The long Thanksgiving weekend was wonderful. So much time spent with the family, especially quality time with Meredith. By the end of the weekend I really felt connected to her again. And she saw Santa:

It was kind of impromptu. We were visiting a Christmas tree farm with David’s family, even though we didn’t get a tree (we’re getting a secondhand fake one this year). But we wanted to go to hang out with them and see our nephews, plus we wanted to get into the spirit of things. It was actually cold out, I drank an apple cider, bought an ornament, and Santa was there. Meredith told him that she wants new carpet in the house before she learns to crawl.

***

Oh, so anyway, the long weekend was awesome but going back to work/daycare has been ROUGH. Meredith was fussy at daycare for three days and isn’t napping as well, and at home with us at night she wants to be held constantly. As for me, I’m back to nearly crying when I drop her off, and if I’m late getting home I feel sick about it.

***

For Thanksgiving I contributed one dish to each family dinner. For my family I baked macaroni and cheese. My greedy little brothers took all the leftovers home with them and left us with none. For my husband’s side, I made a chocolate sheet cake, mostly because I wanted to eat it. I guess that’s how everyone felt about dessert though, because there was a lot of it. Most of my sheet cake was left, so I just had it sitting at home in the kitchen all weekend. WAY too easy to just eat a few bites every time I walked by it. By Monday, I was kind of disgusted by myself. It took much willpower, but I threw the rest away. And I’ve been eating less this week, and hardly any sweets because I’ve GOT to shake these cravings. I’m sick of not fitting in all of my clothes. Next step is to break out the 30-day Shred.

***

Here’s another video I took of Meredith over the weekend:

***

Now for some good things that happened in November. Because it’s DECEMBER now!

1 – Watching GG (David’s grandmother) hold Meredith.

2 – In bed by 9:00 p.m.

3 – Day off because of Meredith being sick, lots of relaxing and getting things done, David bringing me flowers.

4 - A really smooth day at work and getting to leave early.

5 –  Seeing Carmen, one of my best friends, and her fiance Steve who live in Austin.

6 –  Lots of (sick) snuggles from Meredith.

7 –  Leaving work early to be with Meredith & the feeling of her needing me.

8 – Meredith is healthy enough to go to daycare; seeing Nicole, a high school friend, and her son James.

9 – Taking care of a “difficult” patient with no problems.

10 - Getting off work early again; David bringing me a brownie with dinner.

11 – Chatting with my parents after work when I picked up Meredith.

12 – Cleaning, massage, pedicure.

13 - Lunch with my parents, our dog Oliver (who they are keeping) lying in my lap.

14 –  Quiet reading time in the evening.

15 – Finishing work early, Meredith nursing a lot.

16 – David’s sweet protective text in the morning.

17 –  An inspiring conference for work.

18 - A first-time chemo patient who was crying from anxiety when she came in ended her day laughing.

19 - A wedding shower for a church friend & seeing old friends.

20 – Dinner at Lupe’s with all the Forbes kids.

21 - Getting to do injections at work & leave early

22 – A glowing report of health from the doctor for Meredith.

23 – Beating my brothers in plasma car races.

24 – Thanksgiving!

25 –  Day of recovery lying around doing nothing.

26 – Cracker Barrel & Target with David.

27 – Christmas tree farm with David’s family.

28 – Back to our routine, Meredith napping in my arms.

29 – Time to catch up on blogs and browse Pinterest.

30 –  Quality time with David after work.

]]> http://kapachino.info/2011/12/holiday-weekend-fallout-and-november-good-things/feed/ 2 http://kapachino.info/2011/11/weekend-activities-self-reflection-and-baby-hair-control/ http://kapachino.info/2011/11/weekend-activities-self-reflection-and-baby-hair-control/#comments Mon, 14 Nov 2011 17:41:20 +0000 kapachino http://kapachino.info/?p=5255 So I had a really good weekend. It was a perfect mix of productive and fun. I could have possibly used a bit more relaxing at home time, but you can’t win ‘em all. I was so proud of all that I had accomplished on Saturday that I was bragging to David at the end of the day.

Me, with smug satisfaction: …and I even showered, and shaved my legs, and plucked my eyebrows, and completely groomed myself!

David: Honey, MOST people do that.

Me, not quite so smug: Well, so do I, OBVIOUSLY. Just…not all the time.

***

Because of some things that have happened lately I have been examining myself and how I handle conflict. I have come to the conclusion that it is near impossible to make me angry, and I am probably the most forgiving person I know. I’m not saying that to brag, because it can actually be a significant fault. I will look for any and every excuse to not be upset with someone, even if they really don’t deserve it. And if someone, like my husband, is upset with a person for good reason, I will immediately take up that person’s cause in order to smooth things over, when what I should really be doing is supporting my husband. There’s nothing I hate more than a broken relationship, but I need to make sure not to let that come in between my most important relationships of all.

