The Mommy Diaries

Weekend outing

2010-02-14T16:39:00.000-08:00

While Derek stayed home and watched Nascar and put together crab cakes for dinner tonight, Maddie and I had girl time Sunday afternoon. We

went to Yepez Vineyard in Baytown, TX and listened to live music for a couple of hours. The weather was warm so the big french doors were open and they had huge windows. The volume was turned down to a pleasant level since we were all inside. The wine was good, the music was fun, the setting was lovely. Maddie was popular of course. I can't wait to go back and do it again.

Maddie is still awake. Not only awake but in a good mood. She's been up for 5.5 hours now. Maybe she really enjoyed the music too.

Looking towards another week at work. Will try to get to bed at a decent hour tonight.

Love to all,

shannon

2010-02-07T17:32:00.000-08:00

Well, it has been over a month since I last blogged! Why the absence? One work - ExxonMobil. Going back to work full time made me seriously pare down unneccessary activities, and since spending time with Derek and Maddie, bathing and sleep are now daily necessities, blogging got lost somewhere with cooking meals and doing laundry. Honestly, not much has been missed in the last month because I haven't been doing anything but working. Probably the big thing to catch up on is that we started giving Maddie a little cereal. We give it to her, doesn't mean she takes it. So far, it has all ended up down her chin. I think maybe this last time we got 1 swallow, but that may have just been saliva. I have some video, but I haven't learned how to post it yet.

Other activities this month - the annual work group party. Maddie and I went. It was at the Aquarium in Kemah. Everyone loved Maddie and wanted to hold her. A couple of experienced moms wouldn't take no for an answer, which was sweet because they wanted to give me a chance to have a meal without having to hold her. Then there's was Maya's 1 yr Birthday party! Unfortunately I didn't realize how important it was to Maya's daddy and didn't dress for the occasion. I hope I didn't offend him. He seems too laid back to be offended by that, but still.

Maya in her party dress and her grandad -

Today though, there is something to blog about - Maddie's first trip to church! We went to FBC Baytown, of course. My sister teases me about always going to the Baptist church, but my argument is that when I move to a new place, I want to get plugged into a church as fast as possible, so sticking with the FBC's where I know the doctrine and style of worship makes it easy. Maybe when Derek and I land in our "forever" home we'll shop around a little more. But for now while we still don't have roots, it's nice to have the constancy of FBC.

The pictures:

Maddie's 3mo party, her new (temporary) home, Derek's graduation

2009-12-21T18:33:00.000-08:00

It's not in the title, but I have to start with this picture I took in Baytown, TX when Derek and I were looking for our new apartment:

Ok so it must be made for that very purpose but it sure doesn't look very safe!

Maddie turned 3 months on December 10th! Her daddy was out of town but the two of us celebrated by going to Christmas in the park the following Friday. This is a... what's the word.... party (?) that the city of College Station puts on. The local kids groups (choirs, dance studios, etc.) come out and perform, they serve hot chocolate and cookies, and they do a hay ride through lots of Christmas lights. With Maddie in the Bjorn, I should have taken a mirror so I could see her expression. The only way I managed it was to snap pics with my camera then look at them. I did go check her in the bathroom mirror when she stopped moving. Maddie found it all very exciting as you can tell from the picture I took of us:

Here are some other pictures from the event:

Last Friday, Derek and I moved a UHaul truck's worth from College Station to Baytown with the incredible help of my parents. I took a couple of pictures of the new place before it got crowded with boxes:

It's right by the Refinery so it'll be a quick drive home at lunch to feed Maddie in the middle of the day, and I shouldn't ever get stuck in traffic which would be all the more frustrating because it would be taking away Maddie time. As much as I don't like living in Baytown, she's totally worth it.

Finally, Derek was hooded last Saturday (19th)! It was a fairly quick ceremony since it was December. Maddie took a bottle half way through and sat on my lap for the last half. Derek's mom, stepdad and sister Amanda made the trip down from Kentucky. They only stayed one night before driving back. Pretty amazing since the drive is about 14 hours. My folks were still there of course, and one of Derek's friends drove up from Houston.

We're all proud of him and so glad he's got that diploma!

