00

Last night, out of sheer boredom, I started looking through old videos of Elijah. He started off so small, and in many ways, he looks exactly the same and yet so very different. I still cannot believe a year has gone by, and being a mother is still surreal to me. I still feel like a young kid at heart. I'm just a young kid, stuck in a 30-something body with a mortgage, a car payment, and a kid. If we had a dog, we would be the quintessential American home.

A week ago, Elijah had his one year checkup. He's perfectly healthy, not too heavy for his age, a good height, and a very big head. He's completely mobile now, much to my annoyance because he hates being still. He has nine teeth now, which is absolutely crazy, as one back molar has broken through. What other milestones has he accomplished? He knows 3 words in sign language now along with being able to wave hi/bye. He no longer drinks out of a bottle but drinks 1% cow's milk like the rest of the family from a sippy cup. I taught him to drink from a straw. He figured out on his own to blow his nose, much to my surprise. I have no clue when he figured that out. He climbs stairs but has no interest in going down the stairs. He can kind of feed himself with a spoon but hasn't figured out how to scoop up food. Spoon feeding has been my project for the week. The only milestone that he hasn't achieved that I'm concerned about is that he hasn't really said his first word. He babbles "mama" and "dada," but I still wouldn't count them as his first word. However, I read that boys tend to speak later than girls, so that is encouraging. Also, I know that Elijah understands what we say to him.

With this whole parenting thing, I have two big struggles. First one is that I'm not that patient. Sometimes, I forget that in many ways, I'm teaching Elijah simply how to learn. For him to learn something, it takes multiple tries, consistency, and patience. Like any new, proud parent, I just assume that my super baby will learn after the first try. Oh, how quickly am I humbled! Yet, in my humility, I must keep forging on and attempt again and again and again....

Second struggle is my worry. I worry that I'm not doing enough. I don't interact with him enough. I don't read to him enough. I mean, seriously, do I have to read to him every single day? I get tired, bored, and (I'll admit) lazy. I think there is so much pressure to be a stay at home because there is no excuse to not completely focused on the baby. But I just can't. Not all the time. There's a house that needs cleaning, a blog that needs to be written, websites to be checked, and above all else, alone time for self preservation. I've come to understand that I can't do it all, and I won't. Just like Elijah, I got to take baby steps too.

So this first year has been lots of learning for Elijah and for myself. There's so much more to look forward to (potty training especially!), but for now, I'm content with where I am.

One Year Down

2011-04-20T21:59:00.003-04:00

Oh man, Elijah turned one today. When I was younger, I felt that time would just drag on, and I think starting around college, time would go faster and faster. Now, I feel like there is not enough time! A year has gone by so quickly. So many milestones have been covered, and yet there are so many more to be discovered!

Today was like any other day. Elijah and I got ready in the morning, and during his morning nap, I cleaned the house. We had lunch with the Hansens, and then I popped into work just to say hi to everyone. Afterwards, we came home, and Elijah went down for his afternoon nap. Taylor got home, we had dinner, went for a family walk, and then came back to birthday cupcake, bath, and Elijah going down for the evening. Yet, throughout the day, I would look at the time, and I would reminisce of what occurred at the exact same time a year ago. Lunch time, 12:30, we made the decision that Elijah would be born via c-section. 3:00PM, Elijah is in Taylor's arms for the first time. There were so many details to that day, and I seem to remember them all.

I can't wait for so many more years. Happy birthday to you, Elijah. I love you!

Two weeks of craziness

2011-04-11T20:29:00.003-04:00

I've been meaning to write for awhile now, but we've been so busy! The past two weeks have been nonstop going, going, going, and today seems to be the first time where I actually sat down and wondered, "What shall I do today?" Let's do a recap.

At the beginning of the year, Taylor had put in the past two weeks for vacation. However, these two weeks were in jeopardy because Taylor accepted a new job! We were able to keep the vacation because Taylor gave them a six week notice. So, he won't start the new job until May, but we're both extremely excited about this new opportunity for him.

The past two weeks whizzed on by as the first week we spent visiting Taylor's grandmother in North Carolina on Tuesday and then spending the rest of the week in Williamsburg, VA. While in Williamsburg, we got to see Jamestown, Yorktown, and Colonial Williamsburg. We got to stay for free at Uncle Jim's house (Taylor's uncle), and we had a great time as they would babysit Elijah while we went sight seeing. They loved that baby! The second week was filled with doctor's appointments, errands, cleaning up, and yard work.

