mohaus

2012 Book 5: The Postmistress

2012-01-30T14:04:00.002-05:00

Another war story for the year. The Postmistress by Sarah Blake is about a wife who is waiting at home for her husband to come back from war and the letter that is never delivered to her.

The start of this book felt a bit erratic to me, but I am glad I finished it. I think I need a break from war stories.

Excerpts from the book:

All there was was the story she had told, not what happened around the edges.

Life seemed to her like a city hotel with many floors. She did not like to think of all the hallways she'd never seen, nor all the hallways that she might have walked along if she had gotten off at a different floor. She didn't like to think that there was more than one hallway than the one she was in...

When we know there are people in need, right now, in the same breath as what we are breathing, we cannot look away. It is no abstract. We have to go. That is humanity. The whole thing relies on it. Human beings do not look away.

One day someone you saw ever day was there and the next he was not. This was the only way Frankie had to report the Blitz.

...The Jews were being interned because they were Jews, and were being denied refuge on the basis of being Jews.

...he'd come to understand that each one of us was alive, intensely alive, right until the instant of death. And then each of us was gone. There could be no substitutions.

When the Germans come they will simply come, and there won't be an announcement.

We can't change what is coming. Something is always coming.

2012 Book 4: Shanghai Girls

2012-01-27T12:15:00.001-05:00

Shanghai Girls by Lisa See is a historical novel about two sisters who end up immigrating from China to America in the 1930's. It is a glimpse into what it would have been like to be an immigrant of Asiatic descent during a difficult period.

Ultimately it is the story of two sisters who love each other and support one another through some very difficult times in their lives. They deal with jealousy and betrayal as well as an undying loyalty to one another. It is a good read, though difficult at times.

Excerpts from the book:

"An educated woman is a worthless woman." – Confucius

We may look and act modern in many ways, but we can't escape what we are: obedient Chinese daughters.

I thought I was modern. I thought I had a choice. I thought I was nothing like my mother. But my father's gamblings has swept all that away. I am to be sold – traded like so many girls before me – to help my family. I feel so trapped and so helpless that I can hardly breathe.

In Shanghai, life flows like an endlessly serene river for the wealthy, the lucky, the fortunate. For those with bad fates, the smell of desperation is as strong as a rotting corpse.

Maybe we are all like that with our mothers. They seem ordinary until one day they are extraordinary.

"There is no catastrophe except death; one cannot be poorer than a beggar."

So often we're told that women's stories are unimportant. After all, what does it matter what happens in the main room, in the kitchen, or in the bedroom? Who cares about the relationships between mother, daughter, and sister? ...We're told that men are strong and brave, but I think women know how to endure, accept defeat, and bear physical, and mental agony much better than men.

Pin It: Crayon Monogram

2012-01-26T11:56:00.002-05:00

This week I had to bail on craft day since Jack wasn't feeling great, but I did manage to squeeze in a Pinterest craft earlier that I thought I would share.

{via}

I came across this Crayon Monogram Artwork a while back and thought it would be cute for a nursery. My sister's baby shower was this past Sunday and I decided to make her an "L" to hang in her little one's room. Her baby, Levi, is due in about a week.

She loved the gift and laughed that I had made sure to get her some artwork for the nursery {when I was preparing for Jack to arrive, I had my nursery art done before we did anything else in that room!}.

The best tip I can share for this project is to use an exacto knife to score around the entire crayon and then snap it in half. First I tried cutting the crayons with scissors. Then I tried a chef's knife and then wire cutters. All failed. Daniel thought I should try softening the crayons in the toaster oven first, but I had visions of melted crayons that I would have to clean! Scoring the crayon is definitely the way to go!

Jack's First Shots

2012-01-26T10:05:00.000-05:00

Jack's 2 month PED visit went well. He is in the 55th percentile for length at 23.5in, 60th percentile for weight at 12lbs14oz and 90th percentile for size of head at 16.75in! Our PED says that just means he has a big brain. We think this explains why he still sometimes has the bobble head effect – the poor little guy's body is half the size of his head – in terms of percentiles anyways!

This visit also encompassed the dreaded first round of immunization shots. Now I don't want to get into the debate of should you or shouldn't you {obviously we chose to proceed} but I did want to write about our post-shot experience.

Jack was a little trooper during the shot process. He held tightly to my finger while he screamed, but within a couple of minutes he was back to being completely calm {before our nurse even left the room}. We gave him a few minutes to cuddle before dressing him again.

After the series of shots he seemed a bit subdued. I felt bad that we couldn't treat him to something like an ice cream cone...

The rest of the day Jack didn't quite seem like himself... a little withdrawn, kind of like his feelings were hurt. I held him for most of the afternoon and when Daniel came home from work, he cuddled with Jack while I made dinner.

It is amazing that at 2+months old Jack is already coming out of the cuddling stage. He still enjoys it but is more interested in observing the world than snuggling on our chests. It makes me sad that this stage is already passing. At least when he doesn't feel good he still likes to snuggle.

After dinner we realized that he was starting to feel warm. We took his temperature and discovered that he had a low-grade fever – which we knew was a possibility. We gave him some baby Tylenol {per our doctor's orders} and continued to hold and cuddle with him the rest of the evening.

Thankfully he was able to sleep most of the night, though quite fitfully at times, and I continued to monitor his fever.

Jack and I spent yesterday on the couch together. Me holding him while he slept or cuddled with me. He was still not himself. I hate when he doesn't feel well. I think I would be a basketcase if he was actually sick {it kills me when Sophie doesn't feel well and she is just our dog!}.

Today Jack appears to be back to his usual self though we are going to stay inside again just to make sure he doesn't pick up anything. Plus there is no point in getting out in the rain.

Next time we are considering breaking the shots up over a week or two just so it isn't such a jolt to his system.

My Sister's Baby Shower

2012-01-24T17:33:00.000-05:00

Sunday morning Jack and I made the two-hour drive over to Nashville to attend my sister's baby shower. Her due date is in two weeks, so not very long until Jack has a little boy cousin. I think it will be so much fun to see these two little boys grow up together. Of course, Izzy will be a great big sister/older cousin – she is already smitten by Jack.

The shower was lovely. Our Aunt Becky and cousin Moriah drove over for the event. They enjoyed holding Jack while I attempted to take photos during the shower.

I surprised Izzy with a jealousy gift – a cooking outfit complete with chef's hat. I think it is safe to say she loved it.

After the shower my brother met up with us and we went to Chili's for dinner. Our waitress did a fantastic job and didn't seemed phased at all when Izzy knocked over a bowl of salsa – life with a two-year-old.

It was nice catching up with my siblings. I am definitely enjoying living closer to them.

Jack and I drove home that night in the rain. Rain and dark and mountains are my least favorite combination of driving conditions, but we made it home safely. Thankfully Sunday night's storms didn't hit our area too badly, though there is a mangled trampoline that was unceremoniously dumped in the field across the street by the wind...

Wildcat Grill

2012-01-23T16:22:00.001-05:00

{image via}

Last Friday night we ventured out with Jack to meet up with friends at the Wildcat Grill. It is a fairly new eating establishment in the Scottsboro community and it did not disappoint. Cheap burgers, fast service AND they removed an item from our friend's bill just because she wasn't a huge fan of her chicken fries.

I would say the burgers are on par with Five Guys {aka cooked to order} and there isn't barbeque on the menu {a rarity in this area}. Also, our friends ordered fried pickles {to share} and it was a huge basket, more than enough for four of us. Wildcat reminded me a lot of the Burger Barn {back in the day} in Searcy, AR – basically a smalltown place with lots of high school students, but oh-so-good. Especially for ~$5 for a good burger and fries.

We will be back.

Jack slept through the whole meal.

The Best Gift

2012-01-20T21:38:00.001-05:00

When Daniel and I were visiting family in Arkansas last week, my parents gave us a couple of Christmas gifts for Jack. One was My First Read and Learn Bible. It is a board book and tells Bible stories in really simplified terms with beautiful pictures. Perfect for a little one.

The other gift, though for Jack, was a great surprise to me. It was The Christian Mother Goose Treasury book that my dad had given to me on my first Christmas. This is one of the best gifts I have ever received. I remember reading this book as a child and had forgotten about it. I love that we get to pass it on to Jack now.

My parents also gave me my baby book. It was such fun to read through it and reminisce with my parents. Much of what my mom had written about me could apply directly to Jack...

The minute Cheree was born, she was very alert and looking all around.

Cheree nurses very eagerly and seems to enjoy it a lot. For the first 2 months she slept quite well and didn't usually wake up crying... She doesn't cry much at all – only if she's hungry or tired. Cheree is the best little girl – am I prejudiced?

Cheree smiled regularly at about 2 months old, at just about anyone who smiled at her. She tried very hard, right from birth, to look all around her She banged her head against my shoulder, trying to hold her head up.

Naps are from 5 mins to 6 hrs! Just whenever. She plays quietly by herself when she's awake.

Cheree usually would only nurse about 10 min at a time... Cheree has no schedule but generally every 3 hrs.

At about 2 months she began "talking" away by herself. She responds well when we talk to her. She lifts her chin and tries to talk back. She's very curious and tries to see what's going on...

Tries to sing also at 2 months... Responds well to music.

Pin It, Part II

2012-01-18T21:12:00.003-05:00

Our second Pinterest craft day was a success.

Laura finished her Paper Book Wreath

and started working on this daily calendar
{seen on DesignSponge via one of my favorite bloggers: AshleyAnn}.

While I worked on the baby blanket I have been knitting for Jack.

My inspiration for the blanket was this blanket from PurlBee.

My Nana actually made us this gray baby blanket after the PurlBee pattern

and I used this easier pattern for my first knitted blanket.

First Date as New Parents

2012-01-18T10:19:00.001-05:00

{via}

Last Friday, Daniel and I drove all the way to Searcy, Arkansas to go on our first date without Jack. My parents were thrilled to watch our little man. As we went out the door we gave last minute instructions and then had faith that they had raised three kids well and Jack was in good hands.

We made our way into town to Midnight Oil for coffee and dessert. Our very first date, almost 10 years ago ended at MO. It was an epoch first date that lasted over 8 hours. It was sweet to go and reminisce about that date so long ago.

On that first date I was nervous and made sure that I looked my best. On this date I was tired and had spit up on my shirt, but I know that Daniel loves me more now than he could have imagined back in 2001 – spit up and all.

We talked a little bit about Jack but mostly we reminisced about the past and dreamed about the future. We also felt really old because a lot of the people at MO looked like they were 12. We felt better when we saw some actual college students.

I don't know if my memory has elevated MO in my mind, but I was a bit disappointed with my Mr. Blond. It wasn't as sweet as I remembered. And we had to request ceramic mugs – why are they using paper cups??? Also the chocolate cake we shared, while good, didn't taste like it had been made fresh that day... more like it had been purchased from somewhere else the day before. Also it was kind of weird that there are no couches any more... they have been replaced by church pews. While church pews can hold more people and are interesting as pieces of furniture, the old white and brown pews from DTCoC don't lend the same comfortableness as an old, ratty couch.

I still love Midnight Oil, but it didn't seem like the same coffee house of my college days. I will hang on to my memories and my special moments there with Daniel.

