How do you measure a year?

NOTE: Yes, I posted this on the evening of Dec 8, even though Ellie's birthday is tomorrow. I am unable to post from my work PC, so this will have to do. If you really want to be autentico about reading this on THE DAY, feel free to re-read it at 8:53pm Dec 9. :)

There's a song from the musical Rent that seems appropriate for this blog post. It's called "Seasons of Love" and it asks chiefly, how do you measure a year? It's a good question - especially for me and my husband...and for this year. It's been 12 months, 52 weeks, 365 days, however you want to measure it, since I gave birth to my daughter. But I want to measure this year in more meaningful terms. So, with all apologies to the late Jonathan Larson (he wrote the song), here goes:

Daylights, sunsets, midnights, and cups of coffee - Oh man, how the days seemed so long in the beginning. I felt at times that we would never make it this far. Ellie was not an easy newborn and I felt that I would surely never be able to rest or relax or enjoy a day ever again. One day bled into the next and into the next, and before I knew it, we had made it through the midnight feedings, soothings, and just crying together from exhaustion. I don't drink coffee, but I had my fair share of Diet Coke and strong black tea to help me through. :)

Inches, miles, laughter and strife - Growing was painful for us. All of us. At first, Ellie grew and gained so slowly, I was sure we'd get sent to the hospital as a FTT (Failure To Thrive) case. But we didn't...once we resolved ourselves not to fight the Lactation Battles, we started seeing a difference in Ellie's growth. Inches and pounds added up and now we have a big, happy, round baby to show for it. We laughed a lot this year, but we certainly had our share of trouble. Adjusting to life as new parents is full of challenges and hardship, but through it all we could look at our sweet, stubborn, darling girl and remember the best medicine of all: laughter.

Truths that we learned and times that we cried - We learned that parenting is not an exact science. All the books and advice in the world aren't substitutes for just doing it. You have to be willing to step up - and willing to cry - when things don't go the way you imagined. And you have to be strong enough to do what you have to do. Before the baby came, we didn't know what sort of person she would be. I don't think we truly understood the one basic truth of having a child: that child is her own person. And you have to adapt accordingly. And sometimes, dammit, you just have to cry - tears of joy or sorrow, frustration or triumph.

But above all, we can measure this year in love. 525,600 minutes of pure, sweet, unconditional love. And for that, Elliot Delaney, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Our world is so much better now that you are in it. And we can't wait for the next 525,600 minutes, baby girl. We love you.

Busy, busy...busy.

So the husband has been away for work again, this time it's a two-week trip to Prague. He comes home on Saturday and I'm stoked. Sure, it'll be nice to see his smiling face again but mostly I'm stoked because I need some help!

I've been trying to get all the stuff pulled together for Ellie's birthday party next month and it's really hard to do that when I don't have anyone else here to keep an eye on the soon-to-be birthday girl (oh, and working full-time doesn't help that either). She's into everything...she's even figured out how to climb the stairs. Now, you might wonder why we don't have a baby gate there. We have found out it's very, very difficult to find baby gates that can be modified to attach to a staircase with two bannisters, rather than those with one bannister and a wall. Ugh. But we need one. I am so scared of her tumbling down the stairs and onto the hardwood floor and hurting herself.

Anyway, it's not just the party planning and prep that is hard to do with Ellie and no help around. Everything else is harder too. And she is okay with her 'baby cage,' aka play yard, for a few minutes but it takes longer than a few minutes to clean bathrooms, or vaccum our house, or fix dinner, or...you get the idea. As soon as she's over being in there she is OVER.IT.FOR.REALSIES. and if you don't get her out, she starts screaming. Fun! I need my co-parent now before mah house falls apart.

So yeah, Ellie and I went back to Moscow last weekend (Boris stayed behind at doggie daycare and hung out with his canine pals) for the BSU-UI game. Not much of a game, really, but we had fun and Ellie did AWESOME on the drive over and back. I was dreading it, but she definitely surprised me with how well she did. I think it was a good idea on my part (MOMMY BRAG) to put her Alphabet Pal caterpillar in her carseat so she could jam out to the music it plays while we were on the road. I am learning...

It's hard to believe the year is almost over and our little baby is nearly a toddler! She's getting better at letting us help her walk and she'll try standing on her own for a few seconds. I do not over-encourage this b/c frankly, I am just not ready for her to walk. She's growing up so fast! But like she's prone to doing, Ellie will walk when she decides it's time so I guess I should just get over it and be prepared.

And that concludes this whirlwind of an update. Next up for us: Thanksgiving in the Lew and my friend Marsha's wedding!

I voted, so there.

