It's A New Feature, Darling

Today is our 8th wedding anniversary.
Andy STILL can't decide what he wants for dinner. I told him blatantly, "I just want a frickin' cheeseburger! McDonalds, Five Guys, In N Out... take your pick." He laughed. So now I'm hunting down a restaurant that meets his specs (sit down, relax, people bring food to you), where they serve a cheeseburger I can actually eat. I thought Outback would be a good option. Whenever I ate there, I always got veggies instead of fries & stuff. I thought of their bloomin onion burger. MMMM! Divine. Yeah, no. 2000+ sodium!
Ugh.
I feel like I choke & gag with sticker shock when I look at the nutritional value on some of the stuff I used to eat.
Mimi's Cafe has a 1/2 lb cheeseburger for less than 1000 sodium. Might be an option
Andy implied, "It's a special occasion, dear..." I told him I refuse to put on 3 lbs because of a 2000 sodium cheeseburger. I refuse to put weight back on EVER. *Mimics Edna Mole from The Incredibles* You must fight... WIN!
It's a new feature, darling ;)

It's Peanut Butter... VEGGIE Time?!

So I just polished off a tall, steaming mug of Godiva dark hot chocolate, complete with homemade sugar-free whip cream, slightly less stiff than butter. MMMMM!
It was awesome.
Now... can anyone explain why I'm craving VEGGIES like nobody's business? I just want some stir fry now. Gaaaah! How long until dinner tomorrow? 20 HOURS? What do you mean 20 HOURS?!!
It's amazing how my body is changing internally (as well as externally) on this journey. Instead of cheeseburgers, I crave stir fry. Want to hear something really sad? I'm an absolute HOUND for egg nog. Well, I used to be. I was getting shivers of delight and ecstasy just thinking about it last week. I decided to splurge and get some, and vowed that a quart would last me through Christmas, because of it's high calories. I couldn't wait to sink into the orgasmic creaminess of it. I popped off the top, hoisted the jug to my lips, aaaand... Wait a second. I don't remember egg nog tasting like THIS!
Suddenly, egg nog is found lacking. WHAT THE FUDGE?!
*Sobs*
Anyone want a quart of egg nog?
No?
*Sigh*
FIIIIIINE!

On a bright note, we've done a LOT better about not eating out all the time.
1) Nothing really appeals to me.
2) If I have a craving, I find a healthier way to make it.

Just the other night we had pizza. I made an amazing, supreme style pizza. It was like 6 inches tall from all the toppings. Now, normally, 1-2 pieces of Za from your favorite chain would normally run 600-800 calories, right? The pizza I made... Less than 700 calories in HALF the pie! HALF!!!
It was a large pizza, too! I only used 1 cup of cheese for the whole pizza, and piled my side high with bell peppers, mushrooms, olives, red onion, pineapple... I don't even like olives or mushrooms! Andy made a 2nd pizza, and I started munching on that too, but restrained myself. Eat your heart out, Pizza The Hutt!

More good news: Thanks to diet and exercise, my blood sugar keeps dropping. Coincidentally, so does the amount of insulin I give myself in a day. Within the last month, I've dropped down by HALF. Clarene is going to be so psyched when she sees me in February. Hopefully I can keep up the weight loss. I'm down to 235 now. I wonder if I can get down to 230 by Christmas?

Maybe if I stop drinking hot chocolate.

MAYBE.

"BLEAH" and "BLECH!"

So I had just finished my Biggest Loser Yoga workout with Bob when I heard "BLEAH!" across the baby monitor. I had a sinking sensation what it was. I went into check on Grace, because I heard the ominous "BLEAH!" again, and sure enough... regurgitated dinner EVERYWHERE. Joy.
So hubby & I got her hosed off, hosed off her bedding, and put her in clean clothes. I told her Mommy & her would put a movie on and have a nice 'nuggle. I take her to the living room and lean over with her to let her pick out a movie and... "BLEAH!" all over the carpet.
I called Andy to come running so I could clean up. She had gotten it on her clean pajamas, so I grabbed another clean set. Finally we cuddled up on the couch, and I put "Up" on, because she hasn't seen it yet. I'm relishing this quiet time, snuggling close to the love of my life, when she sits up, crawls to the other side of me, and... "BLEAH!"
She hasn't thrown up since, and just asked for some water, which I obliged.

