Bliss ~ Félicité

A Dress and an Idea

2011-05-23T21:33:00.000-07:00

Ivy's 1st birthday is quickly approaching and I have been having way too much fun planning her party. So many ideas and possibilities have been swirling around in my head the past couple of weeks thanks to Pinterest and the blog Hostess with the Mostess!

I was really having a hard time nailing down what I wanted to do for Ivy, until I found the most adorable dress the other day. You know how some people design a room around a pillow or a pattern, well her party is being planned around... this dress!

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I am excited. Now off to research invites! :D

I love this face!

2011-05-23T21:15:00.000-07:00

~ Months 4, 5 and 6

2011-05-20T06:59:00.000-07:00

It's been forever since I posted Ivy's monthly pictures! Here are months 4, 5 and 6. Even though I never posted anything here, I was still taking her photos and writing down things as she accomplished them. I look back and it's crazy how much time has passed, but at the same time it feels just like yesterday that she was a Newborn!

Dear Ivy,

Your personality really blossomed during this time! You came out of your shell and showed us what sweet and a happy baby you were, and still are at 9 months old right now.

4 months:

You were sleeping amazingly at this point, from approximately 9 to about 5 in the morning. Oh how I miss those nights!

Wearing 3 and 6 months clothes.

You liked to nap, during the day, in someones arms and hated the bassinet and your crib.

Still disliked car seat, but you were getting better. It was hit or miss and you cried about half the time.

Tummy time you still hated and would scream.

You hands were in your mouth all the time!

You would play with your paci, while it was in your mouth, but couldn't take it out and put back in yourself.

At the end of 3 months you starting reaching for objects.

You loved to be sung too and would smile. Songs that I would sign to you were, Old Mcdonald and This old Man.

5 Months

You had your first Thanksgiving, with your dad, at your Uncle Troy and Aunts Melissa's. I spent the day at home as I had pneumonia. :(

The 4 month wakeful period hit and you were up every 2 hours at night. You also went on a bassinet strike and the only way I could get you to go to sleep at night, was if it was in bed with us.

You started being able to pick up items and they instantly went in your mouth!

You were wearing mostly 6 month clothes, the occasional 3 month item would still fit.

Still only napping in the arms of your dad and you also decided that you didn't like your swing anymore.

You were better with the carseat and as long as the car was moving you didn't cry.

Tummy time was getting a bit better. You would look around for a couple of minutes, but then you would start to cry and face plant the floor. You rolled over from front to back for first time.

The cats enthrall you and you love to stare at them!

Your feet are a sorce of entertainment, when you lay on your back. Things you also loved were the jumperoo and the "I found love" video from Yo Gabba Gabba.

You do not like to lay on your back or lean back in someone's arms. You struggle and try to sit upright.

6 months

You learned to sit upright at the beginning of 5 months but it took you the rest of the month to become a pro. You were much happier once you could sit by yourself.

First bath in the big bath tub! No more Puj tub.

Rolling over more when doing tummy time. As soon as you were placed on your tummy, you would roll over.

Sleeping wise you were better. You were always easy to put down and but you were still waking up at 2:00 and 4:00 to nurse.

Look how much we have grown! Prior Monthly Photos

Random Fridays Musings

2011-05-20T06:58:00.000-07:00

~It's sad when you are excited that your baby only woke up 3 times the previous night!

~I wish we had a hammock for the backyard. Laying out there and taking a nap with Ivy sounds like heaven.

~I have all these grand ideas for Ivy's 1st birthday party, but realistically I don't think I have the time to do it all.

~For awhile now, I have been looking forward to ditching the pump when Ivy turns 1 or having a pump burning, jk! But recently I have been thinking about it and have decided that I may just drop my 2nd pumping session at work and only pump on my lunch for awhile and see how it goes. Set a small goal and after awhile reassess.

~I seriously need to cut back on my caffeine. Pepsi has become my crack again. I really don't want another kidney stone.

~I feel like I have been really productive this week. Yesterday, Ivy and I went on a walk with my friend Jenni and baby Drew. I have also done laundry and cleaned. We worked on the yard this last weekend and we don't look the like the white trash neighbors anymore.

~Made dinner the other day and used Bok Choy for the first time and it was sooo good and super easy! Thanks CT for the recipe!

~Looking forward to the weekend:

Meeting up with some girls from my awesome message board that I participate on, having lunch with a friend and then also looking forward to the awesome weather we are supposed to have. Ivy and I might have to make a trip to the park!

Semi Update & Big Girl Car Seat

2011-05-16T12:21:00.000-07:00

This post was written... oh almost 2 months ago and I never finished it. In fact, I haven't blogged in almost 3 months. Where have I been you ask? Well, I have been sick: two colds, strep throat and an ear infection. I have been working, cleaning, sleeping and being a mommy to an ever on the go, crawling, little girl who is almost 10 months. Yikes! Just trying to juggle this thing called parenthood, while still trying to stay social with family and friends.

I have had several people comment on the lack of posts on here so here you go, this was written 03/26/11:

Today we went to BRU and got Ivy a convertible car seat. She has always hated the infant seat with a passion and is always trying to sit forward in it. Since, she weighs so much now, we have been leaving the car seat in the base when we go anywhere. We figured that she might enjoy the convertible seat more.

Turns out she does. She is slightly more sitting up and not reclining as much and this equals a much happier baby!

And in case any of you mommies out there didn't see, this week the AAP announced that they now advise babies and toddlers should be rear facing until 2 years of age or until they exceed the weight or height limit for the car seat.

The Most Wonderful Time of Year

2011-02-16T21:13:00.000-08:00

I know what you are thinking, Robyn you are a couple of months late on this one! Christmas was back in December!

But I have to disagree. The most wonderful time of year is Girl Scout Cookie time. HEHE.

It comes once a year, just like Christmas. Your order your cookies and then you wait in anticipation for them to arrive.

Then when they come and you are so excited. You promptly devour an half a box of deliciousness in one sitting. MmMmmm!

Can you have some? Ummm.... nervously tries to hide box behind back.... I don't have any left.

Babywearing Adventures: Part 2

2011-02-14T21:51:00.000-08:00

We have come a long ways, since my last Babywearing post. I am now pretty good at putting Ivy up on my back. I do still mess up occasionally, either it's too loose or she is too low. I have also still not tried wrapping in public. I am a long ways from doing that! But, I am getting faster and Ivy doesn't get frustrated as much.

Here are a couple of recent Babywearing photos:

Cooking:

and we fell asleep!

Feeling like Home

2011-02-14T21:47:00.000-08:00

As you know it's been awhile, since I last blogged. Since then we have packed, moved, cleaned and been unpacking. We love the new place and it's perfect for where we are in our lives right now!

I am loving the fact that I have my own washing machine and dryer! Doing laundry has actually been fun. I am sure the novelty will wear off soon though! :)

The location is great. David and Ivy have already made several trips, with the stroller, down to the local shopping center and Trader Joes. I have tagged along a couple times myself. Everything is so close and at the same time our actual neighborhood, is still really quiet.

The house is coming along. The kitchen is completely done, other than changing out the curtains. Living room is 90% done. Our room is about 50% done but Ivy's has a long ways to go.

I finally feel like we have established a new normal and am excited that the place is starting to feel like home!

At 4:00 AM

2011-02-14T17:59:00.000-08:00

I pinky promise a real update is in the works.

Until then, I leave you with a sneak peak of Ivy's 6 month photos. She is growing so fast and becoming such a little girl. Her personality is really emerging.

Just this morning, I was woken at 4 am, by her patting my face (we have been bed sharing lately) and talking to me. Makes being woken up, in the wee hours, a tiny bit better.

I Found Love

2011-01-17T12:50:00.000-08:00

Ivy loves this video! Her eyes get real big and she smiles.

I have the words memorized, that's how much she loves it. :)

My New Obsession

2011-01-15T22:36:00.000-08:00

After working all day and not seeing my baby, when I get home I just want to kiss her all over, squeeze her and never let go of her. When I wear her, I get to go about doing things and all the while having her close to me!

Until recently, I have just been using a sling. Unfortunately after awhile, the sling starts to hurt my back and shoulders. We also have a Baby Bjorn, which we got when I went to Ellen's Mothers Day show. David loves it, but I find too bulky and hard to move around in.

I started doing research on other ways to wear your baby and came across wraps. I specifically wanted something that I could wear Ivy in and do housework at the same time. I considered getting a Moby Wrap but noticed that they were not recommended to be used to carry your baby on your back, due to them being stretchy.

So, a woven wrap it was! Thanks to the lovely girls on the AP board on the Bump.com, I became familiar with the baby wrapping world, which I never knew existed!

There are so many different types of woven wraps, different sizes and they are just beautiful. They are pricey, but I was able to find a used one that I loved on a FSOT board, that was a great price.

Woven wraps are definitely not easy to use. They take lots of practice. I think this one reason why they aren't very popular. It has been a fun learning process.

Here are some pics of a finished project. I believe this was my 3rd try at it and the first time that didn't leave Ivy crying. I was super excited after this and really proud of myself. What I didn't realize at the time though, was that I totally messed up the last couple of steps and Ivy is not supported well, at all! I was doing dishes and she started to slip down. I was a little horrified, once I had realized what I had done.

Didymos Indio Lilac, 4.6 m, supposed to be a double hammock carry

I made sure to re-read the directions several times before trying again! It's still a work in progress, but today's try was pretty good and Ivy and I ventured out of the house to get the mail!

It's a go!

2011-01-15T20:57:00.001-08:00

Today, we got the call that our application to rent a house was accepted!!!! We are so very excited. It's about time that we get out of this place!

I used to love our little apartment, but we have outgrown it and it's time to move on. I am most excited about this new house is the backyard for Ivy, close to family and finally a washer and dryer! Also, the much safer neighborhood, is very nice as well.

I am grinning like a Cheshire cat right now! :D

But, I am not looking forward to packing. Especially only having 2 weeks to do it. Oh boy! I keep reminding myself though, it is going to be completely worth it.

Well I am off to start packing. I leave you with two photos that I took real quick today of the house.

This one is the living room, looking into the backyard. I love the big windows. And the second one is of the kitchen.

Why Hello

2011-01-12T14:51:00.001-08:00

Quick update, since I am sure you are all dying to know what we have been up to and doing this past month! :)

It took me about a full month to be feeling 100% after getting pneumonia. Then David was sick and had bronchitis for a couple of weeks and now Ivy has a cold.

So, it's been almost 2 months of sickness in some form or another in our house. I will be glad when we are back to being healthy! We are getting there slowly, but surely!

Overall, we had a good Christmas and New Year. Not how I would have planned it for Ivy's 1st Christmas, but it really forced us to focus on family and the true meaning of Christmas. Rather than the commercialism and gift giving.

But exciting things happening in our household:

Ivy sitting unassisted.

Trying to learn how use a woven wrap and wear Ivy on my back.

Us submitting an application to rent a house.

Researching solids and stumbling upon the concept of Baby Led Weaning, thus Ivy trying Avocado.

and lots more. Hopefully, I can get back into the blogging grove soon and can update you all on this!

Never in My Life

2010-12-04T21:29:00.000-08:00

have I been so sick before. I caught the flu and then it turned into pneumonia. 11 straight days of an on and off fever, with chills and sweats.

During those 11 days:

I spent Thanksgiving by myself, at home, in bed. No family get to together and no family picture of Ivy's first Thanksgiving. No pumpkin pie.

Our day after Thanksgiving tradition of myself cooking my mini day after Thanksgiving meal, with Stove Top stuffing and garlic mashed potatoes didn't happen. Or our putting up the Christmas Tree and listening to Christmas carols, while the turkey cooks.

