Granny Panties

I bought a pack of Granny panties today.

Yes, a pack.

My underwear came in pack.

Size 5, Joe Boxer, Cotton Hipster Panties, purchased at my local K-Mart.

F.Y.I. Hipster is a total misnomer unless it is implying that they are total old lady drawers that cover half of your thigh.

Sometimes motherhood is totally gross.

Sick Day

Again.

Gemma and I both have little colds...runny noses and all of that fun stuff. We spent the day trying to feel better and attempting to get some sleep. In between rounds of saline drops and the snot sucker (which Gemma HATES, by the way) I was able to get ALL of the pictures from my camera uploaded and backed up. Now all I need to do is print some hard copies and I will REALLY feel accomplished.

Here is a picture of Gemma today:

She looks pretty cheery for a sick person if I do say so myself! Unfortunately her cheer comes and goes, sometimes she is her usual smiley self and other times she is a bit of a bear. Poor thing. I can't imagine what it feels like to be sick as a baby!

It was amazing to me, as I was going through her pictures today, what a difference four months makes. Here is one of  her very first "smiles" at around two weeks old.

She looks very much the same but very different too. One of the many paradoxes of babyhood I suppose.

I saw a lot of really sweet pictures that I never shared with y'all, so I guess that is something to look forward to in the near future!

Until then, I am off to bed. Here is hoping Gemma feels better in the morning.

(And me too please!)

Good night!

Crazy Baby

4 Month Well Baby Visit

Gemma's poor thigh and her "rad" 90's Band-Aid :)

Today was Gemma's 4 month well baby visit. I have been dreading this appointment for weeks. Maybe even longer as I was pretty anxious about it from the moment it was scheduled after her 2 month well baby visit. I HATE the vaccines. HATE them. I really do not like to use the word hate (it is just so...negative), but if ever it were to have an applicable use it to describe the way I feel when I see my poor precious baby being assaulted with needles.

FOUR needles.

I feel worse because I can't warn her, I can't prepare her, I can't explain that it is a choice that I am making for her own good. The most I can do is cuddle her and kiss her afterwards but somehow that just doesn't seem like enough.

I know that there is a lot of debate surrounding vaccinations and to be honest, the research on both sides is overwhelming to me. I feel like there is so much research available but it is all so...biased. I have read literature on different stances but ultimately I have decided that I will trust the advice of my pediatrician who I am sure has read so much more about vaccinations that she has been trained to better understand and she has also seen lots of babies who have been vaccinated. Her pediatrician sugests vaccinating on the "normal" schedule, as recommened by the AAP.

It still sucks. So much.

She cried immediately after, for 10 minutes or so. Then she passed out. But not for long. Pretty soon she was up, herself and flashing little baby smiles like this:

I thought we were out of the woods. I thought she was going to be fine.

And then...

She started screaming. Bloody murder. Out of nowhere. For 15 minutes. Of course, it wasn't just a regular 15 minutes, it was a "my baby is hurting and there is nothing I can do about it" 15 minutes. Believe me, those are the worst.

She eventually fell asleep and that is what she is doing now.

They also measured and weighed Gemma today. She is now 25.2" long (75th percentile) and 13 pounds and 2 ounces (25th percentile). The doctor seems comfortable with her weight and says she is pretty much on track.

I am happy to see her growing.

 She has gained over half of a pound in just a few short weeks!

That nap she is taking looks pretty good, I think I am off to snuggle with my little string bean!

Friday, October 5th 2012

So...I am a little late in getting started with my New Year's resolution. With all of the post holiday clean up, law school application business, and just general life with a four month old DIVA (more formally known as Chicken Nugget), it has taken me a while to "prepare" for my New Year's resolution.


Way back, when I was still pregnant with Gemma, I decided that I would try to do a 101 in 1001 Challenge, which is exactly what it sounds like (maybe). Basically, you make a list of 101 things that you would like to accomplish in 1001 days, you pick a day and you are off. Not so surprisingly, when the reality of raising a new baby hit the challenge was all but forgotten.