And yes, in case you're wondering, even after all of that hullabaloo, being a mom is STILL the best job in the world!

Don't Laugh

Okay, so try not to laugh here. Last night, since I was so excited about losing that extra pound, I decided to try and figure out what I would look like at my goal weight. So I found this site that you can make a virtual model. I plugged in my vitals, and... I'M HOT! I can't wait, it just motivates me that much more.
Try not to laugh, but this is what I want to look like next summer:

My Virtual Model Community - DrBorkBork looks - Stylin

Okay, that... but less CGI-ish. I hear you giggling there. Shush.

16 Tons and Whaddya Get...

So I have been really frustrated with the scale this last week. I felt like I was eating right, I was exercising for an hour 6 days a week, and drinking water. Then I thought maybe I wasn't getting enough water. I was getting 60 oz a day, but maybe my body wanted more. I got about 75 in the other day, and the scale dropped a few ounces. Hmmm...
So I downed 100 oz of water yesterday and VOILA! I am down to 240 from 248! BOO-YAH! I guess my body wants an unreasonable amount of water before it gives up the weight I work so hard to lose. Silly body. I will try to get lots of water every day so my silly, unreasonable body is happy.
Seriously, I could smack it for being so ridiculous.

Here's to culling another 12 lbs by Christmas...

1,000 Calories And Counting

So I was planning out my meals for the week on My Fitness Pal, and can't figure out what I want for lunch on Wednesday. After I do my workout (which burns 300-400 calories), I will have 1,000 calories to consume. What would you do if you could eat 1,000 calories of food? Would you go for that super greasy cheeseburger, mega sized fries, and ultra indulgent shake, or would you eat as you normally do?
That is my dilemma.
I thought about getting a P'Zone from Pizza Hut, which I LOVE. Then I kinda went "Meh". I thought of a Quarter Pounder with Cheese at McDonalds... "Meh." I thought of all of my old favorite foods. All of them, at this point, are "Meh". Do you see what's happening here? After eating healthy for just a few weeks, I no longer crave crap.

This is great news in two parts.
1) Healthier eating
2) Healthier pocketbook

Face it... if you're not eating crap, you're not wasting money. And for anyone who thinks it's too expensive to eat fresh, you need to seriously reconsider. The following recipe costs less than $20 to make, will feed a family of 4, and is just as good as a restaurant entree:

Trish's Mind-blowing Mojito Lime Chicken Wraps
(You can purchase all of the following at Walmart)

1 package flatout flatbread (grab 2 for yourself)
1 packet Wholly Guacamole 100 cal snack packs (for every 2 wraps)
1 container pico de gallo (use 1/2 for every two wraps)
1 package shredded lettuce (put as much as you want on yours)
1 lb chicken breast (1/4 lb per wrap)
1 red bell pepper (1/4 pepper per wrap)
1 packet McCormick Grill Mates mojito lime season/marinade

Prepare mojito lime marinade as directed. Cut slits in chicken breast (to absorb dressing) and allow it to marinate for as long as possible (the longer, the better, but 30 mins will do ya if that's all the time you have). Grill the breast & chop it up. Julienne the bell pepper. Spread the guacamole across the 2 flatbreads (don't worry, the serving is quite generous). Pile on pico de gallo, lettuce, bell pepper, and chicken breast. Roll your wraps up to make 2 wraps. Consume and be amazed at how fast you fill up!

One wrap is only 290 calories... I was full after the first one.

Holy Weight Loss, Batman!

