Thursday, June 30, 2011

Trapped and Randomness



We put up the gate- one of the many things we have had to do to make it a little easier around here.  L immediately realized he was caged.



And now for randomness...

I have two bug bites- one on each foot- like on he side near the soles.  They are extremely itchy and uncomfortable.  My poor feet have been through a lot, and it shows.  I used to have pretty cute/soft/young feet.  With all the barefooting (it's a Slovak thing), running, pregnancy, and overall abuse I put them through- they are beginning to resemble an older version of themselves.  And lets not even mention the toe injury from hell.  But they have also been pretty reliable- so I guess it's worth having them worn in.  One day I will reward them with a pedicure- until them I will cringe because I want to itch them but know if will only lead to more itching...

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Celebrating Remotely

I really wanted to take L to pride in SF this weekend- but with the commute, parking, public transportation, crowds- and no one able to do this with me (I could meet people in SF, but the getting there would be the difficult part with L)- I felt a little unprepared.  Next year for sure!

That didn't stop us from having our own little celebration- from home.  L wore his rainbow babylegs and a rainbow onesie to show his gay pride (his rainbow I <3 daddy onesie was mysteriously missing- double meaning?  yes, thats what made it so perfect).   This pride weekend is bittersweet.  A huge victory in New York, but a reminder of California's failures (prop 8, and the current state of gay rights).  Hopefully this is the beginning of some major national changes-oh, and go NY!!!

Here is L- all tuckered out in his celebratory uniform.

10 Months













L, you have been officially out in the world longer then in the womb.  You're quickly becoming an expert navigating this world.  You started cruising and crawling like nobody's business- and just a few days ago stand unassisted for a bit.  We have begun baby proofing and it seems every day I find new things that need to be proofed!  You are growing in so many ways.  Your weight- yes you are getting heavy, about 21 lbs, and still insist on being held often- hopefully I get some nice cut arms out of it.  You're definitely taller- you have your daddy's long torso- he apologizes that you will struggle to find slim long shirts as an adult.  Your vocabulary is still fairly small, but the babbling has increased.  You say dada, baba, dthiss, and many random grunts that obviously are attempts at communicating.  You are so much more aware of the world- you adore books and being read to- your favorite book right now is "Is Your Mama a Llama?" and "I am Bunny".  Ruff and tumbles would describe your new energy and determination.  And I will never get over how beautiful you are- you stop people in their tracks when we go out- and of course you adore the attention you get.  Wonder if you will live the "bubble".  Nursing is getting crazy- well you are just so mobile and demanding about the boob- the positions and mannerism while breastfeeding are nothing like your sweet little newborn gentleness.  We are so close to 1 year...how we ever came this far in one piece I will never know.

Love you dearly.





Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Cathartic

Pressure washing your house...


I knew those gutters used to be white...

Saturday, June 18, 2011

Getting lighter



I always said I wouldn't take my weight loss seriously till I lost at least 10 lbs- so far I can claim 10.5 lbs.  I can officially acknowledge the hard work.  I think running has been the biggest help with loosing weight- and nursing L.

So in celebration I registered for my first 5K race- July 17th.  Not because I'm such a hot shot runner that I would place- heck I will probably come in close to last.  I'm doing it more for a way to motivate myself and keep things challenging- running on the treadmill gets boring and outside runs are few and far between- also I can cross it off my list of 28 things for my 28th year.

(image via pinterest)

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Bubble love

This video includes both dog and baby being utterly entertained- this pertains to me because I have both....must buy bubbles.



(found at So what I said)

Settling in and my theories...



This week L and I have finally begun to settle in to our new routine with me home.  For a while we were attempting to move closer to my family-  but with all the hurdles, the stress, and compromises that would need to be made- we decided now is not the right time.  I huge weight has been lifted since we made this decision- I don't do well with uncertainty- it quite literally increases my blood pressure and I get absolutely miserable.  Oh and having a child makes it even worse- what better justification for allowing oneself to stress then your child?

So a little about our routine- L takes two naps a day, sometimes I think it should be three- but L doesn't agree with that.  He wakes up between 7:00-8:00.  He is an absolute angel in the mornings.  Maybe it's the amount of sleep he gets at night, or that he is just a "morning person"- whatever it is I'll take it!  He nurses, eats some solids, we play, nurses again, and then it's nap time.  This is usually about 2 hrs after he has been up.  Morning naps are a beautiful thing around here.  L goes down fairly easily and stays asleep for 1 1/2 to 2 hrs.  During these naps I get shit done- running, laundry, cleaning, cooking.  Again- I LOVE morning naps.  When L wakes up we nurse, play, eat some solids, and then go out- to the park, for an errand, anywhere- just out.  We come home, nurse, play- and then do the afternoon nap.

