Quest to get healthy

For the most part Ryan and I are very healthy people. We enjoy water over any other beverage. Limit our alcohol intake to only on special occasions. We rarely eat fast food unless it is our only option; we rarely eat out, unless it is for a special occasion, such as with friends or date night (which has seems to be a rarity since 10-10-10). During the summer we walked almost every day and before I was pregnant we worked out every day to Julian Michaels…then came Emerie. Now, I am not blaming her for my lack of healthy habits these past few months or this cruddy weather or Ryan’s new work schedule…but those have all taken a toll on our ability to work out, walk and eat healthy.  So, with the New Year and the new baby…I begin my quest to get healthy. I will not call this a New Year’s resolution because those are bound to get broke.  As of now our pantry and fridge has plenty of healthy food options from fruit and veggies to whole grains and lean meats. So, we begin the quest with only healthy cooking! Next it is time to clean out the vitamin and supplement shelf and figure out what we really need to take and what is just taking up space. And lastly, pray for sun.  We have an amazing BOB stroller that is just dying to be used…as is the baby that is supposed to be in it is dying to get outside. So here is to our quest to get healthy again…and drop a few of these baby pounds that have worn out their welcome!

Sophie

Sophie.

Sophie the Giraffe.

Full of discoveries and activities to awaken baby's senses. Sight: The dark and contrasting spots all over Sophie the Giraffe's body provide visual stimulation and make her easily recognizable to baby. She soon becomes a familiar and reassuring object. Hearing: Her squeaker keeps baby amused and stimulates his hearings. Taste:Sophie the Giraffe is very flexible and has lots of parts for baby to chew like ears, horns, legs. She is perfect for soothing baby's sore gum when teething and is completely safe....claims the manufacture. Honestly, I don't care what the manufacture has to say...all I know is that Emerie is in love with her Sophie. Sophie and Emerie have become best friends...and Sophie has become my favorite friend. Sophie looks exactly like a dog toy, a rather expensive dog toy (my dog will totally attest to this) and squeeks like one too. Vulli makes other toys, all teething of course and all are just as cute...and while this one smells like "natural rubber" they also make one that smells like vanilla...and yes, it is already on Emerie's amazon.com wish list. So, if anyone does not have a Sophie and does have a baby, or a puppy for that matter...go get a Sophie, you won't regret it!

A lot has happened in the last few months…having a baby tops the list. Yes, she is here…Miss Emerie Grace Martin.  She arrived after a little struggle (she was face up and decided her face needed a departing buddy, such as her arm), or a 17 hour labor and a c-section at 4:55 on 10-10-2010. Yes, our little 10-10-10 baby.  She was 7lbs 12 ounces and 20.5 inches long and obviously, a girl.

“Are you okay with that” were my first words after she was born as I looked up at Ryan who was peeking over the c-section separation sheet to make sure, she was in fact a girl, and not the boy he assumed we were having. He didn’t say much just watched as they cleaned Emerie up and put her through an array of tests. I just laid there while they finished things up and dealt with shaking arms. Shaking so badly, they were actually sore the next day. Not enjoyable.  Ryan was first to hold Emerie and she was instantly calm in his arms.  She was perfect.

We stayed in the hospital for three days and left as soon as they said we could. The constant interruptions for vitals checks on both Emerie and I were starting to get a little intrusive and seemed to happen every time we had all fallen asleep.  So, we brought Emerie home.  Waiting for us was her Nana, Auntie Carlie and big sister Baylee…and let’s not forget her other sister, Agape….

It’s been about three months since she came home and she has changed so much.  She no longer is the little baby who just lays there, eats, sleeps and poops. She is actually a little person now. She has quite the personality.  When she gets mad, she kicks her legs and screams. Yes, kicks and screams. We will have our hands full. She smiles at everything, including the dog and her toys, laughs the cutest little belly laugh, and has makes more facial expressions than dirty diapers and that is a lot. We have decided that as she has lost that typical baby look…and now is the perfect combination of both Ryan and I.

We couldn’t be happier or feel more blessed to have her…she is truly a joy!

Now that she has been here for a while things are starting to settle into their places. We almost have a routine down (Bed by 8, snack at 5am, wake up and start our day by 7:30am, and a few scattered naps during the day) which is starting to make life easier for me. It is just her and me (and our dog, who is in heat now, lucky me…two baby girls in diapers) on most days. With Ryan working graves we spend a lot of time playing downstairs with Baby Einstine toys (her favorite), things that are bright and things that make loud noices or out of the house. Trips to Target, to Michael’s Crafts, Old Navy, Babies R Us, fill our day.  I love my baby girl...but there are days where I crave a little interaction, from someone other than a  puppy and a 3 month old. Regardless...I love being a mom. And I love being a stay at home mom.  On Ryan's work days, he sleeps till about 4pm. Which gives me enough time to get out of the house, clean the house, play with dog and baby, and get dinner made and pack his lunch for work...all before he wakes up.  And after he is up, we usually only have about three hours until he heads out the door for work....so we make the most of it!