Still a little bitter about all of this.

Instead, I went to Urgent Care the day after Thanksgiving. The Dr. said I had strep throat, an upper respiratory infection and bronchitis, all of this by barely looking me over. He gave me an antibiotic for the strep, that was safe for nursing, but I continued to get worse.

David called the families long time physician Sunday and he was really concerned about how long I had been sick. He had me come in on Monday and I had blood work done, chest x-ray, exam and the diagnosis was pneumonia!

He told me that I could try and continue the antibiotic the previous Dr prescribed, so I could continue nursing. But my Dr wasn't very optimistic that it was going to be strong enough.

I really didn't want to temporarily stop nursing, pump and dump and Ivy to have to have formula, so I stuck with the original prescription and spent two more days of being sick.

Come Wednesday night and I was still really sick and not getting better. I was starting to have issues with my supply. I think my body finally decided that it had to do something to get better, but not even that was enough.

I had had enough and made the switch to the stronger antibiotic. And then finally no fever!

It's been 3 days since switching and I am feeling much better! Still hacking up a lung and tired, but so, so glad to not have a fever anymore.

Ivy so far has done really well with the switch to formula. She hasn't had any tummy issues or anything. But the poo, oh my! I have already gagged several times from the foul smell.

I am pumping and dumping, which is a pain in the butt and sucks. My supply is going back up. I finally ventured out of the house, for lunch today. It was nice to be able to get outside, but it was tiring.

I'm not looking forward to going back to work on Monday. I probably need a couple of more days of rest, but I have already used all my sick time. This past week was all vacation hours.

I am ready for life to get back to normal. Two good friends had babies while I was sick and I can't wait to meet the little guys. I also want to get start decorating our place for Christmas and finish our shopping. Just ready for normal.

One lesson learned from the whole experience, I don't think I will ever go with out getting a flu shot. I don't want to ever go through that again.

Day 22

2010-11-22T21:30:00.000-08:00

I am sick and feel awful. I think it may be the flu. This seriously sucks. If it's the flu you are contagious for 5 days. Umm Thanksgiving is in 2 days.

I started feeling bad last night and today I was feeling pretty good, but I have a fever again. I haven't really been able to get in any real sleep other than last night, because during the day Ivy eats about every 2 hours. Sigh

On another note, Ivy turned 4 months today!

Day 21: Deal on Robeez Shoes

2010-11-21T20:45:00.000-08:00

Check out this deal on Slick Deals for Robeez shoes! Up to 50% off!

I can't decide which ones I like for Ivy. These are a few that I like.

Day 20: A Very Special Person

2010-11-20T23:48:00.000-08:00

Today, Ivy and I visited Mandi who was our Bradley Instructor/Doula. We checked out her new classroom and Mandi was awesome enough to allow me to share Ivy's birth story with her students. Afterwards, we talked a bit about me potentially becoming an instructor. There is definitely lot's to think about!

And of course, we couldn't leave without a photo. We didn't get a photo of Ivy with Mandi when she born, so we had to take one today for Ivy's baby book.

Day 19: Confessions

2010-11-19T15:48:00.001-08:00

Not everything is perfect in our household.

~ This morning for breakfast, I ate half a slice of Kahlua Coffee Chocolate Cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory. I opened the fridge and I saw it sitting there and then it said: Eat Me. How could I resist?

~ I haven't done one load of Ivy's laundry, since before she was born. Many thanks to my wonderful mother in law for doing it for me.

~ Hmmm... that last confession just made me realize that I haven't done a single load of laundry at all. ::bows my head in shame:: Thank you David.

~ I really need to buy my parents Christmas gift and send it to them before Christmas this year. I am already a terrible daughter, because they got last years gift when they came out to visit Ivy in August.

~ For a slight moment yesterday, while pumping at work, I wished that Ivy was on formula. Pumping is a pain. I give props to all the moms who exclusively pump. I don't think I could do it. I soon remembered though all the positives to continuing to breastfeed and I would miss it if I weaned her now.

~ Sometimes after a long week of work I don't want to share Ivy. So when out and about visiting with family and friends, I will put her in the sling. People are less likely to ask her to hold her when I do this.

Day 18: Reaching

2010-11-18T22:02:00.000-08:00

At almost 4 months, Ivy has started taking a genuine interest in her toys. In just the last day or two she has been reaching for them. For awhile now, she might accidentally hit a toy with her hand, while laying on her play gym. She normally just stares at the toys for a couple of minutes. For her to really like them, it had to make sounds or light.

Well when I came home today, she was making very intentional movements with her hands. Grabbing at the hanging toys or batting at them! I thought it was maybe just her doing it accidentally again but this was definite reaching.

Since, she likes to stand more now and is playing with her toys, I think she finally may be ready for a jumperoo!

Day 17: Wordless Wednesday

2010-11-17T21:42:00.000-08:00

Day 16: 9 Years

2010-11-16T22:25:00.000-08:00

9 years ago today marks the start David and I's relationship together. What an amazing 9 years it has been! I seriously can't believe it's almost been a decade. Of those 9 years, we dated for 5 and half and been married now for 3 and half years. And just recently, we had out baby girl. Wow!

I look forward to what the Lord has in store for us in the future! I love you David!

Day 15: Baby's 1st Christmas Ornament

2010-11-15T21:28:00.000-08:00

In David's family, him and his brothers were given a Hallmark ornament each Christmas. When we got married, all of the ornaments came to live at our house. We have since carried on the tradition for ourselves and we typically by each other an ornament each year. I think this is a great tradition and plan on doing this for our children as well.

So, I have been searching for Ivy's 1st ornament and here are a couple of ones that I have seen and liked.

Lenox

Hallmark

The problem is that I can't decide which one I like the best!

Day 14: Weekend in Review

2010-11-14T17:58:00.000-08:00

Overall it was a pretty good weekend! Busy, relaxing and productive.

Friday night, Ivy and I got all bundled up and went with Jenni and Dave to one of the local high schools football game. It was Ivy's first game and she did great. She slept through most of it, including sleeping through the screaming done by the young boys behind us. When she was awake, she was really intrigued by all the sights and sounds.

Saturday, Ivy and I went to a friends baby shower and then made a trip to Trader Joe's. I also made this flan for our friends wine tasting/dinner party. I'm not normally a big fan of flan, but this recipe was really good! I want to make it again. The wine tasting was fun and like always the food and company were great.

I also noticed that Ivy has figured out how move her pacifier in and out of her mouth. It has to be in her mouth first for her to be able to do it. She can't pick it up and put it in her mouth. Well she can pick it up, but she ends up trying to put it in backwards or sideways.

Then today, we went to church, then lunch with David's parents and then came home and cleaned. This evening the family came by for pizza and hanging out.

Whew! I need another weekend to relax from how busy we were!

Day 13: Old Christmas Photos

2010-11-13T23:05:00.000-08:00

I know we haven't even had Thanksgiving yet, but I wanted to share these photos. I decided that in an effort make our place more festive come time to decorate for Christmas, I wanted to replace the photos in our picture frames, with photos of previous Christmases. I asked my mom for help and she emailed me these today.

Why I had a boys haircut, I do not know!

Rainbow Bright!

Day 12: Random Friday Musings

2010-11-12T21:36:00.000-08:00

It's finally the weekend!

~ I am looking forward to sleeping in!

~ We will definitely be busy this weekend. I have a baby shower to go which I still need to buy a gift. A Wine tasting/dinner party tomorrow in which I need to make a flan. Laundry and cleaning.

~ I can't believe that Thanksgiving is 2 weeks away!

~ Ivy went to her first football game tonight. It was cold out, so I had to bundle her up. This was the first time that she would be spending an extended amount of time outside while it was cold, so I didn't really know how to dress her. Before leaving, I was concerned that I had put too many layers on her, but I think I did a good job finding the right balance between hot and cold. She did though end up wearing socks on her hands, haha!

~ I am both loving and hating the time change. I like the fact that it's not dark when I go to work but hate how it's now dark when I get home. Ivy did pretty well with the change. We moved her bedtime to 8:30 from 9:00 and she is still sleeping through the night. Wohoo! I need to be better about going to bed earlier though.

~ It may be time to bust out the electric blanket for my side of the bed. I love to sleep in a cold room, all cuddled up in warm blankets and a with a kitty at my feet.

~ I have been really enjoying Lady Antebellum's album Need You Now, especially their song, Hello World.

Day 11: Back in the Kitchen

2010-11-11T21:39:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, was the first time in a very long time that I was cooked a real dinner. I seriously can't remember the last time it was. This is sad. If you could see me now, I am shaking my head with disappointment at myself.

Since going back to work, my philosophy has been once I get home, I try to spend as much time with my precious baby girl. If that means not cooking dinner and eating out, so be it. But honestly, I have missed cooking. I want to bake some Pumpkin Cupcakes!

So yesterday evening, I placed Ivy and her swing in the kitchen and proceeded to cook dinner. As I cooked, I would occasionally stop to sign and dance for Ivy. She did really well and it was nice to have a real dinner. We did it again this evening!

My goal this weekend is to make the Pumpkin Cupcakes!

Day 10: Recent Photos of Ivy

2010-11-10T21:25:00.000-08:00

I realized that it's been awhile since I posted some photos of Ivy, so here you go!

Day 9: First Real Laugh

2010-11-09T22:00:00.000-08:00

Last Friday, Ivy gave me her first real laugh at 3 1/2 months old! For awhile now she would give us kind of a half laugh. Kind of like a "ha ha". But this time it was definitely a laugh. It sounded like giggles almost. Supper cute!

And of course when I grabbed my phone and tried to record her, she stopped. That little rascal!

Day 8: Steady Ground

2010-11-08T21:14:00.000-08:00

The entire morning and part of the early afternoon was spent resolving what happened this weekend. Lots of waiting, of which 2 hours was spent just at DMV. New debit cards on hand, a new drivers license on the way, and another paycheck waiting for me at work. I feel human again. I can buy gas or groceries if I want to!

So very happy right now!

Day 7: Fast Forward

2010-11-07T21:19:00.000-08:00

Can we just fast forward a couple of days, or a week from now?

I hate waiting and not knowing if the person, who took my purse, was able to cash my paycheck. Today has seriously crawled by. I had already been planning on taking tomorrow off and was looking forward to sleeping in and relaxing, but instead the day will be busy dealing with not so fun issues. I am not looking forward to it.

Otherwise on a good note, Ivy allowed me to scrub down the entire shower today. She sat in her swing and watched me the entire time. I didn't think cleaning the shower was that interesting, haha.

And the time change wasn't too bad for her. She normally sleeps in till 10 or 10:30, so when she woke up at 9:00 this morning, it wasn't super early. Tonight though, I was hoping to keep her up till her normal bedtime of 9:00, but she was falling asleep in my arms at 8:00. I went ahead and just put her down.

I think the time change in the spring will be a harder adjustment for her since she will be older and also because you loose an hour!

Day 6: Crying Inside

2010-11-06T22:08:00.000-07:00

and actually a bit on the outside as well.

Last night, I accidentally left my purse on top of my car and it was stolen!

I seriously can't believe this happened. I came home last night and was unloading everything and put my purse on top of the car. I had tons of stuff to take inside, since Ivy and I had been staying with the IL's, while David was out of town for work. I was trying to figure out how to get it all inside, stacking it all precariously on the stroller and in my hands when Ivy started to fuss. I forgot all about my purse on top of the car and went inside our apartment.