So, on October 18, I decided to get a hold of my life and start losing weight. My goal is to get down to 150 lbs by my 28th birthday in September. I started at 248 lbs, my heaviest and most embarrassing weight ever. The first week I went walking every day, 1 mile. I dropped 2.5 lbs that week. It was really exciting. Since then, between illness and bad weather, I haven't been able to. I even had a really terrible weekend calorie-wise and was afraid I'd put my weight back on. I had dropped about 3 lbs at that point, and was stuck at 244. I bought a Wii, hoping it would help me keep exercising over the winter. It came with Wii Sports, and I had ordered some other fitness games. The Wii showed up on my doorstep Saturday night, and I started playing it Sunday. I love the baseball and boxing because I can swing as hard as I want. They work up a good little sweat too. The other games arrived last night and I'm looking forward to trying them today.
Anyway, I was saying I was stuck at 244, right? Well I weighed myself this morning and I'm down to 241. HOLY WEIGHT LOSS, BATMAN! Was I retaining 3 lbs of water & peed it out or something?! I'm just floored. Who the heck drops 3 lbs overnight?
My goal is to drop a total of 20 lbs by Christmas. Let's hope that little Wii kicks my butt into shape. It's a lot of fun. Every day I feel like I want to do more, exercise wise. I've even started craving veggies instead of taco bell. Feeling adventurous? Try the 6" veggie delight at Subway on wheat, no cheese, all the veggies, and sweet onion sauce. Mmm, mmm, good! It's less than 300 calories, too, and I'm pretty sure 200 of them are in the bread. If you're looking for a splurge, Taco Bell can serve any of their items fresco style, which can cut up to 100 calories.
Anyway, just wanted to report some good news.

Mean Mom

Today I am further convinced that I'm a really mean mom. Grace recently started throwing tantrums. New parents may try to console their child during these first few moments of chaos. "Shh! You're embarrassing mommy. Here, have a sucker, a toy, anything you want, just stop that ruckus!"
Yeah... Grace has taken to repeatedly banging her head on things in addition to screaming like a banshee. And you know what I do? I sit there and LAUGH. That's what makes me a mean mom. My kid throws a tantrum and I laugh.

Get a Grip!

So after deciding that I have been emotionally miserable and really unhappy with my self image, which is starting to sneak into my marriage in a big bad way, I finally got a grip. On Sunday I joined myfitnesspal.com. My favorite tool on there is a calorie tracker. When you sign in, you plug in your vitals, and how much you want to lose. It then gives you a suggested daily calorie intake & exercise plan. Every day you log in what you eat, and try to come in under your calorie limit. So far I've lost a pound, and walked a mile a day. I've already noticed a physical difference. I'm tired, but don't feel like I need a nap. Before, I was taking a 3 hour nap when I put Grace down simply because I was exhausted by noon... from sitting on my fat behind.
I've officially gone cold turkey on pop, and can't remember the last time I had one. They have been in the fridge, and it's hard to resist, but I haven't touched them (except to rescue them from the clutches of Grace when she grabs one and runs off). I'm not letting Andy buy any more either, and trying to encourage him to sign up on My Fitness Pal. I could use a buddy, and he could use losing his pot belly, cute as it is.

So today I saw Clarene for a 3 month checkup. My hA1c was over 10. Grrr! It was 9 last time. I guess all that ravenous, obsessive Taco Bell binging didn't exactly help me out. When I go back for my next checkup in February, I am determined to be at a 7 and 20 lbs skinnier. One thing I'm nervous about is my exercise regime once it gets too cold to go walking outside. I have been on and off the bandwagon for a Wii and Wii Fit, but I don't really want to go to a gym because I would have no idea what I'm doing. I think tonight at Primary Presidency Meeting, before we get started, I'll ask the ladies about gym classes as they are both marathon runners. Our fearless president even does triathlons. She's also taught gym classes. Good place to start, right? Ask questions, get answers! Gee, what a concept.