Now that things are really starting to settle down,I have decided that I will try again, starting today, Friday, January 8th, 2010, and the 1001 day challenge will be over on Friday, October 5th, 2010.

I have decided to share the goals that I have set forth for this challenge with you, and all of those participating in the Show Us How You Live blog hop at Kelly's Korner.

My goals are a mixture of easily attainable and kind of far out there, serious and silly, important and trivial...Many have changed since I made the original list and many have stayed the same.

I really think I will have fun doing it :)


With out further ado ;)

My Goals for 101 in 1001 Challenge

 
Attend:  

1. 5 different religious services (0/5)
2. A session with a fortune teller.   
3. An audition for a game show.  
4. A renaissance fair.
5. The filming of a TV show or movie.  
6. A a wine tasting.
7. (And participate in!)a charity run or walk.
8. A book signing.   
9. A live performance of a musical.
10. A professional sporting event and tailgate.
11. A tea party. 
12. A comedy show.
13. A convention or conference.
14. A wedding.    Buy: 
15. A new mattress.
16. A DSLR camera.
17. Something off of Etsy.
18. A piece of "art" that I love and hang it in my room. 
19. A  piece of jewelery that I love and ALWAYS wear it.
20. A watch...and wear it.
21. A formal dress in an appropriate setting.
22. A dress in each color of the rainbow (0/7).
23. A perfume I love and make it my "signature scent". Create:
24. Take a picture for every day of the challenge and post them in a blog as timely as possible.
25. Design a new blog layout.
26. Learn how to use a sewing machine.
27. Sew a blanket and a stuffed animal for Gemma.
28. Take/have a picture taken of myself that I love.
29. Design a calendar and give it to all family members as a Christmas present.
30. A "birthday calendar" including all of the special people in my life. Send each persona birthday card.
31. Learn how to make hair bows.
32. Learn how to take great pictures with my not so great camera.
33. And implement a recycling system for home.
34. An inspiration board.
35. Something special with all saved greeting cards.
36. A "signature" cupcake recipe.
37. 10 themed playlists/mixed CD’s (old school style) that make me smile. (0/10)
38. A book of favorite recipes.
39. Make something old and battered, beautiful and functional again.
40. A budget AND stick to it for at least 3 months. (0/3) Do:
41. Lose 25 Pounds (0/25)
42. Watch 26 movies I've never seen starting with each letter of the Alphabet, that don’t also count for other movie related goals in the challenge. (0/26).
43. Send 35 cards. (0/35)
44. Do 10 touristy things that I have never done before in my hometown. (0/10)
45. Visit 10 states other than my own. (0/10)
46. Visit another country
47. Get fully dressed(hair, make up, clothes) every day for a month. (0/31)
48. Get a Duggar family postcard.
49. Read 75 books 35 of which come from either Rory’s Book Club or Time’s All-TIME Novels.(0/75) (0/35)
50. Watch 10 foreign films.(0/10) 
51. Wake up at 7 a.m.everyday for a month (0/31).
52. Stand in 2 states at once and take a cheesy picture.
53. Celebrate 25 birthdays, not including my own (0/25).
54. Learn to french braid.
55. Read the newspaper every day for a month (0/31)
56. Print pictures that I want hard copies of within a month of beginning the challenge and at least every six months after that. (0/1) & (0/5) 
57. Sell something on EBay.
58. Spend an entire day in bed (for no reason).
59. Go on a boat ride.
60. Donate hair to locks of love. 
61. Learn to play chess.
62. Go camping.
63. Ride an elephant,camel, or horse.
64. Either party at Mardi Gras OR in Las Vegas.
65. Get a bikini wax.
66. Submit a postcard to Post Secret.
67. Milk a cow.
68. Watch all of the movies on the American Film Institutes "100 Greatest Love Stories of All Time" List.(0/100)
69. Teach a class.
70. Avoid my reflection for an entire week.(0/7)
71. Ask a man out on a date.
72. Win something I earned...and something I didn't. (0/2)
73. Ride in an airplane.
74. Volunteer 101 hours.(0/101)
75. Play tennis.
76. Drive 100+ miles for one trip.
77. Take a non academic class.
78. See a drive in movie with someone who has never been to one before.
79. Visit NYC.
80. Plant something.
81. Learn to meditate and make it a daily habit for at least 6 weeks (0/6).
82. Join a club.
83. Keep fingernails and toenails painted for a month.(0/31)
84. Meet a "celebrity".
85. Get a facial. Eat:
86. Go vegetarian for a month (0/31).
87. Keep a food journal for a month (0/31).
88. Eat or drink 25 things I have never tried before. (0/25)
89. Drink water only for 50 days (0-50).
90. Try 15 new restaurants. (0/15)
91. Try a new recipe once a week for a year. (0/52)
92. Try caviar.
93. At White Castle.
94. Avoid fast food for 3 months (0/3).
95. Try 5 new cocktails(0/5). 
96. Try a completely new cuisine. The BIG Ones:
97.   Get a place of my own (with Gemma of course!)
98. Define a faith system that I am comfortable with.
99. Fall in Love.         
100. Get a job with benefits.           
101. Pay off my credit card debt.