I love voting. I especially love voting as an Oregonian. For six election cycles now I've had the luxury of voting by mail. It's the best!! You don't feel rushed, you don't have to stand in line at your local church/jr. high/whatever, and you can drop your vote off in a handy dropbox on your way to work.

I also am getting excited for the end of election season. Am I glad that the US House is likely to be a Republican majority again? No. But I am glad for the imminent end of the campaigning. I hate campaigning almost as much as I love voting. All the mailers, and radio ads, and teevee commercials...it's just too much, especially since most of the campaigns are so dang negative! I get really tired of that crap...I realize it must work on most people, since the candidates keep resorting to such garbage, but I hate it.

So rejoice, America! Today is election day, which means that for at least nine months or so, you don't have to worry about crappy negative political advertising and campaigning overloading your mailboxes and airwaves.

Get out and vote. All the cool kids are doing it.

BLOG POST

I'm Internet-shouting that, by the way. BLOG POST. I was implored - no, really - by two friends and my sister on Facebook to post something, anything here for their entertainment this week. Welllll, I didn't post on Monday b/c my weekend/early part of the week sucked giant balls. Ellie is teething, has gnarly diaper rash, AND a cold so sleep and happiness were in short supply until yesterday.

Guess what happened yesterday? Oh, the husband returned from his 12-day odyssey to Israel. Of course on the day he comes back, Miss Thang turns a corner and stops being a total sleepless crankball. Babies.

END BLOG POST.

Monday Musings, No. 2, Vol. 22

Dude. So, the husband left for Israel again (work trip, again) on Friday morning. I am officially On My Own with Ellie and I'm really tired. I love my child, but being a single parent is hard! Especially when one is not used to it. Mommied-out Musings below:

Coming to work today feels like a vacation. That's messed up.
On the other hand, Ellie's been a trooper for me. No real fits or whinefests. She did get pissy last night when we were at church b/c I was helping with our Youth Group and she was with a sitter - her usual sitter, but in a different place - and would randomly start fussing and crying for me.
I am in my new office today and it's cool. I mean, the guy across the hall could be a SMIDGEN quieter, but overall, I like it. No more gray-on-gray-on-gray at the Nerd Farm.
My football hiatus is going well. And apparently it's working, because the Niners won this week...against the gross Raiders, but a win's a win. So yeah.
I think I need to see a chiro about my back/neck pain. But I'm scared b/c I'm a baby about getting my neck and back popped. I fear paralysis, seriously.
The flight back from Folsom last week went well. Flights, actually. I wasn't late for either of them.
Tonight after Ellie goes to bed, I am watching the season finale of Mad Men on the DVR. I am very excited but also sad...why do the good shows have to have fewer episodes? Quality > Quantity, I suppose.
Ellie's cruising all over now. I think she'll start walking before her first birthday. She refuses to let anyone 'help' her practice standing or walking...it's actually hilarious how mad she gets. She'll stomp her wee feet and yell at you until you let her go and she sits down, then crawls over to the nearest table/chair/whatever and pulls herself up and goes.
Target has really cute winter coats for $20 this week. I got one for Ellie and I love it! It's a 4-in-1 system so we can get a lot of use out of "one" coat.
I ate a Lean Cuisine chicken enchilada suiza for lunch. I like it, but it makes me all burpy and heartburny for some reason. Blech.
We have this fancy Starbucks coffee dispensing contraption in our new office kitchen space. I am half-afraid to try it. What if scalding hot coffee spills all over me and I have to be in a burn unit for weeks? I'm paranoid.
Ellie is rocking a bit of a bullet (baby mullet) right now. It's so cutely white trash.

Quick On-the-Road Post

I am sitting in my hotel room in Folsom, CA and missing my baby. Oh, and my husband too. :) I am here for work training through Thursday night and it sucks! No offense, but Folsom isn't really that interesting, nor do I know where to find anything cool to do. (I did locate an In-N-Out, so I've got that going for me.)

I nearly missed my flight this morning. Quick note: the company where I work has a fleet of small planes to ferry us worker bees among our 4 major US sites, and they fly out of a small airport about 5 mins from my house. Which is AWESOME on a regular day and EXTRA SUPER EFFING AMAZING AWESOME on a day when I set my alarm wrong and didn't wake up until 7 minutes before check in started. After throwing my hair up in a messy ponytail, brushing my teeth, smearing on deodorant, and getting dressed/throwing toiletries into my suitcase, I got out of the house at 5:25am. When check in started. I made it to the airport and got checked in with about 6 minutes to spare before check in closed for the flight.