Pride

I often find myself swelling with pride and grinning when Grace does something unique. The fact that she loves to dance, and has impeccable taste in music to boot, is one of her beautiful talents. Some of the more spirited songs, she gets really into and doesn't just dance-- she ROCKS OUT! We're talking hip bobbing, booty shakin', head slamming rocking on. It's the funniest thing to watch.
But what especially dazzles me is when she uses sign language to ask for things. She will run up to us & sign milk, or eat. It is times like these that make me extra proud. She seems so incredibly intelligent, and I often find myself just overcome with emotion because I feel like I was never that smart. Here is this amazing, intelligent little being in my life, and she's so flipping SMART! I wish I could express and relay what I mean, but I don't know that I can. A smart person came out of a person who does not believe in herself as being smart.
That is all.

NEWS FLASH!

Okay, I know I just posted a few minutes ago, but I wanted to post a news flash.

Grace went #2 in the big potty!

Now before you bow down to my Ninja Momness, I want to give you the facts:
I noticed Grace squatting & grunting, scooped her up, and sat her on her on the toilet before she could squeeze it out. I sang "Grace is going poopy! Poopy in the potty!"
And then, PLOP!

I'm hoping for more opportunities to sit her on the pot and do this. We bought her pull ups the other day, and a little adapter seat for the big toilet as neither of us wanted to clean a nasty little potty every day. My plan was to put the pull ups on her in the morning, and sit her on the toilet a couple times every hour all day until nap time & bed time. I started this morning, but had failed by the first potty break. Will attempt going #1 in the potty again tomorrow.

Tantrums & Dum dums & Unicorns... Oh, my!

So today I took my brother in law, Aaron, to a doctor appointment. Everywhere there were signs of "Please remain quiet. Healing in session" or something to that effect. Yeah, Grace was quiet... so long as I let her do what she wanted to. Which wasn't exactly what I wanted to do. She wanted to wander & run around & crash into every open physician's office she could find. If I picked her up, or tried to point her in another direction, bounteous screaming erupted. She did a really good job of reminding me how big her lungs are, and where they came from. Yup, she inherited my lungs. My big, fat, projecting to the back of the theater, getting your attention across Main St Disneyland lungs. Needless to say, I was pretty red... and not from the fever I've had all weekend. It was really embarrassing toward the end. I'm pretty sure EVERYONE in the facility heard her. On our way out, one of the secretaries approached me & asked about the crying. I told her Grace was angry I wouldn't let her do what she wanted to. "Ohh, sweet baby, is we spoiled?" the secretary cooed at Grace, asked if she could have a treat, and I obliged. She took her into one of the offices and gave Grace her very first sucker. I don't think Grace had ever been happier... and I don't think I've seen so much drool and slobber. It rivaled the dribble of a St. Bernard... the resulting stickiness was equal to the enormous slobber capacity. The sugar induced, glazed over expression on Grace's face when we were in the car was of some consolation.
Why does no one warn us young, first time parents of this tiny little thing called a TANTRUM? I've been around kids when they've had tantrums in the middle of crowded stores, it was no big deal. It wasn't my kid. It didn't matter. Nobody tells you it's 100x worse when it's your own. How could I have been so naive? Of course it's worse when it's your own! Everything's different when it's your own. Changing some random kid's diaper? Gross. Changing your own kid's diaper-- no sweat, no second thoughts.
However, the Secretary taught me a valuable lesson:
CARRY DUM DUMS!
I think it did the trick since we are weaning Grace off her binky. Well, she had been semi-weaned for a while. She only got it when she slept or if she was having a major meltdown. Now we've gone cold turkey. It is equally NOT FUN for both parties involved. I realize now that it was a crutch for me. It's going to take some strength and perseverance to get through this.