Gemma the Night Owl

For what seems like forever, but has actually only been about 19 weeks (I had to calculate how many weeks old she is, oh my!), Gemma has been somewhat of a night owl. There have been permutations and fluctuations of her bedtime but really the earliest consistent bedtime she has ever had was eleven. For a while now, it has been pushed back to midnight, even later if she is having a cranky night.

It doesn't make sense at all to me, why she stays up so late. The kid is literally in and out of sleep from about seven or eight on but she doesn't finally conk out until midnight. Every night.

The only reasons it bother me at all are that I do wish I could have a little unwinding time for myself that wasn't in the wee hours of the morning. Also, because she stays up so late her wake up time is eleven (a.m.), and that tends to be a huge pain when it comes to scheduled things such as doctors appointments and play groups. We miss out because Gemma (more honestly, Gemma and I) are sleeping the morning away.

I know I shouldn't really be complaining. She isn't sleeping through the night exactly but she is sleeping for about 7 or 8 hours and often another 2-4 hours at a time. That is completely manageable for me.

Maybe there is just too much going on at night? Or she adjusted herself to my night owl schedule in-utero?

Or maybe she is afraid of missing something.

Just like her mama...

So Far

2010 is kicking my ass.

It has been a steady stream of cleaning, cooking, writing, fixing, sending, calling, hoping, trying.

I thought I completely bombed my LSAT but I didn't. I didn't do as well as I could have or should have but I did better than I thought. Well enough that I may even be able to get in to one of the schools I am interested in. I didn't think it was happening so I haven't really been preparing so now I am trying to get it all together in about a month.

Speaking of which, anyone have any tips/tricks/suggestions for a personal statement? I am STUCK. And nervous which only makes me feel stuck-ier. I need to make sure I don't use words like stuck-ier in my personal statement, I do know that much ;)

Gemma is good. Keeping me busy but not as busy as she did before which I am grateful for. She drools buckets.

(Obviously, a Christmas picture.  I'm too lazy to upload anything recent. Notice the shine-y drool chin.)

EWWWW!

I have also recently determined that Gemma is part cat. Or maybe it is part tiger. I am not completely sure, but something in the cat family. Something vicious in the cat family.

When I hold her face close to mine she makes this humming (purring!) noise and then lunges for my face with her mouth wide open. I am not exactly sure what the objective is, but I do know that it involves shoving as much of my face into her mouth as possible while yanking fistfuls of my hair. Fun.

Gemma has also began licking her fist and rubbing her face with it.  Like a cat cleaning itself. It's cute. Strange...but definitely cute.

She is such a silly, playful thing. A demanding diva at times but she is also a goofy little ball of fun.

My sweet, sweet Gemma Bean :)