Summer 2015 Bucket list

Last summer, my big achievement was to shower most days and keep a tiny human alive. While it wasn't the most exciting of summers, I was successful in both things. Now that tiny human is a bigger tiny human, and I am lucky enough to spend my days at home with her (until August 24 anyway.) Here is my 2015 Summer Bucket list. Some of these things are for just me, some are for me and the tiny human, and others are for the whole family.

Other Stuff and Things here!
What's on your bucket list?

Summer 2013 Bucket list

Stop trying to make fetch happen

For the last month or so whenever I have commented on a blog, I immediately get a failure to deliver notification. I would go back and check the blog I posted on, and my comment was published so I went on my merry way. I did notice wasn't getting replies to my comments. I totally get that people are busy, but most of these were to my regular bloggy friends that usually send a quick response back within a day or two. Last night I finally reached out to one of those ladies (Hi Erika!) with (what I hope didn't sound like a pathetic "why aren't you talking to me?")  my big question: are you getting my comments? After she looked around, she could indeed see my comments, but was never notified of them. After I did some Googling myself, I did the one thing I thought might work.

I connected my blog to Google+.

I went back to Erika's blog and commented on a post, and hurray! She got a notification! She replied back and it went to a gmail account that I really don't use. But whatever. My android phone told me I got an email. And now I am back to being connected with the blog world. (now if only I can get back to regular posting!)

So anyway, if this is happening to you, connect your blog to Google+. And Google, stop trying to make Google+ happen.

Blogging For Books: The Portlandia Cookbook

I got my second Blogging For Books book! I saw Angi review this book, and it was the one that made me go ahead and sign up for this awesome program. When I saw it was available I jumped at the chance to get this book!

I will be completely honest, I have only seen a couple episodes of Portlandia, but each one makes me laugh because it really is what it is like there. ( I mean, people in Portland have tattoos of the airport carpet. That in itself should be an episode.) When the book arrived at my door, I was super excited to rip it open!

The book itself is gorgeous. I love cookbooks with great pictures, and this one doesn't disappoint. It also has humorous stories and snippets throughout the book, all based on characters from the show. The book is divided into the normal recipe sections (including drinks and small plates!) and the recipes do look delicious. However, this is not a cookbook you can just use on a random night when you are looking for dinner. Or at least, not one I could just use. While the recipes didn't look hard, most required ingredients that I (and many people I know) just don't keep on hand. One recipe I tried was Claire's Co-Workers Sichuan Chicken Wings. The wings turned out fantastic (especially since they are oven baked not deep fried) and the duck like sauce had a nice sweet and salty thing going on.

This is a cookbook I would recommend for anyone who loves Portlandia or pictures of food :)

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review, but all opinions are my own.

Stuff and things I hate... and a funny classroom story :)

Things that I hate...

cutting into avocados.  Craig and I usually eat somewhere between 3-5 avocados a week. And every time I cut into one I am scared to death that it is going to be brown and gross inside.

doing my hair. I really dislike my hair. I know that we all want what we don't have, but I really wish I had straight boring hair. That way if I just dried it, it would be straight and "done." My hair, is wavy and not in a cute beachy way. Mostly in a frizzy out of control way. It probably doesn't help that I haven't had a hair cut that I love in a few years.

this artwork. It is in a fancy frame above my fireplace right now. Craig got it from his brother for Christmas. I'm trying to figure out when I can take it down. 

washing bottles. I have been pretty lucky  that nursing came pretty easy for Grace and I. But now that I am back to work, she has been drinking bottles of pumped milk while at day care. While I hate pumping at work, I think I hate washing her bottles more. No, pumping is worse. Or washing the pump parts. That also sucks. 

And now that I have complained... here is a story that is still making me chuckle. I was teaching about cylerbullying with my 8th graders and I mentioned how I think it would be so hard as a middle school student now with everyone always being connected to the internet and no real way to get away from bullies. Then this convo happened:
Boy: so you had to use like a flip phone?
Me: No, cell phones weren't really a thing. We just had house phones.
Boy: So like facebook was harder to get to?
Me: No, facebook wasn't a thing. The internet was really only in super rich people's houses then.
Boy: So you had to go to mcdonalds for the WiFi?
Me: WiFi wasn't a thing either. If you had a computer it was a desktop. And it was really only for writing papers.

Clearly I just blew his mind.

What things do you dislike???

Blogging For Books: NPH Choose Your Own Autobiography

True story: on my first date with Craig, I admitted to him my love of celebrity gossip. That guilty pleasure was shared, and then we decided to get married. That is our love story in a nutshell. I mean, I guess there is a little more to it.

When I heard that Neil Patrick Harris' memoir was coming out, I was interested to read it. I mean, he was a child star that really didn't go crazy. In fact, I don't really remember a lot from him other than Doogie until How I Met Your Mother came out. I have seen him dance and sing on the Tony's and guest judge on So You Think You Can Dance. He also is able to convincingly play a character like Barney, when he is almost the exact opposite of that in real life. When I heard it was going to be a choose your own adventure" style book, I was excited to see how it would work. I mean, an autobiography is a true story so how would it work.