2012 Book 3: Heaven is for Real

2012-01-12T14:07:00.001-05:00

I on a roll – three books in two weeks. Awesome. I know that as Jack gets bigger it is probably going to be more of a challenge to squeeze in my reading.

The third book I read this year was Heaven is for Real by Todd Burpo, Lynn Vincent, Sonja Burpo and Colton Burpo. It is a fascinating glimpse of heaven through the eyes of a little boy who almost died due to a ruptured appendix.

I am a believer in heaven and it was very interesting to see heaven through the eyes of four-year-old boy. Sadly there is a cynical part of me that has doubts about the truth of the story. But I really want to believe in Colton's experience... it really did seem for real.

As a new parent, the first part of the book about how Todd and Sonja Burpo almost lost Colton was extremely difficult to read. I am a fairly stoic person and I have to admit to crying while I read. It made me want to hold my little boy a little tighter.

2012 Book 2: Catching Fire

2012-01-11T22:15:00.000-05:00

My second book for the year was Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins, part II of The Hunger Games trilogy. In Catching Fire we learn that Katniss and Peeta have become symbols of rebellion against The Capitol and President Snow is bound and determined to make them pay for this rebellion.

Catching Fire was very fascinating though it didn't quite hold the same intrigue for me as The Hunger Games did. I think this is because I found the storyline in The Hunger Games to be very unexpected and I found myself anticipating much of what happened in Catching Fire. That being said, Catching Fire is still a great book and I am looking forward to reading Mockingjay and finding out how the series ends.

Jack is Two Months Old

2012-01-11T12:45:00.002-05:00

Can I please hit the pause button? My baby boy is growing way too fast.

I never thought I would be the type of person who would be over the moon about a baby, but I am. And so is Daniel. It makes us wonder why we waited so long! Just kidding, the timing for baby Jack was perfect and we adore everything about him.

Shortly after he turned one month old, we had a pediatrician visit where we discovered he was gaining 2 oz a day {average is 1 oz}. Now at 2 months old he is already 13 lbs. No wonder my back hurts at the end of everyday!

Besides growing, in the last month Jack has continued to develop in all areas. He holds his head up fairly well {though he still has the bobble head at times}. He now coos and tries to talk back to us when we talk or sing to him. He loves bath time and I think he has learned bladder control {no more peeing the second we set him in the water during bath time and rarely peeing on us during diaper changes}.

Jack has improved in his eating habits – he no longer acts like a little pig who believes that each feeding time will be his last. This has tremendously helped with his volume of spit up.

Jack is such a happy baby. He rarely cries for the sake of crying and is easily calmed... especially when we implement the " cuddle cure." He wakes up at 3am and 5am like clockwork to be fed. He is a speedy eater so I can feed him and do a diaper change in 15 minutes flat. It is awesome.

This month Jack experienced his first Christmas, his first New Years and his first ride on a four wheeler.

We love doing new things with him. We have also traveled quite a bit and had plenty of visitors. Our son is truly loved.

We have made an effort to get out with him as much as possible. We eat out at least once a week and he is a doll. Early on he would just sleep. Now he is sometimes awake and he loves for us to hold him while we eat – he wants to watch and be involved in the meal. I also started taking him to yoga and kickboxing. He is a big hit and is content to watch me workout. Jack also made his debut at the grocery store – I carry him strapped to my chest in a Moby or Bjorn.

Jack smiles intentionally and laughs. Sometimes he does it in his sleep and it melts my heart. He watches me intently and will follow me with his eyes. He is still not a fan of tummy time, but loves to watch his mobile and hit the rattle that hangs over his play mat.

We are now almost exclusively using cloth diapers and they have been great.

We still don't use Jack's nursery – mostly because we have been busy traveling or entertaining visitors. We are planning to make the transition to the nursery in the coming weeks.

We can't wait to see how Jack grows and changes next month. For now we try to spend lots of time cuddling and loving on him.

*I will be writing monthly updates of Jack with pictures of Jack and the Tonka truck on the 11th of each month. One Month Old.

Crock Pot Chicken Enchilada Soup

2012-01-09T15:20:00.004-05:00

Crock Pot Chicken Enchilada Soup

Recipe adapted from from SkinnyTaste {the SkinnyTaste version is probably a little healthier}
Ingredients:

1/2 cup onion, chopped and sauteed in 2 tsp olive oil {I skipped this step}
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups low sodium fat-free chicken broth
8 oz can tomato sauce
1/2 cup chipotle salsa
15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
15 oz V8 tomato juice {the recipe actually calls for 14.5 oz can of petite diced tomatoes, for some reason I was out of tomatoes, so I substituted V8 juice and it was great... in the future I might add tomatoes in addition to the V8}.
8 oz can whole kernel corn
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp oregano
2 skinless chicken breasts
1 tbsp ranch dressing {I used this as a thickener, I think sour cream, cream or milk would also work}
shredded cheddar cheese {optional as topping}
sour cream {optional as topping}

Directions:

Put everything {except ranch dressing, cheese and sour cream} into a crock pot.
Cook on low heat for 4-6 hours.
Remove chicken and shred with two forks.
Add chicken back into the soup.
Stir in ranch dressing and allow to cook for an additional 15 minutes to thicken your soup.
Serve in bowls and top with sour cream, cheese and Baked Corn Tortilla Chips.

Baked Corn Tortilla Chips

Ingredients:

Small Corn Tortillas
Salt

Directions:

Heat oven to 400º F.
Cut tortillas into fourths and place on cookie sheets so that none are touching.
Salt to taste.
Bake for 10 minutes {turning chips over halfway through} or until golden brown and crispy on edges.
Let chips set for 5 minutes to harden once you remove from oven.

2012 Book 1: The Secret Garden

2012-01-09T11:41:00.002-05:00

To kick off the new year I read on of my all-time favorite books, The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. This is probably the only book that I have read multiple times. When I was about 11 I had a copy and it was dog-eared. I read that book so many times I had entire passages memorized. I absolutely adored it. I still love it.

Excerpts from the book:

If you look the right way, you can see that the whole world is a garden.

One of the strange things about living in the world is that it is only now and then one is quite sure one is going to live forever and ever and ever. One knows it sometimes when one gets up at the tender solemn dawn-time and goes out and stands out and throws one's head far back and looks up and up and watches the pale sky slowly changing and flushing and marvelous unknown things happening until the East almost makes one cry out and one's heart stands still at the strange unchanging majesty of the rising of the sun--which has been happening every morning for thousands and thousands and thousands of years. One knows it then for a moment or so. And one knows it sometimes when one stands by oneself in a wood at sunset and the mysterious deep gold stillness slanting through and under the branches seems to be saying slowly again and again something one cannot quite hear, however much one tries. Then sometimes the immense quiet of the dark blue at night with the millions of stars waiting and watching makes one sure; and sometimes a sound of far-off music makes it true; and sometimes a look in someone's eyes.

Much more surprising things can happen to anyone who, when a disagreeable or discouraged thought comes into his mind, just has the sense to remember in time and push it out by putting in an agreeable, determinedly courageous one. Two things cannot be in one place.

At first people refuse to believe that a strange new thing can be done, then they begin to hope it can be done, then they see it can be done--then it is done and all the world wonders why it was not done centuries ago.

Two things cannot be in one place. Where you tend a rose, my lad, a thistle cannot grow.

Our Chunky Monkey

2012-01-08T20:22:00.001-05:00

This morning Daniel and I were a bit late for church so we ended up in the "training room" – a special room for parents with infants and toddlers. It was nice to not have to worry if Jack got noisy {which he really didn't}.

Anyways, there was a couple sitting in front of us with a little girl. Both Daniel and I noticed how well this little munchkin was holding up her head. She was smaller than Jack so Daniel began to worry that Jack must be behind developmentally {Jack is 8 weeks and two days old}.

After church someone asked the couple how old their daughter was and they said, "Four months."

Well that made us feel better since Jack can still sometimes be a bit of a bobble head... but it also made us realize how huge our little guy is. Granted I think the little girl was probably small for her age, but Jack continues to grow like crazy. At his one month pediatrician's appointment he was already 10 lbs 11 oz. Today I weighed him and he is 12 lbs 6 oz! Crazy how big he is getting... no wonder by back hurts at the end of most days!

My Yearly Challenge

2012-01-07T14:59:00.000-05:00

Long ago I gave up making yearly resolutions. They always seemed to be things like "quit biting my fingernails" or "lose weight" and I never managed to achieve whatever it was that I was resolving to do {I still bite my fingernails}.

In recent years I have taken to thinking about a word to be a theme for the coming year and this has proven to work well. It helps me to be more purposeful in how I look at the year.

In addition to this, last year I took the time to make a list of things I would like to accomplish in my life time. This list helped me to really pinpoint my dreams and was great in motivating me to cross things off my list.

Last year I managed to mark six things off my list:

10. Become a mother
45. Run a half marathon
46. Read 52 books in one year (my third year to do this)
58. Design a line of greeting cards
98. Visit an aquarium
100. See a bear in the wild

and I made headway on another two:

5. Climb/hike to the highest points in all 50 states {added #6 Mt Washington, New Hampshire}
14. Stay married until “death do us part” (9 years down, the rest of our lives to go)

I have found that challenges do more to motivate me than anything else. Recently I was asked to participate in a challenge to run 500 miles {via Facebook}...

You remember the old song, "I would walk 500 miles..." by the pretenders...

So would you run/walk 500 miles in 2012?

I am challenging myself and anyone who would join me to record 500 miles this calendar year.

That's 1.3 miles per day
9.6 miles per week
41.7 miles per month

No matter your current physical shape or condition, get out there and burn up the road! Post your miles on the group wall. Encourage others.

Who will be the first to 500?
Who will perserve to the end to join the 500 mile club?

This is the kind of challenge that really gets me excited. I don't know that I will run all of the miles, but I am sure that I can walk, run, bike, canoe or hike a total of 500 miles this year. That is the goal anyway.

In addition, I plan to read 52 books again this year.

I would also like to make headway on the following things on my life list:

5. Climb/hike to the highest points in all 50 states
14. Stay married until “death do us part”
19. Bike a century
20. Participate in a triathlon
22. Make Christmas stockings
51. Participate in a Muddy Buddy
53. Get to and maintain a healthy weight
59. Make my own bread {without a bread machine}. *This year I would like to make fresh bread at least once a month.
77. Make a quilt

What are your personal goals or challenges that you are working towards this year?

Cloth Diapers

2012-01-06T13:40:00.001-05:00

When Daniel and I first learned that we were expecting, one of our primary concerns was how much this kid was going to cost us and how we could combat any of these costs. Since I am currently a SAHM {who sometimes freelances from home} I thought that using cloth diapers would be a great way that I could help save us money.

About the time we started to consider CD, I had a friend write a great post about how she decided to use CD. I also came across in-depth posts about CD on Bower Power and Young House Love. All of these first-person accounts got me excited.

After much research, Daniel and I agreed that we were definitely going to give cloth diapers a try. We loved the idea of saving money and the green factor was also nice. We weren't sold on buying the most expensive diapers but wanted to try a couple of options before we fully committed.

To start out we tried the Kawaii, Just Simply Baby and Rumparooz brands {we have one-size-fits-all in all three brands}. Below is a recap of our experience with each.

