Where Were You...

Where were you on September 11, 2001?
What about when JFK was shot?
Or when Elvis Presley died?

There are certain events that will be forever etched in our memories...

April 19, 1995

I have lived in Oklahoma off and on most of my life. April 1995 was an "off". We we living in Aurora, CO, and my parents were managing a mobile home park. It was "Take Your Daughter To Work Day" so I was helping out in my mom's office. Vacuuming actually... She received a phone call from my grandfather. He wanted us to know that there had been an explosion in downtown Oklahoma City. We had family members who worked in that area or had regular business there and he hadn't heard from them yet but he would let us know when he did.

That explosion was actually a bombing - The Oklahoma City Bombing - and until September 11, 2001, it was the deadliest act of terrorism on American soil.

If you've never been to The Oklahoma City National Memorial, I highly encourage it.

Today marks the 15th Anniversary of that tragic event. 168 men, women, and children lost their lives because of this senseless act.

Honor them.

Remember them.


Where were you on April 19, 1995?

So, I Finally Did It...

That's right... IT... the big one...

I got out of my house and met my running group for... well... a run. What else does a running group meet for?!?! Okay, well mine also tends to meet for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks in between, and any other excuse they can think of - but generally speaking those also revolve around the running.

Friday night, I laid out my attire, and hoped that Nathan would sleep all night. And Saturday morning, I woke up bright and early, silently cursing that he had, in fact, slept all night. No excuse to stay in bed... Damn.

After getting dressed and ready to go, I went and woke him up, fed him, and got him dressed and ready to go out to breakfast with his Daddy. Then I was out the door.

When I showed up to the meeting place, it was a little colder and drizzlier (more drizzly?) than I was expecting. I had a few minutes to chat with some of my most favorite people in the whole world, and then once we got going, it turned out to be perfect! Except for the running part...

What is that I like about this stupid sport?!?!? I couldn't breathe, and today was the first day that my whole body didn't ache... and I only ran 4 miles!

Seriously though, it felt good (mentally) to get back out there. I've been needing that. Now I just need to keep doing it... No excuses.

Heavy

My heart has been heavy with sadness for the situation in Haiti, and the dense fog this morning has done nothing to lift my mood...

It seems every news report brings more sadness, anger, depression... not just for Haiti, but also for hundreds of police and firemen/women who are facing potential layoffs, and in general just stupid people doing stupid things... I can't remember the last time I saw something on the news that I felt was a "positive" report.

I wish I could have stayed home, snuggled in bed, watching silly children's shows, and playing with Nathan...

How desperately I need to get out and run and get out of this funk... I have no reason not to - Nathan is sleeping well and his daddy can handle it. But I feel like I need a push - someone to show up at my door and drag me out. I just cannot find the motivation that I need right now...

Ugh... when will it be summer time again?!?!?!

Big Bird Learns about Breastfeeding <3

I know I already posted this on my facebook, but I like it, so I'm posting it here too. Too bad that it had to be from the '70's and not something more recent...

How To Live The Good Life

A friend emailed this to me this morning and I liked it - so I'm sharing!



Handbook 2010

Health:
1. Drink plenty of water.
2. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar.
3. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.
4. Live with the 3 E's -- Energy, Enthusiasm, and Empathy.
5. Make time to practice meditation, yoga, and prayer.
6. Play more games.
7. Read more books than you did in 2009.
8. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day.
9. Sleep for 7 hours.
10. Take a 10-30 minutes walk every day. And while you walk, smile.

Personality :
11. Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
12. Don't have negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.
13. Don't over do. Keep your limits.
14. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
15. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip.
16. Dream more while you are awake.
17. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
18. Forget issues of the past. Don't remind your partner with his/her mistakes of the past. That will ruin your present happiness.
19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don't hate others.
20. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.
21. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
22. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
23. Smile and laugh more.
24. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

Society :
25. Call your family often.
26. Each day give something good to others.
27. Forgive everyone for everything.
28. Spend time with people over the age of 70 & under the age of 6.
29. Try to make at least three people smile each day.
30. What other people think of you is none of your business.
31. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.

Life :
32. Do the right thing!
33. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
34. GOD heals everything.
35. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
36. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
37. The best is yet to come.
38. When you awake alive in the morning, thank GOD for it.
39. Your Inner most is always happy. So, be happy.

New Year's Resolution

In no particular order...

1. Start running again. I miss so much about it... my peeps, the feel of chat under my shoes, the clarity of mind.

2. Let go of my guilt. Wanting some time away from Nathan does NOT make me a bad mother. This is a huge part of why my running has suffered. I feel like running is a selfish thing, and I feel a ton of guilt when I try to do it. I also have a ton of guilt from Nathan's early months when I had PPD, and I feel like I somehow need to make up for it.

