My Poor Baby

Lizzie's sick. She has severe vomiting and hasn't been able to hold anything down since last night, not even water. She's fine otherwise: no fever, no pain, etc. so I'm thinking it must be some kind of bug or food poisoning.

This morning it seemed that she was over it, but then...not. One minute she was fine and then....blacgh. I was trying to get her to the bathroom when she spewed all over me, on my clothes, down my neck and back...let's just say it brought me to a whole new level of mothering. I was grossed out, definitely, but isn't it weird how your baby can do something like that to you and it's all okay? Anyone else...forget it.

That said, this mommy feels pretty helpless with the inabilty to instantly take away her discomfort. But this kind of ailment is supposed to be over in a day or two, so we're just laying low and giving her a sip of water every so often. Very difficult to hear her ask for food though! I try to explain it to her that we need to wait, but that doesn't help, obviously. Plus, she doesn't really understand.

Guess we'll be doing tv most of the day. Maybe she'll end up loving football (via super bowl). Either that or she'll get a heavy dose of Wiggles. I'm guessing the latter.

No Pie!

All day long this is what I heard from my little darling.

No Pie! ( but it sounds like Nooo Piiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!)

She LOVES this mother goose rhyme and even acts out the kitties when they "meow, meow meow!" So all day long at totally random moments she'd bust out with "no piiiiiiiiiiii!" and I just had to crack up hysterically.

Remember this one?

Three little kittens, they lost their mittens
and they began to cry,
Oh mother dear, we greatly fear
Our mittens we have lost!
What! Lost your mittens! You naughty kittens!
Then you shall have no pie!
meow, meow, meow!
No, you shall have no pie!

In our book the mother cat looks terribly mean too! When the kitties find their mittens in the next verse, Lizzy will get up and go to her drawer and "find" her own mittens, bringing them to me, just positively beaming. At which point I just fall over from all of her cuteness.

As her grammie always says, "she is such a character!"
That she is, that she is.
And she shall have some pie. but only if it has fruit in it.

big steps towards two

She's putting words together.

Heard from Lizzy's mouth this past week:

no meep (milk)
hi mama
bah bye mama
bah-bye buh-boh (bubble)--a favorite while washing her hands
hi (enter word here)--that's whatever she sees & can say, like bee, kitty, baby, etc. (not everything, but I have a feeling that's going to change)
bye (enter word here)--she said "bye house" yesterday as we left for the park. so very cute.

and a new one this morning: cay-wee...(pause) mee (carry me)--awwww, so cute.

We've been potty training too, and she did a little (1 tsp or so) yesterday. yay.
It's a painful process at times, so 1 tsp is well worth getting excited over.

I'm such a mom huh?
It's challenging, but I'm enjoying the ride.
But 45 min in the bathroom just to get 1 tsp of pee! I just gotta laugh. and of course celebrate the small stuff.

little yellow balls

This morning at breakfast Lizzy thought it would be fun to put Kix cereal up her nose. I guess they smell better than they taste. Or so she thought.

Kix is ball-shaped, slightly larger than a pea. And yes, her sweet-smelling cereal got stuck up there.

I didn't see her do it. But I wondered at how she kept pointing at her nose and saying "kix. kix." It wasn't until she was digging deep in her nostil and saying "help" that I notice the little yellow offender lodged snugly within.

Nice! Now how to get that out? Tweezers crossed my mind, but...yeah right.

Granted, Kix softens when wet, but it was definitely stuck. She can't exactly blow her nose, and she thought it was way funny when mommy was trying to teach her to do so.

Eventually she sneezed and a virtual eruption of yellow goo and snot spewed forth. There were not one, but two kix balls up there!

I would so love to know what she was thinking.
For mommy, if not so scary it would have been hilarious.
But we're laughing now.

Oh yeah, and no more kix. at least for a while. Mommy must recover.

