I Knew it Would Happen Eventually

When Lucy was around 5 months old I remember her having a couple days of "feeling under the weather". But she has gotten to the age of 11 months without getting truely sick. It was bound to happen and it finally has!

The poor munchkin has been miserable especially during the night. All I can say is that the vaporizer is my our best friend as I am convinced it is the only reason she's slept during the night for four to six hour chunks at a time.

If Lucy could talk, I'm pretty sure she'd tell you that she doesn't consider her mommy to be HER best friend at the moment. If I so much as approach her nose with or without kleenex and nasal aspirator, she cries and thrashes her head. It stinks being the "mean guy" but I always knew it would be part of mothering. I keep telling her that I am sure Mama Gail did the same things to me if I was ever sick as a baby... and that I turned out just fine. She remains unconvinced.

I'm glad these aren't the memories she'll have of me when she is able to look back on being sick as a child. I'm hoping they'll be more along the lines of the memories I have of my mom taking care of me when I was sick at an age that I can remember:

Making me chicken soup from scratch and letting me pick the shape of noodle that went in. Renting me lots of movies to watch from my sick post on the sofa. Running me warm baths. Taking my temperature and feeling sorry for me...

The fact that I too am currently sick with the same bug that Lucy has also makes me wonder how many times my mom took care of me while she was sick at the same time... I am sure it happened plenty of times and I was never the wiser.

Mom, thanks for being such a great mother and teaching me how to mother my own children!

Mitten Mission Accomplished

We've been without internet access on our home computer during the last few days, so I haven't been able to keep up with my blog as well as I'd like. Darin has been kindly bringing home his laptop from work in the evenings so I can keep up with e-mails and such. That's been nice.

I can't upload pictures using his computer very well so I can't show you my finished mitten, but I can TELL you how pleased I am to have a completed pair. On to Lucy's matching set... congratulations to me! : )

I'm also sad to report that there will be PLENTY of opportunities for both of us to wear our warm woolen mittens yet this winter. I'm dreaming of spring and praying that the next two to three months pass quickly.

Hot Dogs

Umm, Costco's hot dogs say this on the label:

"No Nitrates or Nitrites

No MSG

No Fillers

Beef Raised With

No Antibiotics,

No Added Hormones...

EVER!"

Does that mean it's okay for pregnant ladies to eat them? I really want a hot dog. I really do.

Second Mitten Syndrome

Second Mitten Syndrome - in the world of knitting, "Second Mitten Syndrome" refers to when one enthusiastically begins to knit mittens and completes the first one in a breeze. When she approaches the second mitten, though, enthusiasm is lost. You just knitted that. You know how to knit it already and the second one just doesn't hold the same mystery. Plus there's the added pressure of making the second mitten turn out just like the first so they match. The same concept holds true when you knit socks.

I'm really good at completing both mittens in a timely manner when I am making them as a gift for someone else. But I have never completed a pair for myself.

I'm suffering from Second Mitten Syndrome, right now, folks. BUT, because I'm determined to complete a pair for myself before winter ends, I'm blogging and posting pictures of the work in progress for accountability.

My reward for completing my own pair will be that I may then knit a matching pair for Lucy. That makes the entire endeavor seem much cuter and thus more motivating.

Absentminded

A few minutes ago, I placed a blow-dryer in the dishwasher after using it to melt clumps of snow off the dog. I then promptly put the wooden spoon I'd just cooked with in the garbage can. It's embarassing to think of how many times I've put leftovers in the cupboard and clean dishes in the refrigerator.

So tell me: what have been some of your most memorable "absentminded moments"?

I need some company.

Last Night's Dream

First off, I've attempted to share this news personally with as many people as I could before writing about it on this blog, but I apologize if this is your first time to learn that...

... I am pregnant! Yep, we will be meeting our second child and Lucy's baby brother or sister sometime in the month of July, Lord-willing.

I have so much to be thankful for! I think it's pretty cool that Darin and I are experiencing "both ways" of becoming parents. I'm just finishing up my first trimester and it has been relatively painless. Other than some definite fatigue that is easily remedied by napping while Lucy naps, I've felt relatively "normal". What a blessing.

One thing I've noticed, though, is that I am definitely entering the world of pregnancy dreams! Many of you who are close to me know that I have some pretty intense dreams normally and my current ones are no exception.

I've been pretty amused by my pregnancy-related dreams as of late. Most of them are about food-mainly pizza (no joke!) I've also started having a few that center around me forgetting that I'm pregnant long enough to make impulsive decisions that would be unwise to make during pregnancy. Then, when there's no turning back, I "remember" that I'm pregnant and then suffer the consequences. For example, last week, I dreamed I was in Europe to participate in extreme winter sports (skiing, snow boarding-you name it). Only after I purchased expensive tickets to do these activities and was riding the lift up to the slopes did I remember that I was pregnant and probably shouldn't be doing those things.

Last night's dream sure made me wake up and realize that my life is really much more manageable than I thought. You see, it my dream, I "forgot" that I was pregnant and Darin and I got another puppy and adopted another baby! Only while our new puppy was making puddles all over our house and the two babies were crying and vying for my attention did I "remember" that I was pregnant. It was quite the panic and anxiety-provoking experience.

I can't tell you how relieved I was to wake up and realize there was only one baby and one dog currently in our household. All of a sudden the thought of having a toddler and newborn in the house this coming July didn't seem quite so daunting!

How's that for some perspective? : ) I think I needed that dream.

Christmas Fun!

Well, we had a wonderful time celebrating Christmas this year! Lucy's presence with us made it extra special as you can imagine!

Darin, Lucy and I opened presents from each other and my family on Christmas Eve morning and enjoyed a special breakfast together. Since my family couldn't witness in person Lucy's first Christmas, below are a few pictures of Lucy enjoying gifts from Mama Gail and Grandpa as well as from Aunt Kelly, Uncle Greg and cousins Abby, Emma and Grace:

"Signing Time" DVD and Dimple Doll from Mama Gail and Grandpa:

Pink cap and snuggle blanket made/embellished by cousins Abby and Emma! (She looks kind of sad in this picture, but she was really just tired!)

We were all pretty tired after present opening:

Later on that day (after late-morning naps) we loaded up the van and drove two hours to spend Christmas and the next few days at Darin's parents' home along with his siblings. We had a wonderful time together, except that beginning at around 1:00 AM on Dec. 26th, we began passing around a stomach bug to each other. Everyone but Grandma and Grandpa and the two little girls (Lucy and her cousin, Savannah) got violently sick... We made the best of it and most of us are better now.

In the evening of the 26th, Lucy and sweet Savannah got to playing and giggling together. I could have watched the two of them for hours-they were cuteness defined. I captured some of their merriment on video and thought it'd be fun to share with you. Enjoy!

Who knew that a 10-month old, a 16-month old and a pacifier could create fun like this? How great to see such creativity and appreciation of simple pleasure in these little souls!

Hope your Christmas was half as fun as Lucy and Savannah's!