3. Be a better blogger. Ideally, I would post every day - but a minimum of once a week. I have so many pictures on my awesome new camera, but haven't done anything with them! And I must try to remember that this used to be MY blog... before Nathan was even being thought of. Therefore, it does not have to revolve around him! (yeah, right....)

4. Get our stupid office/junk room/spare bedroom cleaned out. Ugh... the crap has now taken over our dining room, and it must stop!

5. Ditto for the garage. It hasn't invaded the house, but it's a mess and my car used to like living in there!

6. Work on getting rid of our debt. Won't be fun (or easy) on my part-time salary, but getting rid of some is better than adding more!


I think that's it for now... I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas, and I wish for you all to have a blessed 2010!!

Fun With Food!

I know... you're so excited to finally see pictures of Nathan eating!!

For the record, yes, he is eating "real" food. We skipped the baby food/purees/etc, and went straight to table food. And everything he does is self-fed. We don't actually feed him anything - we offer him food, and he decides what to eat and how much. Also known as Baby-led solids or Baby-led weaning! So far, he has had:

Banana - loved it!
Avocado - need to try again now that he has better control
Oatmeal - mostly plays with it
Steamed carrots - loves these!
Artichoke leaves - yum-yum!
Steamed sweet potato and white potato - need to try again
Shredded chicken - yummy!
Peas - we'll keep working on those... his daddy doesn't like them though, so we'll see!
Apple - yum!
applesauce - even better!
Kix and Cheerios - He likes the Kix better, but both are fun for him to eat
Steamed broccoli - need to try again - practice makes perfect!
Pasta - yummy!
Peaches - mmm...
Mango - I'm not sure he ever actually ate the mango, but he was licking the juice off his hands!

He has also tasted lemons and pickles, and gnawed on some celery. It's a fun process watching him learn and practice! And it makes me more conscious about what I prepare for dinner! It also makes me more conscious about what I order when we're eating out, since he loves to help himself to my plate... No more pad thai for mommy :-(


These are pictures from a couple nights ago.

Chicken and Peas

He loved the chicken! The peas... not so much!

Aaahhh....

Perfecting the Pincer grasp

Sleepy boy!

You have no idea how glad I am to finally have a camera!! Still trying to figure out all the settings and such, but loving it!

FINALLY!!!

I have my new camera!! It's going to take some getting used to, since it's bigger than what I'm used to and it has a lot of functions that I don't quite understand yet, but it will be fun to learn!

After much research and comparison shopping, I went with the Sony a200. It is actually the 2008 model, but reveiwers preferred it over the 2009 a230 model. It came highly recommended by some photoraphers that I talked with, and is supposed to be great for beginners!

So here are a few shots from last night...

Nathan wasn't exactly cooperative, but that's okay! We'll have plenty of time to play and get better shots... Maybe on a day when he hasn't had a shot, and he's slept a little better!

If just feels so good to have a camera again, and now I will be able to capture his cute and special moments!

Happy Halloween!

Well... I still don't have my camera that I bought 3 WEEKS AGO!!! I am getting extremely frustrated!

So here are a few pictures from our session at Target a few weeks ago. I hope everyone had a safe (and bountiful) Halloween!

Save The TaTas

Nathan and I did The Race For The Cure this weekend. What an incredible event! The survivor parade always brings tears to my eyes... I hope I am never faced with breast cancer, but if I do, I hope that I can have an ounce of the strength and courage that I have seen in those women!

And as you can see, Nate is very supportive of the cause as well!

And just in case you can't read that... it says "be vewy vewy quiet, I'm hunting ta-tas"

And I have a new addiction... babylegs!! Nate is sporting his first pair here. I can't wait to get him some more! I found some instructions for DIY, which is the route I will probably have to take because my hubby isn't too happy about me spending 12 bucks on those... oops!

Hope everyone has a great week!!

Post 100!!!!

So, this is my 100th post! A little overdue, but better late than never, right?!?!

I've had lots of great stuff to post about, but I felt like I couldn't do it until I updated on Nathan's surgery and our trip to Hawaii. So here goes...

At 5 weeks of age, my sweet boy was hospitalized and had surgery for Pyloric Stenosis. It was very sad and it really sucked. We spent a fabulous 3 days / 2 nights in The Children's Hospital at St. Francis. I do have to say that I was very impressed. The nursing staff was incredible, and Nathan was a trooper. It was so sad to see my little guy with an IV in his head (but not as bad as watching his nonstop vomiting during his ultrasound). And hearing him cry when they pumped his stomach... that wasn't fun either... Now he has a little scar above his stomach which is barely noticeable unless you know it's there. We survived and he was healthy enough to go to Hawaii a few weeks later!