Down wi' Diaper Duty

I just cleaned up the worst diaper duty. O. M. G. (Sorry future Lizzie if you're reading this) But I simply must ask: What goes on in her little body to produce such a huge mess?

In this case, the poor little Dora pull-up diaper didn't have a chance. As for her pants: to clean or not to clean, that is the question.

She even did the walk. You know what I'm talking about. Where the poopy kid walks on tip-toe with feet wide apart in a futile attempt to escape the load in his/her pants. Yeah, that one. (future Lizzie: breathe. I didn't capture a vid for youtube. that's right, deep breaths, one, two...)

OK, so it's not like she's an adventurous eater. She IS a toddler.
Recent staple items include:

• yogurt
• cheese
• bread
• corn
• peas
• cereal: kix, cheerios, rice crispies
• oatmeal
• pb&j
• and of course: any and all fruit

No, we're not vegetarians.

Actually, I have to limit her fruit b/c of this very messy reason. So she didn't OD on fruit in the last couple days, at least not that I'm aware.

I'm not one of those moms who busts out the wipes every time Lizzy touches something, so maybe she caught a bug?

Glad I could share this lovely experience with you. I feel so much better now.

Have Birds, Will Sleep

Thanks Heather and Belle-ah for your encouraging words. I know geniune friends take time, but does it have to take so long? (grin) Actually, I'm more disappointed with my mother's group in that I haven't met anyone who's willing to take the time to make new friends. I thought there'd be more SAHMs in the group who were ready for that. I'm happy that Lizzy and I have met a few great ladies just by going to parks and taking classes.

Speaking of classes, our Kindermusic class ended and I'm now considering getting her into a tumbling class. She just loves climbing and tumbling (sommersaults are a fave), so I thought it would be a good way to expend some energy. However, I'm a bit concerned about her climbing everything at home from sofas to cat condos to Lord knows what. Anyone have experience in this area?

Speaking of climbing...Lizzy's now in a big girl bed.

After months of wondering "will she climb out of the crib and break her neck" and "how many times will she fall out of her rail-less crib tonight" (night before last it was 3...that we know of at least), we finally said enough's enough and set her up in a twin bed. She absolutely loves it.



Of course, she can't sleep without the birds (see pic), so we hooked 'em up to her bed side rails. It's so ghetto, but they still work and she still sleeps. Everyone's happy!


This morning at breakfast she actually claimed to want to take a nap. You heard it right folks, the gal who refuses to nap actually requested one this morning. I thought I was going to fall over from shock. Of course, this afternoon when it actually was naptime, she didn't go so willingly, but we're dealing with a (nearly) 2yo here. She's not exactly reasonable, people.

I am so proud of her though. It's got to be hard to give up the comfort and familiarity of her old bed, but she's a trooper. The new bed's got more jump power, which certainly helps.

She's growing up too quickly.

As I disassembled her crib last night, I couldn't help but hope to be putting it back together soon, for our next little one. Maybe later this year, but I guess we'll just have to see what God has in store for us.

That's all for now. I've got to get off my tushie and move some muscle before the angel awakens from her blissful nap.

Oh dear...she's crying already. I typed too soon.
It's true. A mom's work is never done.

Is it me?

I haven't been to any of my mother's group functions lately. No playgroups, no outings, no meetings, etc. I haven't even really talked with any of them lately. And no one has called me either. It's weird. The group claims to be supportive, but they seem to be more clique-ish and gossip mongers. If a previously active group member (for any group) just suddenly stopped attending, wouldn't you (or someone) call and see what's up? You know, check to see if she's alive at least?

Maybe that's just what I would do.

I'm realizing that the group is bigger in theory than in practice. It's a shame. I haven't totally given up on them, but I'm not really sure if I care anymore. I have met some wonderful mothers while at the park with Lizzy. It's fun to just go and see who's there and who you'll meet--no structure, just random socializing. Interestingly, we go to parks nearly everyday and have only very rarely run into another mother from my group. What do these mothers do all day long couped up in the house? I would go crazy and so would Lizzy.

