first post of 2012
happy new year! i’ve been enjoying my last day of vacation so i apologize for the lack of posts during the holidays… we had a flurry of activity here between christmas and new years, and like i said – today is my last day of peace and quiet before going back to work… i celebrated by going to IKEA this morning and then i FINALLY ordered all of deck’s photos for his 1st year album (kinda late, huh)… i really need to come up with a better system, like maybe assemble them every quarter because it’s quite time-consuming… ugh…
anyhoo, we had a wonderful holiday and enjoyed having deck all to ourselves for the week… he is getting busier and busier by the day, and just tears around the house like a maniac… we have to keep all the bathroom doors closed or he will either (1) play in the toilet, (2) get into the trashcan, or (3) all the above… he’s also been enjoying throwing things down the stairs and vegging out on his bean bag… we didn’t go overboard for presents and even though he got some really great toys – his favorite thing is a wrapping paper tube! oy vey! his best present was a wooden motorcycle rocker from my sister (which also came with a baby harley davidson helmet, vest, jacket, etc.)… so damn cute!
i finally got word from the elliptical company and it will be delivered on saturday! we totally have room in the basement, but i really want to get rid of the bowflex first and what a beast that is! ugh…
well, i hope everyone had a wonderful christmas and new years… here’s to a happy and healthy 2012!
twas the night before christmas…
deck sporting his christmas jammies…
santa brought me an alien doll (my favorite movie)…
santa brought eric a steeler’s jersey…
deck all dressed up for church…
check out my ride, baby…
my boys hanging out in front of the fire…
santa baby
friday’s trip to meet santa well really well – deck didn’t cry, scream, or jump of his lap, so it was a total success! two benefits of going on a weekday is (1) only having to wait 5-minutes and (2) finding a parking space! whoo hoo carrots! if we hadn’t rushed out of there, to beat rush-hour traffic, i would’ve stayed to do some window shopping (or real shopping esp. at crate & barrel)…
the rest of the weekend was pretty normal – on saturday, the boys got their haircut and on sunday, we visited with my mom and helped her w/a few things around the house… i also did some grocery shopping, laundry, and unpacked our books in the basement so the spare bedroom is almost empty… we also decided that the bowflex exercise machine that the previous owner gifted us, is going unused and honestly – i don’t see myself ever using it… so, i think we’re going to get rid of it and buy an elliptical – that way, we’ll both be able to workout at the same time and it will be something i know i will use (esp. this winter)… the gym in my building here is STILL under reconstruction, who knows when it will reopen, and i’m definitely not getting any skinnier…
this week should be pretty quiet here, at least after wednesday when all the work i have will be done for the year… my boss is out and then i’m off until january 4 – can’t wait…
happy monday…
deck waiting to see santa…
deck with santa (my camera)…
deck with santa (the official photo)…
my new, homemade chalkboard in the kitchen…
thursday is the new friday
my in-laws are coming to stay w/us this weekend, as they make their way to florida (the auto train leaves from VA)… this will be the first time they have stayed w/us, for various reasons, and i’m thankful that the house is wheelchair friendly so eric’s dad should get around just fine… i ordered an air-mattress and that’s what we’ll be sleeping on in the spare bedroom since they will be in our room – fingers-crossed that it doesn’t leak (my worst fear)… we don’t have much planned besides the women going on a holiday house tour saturday and then perhaps having eric’s brother and family over… i feel like i have a million things to do between now and tomorrow – grocery shopping, finish decorating, cleaning, etc. etc – and will do what i can and not stress if things aren’t perfect…
we put the tree up this past weekend and i finished putting the 850 lights on tuesday – now it just needs ornaments and that project will be done… i still have the mantle and above to decorate, and was pleased with the personalized stockings that i received from landsend yesterday (need to find simple stocking hooks – any suggestions?)… i’ve done a bit more shopping and am now compiling a list for eric’s nieces and nephews (amazon rocks!)… on monday, my mom and i will be making our annual christmas shopping trip – not sure where, but we’ll wear our santa caps like usual and have fun…
hope everyone is having a good week and i’ll check-in again soon…
happy thursday…
doesn’t feel like christmas