At 8 weeks, Nathan took his very first plane ride, and his 2nd, 2 trips on a ferry, and 3 more plane rides home. We went to Hawaii for my hubby's best friend's wedding in Lanai. Nathan was awesome on the plane (all 5), and everybody just loved him. We spent some time on Lanai and some time on Maui, but mostly just a lot of rest and relaxation!! When we were in Maui, we went to the beach and I stood Nathan in the sand and let the water come up on his feet - he hated it!! Poor little guy was just screaming - I don't know if it was too cold or if it just startled him, but he was not happy! We also went to a Luau which was fun. Nate slept right through it... We really didn't do much else aside from the wedding functions, but it was beautiful out there and it was nice to just take a break!

So there you have it... Not my best post, but now I can move on, guilt free!

Nate's New Trick

We have been propping Nathan up on his Boppy during tummy time to encourage him to lift his head more, and this is what happened last time we did it...

The little stinker actually climbed over it! He really has some strong legs - just like his marathon mama!!

Nathan's Birth

So... I have this nice long detailed story of the day of Nathan's birth but it's at home, which doesn't do me any good while I'm pumping/blogging on my lunch break!

Here are a few photos of the big day to tide y'all over until I can get the whole story up!

Me, probably updating my facebook before all the excitement started

After 2 hours of pushing, and an hour of not pushing(but wanting to), I had to have a c-section

Seeing Nathan for the first time

First family photo!!

Randy taking Nathan to the nursery for his first bath

LOVE this pic!


Finally, some Mommy and Nathan time!

Don't Tell Tom Cruise...

Apparently there is an up-side to being depressed... free meds! I just got home from Walgreen's where I picked up my first prescription of Zoloft - which my insurance company pays for and is "safe" for breastfeeding. That's right... since Nathan was born, I have been suffering postpartum depression - I just wasn't ready to admit it to myself (or anyone else) until earlier this week. So for those of you who were wondering where I've been - I have had no interest in anything - blogging, running, eating... I have really just not felt like myself, and I hate it! I had a long talk with a good friend on Monday and she told me that it was time to talk to my doctor about how I was feeling - but most importantly, that it was okay. Some women bounce back from all of the hormonal changes very easily, and some don't - and apparently I'm in the "don't" group. I knew early on that I didn't feel right, but I thought it was because we were having breastfeeding issues. I kept telling myself that I would feel better once we got the breastfeeding worked out. Nathan was 7 weeks old when we finally got it figured out, and he is now almost 12 weeks and I'm still not feeling better, so I am opting to accept medical help. It will probably take a couple weeks for the meds to start working, but I am looking forward to the day when I can enjoy the things that I used to! So - to all my friends who I have been neglecting - I am SO sorry! It is nothing personal and I'm trying to get it straighted out. Over the next week or so, I will be trying to get everyone caught up on Nathan's birth, surgery, growth progress, vacation, and other happenings, so check back often! I think it will be good for my mental health to get everything out in the open!

I'm headed out the door for some sushi!!!! I haven't had any since before I was pregnant (not "real" sushi, anyway), so this is long overdue! I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Little Nate

It's a Boy!!

Nathan Charles
2:21pm
7lbs 15oz
21 inches

Not sure when I'll get some pictures up, but he is incredible!! I ended up needing a c-section, so my recovery is going to be a little harder, but he is worth every bit of it!

Gonna try to get some rest before LOST starts - will post more later.

Baby Time! (almost...)

Well... I had to go back to the doctor today because my blood pressure was a little higher than usual at my appt on Thursday. Thursday was 122/68 and today was 138/80. I also gained 2 pounds in the last 4 days... but I feel a lot better about my weight gain, now that I know it is mostly fluid retention. So anyway, my doctor feels it will just keep going up, and for the health of me and the baby, I have been put on bed rest until 5am on Wednesday, at which point, I will be induced. I'm feeling a little overwhelmed right now... I thought I would have a little more time to get ready. But it's nice to know that in 2 days I finally get to meet and hold my son or daughter!

Showers and such...

Wow! I have had quite a week... it all kicked off Saturday morning, when I went to a baby shower for my friend Tiffany. She is due about 3 weeks after me. It was fun and nice to get out for a bit! After that, I had a little bit of time to run some errands before going to my baby shower! It was hosted by Randy's sister, Diana, and their sister-in-law, Kathy. I had a great time! The slide show below are pictures from my mother-in-law's camera. I do have others, but I don't have the energy to sort through and organize them all right now, and hers were pretty simple and to the point. Not exactly very flattering pictures, mind you, but you get the point! Since I had already had a busy day, and this shower didn't start until 3, I was pretty swollen which makes me look even big than I am, and the pressure makes my skin red. Pregnancy is fun!!