Kawaii are by far the cheapest you can buy {$6-$12 per diaper} and they work well. However we found that the quality isn't quite as good as the other two brands and they seem to take longer to dry {especially the Minkys}.

The majority of our diapers we bought were from Just Simply Baby. They are fairly cheap {$10-$14 per diaper} and a good quality. We started out buying the Halfway In package – it is $80 for 8 diapers {you reference boy or girl but you don't get to pick your diaper patterns... we ended up with some crazy patterns}.

Just Simply Baby also sells the detergent we use (but we found it cheaper on Amazon) – Rockin Green Detergent. It seems to work great. More on washing below...

Also, Just Simply Baby's return policy is the best by far, which is why we started with them:

Returns - If you are not satisfied with your diaper purchase, you may return them at any time within 30 days of invoice date. Diapers returned in 30 days do not have to be new in package, and can be used, washed, etcetera. Any packages received after 30 days of order date will NOT be refunded, so please take shipping time into consideration.

And finally, some friends gave us a Rumparooz that we love. However we are too cheap to buy more – they are about $24 per diaper. This is our only diaper that has velcro instead of snaps. It is really easy to adjust the size and it has a double gusset to prevent leaks. We love this diaper, but are way too cheap to buy this brand in bulk.

If you are curious as to how modern cloth diapers work {like we were}, here is a brief overview:

Each diaper has two liners {inserts} that you stuff into it. The inside of the diaper is soft and absorbent. The outside is also soft, but is backed by a waterproof layer that prevents leaking. Come wash day, you pull out the inserts out and throw them, along with the diaper cover, into the washer. You soak the diapers for an hour in cold water, wash them in warm water, then do an extra rinse in cold water. You don't even have to touch the poopy part. It is all really easy.

When the poop gets more solid (once you introduce food), then you have to knock the poop off into the toilet or a trash can. *I will probably write an update on washing when we reach this stage with Jack.

We currently have about 30 diapers so we do about one load of diapers every other day {this way there is time for them to hang dry}.

The different kinds of inserts are microfiber {this comes with the diaper and works well, but is bulky}, hemp {this insert is very thin, but costs extra and takes longer to dry}, and bamboo {this insert is thin, costs extra and takes longer to dry. It also seems to work the best}. We have a few of all of these inserts.

The covers come in Minky and Regular. We have some of each. The Minky's are very soft. We don't really have a preference between the Minky and Regular. We have a variety of patterns and solid color diapers. Daniel's favorite are the Just Simply Baby Spider Man pattern and I really like the Just Simply Baby Moo pattern.

Blow outs have been rare (almost non-existent, and definitely less than disposables), and diaper rash has not happened with the CD at all.When Jack has had a diaper rash from disposables, we temporarily leave him in disposables and use Desitin until the rash clears up, then swap back to cloth. *Note that Desitin can not be used with cloth diapers as it ruins the absorbency.

We received a couple of diaper cakes from baby showers that kept us going on disposables for the first few weeks until Jack reached the minimum 8lb weight required for the CD to fit properly. We tried the diapers a couple times before he reached 8 lbs, but his legs were too small to fill out the holes so they leaked out the sides.

In terms of savings: we have spent $300 upfront on our cloth diapers. Our water bill is up ~$2 per month {no sewer charges since we are on septic, so that keeps it cheaper}. According to some friends who have a one year old, they spent $1000 in the first year on disposable diapers, or about $83/month on average. So unless Jack is potty trained at age 4 months or less, the cloth diapers will save us a lot of money.

New Years Update

2012-01-06T10:23:00.000-05:00

I just realized that I never posted about our New Years.

The day before New Year's Eve, Daniel's college roommate and his family came to see us. They have a one-year-old little boy who is adorable. It was great to catch up with our old friends – staying up way too late and eating really rich chocolate mousse cheesecake while we visited.

Recipe from Blue-Eyed Bakers

New Year's Eve we went for a walk at a local park and visited Unclaimed Baggage – our guests always seem to want to make a stop here. After lunch they headed home.

It has been a long time since Daniel and I did anything extra special for New Year's Eve. This year we took Jack to Cracker Barrel. We have actually taken him to quite a few restaurants in his short life and normally he sleeps through the meal. Not this time. He got a little fussy and we discovered that he just wanted to sit in Daniel's lap so that he could watch us eat. We received really great service from our waitress... I think she just made extra stops at our table to that she could talk to Jack. When we got home we stayed up to watch the ball drop.

New Year's Day was gorgeous. We ate breakfast on our back porch and then took Jack out for his first ride on a four wheeler.

The day after New Years Jack and I headed to Nashville to spend some time with my family, including some of my extended family who had driven down from Canada and my parents. Jack is turning into quite the traveler – we had a three week span where we either had guests at our house or we were traveling to see family almost EVERY DAY.

We hope you had fun ringing in the new year.

50 Taters

2012-01-05T14:35:00.001-05:00

After living in north-east Alabama for the past year, I finally ate at 50 Taters. Don't get me wrong, I have tried many times to go to this local eatery but was always deterred {mostly by odd hours of operation... open on the third Sunday after the 5th Monday of the month or some such nonsense as that}.

They recently moved their location from the court square in Scottsboro, AL to the Walmart shopping center. I am a bit sad that I never made it to the location on the square as I am sure it felt more authentic, but I bet their business is increasing ten-fold now that they are located on Hwy 72.

We actually tried to go there about a week ago and were turned away because they were out of everything except cheeseburgers. How can a place known for its spuds run out of potatoes???

Anyway, today Jack and I ventured into town to meet Daniel and his co-workers for lunch and it did not disappoint. Daniel and I split a Loaded Tater with Pork and it cost less than $9 {including the tip}. I would definitely recommend that you check out 50 Taters {just know that they are closed on Monday and have some odd hours on weekends}. Also, if you go to late in the evening you might run into a situation where they are out of everything!

2012-01-05T11:10:00.001-05:00

This year Daniel and I decided to make photobooks {using Shutterfly}
for our parents {the grandparents} of Jack.

It included some of our favorite pictures of our little guy starting at his birth.

These books were a huge hit {and a big surprise}.

I love all of their faces as they opened our gifts.

We love you all!

Patience

2012-01-01T21:19:00.002-05:00

For the past two years, instead of resolutions I have decided to choose a word that would represent a theme for the coming year. In 2010 the word was fortitude. In 2011, adaptation. Both themes proved to be fitting.

In an effort to continue this tradition, I have decided that the theme for 2012 should be patience: quiet, steady perseverance; even-tempered care; diligence.

With a new baby we are learning to have patience with each other, especially when we are running low on sleep as well as patience with Jack during the times that he cries or pees or spits up on us for the umpteenth time. I have a feeling that patience will be a trait to carry us through much in the coming years.

We will work to be patient with one another as we continue to grow in our marriage. We will face parenting with steady perseverance as we strive to raise Jack with even-tempered care. We will do our best to be diligent in our jobs – whether in the home or outside.

Happy New Year!

2011-12-31T18:00:00.000-05:00

We hope that you had a Merry Christmas and that you have a Happy New Year!

We are looking forward to 2012.

Our Top 10 List from 2011...

Learning to snowboard at age 30 is much harder than learning to snowboard at age six.
Sophie does not like bears. At all. Neither does Cheree.
There’s no reason to limit vacation souvenirs to overpriced T-shirts. Canoes make much better souvenirs, and it’s cheaper than renting one for a week.
That full moon causing labor stuff may actually be valid (or was it the morning’s kickboxing session, or the afternoon hike?)
Packing your bags in advance for the hospital is overrated for your first child. You’ll have time after your water breaks - while your husband is finishing up grilling the steaks - before you head to the hospital.
Five minutes of cuddling with a sleeping baby can erase five hours of memories of his fussiness.
Vibrating bouncers for babies are magical.
Living close to two time zones means it takes two hours to get to Chattanooga from our house, but coming home takes no “time.”
It would seem that Christmas trees are larger in your living room than they appear to be in a 50-acre field surrounded by other large Christmas trees.
We managed to make it through another year with no trips to the ER!

52 Books: Honorable Mentions

2011-12-30T16:50:00.005-05:00

Now that I have a child I would be remiss if I did not include the books that I have read to my boy...

The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

If I Could Keep You Little...
by Marianne Richmond

Corduroy
by Don Freeman

Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See?
by Bill Martin Jr. and Eric Carle

The Foot Book
by Dr. Seuss

52 Books: Book 52

2011-12-30T13:29:00.000-05:00

Another year and another 52 books done. I wrapped up 2011 by reading Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. This is one of my favorite stories of all time. My mom may be shocked to hear that either I never actually read Little Women or I have long since forgotten much of the written story.

The 1949 version of Little Women starring Elizabeth Taylor as Amy was watched repeatedly in our home when I was growing up and reading the book I was surprised at how closely this film followed the first half of the book. The second half is not followed quite as closely but was appropriate for the screen.

Growing up, I was disappointed that Laurie and Jo's romance never blossomed. It always bothered me. I wanted so badly for Jo {who I wanted to be like} to marry Laurie {who I adored} and it made me sad that the movie didn't end the way I thought it should. I think the book does a better job of making the case for why Jo and Laurie would never make a good pair. Either that or I have matured enough to understand and appreciate why Alcott wrote the story the way she did.

Anyways this wraps up another year of 52 books and I am glad to end with this classic story that I love.

Excerpts from the book:

Money is a needful and precious thing,--and, when well used, a noble thing,--but I never want you to think it is the first or only prize to strive for. I'd rather see you poor men's wives, if you were happy, beloved, contented, than queens on thrones, without self-respect and peace.

I want my daughters to be beautiful, accomplished, and good. To be admired, loved, and respected. To have a happy youth, to be well and wisely married, and to lead useful, pleasant lives, with as little care and sorrow to try them as God sees fit to send. To be loved and chosen by a good man is the best and sweetest thing which can happen to a woman, and I sincerely hope my girls may know this beautiful experience.

The best of us have a spice of perversity in us, especially when we are young and in love.

Don't neglect husband for children, don't shut him out of the nursery, but teach him how to help in it. His place is there as well as yours, and the children need him. Let him feel that he has a part to do, and he will do it gladly and faithfully, and it will be better for you all.

One discovered that money couldn't keep shame and sorrow out of rich people's houses, another that, though she was poor, she was a great deal happier, with her youth, health, and good spirits, than a certain fretful, feeble old lady who couldn't enjoy her comforts...

Touched to the heart, Mrs. March could only stretch out her arms, as if to gather children and grandchildren to herself, and say, with face and voice full of motherly love, gratitude, and humility--'Oh, my girls, however long you may live, I never can wish you a greater happiness than this!

52 Books: Book 51

2011-12-29T16:00:00.001-05:00

The year is drawing to an end and I think I just might make it to my goal of 52 books – new baby and all.

A friend recommended that I read The Happiest Baby on the Block by Harvey Karp. I have been reading it off and on since Jack was born. At times it felt odd to read a book that is specifically addressing parents of colicky babies as Jack is already a pretty happy baby and generally sleeps well. However I pushed on and discovered that the steps recommended in this book work for my happy baby too.

Those evenings that Jack is fussier than usual or when Daniel is watching Jack while I run errands or when I need to lay Jack down for his nap but he just wants to be held. In each of these scenarios, the 5 S's have worked marvelously for us.

