Confessions of a Blogaholic

Every day she gets a little bit older, a little bit bigger, a little more hair, a little more able.

She climbs the stairs, she dances up and down, she takes her shoes off when in the car for longer than 5 minutes, she laughs, she does things to get a laugh.

Her nose crinkles, her hair stands up all over the place, her eyes light up, her babbling gets more extensive, her hands get more curious.

She is absolutely stunning, and I am so glad she is mine.

It's funny that I long for snow days just so I can play catch up everywhere else in my life.

We've been busy, busy, busy as always.

Dad: Is now in a nursing home. The ventilator was removed after about two weeks. He still has bad pneumonia that has not reacted to any of the meds, and his liver is still incredibly shot. For now, though, he is alcohol and smoke free and receiving physical therapy at the nursing home until he can walk again. Mom and I have been busy on the phones, waiting in line at the SS office, ordering paperwork, copying, faxing, talking to the hospital, going to the hospital. In all, I have to say the hospital gets only a 1/5 stars for their performance. They were going to discharge the man on Saturday with NO PLACE TO GO and NO ABILITY TO WALK, until my mom and I talked to the case worker and pointed out their stupidity. He has a court date coming up and may be going to jail, but that would be THAT much longer before he drinks and smokes again. In the end, I am not holding my breath for him to recover. He's on the decline, but I don't see him choosing a life of sobriety.

My Classes: Are back in full swing. I'm taking 1 class right now on Monday nights. I have three classes to complete this summer, an internship in the fall, my Praxis for Administrator's test to pass, and I'm a fully licensed curriculum specialist with only 1 semester of interning to receive my principal's license if I ever choose to do so.

Ry: Is still beautiful as ever! She climbs our entire staircase all by herself! She stands without holding on to things for about 20 seconds. She's a big girl, and she's SPOILED ROTTEN! I mean, her princess mentality is in everything she does. Oh my... I am already ready for another baby. I have serious baby envy for some reason. I don't think Nathan is entirely ready for another one just yet, but he has said if it happens, it happens--though we all know the likelihood of it "just happening" in our circumstances. I can't wait to see Ry as a big sister. I can't wait to do all of this over again. Plus, I don't want to get too far away from the sleepless nights before I do it over, ya know?

The House: We're saving up for our deck this summer, hoping to have it built in May so we can enjoy it throughout the summer and fall. I can't wait to have a deck! Our goal has been to save as much money as possible so we can get everything we want in our deck without having to be told we don't have enough. Other goals for the summer...a natural gas grill (we have a natural gas hookup on the back of our house), a wooden playset for the princess, and a shed for the lawnmower, fire pit/canopy storage, to give us space in the garage for a freezer unit. Finally, I'm hoping to figure out how to grow my own tomatoes and green peppers and learn how to can salsa, spaghetti sauce, etc.

Food: Since my last post, I have totally cut out all processed foods and any food with High Fructose Corn Syrup. I've cooked pretty much every night and eaten salads when we've gone out to dinner. We've switched to primarily turkey and chicken for meats (I haven't been a fan of beef since I blew my eyeballs out when I was pregnant). And I've gotten Nathan to eat more salads and whole wheat bread. A lot of this stuff I was already doing for the past couple of years, but I would sneak in crap just so I didn't have to cook (Kraft Mac & Cheese, anyone?). Though I am doing a lot more cooking, Nathan and I prep most of the stuff on Sundays (frozen meatloaves, meatballs, cut up veggies for salads, frozen strombolis, as well as making all Ry's baby food) in only a couple of hours, which makes dinners so much easier throughout the week. I've only lost a couple of pounds, but I'm about 13 less than I was before I got pregnant, and I'm still sticking to my guns about working out--I'll do what I feel like doing, not what I'm forcing myself to do. So, if I'm going to read some in the evening after I put the baby to bed, I hope on the treadmill--the more interested I am in the book, the longer I am likely to stay on. If I'm watching TV and hanging out, I'll pick up my weights and mindlessly (no counting) do bicep curls, lateral lifts, bench press on the exercise ball, whatever, until I can't lift them anymore. I'll also bust out some squats and lunges, again while watching the boob tube. But I'm not doing anything I don't want to do. When the weather clears, we'll go for walks, bike ride (with the trailer we're buying Ry for her birthday), or hike. I'm still not concerned about losing weight; I could care less what the scale says, but I AM concerned about being healthier, being more capable of playing with my kid(s), feeling more energized, sleeping better at night, and living from sun up to sun down. I feel better, more confident, have higher self-esteem, and live more positively when I take care of myself--that's what I'm working toward.