5 Things Friday

1.  I apologize for the blog silence this week.  I was hit early this week with what I am about 95% sure was Norovirus.  At least that is was Dr. Google and my mother have both diagnosed me with and I have to say I really don't care what you call it, it sucked.  I am crossing all my fingers and toys that Phil and Henry do not contract the stomach virusthatshallnotbenamed because I wouldn't wish that on anyone.

It has, however, been an excellent diet (if you call gastrointestinal problems and having zero appetite a diet).  I magically lost 7 pounds this week.  I'm aware a good portion of this is from dehydration, but it is still crazy.

The side effect of dehydration has been another big concern since my milk-supply was already suffering.  I figured it would be the death of nursing, but we seem to be doing alright.  I don't know if my supply will fully recover.  We only have 8 weeks left to his first birthday and several freezer bags so hopefully we can make it.  If not, a little formula really doesn't bother me at this point.


2.  Phil and I decided recently to start getting more serious about house hunting.  After looking and looking and looking at houses online, I have decided that the process is... depressing.  I don't want to be house poor.  I don't want to buy too small or too big.  I don't want to buy in the wrong area.  We need a backyard.  Am I willing to compromise on anything?  I could care less about granite countertops or nice wood floors, so I really don't want to pay top dollar for those things.  Maybe it would be a better decision for us to just build one?

This isn't a short term decision and I'm nervous about making a rash decision because it's a good market and I am TIRED of living where we do (we have lived here since before we get married).

Currently, we are in the process of getting pre-qualified, which has been a little annoying as well.  I'm doing my best to stay positive about the whole thing and know that these are total first world problems.


3.  We got Henry a walker and he is now CRUISING.  He think it is hilarious to chase Cotton around with it.  And while some might think letting the baby chase the dog around is torture for the dog, I think it has only solidified Cotton's love for Henry.

4.  Speaking of Cotton... I'm not even sure how to start this one.  It really needs it own post.  As I have mentioned before, when we first got cotton, but breeders were extremely excited about him and his potential as a show dog.  They were even more excited when we said we would be willing to show him.  So now we have a show dog.  Well, show dogs must be trained and I am WAY too cheap to pay for a professional handler.  That means we get to train him.

We entered him in a few shows and did some light training before I found out I was pregnant.  He did 2 more shows at the beginning of my pregnancy (I think I was about 5 months pregnant at the last show we did) and then I just didn't like running around in the show ring anymore.  Plus, he still had his "puppy" body and really didn't stand a chance at winning for at least another year.

Cue a year later.  There is a dog show not that far from us that both breeders will be at and we decided to go ahead and jump back into showing.

In a very nice conversation with Phil, one of the breeders (very kindly) stated that my inexperience in handling could possibly hold Cotton back from winning (more or less).

I'm not offended.  Both breeders have like 20-30 years of experience showing dogs.  I have like 30 seconds worth of experience.  But the mom-guilt started to kick in.

I don't want to hold him back!!

I am nothing if not an excellent student, so I decided I would do some research.  And that when I found this:

Now... watching the video one might think it was filmed in the late 1980's.  It was not.  2012.  And I'm a little curious about the fact that this lady has a "show".  I also loved her enthusiastic smile.

5.  My baby isn't as much of a baby anymore... he no longer sleeps in a crib at daycare.  :(  They have officially moved him out of the crib and onto the big kid cot for his nap.  I thought I was doing pretty well with him getting so big and this year flying by, but this naptime development kicked in my nostalgia.  He'll be off to college before I know it!

{We still use the crib at home}

I have no idea why the two pictures in the post are different sizes, since they were both taken on iPhones.  One of life's great mysteries, I guess.

Wish us luck!  Cotton is in a show on Saturday.  Hopefully I won't be holding him back.  :)

5 Things Friday

Let's just drive right in, shall we?



1.  Because of Spring Break, Henry's daycare schedule is a little different.  I was so confused as to what day it was yesterday.  I could have sworn all day it was actually Friday (don't you just hate that?  Cruelest of jokes).  So if I actually manage to get to work on time today, it will be total evidence of mind over matter.  I'm pretty sure even Henry was confused.  He gave me a look as we pulled into daycare like, "Um... this isn't normal."  Glad to see we are raising a flexible human being.



2.  This last weekend, Henry was so grumpy that we were convinced he either had an ear infection or would be FINALLY getting a tooth.  We waited with baited breath and the pediatrician's phone number at the ready all weekend.  Sunday evening, after basically coming to terms with the fact that he most likely had an ear infection, I decided to feel his gums and he has a tooth!!!  He won't let us look in his mouth and it has barely popped through, but it is definitely there.  And I am hoping so hard that his biting phase has really truly passed.