It wasn't until today, did I realize my purse was missing. I was looking for it and it dawned on me that I had left it on top of the car. I went outside and of course it was gone. :(

I immediately started calling my bank and credit cards. Turned out whoever stole my purse had already charged over $2000.00 on my credit card! $700 spent online at Ticket Master and $400 at Disney World, along with food and other items. They tried to also purchase clothes later this afternoon, but by that point the card had been canceled.

So, I spent my afternoon trying to resolve this whole thing. I had to cancel my credit card and debit cards and put a fraud alert on my credit report because my social was in my purse. I never normally carry my social with me, but it was in there from when I had returned to work. For some stupid reason, when I came back from maternity leave, I had to show them my drivers license, social and do a drug test even though they had all of this already on file. But whatever, I should have taken my social security card out immediately, but I forgot.

What's also frustrating is that my paycheck from the week before and my checkbook were also in my purse. UGH! Can it get any worse?!

So on Monday, I now get to go to the police station, file a report. Go to the bank and close our account, go to DMV and contact work to have a stop payment put on my paycheck from last week. I really hope they didn't figure out a way to cash my paycheck!

It's been a long day. I am emotionally and physically tired. I also feel violated in a way. It's sad how dishonest and sinful people can be. I think am going to go cry myself to sleep now.

Day 5: Excitement

2010-11-05T20:13:00.000-07:00

Here is a little video that I took the other day of Ivy talking. Sorry for the not so great quality as it was taken on my cell phone. She normally talks and coos in this sweet quiet voice, but this time she very excited.

Day 4: Chunky Legs

2010-11-04T20:56:00.000-07:00

I put Ivy in the Bumbo today and her not so little legs barely fit! She can't be getting too big for the Bumbo already. She is only 3 months old! She will probably be able to use for a little while longer, but not as long as I expected. Boy am I glad, we are just borrowing it and didn't buy one ourselves.

My little girl is growing up too quickly!

Day 3: Randomness

2010-11-03T21:23:00.000-07:00

It's day 3 of NaBloPoMo and I'm already racking my brain for topics. Blogging in general when having a baby becomes much harder due to trying to find the time. Right now, I am typing with one hand and Ivy is asleep in the crook of my left arm. It's past her bedtime and I really should have put her asleep before attempting to blog, but I missed her all day at work and just want to spend more time with her.

So in an effort to at least make this post substantial, here is some randomness:

* I have made it my goal to complete all my Christmas shopping before Thanksgiving.

* Did you know there is only 7 weekends before Christmas?!

* Do we even need to buy Ivy Christmas presents? I am leaning towards just buying her a stocking and her first ornament and leaving it at that.

* Our apartment is a disaster, because I have been enjoying spending time cuddling and playing Ivy rather than cleaning.

* Confession: I have only had one Pumpkin Spiced Latte this fall season. For some reason I am just not feeling the pumpkin this year.

* The high 90 degree weather in November is just wrong.

Well, Ivy just woke up and is fussing, so it looks like my time is up. It's time for bed. Hopefully tomorrows post will be more interesting.

Day 2: Pumpkins, Fall and a Ladybug

2010-11-02T20:46:00.000-07:00

Even though Ivy was not old enough to go trick or treating this Halloween, I still insisted that we dress her up and take photos. So, I bought her a very cute ladybug costume and we ventured out to the pumpkin patch in Yucaipa and tried to take some photos.

They came out pretty good. It was cloudy out and Ivy still squinted the entire time we were there. :( But what can you expect from a 3 month old!

So here is what we were able to get.

I can't wait for next year when she is more active!

Day 1: ~ 3 Months

2010-11-01T21:35:00.001-07:00

Dear Ivy,

You are now 3 months old and getting bigger each day. I am constantly amazed at what a wonderful baby that you are. You are rarely fussy. You are sleeping through the night. The Lord has definitely blessed us!

Physically: You are still in 3 months clothe,s but some are getting small on you. You can wear some 6 month clothes. I weighed you the other day and you are close to 15 lbs! I think your hair may be becoming more red, which I still can't get over the fact that you have red hair in the first place.

You have sticking your hands in your month for awhile, but it's only just recently that you started holding your hands together and playing with them. You sit in the Bumbo and stand with assistance. You still hate tummy time and your car seat. You have not rolled over yet or started reaching for objects, but I am sure you will learn to do these things soon.

I went back to work 2 weeks ago and I miss you so very much while I am gone. When I come home though you greet me with the biggest smile. We started swaddling you again a little after 2 months and you started sleeping for 6 to 7 hour stretches. You were still going to bed after 12 though. I was worried about this when it came time for me to go back to work, but you all of a sudden started to go down at 9:30 after eating. I wake you up around 5:30 and feed you before I leave for work and you sleep another 3 hours for dad, eat again and then go back asleep for 2 more hours.

I am really looking forward to the next couple of months, as we head into the holiday season. There will be many firsts for you and I can't wait!

Love,

Momma

NaBloPoMo 2010

2010-10-31T12:18:00.000-07:00

NaBloPoMo 2010 starts tomorrow. This year it's going to be hard since Ivy is here now, but I am still going to go for it. I have done it before and I can do it again. So here is to NaBloPoMo 2010. Happy blogging friends!

Anyone want to join me?

Getting So Big!

2010-10-30T23:20:00.000-07:00

I know I am late on doing Ivy's 3 month post and picture and hopefully I can do it tomorrow. Until then, here are some photos of Ivy's first time in the Bumbo!

First 2 Weeks of Work

2010-10-30T22:14:00.000-07:00

Going back to work went better than I anticipated. I didn't cry when I left in the morning, which really surprised me. That evening was another story. As I got her and myself ready for bed, I cried because I kept thinking about how I had to go back and how much I had missed her. But like everyone said it got easier each day.

The first week I did half days and on my first day back, by the time I went and did my drug test (silly that I had to do one) and came back. it was almost time to leave. I am really glad I did this as it it helped me ease back into work and getting used to pumping.

This past week of working a full 40 hour week went well. My first full day, David brought Ivy to the office so my boss and a couple of the other ladies could meet her, as they had been sick when I had brought her in previously. I miss Ivy so much while I am gone, but I am busy at work and the day goes by really quickly.

David has been doing an awesome job of watching her during the day. She has been sleeping great and sleeps late for him. She has started going to bed around 9:30 and I have to wake her up at 5:30 to feed her. I have been getting around 7 hours of sleep each night, which is awesome!

When I come home, I try and savor each and every moment I have with her, before going to bed. We have done a lot of cuddling and I have been putting her in her sling more often, so she is close to me. Somehow though, I need to work on fitting in cooking dinner and cleaning into our schedule. I am sure with time everything will fall into place.

Going back to Work

2010-10-14T13:58:00.000-07:00

I would love, love, love to stay at home with Ivy, but unfortunately it's pretty impossible for me to do so. We have crunched the numbers and thanks largely impart to my student loans, I can't stay at home with her.

So as of Monday, I will be back to work. :(

She will be at home during the week with daddy. This makes me feel so much better. If I can't be at home with her, the next best thing is Dad. I know the two of them will form a special bond because of this, which is a plus.

In preparing to go back to work, I began pumping a couple of weeks ago to build up a stash. I also started taking Fenugreek in efforts to bump up my supply. I started taking it when I started pumping, so I'm not sure if it has actually helped. I think it has though. I figure if it doesn't help, oh well as it's not hurting me to take it.

One thing that I dislike about it, is that I now smell like maple syrup. Yuck! I hate maple syrup. David thinks it's funny. The plan is, if I am able to pump enough at work and not have to dip into my stash or do additional pumping sessions while at home, I will probably stop taking the Fenugreek. And if not, I guess I will smell like maple syrup for several more months!

Ivy is also exclusively breast fed and I knew I wanted to introduce the bottle in advance, so David didn't have any problems when I actually went back to work. When we introduced the pacifier at 4 weeks, she would not take one. We tried several different types and she finally took a Nuk, but that was also with a lot of persuading. Because of this, I was so sure we were going to have problems introducing the bottle.

Well, when it came down to it, she took the bottle from David like a pro! Whew! I took a really cute photo of her taking her first bottle, but I can't find the camera anywhere!

The bottle that she ended up taking was the first one we tried, which was the Medela bottle that the pump provided. I also have some Weil Baby bottles that I received from the Ellen show, but we haven't tried them yet.

So far, she has taken several bottles from David and a bottle from my mother in law, with no problems. I have not given her any, as I fear that if I do, she might decide to reject the boob, due to the bottle being easier. My goal is to breast feed for a year or more and unless I absolutely had to, I don't want to do anything that might decrease my supply.

Going back to work also has required some new clothes. I hate spending money on new clothes, especially when my old ones are still nice, but my old ones don't fit. I have lost all of the baby weight that I gained, all 40 lbs! Wohoo! But, my boobs increased dramatically in size. I went from a small B to small D. Holy cow!

My pre-pregnancy clothes also tended to be on the form fitting side, so the bigger chest, plus the tiny bit of belly left, doesn't work in my book. Properly fitting clothes are a must when dressing professionally for work! We went shopping and I came home with several new shirts that I am looking forward to wearing!

I have 4 days left of maternity leave and I am trying to savor every moment that is left. I decided that I will not fret over going back to work. I will not spend this time worrying about it and being a bad mood. Nothing can be done to change the fact that I have to go back, so I am going to enjoy these last 4 days with baby girl!

And if any of you have any of you working mommas have advice, I am all ears!

Dressing for Fall

2010-10-05T15:05:00.000-07:00

Since it's been so hot lately, Ivy hasn't been able to wear her warmer clothes. I have been eying them in the drawers and wishing I could put them on her. Yesterday, the temperatures finally dipped and I got the chance to pull out the warmer clothes. I bundled her up and we enjoyed spending the day outside.

We sat on the front step and watched the kitties play outside.

Then it was off to the local outdoor shopping center where we went for a walk.

Picking Raspberries and Eating Apple Cider Doughnuts

2010-10-02T22:47:00.000-07:00

Our first trip to Oak Glen for the fall season was with Troy, Melissa and the kids. Last week, we went and visited Snow-Line Orchard, where we picked raspberries and ate yummy Apple Cider Doughnuts. They were sooo very good!

Watching our doughnuts being made.

Time to go pick Raspberries!

Ivy smiling away in her bassinet.

Madelyn wanting to play with Ivy!

Being that it was a Monday in September, we avoided all the crowds. Hopefully, when it cools down, we can do another trip out there. It was a great way to kick off the fall season!

This is Just Wrong

2010-09-26T09:48:00.000-07:00

Take a look at that high. Yuck!

~ 2 Months

2010-09-25T01:05:00.000-07:00

Dear Ivy,

A couple of days ago you turned two months! TWO MONTHS! I seriously can't believe how quickly the time has gone by. I was watching video the other day of your first bath and you were so little. You are not my little Newborn anymore. ::tear:: You are a chunker! Time needs to slow down!

You have developed so much in the last month as well. You are much more interactive. You smile and coo all the time now, which started around 6 weeks. You also mimic our facial features. If I stick out my tongue, you will do it back. You have learned to put your hand in your mouth. You can now track objects and you love to stare at your mobile.

Physically, like I mentioned already you have grown leaps and bounds. At your most recent Dr's appointment you were:

12lbs 9.5 oz: 90th Percentile!
23 inches: 75th Percentile

You grew out of the Newborn clothes and have grown out of most of your 0-3 month things. Your eyes are still blue and your hair still strawberry blond! :D You developed baby acne around 4 weeks and it finally went away at around 8 weeks. It was sad to see your little face sooo red. You were sick for the first time ever at 8 weeks. You developed a little cough and you were very fussy for a couple of days.