One thing that did occur right before we left was that Taylor's grandmother, who lives in Lawrenceville, suffered a minor stroke. On the day we went to go visit them before leaving the state, she was rushed to the ER. We didn't get to see her until after we came back at a rehab facility. We're hoping she will get released tomorrow and can go home.

The upcoming two weeks will be filled with prepping for Elijah's birthday party. I will clean the house, buy the food, make the birthday banner, make the cupcakes... all during the week of. We only invited immediate family, but that still brings the guest total to 24. Yikes! We did do a one year photo shoot with Snyders Photography (the same people who did Elijah's birth pictures), and while we are still waiting for the collection, we did see one picture posted on Facebook. Elijah is wearing a traditional Korean outfit that most babies wear on their first birthday. I can't believe Elijah is turning one soon! A year has flown by, and it has been marvelous, filled with joy, fear, great moments and great mistakes. I can't wait for so many more!

Playdate

2011-03-25T07:49:00.004-04:00

This past week, Elijah and I had a lunch play date with Melissa and Norah. I love planned events. It gives me something to look forward to throughout the week, and then the event breaks up my day. This day was extra special because Melissa was bringing over Mori House sushi, which I love, and haven't eaten any since Elijah was born. From my experience, babies this age are interested with each other but normally do not play together. Well, Elijah and Norah seemed to hit it off from the beginning.

Elijah is checking Norah out while she's getting her diaper changed. Don't judge! He doesn't know any better. :)

This is Norah and Elijah checking each other out after the diaper change.

Elijah is trying to hug Norah. How cute!

Elijah is now getting rejected by Norah. Poor guy.

Now, they finally play nice together by fighting over the truck. Overall, it was a fun time! Two too cute babies together are always trouble and fun wrapped into one.

Sleepy thoughts

2011-03-09T21:51:00.003-05:00

Last night, Elijah cried around 1:30 in the morning. Not sure what caused the crying, but I went to his room, held him til he fell back to sleep, and then put him back in his crib. Of course, he wakes up when I place him in the crib, he cries, and then I have to pick him back up again. Second time, he wakes up again, but this time, I leave, give him a minute, and he's knocked out.

When I get back to bed, naturally, I can't fall back to sleep. As I lay there, my mind drifts to that Friends episode where Ross gives Chandler advice on how to lean and roll Janet off of him when sleeping. Then, this got me to thinking about my sleeping habits.

I cannot fall asleep cuddling. I like my own space in the bed. I have to sleep on my back. During my pregnancy, I was tortured on having to sleep on my side. I would try to sleep on my back for a little while, and then the pain would wake me up. I used to prefer sleeping in pitch darkness and complete quiet. That changed a little once I married Taylor. He likes to fall asleep to watching TV. I kind of got used to the bright screen, but I hated the noise. I finally got Taylor cordless headphones so that he could wear them to bed. Now, I actually prefer white noise (working third shift does that... I used to use white noise to help drown out daily routines of everyone else), so I sleep with either a humidifier or an air purifier.

When Elijah was first born, I would go to bed at 8PM. Don't hate. When you're awake every 3 hours to feed a baby, you would go to sleep super early too. Then, when he started to sleep longer than 5 hours, I would go to bed at 9 and then eventually 10. Now, I go to bed between 10 and 11, and I feel young again! It's great to have that freedom to sleep however late I want to, but unfortunately, I still have to wake up by 8 to feed Elijah.

Anyway, I had all of these thoughts at 2 in the morning. This is why it took me an hour to go back to sleep. What is your sleeping habit? Curious minds want to know... meaning a nosy me.

Boys and their toys

2011-02-26T11:02:00.003-05:00

This week has been crazy. Elijah has been eating nonstop, teething, and then mix that with separation anxiety, I can't do anything without an eating, crying baby. Last week, there was a huge consignment sale at the Gwinnett Fairgrounds, and I bought him two toys. Both, unfortunately, play lots of music and makes noise. One of them is a little firetruck, and when it says "bye bye" or if the wheels get stuck, Elijah cries. Sigh. Did I mention it sings? Last night, Taylor and I both had a song stuck in our head, and this morning, I woke up to singing on of the truck's song. Again, sigh.