Bedding, Bottles and Baby Bottoms

2009-12-03T18:22:00.000-08:00

Bedding: Derek and I purchased a changing table, crib and all the associated bedding while in Kentucky visiting family a few weeks ago. I remembered to get a picture of the table in time to post it, but the crib was taken apart for traveling before I caught it. Well, it has been reassembled, so here's the pic:

She hasn't started sleeping here yet (so don't worry about the loose bumper ties) because it is upstairs. As long as she'll fit in the bassinet downstairs, I'll use that to minimize the trips up and down the stairs.

Bottles: We attempted to give Maddie her first bottle last weekend. We've always heard this can be a difficult transition for baby, so we wanted to attack it early. I go back to work Dec 28, and Maddie needs to be a bottle pro for Derek. We put a couple of ounces in a bottle and the result? (Drum roll please....) complete success! Maddie reclined, took the bottle and finished every drop in about 10 minutes.

(Mom's voice over for Maddie: "Gee guys, this is the best passy ever!")

Lastly, baby bottoms - Several people know that we're using cloth diapers. We invested in bumgenius one size diapers right before Maddie made her grand appearance. I was very very skeptical. Derek had to talk me into this, but I have to say it hasn't been bad. Have we had leaks? yes, but honestly no more than we had with disposables (We used disposables for the first few weeks (umbilical cord), and then the 3 weeks we were in MS / KY visiting family.) Yes it's gross, but we're parents now, we have to be able to handle gross. There are only two real drawbacks in my mind - 1) It's kind of annoying having to reassemble all those diapers after washing them. I tend to do it sitting on the couch while watching tv that I'd be watching anyway though, so it makes me feel like I'm doing something useful rather than just indulging in tv. 2) Since we bought adjustable ones that are supposed to fit her from birth to two years, they give her a huge bottom! Some of her clothes are pretty snug because I have to stuff in all that diaper! But we all get a good laugh at Maddie's Sweet Potato Queen parade outfit.

Until next time -

shannon

Doctor report

2009-11-19T18:06:00.000-08:00

A quick update for those interested -

Doc was beyond thrilled, she was amazed at Maddie's weight gain. She went from the 5-10th percentile on weight to the 50th percentile in 35 days. She is 10lbs, 12oz. She actually asked me what changed with the feeding.

Maddie got several vaccinations. It was rough. She cried, but went back to sleep for the drive home. She's asleep now with the help of a little Tylenol - so if you're trying to call I might not hear because I have the ringer turned down.

She got a prescription for acid reflux medicine to help with all the spit up. We'll see how that goes.

I also had my post delivery follow up check-up. Thumbs up all around.

Ta-ta for now!

Trip highlights

2009-11-18T17:20:00.000-08:00

We just completed a 3 week tour- western Kentucky, bookended by Oxford, MS. Maddie got to meet almost all her relatives. Here are some highlights from the trip:

Her papaw made her a heart pancake. Yes, this is a highlight. The nephews get smiley faces, but being the first girl grandchild on my side, she got something more girlie.

She received basic rocker training from every grandmother, great grandmother, and aunt around.

Maddie showed off another of her sweet sides in her spiffy Halloween costume:

She played what she thought was a good practical joke on dad:

We bought baby furniture. Yes, furniture - a convertable crib and changing table. And brought it home. Derek has set up the changing table in the hallway..... we still have a long ways to go before the crib can be set up. Here's a pic of the changing table. We also bought all the bedding and a bag full of baby clothes. It was an excellent deal at a yard sale. We had an inside connection and got to go Friday afternoon, before the sale started.

She had her first trip to The Square in Oxford which included lunch at Ajax. There she met Red and Ruby Galey - good friends of the Barr family. She made her first book purchase at Square Books Jr. (chose a couple of Dr. Seuss classics), and visited for a bit with Mr. Falkner.

We also made a day trip to the farm. I'm sorry I don't have any nice pictures of Maddie there. However there was one "highlight" there that isn't cute, but I have to include it because it is a once in a lifetime sight. I'm sorry if it offends anyone.

Two bucks, an 11 point and a 13 point fought over territory just behind our living quarters. Their horns were so similarly sized they became stuck together. The deer then fell into the pond and drowned. We discovered them the next morning. Dad wanted to save the horns (understandably so, he said he's hunted for 30 years and only heard of such situations, never seen it) so he and my cousin Jeffrey tied the horns to a near by tree and walked away to allow nature to take care of the rest.