Sleeping is going pretty well. This month you really liked your swing and would nap in it during the day. For some reason though, when it comes to going to bed, you will not go down in your bassinet unless it's after 12pm and you have to be very tired. Most nights you give us a 4 to 5 hour stretch and then two hour stretches from then on. In the early mornings, I normally put you in bed with us, as I miss having you close to me. Soon, I will be going back to work and I really hope that you will start going down in your bassinet earlier.

And I am constantly amazed at how I love you more and more, each and every day. By becoming a mother, you have filled the missing puzzle piece in my life. I thank God for bringing you into our lives!

Love,

Momma

I Couldn't Resist

2010-09-23T23:06:00.000-07:00

I seriously love leggings for babies! Ivy currently has two pair and she wears them quite often. Other than being cute, they are also great for diaper changes.

Here is Ivy rocking some:

So today, when I saw these on the Babysteals.com, I couldn't resist and bought her some. I can't wait for them to arrive!

Hello Fall

2010-09-22T22:03:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that it's officially fall! My favorite season of the year! Time for cooler weather, warmer clothes. Well... it will probably be awhile longer before it stays cool. But anyways, it's nice to know that once in awhile the temperatures will drop and we will have a cool day here and there.

More than anything though, I am shocked at how quickly time is flying by. I still feel like it should be the beginning of summer. Not fall and Ivy not 2 months old!

But fall started out right, with a break in the hot temperatures. I would have loved to have spent the day outside taking advantage of the cooler weather before it warms back up, but Ivy is sick. Poor little girl! Even though I spent the last two days inside with a coughing, fussy baby, I thoroughly enjoyed having all the windows and front door open. It was a nice change.

Tomorrow, I plan to put the fall wreath on the front door. I am saddened to see though that it's supposed to hit 100 this weekend! :(

Cousins

2010-09-12T00:06:00.000-07:00

Ivy is very lucky to have two awesome cousins. Madelyn is a about a year older than Ivy and Jackson is almost 3 years. We typically see them a couple of times a week and hopefully they will become close friends because of this. We always talk about about how in a couple of years Ivy and Madelyn will be having tea parties together and sleep overs!

The other day Madelyn was excited to see Ivy and wanted to play with her. Ivy just sat in her carseat and watched. It was too cute!

This is my first try posting a video so hopefully this works!

Birth Plans

2010-09-10T23:22:00.000-07:00

I know many women feel that birth plans are not useful or just set you up for every complication there is to occur. Being addicted to theBump.com's pregnancy message boards, I read every reason under the sun, as to why you should not do one.

"You can't control labor, so why create a birth plan", was a favorite.

And I can kind of see why for some women that a birth plan doesn't seem very necessary, especially when having an epidural. But I personally think you still should do one. There is more to a birth plan than pain management.

Birth plans should be short and sweet. One page highlighting what is important to you.
I could have typed out my views on every single potential procedure or intervention, but that would have been overkill. No nurse or Dr. wants to read that. Let alone have the time!

Since the desire for a natural birth is not the norm, I feel having the birth plan helped me achieve my goal. When we arrived at the hospital, we didn't need to discuss anything. David just handed our nurse our birth plan. Our nurse did what she needed to get me admitted and get things going and then left us alone! No one came in and asked me if I wanted pain medication. I wasn't checked "every hour", to see how far I had progressed, unless I specifically asked.

After Ivy was born, we had a long discussion with our nurse. She had a lot of questions for me, like did I take any childbirth classes. Why yes I did, Bradley Method! She also told me that she really liked it when moms came in with birth plans. She said that it helped her know exactly our views and what we desired. So birth plans are good. If anything it hopefully helps you become knowledgeable about the different types interventions.

I knew I wanted a natural birth, but how do I put that on paper?

I found it extremely helpful reading others woman's birth plans. I will admit I did some C&P'ing of those that I read when I wrote my own. Many thanks to lovely ladies on theBump: Natural Birth board!

Since, they shared I will too:

Birth Plan

Mother to Be: Robyn
Husband: David
Doula: Mandi
Practitioner: Dr. Smith

We are pleased to be working with the nurses and physicians at Community Hospital for our birth. We are looking forward to a low-intervention birth, but understand that there may be situations in which our choices may not be possible. In striving for this, we request the following:

We want to be informed of any procedures in advance and to be allowed the chance to give informed consent.

• First Stage:

Please don’t offer any pain medications, unless I ask for it.

We request intermittent fetal monitoring and limit the number of internal exams.

We desire the freedom to walk around and change positions during labor.

Heplock administered instead of an IV.

• Second Stage:

I would like to try “mother-directed pushing”, once I feel the urge to push.

I do not want an episiotomy and would prefer to be allowed to tear naturally.

• After Birth:

I wish for immediate skin-to-skin contact and to breastfeed. Please delay all evaluations and medications to the baby, till after we have had a chance to bond.

We want to allow the cord to stop pulsating completely before it is cut. My husband David, is to be given the option to cut the cord.

Delivery of placenta: Spontaneous or encouraged with breast feeding. No routine pitocin.

Please do not give our baby formula, glucose, plain water, a pacifier or bottle.

• Complications & C-Section:

We would like to avoid a Cesarean unless absolutely necessary for the immediate safety of our baby. Should our doctor feel that a Cesarean has become truly necessary, we would like the reason(s) to be clearly explained to us, and we should be included in the decision making process.

I would like to have the surgery explained to me as it happens and to have the baby given to my husband immediately after the birth prior to any evaluations, treatments, baths, etc.

Hopefully this helpful to someone out there!

1 Month Photo

2010-09-02T12:04:00.000-07:00

I should probably post this! Here we are at our one month photo:

One Month: Dr's Appointment

2010-08-25T22:01:00.000-07:00

Ivy had her 1 month Dr's appointment yesterday and is doing great. When she was born she was 7 lbs. 5 oz. and 19 inches. She is now 10 lbs. 8 oz and 20 3/4 inches!! She is starting to get chunky! The newborn clothes are starting to fit snugly and she will soon be in 0-3 months. I can't believe it!

~ 1 Month

2010-08-22T22:47:00.000-07:00

Dear Ivy,

I can't believe that you are already 1 month old! It has gone by oh so very quickly. It seems just like yesterday that you came into our lives. I am seriously amazed at how you have stolen our hearts. As I have said before, we are absolutely smitten with you.

Overall, you are a great baby. The majority of the time you are very good natured. You will typically only cry when you are hungry or gassy. You are sleeping for 2 hour stretches during the day and about 3 hours at night. You are holding your head up really well. This past week you gave us your first real smile and I cried. It looks like you will have blue eyes and I am very excited about this. When you sneeze it's adorable. You are also breastfeeding like a champ. On Tuesday, you go back to the Dr and I am wondering how much you have grown.

Your dislikes: the car seat, pacifier - only rarely will you take it and being swaddled with your arms in.

Grandma and Grandpa C. came out this week past week to meet you. You are being spoiled with lots of attention from Grandma. Hopefully, you will get to see them again for Thanksgiving.

You are currently sleeping on my lap and your little fist is clenched tight. You just sighed and my heart is full with so much love. I look forward to your first laugh. Your first steps, pretty dresses and tea parties!

Love,

Momma

Thank you Lord for this precious little girl!

Ivy Mae's Arrival

2010-08-05T19:44:00.000-07:00

Ivy's birth was surreal, amazing and so very empowering! I would not have been able to give birth naturally, if it were not for my amazing husband/coach David, and Mandi our doula! Also, from everything we learned in the Bradley Method classes, reading positive birth stories in Ina May’s Guide to Natural Childbirth and faith in Lord’s timing and plans for us.

So here you go, Ivy's birth story:

On Thursday, July 22nd at about 4:30 in the morning, I was awoken by my water breaking. I was 38 weeks and 1 day pregnant. It was a huge gush and it went everywhere! I believe, I yelled out to David, “My water broke!” We were both in a state of confusion for a little bit and I remember thinking, “Oh my gosh, we are having a baby today!”

Excited to finally meet our little girl! One last bump pic!

Our original plans prior to this had been to labor as long as possible at home before heading the hospital. Thus, hoping to stay in a relaxed environment, progress quicker, spend less time at the hospital in which interventions might be encouraged. I didn’t know though how my water breaking was going to affect our plans. I was a little nervous that contractions wouldn’t start naturally and since my water broke, the hospital would immediately put us on the clock to deliver in 24 hours. But, my fears were eased when contractions started coming right away. They felt like menstrual cramps and were coming every 3 minutes and lasting a minute.

David immediately called family to let them know my water had broke and then called our doula Mandi. After discussing things with her, we decided to check back in with her, in about an hour or two and let her know how I was progressing and reassess our plan.

At 5:30 they were quite a bit stronger, but I was still able to talk through the contractions and move around. I ate breakfast: yogurt and crackers, while David packed his things.

By 6:30, I was having to stop and concentrate each time a contraction came, so we decided to have Mandi to start her drive down to us as it was going to take her about 45 min to get here. I wanted her to be here when the contractions started to get intense. Contractions were still at this point coming every 3 minutes.

During the next hour, I tried sitting on the exercise ball during each contraction and hated it. Laboring on my hands and knees was ok, but I found that what I liked the best was standing with my arms wrapped around David’s neck and swaying through the contractions. I knew that if I was going to do this naturally, mental relaxation was going to be key. I did a lot of visualizing that I was in Hawaii lying on the beach. The contractions started coming sooner and were becoming more painful.

Around 7:15 – 7:30, Mandi arrived and contractions were about every 2 minutes and lasting over a minute. We decided that since the contractions were so close that it was time to head over to the hospital, which was less than 5 minutes away.

We got to the hospital and once in L&D, the nurse checked me and I was dilated to 6 centimeters! I received a heplock instead of an IV, so I could move around. We planned to do intermittent fetal monitoring and the nurse said I had to leave it on for an initial 20 minute strip to see how Ivy was doing.

I tried laboring on my side and it was horrible. Then I tried on my hands and knees leaning against the back of the bed, which I found didn’t help much either. Instead, I went right back to standing/leaning on David and swaying through each contraction. Since, I wasn’t moving around too much, we kept the fetal monitoring on and whenever it moved off Ivy’s heartbeat, the nurse would just come back in and reposition it.

I’m not sure when I reached transition, but soon the contractions were right on top of each other with no letting up. David and Mandi took turns applying pressure to my lower back with two tennis balls, which helped immensely. During the short breaks between contractions, I felt like I had no energy and was extremely tired. In efforts to keep my energy up, I kept drinking water and had a couple of honey sticks.

Soon, I started to feel an lots pressure which I at the time I thought was an urge to push with each contraction, so we had the nurse check me and I had progressed to 7.5 centimeters. At this point, I started to feel like I couldn’t do it anymore and was discouraged. I remember telling this to David and Mandi, but with their awesome encouragement and reminding me that transition was super short, I was able to keep going.

Not sure how much time passed, but soon the urge to push was even more intense and I asked to be checked again, hoping that I was finally at 10 centimeters. The nurse checked me and I had progressed to 9 centimeters. This time I did not get discouraged, as I knew at this point I was so close and I would be able to do this. With every contraction and having the urge to push, I had to consciously not tighten my pc muscle. This was soooo hard to do! I also kept thinking about this saying, “Imagine your cervix opening like a flower.” I remember reading about in our Bradley classes and thinking that’s cheesy, but this really allowed me to not tense up and freak out.

At 12:00 pm, each contraction brought an uncontrollable urge to push. The nurse checked me and I was finally at 10 centimeters! She said we could start pushing and soon my doctor would be in. It felt great to finally be able to push. My Dr. arrived at 12:30 and I was finally starting to get the hang of pushing effectively. I did feel the “ring of fire” and her crowning, but it was nothing in comparison to the pain prior to pushing and transition.

