You know what would make this trip nicer?

As you probably guessed from my last post, we are on vacation. Specifically we're in northern Alabama introducing Jillian to her great granddaddy. It has been a great time so far, but it would be even better if our checked luggage would show up.

It seems that our two suitcases would prefer to hang out in the much more cosmopolitan Chicago. You see, a particular airlines only runs one flight from Chicago to Huntsville per day with the exception of Saturday when there are no flights. Well we flew here on Friday, and for some reason nobody in Chicago seemed to think it was important to route our bags through another city in order to get them here sooner. Of course the gal at the ticket counter told me they would do that. Then the most unhelpful lady on the phone yesterday assured me of the same thing. But no such luck. The bags continue to sit and we were offered a whopping $100 in compensation, which doesn't go far when you're changing around 10 poopy diapers with at least one or two blow-outs per day. Oh and did I mention that we paid $15 per bag for this service??? I HATE airlines. All of them.

This is why I try not to check bags. Unfortunately with Jillian it was pretty much inevitable. It was difficult enough to deal with her, a stroller, a carseat (with base), a diaper bag, and two computer bags. There was no way I was adding anything else to the mix. Thank goodness we decided not to check the carseat since Jeramy's mom (a former TSA baggage handler) told us that the baggage transport equipment is pretty hard on those even when in a bag. Oh and thankfully we had my uncle pick-up a pack n play of Craigs List locally so we didn't have to bring (and lose) that too.

Ugh. I sure hope the bags show up soon.

Still Poopin'

You know what is a lot of fun when your baby has horrible diarrhea? Take a several hour plane ride. I swear that just as soon as the plane started taking off I heard those tell-tale sounds. Ugh.
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Updated to add...

I forgot to mention that the 2 suitcases we paid $15 to check didn't make it with us yesterday. Yay.

Poop Galore

Now how is that for a title. It really draws you in, huh? Oh well. At least it doesn't raise any expectations for some exciting blog post.

It seems that Jillian has picked up yet another GI bug because baby diarrhea has returned. I never really thought of babies getting the runs before since prior to having Jillian baby poo and diarrhea seemed rather synonymous to me. Boy was I wrong. I simply could not have fathomed the explosive nature nor stench of baby diarrhea. Even worse this time she wakes herself up pooping at night, and once awake she is up for a couple hours. Just ask one very sleep-deprived Jeramy how much fun it was changing three horrific diapers overnight last night. Plus a rather bitchy Jen accused him of waking the baby with his TV at 10pm. How could I have known that Jillian's rear end was the true culprit. To make matters worse she has also developed the worst diaper rash ever. It looks so red and inflamed that my butt hurts just looking at it. I picked up some cloth diapers this evening, which our doctor said might help her feel better sooner.

Until the emergence of this new bug, our weekend was pretty good. I took Jillian and Cujo for a three mile walk on a nearby trail. Jillian did well but Cujo was on the verge of collapse after the first half mile or so. I almost had to put him in the stroller and carry Jillian. On Sunday morning, I looked out the window to see a deer walking through my front yard. I tried to get a picture but of course all of my cameras had dead batteries.

Jillian seems to be doing well in sleeping unswaddled. Well she was at least until this lovely bug hit.

The contractor is nearly done with their part of the master bedroom addition. Jeramy has already run some of the wiring and primered the outside. He also framed the closets. The contractor commented on how he must have framing experience because it was done so well but this is a first for him. He's just that handy :) It was a little intimidating to buy the house knowing we would need to take this on, but now I'm really looking forward to the finish product! Here are some more pictures of the progress:

Not the Best Drinking Buddy

After reading your responses on swaddling, I decided to go cold turkey. I really think she is ready because she can now get out of the swaddle and in doing so usually wakes herself up. So far the results have been mixed. She slept well Thursday night, we were up a lot on Friday night and she slept well last night. I'm sure tht sooner or later she'll get used to it.

We were at a friends house last night for dinner. Jillian LOVES putting her mouth on whatever containers we are drinking from. Well last night she wrapped her lips around the top of Jeramy's beer bottle and spit-up into it. It didn't look so appetizing when you could see the little specks of spit-up floating around in it. Ewwww.