3.  My mom and dad gave me some birthday gifts this last weekend.  One of the things I had asked for was the book Burial Rites, so I was very excited when I opened this:

Notice anything strange about the book, though?

My mom explained that somehow she accidentally ordered the LARGE PRINT version.

It looks like a children's chapter book.

Just thinking about it makes me laugh.

It's not a big deal.  If anything, it is going to make me feel like a super fast reader.  I like a little delusional confidence booster.



4.  Taylor officially photo-bombed.

5.  Phil is an absolute jack-pot of a husband.  Seriously... the guy is amazing.  One of the MANY attributes that make him so wonderful is that he pretty much lets me watch whatever I want on TV.  He draws the line at some reality television, but that's about it.  I try my hardest to let him watch what he wants to watch when it is something he really cares about.  It is kind of the least I can do.  Cue March Madness.  In an effort to even a little about college basketball, Phil and i filled out a bracket for my office pool.  We spent about an hour filling it out Wednesday night and what did I do?  Forgot to take it to work.

No big deal, I thought.  I filled it out in blue pen.  It's not like I really care enough to cheat anyway.  Do you think that was good enough for my coworkers?

Nope.

They wanted Phil to text a picture of the bracket to the office.

Phil obliged.  But that wasn't good enough either.  They wanted me to print off the picture and use that as my bracket.

Whatever.

We ended up picked Florida and Arizona as our final 2, which is SUPER groundbreaking.  Obvious gamblers, right here.

Baby Giraffes

Ah... Monday morning.  I'm preparing myself for a busy couple of weeks.  It's about Spring Break time, which means lots of people at the office are out of town.  This gives me a perfect opportunity to not go out of town and spread my little engineer wings.  When people call in and find that half of the office is unavailable, they will be directed to me.  I am sure they will be thrilled.

In preparation for some busy time at the office, I wanted to make sure our house was spic and span.  Okay that is an exaggeration.  But I did get the house un-messy and manage to wash, fold, AND PUT AWAY all of our laundry.  That hasn't happened since... I can't remember.  I usually get the wash and fold part done, but not the putting it away part.  Other crazy things happened as well, like cleaning out the fridge, washing bottles, and filing paperwork.

What can I say?  I am cray-zay.

We did manage to slip in a little fun.

Since the weather was actually nice and not threatening rain, we took Henry up to the zoo.  This wasn't his first time at the zoo, since we did go for Zoo Lights.  However, it was his first time in the daylight.  And with slightly fewer annoying people.  He did a little more people watching than animal watching but I think he had a good time.  Some of the zoo highlights included seeing a sea otter service himself and having a grown man shove past me as I was trying to get Henry and I away from the window looking at the lion cubs.

Have I mentioned I dislike large groups of people?

One of the best parts of the zoo, however, happened when we were over at the gazelle area.  There were probably 5 gazelles, roaming.  One was standing on a tree, trying to reach some leaves.  All around the area were signs talking about the gazelles.  How the gazelles stand on trees.  What the gazelles eat.  Gazelles.  Gazelles.  Gazelles.

And then a woman walks up and says, "Look kids!  A baby giraffe!!"

...

Nope.

But I know a certain someone who had fun:

Seriously... It is almost painful to look at him sometimes, he is so cute.

5 Things Friday

Another fantastic Friday is here and I am GLAD.  The time change has really kicked my youknowwhat and I am in need of some rest.  Of course, naturally, I have accidentally jam packed our weekend, so rest might be a tad difficult.  But we will do what we can, I suppose.

In contemplating this week's list, I thought about listing all the embarrassing things I did this week.  Like when I walked into a crowd divider at the pool last Sunday.  Or when I was walking to a luncheon with a colleague and my purse came apart, falling to the ground.  Or when I used a piece of equipment at the gym improperly in front of a BUNCH of people.  But I'm not going to.  Because I am going to pretend like those things didn't happen.  So you get this instead...



1.  Our house is bad.  It's not dirty, per se.  Messy might be a better way to describe it.  It just has stuff everywhere.  Everywhere might be an exaggeration.  The table and the stairs.  I guess the clutter doesn't bother Phil as much as it does me.  I need to find some time this weekend to do a little filing, hang up some clothes, do and fold laundry.  I see my rest disappearing.



2.  You know who else the time change has been hard on?  This guy...

He's adjusted pretty well except that one of his naps has gotten REALLY short.  So short that daycare is thinking he doesn't need it anymore.  Since it is a race to get him fed at night before he gets so tired that he just smears food all over his face, I'm going to go out on a limb and say he DOES need a second nap.



