What Was I Thinking!

This morning Daniel didn't go into work until around 10:30, but I decided to keep both kids. Mostly because I didn't want Adam in the car in case anything happened on the roads (sorry, Daniel, but you're grown!) and I didn't want Daniel on the roads any more than he had to be. Whew....I've questioned my sanity since then. Adam is a great helper, but he's testing us. Pretty much everything you ask him to do, or tell him to stop doing (like swinging a balloon back and forth while running around near the baby) is a battle of the wills. He's at that age when you have to get up and give him "the look" so he will actually listen to you. Since Isabelle's arrival he's reverted back to whining alot. If he gets frustrated he whines. If he wants something he whines. If you don't move fast enough he whines. So, our favorite phrase is "stop whining, use your words" again. Other than that he's been pretty good. Lunchtime was hectic though, trying to feed both kids, one who I have to hold the bottle for, the other spoon feed (he was having spaghetti and I was being lazy and didn't want to clean up the mess afterwards), but we made it through alive and now they are both napping.

I've just finished up my workout for the day!!! We got the Wii Fit and I set up my Mii on it last night so I could get started. Don't worry, I'm taking it slow and easy since I did just have a baby, but I wanted to do something besides look after kids. So, I hula hooped, I head butted soccer balls, I jogged, and I skiied. I will continue to do this each day in order to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight, get back into my work uniforms, get some time for myself each day, and to live a healthier lifestyle. That's my goals!!!

I can't believe our little girl is three weeks old today! Thank goodness she wasn't born today! When I found out her due date I was so worried she'd be born during an ice storm! That would have been awful! We're trying to get her back to her schedule and it seems to be working. We make her uncomfortable in the evenings in order to keep her awake so when we swaddle her all up she peacefully falls asleep. Tomorrow I am going to go pick up her birth certificate. It will be so awesome to see it all official and printed out! We got Adam a commerative one that is huge. It's like 10 x 13 at least and has a watermark that says "Native Texan" and the Texas flag on it too. We'll do the same for her, but I have to get the simple one now to add her on to my insurance. Speaking of insurance, I'm so curious to see the bill for her hospital stay. My insurance is great, so no worries about coverage, but I want to see how much her NICU stay will be. There she is already costing so much money!!!!

Out and About

Daniel worked on Saturday, but my mom came to stay with me and help with the kids. She's so great. She even brought breakfast for us! Poor Daniel, he was so tired that morning. Thankfully, his group got a lot done and he was home around 3. I was sooooo ready to go, but could tell he just wanted to stay home. So, that's what we did, with the agreement that Sunday would be spent out and about. Adam has been going through a growth spurt and has been in need in of new clothes, shirts especially. Adam has always needed smaller pants than tops. His waist is so small , but if I fit his waist, the length is too short. Our first stop was Kid to Kid. I raked it in! Daniel waited in the car because the kids were asleep. I got him two pairs of jeans (hoping they would fit), and 7 or 8 shirts. I also got Isabelle some jeans, frilly socks, and a cute pair of ruffly panties. Then it was off to see Daniel's cousins and aunt. They had not seen Isabelle since she was born and since she was such a diva then, they hadn't even gotten to hold her. We met up at Kohls and Adam got some more shirts. By now, Isabelle was still asleep. Not good. She had a schedule until Friday. All of a sudden she wants to stay up til 12:30 - 1am, then sleep til 6 or so. Which would be ok if I was a night person. I'm glad she's getting that big a block of sleep, but it's rough being up all day, then up that late, then up that early. I liked it better when she got up arond 3, ate, and went right back to sleep. So, now we are working on keeping her up longer during the day. Everyone held her, we even took her to her first bar! Before you think I am an awful mother , let me explain. Daniel's aunt is married to David, who is a bartender at a bar. Aunt Janie had to be dropped off over there, so we went along so he could see her. All the people at the bar were so sweet. They talked to Adam and he just ate it up. Isabelle woke up and loved looking at the neon signs. It was time for dinner, so we joined more family for breakfast....I mean dinner. We had waffles for dinner and they were GOOD! Then it was time for homemade ice cream and Wii Fit. Oh yeah, we finally found a Wii Fit. Now, I can begin to work on losing these last pounds. I have uniforms to wear to work and I would prefer to fit into them in 3 weeks when I go back.

