My Digital Camera's Story....

Four months ago you would have been shocked at what was happening...NOT THAT PART!!!

Yes, only four short months ago my husband and I were frantically running into Walmart to purchase a brand new digital camera!  (Did you not expect this type of story?  It gets better!)  I was waddling because I was 5 days past my due date and Alyssa was just hanging out as content as could be.  After threatening her that morning for the hundredth time in the last five days that I was going to send the doctor in after her, we grabbed all the bags, tossed them in the car, fed the dogs and cats extra early and then tested the camera.

We are clearly last minute...and of course what better time for a camera to go wrong when you are about to have your very first baby born?  So with less than half an hour before we should have been at the hospital we decided that we would rather be late to our induction than to not have a camera for this event.  At 6:30am we hoped that it would be a super fast trip and maybe only end up 5-10minutes late.  Go ahead, laugh your common sense heart out at me because I know you all realize what I was too sleepy to think of that morning.

6:30am at Walmart looking for a digital camera on December 30th....Customer service representatives were nowhere to be found, the cameras were obviously locked up and it was December 30th.  So many of the models that we liked were out of stock from those last minute Christmas gifts.  Finally we tracked down an associate with keys, selected a very nice digital camera and I ran to grab a box of poptarts and we hit the road to make record time across town to the hospital that was only blocks from our house in the first place.  Looking back, it is a very good thing that we were on our way for an induction instead of running to the car in labor...

Now, over 1,000 pictures later, my little baby is FOUR MONTHS OLD!  Can I curl up on the couch and bawl while I watch her napping in her bouncer??

Time Flies, not always from fun...

There were so many things happening this month.  Time has truly escaped me.  I went back to work in March but only really began picking up shifts this month.  We had some travel for some family medical issues and honestly the whole month so far has been crazy busy.

I don't believe this is normal but I am more exhausted these last few days than any of my pregnancy or the weeks after where Alyssa was keeping us up all hours of the night for feedings.  She sleeps through the night, her papa has been taking many morning feedings so that I could try to get some rest and still I am dragging at any time of day.  I even went to bed before 10pm one night--this has not happened since junior high!

The issues between my parents are far from resolved and I still get overwhelmed by it but it is improving.  The winding road will keep stretching out ahead of us and someday we will see where it leads.  I would love to have powers to see where life takes us at the same time as I wouldn't wish it upon my worst enemy.  To know what happens without any ability to change it or appreciate the surprise could be a curse worse than any punishment given by the Greek and Roman gods.

Alyssa, despite my desperate wish to keep her small, has continued to grow.  Can you believe that at less than 4 months she is already in 6-9month clothing?!?!  It hurts to even say that but I am a proud Momma who loves to dress up her beautiful little daughter.  I promise to post lots of recent pictures soon!!  Maybe even some pictures of a messy little girl enjoying a bowl of cereal!  I could never have imagined how honest people are when they say that kids grow up so fast.  There is NOTHING to show anyone how fast time can fly other than their very own baby growing faster than what should be possible.

Join us again soon for some exploits of cereal feeding!

I love junk mail!

Never leave junk mail unopened!  It is really only a few extra seconds a day to open that random piece of mail and sometimes you may just be surprised what they sent you...

Today there was a letter from our local paper.  We cancelled our subscription over a year ago and they have sent us umpteen letters asking us to renew our subscription.  If I hadn't opened the letter today because I completely assumed that this was the same letter we have received before, I would not have gotten the FREE DOLLAR!  Yup, they sent me one whole dollar as a gift.  Of course they would like me to participate in a short, one page survey but the dollar is 'mine to keep'.

Like I said, NEVER leave junk mail unopened!!

Naptime!

Naptime in my house, it runs approximately 9am-10:30am.  I love naptime!  My dogs, cats and baby all snuggle down to snooze.  So the real question is WHY AM I AWAKE?!?  My baby might sleep through the night now but I still frequently wake up in the middle of the night.  Sometimes it is to use the bathroom, other times it may be due to a noise in the house, and on occassion, it is just to lie there listening to her breathing over the monitor.

I don't nap during naptime.  I have only tried a handful of times and each time there was an incredibly shortened nap.  So what do I do during naptime?  I catch my breath, work on our business, get bottles prepared, and attempt to shower and put myself together.  Today, I am blogging.  I am exhausted today and I am stupidly sitting here on my blog complaining about it.  Wanna know why?  Well I'm going to tell you anyways.  I was laying on the couch next to my baby in her bouncer.  She was fighting her nap so I began bouncing for her.  She slept, I stopped the bouncing, she woke up.  Okay, rinse and repeat!