3.  I've had some really strange stuff going on with my milk supply this week.  I went from pumping 16-18 oz per day last week, to nursing and pumping over the weekend, to getting 10 oz onMonday.  10!  That's less than 2/3 of what I need for a day for him.  I've struggled with my supply enough in the last few months that I had just resigned myself to the fact that I wouldn't make it to a year nursing him.  At the very least, I would need to start supplementing.

I spent most of Tuesday drinking as much water as I could and eating A LOT.  My supply shot back up to almost 15 oz.  And then yesterday, I got 18 oz again.

I have no idea what is going on.  But I guess I will go with it and just keep trying to drink my body weight in water.  I had ordered some of Mrs. Patel's Chocolate Fenugreek bars to try and help boost my supply back up.  They just came in the mail and I am REALLY hoping they will do the trick.  I only have a little over 2 months to go!



4.  Not that I need to turn this post into a virtual To-Do list, but I need to spend some serious time on my blog design.  Phil and I have been married about 4 years and there isn't a mention of Henry in the "About" section of the blog.  If only I could decide what I wanted it to look like...



5.  I know the Girl Scouts have been out selling cookies, but I have yet to be harassed coming out of the grocery store to buy any.  And ironically, this was the year I was going to do it.  I was in the mood for a box of thin mints and decided I would purchase some the next time I went to the grocery store since there are always some parked outside the front door.  But you know what... I haven't seen a single one.  How is that even possible?

Maybe the grocery store kicked them to the curb?  That seems pretty harsh though.  I mean... they are Girl Scouts.  How could you tell a Girl Scout she needed to sell cookies somewhere else?  I guess then maybe she could get her merit badge in "rejection".

Or maybe there just aren't Girl Scouts in my area anymore.  But it seems strange that there would be NO Girl Scouts.  Where have all the Girl Scouts gone?



I will leave you with that gem to ponder.  And I want cookies.

A picture post by Henry

What am I supposed to do with this?

I guess I'll put it in my mouth...

Oh my!  This has food in it!!

Yummy

searching

It's fairly interesting to see what types of things draw traffic to this little blog.  

Normally, the search traffic is fairly predictable.  

A lot of "Adventures of Mrs. Janney" or some similar form.  

A LOT of "DIY Chalkboard" or "framed chalkboard".  I know exactly where that came from.  

And I used to get a lot of traffic from people searching "Dolphin Tale".  Not so much anymore.

But this week, the keyword search was a little different.

Um...

I'm not so sure this week.

Let's go through this, shall we?

1.  i keep catching him texting her quotes.

I have no idea what from my blog came up from this search.  You know what is even worse?  There was more than 1 search under these keywords.  And now I have a few questions.  What kind of quotes?  Like movie quotes?  Philosophical quotes?  Does she respond with quotes?  Are the quotes code for something?  If not and they are inside jokes, that is most likely a problem.  Anyway, hopefully whoever searched that found something they were looking for.

2.  don't overthinking quotes

More quotes.  This search isn't even correct english, but that's semantics I guess.  I shouldn't criticize someone else's english skills since most of the time I don't even write in complete sentences.  Word.  I have a general idea why the blog popped up when they searched this.  My earlier posts, especially during my cancer days had A LOT of focus on not overthinking.  My cancer might be gone, but it is a daily struggle for me to not overthink things.  My mind likes to follow along worst case scenarios and jump about five steps ahead.  I'm still working on it.

3.  low iodine diet blog

This is obvious.  A kind of wish I had written in a little more detail about what I was eating while I was one my low iodine diet both times.  It would have been INSANELY boring for most of the people who read, but also very helpful for anyone searching for food ideas.  I still am baffled by people who voluntarily go on crazy diets since the low-iodine diet was mandatory and also a small slice of HELL.

4.  $. E. x in the kitchen

Yeah I really don't know how my blog popped up on this one.  I'm a little curious to search it myself and see, but also TERRIFIED of what will pop up if I were to do that.  I don't think my eyes could take it.  But I know for a fact that whoever did this search and stumbled onto this blog was VERY disappointed and I'm sure promptly clicked "BACK" for something else.  Moving on.

5.  why do hippies like rock climbing?

You know, I have asked myself this question several times.  I have no idea.  If someone finds out, let me know because I am also curious.  I'm guessing that conservatives don't like rock climbing because it is harder to conceal your weapon in the harness.  That was a joke.