Ivy Mae was finally born at 1:05 pm! They immediately placed her on my chest still all gooey. People have asked how it felt and I can’t even describe it. It was absolutely amazing and this ultimate high. We breastfed immediately, while my Dr. delivered the placenta and stitched up the 2nd degree tear that I had received. We delayed all treatment and testing to Ivy for that initial bonding. I was amazed at how long she stayed alert for, about 3 hours.

David's family was all out of town on vacation and because mine lived out of state, my recovery room was very quite. I had thought we would be having to kick people out, but instead we were encouraging people to come down to the hospital as no one was there!

We were discharged the next evening and I was so very thankful to get to go home and sleep in my own bed!

Ivy is the most precious and wonderful gift from God! I am amazed by the love that I have for her. I already can't remember what life was like without her here.

“I can do everything through him who gives me strength.”

~ Philippians 4:13

"Remember this, for it is as true and true gets: Your body is not a lemon. You are not a machine. The Creator is not a careless mechanic. Human female bodies have the same potential to give birth well as aardvarks, lions, rhinoceri, elephants, moose, and water buffalo. Even if it has not been your habit throughout your life so far, I recommend that you learn to think positively about your body."

~ Ina May Gaskin

Introducing Miss Ivy

2010-08-02T20:15:00.000-07:00

I know you all have been waiting on pins and needles for an update. :)

We have been navigating through this thing called parenting for 11 days and what a journey it has been so far! No books or classes can fully prepare you for how things will be once your little one arrives. We are sleep deprived, the apartment is a disaster, but none of that matters as we are completely and utterly smitten by our little girl! She has stolen our hearts already! <3

Here are a couple more photos:

I have been working on my birth story and about halfway done. I will be posting it as soon as I am finished!

Ivy's here!

2010-07-22T21:07:00.000-07:00

Jenni here--Baby Ivy arrived today at 1:05 pm. Mommy, daddy, and baby are doing well! She was 7 pounds, 5 oz and 19 inches long. Robyn succeeded in her all natural birthplan.

Pictures and birth story to come (unless you can get on her Facebook where I've tagged pictures).

Doulas and Natural Childbirth

2010-07-06T05:30:00.000-07:00

I had mentioned previously that I desired to have a doula for Ivy's birth, but didn't know if it would be possible due to our finances. Well, I am excited to say that with a lot of prayer, David recently booking more work and our Bradley instructor Mandi working on her certification: this wish and desire of having a doula will become a reality! I am absolutely excited!!! :D

Prior to becoming pregnant I had no clue what a doula was. It wasn't until after David and I decided that we wanted a Natural Childbirth and doing some research, did I become familiar with the concept of having a doula. Since, then I have realized that I wasn't the minority in not knowing what a doula is and in fact most people don't know either. Thus the reason for this post.

What is a doula?

A doulas job is to provide the mother with physical, emotional and informational support before the birth and through out your entire labor.

Your nurses and Dr. have many patients that they are helping and are not able to be with you the entire time. David will be the entire time and I know he will be an awesome coach. He has learned so much from our Bradley classes (I am already so proud of him), but he has never actually been through the process of being a coach yet. When it comes down to it having someone there that has experience is so very beneficial!

Benefits to having a doula:

According to DONA International:

Studies have shown that when doulas attend birth, labors are shorter with fewer complications, babies are healthier and they breastfeed more easily.

Numerous clinical studies have found that a doula’s presence at birth

* tends to result in shorter labors with fewer complications
* reduces negative feelings about one’s childbirth experience
* reduces the need for pitocin (a labor-inducing drug), forceps or vacuum extraction and cesareans
* reduces the mother’s request for pain medication and/or epidurals

American Pregnancy Association states:

"Other studies have shown that having a doula as part of the birth team decreases the overall cesarean rate by 50%, the length of labor by 25%, the use of oxytocin by 40% and the request for an epidural by 60%."

Websites that I found useful and educational:

Dona International

American Pregnancy Association

Doula.com

One Month

2010-07-04T22:17:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile, I know. But, before I go into updating you all, I just have to say that as of today 07/04, we are a month away from my due date! Wohoo!

Back to the updating. :)

The last several weeks have been busy. Our Bradley classes are going well. We are learning lots. We have also been working on Ivy's room. This has required re-organizing of our entire apartment and many bags of stuff given to Good Will. Ivy's crib is assembled and her bedding arrived this week. I also washed her blankets and NB clothes. We only have a couple of things left to buy in preparation for her arrival. The stroller also arrived and I love, love, love it! I had my shower a couple of weeks ago which was fun, but has also left our place looking like a war zone. I was also sick thanks to my wonderful co-worker, hmmph. Thankfully the cold didn't last long.

And now the most annoying question of all, "How are you feeling?"

Other than the cold I had, if you had asked me recently how I was feeling, I would have said great. But now, not so much. I still think I have had it pretty good compared to a lot of women though. The swollen feet started at about 34 weeks. I was actually still wearing heels up till this point, but once the swelling started, I had to say goodbye to them. I have been trying to keep my feet elevated as much as possible, but that doesn't work so well when you are at work.

I had grand plans to work right up till my due date. Well, I decided this last week to leave earlier than originally planned. I now have officially 2 weeks left before my maternity leave starts. Yay! I seriously don't know what I was thinking when I hoping to work right up to the end. Especially when thanks to the state of CA, I get 4 weeks prior to Ivy getting here and if I don't use it, I loose it.

I think that's enough of an update for now. Hopefully soon I will have an updated belly pic for you all to see. Until then I leave you with a picture from my shower that I stole from my friends blog. Thanks Jenni! :)

~ 28 Weeks

2010-05-14T20:53:00.000-07:00

Depending on the book, website or Dr. the 3rd Trimester starts at either 27 or 28 weeks. Well, I am now 28 weeks, so I am definitely in the 3rd Trimester!! I am 2/3 of the way there to meeting little miss Ivy. Only 12 weeks to go!

And to answer the always asked question, "How are you feeling?"

Still pretty good. I am noticing that I am more tired. I almost always sleep the entire night through though. No getting up to go to the bathroom, not yet at least. But when I get to work, I can't stop yawning for the life of me. I think I am just not getting good sound sleep.

I have started to notice that my feet are swelling a tiny bit. I am still wearing my rings. I finally know what heartburn really feels like. I don't get it very often and normally just drinking some milk makes it go away. I am very thankful for that. The out of breath feeling after walking up stairs, that I had in the 1st Trimester has returned. But all of this has been really mild, so I am happy.

I had my gestational diabetes test 2 weeks ago. It wasn't as bad as people make it out to be. I never heard anything from my Dr. regarding the results, so I am assuming that I passed. We have an appointment with her next week, so if I didn't pass I am sure I will hear about it then.

The Bradley classes are going really well. I like our instructor Mandi a lot. She has given me several books to read though. So that along with all my little exercises that I get to do daily and tracking what I eat, I have been busy! But, it has been a good busy.

Ivy is kicking and moving around a lot lately. Sometimes it feels like she is trying to claw her way out of my stomach. So weird! I tell her to stop sometimes, but then when she has her quiet days, I am wanting her to move around. Never satisfied are we? :) Oh and no kicks to ribs yet, which is good!

Well, that's about it for now. I can't think of anything else. I leave you with a recent bump picture that David took last week. Hope everyone has a great weekend!

27 weeks

Ellen Recap

2010-05-11T21:30:00.000-07:00

I have been asked by several people to give a recap of Ellen's Mother's Day Show. It was so much fun! Ellen is hilarious and the whole experience of seeing a show tapped was really cool.

She gave away a ton of awesome baby items! David was super stoked about the high chair and video monitor. My favorite gift by far was the stroller. We found a store nearby that carries them and I test drove it around and I am in love!

We had 11 options of colors!! I went back and forth for several days on the color. I finally settled on the red and I can't wait for it to arrive. I am already looking forward to using the bassinet attachment when David has softball games!

I still can't believe that I was lucky enough to get to go to Ellen's show. Even after the show, I feel like I am going to wake up and it was all a dream.

Here is a list of all the items we received from Ellen

Photo credit: http://photos.ellen.warnerbros.com/galleries/may_10_shows#66461

Pictures of Baby Ivy

2010-05-11T19:01:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, I blogged about how we had a 3D/4D done to confirm that we were indeed having girl. Which, I am only now blogging about it now. Better late than never though, right? :)

So here are a couple of photos that my friend Jenni took for us from our first session. Ivy was very uncooperative and we only got one good photo. But it was super cute to see her yawn and stick her foot in her mouth! The place we went had a huge room, so the entire family came out to see it, which I think they enjoyed.

We went back a week later and she was much more cooperative this time. She did have her hands in front of her face and feet above her head for a lot of it.

A DVD of the session was included, which I am excited to have. Now if only we weren't so lazy about making a copy for my parents, who live 2000 miles away!

Isn't the technology that we have now amazing?!

100 Days!

2010-04-26T08:51:00.001-07:00

According to my ticker, we have 100 days left! Holy Cow! Well a 100 days more or less, since it's an "estimated" due date.

A couple of weeks ago, I was complaining to the girls on the Bump how at about 20 weeks it felt like time had slowed to a crawl or been put on slow motion. Well all of a sudden it feels like someone hit fast forward!

If it could just be somewhere in between the two, I would be a happy camper. But, I have feeling that it's only going to go by more quickly!

~ 25 Weeks, Baby Update

2010-04-23T08:15:00.001-07:00

It's been awhile since I last blogged, so there is a lot to say.

~ I am currently 25 weeks along! We had made it past viability (24 weeks). Wohoo! Ivy, you better stay in for another 15 weeks though. You need to bake awhile longer!

~ We confirmed with an elective u/s that baby is indeed a girl! She was very cooperative in that aspect this time and we saw the "3 lines". I will update soon with photos!

~ Did our tour for the second hospital my Dr. delivers at. Conclusion: not a big fan of either hospital as there are pros and cons about each. But we decided to go with the smaller, less busy hospital. From other women that I have spoken with, the nurses there are very accepting towards a natural birth plan.

~ Peri - we have decided to not continue seeing him. At our second visit, he stated Ivy was looking great. I was low risk, but wanted to add additional monitoring that he never mentioned in our first visit with him. He never provided us with any medical reasons for the additional monitoring. He said most parents like "the peace of mind". After, a conversation with my OB who agreed that she did not see any reason to continue seeing the Peri, we canceled our next appointment!

~ Next week we start our Bradley Method classes. I can't believe we have reached this point. The classes are 12 weeks long, so this will us take right up to 3 weeks prior to my due date. I have been sponge recently looking of any all information/books regarding natural childbirth and these classes are specifically geared towards this!

~ And the most exciting news is that I get to go to Ellen's Mother's Day Show!!!!

Her show is for first time expecting moms and she gives out the most awesome gifts to everyone in the audience. I basically stalked her website everyday for about 2 months waiting for the sign ups to start. This is how much I desperately wanted to go! Thanks to Jenn (I puffy <3 you!!) she emailed me that they had started. I was swamped that day at work and hadn't had a chance to look at Ellen's website. I would have been so sad if I had missed the sign ups! So, the show is in 2 weeks and I can't wait to see what stroller she gives away this year. Last year was the Uppababy Vista (my never gonna happen, dream stroller, which I have drooled over for many hours). Anyways, I am so, so excited!!

Yep, so that's everything baby related that I needed to update you guys on right now. Hope you all have an awesome weekend!