Don't get me wrong, the ladies in my current group are basically nice, but so very few are truly friendly and receptive. What also bugs me is that the president is one of those "queen bee" types that has to be loud and the center of attention at all times. At my first mom's night out she sat right across from me and spent the majority of the evening talking over everyone and trying to carry on conversations with moms clear across the room. I couldn't help but instantly be annoyed with her. Not my best attribute, admittedly, but so be it.

Ideally, I'd like to connect with a playgroup that's associated with a good church. At least we'd have the common thread of faith between us and could possibly grow from each other that way.

I don't know. I'm idealistic. Maybe that's another bad attribute.
But so be it.

I just want to make new friends with other moms in the community. Why does that seem to take so long? Are people too busy? too introverted? too selfish? too.....gosh, I don't know. What's up with people these days? What am I doing wrong? Is it me?

New Year, New Family

10 days into 2007 and I've been MIA for over a month! oops.

Lemme sum up--It was a good holiday, but our Christmas was rife with sickness. Yes, mommy had a nasty, stuffy ol' cold and so we had to cancel our xmas eve dinner as well as other fun holiday stuff. I think it is the only holiday in which I spent most of it at home, indoors. Nice, in a way, if only I didn't have to keep a kleenex box by my side at all times. (my poor nose) Anyway, I'm over it & glad to be healthy again. And at least I didn't spread it to anyone. Of course, my sniffly self DID go shopping in the last rush for presents, so some poor soul out there probably touched my germs on a shopping cart or keypad. double oops.

If you are that unlucky person, I am so very sorry. You have permission to sneeze on me.

In happier news, I became an aunt for the second time to a little boy, Nathan. Welcome to the world, little guy! Isn't he cute?

I also became a mommy to a new phone. Also very cute, and no diapers! Not great for cuddling or cooing though. Motorola better get right on that. Isn't it girly in all it's raspberry pinkness! awwwwww.....

I used to hate pink girly things. Only recently has pink creeped its way into my preference. Could it be Lizzy's neverending show of pink clothes, pink toys, pink dolls, pink EVERYTHING that has subliminally swayed me? hmmm, big question for a random wednesday afternoon. I'll leave the pink ponderance to my shrink. If had a shrink, that is. Suffice to say that pink makes me feel happy and girly. Two pretty cool things to get from just a color.

Now if I could just get it to make me feel like doing dishes or diapers, we'd be set.

You & Me Doll

Lizzy recently got this new doll from her grandma. She likes it pretty well, but frankly, it creeps me out. I guess she's heard me say it's "creepy" a few times because Lizzy now says "ceepy" (pronounced "key-pee"), It's a fitting name, in my opinion.

Check it out. You can clearly hear the mechanics of it too. eek.
(sorry the vid is a bit shaky. btw, that's lizzy in the background making her cute noises)



I mean, couldn't they have given it a better cry? Or at least synchronized the voice with the movements? When it lies down the thing goes to sleep, but then after about 5 seconds of sleeping it shuts off and opens its eyes. I'm telling you---creepy!

Wrong

Yesterday I purchased 2 bags of this, on sale for around $2 each:















Broccoli & Cauliflower. Florets, if judging by picture alone. (tsk tsk tsk, silly consumer.)


Here's what was inside:
















Yes, folks. A mix of stringy stems and angular squares. No florets. Not even close to the pictoral representation. Ah, even steaming couldn't save this flavorless, fibrous bunch. Hardly truth in advertising. Hardly what I intended to serve my family, and not even close to what anyone wants to eat.

Thanks Safeway brand!


Now, the big question...what to do with the other bag of this?

Technorati tags: Safeway, false advertising, WTF

untitled

We're back from Hawaii, and what a trip it was. We saw dolphins, turtles, and seals (oh my!), snorkeled, swam, ate fine food, drank lots of mai tais, and jumped off a waterfall. A Great time.