***

I took my computer to the Apple store in the mall yesterday to visit the Genius Bar. It was kind of embarrassing because it’s like 5 years old, the edges of the keyboard are peeling off, there is a huge black line through the screen where it got bent, and it’s just overall obviously old, dirty, and slow. I felt sort of bad for it in there with all the shiny new things. This one still works, though, and I feel an affection for it since it saw me through nursing school. I even named it, although now I know someone with that name so I’ll keep it to myself. But it had stopped connecting to the internet at our house which is quite inconvenient. I’m saving up for a new one, but it’s slow going. Anyway, the point of this whole thing is that I was in the mall, and there was Christmas music playing and all the holiday decorations were up. I’m not against premature holiday-celebrating, but it did kind of surprise me, and then I realized that Thanksgiving is only two weeks away so it’s not truly premature. I think I must be in another world somewhere and time is passing without me realizing it.

***

You must have noticed that this post is of the random variety, so I can’t let it pass without talking about the baby. Specifically, that her hair is out of control. It is completely bald on one side, sort of bald on the other side, and the rest of it is getting SO long. It swoops completely to one side like an emo kid, has a huge swirling cowlick in the back that refuses to be tamed, and basically from the side she looks like she has a horse’s mane. It is what it is, but still, we’re into hats these days.

Pumpkin Patch

The pumpkin patch was tiny and picked over, but all we needed was a little bench and a pumpkin to prop her up.

She wasn’t so much into smiling, but was really enjoying sticking out her tongue.

Meredith’s cousin Cameron, nearly two years old, was there with us.

He was being sweet to share the little pumpkins with Meredith.

And of course she wanted to eat them.

Look! I was there too.

Finally, a smile!

The Zoo

We went to the zoo on the day before Halloween, not knowing that it was “Boo Zoo” day and people arrived hours before opening to find a parking spot. We got so frustrated looking for a place to park that David ended up just dropping me off (with a few other family members) and driving around for a few hours. Once we were inside it was nice, but I really wish David would have been there.

It was sunny, so Meredith broke out her shades and basically napped the whole time.

She woke up while we were taking a break, I nursed her, then put her in the Ergo for the rest of the visit.

I can’t wait to go back to the zoo when Meredith is older and can really enjoy it!

Halloween

We have been calling Meredith “Mer-maid” as a nickname since before she was born, so it only made sense that she would be a mermaid for Halloween. This costume was 0-9 months, which is a huge range, and it was quite baggy on her so I had to pin it from the back. It still worked out though. Witness the cute:

Her cousin Cameron was fat Elvis and Lucas was Buzz Lightyear. Unfortunately this is the only picture we could manage with the three of them. Nice finger, Cameron.

We walked around to a few houses just to show her off. I think she had fun. :)

Unfortunately somewhere along the way Meredith caught a virus. She has had a wet cough and congestion since Tuesday, had a really rough night of sleep last night, and woke up with a fever this morning. I decided to take the day off and take her to the doctor (who basically told us to keep her comfortable and monitor her condition until it runs its course), and now we’re resting at home. Thankfully she’ll be with my mom tomorrow so I can go back to work, and hopefully she’ll be well enough on Monday to go back to daycare! I can tell she’s uncomfortable, but she is mostly still her sweet, smiley self. :)

Yesterday I decided to document my day in pictures, and this is something I’d like to continue from time to time. So here’s what I did!

(All pictures taken with the Hipstamatic app on my iPhone. They are pretty terrible but I never claimed to be a photographer!)

9:00 a.m. – Breakfast, with a little reading on the side.

10:15 a.m. – Waxing appointment. Ouch!

11:30 a.m. – I accidentally got locked out of the house for a bit, so I took the opportunity to do some reading. :)

12:45 p.m. – Working on the blog and catching up online.

1:15 p.m. – Getting ready to go out with David. None of these clothes is maternity! A medium shirt from Gap and a stretchy skirt from H&M.

2:00 p.m. – We went and saw an afternoon showing of Super 8 and loved it!

4:30 p.m. – Working on the never-ending task of thank-you notes! I can only do a few at a time because of the difficulties I have with my hands.

6:00 p.m. – Dinner at Los Cucos with David’s family, yum.

7:30 p.m. – Watching my new favorite TV show, Secrets From a Stylist with Emily Henderson. She’s adorable (tweets and blogs, which I love) and has great ideas for the home!

8:00 p.m. – My foot gets a little love from Cleo. :)

9:30 p.m. – Reading in bed, my nightly ritual.

10:34 p.m. – Lights out!

Yesterday was a really nice day. I got a few things done, went on a few outings, and was even a little productive! Today I’ve been doing boring things like cleaning and preparing for the week, but I’m making sure to take breaks and as a bonus I have a massage this evening. :)

How was your weekend?