On a bright and comical note, Grace's Halloween costume arrived yesterday. It's a Pegasus unicorn get up. She looks ridiculously cute in it. It's so funny. I used to be the mean lady whose door you did not knock on when it came to Halloween. I hated it, loathed it, despised it; yelled at kids that I hoped they enjoyed freezing their butts off. Of course, having my mom force me to stop trick or treating when I was only 10 and subsequently do candy duty thereafter, had absolutely nothing to do with it... at all... yeah. I wasn't bitter. Nope, not me. Then Grace came along. My little living, breathing dolly. For being such a tomboy all my life, I sure did like to dress Grace up! So now it's fun, of course. I can dress Grace up in a ridiculous costume, and take her around to our neighbors where she will look up at them with her big, Caribbean blue eyes, offer up her little candy tote, and say "Tooka tooka!" Of course all neighbors will swoon, "Awww!" and perhaps, just perhaps, give double candy! Yes, it is the perfect equation for world domination.

On the Grace milestone front, and in case you've lost track, she is now 15 months old. She had her checkup just this past Friday and weighed in at 22 pounds, 30 inches. She got 4 shots, and even made Mommy & Daddy (who was working from home that day), be brave enough to get their flu shots.
Grace has picked up new words: Bah (for ball, her favorite toy-- she carries them everywhere when she finds them), and Tooka. We have no idea what tooka means, but she says it alot! When she gets excited, a whole stream of them come out. "Tooka, tooka, tooka, tooka!" We are trying to get her to say Trick or Treat, but we will be just as happy if she says "Tooka tooka!"
She did not hear the phrase Trick or Treat before she started saying tooka.
She also knows at least 7 ASL signs, much to my mother's chagrin. She is very concerned that Grace just babbles, and isn't using real words yet. Honestly, I'm in no rush for Grace to reel off sentences. The sooner she can talk, the sooner she can give us lip. For what it's worth, her pediatrician said that knowing 7 signs in addition to the 4 she actually says (Mama, Dada, Nana, Ball), is phenomenal. The signs we've taught her are eat, milk, cheese, more, juice, all gone, and please. She picks them up pretty quick. I'm also working on apple, cracker, water, Mama, and Dada.
Also she seems to really enjoy the Your Baby Can Read DVDs we got her earlier this year. I don't know if she can actually read anything yet, but it's given us helpful prompts like "arms up" (very useful for changing clothes).
Anyway, time to tie this post up. Ciao!

What Dreams May Come

For a number of years now it has been my growing desire to go with my husband & our children (child at this point) to Florida for a family vacation. Okay, that's not entirely true.
My ULTIMATE dream vacation would be to take a week-long Western Caribbean cruise out of Florida, return to port, then hit Florida really hard. Mainly Disney World and all its entailing phenomenal wonders. I'm pretty sure, even at this young age, Grace would love some of the rides and especially the Wild Animal Kingdom. She'd probably eat up Sea World, too. I also just found out that Disney has a "secret" child exchange pass. Basically you get to the front of the line, tell the attendant you want to do the kid exchange, then one parent waits with kid while other parent rides, and then either they switch places at the end of the ride or you can choose to get a pass to return later. That is really cool to me. I admit I'm selfish & I don't think I'd be entirely content to skip my favorite thrill rides-- Tower of Terror, for one (which, consequently gives me nightmares, but I love it no less LOL). To my understanding, she can go on most of the rides as long as she has an adult with her... just not the super cool ones... like Tower of Terror... or Space Mountain...
Unfortunately, my dream vacation is also the same price as a down payment on a new house, or 10% of our current debt. This makes me sad.
I guess that's why they call it a DREAM.