Swaddling

Yesterday was a crappy day because of lay-offs at my work. My job is fine for now, but the positions of some very valuable co-workers were not. Needless to say it has been upsetting even though I understand exactly how necessary budgets cuts are given the current financial situation. As I avoid talking shop on my blog I will leave it at that.

What I do have today is a question about swaddling. For those babies who were swaddled when were you able to stop doing it? Jillian has always loved swaddling and slept sooooo much better that way as her wild arms would inevitably wake her up. I've been trying to wean her off swaddling for some time now with little success. She won't sleep for more than a few hours unswaddled. I'm not worried about her development but I'd like to stop swaddling eventually as the blankets only get so big. Plus she might look a little odd bringing her swaddle blanket to slumber parties when she gets older.

Thoughts?

The Highlight of my Day

Nothing helps me feel better after a crappy day (and today was one of the worst) than coming home to this little face at night.

Progress on the Addition

It has been pretty fun to come home every day to see what progress has been made on the master bedroom addition. I really can't believe how fast they are building it. I think Jeramy has been enjoying it a bit too. He got to borrow the contractor's excavator to pull out a bunch of stumps and do some work on our driveway. Then he got to use the extra concrete to pour a cement slab for the camper. It's a construction project at home, and what could be more fun than that?

Here are some pictures of the progress:

Before. Jeramy had installed that door in the side of the house the week before from out current master bedroom to the outside. This is where we'll tie the bedroom back into the house.

Pouring the foundation last Thursday.

View from the front of the house. The addition is a bit narrower than the rest of house. In the front we didn't want it too close to the garage and we aren't continuing the brick work.

View from the side of the house. The french doors have blinds built into them! Eventually when we can afford it we'll build a deck and hot tub that connects to the deck off the back of the house.

View from the back of the house. The house looks a lot bigger from this angle.

A view from the inside. It is 20 x 24 but some of that will be used for additional closet space because my clotheshorse husband has taken over nearly all of our current walk in closet.

Another view of the inside.

Coolest Websites Ever

Today is day one of cutting my calorie consumption back to 1800 per day. I took my friend Magena's advice and waited until today because of my housewarming party and Easter. Between the alcohol, chocolate and junk food, I'm pretty sure the calorie count was astronomical. I love holidays because they give me an excuse to drink mimosas and irish coffees. Oh wait...I consider that appropriate for every weekend day.

Anyhow, today I'd like to share some of the websites I'm addicted to these days. How on earth did I ever live before the internet. Well, really I was only in high school before the internet really started taking hold so maybe I hadn't lived much. But still.

Pandora
You can create your own customized music station. It allows you to choose the artists you like and then it plays music from those artists AND it picks other songs you might like. I enjoy a wide variety of music from classic rock to alternative to even the occasional country song, and of course there is no radio station that plays all of this music. But on Pandora it's possible. And it's free. And I can even get it on my Blackberry...for free! This is seriously one of the coolest inventions ever!

Spark People
This may possibly be the best weight loss tool ever...and again it's free. Do you sense a theme here? It tracks goals. You can find calorie counts and keep a food diary. It has message boards for support. It has articles and reference information. Sooooo cool.

Facebook
Hi my name is Jennifer, and I've become a facebook addict. I had always used myspace, but now I'm ready to dump my myspace account because facebook is so much cooler. I've reconnected with so many people I used to know, some of which I'm glad to see again and some of which I was less thrilled. Even my family members have facebook accounts! However being the socially lazy person that I am, it is an easy way to stay in touch with people with minimal effort. It just better stay free or I'm outta there.

Google Reader
My blog reading is about 10 times more efficient thanks to this website.

Ravelry
The best knitting website ever. You can find patterns, meet people, see what project people have worked on and track everything possible related to your own knitting projects. I haven't spent as much time on this site lately, but once we're finished with the endless unpacking I hope to have more time to spend knitting.

By the way this was my 300th post after about two years of blogging. Crazy!

Putting it out There

I am going to lose weight.

It makes me nervous to put it out there, but there it is.