By far, that was the most unique set of search keywords I have seen for the blog yet.  I'm sure more gems will pop up in the future.  Hopefully that aren't like number 4.  I may have to be careful what I post if that is the case.

5 Things Friday

Wow this week went by fast.  Is it just me?  Personally, I am thankful for another week gone by with a healthy little boy.  It seems like daycare has him in a perpetual state of sickness, so every day that he doesn't have a runny nose needs to be celebrated.  That kid will have an immune system of steel by the time he hits elementary school!

Let's get to the goods, shall we?


1.  I got an e-mail the other day that my blog was featured on parenting.com!!  And Henry is even the first picture that pops up!  I was surprised and pretty excited.  I mean, how cool is that?!  And then I started looking at some of the other blogs they have featured and I was really excited.  These are some big blogs, with lots of followers, and some great posts.

I'm trying to downplay just HOW excited I was because it's a little embarrassing that I get so excited about things related to my blog.  What can I say?  It's the little things I guess.


2.  Re-reading the post that parenting.com featured helped remind me that I need to keep the work/home balance constantly in the forefront of my mind.  Things are picking up at work and things are picking up with Phil's dissertation.  I need to make a constant effort to keep things in check.  I am really hoping to take the weekend and evenings from now on to really tune into my family and then re-charge so my days can be spent working my tail off.  The more I can get done during the day, the more time I can spend focusing on my guys.


3.  Speaking of my guys...  Look at this guy:

Does he not looks SO MUCH like Phil in this picture?!  I think he does.


4.  I took our car in to get serviced this week and when I picked the car up, the service guy told me everything looked fine, but there was evidence of rodent damage.

What the WHAT?!?

Rodent damage?  My skin crawls just thinking about he.

He then went on to explain that rodent damage was pretty common if you lived in the country.

We don't live in the country.  Complete and total suburbia right here.  In fact, we live next to an apartment complex and there are like 8 million cats in out neighborhood.  Recently, Phil and I think that the neighborhood cats have decided that our front porch is the new location of cat fight club.  There seems to be at least one cat fight on our porch a night.

When I told the service guy this, he said, "Well then.  Rodents should be rare."

Once I really thought about it, it kind of makes sense that the cats are gathering on our front porch.  Apparently my car is a collection point for rodents.

Gross.


5.  This was the first week in a while that I felt like I had things kind of in control.  For the most part, we got places on time.  I made dinner.  We had some clean clothes.  I even got to the gym a few times.  We did alright.  Was the laundry completely done?  No.  Is the house spic and span?  No.  But it was nice to feel like we have things under control.  I hope I didn't just jinx myself.



That's my list for this week.  Hope everyone has a great weekend.  Henry and I are going swimming together for the first time.  I think he will LOVE IT!

Baby Weight

DISCLAIMER:  I have had various versions of this post written for MONTHS, but have been afraid to post it.  And that seems silly.  So I am doing it.  Because some of us gain more than the recommended 25 lbs during pregnancy, no matter how healthy we eat.  And that's ok.

I'm a fairly healthy person.

Phil and I worked out like crazy before our wedding.  We were both in pretty darn good shape.  And it wasn't just about working out.  We were pretty deliberate about what we ate as well.  We are talking fruits and veggies, quinoa, brown rice, chicken breasts, etc.

Sure we both gained a little weight after the wedding.  "Happy weight" as my mom likes to call it.  I blame all the fantastic cookbooks I received.  :)  But it still wasn't too bad.

And then when I went through the thyroid cancer stuff, I figured my weight would most definitely go up.  I guess it is fairly common for women to gain weight through thyroid fluctuations.  So I was pretty proud of myself when I went through the whole treatment process (which took over a year) and managed to not gain much weight.  Maybe 5 pounds.

Then I got pregnant.  And it didn't matter what I ate, I gained weight.  A pound a week for a while.  I got the lectures from my doctor.  And the warnings that it was important to try and lose the weight before Henry's 1st birthday.  At the end when it would be 5 pounds one week, then nothing the next week, followed by 5 pounds the next week.  My doctor wasn't too concerned at the end.  She saw how swollen I was and told me women with thyroid diseases tend to gain a lot of water weight.

Phil kept track of my weight for me so that I wouldn't have to.  I was pretty happy in my ignorance not knowing.  I had a pretty good idea, but didn't need to know exact numbers.  But my labor nurse let the cat out of the bag when I was checking into the hospital.

About 59 pounds.

I seriously don't know how that happened.  I didn't eat that much.  I didn't eat a bunch of bad stuff.  I followed the Brewer diet.  Lots of fruits, veggies, yogurt, hard-boiled eggs, etc.  Even ask my co-worker.   I didn't pull a Jessica Simpson.  My body just packed it on.