I love naptime....someday I might get to participate in it, right?

A Long Road

If you all remember a post from a little while back titled "My Week", you will remember that I received news of my mom having moved out of the family house.  It took much less time than I thought it might, and to be honest I wasn't sure it would happen at all, but Mom and Dad are back in the same house and working together to make this better!

I am thrilled to be able to watch my parents being happy together and for the first time that I can recall, living and sharing the same life instead of two lives being lived in one house.

Easter was a horrifying thought this year for me as I was being haunted with thoughts of choosing where to go.  Mere days before Easter, my mom told my papa to come home.  They are working so hard to get to a place where they are equal partners in their marriage.  Papa is making sure that there is nothing in the way of time with Mom.  He is helping around the house, sharing the bills responsibility, and spending quality family time with the kids as well.  Mom is making certain to try harder to not keep quiet when she is hurting or upset over something.  She has voiced complaints and he has listened, truly listened.

I just wanted to thank you all for the thoughts during that tough time for my family.  If you don't mind, I'd truly appreciate continued support for my parents, siblings and us.  I am very hopeful that everything will progress towards the better situation that we currently see on the horizon.

Movies

I know everyone has different tastes, preferences and some just plain don't watch 'em.  So bear in mind as I tell you that anyone, and I mean ANYONE who has an inch of open mind, should watch the movie that my friend Dave brought over to distract me.

Look back at "My Week" and you will see why he was aiming to distract me.  Tuesday after I found out my parents had seperated, Dave came over with a movie titled Man From Earth.  My buddy knew just what would work for me and I will remember it forever.  This movie was so incredibly intriguing.  I became so absorbed in the theories that it provided an immediate escape from the stress of the day before.

Now, I'll be honest, anyone who cannot tolerate alternate religious ideas or different interpretations of the Bible, will not care for this movie.  Anyone who is a biblical literalist will likely wish to burn this dvd straight from the player.  But, I loved it!  It did not offend me in any way and if you are able to discuss religion and science with anyone in either extremes or middle ground areas, you will likely enjoy the new take that it brings.  I could hardly believe that the time the movie actually takes had elapsed at the end.  It went so far beyond any other movie I have watched that I could hardly pull away.

I would like you to watch this movie.  Enjoy it as much as I did or at least enjoy yelling at it if that is your preference...!  Either way it is worth the time.  It is available via Netflix or probably available on Blockbuster.  I purchased it through Barnes & Noble and it is also on Best Buy's site.

Chewable Jewelry

Yes, I said "chewable jewelry".  Momma now sports a gnawable necklace and has a matching bracelet.

This cool new idea comes to us from a family dentist who went looking for a teether for her own baby.  Instead of finding a suitable teether on the market, she ended up making these and the rest of us should all thank her!

I saw this item being reviewed on one of the blogs I follow and was intrigued.  I was actually thrilled to find something so perfect for the on-the-go family.  Alyssa is just beginning to really chomp down on things but she is so young that she hasn't got the ability to hold something in her mouth herself yet.  What better way to help her feel better than holding those big bulky teethers in her mouth that barely fit?  Hmmmm....How about finding something that actually fits in her little mouth to chew away on??  Yah, this is where these Chewable Jewels come in to play.

I bought my combo set and waited for its arrival.  I was pretty excited when the envelope came.  I ripped into the package and pulled out the necklace.  Of course timing was awful and I had to go to work right then or risk being late.  When I got home that night I hugged my daughter (it was my first day back to work so I really really missed her!) and then we washed the new accessories.  As we sat down to snuggle she was chomping away on her nuk so I pulled a switch and gave her the rectangular necklace.  At first she pulled a face and stuck out her tongue pushing the necklace with it.  I was a bit disappointed but I wasn't giving up after one face!  The second time she bit down on it she didn't reject it.  She started to chew lightly on it and then of course she switched to using it like a pacifier.

So she hasn't quite gotten the hang of continual chewing...oh well!  We have a teether that she can nom away on that fits her mouth!  The bracelet was the next test and it fits her mouth even better than the necklace.  I think that it will work even better when she is beginning to hold things for herself

And in case you were wondering....They don't look half bad!!