Today we got out for a bit. We went to my work. We didnt' get to go last week because a lot of people were out. Isabelle slept, but she had just eaten so I knew she would. Everyone held her and ooohed and aaahed. Especially over all her hair. They also agreed that she resembles Adam when he was born.

I thankful that I don't have to get out in the weather much. It sounds like the weather will be getting worse tomorrow.

I guess I better try to nap now. She's asleep and I'm sure she's just gearing up for another late night.

Just Another Day

Today ended up being just another day at the house. I didn't go to work with Isabelle. Leonard said that it would be better to wait until next week. A few people were leaving early and a lot ot the managers weren't there. So, it was just another day of Isabelle and I staring at each other, and the walls staring at us.

Thankfully, she is staying awake more. She is staying up after feedings and she loves to just look at me. It's like she is staring right into your soul. Daniel freaks out about her eyes. Her right eye still shifts left and right quite a bit, while her left one stays pretty centered. I keep telling him this is normal and her eye muscles just have to strengthen, even the dr said so, but it still gets to him. I've already been showing her a laminated paper I have with bold black and white patterns. I hope this helps her focus easier and builds up those muscles that worry her Daddy so much.

Tonight we went to Sams to pick up a few things- like formula. We got $5 checks for her formula, so we went and stocked up on a couple of canisters. $110 later and we were done. I don't recall exactly what all we bought, but I think Adam must have snuck some stuff in the cart because that was more than what we went in for! After that we went to Sweet Tomatoes. My new favorite. I'm sick of frozen food...bleh!!! So, going there is satisfying my craving for fresh food. Adam was ok, but it seems like he wanted to start a food fight. He's always wanting to throw something, but he's gotten good about not throwing food, until today. He is such a picky eater. I know I am too, but it's not like he knows I hate cornbread. But tonight I noticed that if you ask him if he wants pizza he says no. But, if you call it bread he tried it. Oh, and he did like cornbread. Bleh!

I so wanted to go shopping tonight. Maybe it's more like I just wanted to be out of the house. I don't usually like to spend money. I tend to be the one that says no we don't need that. But, sometimes I just want to shop. It doesn't have to be for anything expensive, or even anything in particular. I just want to go spend money. My little retail therapy I guess. But, we didn't get done with dinner til after 9, so Daniel got lucky and all the money is still in the bank. There's always tomorrow and Sunday though!

Daniel has to go to work tomorrow, but my Mommy is coming over to help with the kids. She hasn't seen Isabelle and Adam lately, so she has to come get her grandbaby fix. I love to watch her with them. She's just so calm and loving, yet has boundaries that she enforces with Adam. He definitely needs those!

As you can see, it's really been a very quiet day.

Four Walls

I'm beginning to feel like these walls are closing in on me. I'm trying to take it slow, take this wonderful time all in, and enjoy being at home with her. I really am!!! But, I see these walls and I think they are creeping in on me. I've got to get going on a project. I've got pictures to put in albums and frames. I wish we had the shelves we want on our massive empty living room wall. Then I would have more motivation to do them. I have been feeling a little down. I think I'm more lonely than anything. Daniel and Adam leave around 8, get home near 7, and I'm left alone with no adult interaction. And to top it off, Daniel's work has been very busy, so busy that he worked last weekend and he has to work this one too. I'm thankful that he's busy, and the money will be great, but I'd gladly give up the money to have a full day at home with him and the kids. He hasn't spent a full day with just us at all. It's thoughts like that that make me sad. I don't want him to miss out on anything, but he will. We had this conversation way before Isabelle was born. I've been disappointed many times due to the type of work he's in. I dread the day when I have to tell our kids that Daddy couldn't make a game or recital because of work. I had those disappointments when I grew up and you don't forget that feeling. But I also remember the feeling of surprise when my mother managed to make it to the school awards assembly to see me receive my spelling bee trophy. I hope they have more moments like that in life.