So...yeah, flight went well, and I got to Folsom on time. Since my training didn't start until 9:30am, I was able to come to my hotel and get an early check-in so that I could shower and stop being gross. That was pretty rad, I think my classmates today would agree. Class went well, I came back to the hotel, finished getting settled in, and got to talk to the husband and babeh (yay for iPhone 4 and FaceTime!) for a bit before grabbing a gourmet meal at the Taco Bell that is just across the parking lot from my room.

One quick football-related musing: I need to take a break from the NFL. The Niners are 0-5 and my FF team isn't doing much better. I will check my lineups to ensure it is full (meaning: no players on bye or injured in my starting lineup) and that is it. No checking the scores of either a)Niner games or b) my FF matchup. I am not on anxiety meds, and if I don't want to be, I have to take this break before I lose it. I realize I shouldn't be so invested in this, especially since there really isn't any of my money involved, but dang.

Oh, one more: I saw the photos of "Mini Favre" on deadspin.com. Um...not that impressive, asshat. Keep that in your pants, where it belongs.

Update Tuesday

No real Musings again this week. My Muse-dar is on the fritz, I guess. But I do have some updates for you lovely readers:

1. Ellie is a BEAST these days. The Teething Demons have gotten a hold of her again, but this time it's bad. I hope that means we will see some teeth this round. Otherwise, I may cut her gums open my damn self. I hate teething. Probably not as much as Ellie does, but still.

2. My sister and stepmom are coming over for a visit this weekend! We are planning a weekend chock full o' fun - assuming El's 2nd flu shot doesn't kick her wee arse like the first one did. I really want to go to a pumpkin patch, and with the husband's travel schedule, this is the only weekend this month we can do it. Fingers crossed.

3. Ellie had her first swimming lesson last Saturday and did AWESOME! The husband was in charge of her in the water and he did a great job. Out of the 7 babies in her class, all of them were with their daddies. Pretty nifty, if you ask me. Ellie's a natural in the water, she just loves it. I hope this continues, since I love to swim too.

4. Our friends C and A are getting married on Saturday night (which is extra awesome b/c we have free babysitting courtesy of Grandma and the Nanny-Auntie!) and I'm so excited for them! And to get dressed up and have a fun night with the husband. Grown up time!

5. The Blazers' preseason games kick off tonight but Ellie and I are staying home. With her beset by demons, I didn't think it would be a good idea to haul her all the way to the Rose Garden and deal with a very-likely cranky and tired wee one there. So we'll hang out at home and I can watch last night's episode of Gossip Girl.

6. I leave for four days of work travel on Monday...to scenic suburban Sacto. Oh yes, don't be jealous. I'm not at all excited about this because a) I can't bear to be away from my Bear that long and b) the suburbs of Sacramento are...not...fun. I do get to go to bed whenever I want though...and that is awesome. I can go to bed at 7pm if I want to! So I've got that going for me.

7. The Niners are killing my soul. For realsies. I cannot bear this trainwreck of a season for much longer. At least the Vandies are doing well, but otherwise, gah. Football is making me teh crazee.

Dragalicious

I didn't do a Musings post yesterday, just didn't feel like it. And today I have something more important to discuss, fair reader. My inner drag queen. Oh yeah, she's fierce, fabulous and LOVES sparkles. I realized that I have an IDQ the other day...I was looking at shoes online and I immediately gravitated to the photos of the sparkly, flashy, nearly-impossible-to-walk-in ones first. And it hit me: I am a drag queen at heart.

If I could, I would dress like Joan on Mad Men all the time, but with a draggy twist. Sparkly shoes, bigger hair, you know the drill. But I don't have the money or time to invest in said style, so I dress very plainly and wear Chuck Taylors most of the time. But inside....lawd, inside my heart bursts with joy at a nicely teased and sprayed bouffant, sparkly 5.5-inch platform heels, and a form-fitting retro dress with cap sleeves. Honestly, I have no idea what this says about me. I figure it's good to have an alter ego, even if it is super dragalicious.

Monday Musings, No. 2, Vol. 21

It's a post-vacation Monday and I'm swamped with work. But I need a short break, so I thought I'd post some Musings. We spent Thursday thru Sunday in Spokane, WA, visiting the husband's family. It was a good trip b/c we got to meet our baby niece for the first time...I had forgotten how tiny 2 month old babies are! And how snuggly, and sweet, and just plain wonderful. It almost made me want another one now...but then Ellie would start shouting for no reason, or fall down and bonk her noggin, or some such thing and snap me out of it. She's such a helpful baby. Musings are a go:

New trick alert!! Nose picking is now a 'skill' mastered by the little lady. Very ladylike, indeed, especially when she offers her boogery finger to you as a snack. Um, thanks, but no.
And yes, we are working on the concept of sharing. Which is definitely a work in progress and probably will be for a long time. Ellie's like her momma, and doesn't share well with others.
I am addicted to the Mad Men cocktail-mixing game on my iPhone.
The Vandals are 2-1 after a resounding win over UNLV in the Dome on Saturday night! I wish we could have gone...we were so close! Only 1.5 hours away!
Ellie now has a Halloween costume: she will be a giraffe. The husband found it at Old Navy and we had to get it. She's the cutest giraffe you've ever seen.
I need a vacation from my vacation. I'm so tired today.
The Niners are playing the Saints tonight. I want to be excited and think happy thoughts of a Niners' upset victory but I can't. I'm too much of a realist.
I think it's funny how people romanticize the idea of owning an old house. And then they get to see one for themselves and recoil at the work it takes to bring it up to snuff. Having grown up in an old house, yeah, I find it funny. It's also why I live in a brand-new house. I don't need that much work.
It's apple season! I love Fall food.
Speaking of Fall, I suppose now that we have a kid we have to do the whole pumpkin patch thing and carve a jack-o-lantern this year. Of course, she won't remember it at all, but we need the photo op. Parenting!
I rode in the backseat with Ellie on our way to and from Spokane (when I wasn't driving on the return trip...the husband got sick the night before we left so I had to help with driving duties). It is a good way to pass the time. Keeping her entertained also keeps me entertained.
Blazers preseason games start up in about two weeks. Where does the time go, seriously??
I keep finding stuff I "need" in the PB catalogs that come to my house every other day. This is a problem. But their blue smoke velvet curtains are just so divine, dammit. I NEED THEM.
I got the paper I need to make Ellie's b-day invites over the weekend too. We're going with a snowflake "theme" and an ivory/light blue color palette.
Pilates is working. I can feel my abs getting stronger all the time. Even my butt is firmer. Aren't you glad you know that about me?

Growth News and Flu Shot Blues

So, the little lady had her 9-month check up on Friday. She is doing so great! Almost in the 75th percentiles for both length AND weight (w00t!) and even her teeny noggin has grown - from the 5th to the 10th percentile. We were told no vaccines this time, except...the flu shot.

I was actually glad for Ellie to get the flu shot. She goes to daycare and we all know daycares and schools are like giant petri dishes of germy badness. So we assent to the shot and are told that she'll need a second one in a month to complete the series (this is SOP for all infants under 1 yr old). After a brief cry, Ellie is fine and we head back to daycare. She had a great rest of the day - no reaction to the shot or anything like that.

Fast forward to Saturday morning. Ellie wakes up and is a little snuffly and crabby, but she sometimes is in the morning, no big deal. Well, as the day goes on, she becomes crankier and crankier, and her face is a mess of green slimy snot and slobber. She's a hot flu-shot-reacting mess. That dead virus in the vaccine has triggered her army of white blood cells to go on the attack and now she's the walking wounded. Okay, crawling wounded. Whatever.

She hardly slept on Saturday night (whyyyyyy didn't we set up the humidifier before bed that night?? We are dumb, that's why) and was a fussy butthole all day on Sunday. We did set up the humidifier on Sunday night - which uses some sort of liquid Vicks VapoRub in it, so it's extra awesome - and she slept great. I also think she was just exhausted. By Monday morning, she was back in good spirits. Still snotty nosed, but not nearly as bad as the weekend.

However, on Monday morning guess who woke up with a sore throat and a stuffy nose? If you guessed ME, you are correct. I didn't even get a flu shot, and I'm dealing with the aftermath. I'm a casualty of germ warfare. *sigh*

Seven Hundred Twenty-Nine Day

729 = 9 cubed. Today is 729 Day for Ellie - she's 9 months old today, 9/9. Pretty cool if you ask me. Hard to believe that my little baby is not a little baby anymore...very much a bittersweet feeling. I thought I'd do my quarterly list of things I've learned from her, as I do learn more and more all the time.

1. Being chased up the stairs is the BEST.GAME.EVER. Or being chased around the kitchen. Or around the living room. Just being chased is the coolest. Being "dropped" is also fun, as is being dangled upside down for a few seconds.

2. Talking to inanimate objects is a great way to pass the time. I mean, someone's gotta engage the rattles and rings and stackers and stuffies in conversation, right? Bonus points for screaming or squealing at them before you stuff them into your mouth.

3. Crawling is the coolest...until you learn how to pull yourself to a standing position. And it's best to hold onto the sofa or table and then pound it with your hand until Mommy or Daddy looks at you, then give them your sweetest dimpled grin. Taking a few steps while holding onto these things is fun, but kinda scary too.