After the shower, we had dinner out with Randy's family to celebrate his upcoming birthday, his dad's birthday that just passed, and our impending arrival. Dinner was at The Brasserie, which I love! It's a little pricey, and we probably won't ever go there on our own, but when we're being treated to dinner, we certainly won't turn it down! I had a Beef Tenderloin Salad. So yummy! It had mixed greens, tenderloin, grapes, apples, Gorgonzola cheese, and balsamic vinaigrette. Mmm... I'm just making myself hungry thinking about it! And since everyone else was drinking wine, I asked the bartender to make me something fruity (no peach) and alcohol free. I'm not exactly sure what I got, but it was a pomegranate something or other. Also very yummy!

Anyway, I basically left home at 10am on Saturday, and didn't get home until midnight. It was a very long day, and it made Sunday even harder! We got up and went to church (at this point, if we don't show up, people will assume I'm in the hospital and we don't want any rumours floating around!). After that, I headed over to Coach Kathy's house for my running group shower!! Talk about knowing how to throw a party... Chicken Cordon-Blue, stuffed mushrooms, cake, pie, more cake, punch. The food was all incredible! It was so nice to just sit around and catch up on every one's recent and upcoming races!! It sounds like everyone is doing so well with their training! And then, of course, the gifts... that part is always fun too! I don't have pictures yet from that shower but I'm working on it. It's nice to have such awesome friends! I do love all of my gifts, but I have to send a special shout-out to Lisa and Chrissy and for giving me a gift for me and not so much for the baby - they are treating me to a spa treatment of my choice after the baby comes. I thought it was very sweet and thoughtful! My guess it that I will use it for a massage after my first attempt back at running - I have a feeling I'm gonna need it!

The rest of the week has been pretty normal. I'm just feeling more tired than I have been, so by the time I get home from work, I'm ready for dinner, a nap, and then off to bed. Yesterday, I had an appointment with my doctor and she confirmed that things are starting to progress. I have started dilating, and I'm almost at 2cm, and she can feel the baby's head. Now I understand why I have to pee every time I stand up! My weight gain is up to 157. Not too happy about that, but as long as the baby and I are both healthy, I'm not going to stress about it. I know it will come off pretty easily, so it's okay! She is a little concerned though, because my blood pressure is a little higher than it has been. Still in the "normal" range as far as that goes - 122/68, but higher than usual. The blood pressure, combined with the swelling that I've having, are early warning signs of pre-eclampsia. I haven't actually been diagnosed yet, but she wants to keep an eye on it, so I'm going back Monday for a blood pressure check. I guess that is, assuming I make it to Monday! Since we're expecting a big snowstorm this weekend, and Randy's birthday is this weekend, it would be our luck to end up in the hospital! We're hoping he/she holds off until April 2, which was Randy's grandma's b-day (and she lived to be 96!). But we'll take whatever we get and just be thankful for a healthy baby!

Okay, now that I've written a short novel, I should probably get off here. If anything happens, I'll keep y'all updated! For now, I'm just resting as much as can, and taking it easy. But I'm ready to get this pregnancy thing over with and meet my baby!!

Nursery Photos!!!!!!!!!!

I know you've all been on pins and needles waiting for this moment... I finally have pictures of the baby's nursery! Okay, technically I had them a few days ago and have already posted them on my facebook, but I haven't had a chance to do a new blog until now. So without further ado...

Valance - I need a different curtain rod. You can't see it very well in this picture, but this one sags in the middle.

Quilt

See... I told you it sags!

Rug - I love the little whale!!

The cute little rocking chair to left was mine when I was little. Maybe it will bring Randy some "girl" luck!

That's it for now. I have 2 showers this weekend, so I'm sure I'll have lots of pics (and hopefully lots of fun stuff) to share next week! Have a good weekend!!

I Should Have Known!!

If you'll try to remember way back to Christmas, when Randy and I went to Dallas and stayed with his aunt and uncle... (or you can read this post). This is the same family that sent us the Boppy and 2 covers yesterday. So it's pretty safe to say that I'm not surprised that these are the 2 covers they sent...




They are too cute! If I hadn't been so tired, I would have washed them and put the Safari (jungle looking) one on the Boppy last night. The Zoo (blue) one is reversible, which is so fun! I just love getting gifts for the baby!! It's so much fun!!

LOST is on tonight, so I'm not sure if we'll get the curtains up, but we'll see. I'd like to, since I feel like I'm starting to run out of time. Not to mention that I'm in for quite a hectic weekend, with my friend Tiffany's shower, 2 showers of my own, and a birthday dinner for Randy and his dad, but hopefully staying busy will keep my mind off the fact that I'm just so tired of waiting! 25 days.... I can make it... Really...