The steps are Swaddle, Side, Shhhh, Swing, and Suck. We had been kind of lax on the swaddling because Jack likes to have his hands available – he is a very tactile baby. But when he is fussy, swaddling combined with the other steps really does work.

I think these steps help Daniel to feel like he can do something to calm Jack down instead of waiting for me to get home so that I can feed him.

I would definitely recommend this book to new parents.

What I Wore Wednesday: 6Weeks5Days PostPartum

2011-12-28T21:16:00.000-05:00

I really thought I would be back into a regular exercise routine by now. Unfortunately Thanksgiving and Christmas have gotten in the way of my plans. The rest of the time I have just been plain tired from being a mom. Those 8:00 and 9:00 am workouts come really early when you have been up in the middle of the night to feed your baby.

The best thing about the past week is that I got to stop giving myself daily injections of Lovenox in my stomach. I can't tell you how happy to be done with that. Nine months of shots is not my cup of tea.

This week we discovered the joys of the 5 S's (Swaddling, Side/Stomach, Shushing, Swinging and Sucking) from The Happiest Baby on the Block. This method is allowing me to be able to lay Jack down for his naps without holding him the entire time... which in turn means I can actually get stuff done while Jack naps - yay!

I have had several people ask me about cloth diapers recently so I will be posting in the next day or so about our cloth diapering experience.

What I Wore Wednesday:
Sweater from Old Navy.

Jeans from Banana Republic.

Scarf was a Christmas present from a friend.

Jack's First Christmas

2011-12-27T13:33:00.001-05:00

Daniel and I spent the last couple of days talking about the things we remember most about Christmas when we were kids and how we can recapture the magic of our childhoods for Jack. Specifically what old traditions that we each grew up with that we want to incorporate as well as what new traditions we would like to add.

This year, we are still getting our bearings as new parents and Christmas for a one month old is more for the grandparents and aunts/uncles than it is for our baby.

We are looking forward to next year when Jack can be more involved in the Christmas festivities. But for now, we cherish being able to cuddle our sweet little one.

We had a lovely Christmas Eve dinner with Daniel's mom, sisters and grandparents.

Christmas morning we went to church with Daniel's mom, Regina, and sister, Emily. Regina had a ball showing off her grandson. Daniel thought this scenario was probably our pediatrician's worst nightmare, but Jack sure seemed to love all of the people gushing over him.

For Christmas lunch we met up with Daniel's dad. Emily had the foresight to check health ratings and online reviews beforehand and found us an Asian restaurant that happened to have a Hibachi Grill.

It was a huge step up from the usual Chinese buffet fare and I was excited because I love Hibachi and Daniel and I rarely go. Jack slept through the whole thing – banging knives, flaming grill and all. Though he did startle at the fire at the table next to us when we first arrived.

I hope you had a Merry Christmas celebrating with your loved ones

We will spend the rest of the week recovering.

What I Wore Wednesday: 5Weeks5Days PostPartum

2011-12-22T13:34:00.001-05:00

The past week has been super busy. Mostly with visiting. Having a baby brings out the visitors in droves, but we don't mind.

Last Friday we had lunch with our friends, the Reynolds. Saturday, Daniel's mom, grandmother and sisters came for a visit. Sunday we had missionary friends from South Africa drop by for lunch. Sunday evening, Daniel's dad came and took us to dinner. Monday, Daniel's sister Amy came for an overnight stay. Tuesday night we went to a Christmas party with the engineering group from TVA. Wednesday was my first Pinterest Craft Day and my brother, Mark, came for an overnight stay.

If we weren't busy enough, we have a trip to Nashville planned for Christmas and then finally some time to breathe. Next week will bring more visits from friends and then a trip back to Nashville to see my family after the new year.

Daniel and his sisters.

I am so thankful my recovery from birth has been swift. Otherwise this might be a bit much. As is, I am loving having interaction with so many people. Don't get me wrong, I love my time with Jack, but it is nice to have adult conversations.

My brother watching documentaries with Jack.

Last Friday I had my follow-up OB visit and I have been cleared to return to life as normal. I can't wait to start ramping up my exercise routines again. Though I have decided to hold off during the holidays while we have so many visitors. No point in wearing myself out any more than I have to...

What I Wore Wednesday:
Tuesday Christmas Party: Shirt from Walmart, Skirt from Gap, Boots from Target.
Wednesday: Shirt from J. Crew, Jeans from Kohl's, Chacos from REI.

Pin It

2011-12-21T20:27:00.004-05:00

Back in October I blogged about my desire to be more proactive in actually taking my Pinterest inspiration and putting it to use. Two months and one baby later, I finally decided to start a Pinterest craft day and I asked my friend, Laura, if she wanted to join me. We have decided to get together at least once a month to craft and today kicked off our first official Pinterest Craft Day.

Our crafts of choice included a Paper Book Wreath for Laura and quilted Christmas stockings for me.

Laura's Wreath Inspiration

My Paper Wreath Inspiration from 2009

Interestingly enough back in December of 2009 I made a paper book wreath and started working on a set of Christmas stockings but never finished (after 9 years of marriage, Daniel and I still don't have Christmas stockings).

Original Stocking Inspiration from 2009

More Recent Stocking Inspiration

Laura liked my wreath and wanted to make one for herself and I wanted to get my stockings made, so we spent the afternoon hanging out and working on our various projects.

Progress on our projects {my 2009 wreath is on the right}.

52 Books: Book 50

2011-12-21T19:47:00.001-05:00

How is it that I am 31 years old and I am just now reading A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens? I have seen various movie versions of this story, but had never taken the time to read the classic book. I am so glad I did. It was a good reminder of what is important at this time of year. No bah humbugs here.

52 Books: Book 49

2011-12-19T16:10:00.002-05:00

I admit it. I resisted reading The Hunger Games trilogy. I guess it seemed too mainstream or something. I never did get into Harry Potter or Twilight and I suppose I lumped it in as part of a trendy genre of books.

Anyways, I got a free download of The Hunger Games on my Kindle Fire and I read it and I am totally hooked. I can't wait to read the rest of the trilogy. Maybe I need to revisit my thoughts on trendy literature...

52 Books: Book 48

2011-12-17T22:15:00.002-05:00

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba is the true story of how William grew up in Malawi and was forced to drop out of school because of a famine that occurred in 2002. During this period William starts visiting a local library in an effort to continue his education on his own.

This library has a total of three rows of books that have been donated from all over the world. His visits to the library lead him to a book called Explaining Physics. He slowly starts making his way through this book, digesting the diagrams and looking up the English words in a dictionary. He is so enthralled by the book that he decides to build his own small windmill.

The local villagers call him a madman because all they see is a boy who is collecting trash and building a structure that is inconceivable to them. In the end William builds a functioning windmill and has a dream to build a structure that light up his entire village and another that can pump water and prevent starvation during any future droughts.

Through chance, William is discovered and helped by a group of people that see his potential. He is even given an opportunity to tell his story at a TED conference which opens up a whole new world for him.

I found the entire book to be fascinating, though parts of it went into a bit too much detail on the mechanics of building a windmill. It also made me aware of how little I pay attention to what is happening in the rest of the world.

Excerpts from the book:

...we did many of the same things children do all over the world, only with slightly different materials... Children everywhere have similar ways of entertaining themselves. If you look at it this way, the world isn't so big.

The dynamo had given me a small taste of electricity, and that made me want to figure out how to create my own... Once the sun goes down, and if there's no moon, everyone stops what they're doing, brushes their teeth, and just goes to sleep... Who goes to bed at seven in the evening? Well, I can tell you, most of Africa.

It's funny to me now – at this conference in East Africa, with some of the world's greatest minds in science and technology just outside the door, there I was in this room seeing the Internet for the first time. They could have put a blinking sign over my head and charged admission.

"Africans bend what little they have to their will every day. Using creativity, they overcome Africa's challenges. Where the world sees trash, Africa recycles. Where the world sees junk, Africa sees rebirth."

"After I drop out from school, I went to library... and I get information about windmill... And I try, and I made it."

One of the things I noticed in New York is that people don't have time for anything, not even to sit down for coffee – instead, they drink it from paper cups while they walk and send e-mails.

Nine Years and Counting

2011-12-15T23:22:00.000-05:00

Daniel and I have now been married for NINE years. Can that be right? I feel like we just started dating. Now we have a mortgage. And a dog. And a baby. And lots and lots and lots of wonderful memories.

Happy Anniversary to the one I love the most. I love you Moore.

Gingerbread Cookie Ornaments

2011-12-15T23:17:00.002-05:00

In the last couple of years Daniel and I have started the tradition of having two Christmas trees {mostly due to having a living room and a bonus room}. Anyways, our bonus room holds our small, fake tree that we bought from Big Lots when we were first married {9 years ago}. We decorate this tree with the ornaments that we have been collecting over the years.

The second tree is a {large} real tree in our living room. We decorate this tree with white twinkle lights and homemade ornaments – usually I bake gingerbread cookies and string popcorn. This year's tree is ginormous and seeing that I am a new mom, I decided {wisely} that I didn't have time to string popcorn. Instead I made a white and red paper ring garland out of construction paper {pictures to come in a later post}.

Yesterday, thanks to my Moby Wrap, I was able to spend an afternoon baking cookies without Jack fussing too much.

I tried a new recipe this year and am really pleased with the outcome.

I will write another post later this week when the tree is finished being decorated, so keep posted.

Gingerbread Cookie Ornament Recipe

Recipe based on this recipe from eHow.

Ingredients

6 tbsp Crisco
1 cup sugar
1 cup molasses
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp ground cloves
2 tsp ginger
2 tsp cinnamon
7 cups flour
2 cups water

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Beat Crisco and sugar together in a large bowl.
Stir in molasses.
Mix baking soda, ground cloves, ginger, cinnamon and flour together in a large bowl.
Alternate adding the water and flour mixture to the shortening mixture.
Stir until mixed thoroughly and refrigerate 2 hours.
Divide dough into three equal sections and knead each section lightly
Use a rolling pin to roll out dough to a 1/8-inch thickness.
Use festive cookie cutters to cut out your ornaments.
Use a drinking straw or chopstick to make a hole at the top of each ornament.
Place cookie cutouts on cookie sheets and bake for about 20 minutes.
Place cookies on cooling racks to harden.
Thread a 12-inch length of narrow ribbon through the hole at the top of each ornament. Knot the ends of the ribbon and hang your ornaments.

Makes about 6 dozen cookie ornaments.

*You can paint these cookies, but I prefer the simplicity of the cutouts. They smell wonderful.

What I Wore Wednesday: 4Weeks5Days PostPartum

2011-12-14T22:35:00.000-05:00

Being a new mom is not without its challenges. Some days Jack just wants to be held. This makes it difficult to get anything done.

Enter the Moby Wrap. This has been a lifesaver to me on numerous occasions. Allowing me to grocery shop or cook or do laundry. I may not get a shower every day, but with some strategic planning or the Moby as my back up, I can get things done.

Wednesday, my Moby allowed me to spend an afternoon baking gingerbread cookies to decorate our Christmas tree with.

Last Monday I felt like a normal person again. I met a friend for lunch. I ran errands {including a trip to Walmart for groceries courtesy of the Moby Wrap} and finally I went to a Zumba class that night. It felt great.