{A few days before Henry's arrival.  Large and not in charge}

{photo by Annie Groves Photography}

Henry was only 8 lbs of that.  I mean, thank GOODNESS he wasn't any more.  I kind of wish he had only been like 7 lbs of that, but whatever.  :)

Everyone assured me it would come right off, but not necessarily right away.  So I held off getting on the scale.  Then my curiosity got the best of me.  I hopped on the scale, keeping my expectations SUPER low.  I held my breath and told myself I wasn't going to let whatever it said affect my mood.

I was pleasantly surprised when the scale showed I had already lost 30 pounds.

12 days post-delivery... 30 pounds down.

But those were the easy pounds.  It was mostly fluid.  The other 29 lbs were going to be the hard part.  And I was determined to lose every. last. pound.  I had to show my doctors that they didn't need to lecture me at every single appointment.  At the same time, I knew it took 9 months to put it on, it was going to take some time to come off.

I tried not to worry about it.  I wore maternity clothes for a couple more months.  And after that, I still wore things a size or two bigger than I needed to.

When everything started happening with Phil's dad and I was thrust into dealing with a dying relative, a grieving husband who went across the country every month, and taking care of an infant all by myself, I didn't eat a whole lot.  That plus breastfeeding and I was down to just 7 pounds left to lose when Henry was 6 months old.

That was right around when Ed passed away.  When I am stressed, I lose my appetite.  I lost another few pounds over Thanksgiving.

Then Henry got sick when we got home.  I lost a couple more pounds.

I started going to the gym at lunch and a couple more went away.

When Henry went into the hospital, I lost a few more.

And then I was sick and barely ate for like a week.  There went a couple more.

At this point, I've lost all my baby weight plus another 7 pounds.

66 lbs.

I suppose you could call it "diet" but it isn't something I would recommend.  Believe me.  Loss, stress, and breastfeeding will do wonders.

I guess my main point here is that if you are pregnant and gaining more than the "recommended" weight, don't stress about it.  It won't happen overnight, but it will come off.  Especially if you breastfeed.

I'm so jealous of women who get to be cute and pregnant.  I am most definitely not one of them.  I am hopeful that if I do get pregnant in the future, I will be able to keep the weight gain down a little.  Hopefully I won't need extreme stress to do it.

Give it up

Well, it's that time again.

Shrove Tuesday.  Fat Tuesday.  The day before Lent.  Pancake Day.  Call it what you will.

In case you are curious, I did a small recap about Shrove Tuesday HERE.

Because it is TRADITION to eat pancakes on Shrove Tuesday, and I am nothing if not traditional (says the female engineer wearing slippers at work), we will be dining on pancakes this evening.  I'm not totally sure how Phil feels about this tradition.  I mean, he likes pancakes.  But in the past, he has more or less just gone along with my fixation on Shrove Tuesday.

And it is kind of a fixation.  I look-up when it is every January and mark it on my calendar.  Can't miss a reason to eat pancakes for dinner, now can we?!

Anywho... I was driving to pick up Henry from daycare yesterday when I started thinking Lent and whether or not I would give something up this year.  I have kind of taken a PASS the last couple of years for Lent.  In 2012, I was on my crazy low-iodine diet during the end of Lent and decided that was sacrifice enough.  Then in 2013, I was uber pregnant and had given up all kinds of fun things like caffeine, alcohol, rolling over, trying (just kidding), so I took a pass again.

It's a good way to practice spiritual growth and sacrifice.  And it is kind of like having a lighter, shorter version of a New Year's Resolution.  Personal and spiritual growth.  I will probably go for it this year.

I don't really feel like giving up a food item.  Frankly, I'm enjoying my almost nightly muddy buddies a little too much.  I barely drink, so giving up alcohol is too easy.  My ONE cup of coffee a day is almost a necessity at this point, so for the good of the order I will not be giving that up.

That kind of left me with 2 choices:

1)  Give up shopping (necessities would be exempt)

2)  Give up the snooze alarm

Both are great choices for me.  Both are doing damage.

Ok... It is decided.  That's what I am doing.  Thank you, blog.  :)

Alright, I am off to do some last minute online shopping (while I can!) and to change my alarm to a more realistic time.  Is that cheating?  Or setting myself up for success?  I'm going with the latter.

{This picture has nothing to do with the post, but isn't he super cute?!  Look at the wrist roll!  His placemat is a Table Topper.  It sticks to the table and is disposable, so he doesn't have to eat off the questionably clean restaurant table}