4. Dog is baby's best friend. Mostly because he's chaseable and just the right size. And his crate is a great climbing wall. But also because he likes to leave his chew bones laying around the house. They are even cooler than baby toys - especially because Mommy and Daddy don't approve of them as teethers.

5. Eating food is fun. If you don't get your food fast enough, just pound your hand on your highchair tray. Mommy or Daddy will get the hint and shovel another bite in your mouth, or set out more snacks to eat. Shouting between bites is effective too. Oh, and try everything...all food is delicious.

6. That funny looking black thing with a round piece that sticks out and flashes light at you is called a camera. It is important to make a funny face when Mommy or Daddy has it out and flashes the light at you. It makes them laugh and laugh.

7. Snuggling is optional at this point. Sometimes you just need alone time - well, alone with your lovies and your aquarium in your crib. Naps are good, because playing hard all day is downright exhausting. But it is good to snuggle with Mommy or Daddy sometimes, since they really like it.

8. If you learn something new and show Mommy or Daddy what you can do, they get REALLY excited and will clap and yell for you. Then you clap and yell and they get even more excited. Maybe they need a new hobby? Nah, it's cool to get all that attention. The more attention, the better. In fact, it's good to crawl wherever they are and yell the whole way until you reach the desired parent just to make sure they don't forget about you. They are old, after all.

9. Teething sucks. It really does. But if you get too fussy or upset, Mommy or Daddy will give you the magic purple stuff that tastes nice and sweet. It makes the pain go away pretty fast. Sometimes, they will give you some water that tastes a little funny because it has teething tablets dissolved into it. That stuff is good too, but the purple magic is the best.

10. Finally, don't get sad when Mommy looks at you and her eyes fill up with water. She's not really sad, she just can't believe how fast you are growing. Apparently, growing up into a big girl is very hard on the parents. It's so much fun, though, and every new day is full of excitement and new adventures!

Monday Musings, No. 2, Vol. 20

It's a rainy Monday here in the greater Portland metro area. Boo. The rain and cool temps remind me that fall is just right around the corner and I'm not ready to let go of the sunshine and warmth of summer. Pitter-pattering musings below:

Football starts this week. We had our FFL draft last Thursday and I got a decent team for the season. I mean, it'll change as dudes get hurt and I get bored, but I'll be okay to start. Oh, my team name this year: "I've Got A Tim Tebow-ner"...I love puns.
Our new feeding technique, aka staggering, is working so well right now! Ellie hardly barfed at all this weekend. Sure, it's a little tedious to feed her solids and then wait an hour before giving her a bottle, but it's cutting down on her spitting so much and she seems happier too.
I am excited for my extra-long Labor Day weekend next week.
So, I've been doing Pilates at the work gym and it kicks my butt. But I do like it.
I have decided on a color scheme for Ellie's 1st birthday. Why so soon? Because I think I'ma end up making the invites, decor, etc myself. I know, that's crazy. But see...this is likely the ONLY birthday where I can control the theme. Going forward it'll be all cartoons and crap of Ellie's choosing. So I'm doing the party the way I want to do it this year. Boom.
I need a nap. Scratch that - I need a Nap Day, where I can just sleep off and on all day long. That is my fantasy.
Sometimes I get a little bit of paranoia that I'm pregnant again. I know I'm not, but I still worry. I never did before I had a baby, but now that I have, I worry about it.
Our salad bar at work is awesome, but I can't stomach (PUN!) paying $3.50 a day for nommy salad. Why does it have to cost that much?
We are caught up on this season of Entourage as of last night. It's really good this year.
I haven't heard the new Kanye and the All-Stars single, Monster, yet. But I need to...Kanye himself said it's amazing. So it must be, right?

Monday Musings, No. 2, Vol. 19

'Tis a gymkatatastic Monday here at work. Our newly remodeled fitness center opened today with a super-fun open house and demos of the new equipment for us worker nerds. I am stoked about this new facility, except it means that I am officially out of excuses to not work out. Not with a fully equipped and awesome gym just down the stairs from where I sit all the live-long day. Sweatin' to the oldies musings below:

I went with Ellie to the outlet mall on Saturday. The husband was spending the day and evening in Seattle for a football game, so we girls went shopping. I spent way too much money, but got lots of clothes in the next size up to last her 'til next spring.

Oh, and Ellie started fussing really loud as we were finishing up our economic stimulus and I found out why when we got to the car. She pee-pants'd herself, aka leaked through her diaper. Yep, that sucked.

I wish clementines were on sale more often. I love them.

My engagement ring needs a good cleaning. And my car needs a good oil change. Ugh, maintenance of this stuff is such a first world problem.

Pandora on the iPhone is awesome. I love it. I use it in the mornings while I'm getting ready in the bathroom. The acoustics in there are pretty solid.