In other news, Elijah is getting his strength to walk more and more. One of the aforementioned toys is a walker, and here's a video of him using it. I'm currently also in the planning stages of his birthday party. We're doing a simple lunch with just family, but I'm just a planner. I got to get these details banged out. More details later. As for now, just enjoy the cuteness below.

Boys will be boys

2011-02-15T21:27:00.009-05:00

Today, I had the pleasure of babysitting mini Hansen aka David. Having him around was very... interesting. I had never babysat David before, and Elijah was having a rough time lately. He just recovered from a cold and is now suffering from a bad case of diaper rash. So, I knew I would have my work cut out for me today.

David arrived around 9:30AM, and about 10AM, I put Elijah down for a nap. The kid went bonkers. I don't know if he got jealous that I was with David or what, but by 11AM, I had to pick him up because he was hyperventilating. Poor David, he would just remark, "Baby Elijah is crying." Once Elijah calmed down, we all played in his room. Only problem is that David doesn't particularly like to share. We figured out how to play in turns, but it was definitely a different dynamic than what I was used to.

I think the hardest part about watching David was that he was so mobile. He can open/close doors, and he loved the garage for some reason. I swear that I played peak-a-boo with David using the garage door (I stood in the kitchen, he would stand in the garage) for a good ten minutes. He laughed and laughed. He gets that weirdness from his dad.

Eventually, Valerie came to pick up David, and we went to the playground for about 30 minutes. Elijah rode the swing for the first time and really liked it. Anyhoo, here are pictures of the two boys and their adventure for the day.

David for some reason doesn't like his picture being taken. This is the only one that I have of him actually facing the camera.

The boys are actually playing peacefully.

Elijah playing with Buzz

David stealing Buzz away from Elijah.

Overall, it was a good day. I think David had a good time, and perhaps one day, he and Elijah will truly be able to "play" nice together.

Car Fiasco

2011-02-07T10:41:00.002-05:00

This past weekend was absolutely crazy. But before I start off on my tale, I need to tell the back story to my car.

My car was a 1999 Volvo S70 that Taylor's parents had given to us before Elijah was born. Taylor's mom had bought a new car, and she wanted us to have the Volvo because 1. it was bigger than my Corolla that was I driving at the time and 2. it was safer for the baby. We gladly took it, sold my Corolla to my sister, and had only one issue with it since then. However, this past month, we noticed that there brakes probably needed to be fixed and most likely the front passenger's side axle needed to be replaced. We were going to take my car in on Friday to get it diagnosed. We were hoping to get all repairs done for less than $1000 so that we wouldn't kill the bank and that the repairs would actually be worth the investment.

This is when all hell broke loose. Friday, Taylor goes into work. Our goal was for me to meet him during lunch when I would drop the car off at the auto shop, and he would pick me up and take me home. Suckage starts at 8AM when Taylor calls me at stating he had hit a pothole and got a flat tire. Tragedy number 1. No big deal. Just something else we would have to deal with that day.

At noon, I get ready to leave for the auto shop when I get a call from Taylor again. No only does he have a flat tire, but his spare tire is flat too. Now, I have to pick him up and get that fixed before we can get my car serviced. Tragedy number 2.

When I get to his work, we start to put his wheel into my trunk. That's when we notice tragedy number 3. Taylor didn't just a flat tire. He bent the rim. Sigh. So, not only do we have to replace the tire, we're buying a new rim. We drive down to the dealership, drop a cool $500, drive to Costco and buy 4 new tires (we had already been planning on buying Taylor 4 new tires the following weekend...so... we just got it done sooner!), have Costco put on the new tire on the new wheel, and then drive back to Taylor's work.

I then drive home as Taylor puts on the new wheel (in the rain) and then drive back to Costco to get the other 3 tires put on. Poor Elijah is in the back, suffering through the mayhem. He eventually falls asleep in the car for about 30 minutes, but he's wide awake by the time I get home. When Taylor's car is finished at Costco, we decide to meet up at the auto shop to get my car serviced. We drop it off and head off to Saigon Cafe for some dinner. When we finished dinner, I get a call from the shop, and they tell us tragedy number 4. The repairs would cost over $1500. So, we decline the repairs, pick up my car, and head back home.

Now, here's the dilemma. We just dropped over $1000 for Taylor's car. We just got new hardwood and carpet in the house. Do we spend the money to fix my car in hopes that nothing else would go wrong for another 6 months? Or do we bite the bullet, invest in a new car, and push the dream to move out of the house for another year?