hope everyone had a nice thanksgiving – we survived yet another weakland holiday in state college (62 people this year) and deck got to meet some more aunts, uncles, and cousins… he did pretty good overall, but was wired and excited about being in a hotel room so his napping/sleeping was off… he’s all about checking things out and not standing still – which is why our attempt at going to church didn’t pan out and we spent the service in the children’s area (sound proof)… there was plenty of food to be had later on, but the downfall of not being the one cooking is not having any leftovers for samiches or soup… it was nice spending time with eric’s family, especially his parents since we don’t see them as often as we’d like, and deck enjoyed showing-off his scooter skills in their room… we headed back on friday morning and were home by 1:00… it’s always nice to be in your own place again and back in a normal routine…
our weekend was pretty low-key and full of the usual stuff… eric helped me get down all my christmas bins on sunday (too many to count) and we went to my mom’s to get our live tree that my BIL had dropped off on friday… it’s a beautiful fraiser fir and smells wonderful – can’t wait to put it up… since eric’s parents are staying with us in 2 weeks, i need to get my butt in gear this weekend and decorate! the only thing i’ve done so far is put up a small tree in our kitchen and then one in deck’s room, though it’s distracting when he goes to sleep so i have to unplug it (bah!)…
speaking of deck, i caught him trying to put his leg on the railing sunday night so i called eric and we lowered his mattress… the little stinker is all about climbing things and i guess that’s just him being a boy and more mobile, but wow – that was pretty weird to see… my little baby isn’t so much a baby anymore… i’ve done some christmas shopping, but not very much and have a lot more to do… i did buy us some very nice, monogrammed stockings today on landsend.com and being that we have a fireplace and a mantle – i’m all about traditions… neither eric or i really need anything, so we may do a big gift like a new tv or something… we’ll see…
happy tuesday…
favorite thing from the fridge…
sunday morning breakfast at the diner…
has it been that long?
geesh, eric was right – i haven’t updated this blog in quite some time! “why do i bother?” i often ask myself … i guess i’m just not ready to give it up quite yet… anyhoo, it’s been a hellish week at work and a busy few weeks at home… my boss was out sick mon, tues, weds so i had to step-up and take care of her things, plus handle what was already on my plate… then the temp called-in sick today, so i’ve had to handle her projects as well… AND since i’m complaining (which is totally allowed since this is my blog), i have yet to receive a proper “thank-you” for the annual report… so yea, that’s what i’ve been dealing with here…
we’ve been doing a lot of stuff around the house lately and poor eric has been raking the heck out of leaves (and there’s no end in sight!)… the new kitchen cabinets and counter are all done (will post pics later) – i’m very happy with the choice we made and it looks awesome! i also decided to paint the kitchen last weekend – since i had off on friday, i wanted to be productive and spent the next 3 days climbing a ladder and standing on a stool… i have some touching-up to do on saturday, but that’s it and then it’s on to another room…
deck turns 13-months today (what???) – he is doing so well with everything and continues to amaze us every, single day… he did great with his 1-year shots and is in the 75th and 85th percentiles for weight and height… he has almost 6 teeth now, got his 1st big-boy haircut, walks like a champ, brushes his teeth, and is going to bed w/out a bottle or cup of milk… the doc said that all meals should be done in the kitchen now and that he should be off bottles and onto cups by the time he’s 15-mos… she also stressed how important it was for him to eat with us at meals, which is what we’ve always done, regardless of what stage he was at… and he pretty much eats everything that we do (for the most part), and still loves his applesauce and yogurt (and crackers)… he’s also showing great interest in the cats now and the smallest of the three, tyler, has even allowed deck to lay on him… it doesn’t last long, mind you, but it’s very sweet and warms my heart… there’s nothing more that i could want, is a kid that loves animals as much as we do…
thanksgiving is next week (how did that happen???) and we’re heading to state college for eric’s huge family celebration… it should be interesting considering all the penn state allegations that are going on right now – all the sports stations here keep talking about it (and the sucky redskins)… since we didn’t go last year, i’m really looking forward to going and having everyone meet deck… should be fun!
and for christmas, the only plans we have is hosting the family dinner on the 26th… and eric’s parents will be staying with us for a few days on their way down to florida… this is the first time that they’ve stayed with us and seen the new house, so that too will be exciting…
hope you’re having a good week! happy thursday!