So there you have it. There was more. We were generously showered in Kentucky twice. I have a picture of one of the beautiful cakes but I figure that isn't interesting enough for a blog. Derek and I were in a restaurant together for the first time since Maddie's 0th birthday. We saw UFO's over my mother in law's house. You can never expect UFO pics to turn out well though. =)

We left College Station Oct 24, and returned November 15.

2009-10-12T15:50:00.000-07:00

Well! I am finally able to get into my blog account after days of internet trouble. It was so frustrating! I had several things I wanted to blog about and just kept hitting a wall when I tried to log in. So without total backtracking, I'll do mini-blogposts of what's been happening over the last week or so:

#1 - As of last Sunday night, Oct 4, I'm officially out of my Houston apartment. 1a - Simply would Not have made it without the tremendous help of good friends, Margie, Robbie, Heather and Alby. 2a - Whenever I move out of a place I take one last look as I'm standing at the door about to shut it for the last time. Almost like having my life flash before my eyes I picture all the memorable tings that happened there. Usually this is topped off with emotions of sadness and a yearning to go back and live it all again. Those emotions didn't occur this time. Instead there was a feeling of completion, as if the cosmic door had already closed, and I was 5 minutes late closing the earthly door. Not as poetic a description as is needed, but this is supposed to be a mini-blog.

#2 - Maddie had a quick doctor's appointment on Oct 6 for what I suspected was a case of thrush. Doc didn't agree, but prescribed me some medicine for it and recommended I see a lactation consultant, which I did the same day. The consultant, after listening to my description guessed I was probably right about the thrush. It was worth the trip and the cost though because nursing is tolerable again. Plus I Finally got Derek a birthday present - a couple of red velvet cupcakes from Crave! Yes, for those of you who know how close my birthday is to his, there were a couple of cupcakes in the box for me as well. =)

#3 - Maddie had her first walk on Friday, Oct 8! She lasted a while, but in general wasn't too interested in anything. It did me more good to get out of the condo. Once it was dusk though I spent the remainder of the walk staring at her to make sure no mosquitoes got to her, which means I missed all the ones biting me!

#4 - She watched football with us on Saturday, but was so disappointed in the Rebel's offense, she decided a nap was a better call.

Alrighty, we go back to the doctor for a weight check on Wednesday, so I'll let you know the outcome then.

Thanks for reading and hopefully commenting!

Packing

2009-09-29T19:11:00.000-07:00

I expected that I would have forgotten how to pack by this point. I've lived here for 3 years after all, longer than I've ever lived in one place since 1998. Apparently though, 10 moves in as many years is often enough to seal in the habit.

Moving has always created mixed emotions for me. Excitement at progressing into a new phase of life, but some sadness at leaving the home where good things happened. The strength of the emotions is much stronger for me this time though. I will finally be living with my husband, am finally going to experice the joy of living together as a family. However the sorrow slapped me around a good bit even as I just pulled out the first boxes and placed a few things in. This particular phase of my life, these last 3 years, have been utterly amazing. I stand, almost stunned, at the extent to which God was pleased to bless me. The friendships I have had, the fun, the independece he granted me, the city of Houston, the growth in my relationship with my husband, the time with my parents... I will never have a repeat of this phase.

I know more good is to come though. I could say about the same things for highscool, then college. That is what gives me the courage to keep packing. That and the fact that baby girl misses her daddy.

The first discoveries.

2009-09-20T22:28:00.000-07:00

As this is my inaugural post, I guess I should preface it with this - I never thought I would be a blogger. I've never even kept a diary. Now though I have this overwhelming drive to document some of my thoughts, and oddly in a format that is available to other people. So I guess that may be one of my first discoveries as well, motherhood can change all kinds of habits and desires, not just the obvious ones

1) "Personal hygiene" has an entirely different definition now.

2) I can do a lot of things one handed. The hardest so far? - putting on socks. Or maybe tearing a check out of a checkbook.

3) You will never understand everything your mother did and felt for you unless and until you become a mother yourself. Seriously, don't even try, you just can't appreciate it. I assume the same applies to fatherhood, but I have enough respect to leave that to the dads.

4) I can live in a chair for 19 hours a day if it means I get to be by her bedside in the NICU.

5) It's ok to ask for help.