It's Going to be a Very Long Wait

2010-03-30T10:09:00.001-07:00

I finished reading Echo in the Bone (the 7th book of the Outlander series) a couple of weeks ago and I am already really sad. The series is not done, which is good, as I am not ready to stop reading about Jaime & Claire. But, I am sad because it will be a couple of years till Gabaldon is done writing the next one.

According to a recent blog post of hers, it generally takes her at least 2 1/2 years to write each book! Which if you actually think about it and how long they are (normally 800 to 900 pages, hardback) and how she tries to be historically accurate, then than 2 1/2 years is not very long.

I started the series last August and went straight from one book onto the next, no waiting. Now I get to sit and wait. I really should not complain though. I think about her readers who started the series, when the first book was published in 1991 and how long they have now been waiting. That's 19 years!

I think I may start the Lord John series by Gabaldon, which is a spin off of one of the characters in Outlander. Or I can just start reading them all over again, hehe.

It's a...

2010-03-17T10:50:00.001-07:00

Girl!!!!

Well... pretty sure. The u/s tech wouldn't say 100%, but most likely the baby is a girl. I was completely shocked. Actually... I think I am still in denial!

Boys dominate David's family and when I married him, I thought to myself, am I prepared to have all boys? Yes I was, as David was totally worth it and I would love any child that the Lord blessed us with regardless of whether it was a girl or boy.

So going into this pregnancy, I was convinced this little baby was boy. I even called the baby a he/him several times this past weekend, haha. I hoped that I was wrong and that it would in fact be a girl, because honestly the girls stuff is just too cute for words.

David on the other hand, had thought the baby was girl since the beginning, when he had dream about it. He is taking the announcement completely in stride and already thinking about little USC cheerleading outfits!

Anyways, everything looked great at this u/s and she(that's weird to say) is measuring right on track at 11 ounces. Ultimately a healthy baby is what we have been praying for and finding out the gender is just a perk of the amazing technology that we have now.

My next appointment with the Peri is in 4 weeks and I will have another u/s. Hopefully the baby will cooperate a little more and we can get a good look at the goods!

But we are very excited and can't wait to meet our little Ivy Mae in August!

~ 20 Weeks!

2010-03-15T17:20:00.000-07:00

We are halfway there! Halfway to meeting our little one. Holy Cow! Well minus 2 days, but it's close enough. I haven't done a real baby update in several weeks, so there is lots to say!

As I mentioned in my last post, tomorrow we will hopefully find out the sex of the baby! Yay! Other fun stuff is that I have been feeling the baby several times a day, since about 16w2d's. He or she is kicking like crazy right now, as I type.

I have been receiving lots of comments at work lately. When are you due? Is it a boy or girl? I "popped" a couple of weeks ago. I haven't been taking weekly belly shots, but here are two recent ones.

15 weeks

19 weeks

I have been wearing maternity pants, since about 15 weeks and really should have switched sooner! Shirts wise, I am still in half regular/half maternity. I have been wearing the same 4 shirts to work and it's pretty sad. Trying to find business professional clothes for work, that also fit, has been interesting. If I could wear casual clothes everyday, I wouldn't be having any issues. I have found a couple of cute items though.

How am I feeling? Pretty good! Emotionally a 1,000 times better than the hot emo mess, that I was in the 1st trimester. Sleeping the entire night still. No stretch marks or heartburn (yet). Food cravings - not so much. I am running more hot than I used to be and when I get too hot, I do get dizzy. But overall, I am doing well.

Coming up, we have to decide which of the two hospitals that my Dr delivers at, that we want to go to. I am leaning heavily towards one of them, but feel it's best to do as much research as we can, so we will be touring both. Those appointments have been made and will be coming up soon!

David and I made the decision awhile back, that it is our goal to have a natural childbirth, so I have been doing a lot of research. We will probably be taking childbirth classes on the Bradley Method and have a potential instructor lined up. I also would love to have a Doula there to help while I am labor, but I don't think we will be able to afford it. :(

I have reserved two books at the library, that were recommended to me on natural childbirth, including Pushed by Jennifer Block and Ina May's Guide to Childbirth. I will have lots of reading to do.

So there you go! I think I just about covered everything, haha. I will try and post tomorrow when we get home, about how my appointment and u/s go!

Boy or Girl... That is the Question

2010-03-09T17:12:00.000-08:00

A week from today, we have our next appointment with Dr. B, my Peri and get to find out the sex of the baby! Well hopefully I should say. Baby, you better cooperate next week, I mean it! We don't want to see any crossed legs or funny business going on. ;)

The last couple of days have been creeping by because of the growing anticipation. I remember when we got our bfp, David and I were discussing when our big u/s might be and March seemed so far away and now we are only a week away. At times it has seemed as the days were going by so slowly, but most of the time it has felt like time is flying by. I now think about August and how it is going to be here before we know it!!

I am looking forward to calling the baby by his or her name, picking out clothes and knowing more about who our little one is. I feel like a kid waiting for Christmas morning! I currently think the baby is boy and David on the other hand thinks it is a girl. We shall know soon enough who is correct!

Only 7 more days!!!

Random Friday Musings

2010-03-05T08:24:00.001-08:00

Hello Friday! Oh how, I have missed you! It took you long enought to get here.

Since, it's Friday here are some random musings:

~ I am really looking forward to seeing Alice in Wonderland! It better be good as the previews look!

~ I was going through some old, old posts on here and boy some of them are horrible. So boring and seriously lacking punctuation! If you started reading around when I started this blog, thank you for sticking around!

~ Why are Thin Mint Girls Scout cookies so darn good!?!

~ I "think" I may have smelled Orange blossoms last night. I was locking up for the night and I caught what I thought was the scent and then I took a big smell and nothing, hmmmm.... It's getting to be that time of year again, so maybe I did smell it. I really wish we lived closer to the groves!

~ Last night's Office episode, made me cringe several times. Oh my goodness! We haven't really watched this season, but I heard that is was the episode in which Pam had her baby, so I just had to watch it.

~ The rain needs to just stop for awhile, so we can get the backyard area cleaned up and all the leaves picked up. It still hasn't dried out from the last rain. Oh and the Jalapeno plant is still alive, it's now going on it's third year! Amazing since everything else died a long time ago.

Hope everyone has a great weekend! Try and stay warm or for all the So Cal peeps, keep dry!

I Can't Cook Rice for the Life of Me

2010-03-04T14:31:00.001-08:00

Many, many, times I have tried to cook rice and it's a failure every time. It drives me crazy that I can't get it right. All I want is some yummy, fluffy Mexican rice. Is that too much to ask for?! If you have dinner at my house and I serve you rice, just know that I didn't make it. Instead, I took a package out of the freezer and threw into the microwave for 3 min and Voila.. rice! Thanks Trader Joes! :P

Anyways, I "think" I have narrowed down the reason why I can't make rice. IMPATIENCE! I like to think of myself as a pretty good cook, but I know that I could be a lot better. Because I tend to be impatient, I make mistakes and things don't come out right. There is a reason why you need to let something sit for 5 min. They didn't just put it on the recipe for fun. And there is a reason you are supposed to simmer and not boil.

I was reading the March issue of Cooking Light and came across and really great article entitled, "The 25 Most Common Cooking Mistakes". I learned that there are several things that I do incorrectly. Here are a few:

4. You boil when you are supposed to simmer. This is where my impatience comes in.

6. You over soften butter. Whaat! I didn't think that was possible. Hmmm.... Kristy, I think I figured out why our chocolate chip cookies were really flat!

17. Meat gets no chance to rest after cooking.

23. You pop meat straight from the fridge into the oven or on the grill. Ooohhh!

So, check out that article! You just might learn something new!

Top Baby Names by City

2010-02-25T07:54:00.001-08:00

I saw this website on the Bump and thought it was pretty cute. This site will generate the top ten girl and boy names for your city. A great time waster when you are bored! I compared the US as whole and even looked at the area where I grew up in Indiana. I was glad to see neither of our names on any of the lists. Well actually, I wasn't surprised that they weren't on there, considering the popularity of name was a huge deciding factor for us.

So here you go!

GIRL

Isabella
Madison
Angelina
Olivia
Ava
Chloe
Alyssa
Ashley
Grace
Leah

BOY

Julian
Cameron
Daniel
Nathaniel
Anthony
Alexander
Andrew
Michael
Gabriel
Nathan

http://www.our365.com/Wisdom/BabyNameScape/default.aspx

Random Friday Musings

2010-01-22T11:32:00.001-08:00

~ Where the heck has January gone. I can't believe that's it's almost February.

~ The best day to go to DMV is when it's pouring outside. You're guaranteed a short wait.

~ I'm seriously loving my Rooibos tea right now! I have been drinking the stuff since an infant (you can even ask my mom) and have always enjoyed it, but right now I can't get enough of it. I can't seem to drink enough water, but can down the tea in seconds. Also no caffeine and very low in tannin, so great if pregnant or nursing!

~ I normally love the rain, but I am over driving 45 min each way to work while raining, through flooded streets and with crazy drivers.

~ I have Federal jury duty next week! I have to call in for two weeks. I really hope I don't have to go in.

~ Tamales sound sooo good right now! I think we need to go to the Mexican place around the corner for dinner.

~ Hopefully this weekend consists of lots of sleeping and reading.

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Perinatologist and NT Scan

2010-01-19T18:50:00.000-08:00

I had my appointment with the Perinatologist today and it went really well! I liked Dr B. a lot as he was very thorough and personable. He does not feel that the anti M antibody will be issue. He said that in the past 25 years of his practice he has not seen it transfer to the baby! Yay! But... he does want me to continue seeing him for monitoring. I will still see my OB and will also see Dr B. every 6 weeks starting at 20 weeks. Fun times! I guess one good thing out of all of it, is that we will get to see the baby more often.

His office also did the NT scan and first trimester genetic screening. Everything came back great. Here is a picture of the wee little one!

He/she waved at us and we were able to see 5 fingers on one hand! The ultrasound tech wouldn't even take guess at the gender. :( I don't know when my OB has her patients do the big ultrasound, but Dr B. said he would for sure tell us what the gender is when we come back and see him in March.

So all in all it was a good appointment!

11w5d

2010-01-18T13:50:00.001-08:00

At almost 12 weeks, I am feeling quite a bit better! The all day sickness started to slowly go away around 10 weeks. I occasionally feel sick in the late evenings now, but it's not everyday. Yay!

How am I feeling now: exhausted and occasionally dizzy. I think the dizziness may be due to not drinking enough water. I know... tisk tisk. I am working on drinking more, but it's hard to go from drinking basically nothing during the day, to drinking 8+ glasses of water. I just gotta keep working on it though!

Still feeling very emotional. I cried while watching American Idol the other day! haha. Or the other day while driving home from work, this cheesy country song comes on. I am thinking to myself this is the stupidist (I don't think that's even a real word :) ) song ever! But then I get to the end and it's so touching.. gag me... that I cry.

Then according to my good friend Jenni, I have become more feisty, which I think is hilarious. If you know me real life, I am normally anything but feisty! I guess her and Des had a whole conversation about it the other day. They think it's a good thing. I still laugh thinking about this.

Tomorrow I have my appt with the Perinatologist, so I will update hopefully tomorrow as to how that goes!

2 Weeks: Ya Right!

2010-01-18T12:16:00.001-08:00

I finished the 6th book in the Outlander series: A Breath of Snow and Ashes about a week ago! It took me a little longer than normal to finish it, since I have just been so tired and staying up late to read just wasn't happening. But it was so, so good!