Although life has worked out well for both of us, I’m constantly sad that it hasn’t worked out for us to live near each other. She stayed in Kansas after college, and I moved back to Texas. We both eventually got married, were each other’s maid of honor, and our husbands get along so well that they actually planned activities for the weekend that didn’t include us, like fishing and visits to Bass Pro.

I can’t tell you what an incredible weekend I had with them.  We didn’t do anything particularly special, just enjoyed each other’s company. It helped that her kids are pretty much the cutest, and SO well-behaved.

We cooked and baked (Eli helped)…

We played in the neighborhood park…

The boys got in a few rounds of Wii Sports…

I practiced with a little girl…

…and based on this picture alone I am determined to give David a boy at some point.

Becca made me this adorable blanket for Meredith, which is just my style and makes me want to learn how to sew…

…and my mom had this sweet little basket waiting for us at church.

We decided to take some pictures while we were still dressed up:

Becca also took me to Babies R Us and we walked up and down every single aisle analyzing the products, and by the end of it the prospect of registering wasn’t so overwhelming anymore. I realized that I really don’t need many of the things on the “must-have” list, and I’m excited now to pick out the things I do want.

Overall we didn’t do anything particularly exciting, but for a full day after they left I kept saying to David over and over, “I’m so sad they’re gone!” We only get to see each other once a year at best. This was the first time we’ve hosted anyone at our house for an extended period of time and the first time we’ve had kids stay with us, and I loved it. It felt more like a home while they were there, and so empty afterward.

The weekend was rejuvenating. I can’t wait to start filling our house with kids starting in less than three months (!), but for now I’m trying to remember to enjoy the quiet, and the time when it’s just me and David.

Not a free day until the end of the month!

There’s so much still that I want to get done before that time, but one of my best friends recently reminded me that getting ready for a baby isn’t like planning a wedding. If you don’t finish everything in time, you can get to it afterward. I’m trying to remember that, because my life is kind of booked right now. In addition to 11-12 hours of being gone for work every day, I have Bible study on Tuesdays, childbirth classes on Wednesdays, and youth group on Thursdays – every week. I have monthly book club and craft club meetings, church commitments, and family gatherings. I’m trying not to abandon the things I love like blogging and keeping up with friends, reading, and a few select TV shows. All of this, except for the childbirth classes, doesn’t include any sort of baby preparation at all.

Saturdays have recently turned into work days around the house. With the help of our parents and siblings, we’ve made a big dent in the painting. My dad helped change out a couple more light fixtures, and I’m even working on hanging some mirrors and art on the walls. A vision for the nursery is slowly starting to form in my mind. In two weeks we’re having company for a few days, so the guest room and bathroom are going to get whipped into shape.

The breakfast nook. I like it.

This weekend I also managed to repaint my toenails, have dinner and game night with some couples from church, visit my dog Cleo at my parents’ house (and came away with a few original paintings by my grandfather), wrangle our mentally disturbed dog Eddie who will not let us sleep OMG, do a little shopping for the guest room, and watch some of the Master’s while catching up on blogs.

When I look at my calendar and I think about my to-do list, I have no idea how I’m going to make it. One day at a time, I suppose!

This past weekend didn’t start out so great, but every day got better. Let’s just skip over Friday night when I came home to the evidence of my dog having completely lost any sense of what it means to be house trained, I had a mini breakdown, and spent the rest of the evening cleaning up his mess.

And we can go ahead and skip over Saturday morning too, where I woke up with a headache, went to a funeral, and came home having lost all motivation to conquer my to do list.

My remedy for this problem was to take Oliver on a walk in hopes that it would help boost my energy, then to take two Tylenol and park myself on the couch in front of Mad Men. In just a few hours I was feeling much better and went to see the Narnia movie with a friend. Afterward David and I went to his parents’ house to spend time with his grandparents before they returned home to Pennsylvania. They’ve been in town since before Christmas, and it’s been so lovely. All of my grandparents died almost ten years ago and I never got a chance to relate to them as an adult. Nowadays I feel like I have the soul of a grandparent so hanging out with them was just perfect for me.

Sunday was better. I woke up early and did some yoga–first time I’ve exercised in months–and even cleaned a little bit. After church I did some grocery shopping and then actually (gasp!) cooked dinner! I’m super embarrassed but this is also something I haven’t done in a couple of months. I have to say, it wasn’t too bad and it was extremely satisfying to have a home cooked meal with leftovers to take to lunch. I won’t be cooking every night or anything, but maybe I can handle twice a week?

While I was cooking I spent some time decluttering the junk drawers (for my happiness project) and then David and I settled down to watch The Social Network after dinner. I love having weekends off, and this one was a good mix of productive and relaxing.