And we are so very happy to be home safe and sound. Because one of our fabulous days in paradise was marred by tragedy. My husband came very close to drowning while swimming in some rough surf. We were very shaken by this. What really drove the point home though was that, as my husband was pulling himself out of the water, another man about 100 ft away was struggling for his own life. It was a struggle he apparently lost. He dropped down in the surf, and after several days he has yet to be found.



Our hearts go out to the woman we stood with on the beach, the woman who, after watching a failed resuce attempt and an agonizing search that included helicopter flyovers, lifeguards combing the shores, and later, coast guard assistance, knew that her loved one was gone.



I stood by her and hugged her while she chanted prayers and exclamations. She spoke german, so I didn't understand the words, but the meaning was clear. Be Strong! Don't Give Up! God Help Him! Mostly though, we searched an angry, empty sea. At times we could only look into the wind and cry.



When it got dark and they suspended the search until morning, there was no misunderstanding. In her heavily accented english, she softly said to me, "it's over. not good." There was nothing I could say except "I'm sorry."



and Thank You God for giving us another day














R.I.P. Peter Unzeitig, Nov. 29, 2006

The "No-Cry, No-Sleep" Sleep Solution

Early this morning my 20-month-old daughter woke me from a dream. I could hear her crying in her crib; apparently she couldn't settle back into sleep on her own. They say that most babies/toddlers wake during the night and can fall back asleep on their own (or learn to), and most of the time Lizzy does just this. Lately however, she's backslid into bouts of crying and carrying on until either me or daddy gets up to check on her.

When I do hear her crying, I give her at least 10 minutes to calm herself and see if she'll go back to sleep on her own. We struggled with her sleep since the beginning--it's been the most difficult thing I've faced with her. And over the past year, it's gotten worlds better. More often than not, Lizzy can sleep all the way through the night without incident.

But, not last night.

It was 4:02am and I had just returned from checking on her--she had woken me at about 3:45, and after about 10 min of crying, I went to her. I didn't pick her up, just hugged and reassured her everything was ok and that she needed to go back to sleep. It was now 4:02 and she was crying louder and much more intensely.

What a terrible sound. It just made my insides churn with an overwhelming need to go comfort her, to hold and rock her until she was back to sleeping peacefully. But bad habits form quickly for toddlers, and I want her to consistently sleep in her own bed. So I put the covers over my head and let her cry it out.

After 12 min of loud crying (4:14am), I couldn't help but wonder if by not answering her I was inadvertently "teaching her" rejection. That thought pained me terribly. Obviously I want her to know that I am there and she shouldn't be afraid, but at the same time I need her to know that she can sleep on her own.

My motherly need to comfort eventually won, and at 4:22 I went to her. How could I not? This little 20-month-old soul was screaming her heart and lungs out for the one thing she wanted: mama.

When I walked in, she stood up and said "mahh-mahhhhh" all stuffy and wet with crying. I hugged her while she was still in the crib, and then she joyfully said "hi." (It's such a cute thing to hear her say hi, btw.) She calmed down instantly and wanted "up!"

Adamantly, I didn't pick her up (it's sooooo difficult to get her back in the crib if I pick her up in the middle of the night). So I managed to calm her into lying back down by singing lullabies and stroking her beautiful red hair. I talked to her gently, and she eased into a relaxed state.

I sat by her crib and, while pretending to have my eyes closed, watched her keep herself awake, all wide-eyed and blinking stiffly.

I made myself comfy on her cushiony pillows at the base of the crib (set up to prevent escape-injury, just in case), and after about 15 min she sounded like she was asleep. Or very close. I got up slowly and quietly snuck out of the room. She heard me, but she was good and didn't get up.

Glancing at my bedside clock, it was now 5:04am. I rolled into bed and could hear her stir and "say" something, but again, she was good and didn't make any noise afterwards. I assume she went right to sleep.

Back in bed, I was now wide awake, mind running rampant with warm thoughts of her, of how she smiles and how she giggles, of just how amazing and...exhausting...she can be.