Cold Turkey

So I've finally decided to climb back on the horse. I started seeing a chiropractor who also practices internal medicine. He has worked the kinks out of my back as much as he can, and he says the hurdle that is my lower back is directly related to my digestion. So, at his direction, I've gone cold turkey on milk, soda, and am trying to eat more roughage. You know, I never really liked salad, but we got some baby romaine at the store the other night and I suddenly had this awakening, like: "Oh my gosh, where have you been all my life?!"
Suddenly, salad tastes GOOD. Maybe I just had a crunchy lettuce problem, cuz I normally hate lettuce, but that baby romaine... WOW. I must also admit that I've had a real problem with Taco Bell lately. I have been craving it nonstop. Mainly the baja chalupas, accompanied by only an entire bag full of fire sauce. Everyone suspects I am pregnant because of this unexplainable, ravenous craving. I highly doubt that I am though. I JUST WANT SOME FREAKIN' TACO BELL, OKAY?!
I've been trying to cut back on other dairy items as well. My weakness is ice cream. I could eat ice cream on the coldest day in January and be happy as a lark. I have a Taco Bell & ice cream problem. The fact that I haven't had ice cream in a week or so is making me edgy. Hubby has promised me some for my upcoming birthday though :)
The Taco Bell problem is not helping my weight problem. To my shame, I am the heaviest I have ever been in my entire life right now. I would probably qualify for The Biggest Loser. The sheer awesomeness that is The Biggest Loser T.V. show started last night, and it always inspires me to try to get out and improve my life. I am going to try to start walking daily again... and I finally found my left shoe which had been missing for a week. Actually, Andy found it. Apparently Grace hid it at the bottom of the laundry basket. Way to go Queen Fu!
Well, taquitos are done, and hot sauce is calling, possibly with some salad... Ooh, yeah, salad. That'll do me.

Yeah...

You know those thank you cards I told you about? I finally mailed them today. Yeah.

Grace has been on one lately. I always looked at the other moms funny when they said the patch between 1 year and 18 mos was the hardest... now I know why.

Tomorrow I get to have a speculum shoved up my behind.

Ah the joys of being a woman!

Thank You!

I finally got the THREE, count 'em, THREE thank you cards written out today. Not that a MONTH has passed or anything like that since Miss Grace's birthday.
I feel incredibly guilty.
My uncle is having some heart trouble, so Grace was sure to write to him too:
P.S. Here's a band-aid for Uncle Teddy's heart, since Nana said it was broken

When Grace gets up I am going to run to Walmart to buy some Sponge Bob or completely fru-fru girly bandaids to send, lol. I need envelopes anyway since I can't find the ones that came with the greeting cards from the photographer for Grace's birthday photos. Oh and a cheeseburger doesn't sound entirely terrible either ;)

It Has Begun

So just now I heard Grace over the monitor. The Queen of the Universe had awoken from her beauty nap. I go in to find a horrific sight...

NAKED BABY!!! AHHHH!

I have dreaded this day for a long time. It is the stuff of legends and nightmares. The day your child figures out how to remove their own diaper. Yes, my friends, today was that day.

It has begun. NOOOOOOOOOO!!!

Up to Speed

Let me bring you up to speed. I know nothing. You are now up to speed.

Grace turned 1 on July 9. It's been an amazing year filled with growth, learning, and more love than I ever knew could exist. Grace has grown from a tiny ball of fuzz to a tottering, babbling goofball. She has at least 8 teeth now, with some more coming in. Often, I find myself thinking she is older upstairs than she appears on the outside. I find her doing the most curious things, like sitting with a book and acting as if she's reading it.
One day I turned around and she was laying on the floor, spread eagle, just staring at the ceiling.

This month alone was filled with milestones, from starting to walk, to first pony rides, and fireworks. She also got her first kiddie pool

Her birthday was especially fun. Nobody really goes into detail about that first birthday cake. Wow!

She slept in really late this morning, which was nice. I guess tylenol has magical, potent, sleeping powers. Now she is waddling around, playing with her toys. In the little nightie we bought her, she reminds of E.T. with his beer can, in a similar nightie, bumping into things.


Happy birthday, Queen of my Universe!