Cleo wanted to come along, but I had to tell her no.

The Prius was a champ, and we packed her full. Probably overpacked, but we were like first-time parents worrying about every possible little thing. You can never have too many towels or batteries! we said to each other. Turns out that yes, you can. But it didn’t matter.

We chose a shady little spot just a few steps away from the bathrooms and the lake. Prime.

We set up camp and then got busy relaxing.

We played games and cards.

We went on a guided nature hike.

We saw a crazy flying thing.

We cooked yummy food, like my classic hobo meal. Tip: when you’re going to be cooking your meal which is wrapped in foil on the coals of a fire, make sure you a) choose a sturdy brand of foil, and b) double wrap it.

And there were s’mores, of course. I don’t even like graham crackers or marshmallows particularly, but there’s something about a s’more that is irresistible, wouldn’t you agree?

We read, we talked, we swam (at least I did), and of course enjoyed the company. David’s brother Scott, his wife Vanessa, and even my nephew Lucas came along.

He was a little trooper.

My brother David and his girlfriend Maggie came too. Maggie can go ahead and be my personal chef as far as I’m concerned. The food she made for us was practically gourmet.

We survived the heat by staying mostly in the shade, and we made it through the night thanks to some fans we brought along. I don’t think any of us would choose to go camping again in the Texas summer, but it was worth it.

Just watch, one day we’ll either buy an RV and travel the country, or go hard core and hike the Appalachian Trail. Either way, it all started here.

I got a nice surprise on Friday when I was supposed to work until 7 p.m. and they let me off at 3. I was able to beat the traffic and convinced David to go on a mini-date. We went to Potbelly Subs & Sandwiches for dinner and then went back home to pick up the dogs. This part took a lot more convincing, because handling all three dogs at once is no easy task. But I recently bought these adorable tags for them, and now we could legitimately take Oliver to the dog park.

Cute, right?

It was Oliver’s first time there, so we were nervous. He’s still not neutered (I know, I know) so he has a tendency to act fairly alpha. He comes up to my waist and weighs around 100 pounds, but there was a dog much bigger than him there and Oliver had that dog’s tail between its legs just by sniffing. Overall he was very good, but he made other dogs nervous and we felt like we had to hover around him the entire time. I don’t think we’ll be going back until we get him fixed.

On Saturday I was up bright & early to visit the local farmer’s market that I’ve been meaning to go to for ages. My sister-in-law and friend were supposed to come too, but neither of them could make it due to their respective babies so I was on my own. I found it easily and my first impression was that it’s small, but very cute.

Our little farmer's market

I walked around without buying anything once to see what was there, and I was happy to see that there was a big variety of food and other local, organic products. I had my eye on some tomatoes and peaches, but then I realized I had forgotten to bring a bag to carry them in. I ended up only buying some honey because I was too self-conscious. (Side note: has anyone ever tried honey in their coffee instead of sugar?)

I must have really been in a food-buying mood though, because I ended up stopping at a larger organic store which was farther away. I was in the area since I had to get some blood drawn at a specific lab. The book I’m reading is completely changing my perspective on the foods I buy. David doesn’t know what he’s in for. :)

For the rest of the day I had originally intended to drag David with me to the Art Car Parade, but when he told me he’d help me paint instead I couldn’t pass that up. My parents and father-in-law came too, and we were able to get the second coat on the front two rooms, paint the ceiling, and start on the trim. The trim and touch-ups are all we have left there, but it’s such a tedious chore. I can’t wait to finish and actually start decorating!

The dining room so far

Sunday morning found us at one of our favorite Mexican restaurants, Los Cucos, for breakfast with my family. I’d never had breakfast at a Mexican place, but I have to say the eggs were the best I’ve ever tasted. I was really excited to give my mom her gift, because it was so unique. You may not know this, but my mom was a hippie in her day, and I think the gene is genetic. For Mother’s Day I signed us (along with my mother-in-law) up for a class teaching us how to make soft cheese and other dairy products at home. I can’t wait!

Church was a fluster of activity because my brother and I were leading the music and we were not quite prepared. It ended up going smoothly, but only because we grew up doing music together and know exactly what the other will do. On the way home from church David and I stopped by a local bookstore for an amazing sale. Here are all the books we got, all for $5.95!

Three of these are mine. Can you guess which ones? :)

By the time we got home I had developed quite a toothache that extended into my sinuses and down my neck. I took a Vicodin, read a few pages, and fell into a nap that lasted until my mother-in-law called me to ask me a question. It’s a good thing she did, because we were supposed to meet David’s family for dinner and I would have slept right through it. Dinner was delicious and the company was lovely, and to top the weekend off I took my mother-in-law to the play Harvey at the Alley Theatre, which we both loved.

Only eleven more days until my next weekend off!