I couldn't stop thinking about just how much I love her. And how I wouldn't change anything about her, even if it would mean that I could get more sleep or get more writing done.

I am ever-so awed and inspired by her, this little person who's only been here for 20 months. And although there are days when motherhood challenges me to the core, it gives me such indescribable joy.


~~~~~~~~~
Update: I came across this quote just after completing this post:

"Don't get so involved in the duties of your life and your children that you forget the pleasure. Remember why you had children."

---Lois Wyse

Between the nano novel, cleaning the house/kitchen, trying to lose weight for Hawaii, keeping Lizzy entertained, adjusting to my no-career status, staying up on my mother's group, etc. etc.---I need to remember this and stop trying to do everything at once and simply enjoy the moment. Be present in my life.


Lizzy's growing everyday. And so am I.
But nights like the one I've described above will be nothing but a memory soon enough.



Technorati tags: toddlers, sleep disruption, sleep training, motherhood

New Stuff

I've figured out the background, so now I only need to find something I like better than this flower grid thingie. I know, riveting opener, isn't it?

In other, even MORE exciting topics, Lizzy has officially used the potty three times. Needless to say, it was a very happy occasion for mom. But I must admit I've been remiss in reporting such exciting news, as this was about 10 days ago. I should have made more of a hub-bub because since then she hasn't used it. Bummer, huh? Her new thing is to tell me that random dolls and stuffed animals are "poopy" and that we need to change them. I'll have you know that Mickey Mouse is very regular. As is "Tidoo" her little squishy doll. I'll have them potty trained before Thanksgiving. I don't need to change any more diapers than necessary, thankyouverymuch.

Ker-POW!
Did you hear that? Yup, Lizzy is also entering the language explosion. She tries to say nearly everything and even holds conversations which go something like this:"goosheebahbah mee doo..." Sound familiar to all you moms out there? Sometimes even a real word comes out. She now says "hi!" which is so darn cute. (note: it's not so cute when she says "hi" to you upon entering her room in answer to her 3am cries. I mean, it's cute, but...it more like, "you woke me from sleep to say hi?" uh, yeah. reeeeal cute.) What's even better is her trying to say scarecrow. It comes out as "care-coh" and makes you want to just explode from witnessing such darn cuteness.

Other new stuff (in case you want to be totally bored to tears): she uses a spoon fairly well now and can climb like a little monkey. oo oo ee ee ahh ahh. She walks up and down stairs by herself and is finding new joys in climbing the absolutely highest slide at the park. If mommy pulls her down, she has a fit.

"Hi" to the beginnings of the terrible twos. whimper

I hope all will be well next week with Grandma & Grandpa. As they say, she can be a little pistol sometimes. Must be all that red hair.

Technorati tags: toddlers, potty training, language explosion

Blogger Beta---yeah it is!

Let me just say that I'm kinda irritated Blogger Beta's claims that it would be sooooo much easier to customize (ok, I'm paraphrasing, but is it just me or didn't they make it sound like it would be a cinch?) Whatever. It's not. It's easy if you want to keep the same template but change fonts and colors. WHEE. Oh I guess you can add some new "elements" to the page, but even these are pre-programmed. I took one look at the new "customizer" and just about barfed.

So, here's my take on trying to customize Blogger on my own. It's a start. And I in no way shape or form claim to be good at this. Frankly, I don't know what the #$% I'm doing here. For instance, I'm having issues with the background and think I may ditch it altogether. I like having my own header though. I've been wanting to figure that out for months. I finally holed myself up in a room last night and just threw something together while my poor hubby was downstairs with a very cranky Lizzy. Poor dears. I guess mommy really needed some time away from it all. Why mommy picked wrestling with Blogger and HTML code instead of going out and doing something that's actually fun is a whole other issue. eh, I'll tackle that one later. maybe.

For now, I'm open to suggestions and any help on my HTML debacle displayed herein. :)