Now afternoon naps and bedtime are just not as wonderful as morning naps.  I have a few theories and will probably start to test them.  The first theory is- COFFEE.  I wasn't a coffee drinking till L came along, but now I absolutely thrive off my morning cup- it helps me run, wake up, and just get shit done.  So the theory (yes I used to be an experimental psych major) is that the caffeine effects L by way of breastmilk.  Knowing that it takes a while for drugs (which caffeine is) to enter the system, I assume it takes a little while longer to enter breastmilk.  This means that while I already feel the caffeine when L goes down for the morning nap- it may not have come out in my breastmilk yet.  So non caffeinated baby makes for an easy nap time.  But by the afternoon nap and bedtime- L has been caffeinated.  So when I get the guts to test my theory I will blog about it- but we just aren't ready for that yet.

L goes down for his afternoon nap around 2-4 and usually sleeps for 1 hr.  Then we play, nurse, eat solids, and either go for a walk or get a bath in the sink (L's new favorite thing).  Bedtime happens around 7-9.  At this point I start to get burnt out.  L has a hard time falling asleep at bedtime.  He requires being "worn down" in the ergo.  So I walk around the house (we have a circular path through the house thats great for this mind numbing activity) with the lights off for 15-45 min.  It's not fun.  As I said I start to get burnt out around this time and L is getting heavy- probably over 20 lbs by now.  Now if D is home early enough, he helps out with bedtime- oh I love when he is home early.

All in all it's pretty good to be me right now- I have to say I'm happy.  And now a super cute pic of L & D- shower time.

Monday, June 13, 2011

Gifts for a 1 year old

L is quickly approaching age 1 so naturally I have started to think about his birthday party and potential gifts.  As for his party- I have no clue where to go with that- possible just a casual "open house" at our home- simple- convenient- air conditioned.

These are the gifts I have been eyeing:







Saturday, June 11, 2011

28 things for my 28th year


So I turned 28- ever so close to 30.  I'm still enjoying aging- which I hope I continue to say.  D and I have talked about different times in our lives, the stages and ages we have experienced- I always very easily conclude that I love being an adult and wasn't a very happy child.  I think some people's personalities/experiences/preferences just made them better suited to different developmental stages.  I love the independence I have gained as an adult, and even relish in the increased responsibility.  I really struggled to find happiness as a teen, and my childhood was a little sour due to divorce, sibling issues, overall sensitivity on my part.  My 20's have been the best years of my life- and I have high hopes for my 30's.

I've seen other bloggers make lists for birthdays and age milestones- so I thought it would be a fun and motivating experience to borrow from them.  So here are the 28 things I hope/plan to accomplish and experience in my 28th year.

1. Become licensed
2. Run in a 5K race
3. Host a dinner party or BBQ for friends 
4. Declutter (another garage sale, donate)
5. Build the laundry room
6. Go on a family road trip (we have some friends getting married in Oregon in November- might be a good time)
7. Be able to run a 10K (not in a race, just on my own)
8. Take L to Dolores Park
9. Read at least 3 books
10. Go on a family camping trip (these seem awfully appealing with a baby)
11. Take L to the beach
12. Paint
13. Reach my goal weight
14. Become pregnant with our second child
15. Take L to the SF MOMA
16. Remain debt free (besides our mortgage of course)
17. Throw L a small but awesome 1st birthday party
18. Do Bikram again
19. Go out to a dinner with D (like fancy style, multiple courses, wine, the whole thing)
20. Have a family portrait taken 
21. Spend a weekend away from L- just D and I
22. Get a pedicure 
23. Spend less time on the internet 
24. Visit friends more
25. Take L to the library for baby activities
26. Save at least $500.00 every month
27. Find a mom group/play date group
28. Take L to a Giants game

image source- pinterest

Friday, June 3, 2011

Hair cut and dressing for a wedding while nursing...







































I decided to cut my long hair.  It was always getting chewed, pulled, drooled on...so I guess I got a "mom" hair cut (much like mom shoes).  I'm not thrilled with it, but I do feel lighter- and I had been in a funk for the last few days.

We are attending a wedding tomorrow and I was struggling with what to wear- casual summer wedding, outdoors, possibly will rain, nursing a 9 month old.  So this is what I came up with.  The dress is amazing for nursing- found at target on clearance- it covers up my usually spilling out chest but still allows for easy access for nursing.  I'm still undecided about the shoes- with possible rain I may wear my fry boots.

Please ignore the giant mess going on our room...