It was also exhausting.

I am learning how to multi-task like never before, but I am also learning my limitations – normally by Thursday of each week I am crashing, but thankfully Daniel has three-day weekends and is able to help me recover.

Last Friday we went to the Christmas tree farm to pick out our live tree. It was a great day for making memories. It was a good excuse to put on clothes besides my pajamas.

What I Wore Wednesday:

Wednesday: Yoga Pants from Target, Long Sleeve T-Shirt, Moby Wrap from Target

Last Monday: Workout Pants from Target, T-shirt from Old Navy, New Balance Shoes from Zappos

Last Friday: Jeans from Kohl's, Shirt and Sweater from Target, Boots from REI

Jack is One Month Old

2011-12-11T21:31:00.001-05:00

Where has the time gone? Jack is already one month old!

Week One Recap

From day one, Jack has been wide eyed while he observes the world around him. He always looks at amazement at anything new {which is everything}.

At Jack's one week doctor's appointment we found out that he is healthy and growing like a weed – he had already surpassed his birth weight of 6lbs 12oz and was a whopping 6lbs 14 oz.

Jack seems to know my voice and could care less about Sophie's barking.

Our little guy enjoys being swaddled, but it is imperative that his arms be free. He has a thing about wanting to touch and hold everything, even at a week old.

Week Two Recap

Jack continues to amaze us. He is so laid back and loves to cuddle. This is the week he celebrated his first Thanksgiving and met a lot of my extended family.

Jack started grinning this week, especially in his sleep. It melts my heart. He can also track movements with his eyes – left and right and up and down.

Grunting is Jack's main form of noise making {besides crying, but crying is fairly rare}.

Week Three Recap

Jack's umbilical cord fell off at the beginning of week three. This meant we were able to give him his first bath. He prefers real baths to sponge baths on the kitchen counter.

This week, we introduced Jack to music and he laughs when you sing and dance with him.

His awake time continues to get longer with each passing day.

Week Four Recap

This week daddy went back to work – this is harder on Daniel and I than on Jack. Though I think he knows that things are different now and has become more clingy.

Daniel says Jack's neck has disappeared due to all the new fat rolls. The good news is the same thing happened to his legs, so we were finally able to start using cloth diapers on a regular basis – which is going to save us a ton of $$$ and it really isn't that difficult to do.

We had our first trip to a Christmas tree farm – I think Jack will love this tradition in the future.

Today Jack lifted his head during tummy time for an appreciable length of time. I was so excited for him.

Jack is pretty much over being swaddled. I think he still enjoys it, but he sleeps fine as long as he is in a warm pair of footed pajamas.

*I will be posting monthly updates of Jack next to the Tonka truck {a toy from Daniel's childhood}.

Trying to Outdo the Griswolds...

2011-12-09T16:54:00.001-05:00

Today marked our very first visit to a Christmas tree farm. Tradition #4 is to decorate a live tree. We decided that now that we have a child the whole experience should be more than just running to the local Home Depot to pick out a tree.

To kick things off Daniel researched tree farms in the area and we settled on the Thornhill Christmas Tree Farm in Pisgah, AL. As the crow flies, it is 9 miles from our house, directly across the Tennessee River. As the GPS {and roads} dictate, it was a 35-minute drive.

With an infant we have to be strategic in our trips. I fed Jack before we left. We bundled him up and off we went. Thankfully the car lulls him to sleep. After a quick stop at Zaxby's for lunch, we were on our way up Sand Mountain.

The Christmas tree farm was easy to find. Going in the middle of the day on a Friday was perfect for us. We were the only ones there and were able to let Sophie run around off leash – I think she was in doggy heaven. I was also able to squeeze in a quick feeding for Jack in the car.

Initially the tree we picked a tree that was straight out of the Griswold's Christmas Vacation. It was 13-feet tall and about 8+ feet wide at the base. Granted we have a two-story living room, but still.

We were all set to take it home, but the guy that works at the farm took one look at our Subaru and asked "Yall gona put it on top of that thang?" Daniel told him we haul a 16-foot canoe on the roof of our Subaru regularly. The guy still didn't look convinced.

In the end, he told us that he wouldn't cut the tree because he wouldn't be able to fit it through his tree bagger. He then directed us to another part of the farm where there were more manageable 10-foot trees.

So Jack got to go on his first "off road" driving experience on a dirt road with ginormous pot holes. We picked out a tree we liked and the tree farm guy still had trouble bagging it. It actually took Daniel helping him to pull it through the tree bagger.

When Jack is older, we may have to go back on a Sunday since they have a "train" that takes you out to look at the trees. I am sure a little kid would adore that... but then we couldn't take Sophie.

Once home Daniel had to cut down the base of the tree because it was too large to fit in our tree stand. After cutting the trunk to size, Daniel used a dolly to move the tree into the house.

After we had it inside, I helped to hold it steady while Daniel set the tree in the base. He told me that the tree wasn't that heavy. Easy enough for him to say... I almost dropped it while "holding it steady." When I quizzed him on what he meant by "not heavy" he said that it was probably around 100 lbs.

Now that the tree is inside of our house it looks ridiculously big. It is actually 11-feet tall {we only paid $7/ft} and it is over 6-feet wide at the base. Good thing our living room ceiling is tall because we have officially found the maximum size that we can fit into our living room {without the help of a third person}.

I would say that our first trip to the Christmas tree farm was a success.

What I Wore Wednesday: 3Weeks5Days PostPartum

2011-12-07T17:40:00.001-05:00

Since having a baby I have been debating whether to keep up with What I Wore Wednesday. If this week is any indication, I need the extra motivation to make sure I take a shower everyday and put on something besides my PJs... I have found that putting on real clothes isn't a high priority when you have spit up in your hair and on your clothes. However, since I feel better when I shower and get dressed, I am going to at least try.

Things about being a new mom...

I didn't expect my back to still be hurting almost 4 weeks after giving birth. I have started yoga again in hopes that my back will get strong again.

My arm muscles better start looking buff soon... they sure hurt like I have been weight lifting every day for the last 4 weeks.

Neither Daniel nor I have ever been the type of people to be gaga over babies. Ever. I think we have both been surprised at how much we both adore our little guy. It makes me sad to think that he will grow up and not want to be held or cuddled or kissed any more. On the flip side I am looking forward to introducing him to new things as he gets older.

I have less than a month of shots to give myself. Thank.Goodness.

Jack is fattening up nicely... he no longer has a neck and his chicken legs are disappearing. Since his legs have gotten bigger, we were able to make it through our first full day of cloth diapers. CD are going to save us a ton of money and {right now at least} they are really easy to clean.

What I Wore Wednesday:
Sweater from REI.
T-shirt from Forever 21.
Jeans – I think from my college days... not positive.
Slippers – a gift from my Nana.

Flying Solo

2011-12-06T14:09:00.001-05:00

Yesterday Daniel went back to work after 3 weeks of leave. It was probably harder for him to go back to a 10-hour work day than it was for me to take care of Jack by myself.

Overall we had a pretty uneventful day. Jack did a lot of sleeping, eating and pooping. We are officially never buying Huggies again {those suckers leaked on me way too many times}.

I am so thankful that Jack is a content little guy. He spent a good portion of the day sleeping and I was able to work on a couple of different projects. I even managed to squeeze in a 20-minute yoga workout {thanks to Hulu}.

A new development is that Jack has started to become a little clingy during the day. About half of the time when I lay him down to nap he wakes up within 5 minutes and wants to be held. I know that some day in the future I am really going to miss these extra moments of cuddling.

Keeping Our Traditions Alive

2011-12-01T16:10:00.001-05:00

Daniel and I have a handful of traditions surrounding Christmas that we have managed to keep up with over the years. It will be fun to teach Jack these traditions and to start new, kid-friendly traditions that we haven't dreamed up yet.

Tradition #1

Whenever Daniel and I decorate our Christmas tree, I always make my Decadent Hot Chocolate. It is crazy good and you can take it up a notch by adding some adult cheer to it {we use Kahlua}.

Recipe as follows:

Decadent Hot Chocolate for Two*

2 1/4 cups milk
3/4 cup half and half {I sometimes use vanilla flavored and skip the addition of vanilla}
8 tsp sugar
1 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped {you can substitute 3 tbsp cocoa powder}
1 tbsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla {eliminate if you use flavored cream}

Adult Holiday Cheer of your choice {we like to use Kahlua}

Heat everything in a saucepan, except the vanilla and Kahlua, until chocolates melt and sugar dissolves. Pour half into a blender and mix until foamy. Return to the saucepan, and add vanilla and Kahlua. Stir briefly then serve.

*We like to use large mugs; would probably be enough for 4 smaller mugs.

Tradition #2

We collect ornaments whenever we travel. This serves as an opportunity to reminisce about past vacations whenever we trim our tree.

Tradition #3

We like to watch National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation sometime during the holidays. This year we watched it while we put the tree together. We will probably hold off introducing this movie to Jack until he is much older. Instead we will watch classics like A Christmas Story, Home Alone or The Santa Clause {we love all of these movies and they are a bit more age appropriate}.

Tradition #4

I will have to write a separate post about this one. We {meaning I} like to also get a live tree to decorate. This tree will go downstairs in our great room and will be decorated with fresh gingerbread cookies and strings of popcorn. I love all of the smells that come with this tree.

Tradition #5

Last year was the FIRST TIME we skipped this tradition altogether and I have every intention of bringing it back. We have sent out Christmas cards {occasionally New Years cards} with a year-end newsletter that includes a Top Ten list about our year. The Top Ten will be making a comeback this year...

I hope you are enjoying your own traditions as well as savoring these moments with your family.

Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

2011-11-30T12:58:00.001-05:00

Evidently Jack does not like to be left out. Last night I decided to make a batch of cookies after dinner so Daniel took over baby duty to spend some quality time with our little man. I had been downstairs in the kitchen for less than 15 minutes when Daniel came down with a fussy Jack and placed him in his infant carrier on the counter top.

Jack immediately calmed down and started observing everything in the kitchen. He was able to watch both Daniel and I; he could smell cookies baking and simultaneously listen to the jazz music that was streaming from Pandora.

I know that Jack loves his Dad, but I think he really wanted to hang out where things were happening. I look forward to the day when he can help me make the cookies.

Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe from the Sugared Whisk.

52 Books: Book 46 & 47

2011-11-29T18:04:00.001-05:00

I know that I just had a baby, but I am still trying to keep up with my reading. I actually finished these two books awhile back and never got around to writing a post... maybe something to do with being very pregnant, then in the hospital, then home with a newborn.

Book 46 was The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver. It is a fictional account of a missionary family that goes to the Belgian Congo in 1959. I especially found it intriguing since my parents were missionaries until I was six years old.

Kingsolver does not appear to have a good opinion of missionaries or marriage if her novel is a reflection of her personal views. The missionaries spend their time trying to change Africa in an overbearing, Americanized manner and instead find themselves forever changed. While I believe it is impossible to live in another country without being changed in someway, the experiences of the Price family amount to a tragedy.