Nano MySpace-o

Ok. I admit it. I've totally lost it with the NANO project. I know. It sucks, but it's okay. I've got about 2500 words. I could list my excuses, but I'll spare you. Just wanted to keep you in the know. What matters is that I tried. kinda. I haven't given up on the novel, just getting 50K words written by Nov 30. yeah..........

have I mentioned that we are going to Hawaii in like 10 days?????? I absolutely cannot wait.
OH MY GAWD. It's going to be so keewl to have that much time to spend with my hubby and just be ourselves no work, no little girl. I'll miss her terribly, but we so need to get away and spend some time together. We are staying in the same place we spent our honeymoon. so fantastic. the lanai is oceanfront and we can step right out onto grass that leads to the beach. man oh man. can't. wait.

And.
After 4 months of having an account...I finally set up my MySpace page. (not sure if you can see it or not--but there's even a goofy picture of me on there--for the time being at least) It's funny how many people use myspace. Me? I have NO IDEA what to use it for, but at least now I can pretend to be hip and say, "me? oh yeah, I have a myspace page..." hahaha. I need to pick a URL name, but everything I've tried is already taken. (I know I know, big problems. WAH.) Anyway, if anyone wants to enlighten me as to what to actually DO with a myspace page, feel free. My friend told me people hook up via that thing, but obviously I don't need to do that. and you can have a blog, but...well, that's obviously not needed. Am I just taking up space over there? prolly. oh well.

Getting my NaNoWriMo Legs

It's day 2 of NaNoWriMo, and I'm behind. The goal is to write 50,000 words by midnight Nov 30th--that's roughly 1667 words a day. My total word count is...drumroll please...

1304.

But it's something. And I am proud. I want to "win" the challenge, but even if I don't, I'll be happy in knowing that I tried. If nothing else, I'll have 1304 more words of my novel than I would have if I didn't try. :)

Mostly I'm realizing just how difficult novel-writing is. Let me tell you, thinking and doing are two different things. For me, it's much harder than I realized. At least I am (partially) saved by the NaNoWriMo philosophy to write quantity, not quality. As an editor, it's especially challenging not to edit myself and to just write.

This is probably why I'm behind: because I've rewritten stuff and spent more time tweaking than just spilling out narrative content. I wrote 1,000+ words in about an hour today--not great, but better than yesterday's 300 words.

I'm behind, but I'm not giving up.
I'm not I'm not I'm not!

(Remind me to read this post come Nov 25th.)

Boo! It's NaNoWriMo Eve!!

I finally carved our pumpkin. Check it out.



I think it looks scary, and dude, I totally dig it that way! I've carved many a happy-go-lucky pumpkin, but this year I took one look at my little orange guy and saw a sad, seedy soul. pun intended.

I've also had such a wonderful day today. it helps when Lizzy naps for 2 hours, I must admit. But I actually feel that I got something accomplished AND Lizzy had fun. It's the kind of day I constantly strive for.

We visited the playground earlier in the afternoon and, while there, met lots of new little friends. It's much more fun to play with others. Elizabeth fell in love with this one little girl's bike and she kept going over to it and ringing its bell. the little girl didn't mind (thank god) but I tried to explain to her that it wasn't her bike even though it was one hellova ride...well, not in those words. anyways. it was a nice

And tomorrow I start the novel!

Now THAT's scary.

NaNoWriMo

Oh, I forgot to mention...

As you can see from the sidebar graphic, I've completely lost my marbles and decided to actually participate in this year's National Novel Writing Month, or "nanowrimo" as it is affectionately dubbed. I've got a basic plot forming in my head and lots of curiosity whether or not I can bring it to life as a novel.

Should be a wild ride.
Hope my seatbelts work.

Marie Antoinette review

The other night I went out with a friend to dinner, and afterwards, instead of going home, I went to see a movie...dun dun duuuun...by myself. My friend had to get home, giving the ol' I have to work line. haha, I remember those days!! I know I have a "job" too as mom to my young Lizzzzy baby, but I was out on the town already & not tired, so I figured what the heck. Let me stress that, duuude, this is a WAY rare occastion. Just being out without a child attached to my hip is rare enough!