Since the next book in the series, Echo in the Bone was only recently published, it is not out in paperback. I decided to borrow it from the library, because I don't want to buy the hardcover version and I don't want to wait till it comes out on paperback to read it. As it is my friend Jenn is starting to get antsy, because we haven't been able to discuss yet! :) So knowing how popular the series was, several months ago I put it on reserve. I was around the 10th or 11th hold at the time and I finally got to pick it up on Friday! Perfect timing!

I am soo excited as I have heard such great things about it, but the kicker is I have two weeks to read the book! Because there are other holds on it, I can't renew at the end of the two weeks. The librarian basically told me to just not return till I was finished and pay the late fee. Gabaldon's books take me about a month to finish. Paperback version is around 1500 pages. There is absolutely no way I can finish it in two weeks.

I don't know what to do. I could possibly just return it at the end of the two weeks and put it back on reserve. There are currently 2 holds on the two copies. I think that might be the way to go since I don't think I will even be able to finish the book in a month due to how tired I have been lately.

What do you think?

~ 9w6d

2010-01-05T20:28:00.000-08:00

We had my 2nd appointment today and overall it went really well. No u/s, but we were able to hear the heartbeat on the doppler, which was amazing! The baby's heart rate was 170! Yay! I have though gained 6 pounds in 4 weeks. I think I cried a little inside when I stepped on the scale, haha. Hopefully most of that is due to bloat!

My Dr. did inform me that I have A positive blood, with a M antibody. She said the M antibody is rare and does not know if it may cross over to the baby or not. She did not seem concerned, but has referred me to a Perinatologist. The nurse is supposed to call me back tomorrow with an appointment time. As she is telling me all this, I am telling myself not to freak out, don't freak out. Which I thankfully did not! :)

So... because I know nothing at all about blood types and antibodies, as soon as I came home I googled M antibodies. I wasn't so sure about googling this, as we all know sometimes that google is not your friend and can scare you with horror stories. Well, I am glad I did.

A little biology lesson for you, there are two varieties of M the antibody: IgM and IgG. IgM is the more common one and will not cross over. IgG is the rarer variety can pass over. If I have the IgG variety, I would basically need my blood drawn monthly to make sure the antibody levels don't get too high. Too high and it can be harmful to the baby.

Hopefully, I have the IgM variety and we have nothing to worry about. There are a lot of if's and what not and there is no point in getting worried about it now. I will for sure keep you all updated though!

Next up, telling work that I am pregnant! I will be going out on maternity leave during our most busiest time of year. I am sure they will love hearing that! I think I will be telling my boss tomorrow. Ahhhhh!

~ 9 Weeks

2009-12-30T21:44:00.000-08:00

So 9 weeks, holy cow! The weeks are starting to go by more quickly instead of dragging by like they were. I think this is because the concept that I am actually pregnant is starting to sink in.

How am I doing... so, so. I don't feel good in the evenings mostly, recently becoming more through out the day. Most of the time food sounds disgusting. I really shouldn't complain though, because compared to so many other women, I am not throwing up. I haven't even thrown up once, gagged and dry heaved, but haven't thrown up.. yet.

I mentioned to a friend the other day, I feel like a wuss. Normally, I am the type of person that when I am sick I will go to work, bad in grand scheme of things I know, but I tough it out. So this is why I haven't really blogged, I haven't wanted to be a "complainer", which I totally feel like I am doing. Then I start thinking about the women who struggle with Infertility and how reading about someone complaining of m/s (morning sickness) is frustrating for them. They would do anything including throwing up all day long, just to be pregnant.

I guess this will be my "one" post complaining about m/s. You won't hear a peep more about it. But in general, I feel like I am not living in my own body anymore. I think I may have been abducted by aliens some evening while sleeping and in doing so they returned me to bed in a different body. ;) Anyways, it's so very weird. Physically and emotionally I don't feel like myself which at times feels overwhelming as well.

On a good note though, I have another appointment next Tuesday and I believe I heard my dr say they were going to do another ultrasound, which would be awesome. David said he was sure she said it. It would make my day to hear the heartbeat!

Oh the joys of pregnancy! I thought I knew what I was getting myself into, but boy was I wrong!

I have been Keeping a Secret...

2009-12-14T21:40:00.000-08:00

from you all, which has been very hard! I have very much wanted to blog about it and thus the reason for why it's been so quiet over here. Some of you are probably thinking, I think I know what she is going to say... so just spill! Some of you even know the secret already.

So... my big news is that after a year and half of trying, David and I are expecting a little addition to our family! Baby L is due 08/04/10! We are extremely excited!

I had my first appointment last week, in which I had an u/s (ultrasound) and we saw the heartbeat. One of the most amazing sights! I just sat in awe and it was over way too quickly.

Since, our appointment we have started spreading the news and it is becoming more real. But in many ways it's still very much a dream. God has finally blessed us with the little miracle, that we have been praying for month, after month!

Here is picture of our little "bean" taken at 5w5d's:

The baby is the little blob, which you can't really see, but it's a beautiful blob!

Day 30: So Long.. NaBloPoMo

2009-11-30T21:31:00.000-08:00

It's the end of NaBloPoMo! 30 blog posts in 30 days!

Anyways, I can't believe that November is over and tomorrow is December. Holy cow... where did time go?!

December is jam packed with lots of fun activities and I can't wait. I can't wait to watch lots of Christmas movies, decorate our tree and go shopping.

So, farwell NaBloPoMo & November and Hello December!!

Day 29: Back to the Grind

2009-11-29T21:36:00.000-08:00

Sigh... I can't believe that the Thanksgiving weekend is over. It went by so quickly, probably because it was very enjoyable. Like I previously posted, we had a great Thanksgiving with family.

Friday, we went to David's parents place for breakfast and just hung out. No black Friday shopping for us. We haven't even started our Christmas shopping to tell you the truth. Saturday, lunch with friends and family at Chick-fil-A and that afternoon I cooked a mini Thanksgiving meal, while the boys watched a boring USC vs. UCLA football game.

Today, we had grand plans to go get our Christmas tree after church. We had lunch with David's parents and headed over to Home Depot. Due to the acquisition of more furniture, since last Christmas, we have less room this year for a tree. We looked for 5'-6' "skinny" tree, but couldn't find one. The selection looked pretty picked over. So no tree yet! :( I was really looking forward to putting up decorations and playing Christmas music.

Tomorrow means back to the grind. My boss will be gone on vacation till the end of the week, so that means I will be very busy. But one nice thing about it being busy, is that it will go by quickly. I am looking forward to hanging out with the girl's tomorrow night and possibly a weekend away with friends in Big Bear!

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and extra time off!

Day 28: The End of Fall

2009-11-28T22:10:00.000-08:00

First off, if you ever plan on reading the Outlander series or are currently reading it, but have not read past Drums of Autumn, don't read any further!!

** Spoilers below **

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My friend Kristy and I went to Oak Glen last weekend, to get a little taste of fall before it was gone. Upon recommendation by my Mil, we headed over to the Hawk's Head Public House at Riley's Farm for lunch. As soon as we pulled up and I realized that it was a colonial restaurant, I was so excited!

For those that don't know anything about the Outlander series, this is the current time period, in which the 5th book takes place. Now.. do you understand why I was so excited? If I remember correctly, Kristy even asked me, "Does this have anything to do with your book that you are reading?" Oh YES!!!

Anyways, the food was really great. They had live traditional music, along with the staff dressed in costume. There were a couple of redcoats walking around as well.

Kristy and Mary

The best Chicken Pot Pie!

Mary and I

Historical fictions are definitely my genre!

Day 27: Mission Inn Lighting

2009-11-27T21:53:00.000-08:00

I am in desperate need of updating photos with you all, but I am going to go out of order, since today is kind of the kick off to the Christmas season.

Tonight, we went with the family to see the Mission Inn's festival of lights. It was my first time ever going the lighting and I'm not quite sure what to think. It was very beautiful and the fireworks were fun. There was a chill in the air and it felt a little bit like the beginning of Christmas, but oh so many people! I think I might just stick to going down there on an evening when it's not so busy!

Here are a couple photos that we took:

Day 26: Happy Thanksgiving

2009-11-26T23:11:00.000-08:00

It's technically the end of Thanksgiving day, but I still wanted to say that I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

This year there is so much to be thankful for this year. One of which is my amazing husband. I am amazed that we have been married for close to 3 years now. Time has flown by so fast and I love him more than the day we said I do. I am also very thankful for both our families who love us so much. Also, I am thankful for my job and thankful for all the film work David has had recently.

Thank you Lord for all of these things that you have provided us!

Day 25: Not So Sure

2009-11-25T23:49:00.000-08:00

I was borrowsing Sunset's website again today and came across this photo:

Sunset

I normally really like their Christmas decorations but this one, I'm not sure about. I think they should stick to the traditional circle.

What do you think?

Day 24: 3 Days

2009-11-24T20:12:00.000-08:00

3 days till we will officially start our Christmas season! I am so excited! I downloaded Ella Fitzgerald's song, Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, as a ring tone for my phone. I love Ella Fitzgerald's Christmas music!

Other things related to Christmas, is that we also went to Target tonight to return some red towels that I bought for the bathroom. They didn't quite match with the new red shower curtain once I got them home. So back they went. Thankfully, I found ones that were a better match. As soon as I got home I put them up. Hopefully, soon the bathroom will feel like a bit of Christmas in there just like the rest of the apartment.

Anyways, hopefully work tomorrow will go by very quickly and then it will be time for eating lots of turkey, spending time with family and Christmas decorating! Yay!

Day 23: Day Dreaming

2009-11-23T20:57:00.000-08:00

If money was no object, I would have house with a huge library. I would want built in bookcases from floor to ceiling. I would love to have the rolling ladder to reach those books at the top. :) Friends could borrow my books and each would be stamped with, This Book belongs to Robyn L....". Hehe.

A girl can dream right?!

I love these home libraries.

Day 22: Weekend Recap

2009-11-22T21:19:00.001-08:00

Another busy weekend and another weekend in which I didn't even pick up my book! And I only have 150 pages left of The Fiery Cross, as well! If I read during my lunch this week, I for sure should be able to finally finish it.

Anyways, so I already mentioned that I did not get a chance to read. Friday, David and I went out to dinner and I came home and promptly fell asleep. I was extremely tired from going to see New Moon. Saturday, I went to Oak Glen with Kristy and Mary. I had a blast. Look for a blog post about that coming soon. We also watched the movie, Ghosts of Girlfriends Past. It was a cute chick flick. Today, church and more crafts with Jenni! I am almost done with my Christmas cones. I ran out of material though, so I had to stop. A trip to Michaels is now on the to do list.

This week, I am looking forward to Thanksgiving and the four day weekend. I am sooo tired right now. I was getting ready for bed and realized that I had not blogged. I almost failed NaBloPoMo! But thankfully I didn't. I am not enjoying it as much as I did last year and I am already looking forward to Nov 30th. How sad is that?

Well, I hope everyone had a great weekend!

Day 21: Adios Pumpkin

2009-11-21T22:57:00.000-08:00

I am over pumpkin. I didn't think it was possible, but I am. Maybe I ate too many pumpkin cupcakes or pumpkin cheesecake. Hmmm... or you know it could be all those pumpkin spice latte's.

Or.... I could just be ready for Christmas. I am really looking forward to Thanksgiving and having a 4 day weekend. I am looking forward to putting up our Christmas tree, on Friday.

Bring on the peppermint, Christmas carols and lights!

Day 20: The Verdict

2009-11-20T19:06:00.000-08:00

Yesterday night was so much fun! Going to the midnight showing of New Moon was completely worth the lack of sleep and being tired today. New Moon was so much better than Twilight. Of course it's not even close to being better than the book, but the movie is never as good the book. I loved it!