Book 47 was Room by Emma Donoghue. It is the fictional account of a girl who is kidnapped when she is 19. She is held in captivity in a room for seven years. During this period, she bears the child of her captor. She is finally able to escape, with her son, when he is five years old. The story tells of the entry back into the real world. It is a psychological thriller that was difficult to read just prior to and after having a son of my own.

I am currently reading The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind by William Kamkwamba... it is a much cheerier subject matter than these previous two books.

Thanksgiving

2011-11-28T18:32:00.001-05:00

Finally starting to feel rested after a five days of visiting family. Don't tell our pediatrician that we traveled with Jack when he was just two weeks old... she told us not to go anywhere for two months! Hello – it's the holidays, did you really think we were going to just sit at home by ourselves???

Meeting Great Grandpa and Nana for the first time

Thankfully Jack is a pretty laid back little dude. Actually he is crazy laid back and if he starts crying you can always stick him in the car or a vibrating bouncer and he is out.

Izzy loves cousin Jack

Wednesday night we went to my sister's in Nashville {we always alternate holidays and Thanksgiving was with my family this year}. We arrived to a house full of people. Jack was hungry, but a total trooper as he met tons of new family members including his cousin Izzy, his great grandparents from Canada, his Uncle Mark and his great Aunt and Uncle and cousin.

The Voyles Siblings with Izzy and Jack

Thursday we got up semi-early and squeezed in a quick visit with Daniel's family for their traditional Thanksgiving breakfast. Normally this breakfast includes most of Daniel's family, but for some reason it was just his immediate family. We were sad not to be able to see everyone, but it was nice to be with his parents and sisters.

The Moore's Thanksgiving Breakfast

After a quick visit and delicious food, we headed back to my sister's for lunch where we had more visiting and more great food.

The Moore Siblings with Jack

Friday we slept in and went to my Aunt's house for more visiting. Friday night we were zonked.

The Southern Lock Flock

The Voyles

Four Generations of Locks

Saturday we said goodbye to my family and went to Daniel's mom's to spend the night. We were surprised to learn that his Grandmother had been in town shopping and was planning on dropping by for an impromptu visit. It was nice seeing everyone but we were running on empty by this point.

Four Generations of Moore's

Sunday we slept in, had lunch with D's mom, then made a quick stop in Murfreesboro on our way home to see D's dad.

This is how we felt by the end of the week...

thankful to see so many people, but ready to be home.

We visited with LOTS of people and wish that we had time to see everyone. With a baby your plans change as you go. Jack did fabulous being carted around and held by everyone under the sun. Daniel and I were pretty wiped out by the time we made it home Sunday night. I know that Daniel is thankful to have another week of time off before he has to go back to work. We have some serious recovering to do from all of the visiting! Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving! We have so much to be thankful for.

Birth Story Part IV: Jack's Arrival

2011-11-22T20:25:00.001-05:00

About 20 minutes before we started pushing, Daniel left to go get interviewed by the Chattanooga Chanel 9 News. They were doing a feature on 11-11-11 and we made their list since we were having our baby {naturally – no induction} on 11-11-11.

While Daniel was gone, my nurse and sister started getting ready for me to push. Once Daniel came back to our room my nurse told me what to expect and how to push. Then she placed my legs in the stirrups and had Angela and Daniel stand on either side of the bed so that they would be ready to help me push.

As soon as a contraction started, I was to take a deep breath in and then push with all of my might while holding my breath for a 10 count. Once we reached 10 I was supposed to take another breath and do it again. We would do it 3 times for each contraction. While I pushed, Angela and Daniel each helped to pull my legs toward my body.

All I can say is that labor is tough work. Initially I was struggling to hold my breath for each 10 count. At one point my nurse even stopped me from pushing and lectured me on the fact that if I didn’t do it like she said I was going to have to have a c-section. This helped somewhat, but it was still hard.

Eventually I got angry at all three of them for forgetting to count – I really needed something to focus on and when they forgot to count it was infuriating. I even yelled that one of them better start counting. Also, I am pretty sure that Angela’s 10-counts were much longer than 10 seconds because they were prefaced with, “You’re doing great… You can do it… Keep pushing… One… Two… Three… ect.” Let me tell you, those extra phrases made me feel like I was going to pass out!

After about 15 minutes we had made some decent progress and Jack had dropped down to a +2 station. I naively thought we would be done soon. We kept pushing and I started to struggle. I could feel that Jack was crowning, but it didn’t seem to be enough. I had been awake for 30+hours, had not eaten in 19 hours and had nothing to drink in at least 8 hours.

After 45 minutes of pushing my OB came in and took a look. She discovered that Jack’s head was turned sideways which was making it difficult for him to descend further in my pelvis. She could also tell that I was reaching the point of exhaustion and there was concern that if I didn’t push him out soon, he was going to start suffering from distress. She offered two options to me: option one was to use forceps; option two was to use a vacuum to assist me.

Angela really thought she should go with the vacuum, but my OB said she was very proficient with the forceps and that it would be faster. Daniel didn’t want me to do either. But at that point I felt like I couldn’t take it for much longer. I was going to have to push with either option and I didn’t want to waste what little energy I had and then not be able to finish.

Daniel kept telling me that I could do it and I would do it, and I kept telling him and the nurses that I was done and I couldn't do it. It was a hard conversation to have, especially with the doctor sitting a foot away and a room full of nurses. I finally convinced Daniel that I needed the baby out NOW and we agreed to let our OB try the forceps.

She started by giving me localized shots in the birth canal since my epidural had weakened. Then she used her hands to manually turn Jack’s head so that it would be easier for him to come out. Once his head was turned, she took the forceps and tried to insert them around his head. Unfortunately {thankfully} the forceps wouldn’t fit around his head. So we moved on to Plan B.

During all of this I became incredibly calm. I am not sure where this calm came from because prior to the decision to have an assisted forceps or vacuum birth I was really starting to lose it – crying and arguing with Angela and Daniel that I couldn’t do it. Realistically if I hadn’t been in such good shape I don’t think I would have been able to push Jack out.

The vacuum turned out to be a fairly small disc that she applied to Jack’s head. We pushed through 2 contractions and his head was out! During the next contraction I had to hold off pushing while my OB cut the cord from his neck. Then I pushed him out. It was a pretty amazing experience. 18.5 hours of labor and 1.5 hours of pushing and baby Jack was welcomed into the world.

Once he was out, our OB let Daniel trim the umbilical cord closer to his body. Jack cried briefly as he was whisked away by a nurse to get assessed.

Angela took lots of pictures. I think Daniel wasn’t sure what he should do. I was getting stitches {my first ever} for a 2nd degree tear and Daniel stayed close by to me for moral support, but I told him that he should go and see Jack.

Jack’s apgar scores were 7 and 8. It turned out that he had a fever immediately following birth, but it quickly resolved (and they didn't tell us this till the next day). About 15 minutes after birth, the nurses finally handed Jack to me. He was perfect with humongous eyes that observed everything. My sister took a picture and texted our families. My father-in-law later mentioned that we had a thoroughly modern baby because he got to see his grandson in the waiting room on his phone before he got to see him in person.

We took time to feed Jack and then invited Daniel’s family to come in to meet the newest member of our family.

Jack’s birth wasn’t what I thought it was going to be, but he is here and that is all that matters. Daniel and I are both in love with our little boy. Every 6lbs 12 oz and 21 inches of him. We are truly blessed.

Shortly after Jack’s birth Daniel said something about when we had our next kid… At the time I was so traumatized that I secretly thought that he was crazy and that there was NO WAY that I would EVER go through this again. However 12 days later the experience is becoming a distant memory. And while I can’t imagine having another baby any time in the near future, I am OK with the possibility of having another baby some day. Strange how your mind forgets the painful parts.

Birth Story Part I, Part II, Part III

Birth Story Part III: You Want to do What???

2011-11-19T11:19:00.001-05:00

In all of my research about giving birth there were several things that really made me cringe...

Internal Fetal Monitor. So you want to stick something inside my body and screw an electrode into my baby's head? No thank you.

Forceps. You want to stick salad tongs up in my nether regions and yank my baby out? Double no thank you.

Vacuum. You want to suck my baby out of me? What the??? I actually watched a video on this {granted it was old and the suction cups were rather large} but it really made my skin crawl.

C-Section. You want to cut me open? This just scares me because I have NEVER had stitches or surgery or even a broken bone. However I can at least stomach the idea of a C-section since it is a common practice, but it still scares me.

Those were my main concerns before going into labor. Who knew that I would have to face the possibility of every.single.one. of them...

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So once Jack's heart rate had leveled out my nurse suggested we turn out all of the lights and try to get some rest. With the epidural my body could continue to labor and I could sleep.

I think that Daniel actually managed to fall asleep. I just lay in the dark and listened to the heart rate monitor. Angela {who is used to working nights} sat in a rocking chair and surfed the internet on her iPhone.

Not much time had gone by when Jack's heart rate plummeted again. Angela jumped up and asked me if I thought the external heart rate monitor had moved. No, I didn't think so. None of the nurses were coming, so Angela went ahead and got an oxygen mask out for me just as my nurse came running in the door. Evidently the nurses station had a glitch and NO ONE had noticed that Jack's heart rate had dropped. Our nurse frantically tried to find Jack's heart rate again and soon the room filled up with nurses.

Angela may have gotten a little bossy at this point – insisting that a doctor be called. You could tell some of the other nurses were uncomfortable with this. I am just glad that I have a bossy sister who knows what to do in an emergency. I think that my actual nurse was glad to have someone competent there.

Anyways a doctor came in and they decided to insert an internal fetal monitor. It was like getting a catheter inserted – which wasn't too bad since I had an epidural. They also inserted a intrauterine pressure catheter so they could know the exact force of my contractions.

It was about 5am and I had to stay on oxygen until things were under control. My OB made an appearance and we discovered that I had progressed to 8cm. Unfortunately it seemed to be that each contraction was causing Jack's heart rate to drop. This was NOT GOOD.

My OB left to go look at my files and came back to say that around 32 weeks they had noted from a 3D ultrasound that Jack's umbilical cord was probably wrapped around his neck. Angela commented that she had thought the same thing upon seeing my ultrasound {she had kept this to herself through my whole pregnancy because she didn't want to scare us – definitely the right choice}.

So. The umbilical cord was the culprit. Every contraction was making the umbilical cord clamp down and restrict Jack's oxygen supply.

My OB also said that since progressing to 8cm earlier that morning my body had really put the breaks on progressing – maybe it was trying to compensate for the fact that Jack's heart rate kept dropping. My OB wanted to start me on pitocin to get things moving again. Daniel and I asked the OB to leave the room so that we could discuss our options. We also took advantage of quizzing Angela on what all of this meant. In the end we agreed to use pitocin.

The nurses had just changed shift and we were blessed to get a very experienced, no-nonsense nurse. She started me out slow on the pitocin. Unfortunately Jack reacted badly to it. Our nurse came back to tell us that a c-section was probably eminent. She stopped the pitocin and Jack's heart rate evened out. She even went so far as to prep us for what to expect if I did get a c-section.

This made my heart drop. I really didn't want to be cut open.

My OB came back and looked at all of my stats and said that Jack was actually doing really well. She also checked me and learned that I had dilated to 8.5cm, so the pitocin was working. We decided to give it a bit more time. At this point Angela frankly told us that we had about a 30% chance of a c-section.