Tomorrow I will be venturing out for my first drive alone with Isabelle. I will take her to work to show her off. The center manager has been dying to hold her. He absolutely loves Adam (doesn't everyone?) and was so excited when I told him Isabelle was on her way. He told me he would buy her sight unseen. He's a reall good guy and makes work alot of fun. I'm looking forward to seeing people again and watch them fight over her. I've already been scouring the closet looking for the perfect outfit for her to wear. All her really cute, dressy dresses are too big though. It'll be strange to go and not work. Maybe I'll log in and complete a few records just because....I've got to make sure I keep my mind from turning to mush. The most stressful thing I do on a regular basis is make sure the water is measured to three ounces in the baby's bottle and I measure 1.5 scoops of formula.

My favorite group is coming to Dallas on April 11th. I love Nickelback. They have these VIP packages with a meeting and greet session....OMG! How I would love to meet them...ok, so maybe I'd just really love to meet Chad Kroeger. But, would I love it enough to spend over $400 per ticket? Uh, big fat NO!!!!! For that much money there better be more than a handshake!!! I better get a hug, kiss, picture, autograph, and the shirt off his back.

Evidently my nephew is going to be a father. While this is not good news in any way, it's made worse since he has no job and no motivation to get one. He's always wanted to take the easy road and he's been in a lot of trouble because of that. Supposedly, she's four and a half months along. I've begun to set aside things that are gender neutral items for the baby. I truly hope that things work out and gets his tail in gear. He just doesn't realize what he's in for.

A Moving Experience

Thanks for taking the time to check out my new blog. So it took me a while to figure some of this place out. I learned quite a bit more stuff though and I really like Blogspot better. I have been pretty much bored today.....I cleaned some, but lost motivation. I figure it's stuff that can be done tomorrow because, after all, I will be off for a few more weeks. This is the part where I begin to wish I could work from home. I'm enjoying my time at home, but the baby only sleeps, eats, poops, then sleeps some more. She's just now beginning to be awake for maybe two hours each day. The highlight of my day..Hmmm, let's see.. She's about to have a belly button. Her umblical cord is about to fall off. Yeah, I can't wait. It just looks so gross when it's all dried up and getting ready to fall off. It literally starts turning in circles as you wipe it with alcohol. That's gross!!!!!

Yesterday I watched the inauguration ceremonies. Obama has such a charismatic presence about him. He looked so proud. And while choosing a candidate is choosing the lesser of two evils, it seems most people were more interested in race and making history rather than listening to his platforms and goals. I honestly don't see how either one would make immediate changes (as some people seem to be depending on Obama to do), and even though I tend to have more democratic views, some of his policy changes I don't even personally agree with. That is the part where the people who will be affected by these changes still have to do their part and have their voice heard. Sadly, I think some people don't realize that still. I believe you should have to work hard just like everyone else, not just wait for your hand out to come to you. I've known people who have many kids and milk the system for all it's worth, and yet I work hard, try to plan for the future, provide for my family, and still manage to stay off any government support. I'm not only speaking of those here illegally. When I had to go to Parkland for my pregnancy with Adam, I required insulin to manage my diabetes. Do you know what they said? "Are you sure you were born here?" "And this is your first child?" "You both earn to much money, if only you weren't married, then we could help." I wanted to scream! It was so frustrating to be doing the right thing in your life, you eagerly await having a child rather than repeatedly accidentally getting pregnant by different men, and pay in your taxes (and alot of them) with each paycheck, only to be told "we can't help you because you're legal, you make too much, and you don't have 8 kids". There is no exaggeration in that, that is what they told me. What's funny, is after I stopped going there they sent me a bill for $5000!!!!!!!!!! That's what I would like to see change. Sorry, to have gotten on my soapbox. Despite my tendency to go left, I don't agree with everything Obama wants to do. In fact, some of the policies have me concerned, especially he "spread the wealth" views he has spoken about. The next 100 days will be interesting to say the least. We'll still need to do our part to have our voices heard on these policies that will adversly effect our lives...and our wallets.

Adam has doubled his vocabulary. All of a sudden he's just talking. Clearly. He literally surprises Daniel and I everyday with a new word. He gets so concerned when Isabelle cries. He will stop and run to her to check her out. He'll even tell us "Crying". So cute. I'm so relieved he's adjusted so well and is now acting like a protective big brother.