My new nickname for Ellie is "the Terrorizer" (thank you, Will-Ferrell-as-Dubya for the inspiration)...she rallies around the house, screaming at the top of her lungs, chasing us from room to room. Terrorizing.

Boris is not as happy about the human puppy's swift moves as she is. He just sits there and stares at her, like he's not sure what to do. Terrorized.

I'm writing down my weight loss goal for posterity's sake, and also to motivate me: 15 lbs in 3 months. Boom.

We have no plans for Labor Day weekend and that is awesome. And because Ellie's daycare takes the Tuesday after LD off as an 'in-service' day, I get a 4-day weekend of NO PLANS! Maybe she and I will rally out to Tillamook that day.

No more teeth have appeared in the baby's mouf, but man, they've gotta be RIGHT THERE! I wish they'd just come out already. I think Ellie does too.

I kinda want to be Joan Harris (from Mad Men) for Halloween. I wonder if they sell non-cheesy MM character costumes online.

Also, as we rapidly approach fall, I'm considering going darker with my hair. I thought about blonde-izing it, but I think darker would be less work since it's already heading towards full-on auburn anyway.

Saw the cover art for Tay-Tay Swift's new album...could be better. A lot better.

NBA season starts in a couple of months. I'm excited...but I'm wondering how much fun Ellie will be at the games now that she's fully mobile. I have a feeling we'll be spending more time cruising the concourse than actually watching games.

I am totally intrigued by the new spin-pin thingy from Goody. I keep seeing the commercials and I really want to get a package of them to see if they work. I hate bobby pins.

PS: Here's my new Mad Men Yourself avatar. Not bad, eh? :)

My Stress Solution, aka Free Gift Card From Work

Okay, so at my company (hereafter called "Initrode"), we have a pretty sweet incentive program to encourage us employees to be more proactive about our health. I think of the program as a win-win-win: Initrode saves money on insurance premiums, which trickle down to us in the form of cheaper policies, AND we get gift cards for meeting program goals.

Honestly, I'm the most motivated by the gift cards. Okay, and the $250 credit I get on my monthly premiums next year for completing the incentive program.

Part of my health assessment (one gift card!) and subsequent health assessment review with a coach (one more gift card!) led me to realize that I need to take charge of my stress. See, I have anxiety - yep, officially diagnosed by a MHP and all that - so it's really best if I manage stress myself or else I have to get Happy Pills and I don't want those. The health coach told me that if I can complete a program for managing stress called - wait for it - My Stress Solution, I can get a THIRD gift card! Yahooeeeeeeey!

So a few weeks ago, I started this program. It's self-directed and really easy. Every week, I get an email reminder to go to the program's site (via a portal provided by Initrode) and read some articles about stress management and document current stressors and take a quiz or two to identify how I respond to stress, what causes me stress, etc. I'm about halfway through the program now and ironically, I'm stressed out. About my gift card.

I only have until the middle of next month to submit my completion of the program to qualify for that third and final gift card. If I don't make it, I don't get the card. That stresses me out. Normally, I'm all for some good ol' fashioned irony, but seriously. I haven't given up on My Stress Solution, but I'm not sure all the work I'm doing is going to negate the stress I feel when I think about missing out on that last gift card.

Monday Musings, No. 2, Vol. 18

Happy Monday everyone! Today is a milestone day in our house...Ellie is officially 2/3 of the way through her first year of life :) That's right, we now have an 8 month old little lady on our hands. I use the term "lady" loosely, however, because she's quite the pistol and isn't overly concerned with being remotely ladylike. Ah, to be a baby. Musings commence:

Along with reaching 8mos of age, Ellie is now full-on crawling. Yep, our lives are never gonna be the same. The husband put cabinet latches on all the low kitchen cabinets and we are shutting off the doors to our office and 1/2 bath downstairs. Outlet covers were installed weeks ago when the scooting/rolling commenced.
We need to order the photos from our 6mo shoot tonight. At least that way our Christmas shopping is done for just about everyone on our list.
Big news on the work front. I have an interview for a great job (still at the same company...same group, actually) this week so fingers and toes are crossed. I need a change of pace!
Ellie being 4 months away from her 1st birthday reminded me that I'll be 30 in 4 months. Oh gads. That sounds so old.
I discovered this weekend that there is a good, always sunny spot to plant roses in our backyard. So I'll be working on that.
Kanye West is the best tweeter in the universe. #predictingkanyetweets
I have an obsession with picture frames. I would own a thousand of them if the husband would allow it.
Madden '11 is released tomorrow. Oh no.
But, I also have a 90min massage scheduled for tomorrow evening, thanks to the husband. He's the best.
Last week, I wanted a Blizzard. This week I want a blackberry shake from Burgerville. Damn.
The gym at work opens in two weeks...time to shape up, no excuses.
I think my fantasy football draft is in a couple of weeks. I should check with the Commish (aka the husband) about that. I have the first pick!
Hard to believe summer is almost gone. This time of year I tend to overlisten to Dashboard's "Dusk and Summer" CD because I'm lame like that.