The nurse started the pitocin at an even lower level and I kept breathing oxygen with each contraction. Throughout the morning, my nurse kept increasing my pitocin to help increase my contractions and keep me dilating.

Around 1pm, things were looking bad again and my nurse came in and frankly told me that we were probably going to get a c-section. Daniel was out of the room at the time and I tried to digest what I was being told. I was scared but trying to hold it together. We needed to do what was best for Jack and my personal feelings needed to be pushed aside.

Daniel came back and we updated him on what was going on. Angela told us that she thought there was a 90% chance of c-section.

My OB came in and checked me and said that I was at 9cm and close to being fully effaced. However Jack had still not dropped at all. She looked over all of my stats again and said that Jack was handling everything remarkably well and she wanted to increase the pitocin even more and that we would just ride out each contraction sans oxygen since he was recovering on his own.

During the course of the day I had my epidural redosed 3 times. By 3pm I was getting tired and things were starting to hurt again. My nurse came in to check me and said that I was at 10 cm and fully effaced and that Jack had dropped a little to the -1 station. Ideally you start pushing when baby gets to +2 {see image below}... +3 means that baby is crowning.

My nurse said if I wanted we could try pushing, but if I couldn't move him down on my own, we were DEFINITELY going to have a c-section. I told her that I DEFINITELY wanted to try pushing...

Stay tuned for Part IV.

Birth Story Part II: You Make Plans and God Laughs

2011-11-18T12:17:00.001-05:00

And the labor and delivery nurses roll their eyes...

Having a labor and delivery nurse for a sister is amazing. I had 9 months to quiz her on what to expect. She was very honest but also respectful of any ideas that I had. She also kept her mouth firmly shut about some things.

A few weeks before our birth, Daniel and I attended a birthing class and the teacher told us to have a birth plan. We were on the fence about this. I really trusted my doctors and nurses {and sister} and wanted to be respectful of their knowledge and experience. But there were some things I really wanted to happen at our birth.

As a compromise, Daniel and I made a one page "plan" to share with our OB. Our OB was also not a fan of having a "birth plan" but she humored us. Mostly it was helpful for me to discuss concerns I had and how I wanted my birth experience to happen {barring no medical complications}. I was fully aware that if problems occurred, my "plan" was to defer to the professionals.

That being said, I read a lot, listened to many personal stories, watched a documentary on birth and ultimately decided that if possible, a natural birth was the way to go. Realistically I also decided that if I had to be induced or if my water broke ahead of time, there was a good chance I would take a medicated route. Overall I wanted to have an open mind and do what was best for me and our baby.

And then my water broke.

When Daniel called Angela, she talked us through what to expect and do. I hadn't had any contractions so she thought I could labor at home for a little while, but since we had an hour drive to Chattanooga, she suggested we try to get there by midnight. That was totally doable. It was 8:45p.m. EST and an hour drive to the hospital, so we were in good shape.

We finished cooking our steaks and called the rest of our family to share the news. I finally started feeling contractions and we timed them for about an hour before finally calling my OB – who happened to be on call that night.

My contractions had gone from nothing to 30 seconds long and 3 minutes apart. This was not what I expected. I had been under the impression that once labor started I would have time to adjust and recoup between contractions. Instead they came on with a vengeance.

My OB was NOT happy that we were not on our way yet. She wanted us to get to the hospital asap. This posed a bit of a problem since we still hadn't packed our hospital bags. I failed to mention this to her, but said we would leave shortly. As soon as I got off the phone, Daniel proceeded to run around shoving things into bags while I tried to tell him what things not to forget.

Meanwhile, Daniel's sister, Amy, left Nashville to come to our house to stay with Sophie. I can't tell you how hard it was for me to leave our dog home alone. She is used to going everywhere with us and even got in the car while Daniel was loading our stuff. I was almost in tears at the thought of leaving her but so thankful to know that someone would be there soon. Daniel and I were both a bit nervous as to how Sophie would transition to having a baby around, but there was nothing we could do about it... we needed to get to the hospital.

We finally got on the road and I had a very uncomfortable hour-long ride in the car. Every 3 minutes on the dot, a wave of pain took over my body. You are supposed to relax through contractions, but that is easier said than done. I was gripping the "Oh Crap" handle in the car the ENTIRE time and Daniel kept telling me to relax.

We arrived at the hospital right at midnight. The lady at the information desk took one look at me and hurried us up to labor and delivery. The charge nurse on duty asked if I was sure I was in labor. I looked at her and told her my water had broke. She looked down at me and said, "Why yes it has" and proceeded to take me straight to a labor room.

Three nurses kept asking me the EXACT same questions over and over again. You would think they would just confer with each other and leave me alone with my pain. Daniel was very supportive and got me as comfortable as possible.

The nurse checked me and learned that I was already dilated to 3cm. Right after that my sister arrived. Thank the good Lord in heaven. She really helped us through that night. First of all she had the nurses raise the bed so that I could stand and lean over it. Then she got a hot compress for my back and showed Daniel how to apply counter pressure while I went through each contraction.

My nurse came back and said that we could get an epidural at 4cm if we wanted. At this point I was ready. My ideas of a natural anything disappeared in that one-hour car ride. If labor had been slower things might have been different.

About an hour later, my nurse checked me again and I was already 4cm. They called the anesthesiologist who came right away. By the time he had inserted my epidural I had progressed to 6cm.

My nurse turned me on my back to allow the medication to disperse evenly in both legs. While I was on my back, baby Jack started to show signs of distress. His heart rate dropped significantly and everyone became very nervous. Angela jumped up to help adjust the fetal heart monitor and soon Jack's heart rate leveled out again.

This was the beginning of many things that were not in my plan...

Stay tuned for Part III.

Birth Story Part I: Honey, My Water Just Broke

2011-11-17T16:40:00.001-05:00

Thursday, November 10, 2011 started like any normal day. I got up, had breakfast and went to my hour-long cardio kickboxing class. At this point, one day shy of my due date, I don't think the other women were too shocked to see me walk in the door.

Kickboxing was great and I didn't feel any different when I left the rec center. Besides I had been carrying around a beach towel {in my tote bag} all week just in case my water did break. In all honesty I wasn't expecting anything to happen.

After kickboxing I went home and enjoyed a cup of coffee on the back porch with Daniel {he was home for a 4-day weekend}. We talked about how this could be one of our last mornings on the porch together and that we should enjoy this time. We had no clue that this was in fact our last day as a family of two.

After a late lunch we decided that it was too nice of a day to stay home. Initially we considered driving to Huntsville to go hiking at Monte Sano State Park, but in the end decided a leisurely walk {locally} at Goose Pond Colony made more sense. So we loaded Sophie into the Subaru and made our way to town.

It was the perfect fall day for a walk. We managed to get in about 2.5 miles next to the lake and Sophie was thrilled to be walking somewhere new – lots of new smells to investigate. A couple of times during our walk I felt like I had a stitch in my side, but nothing major. The paved path we were on was next to the main road, so I knew Daniel could go pick up the car and come get me if I actually went into labor.

After our walk we went home and dropped Sophie off and then returned to Scottsboro to see the movie Courageous. While the acting in the movie is so so, the message is an excellent one. It was a bit surreal to be sitting in a movie theater watching a movie about the importance of parenting {particularly the role of fathers}, knowing that we would become parents sometime in the next week or so.

On our drive home we joked about the full moon and how we might go into labor. I had several Braxton Hicks-like contractions during the drive, but didn't think too much of it at the time.

When we were finally home Daniel went outside to start up the grill and I put potatoes in the microwave to bake and started prepping our steaks. All of a sudden I felt a little pop and some water. I opened the door to the garage door and told Daniel that I thought my water had just broken. He asked if I was sure. About that time I felt a gush and said, "My water definitely just broke."

I ran to the bathroom while Daniel called my sister {a labor and delivery nurse}...

Stay tuned for Part II.

5Days PostPartum

2011-11-16T12:00:00.001-05:00

Things I didn't expect after having a baby...

The amount of {ahem} liquid my bladder can hold... and how often it gets full.
Only being able to sleep on my back* after many months of not being able to sleep on my back or stomach. *Hopefully this won't last for too long.
How famished I am. Sometimes I feel like I will keel over from hunger. This results in eating cake out of the pan {it tastes great but I'll be glad when it is gone}.
How quickly my body is changing.
How well Daniel and I work together as a team. We have always been a great team, but I was a little nervous that being sleep deprived and clueless, we might be at each other's throats. Turns out I didn't need to worry about this one.
The amount of sleep I would get and how well I could function on it. I truthfully thought my sleep deprivation would be much greater. So far feeding has worked out to only having to get up 2-3 times during the night, which has been totally doable.
How quickly we are adjusting to the parenting thing. I thought we would be more nervous and inadequate, but I think we have both stepped up to the plate.

Things Daniel didn't expect {mostly in regards to diaper changes}...

That Jack would never actually pee in his diaper.
When he manages to pee on the wall, it's enough to run all the way down the wall where it pools on the floor.
That he can get 4 diapers dirty in less than 10 minutes.
That Jack would be so content 98% of the time.

Funny story from our first day home:
Daniel went to Walmart to get a handful of supplies that I needed. When he checked out, the cashier took one look at his items and asked if he had had a boy or a girl.

Stay tuned... I will be posting Part I of our Birth Story tomorrow.

What I Wore Wednesday

Shirt from Old Navy. Jeans from Kohl's. Chacos from REI.

My pregnancy in pictures:

5 days postpartum.

We Had A Baby!!!

2011-11-15T10:07:00.001-05:00

Daniel and I are thrilled to welcome Jack Grayson Moore into the world. He was born at 4:41p.m. on 11-11-11 {his actual due date}, weighing in at 6 lbs 12 oz and 21 inches long.

Our little guy is a true delight. He has huge eyes and loves to look around to see everything that he can. He is currently eating like a champ and is not much of a crier. Mostly crying comes from getting his diaper changed – we think he is protesting getting cold. We feel so blessed to have him in our lives.

Daniel is off for the next three weeks so we feel truly blessed to be able to have to this time to adjust together and we are cherishing every moment.

Labor and delivery was quite the experience... definitely NOT what I expected. I will write a separate birth story post later – it was quite the 20 hours.

Since we went into labor {naturally} and had our baby on 11-11-11, we were interviewed by the Channel 9 News in Chattanooga.

The highlights are that Jack was born on 11-11-11. His name, Jack Grayson, is composed of 11 letters. He will be one of 11 great grandchildren {on my mom's side}. And he is named after Daniel's Papa Jack {who was a veteran}.

I can now cross #10 off my life list.

I will be posting my birth story in the coming days.

39Weeks.5Days.

2011-11-09T14:42:00.001-05:00

Do you know how weird it is to answer the question: "When is your due date?" with "Friday" or "In two days." It is all a little surreal. I am expecting to go past my due date, but Friday is also a full moon, so you never know what might happen...

The hardest part at this point is just waiting. I haven't had any real contractions {that I am aware of}. I might have had one or two last Saturday, but the more I think about it, the more I think it was just strong Braxton Hicks. As of last Friday my OB confirmed that I had not progressed at all and I don't think that baby has dropped yet, though I am not sure what that would feel like.