Anyways, here is a photo of Jenni, Melissa and I waiting in line outside. Desiree, I am still sad that you weren't able to come with us. :(

Now, starts the countdown to Eclipse in July! Hehe!

Day 19: Fishing in Cold

2009-11-19T17:00:00.000-08:00

A lot of this blog focuses on stuff going on with myself or things that David and I do together. Rarely do I blog about the things he does with the guys, which I really should do more often.

So, today's post is strictly about the hubby!

David went on a guys trip up to our local mountains and stayed at a cabin in Big Bear. The main purpose of this trip was to go fishing and they spent hours doing so, in the cold btw. Unfortunately all week, they had not caught anything. At the end of their last full day there, David called me and was a little bummed that he had not caught anything. Well about half an hour after his call, they finally did catch some fish.

Here are David and Tim very proudly holding up their catches of the day:

Day 18: Finally!!

2009-11-18T18:58:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow night, the girls and I will be heading to the movie theatre to see the midnight showing of New Moon! I am super duper excited! Finally, it is here!

I am currently watching Twilight and as soon as it's over I am going to bed. I want to be nicely rested for tomorrow. I have to work on Friday (crazy I know), so as soon as I get home tomorrow night, I am going to try and take a nap. Friday, morning I will be picking up a Pumpkin Spice Latte on the way to work. I will definitely need my caffeine fix. That's the plan. I hope I'm not a zombie at work on Friday.

I have heard of others that have re-read New Moon to refresh all the details before watching the movie. I decided to not do that. Also, I'll tell you a secret: I really couldn't put down the Outlander series. Sssh... don't tell anyone! But anyways, back to my not re-reading the book. We all know the movie is never as good as the book. I don't want to be disappointed when I watch the movie. I did re-read New Moon back in July, so it's still pretty fresh in my memory.

So, I leave all you Twilight fans out there with a question:

Did you do a re-read of the book in preparation of seeing the movie?

Day 17: Lots of Yawning

2009-11-17T21:00:00.000-08:00

I am fading very quickly, so this will probably be short. It's only 9 and I can't stop yawning. I will be going straight to bed, once I am done with this post.

If you minus work, it was a really great day. After work, I met up with my MIL at Tai Pan. I had never been there before and when I mentioned to her that I was looking for some Christmas decorations, she said she knew just the place. I can't believe how many that they have. I don't think I have ever been to a store with so many. It was amazing! So, So, pretty as well! There were so many things that I wanted to buy, but I was good and picked out a couple items that were my favorites.

We then got dinner and headed over to Kirklands. All that shopping and walking around wore me out. I am never this tired at this time. I just yawned again for probably the 5th time since starting this post. Opps and again! ::yawn::

So, if you live near a Tai Pan, I definitely recommend going there! Right... I am now off to bed!

Day 16: 8 Years!

2009-11-16T20:51:00.000-08:00

8 years ago today, David and I started dating! It seems like just yesterday that we met one evening and a couple of weeks started dating. Two more years and it will have been a decade! :)

I love you David!

Here is blast from the past, a picture of the two of us, right after we met:

Day 15: Busy, Busy

2009-11-15T22:26:00.000-08:00

I can't believe how busy this weekend was! David was out of town filming, so I thought I would have lots of time to read and finally finish up the Fiery Cross. Nope, didn't happen. I didn't read at all! I still can't believe it.

Friday night, there was game night/potluck. There was lots of yummy food and I had fun even though we didn't really play any games. Saturday, Jenni and I spent the day at Michael's to buy supplies for our art project. That evening, I spent time with family and we went to Olive Garden. Except for the slow service, dinner was great along with the company. I came home and did some major cleaning. I didn't go to bed till 2:30! More cleaning was done today. I even tackled the office! Our office/guest bedroom is a collection place for all the odds and ends. Including the mountain of paperwork needing filing.

Jenni and I also worked on our projects. We remembered to take lots of pictures as well. Once, we are done I will post pictures. My front steps are covered in glitter now though. Opps! :) We had dinner at Panera and spent almost 2 hours there. They had to kick us out, as we were still there past closing!

So it was a good weekend. Time spent with friends, family. Cool weather! I even pulled out the scarf tonight. I hope you all had a great weekend as well!

Day 14: Getting Crafty

2009-11-14T23:07:00.000-08:00

Today, Jenni and I spent several hours in Michaels trying to find the perfect materials to recreate these from Crate and Barrel:

I had hoped to make them for cheaper, than what it cost to buy them. Well, after an entire afternoon of looking at beads, Styrofoam, fake berries and yarn, standing in long lines, registers crashing, these bad boys will cost just about what it would have been to buy the pre-made ones. How lovely! At least while making them, I get to spend time my friend. :)

We will be attempting this feat, tomorrow after church. I will let you know how it goes!

Day 13: Christmas Sneaking In

2009-11-13T23:34:00.000-08:00

The other day I mentioned that I wasn't a big fan of getting all into Christmas, till after Thanksgiving. Ya well.. Christmas is starting to sneak it's way into my head. I guess I didn't put up a strong enough mind barrier! :)

I keep trying to keep the thoughts of decorating and baking at bay, but it's not working. The other day I found myself looking for a tree topper. I went online to Pottery Barn, Crate and Barrel, Restoration Hardware and Pier One. I was emailing my friend Kristy pictures and links. I finally found one on Targets website. It's really pretty by the way!

While doing this I realized that the Christmas Creep has succedded! Bah, Humbug!

So, I leave you with some pictures of Christmas decor that I liked. Enjoy!

We have a credenza that we were given that needs to be refinished and I have always said I wanted to paint black. People give me the weirdest looks when I say that. I need to print this out, so next time I can show it to the person and say "See, it's not a horrible idea"!

Photos curtesy of Country Living

Day 12: One Week!

2009-11-12T21:31:00.000-08:00

Only one week till New Moon! 7 days or 170 1/2 hours to be exact. I am soooo excited! I will be going to the midnight showing with Jenni and Desiree. I can't believe I agreed to go. I am going to be dead to the world the next day and I can't take it off as my boss will be out of town. :(

It better be worth it!

Day 11: My Poor Little Car

2009-11-11T21:42:00.000-08:00

My car has served me well the last couple of years and my parents for all the years they used it. Several times, David and I have contemplated getting me new car, but have always decided it wasn't needed. At one point we even went and test drove cars, but like previously we changed our minds. It has been great not having two car payments.

Unfortunately, my car is OLD! It's an 87 Mercedes and lots of little things have started to be needing replaced. David took it down for the oil change today and was told it needs $2000.00 + worth of repairs! Not the news I wanted to hear. Some of the repairs don't need to be fixed right away like the heater, which blows ridiculously hot air at you all the time. Others though need fixing like the brakes and other things I can't remember the names of like transmition mounts or something.

So we are faced with some decisions. Do we repair it? Not really cost efficient to do so, since it's so old. If we aren't going to use the car, my dad wants it back. That means no selling it and using the money towards a new car. David not having a full time job doesn't help. The Lord has been so amazing and has been providing him with lots of film work, which has been great. But it's not steady, no guaranteed payday. I know we will soon be heading into the slower months, Jan - March. We have been blessed with the money to still be aggressively paying down our credit card debt. I am so thankful for all of this.

A second car payment makes me nervous though. It's a long term commitment, unlike eating out and Disneyland passes which can be cut out or not renewed. We discussed our options a little bit tonight and we are leaning towards buying a used car, something that won't put us into a large car payment. The Corolla would become primarily my car to drive to and from work. It gets great gas mileage, the main reason why we bought it.

I am sure with lots of thought and prayer about it, we will make the right choices for ourselves and our situation! It looks like my little car might be going back home to Indiana, that's if it's safe to make the drive back. I will be sad to see it go, if does!

Day 10: Where, oh Where...

2009-11-10T21:53:00.000-08:00

did You've Got Mail disappear too? The hubby and I went to watch this movie tonight and upon opening the dvd case it was empty. I was sooo sad. All day I had been looking forward to watching this movie and when it came time to put on, we could not find it anywhere. David went through every dvd case to see if it was put in the wrong spot and nothing.

So instead we watched Definitely, Maybe which turned out to be a bit of a bummer. It was cute but the storyline was really unrealistic and I couldn't not get past that. We struck out twice for movies tonight!

The whole night wasn't a complete bust thankfully. I made Chicken Pot Pie for the first time ever and for a throw together meal, it came out pretty well! I am now inspired to find a really good recipe and a nice flaky crust.

Anyone have a really good recipe that they make?

Day 9: Aahh.. Going Out

2009-11-09T21:26:00.000-08:00

So since the hubby has been sick the last couple of days we haven't done much. All weekend I felt cooped up even though I thoroughly enjoyed reading my book. I had grand intentions of coming home and cleaning this evening. You don't believe me... I swear I did! :)

When I got home today, David suggested going to one of our favorite sushi places in town. My parents got him a gift card for there for his birthday, so we decided to get out of the house and go and enjoy ourselves.

Of course the food was really good like always. Afterwards, we decided to check out the new humongous Forever 21 store. I seriously can't believe how large it is. They took over an old department store building that recently went out of business. There are two whole levels of clothes and almost too many items to choose from. I wouldn't even know where to start if I was actually looking for something to buy!

After visiting Forever 21, we stopped by one of my favorite places. Can you guess what it is? How did you know? Yep, we stopped by Borders and I picked up the 6th Outlander book, A Breath of Snow and Ashes as I am almost done with The Fiery Cross.

All in all, it was a great evening. Nice to get out and be outside rather than stuck inside with a sick husband and a horrible headache. I guess cleaning is now on the list of things to do tomorrow!

Day 8: Weekend Recap

2009-11-08T21:12:00.001-08:00

So this weekend did not exactly play out as I had hoped but it was still good.

It consisted of:

~ cooking an awesome meal of meatloaf, mashed potatoes and asparagus
~ sleeping in
~ reading
~ watching the excitement on my nephews face while he opening birthday presents
~ watching a good movie with the hubby by my side
~ more reading which resulted in tears and laughter
~ devoured the last piece of heaven called pumpkin cheesecake

Hope everyone had a fabulous weekend!

Day 7: I <3 Heels

2009-11-07T20:58:00.000-08:00

The heels that I ordered came yesterday and I luuuve them! They fit perfectly and feel like I have been wearing them forever. There is something about how the way a pair of heels can make your entire day!

I can't wait to wear them next week!

Day 6: Random Friday Musings

2009-11-06T12:30:00.001-08:00

I am so very happy it is Friday!

::does happy dance in chair::

It has not been a good week. I will be extremely glad when work is over this afternoon! Since it's Friday here are some random musings.

~ I don't think I will ever get sick of Starbucks, Pumpkin Spice Lattes!

~ While driving to work the other day, a man in the car next to me was using his electric shaver. Never seen that before.

~ Really wish I owned a Kindle. Why do they have to be so darn expensive?!

~ I hope David feels better so we can go to Oak Glen tomorrow, for my nephews birthday. Don't want to get him or my baby niece sick. I don't think Troy or Melissa would appreciate that if they did.

~ Anyone want to come over and do my laundry for me?

~ Yay, for the cooler weather again. ::knocking on wood:: We don't want to be in the 90's again anytime soon!

~ Wuthering Heights on audio is ummmm.... interesting. Not a big fan of the male narrators voice but, oh well. I am sure as I progress further into the story I won't notice it anymore. Still too early into the story to decide to if I don't like it.

~ I ordered shoes "online" for the first time last week. They are Nine West heels and I really hope they fit. They were such a good deal that I couldn't pass it up. Per UPS they are supposed to arrive today, so I am excited!

Well that's enough for today! I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!