Monday Musings, No. 2, Vol. 17

I didn't post last week (man, this is getting to be a familiar start to my posts lately!) because the Little Lady, the Boris dog, and I headed out to Lewiston while the husband was in Israel for work. I had already taken last week as vacation, so I figured why not go see the family since the mister is halfway around the world? Musings are go:

Driving over 300 miles with a baby and a dog and just yourself in the car is interesting, to say the least. Ellie is not a fan of being in her carseat for longer than a couple of hours at a time, so stops were frequent and necessary. Luckily, I wised up for the return trip and drove home after her bedtime bottle, arriving back in Portland in 5.5 hours while she slept the entire way. Best. idea. ever.
The little lady is not so little anymore...we have an official EIGHTEEN pounder on our hands now! Her little rolls and chub are so amazing, I just love them. And they are good padding for her, since she's all over the place these days.
The weather is so nice today. I wish I weren't at work.
Ellie's at her new daycare for the first time today. I think it's going well...I haven't gotten a phone call yet to the contrary!
I still love my iPhone. It was my link to the outside world when in Lewiston, since we stayed with my g-rents and they don't have internet service.
Also, if you are in Lewiston and have not had the Big Kahuna from Southway Pizzeria, get some. Thank me later.
When will Ellie stop barfing? Srsly.
I really want a Blizzard, but I also want to lose 8 more pounds. Decisions, decisions.
The best part of back to school time is the sales on snacks. I love getting a bajillion boxes of granola bars on sale.
Product Pimpage Alert: The Aveda Deep Cleansing Herbal Clay Masque is INCREDIBLE. I highly recommend it. My skin is smoother than ever.
FUBSU and your lame-ass school president.
Football season is almost upon us...getcha popcorn ready, child please.

Monday Musings, No. 2, Vol. 16

Sorry about the blogging absence last week. I was kinda busy with work stuff, and on the homefront, things were just chugging along so I didn't have much of note to really relay here to you faithful readers. But I've got some updates and musings to post now, so here goes:

This is the last week my sister-nanny will be here. Boo! She leaves on Wednesday and I don't want her to leave. Neither does Ellie or the husband. But I guess she needs that silly 'college edumacation' or whatever. We are so grateful for her help and will miss her so much!
I wish oranges were a less labor-intensive food, because I do like them.
The baby is still growin' and learnin'...she's thisclose to actual crawling, but she is able to motor around pretty well by scooting/turning/rolling as she masters the on-all-fours technique.
Babbling is a new and fun skill right now as well. She loves to talk, mostly to her best friends...Boris and her exersaucer toys.
I should keep Diet Dr. Pepper in the house more often. It's so delicious.
Sushi for dinner tonight! Hooray!
The husband and I are meeting with an adoption agency this evening to assess our chances of being adoptive parents. I hope it goes well...having to be pregnant again would suck.
Oh, thanks for nothing Steve Jobs. We already have cases on our iPhone 4s so the 'free' guard for the sides - that will alleviate antenna/reception issues, according to them - is worthless! Boo-urns.
FTR, my iPhone 4 has worked pretty well and even better since putting a case on it. I still wanted a recall so I could trade mine in for a white one.
I got my first pedicure and facial last Sunday...so amazing! I am now addicted. I bet the husband is cranky that he got me a spa day now!
Also, the Aveda herbal clay masque is incredible. Makes my face super-smooth.
Chubby baby cheeks are the best. Ellie's in particular.

Tuesday Musings, No. 2, Vol. 15

Darn three-day weekends messing with my blogging schedule. Apologies for not posting yesterday, I didn't even realize it was Monday until this morning, when I realized it was Tuesday. Yeah. I'm confused too. Time for some confusing musings...