365 days gone like that
happy new year’s eve, everyone… and merry belated christmas… it’s been a great holiday with the little one and i’m looking forward to 2011 and all that it brings… we have decided to stay in this evening and have plans of ordering dinner thru takeout taxi and watching paranormal activity… we also may try putting deck in the crib (overnight) and i’m trying my best not to think about it since him leaving our bed makes me very sad… it’s been such a joy lately watching him discover his hands, coo, and stick-out his tongue when we go to bed – i will miss his cute little face that’s for sure, but i know it’s time… he starts going to daycare in 11 days!!! 
christmas was good – we attempted the candlelight church service and deck was good for the most part, but he had his fussy parts so we took turns walking around (i think he enjoyed the music though)… on christmas morning, we had a quiet few hours here opening presents and hanging out before heading to my mom’s for dinner… eric got me a new camera – the nikon coolpix s8100 – which is the one in that commercial with ashton kutcher… i haven’t used all the settings yet, but it’s fantastic in low-light and the continuous shooting is pretty cool… it can also shoot video in HD so i’m pretty excited… deck got me a necklace with his name and birthdate and i plan on wearing it everyday… eric loved the print i had framed for him and we’ll be hanging it in the LR as soon as i take down all the decorations… 
on sunday – my brother hosted the family christmas dinner so we headed to PA and spent the afternoon with my mom, my sister’s family, and my brother’s daughter and husband… deck got a lot of clothes, books, and this dog named scout that can be programed to play music, games, and read to him… it started to snow in the evening so we headed home and then hosted my nieces here since we were going shopping the following day… that was a fiasco, that’s all i have to say – there’s was a lot of miscommunication between where to meet and when… i had to feed deck in the nordstrom’s ladies room, and then couldn’t find my mom & sister because my nieces had her cellphone… ugh! when i finally found them – my mom said she had lost her purse in macy’s for a time but thankfully, someone had turned it in and nothing was missing (thank god!)… it was a long day, that’s for sure, and we were happy to get home and resume our normal schedule…
this past week went by pretty quickly and i only have 1 more left before going back to work… i can’t believe it’s gone by this fast and here i thought i would have nothing to do and be bored out of my mind… granted, i’ve had the holidays to keep me busy but really – i didn’t do anything over what i normally do (though i didn’t bake any cookies)… i did go to the foot doctor yesterday and talked to him about surgery #2 on my foot – it’s been okay but during the last month or so, it’s started to hurt pretty bad and i know the other tumor needs to come out… when, i’m not sure and will have to talk to my boss about being out another week sometime in february… they took molds of my feet for some orthodics and he said this should help relieve pressure on the bottom of my foot (esp. since i have high arches) – they should come in around 3 weeks…
today, we have lunch plans with my friend and then we need to find some dress pants for eric since he has an interview on monday… and we both decided that we need to hunker down and lose weight in 2011, so i’ll probably do weight watchers again… i thought about nutrisystem since they upgraded their food, but it’s not recommended for women that are breastfeeding…
i hope you all have a wonderful new year’s and i’ll talk to you next year!