I am the sort of person who believes strongly in following through on what they say they are going to do. I have been trying to improve my eating habits for a long time now, but it seems that I back track very quickly. Usually I wake up in the morning committed to eating healthier and then give up by noon. Back in 2001 I lost 50 pounds so I know that I CAN do it. It is just a matter of getting started and building some momentum. And my theory is that if I put my goal out there, publicly I will be more committed to my effort.

I've always been a fat girl. Even when I lost weight I was still chubby or at least felt that way. When I lost weight in 2001, I was able to maintain it for a few years even. But then I started grad school and gain 20 pounds. And then I tried to get pregnant but couldn't and gained 20 pounds. Then I got pregnant and while I am near to my pre-pregnancy weight that is still nowhere near my ultimate goal.

I would like to lose weight to feel healthier. To set a good example for my daughter. To feel good about my body. To have more energy. I believe in losing weight at a healthy pace, and I've read enough to know all the things that I SHOULD do. It is just a matter of doing them. I do not have a specific weight loss goal at this point as this is not really about reaching a particular number. It is more about how I feel.

I'm starting in small steps because it is too much to make all the needed habit changes at once. That is what I always try to do and a big part of why I give up mid-day. Instead I am going to start by keeping a food journal and limiting myself to 1800 calories per day. I will probably lower that a little bit down the road but 1800 is a good place to start. As I get momentum I will try to add in exercise which is my biggest demon.

I know that I might backslide. But I've told you all I'm going to do this so I will. And I know I can.

So yeah you might have to hear about this from time to time. But I know I'm not the only fat girl on the planet so maybe some of you can relate.

Some More Pictures

I finally got the last couple weeks of pictures loaded on my computer...

6 Months...Seriously?

Can somebody tell me how the hell this happened? Wasn't I just in labor? Didn't I just get home from the hospital? Wasn't I just freaking out about the overwhelming new responsibilities of parenthood?

When did we go from this:


To this?

Jillian is sooooo much fun these days. Although she possesses the capability of going from happy go-lucky to completely pissed off in an instant, she is generally a very happy baby. She is so fun and giggly and playful and cuddly. She loves blowing raspberries and playing (especially with her dad). If I could freeze time I most certainly would.

She had her appointment today, and I was surprised by how little she had grown. She was previously in the 75-80th percentile for height and weight but was down to the 50th. Dr. M did not seem concerned and said she was probably just now finding her true growth curve. Her head remains enormous however. At 18.25" it exceeds the 100th percentile. It is a joy to find onesies that fit as everything that fits her body is rather tight on the head making for fun times when getting her dressed.

We've been crazy busy this past week. We were out of town with family over the weekend and beginning Monday the contractor began excavating for the foundation of the addition. It seems like there is always something new going on lately, which is a lot of fun (if tiring at times). As a bonus the weather has been absolutely gorgeous, which is something we probably won't see again until July. It has been refreshing as this has been one of the coldest and wettest winters I remember in Seattle (and it is always rather cold and rainy here so that is saying something!).

Anyhow I smell a poopy diaper so I'd better run. My nostrils can't hold out any longer.

Rich for a Day

The wire transfer of funds from the sale of our house hit the bank account this morning, and we were rich for a day. Well a day might be an exaggeration because Jeramy began transferring funds to the appropriate places before I even knew the money had arrived. So we were rich for like an hour or so.

The big project on the horizon is an addition to the new house. Right now we have three bedrooms, but one of those rooms is in the basement where I would rather not put a child. For one it is cold down there and far away from my watchful eye (that's right teenaged Jillian...I already don't trust you). But also it has a door out to the one car garage and an extremely small outside window. It makes a great office, but it's a poor excuse for a bedroom if you ask me. And while it is fine to have two bedrooms right now, I would like to have one more kid someday. Sooooo we are adding on a new and bigger master bedroom! It will hook into the existing bathroom and walk-in closet making for a pretty straight forward addition. We have hired a contractor to do the foundation, framing, roofing and siding, but we will finish up the interior to save money since Jeramy is a pretty handy guy.

It is so nice to have Jeramy at home right now to work on this and the many other home improvement projects we have going. He is seriously the busiest unemployed guy I know. And sadly, I know a lot of them these days.