Ellie is officially a prize heifer-in-training. She weighs around 16.5 lbs!! Just under a month ago, she weighed in at 15lbs even at her 6mo checkup. Holy cow.
And we started on yogurt a few times a day...it's helped with her digestion, but I think we overdosed her this weekend and her poor tummy was in fits yesterday. So we are gonna cut back to once a day and see if that improves things for her. She has such a delicate constitution.
It was a very fun holiday weekend. The sister-nanny's boyfriend ("D") came over and we enjoyed taking him around. Plus it gave us an excuse to hit up Voodoo Donuts, which I love.
I had forgotten there was a World Cup match today until I was walking to the cafe for a soda this afternoon and suddenly heard a loud cheer erupt in there. Our company set up extra flat-screen TVs for the duration of the WC and the matches attract quite a crowd.
100 calorie kettle corn is wonderful for snackage.
Portland is finally experiencing summer temps this week (upper 80s-mid 90s) and I'm excited. I've missed the heat. And we have A/C.
So far I still love my new iPhone. A few dropped calls here and there, but oh well.
My grandma and aunt and cousin are coming through here next week and they are going to spend some time with us and Ellie. I'm super excited - I really miss my grandma especially.

And lastly, I am an aunt for the first time!!! My brother-in-law and his wife had their first baby, a little girl, on Friday afternoon. She is the exact same size as Ellie when she was born (although, their little lady was about 2-3wks early), and cute as a bug. We can't wait to meet her :)

Tuesday iPhone Awesomeness

I forgot my Monday post (not that I've EVER done that before...) because I've been preoccupied with the iPhone 4 launch this week. Yeah, some of you got it last week b/c you pre-ordered...well, we didn't have that option. Our Verizon contract was up on Sunday so we had to wait until today to get the phones in-store and set up AT&T accounts.

The husband got up very early this morning and was in line by 5am at our local AT&T store waiting for our turn to get the iPhone. Well, he was like, the 15th person in line. AT 5 AM!! Goodness. I was at home, getting ready for the day and just about to wake up the baby bear when he called and told me I had to get down to the store ASAP if I wanted a phone. Even though we share an account, it was only one iPhone per person. Drat! So I woke up my awesome sister-nanny, kissed the kiddo, handed her over and bailed out the door. I made it to the AT&T store in 10 minutes. No lie.

After a 40 minute wait, we finally got inside and got our new phones. I'm officially in love with this thing. The screen is amazingly crisp and clear and I love the touch interface. We haven't tried the FaceTime video chat, but I suspect we will at some point. I've already downloaded the Facebook app (and FarmVille, don't judge me!) and I'll need to sync it with my iTunes account here soon.

So far I haven't had any issues, but I've only been able to dink around with it for 3 hours. Stay tuned for any iPhone rants and/or diatribes in coming days and weeks.

Monday Musings, No. 2, Vol. 14

First of all, big weekend here at the homestead. Our wedding anniversary (six years!) was on Saturday, then Father's Day on Sunday and today is the husband's 29th birthday. Sheesh...I'm referring to this phenomenon as Trifecta 2010 and it has been something else. Our next kid will have to a spring arrival to counteract our summer and winter holiday/birthday extravaganzas. Holidayed-out musings below:

First, a big congrats to my friend KKB and her husband on the birth of their new baby boy, Sam, this morning! Yeah, he shares a b-day with the husband :)
Also, Sam is becoming quite a popular babeh name lately.
We're grilling up some brats for dinner tonight and serving them on Hefeweizen buns. These buns are fabulous. If you live in the Portland area, go to New Seasons and get them.
My French cube-neighbor was really pissed about France losing in the World Cup last week. It was hilarious to listen to him...the angrier he gets, the thicker and more obnoxious his accent gets. I love it.
We have our family photos on Friday. I still haven't gotten my hair cut for them. Ugh. I need to - and maybe throw some highlights up in this...my hair is so much darker than it was before Ellie was born. Wacky hormones.
In related Ellie news: WE HAVE A TOOTH!!! Yep, it cut through last week and I was so excited. Until today, when I foolishly stuck my finger in her mouth and she chomped down on it with that sharp little tooth. Ouch.
Teething continues, as does related fussiness and napping issues. Oh well. This too shall pass.
I was told to get Baby Mum-Mums for teething but hadn't found them until I was grocery shopping at Fred Meyer yesterday. Ellie loves them! So does my sister, who wants to dip them in Nutella for a snack.
I'm getting very excited for 4th of July. We go to St. Paul every year and hang out at my BFF's sister and brother-in-law's place and wander the rodeo/carnival grounds and eat gross fatty food and people watch and drink beer and it's a good time. I think Ellie will like it, too. She's got her 4th of July gear (thank you, Carters and Fred Meyer!) all ready to go.
Still getting sucked into Farmville. Stupid, stupid, stupid me. Wanna be my neighbor on F-ville? Send me a request on FB. LOL, OMG.
The kiddo is still working on her crawling skillz. She's getting so close to full mobility. Eek.
We get our iPhones this week. I am so excited. The husband is going to our nearest AT&T store at 6am to stand in line with a bunch of other nerds. Ah, the things we do for technology.