2010
santa is coming
merry christmas eve! i can’t believe christmas is tomorrow… even though i’ve been home during the holidays, i’m not sure how much i’ve been able to take-in since i’ve been preoccupied with deck… eric is on his way back from pittsburgh and i’ll be thrilled when he gets home… his mom’s surgery went really well – they were able to repair both valves so things are looking good right now… she’ll be in the hospital for another week or so and then will go to the nursing home to recover along w/his dad who’s staying there… though deck and i have been alone, i’m glad eric was able to take the time to be w/his family at such a stressful and scary time… thanks for all the thoughts and prayers…
deck had his 2-month check-up on monday – he’s up to 9lb 2oz but is still on the low end of the weight range (5%)… she said that was nothing to worry about since he’s still gaining, but it worries me that he’s still so small… i told eric that i want to do a ‘test’ feeding and while he gives deck a bottle – i’ll pump and see how much i’m actually producing (roughly anyway)… deck has been doing this thing where he’ll be eating for a bit, and then stop and just smile and make faces… he won’t eat anymore regardless if i burp him or swap sides several times… he did this yesterday and i finally gave up, put him down, pumped for a bit, and then gave him what little i got plus some formula because i KNEW he wasn’t full… eric is quick to blame the pump and says we may need a more powerful machine, but that still doesn’t help me when i’m nursing… fact of the matter is, i don’t want deck to go hungry…
tonight we will attempt the 10:00 candlelight service with deck – not sure how it will go, but if i feed him really well beforehand, he might sleep or at least be happy for most of the service… tomorrow, eric and i will be here and then will head to my mom’s for dinner and then on sunday, we’ll head to my brothers to see everyone else… my nieces will be coming home with us and depending on the weather (supposed to snow), we may go shopping on monday… if it’s cold and yucky, i’d rather not go anywhere and just stay in my jammies all day…
well, i better get off here since it’s almost time to feed again… i hope you all have a very, merry christmas and best wishes to you and your family…
growing like a weed
so much for keeping this blog up-to-date… the past week has been a blur with the holiday and all, and now we believe deck is going thru a growth spurt so evenings are rougher than usual and i’m feeding him constantly (or so it seems)… he appears to be okay during the day but as soon as 6:00 comes – he’s a different baby… i hope it passes soon because it’s taking quite the toll on me emotionally and physically…
thanksgiving was good – we went to my sister’s in western maryland and spent the day w/them, my brother, and my mom… deck was out of sorts for much of the day – he made the 3-hour drive w/out waking up but as soon as we got there, all hell broke loose and he was a mess for the rest of the day… i had to hold him while eating so i don’t remember much of the actual meal… on the following day, we headed to pittsburgh where he was a little better but still out of sorts – poor guy, so many new surroundings and people… we also had him sleep in this portable bed type thing and i didn’t like the fact that he was on the floor and not between us like at home… people kept saying that he won’t know where he is, but i did… unfortunately, the drive home from there is longer (4+ hours), we had to stop so i could do a diaper change and nurse… guess i’m not the only person who’s done that in the parking lot of a gas station… we came back saturday night to beat the sunday traffic and had the next day to just chill-out and relax…
this week has also been busy with doctor’s appointments – i had my 6-week OB checkup and he said everything looked good and that i can resume all pre-pregnancy activities (which have yet to happen because of the fussy baby)… i would LOVE to start exercising but can’t w/the way things are going right now – hopefully next week will be better… i can’t even think about starting WW again plus i heard there’s a new plan so i’ll have to do some research… i also went to the endocrinologist and was given the go-ahead to stop my daily lovenox shots – yay! so no more of those for me until we get pregnant again (if and when)… i also went to two different Targets to find a 3′ tree, 2 grocery stores, and a dollar store… poor deck, good thing he likes his car seat…
tomorrow, eric’s office is throwing us a baby shower so i’ll have to drive in to his office – hope i can deck and myself out of the door in time… i’ve been able to work around his eating schedule pretty well this week, but the way things are going right now – it’s anyone’s guess how it will go… not much i can do at this point besides give him the boob and be patient…
and ontop of all this – i’ve been trying to decorate for xmas and it’s not going well… i am so used to getting things out and getting everything done in a matter of a day or so, but the dining room has been a mess for days and i’m still only half done… i have to do things while deck’s sleeping and if i’m lucky, that’s about 2 hours during the day at this point… i keep wondering why i’m bothering this year, but damnit – it’s decks first xmas and i refuse to do things half-assed (it’s bad enough that we’re not getting a real tree)… i’ve tried using the sling too and he’s not liking it for some reason – maybe i’m doing it wrong but he seems really crammed in there…
sorry for all the debbie-downer stuff – its just been a rough few days… hope you had a nice holiday and here’s some pictures from our family visits… enjoy!
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