I realize I have slacked on my blogging…but I feel like I might have had a good excuse J And her name is Emerie.

Being Busy...

So here I am one month and one day before Baby M’s due date. I feel like there is a ton to do and each day I keep stacking more and more on my plate which I am sure will lead to ultimate failure. However, I feel like certain things need to be done, such as organizing the laundry room shelves; shelves that were already perfectly organized before. This must have to do with what they call “nesting”. But it doesn’t totally make sense. Here I am exhausted, riddled with emotions, not sleeping well, and fairly uncomfortable, but I continue to make my to do, to buy, to clean, to organize lists longer and longer.

In the mean time, the kitchen is almost totally finished. We still need to redo the floors, paint the molding and trim with another coat of white and pick out a backsplash. All things we had wanted to do before October, but looks like it might have to wait until Ryan takes his maternity leave.

Let us not forget what the kitchen has looked like the last two years, thank you to my Harley-Davidson husband. It was nice while it lasted...ha.

BEFORE

AFTER

I’ve also felt quite crafty these last few weeks. It started with decorating, then went to scrapbooking (which I am still up to my waist in) and has continued on to sewing. A friend started making baby toys for her daughter and I feel in love with them, so I figured I would try my hand at my own. By hand I mean hand sewing…which has led me to add sewing machine to my to buy list…The toys are a work in progress, but will be, yet another thing to keep me busy this next month and one day!

Bun in the Sun

 

We survived our week long stay in Maui, which means, I survived the seven hours of being trapped in an airplane as well as a red eye flight back home. We arrived at 9pm Maui time – 12am Washington time – and met my parents and sister and her boyfriend for dinner. I was beyond exhausted and looking forward to getting out of the humid heat, putting my swollen feet up and lying down in a bed. Much to my surprise, this Hawaiian condo we stayed at failed to mention online that it lacks one very, very important thing for a pregnant woman – air conditioning. I’d like to complain more about it; however, the fact that I was able to go to Maui, being eight months pregnant, for seven days, leaves me no room to complain.

The six of us, plus the lil pea in the pod, made our way to a different beach each day. And I was even able to go snorkeling, which proved to be difficult and quite tiring on both my lungs and body, but well worth it! Ryan suggested we follow the famous “Road to Hana” and go visit old Hawaii. Seemed like a great idea, it was only a 51 mile trek there…that took three plus hours because of the one-lane road, steep cliffs and switchbacks. If our marriage survived that, it can survive anything because being in a car for over three hours, swerving back and forth, stopping every few miles to let cars by and edges that looked like they were going to give is truly not my idea of a good time. We also treated my parents to the Black Rock Luau, which was amazing. Buffet style dinner (always a plus during pregnancy) and great entertainment made for a memorable night for all of us.

Unfortunitly like all good things, our babymoon to Maui came to an end and we found ourselves boarding a fairly small plane for a red eye flight to San Fransisco. As our last prebaby vacation, I’d say it was an overall success. Great time, great company, great food, great memories and great weather.

First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes...

Little known fact: Somewhere before "then comes baby in a baby carriage," a line went missing. Though the exact wording is unknown, I think it went something like: "then comes Mom and Dad's last hurrah someplace fabulous." And thus was born the BABYMOON.


Although some might advise not to fly in the last trimester of pregnancy, I've been given the all clear to jump aboard a plane and enjoy a "last hurrah" with Ryan, my parents, sister and her boyfriend. The trip promised almost 3 years ago, and planned about a year ago, did not see a baby in our near future, so we could we could say timing was really bad for this trip or that it is really great. With the “okay” to fly, I am going to say it was really great. In one week, the six of us, all leaving from different airports will head to the island of Maui where I hear that mornings of birdsong swell into days of pure exhilaration. In one week, at 33 weeks pregnant, we head out to enjoy our Babymoon in Hawaii!

All Good Things Must Come To An End

Today has been an incredibly productive day…after bath time for our dirty puppy, Agape, we got started on the long list of house projects that have been piling up for oh, two years… When we first moved in to this house every room was painted. We had a bright pink room, a bright red/tan room, a light blue room, a dark green room, a purple room and a main color of tan. It was a little much if you ask me. So over these last two years we have slowly been painting and trying to cover up the crazy color palette the previous owners created. Recently we finished painting our pool table/bar rooms (which have yet to see a pool table or bar) and replaced old white carpet with laminate flooring.

Today I finally convinced my handy man to hang some of the pictures and decorations I’ve collected over the last few months.

 

- I'd like to thank Kim for most of the ideas and inspiration -

 

...the day is still not over...my handy man turned painter has decided to make the ultimate sacrifice. Say bye-bye to the oh so beautiful Harley Davidson kitchen. All good things must come to an end.