I Get Around

It's official. Grace is mobile. She's been crawling for a couple of weeks now, and getting faster every day. She's starting to pull up a little too, but has yet to get past pulling to her knees. She is playing with the shoes by the front door right now, which have been dumped off the shoe rack so that the shoe rack can become a convenient, makeshift baby gate to block the kitchen and rest of the house.
Now she's disappeared to the bedroom where I need to go through and declutter anyway...
We're getting ready to move.
Yup.
You read correctly. We are getting our house ready to go on the market, and have been putting offers in on houses we like, closer to SLC. Unfortunately, as twitterpated as Andy tends to get over houses, I've yet to have that magical feeling of "This is the one!"
Regardless, I've already gotten one of my friends to generously loan me a small corner of her basement for my model horse collection, cuz it's not weird at all to walk into a house loaded with plastic ponies, heh.
Okay, Grace has officially disappeared into the dark and mysterious bedroom, and I can't hear her anymore. Guess it's time to see what she's in to.
You know there's something up when it gets REALLY quiet, lol.
Oh, I did start kenalog injections last Friday, which made my ear look REALLY purple and angry.
Anyway, hope you enjoyed the quick, brief update.

Grace and the Pearls of Tyranny

It's happened. Grace has come face to face with the Pearls of Tyranny... aka TEETH.
Andy was the first to notice them when he was giving her some medication for her RSV on Sunday. He called me over & I felt her gums. HOLY COW SHE ATE RAZORS! Andy & my friend Jazz say they can both see them coming in, but all I see is her sore little gums. I picked up some chamomilla, for teething and irritibility, and she did really well on it yesterday till Andy got home. Then she turned into a little beast.
She also started sitting up all by herself, unsupported, in the last two weeks, and she's getting really close to crawling. Heaven knows she seems to zip around the living room when we're not looking. She is phenomenally good at rolling. She sort of reminds me of Disney's Stitch when Lilo first brings him home.


I got the bandage taken off my ear last Friday & it looks GREAT! The doctor also said I can sleep on my left side as long as I wear a headband. The camo set I bought is very comfortable, so we're all set there.
I should really clean the livingroom, but erm.. Aunt Flo decided to visit for the first time since Christmas & she is being a bear, and yet it's such a nice day outside. I should probably just take some drugs, do what housework I need & whisk my daughter off to the park before she eats the James Bond movie she's got in her hands right now.
I admit Daniel Craig is yummy, but I doubt Andy would be happy to find our movie has become Grace's latest teething toy.

P.S. Happy St. Patrick's day! Maybe I should steal a little cash from hubby's account to buy us a decent Irish dinner & teach our girl all about her heritage... or at least give her some bangers & champ for supper :)

Post-Op Update

Just wanted to let you know that my surgery went well. I even got to see my friend Kathy before surgery. She was attending to a back surgery, but at least I got to see her. They called me back shortly after I posted yesterday morning. My anesthesiologist was hilarious, and so was the nurse that got the IV in my arm.
Surprisingly, I'm not in nearly as much pain as I thought I would be. My ear stings from time to time, but so far it hasn't been anything more painful than the keloid constantly was. We'll see how I feel after all the drugs wear off. I've only had to take 1 lortab so far, and will probably take another one before bed just to be on the safe side. No one wants to wake up screaming in sudden pain.
The doctor put a clamp over my ear. It's kinda like a porous, melted candle. I get to have it taken off next Friday. In the meanwhile, I can't sleep on my left side, and have to be exceptionally careful around the clamp. The doctor said it could pop off if I wasn't careful, and keeping pressure on the wound is the key to keep Cleatus from coming back.


Anyway, I want to express my thanks to my friends who have shown love and support. Hubby has been very supportive and taking good care of Grace, and so have friends Sam & Jazz. I'm so lucky to have them in my life.
Also, for whatever reason, Grace keeps laughing at me.

Bon Voyage, Cleatus!