For now I am just trying to relax and enjoy these last few days {weeks?} and to not stress too much. I have decided that I will continue to work out up until this baby makes his appearance. My OB has given her blessing and my yoga and kickboxing instructors are not banning me from their classes. I figure that the worst case scenario is that I might go into labor – which has to happen at some point. Just to be safe I have been carrying a beach towel around with me in case my water breaks. Also I have the numbers of all of Daniel's co-workers in my phone in the event that I can't get a hold of him when the time comes.

The worst and most unexpected pregnancy symptom for me has been an extreme case of carpal tunnel syndrome that I have developed over the last couple of weeks. Initially it started out with my hands swelling at night. Then it progressed to inflamed joints in my fingers at night which made sleep difficult. In the last week it has turned into tingly, numb fingers that ache almost all the time, but it is the worst when I sleep {or try to}. My OB recommended wearing a wrist brace, but this has minimal effect on the condition. I will be very thankful when it goes away.

What I Wore Wednesday
T-shirt from Motherhood.
Plaid button up from Kohl's.
Maternity Jeans from Unclaimed Baggage.
Chacos from REI.

Things I am looking forward to...

2011-11-07T16:50:00.000-05:00

Sleeping on my back.

Sleeping on my stomach.

Not having to give myself daily shots in the stomach.

No more heartburn {at least not daily}.

Shaving my legs.

Being able to tie my shoes without being extremely uncomfortable.

Running.

Being able to use my hands without them constantly going numb.

Backpacking.

Mountain Biking.

Rafting.

Being able to fit into more than 50% of my clothes.

Eating soft cheese.

Rocking my little boy.

Happy Birthday to Me

2011-11-06T17:58:00.000-05:00

Turning 30 was difficult for me. Thankfully once I turned 30, I realized that it really wasn't such a big deal. I made a life list and started working on things I want to accomplish in my lifetime. The past year wasn't what I expected, but I feel truly blessed to be where I am.

Our first child is due this coming Friday {#10 on my list} and I know that our lives are about to turn upside down. It has been nice to have a low-key year to enjoy with Daniel before these changes happen.

On my actual birthday {Friday} we went to Chattanooga for an OB exam. I found out that I have yet to dilate one iota. I think we are looking at a baby that will come late rather than early. After running errands in Chatt, we went home and enjoyed the beautiful fall afternoon. That night we went to see Tower Heist and then out for pizza. Not a huge deal, but we are relishing our last moments to be able to do this type of thing together.

One of the highlights of my day was having family members call to sing Happy Birthday to me. My brother called first, he does this EVERY year and it totally makes my day. My parents also sang a version of the birthday song to me {they also do this every year}. Then my sister called to wish me Happy Birthday and my 2-year-old niece sang to me as well. You can't beat that!

Saturday Daniel was planning on surprising me with a trip back to Chattanooga for breakfast {my fave} and a trip up the Incline Railway on Lookout Mountain. Unfortunately we were socked in with fog. The fog lifted just before lunch so we headed to Chattanooga where we enjoyed breakfast for lunch. The BlueGrass Grill is a new favorite of both of ours. Great food. Great atmosphere. Great music. It really made me miss living in a city though.

We shared the Denver Omelet with Home Fries and a Biscuit and a full stack of Honey Wheat Pancakes with Jalepeno Bacon and an Egg. All of it was amazing. I poured honey on my biscuit and it may have been the best honey I have ever tasted!

We decided to skip the Incline Railway because even though it was sunny out, everything was a bit hazy and the colors weren't as vibrant as they can be. Instead we drove to the top of Lookout and enjoyed the views from our car. Hopefully we will squeeze in a trip on the Incline Railway sometime soon. I experienced a couple of contractions on the drive home, but nothing to be too excited about.

Last night I made an apple pie that was to die for... just a little Happy Birthday to myself. As Daniel says, we could buy dessert at a restaurant but I generally make things that taste way better than anything we could buy. Recipe from 20 Something Cupcakes.

Overall it has been a nice, low-key birthday weekend... perfect for a gal who is 39 weeks pregnant.

Surprise Baby Shower

2011-11-03T13:25:00.000-04:00

Last Thursday I received a call from Myra, the secretary in Daniel's office. My first thought was that something had happened to Daniel {if you know our track record with ER visits, you will understand my initial concern}.

Myra quickly put my fears to rest and told me that the engineering department was throwing Daniel a surprise baby shower and that they would love it if I could come by the plant after lunch to be a part of the surprise.

This was actually my very first visit inside the gates. I walked in to security to check in and told them I was there for a baby shower – the security guard gave me a funny look and asked if someone was supposed to escort me in. Thankfully Jeremy, one of Daniel's co-workers, was already standing behind the counter and I was able to point to him as my escort.

They had me arrive early since Daniel was off campus all morning giving a presentation at a local school. They didn't want us to run into each other in the parking lot. So I hung out with several of Daniel's co-workers until he arrived.

Once he got to the conference room for the "meeting" we all learned that he had been intending to go home after his presentation and several of his co-workers had to lie to get him to come to the last-minute meeting that he didn't know about. Daniel can be stubborn, but thankfully he came.

His reaction was pretty funny when he walked in the door. Especially when he saw me standing there – he definitely wasn't expecting to see his wife at work!

The engineering department at TVA did well with our shower. Thank you to Imani and Myra for organizing/spearheading the little party. We really appreciate all of the goodies including the diaper cake, boppy, changing pad, wipes, wipes warmer, frames for hand and foot prints and car mirror.

38Weeks.5Days.

2011-11-02T14:24:00.000-04:00

Last night was the first time during this pregnancy that I really started to feel crummy. I had a stomach ache and nausea and actually slept sitting up for about an hour. I guess this means that we are getting closer to delivery time?

I decided to skip this morning's workout because my OB is at a conference through the end of the week and I have decided that I really don't want to go into labor before the weekend if I can help it. Though yoga probably would make me feel better, I just don't want to take a chance.

I have spent the day feeling weird. Not sure what is going on exactly. Maybe Jack is finally dropping? I have no idea. I do know I have had to make more trips to the bathroom, but that could also be from all of the extra water I have been drinking.

Since we are almost 39 weeks, here is a look at my pregnancy by the numbers:

268 prenatal vitamins swallowed.

217 shots in my stomach.

90 minutes is the average amount of time I have to sit and wait during an OB visit.

56 yoga classes.

48 kickboxing classes.

20 pounds gained.

13 OB visits completed.

9 days until our due date.

8 ultrasounds – four of which were 3D to try to see Jack's face.

7 nights of sleeping on the couch.

6.8+ pounds is approximately what Jack should weigh right now.

4 strangers have asked about my pregnancy {and no strangers have tried to touch my belly}.

4 sewing projects completed.

3 classes attended – breast feeding, child safety and birthing.

2 leg cramps throughout the duration of my pregnancy.

2 baby showers (3 if you count the surprise one my kickboxing class tried to throw me that I didn't show up for).

1 crib and 1 dresser painted.

What I Wore Wednesday
Tank Top from Old Navy.

Shirt from Forever21.

Cardigan from Target.
Old Jeans from Banana Republic.
Chacos from REI.

mohaus

2012 Book 5: The Postmistress

2012 Book 4: Shanghai Girls

Pin It: Crayon Monogram

Jack's First Shots

This visit also encompassed the dreaded first round of immunization shots. Now I don't want to get into the debate of should you or shouldn't you {obviously we chose to proceed} but I did want to write about our post-shot experience.

Jack was a little trooper during the shot process. He held tightly to my finger while he screamed, but within a couple of minutes he was back to being completely calm {before our nurse even left the room}. We gave him a few minutes to cuddle before dressing him again.

After the series of shots he seemed a bit subdued. I felt bad that we couldn't treat him to something like an ice cream cone...

The rest of the day Jack didn't quite seem like himself... a little withdrawn, kind of like his feelings were hurt. I held him for most of the afternoon and when Daniel came home from work, he cuddled with Jack while I made dinner.

It is amazing that at 2+months old Jack is already coming out of the cuddling stage. He still enjoys it but is more interested in observing the world than snuggling on our chests. It makes me sad that this stage is already passing. At least when he doesn't feel good he still likes to snuggle.

After dinner we realized that he was starting to feel warm. We took his temperature and discovered that he had a low-grade fever – which we knew was a possibility. We gave him some baby Tylenol {per our doctor's orders} and continued to hold and cuddle with him the rest of the evening.

Thankfully he was able to sleep most of the night, though quite fitfully at times, and I continued to monitor his fever.

Jack and I spent yesterday on the couch together. Me holding him while he slept or cuddled with me. He was still not himself. I hate when he doesn't feel well. I think I would be a basketcase if he was actually sick {it kills me when Sophie doesn't feel well and she is just our dog!}.

Today Jack appears to be back to his usual self though we are going to stay inside again just to make sure he doesn't pick up anything. Plus there is no point in getting out in the rain.

Next time we are considering breaking the shots up over a week or two just so it isn't such a jolt to his system.

My Sister's Baby Shower

Wildcat Grill

The Best Gift

Pin It, Part II

First Date as New Parents

2012 Book 3: Heaven is for Real

2012 Book 2: Catching Fire

Jack is Two Months Old

Crock Pot Chicken Enchilada Soup

2012 Book 1: The Secret Garden

Our Chunky Monkey

My Yearly Challenge

You remember the old song, "I would walk 500 miles..." by the pretenders... So would you run/walk 500 miles in 2012? I am challenging myself and anyone who would join me to record 500 miles this calendar year.

That's 1.3 miles per day 9.6 miles per week 41.7 miles per month No matter your current physical shape or condition, get out there and burn up the road! Post your miles on the group wall. Encourage others. Who will be the first to 500? Who will perserve to the end to join the 500 mile club?

Cloth Diapers

New Years Update

50 Taters

Patience

Happy New Year!

52 Books: Honorable Mentions

52 Books: Book 52

52 Books: Book 51

What I Wore Wednesday: 6Weeks5Days PostPartum

Jack's First Christmas

What I Wore Wednesday: 5Weeks5Days PostPartum

Pin It

52 Books: Book 50

52 Books: Book 49

52 Books: Book 48

Nine Years and Counting

Gingerbread Cookie Ornaments

What I Wore Wednesday: 4Weeks5Days PostPartum

Jack is One Month Old

Trying to Outdo the Griswolds...

What I Wore Wednesday: 3Weeks5Days PostPartum

Flying Solo

Keeping Our Traditions Alive

Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

52 Books: Book 46 & 47

Thanksgiving

Birth Story Part IV: Jack's Arrival

Birth Story Part III: You Want to do What???

Birth Story Part II: You Make Plans and God Laughs

Birth Story Part I: Honey, My Water Just Broke

5Days PostPartum

We Had A Baby!!!

39Weeks.5Days.

Things I am looking forward to...

Happy Birthday to Me

Surprise Baby Shower

38Weeks.5Days.

You remember the old song, "I would walk 500 miles..." by the pretenders...

So would you run/walk 500 miles in 2012?

I am challenging myself and anyone who would join me to record 500 miles this calendar year.

That's 1.3 miles per day
9.6 miles per week
41.7 miles per month

No matter your current physical shape or condition, get out there and burn up the road! Post your miles on the group wall. Encourage others.

Who will be the first to 500?
Who will perserve to the end to join the 500 mile club?