In the end, I decided I wanted the car, and we would place the house on the market next year. This way, we'll wait longer for the housing market to bounce back. So on Friday night, we look frantically through different dealership websites for our dream car. Saturday morning, we drive out to Marietta, test drove, and purchased a 2008 Mazda CX-9. This car drives so smoothly and is so spacious! We really wanted it for the third row seating and extra cargo space. I couldn't have been happier. The only crappy thing about the whole experience was that we had Elijah with us (and 3 hours at a dealership is rough for anyone!), and we had to play around with the numbers to get the car payment where we wanted it to be. Overall, one crappy weekend ended on a good note. I just got the call from the insurance company, so we're all set! Yay!

First Getaway

2011-01-31T17:53:00.002-05:00

This past weekend was the first time we spent a night away from Elijah. We were invited to a wedding, so it gave us an excuse to drop Elijah off at the grandparent's house on Saturday. I had such a great day! I started off with a mani and pedi at the nail salon while Taylor dropped Elijah off. Then, Taylor picked me up, and we headed off to Ikea to return a blind that was the wrong size. Once our errand at Ikea was complete, we drove up to Marietta to Williams Bro. BBQ to eat lunch. After lunch, we went to Dairy Queen for a frozen treat, and after that, we went to Discover Mills for some shopping. We eventually came home and got ready for the wedding.

The wedding was fairly fun. We didn't know anyone except for one coworker and her husband. The coworker... well, she's not my favorite, and by an hour into the reception, I was pretty tired of listening to her. However, we endured, got to eat some decent food and good cake.

Sunday morning, Taylor had to work, and I went to pick up Elijah. I think Elijah gained a pound just from being at my in-laws house! I could tell he ate a ton, and he did really well. He didn't cry at night, and he stayed pretty true to his sleeping schedule. He was a little grouchy when we got home, and I had to put him down early because I could tell he was exhausted. At least now I know I can leave him for an overnight trip, and it not be a complete disaster.

Elijah is now nine months, almost 21 pounds, and has a head size in the 74% for his age. Even though I think he's a heavy weight, he's only 46% in weight. He's eating less and less baby food and more solids. Tonight, he ate salmon, asparagus, and butternut squash. I haven't seen him turn down any food yet. He loves it all and gets super excited if he likes something (i.e. Nutrigrain bars or graham crackers). I can't believe my baby is so old!

I've survived one week of watching a new born, and the first day was brutal. I forgot what it was like to wake up every 3 hours, and I almost died from sleep deprivation. Today starts week two, so we'll see if I survive this one.

Good Eats

2011-01-26T18:31:00.002-05:00

I didn't make any new year resolutions. I haven't made one in quite some time, but I have a goal to lose some more weight. About two years ago, Taylor and I started on Weight Watchers, and through the program, I lost at least 30 pounds. I'm not exactly sure how much I lost because I didn't start weighing myself until I started losing some of the weight. Since then, we haven't been following the program very closely, but I've made a lifestyle change that has kept me from gaining it back. I've strayed away from that, and I want to re-introduce it back into our lives.

What does this mean? Well, we'll be eating lots more chicken! We probably ate chicken at least twice a week. Also, this means eating more vegetables and fresh produce. Overall, I think the Weight Watcher programs shows how to eat smarter and smaller. Portion control has been my biggest struggle, and that's what packs the pounds back on me now.

Luckily, I have a baby and a husband that likes their veggies too, so it makes cooking much easier on me. Tonight, I made lemon pork scallopini, roasted butternut squash, and peas. BTW, thanks Mel for reminding me of butternut squash. I had made it for Elijah before but have not made it since. It was DELICIOUS.

I can't wait for the warmer weather to come back, either. I like to go walking, and it's hard to pack up Elijah, drive to a mall, and then walk around. During the middle of the year, I like to walk around the neighborhood (which I did nonstop the last trimester of my pregnancy). I can't wait to do that again with Elijah on a daily schedule!

Speaking of Elijah, he is such a good eater. He eats everything in sight. He is also crawling everywhere. His nine month check up is this Friday. I can't believe nine months have already passed!

Insane in the brain?

2011-01-20T15:27:00.004-05:00

Elijah is supposed to be sleeping right now, but I hear him jabbering away in his crib right now. I think he's hyper off of juice. Either way, he's staying in there until I decide to pick him up.