Of all the movies to see, I chose Marie Antoinette. I'm not a big Kirsten Dunst fan, but I loved Sofia Coppolla's two other feature films (Lost in Translation and The Virgin Suicides). Plus, it was the only film starting around the time I got to the theaters. An easy and quick decision made!

In a word, I LOVED the movie. The striking imagery and refreshing soundtrack (a blend of New Romantic 80s stuff and classical pieces) wonderfully captured what it must have been like for the young, displaced, and very bored Marie. The romanticized scenes at le Petit Trianon were especially haunting and revealed a side of Marie Antoinette that is rarely seen: simple, pastoral, even a budding creative artist. Scenes of tall wildflowers swaying in the breeze, lazy boat excursions and afternoon interludes with lute and harp players. Beautiful. Not to mention the exquisite candies, bon bons and other delicacies mouthwateringly posed in strategically placed still shots. If I were one of those starving common people rioting in the streets, I'd hate her careless extravagence too, just for those awesome candies alone! I won't even go into her stunning costumes and makeup.

Of course, the film nearly completely disregarded the revolutionist's point of view--but this was Marie's story--she wasn't concerned with them (part of her problem) so it's fair that the volitile nature of revolutionary Paris didn't much enter Marie's world of Versaille, and especially her retreat which expressedly removed her from the worries of world.

Not sure how much this film depicts the real woman vs. how much of it is merely a simplified decpiction of her life. It would be interesting to learn more history on the period and specifically her real character. The film, however, succeeded in showing a sympathetic side of MA, and in a modern, refreshing way. Bravo Sofia.

Not bad, just Stuff.

I haven't been blogging lately, and it's been good. I love keeping a blog, but real life stepped in and said "hey, pay more attention to me." Not bad, just stuff. In the month I've been on hiatus I actually took my LAST paycheck and a (sort of) vacation road trip. I say sort of b/c it was with my DH and one of his friends. Sometimes three's a crowd, kwim? It was fun doing some wheeling in Moab, some gambling in Vegas, and some looong hours driving NV's "Loneliest Road in America" (I'm not kidding). Fun to get away mostly, but I wouldn't call it a "vacation.

So, now I have no...ahem...paid job and lemme tell you that's been yet another transition. The reality of my career-kill is a bit harder than I expected. Perhaps it's more a mental leap than anything though. Just knowing that I don't have my career anymore kind of forces me to "redefine" who I am, if that makes sense. Even though I DIDN'T define myself by my career--I didn't even really think of it as a career. It really makes no sense. All of these thoughts stem from the fact that being a SAHM is completely different than going to the office everyday. Goals and acheivements are still there, but they are WAY wacky. All over the board & chaotic is how I would describe it. So unlike my previous job where things were much more structured and somewhat predictable and process-oriented-to-death, now I need to re-think how to plan and complete goals. Suffice to say, it's been a messy few weeks as far as that goes.

Anyhoo---what I've missed most about blogging--aside from all your brilliant comments of course--is not having a record of what's been going on with me and my darling Lizzy.

She's made a lot of progress just in the past month it seems. She's attempting to talk more-- even mimics words that she's heard for the first time. Well, she's starting to do that; it's still a fairly random event, but it's a start. I know she understands so much of what we're saying too. Nice, but a little scary. Certain words can now trigger an intense reaction, like playground, park, walk, eat, and of course, no.

oh yeah, she's starting to say "no" and I need to keep reminding myself that this IS a good thing.


Glad to be back. It feels good to open up the writing bottle again--I missed it more than I thought I did. Writing is amazingly cathartic.

So are Lizzy's naps...ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. (Just sleep. pretty please??! Mommy NEEDs you to nap. Mommy...I mean you...er...will feel so much better after a nice, long nap...)