Good morning! It's 7 in the morning & I'm sitting at the hospital on a shared computer. I'm having my keloid removed today. They told me to be here at 6:30, but we got here earlier than that, so I don't know when they'll call me back. Already I've had my finger stuck, peed in a cup, and been identified that I am, indeed, myself... as opposed to later when I may not be myself, but a more goofy version of myself thanks to copious amounts of anesthetics and other drugs. Whee!
Grace is safely asleep at home with one of my best friends, Jazz. I didn't want to disturb her schedule. She doesn't really need to be here anyway. There's not a whole lot to do. She has been sick lately, anyway, with a mild case/form of RSV. I think she's getting better. We're doing everything we can. She has remained chipper the whole time. It's suprising how many kids are here at the hospital for surgery. There was a very tiny 2 month old going in for hernia surgery, and several other kids for other procedures. It makes me grateful that Grace hasn't been in a similar situation.
Andy is sitting closeby working on the company laptop so he doesn't lose hours. At least he's here. Gotta afford the enormous surgery bill somehow, right?
So I'm just sitting here waiting. I had my hair cut super short yesterday so it stays out of the way during the procedure, and recovery. I'm looking forward to saying "Bon Voyage, Cleatus! And please don't come back"
And can I just say that I'm getting hungry? I don't like how they make you fast. I haven't had anything to drink since 11 last night, and no food either. Can I just tell you how hard it is to be a diabetic & not be allowed to drink anything? I mean I'm part camel, y'know! The thirsty part.
So I can't say anything else really. I went to bed at 1a and got up at 5a, so I'm ready for a hardcore anesthesia-induced nap.
Off to spend a few minutes with hubby.
Hope you have a great day! Can't wait to be sober again & put up some post-op pictures.

FAREWELL, CLEATUS, BANE OF MY SELF ESTEEM!

Cleatus & The Slacker

So I've been lame about doing updates, cuz I felt there wasn't a whole lot to update about.
Grace turned 6 months old on Jan 9... my mom's birthday, which I completely forgot to call her for *bangs head on desk*. I'm sure I would've realized by evening what day it was. I mean, REALLY! She's my MOM for cryin' aloud.
Grace seemed to enjoy her first Christmas, and likes the baby grand daddy bought her. We are still trying to teach her to smack the keys instead of grabbing them.



Mom came & visited us for Christmas, and tried to take Grace home with her via stowaway carry-on:



At Grace's 6 month checkup, the pediatrician cleared her for baby food! We have been having a lot of fun with it. I call her my lump of clay cuz I can feed her just about anything & she doesn't care. The only things she doesn't seem to like are the meat & broth baby foods and carrots. Carrots are the only thing she makes a face at. It's not the scrunched up yucky food baby face, but she kind of looks at me with disdain "Ugh... do I HAVE to eat this, Mom?"

She also successfully rolled from her back to her tummy last Thursday. I was very happy. She figured out tummy to back in December, so the circle is complete. She also does what my husband calls a "happy dance". It's very funny and cute. I will be sure to post a video of it at the end of this post. She was also blowing raspberries pretty consistently for a while, but she seems to have stopped for now. Those were pretty funny too.

As a final note, I went to see an ear/keloid specialist yesterday to have a very ugly mass of tissue removed from the top of my left ear. I call the keloid "Cleatus", cuz it's the ugliest name I can think of (Sorry to those of you reading this blog who are named Cleatus). I saw the doctor last year for it, but the treatment he suggested was going to be too dangerous for Grace who I was pregnant with at the time. The keloid has continued it's uncontrollable growth, and I was thrilled to hear Dr. Riddle tell me "It's got to come off, hon". I was so squirrely all of yesterday evening. They are going to call me this morning to set up the surgery. Man, I can't tell you how excited I am. I've never been this stoked to go under the knife before! LOL.
Consequently, would anyone like to take care of me and the baby that day? Hubby's can't really take any more time off, and I'll be really fun hopped up on all those pain killers. I hope I get demerol again, that stuff is great! Last time I had it, I asked my hubby the same question like 12 times throughout the day. I will most likely be getting my hair cut super short again for the surgery, to help avoid getting shaved.