But I digress.

I've agreed to watch an old coworker's baby for about 2 months for barely nothing. I've got the time, and she's a single mother so I want to help her out as much as I can. What scares me is that the baby is only going to be 7 weeks when I start watching him, and I'm watching him in the middle of the night. She works night shift, so she'll be dropping the baby off at around 11:30 at night and then picking him up at around 9:30 the next morning. Am I insane? I just got my own child to sleep through the night, and now I'm watching another one (not my own!) that requires a feeding during my precious sleep time.

Taylor's original reaction was to say no. His motto is, "Happy wife is happy life," and he knows that he can't have a happy wife that is sleep deprived. However, I convinced him to take a chance, but I hope my own eagerness doesn't bite me in the butt.

Anyhoo, I got a Cricut with my Christmas money and finally got it in the mail this week. I've already made a card and 2 scrapbooking pages with this bad boy. I'm rarely excited over a gadget, but this thing is my new toy! I just wish I had more projects to do!

So this is life. I watch the baby, go out to eat lunch sometimes, grocery shop, cook dinner, and then repeat the next day. There's some cleaning involved every now and then. BTW, Elijah has just now fallen asleep, 1.5 hours later after I put him down. At least he didn't cry the entire time. What a goof ball. We'll just have to see how functional I will be with two babies in the house.

When there is boredom

2011-01-06T21:52:00.004-05:00

Taylor has been out of town this entire week, and I'm sitting at the computer desk, bored out of my mind. I've played every Facebook game you can imagine, and there's nothing on TV. I even rode on the exercise bike for a little bit, that's how bored I am!

This week, I tried to take some video of Elijah of him in his toddler bath tub. I was flipping through the Flip and looking at the previous videos, and I am simply amazed at how much Elijah has grown and changed. Oh my god, I just saw a video of me in Denmark from over a year ago! I was still pregnant! Where does the time fly? Seriously, 2010 seems to be a blur, and 2011 seems to be filled with so much anxiety already. Is Elijah going to kill himself trying to walk? What will be his first words? Am I doing enough to stimulate his brain, or am I going to have a stupid kid? These are the fears that I have!

Today was his first day I put him in the seat of the grocery cart. To Tim's dismay, I am one of those mothers that have the cart covers only because Elijah likes to stick everything in his mouth. And yes, he did chew on the cart today, but at least he was chewing on the washed fabric on top of the cart. Soon, he'll be too big for his infant carrier. My baby is growing up too fast!

Well, I leave you with this video I took of him earlier this week. I tribute this video to David Hansen for the wonderful poopy surprise you gave us during dinner today (David, Tim, Elijah, and I ate at Dreamland for dinner... just for the delicious banana pudding). This is Elijah in the middle of taking a dump. I wanted to capture how his face turned really red when he does number two. Enjoy! Muahahahaha...

Keeping House

2011-01-03T18:59:00.002-05:00

I've been reading a book called Keeping House by Margaret Kim Peterson. It's about the history of the word housekeeping, housewife, and chores involved around the house. I found the book interesting because when I decided to be a stay at home mom (SAHM), the title of housewife was attached to it as well. The word housekeeping didn't come into existence until the Industrial Revolution. Before that, everyone worked at the house which included the farm.

Anyway, what makes being a housewife or a SAHM such a bad thing? When I announced I was leaving work, I had two reactions: positive and negative. Ironically, the women in the workforce looked down upon me, but the men were proud and supportive of my decision. Is it selfish to put my family in front of the needs of the women's rights movement? I don't think so.

I will admit that keeping house does suck to some degree. It's not that cooking, cleaning, and laundry are hard. I think it just sucks because it's never ending. However, the book makes a good point in that you want a clean and functional home. Everybody wants to come home to a cooked meal, a clean bed, and place to sleep. If I am solely responsible for fulfilling this desire, than I have a huge responsibility! So for all those naysayers out there, housewives just don't sit there, watch tv all day, and are couch potatoes. Well, I might be if I won the lottery and had a maid, a cook, and a butler. But I'm an average woman with an average home, income, and family, so I'll be doing all of that. If you don't think it's that big of deal, then try it out some times. I know that Taylor never cleans the bathrooms, irons, or goes grocery shopping.

Oh, I feel like I'm rambling. Anyway, keeping house and watching a kid is extra work. My hats are off to all the SAHM moms that can do it well and not go crazy.