So when I was browsing the Blogging For Books website, looking for my first book, and saw this own I jumped at the chance to get my own copy. There was only one copy left, and it was an e-book. Now I don't hate my Nook. I mean, I like to use it for magazine subscriptions, when I travel and it makes checking books out from the library super convenient. BUT, I still prefer hard copy books. But, I decided to go for it and request the e-book. There was a bit of a SNAFU, and with the holidays I didn't recieve my link for the download for a couple weeks, but once it was figured out, I got it safely loaded on my reader. And started reading.

I will be honest, I don't know if I read the entire book or not. I mean, I think I did. I went through it a couple times, but with the format, I still may fave missed something. Overall, it was what I expected. It was a humorous look at the life of NPH. He talked about his start in acting, how he learned magic, his dislike for Dustin Diamond, his coming out in Hollywood and more. There was also some name dropping, some "wrong turns" where the reader dies and a couple of random things (letters, a drink recipe etc.)

 

This was a fun read and I enjoyed it. He didn't go into depth on anything overly emotional. I think I would have liked a hard copy much better. With the e-reader it was difficult to go back and try to start over or to choose the other ending.

What are you reading right now?

I received a copy of this book from Blogging for Books for my honest review. All opinions are my own!

2014

Although things have been quiet around here, my 2014 was the most memorable, challenging, bestest year of my life.

It has also flown by.

I won't pretend that I will go back to blogging as regularly as I once did. But I do want to document what is going on so I remember. 

2014, thank you for being great. 2015, I am looking forward to our adventures!

Before and After: Beach Vacation

Besides for our all inclusive stay at Salem Hospital this summer, Craig and I did not take a vacation this summer. After looking at our schedules, we decided to rent a house on the coast for the first weekend in October. We were fully prepared for yucky weather (which would be the norm for fall at the coast), but we were blessed with sunny skies and temperatures in the upper 70's. Being that we live an hour away from the coast, we go quite often and stay overnight probably 5 times a year, but this time was completely different.

Before:Craig is a minimalist when it comes to packing for vacation. He is perfectly happy just bringing one towel to sit on on the beach.
Now: Grace is little, but she has a lot of stuff. For the house, we brought her pack and play, her play gym, a quilt, half a box of diapers, bobby pillow, bouncy seat, plus several changes of clothes. On the beach we carried out a sun shelter, the Ergo, her diaper bag plus three towels.

Before: In a four day trip to the coast I would have read at least 2 or 3 books.
Now: I read about 90 pages. Which is about 70 more pages than I read all summer...

Hanging out at a shipwreck, NBD

Gracie and Daddy

Before: We would have gone to several restaurants and I would have packed a nicer outfit for an evening out.
Now: We brought cereal, milk, snacks and sandwich stuff with us. We did go get dinner, but we brought it back to the house to eat. Gracie is usually okay if we go out with her, but if she is over something (like sitting in a restaurant) she lets EVERYONE know.

First time touching the sand

Clearly Grace was not impressed with the big WWII gun

Before: Naps on the beach all around.
Now: Well, one of us got a nap in on the beach.

Craig's nap did not last long

Even though things are different now, I love it! We had a fantastic first family vacation, and I can't wait to take more!

This selfie only took two tries. I feel like it should be in a selfie hall of fame. Even the baby is looking at the camera!

A Day in the Life: Maternity Leave Edition

Back when I was blogging regularly I did a "day in the life" post. When I go back and look at it, that is still what my working life pretty much looked like. Erika just did a day in the life maternity leave edition and I knew it was something that I wanted to do as well. (P.S. go check out Erika's blog and her new little one!) Just like I can look back at my old day in the life post, I want to be able to look back at this time in my life and know what we did all day!

1:20 am Someone is ready to eat. Here's a hint, it's not me.
5:20 Gracie is up wanting a diaper change and a snack but she goes back to sleep after both. I also go back to sleep.
7:15 I hear Grace in the monitor. She isn't crying, more like yelling "why isn't anyone paying attention to me?" Craig goes and changes her diaper and I come in to nurse her. Craig leaves for work around 7:30. Grace is done eating, and she does her morning poop right as Craig walks out the front door. After I change her we come out to the living room and play on one of her many quilts. I am trying to practice rolling over with her. She has fun with it, but she is more interested in grabbing her feet than rolling on her own. We do a bit of tummy time, that makes her yell some more. Then a story on childhood cancer comes on the Today show and I am sitting there crying and holding her a little too tight, and she yells again "Gosh Mom! Let me grab my feet!"

8:40 Grace starts to rub her eyes so I give her a pacifier and put her in her swing for her morning nap. During her nap I take a shower, start her laundry and empty and load the dishwasher.

9:45 And she's up! After a diaper change, I get her dressed for the day and then she eats. We practice standing and then she plays on her play mat for a bit while I put her laundry in the dryer.
11:05 She is worn out from playing and is getting fussy. I nurse her again and then she falls asleep on my lap. After about 20 minutes, when I know she is down for good, I slowly move her off my lap and onto the couch next to me. This creates a small problem. Now that she moves around quite a bit, I can't leave her alone on the couch so I am also stuck here. (At least nap #1 was productive!) I do manage to sneak into the kitchen and make a quick lunch. Other than that, I read a few blogs, play on the internet etc.

1:15 She wakes up in a pretty good mood so I know there is only one thing that we need to do: baby craft time! I get all the supplies ready, get Grace down to her diaper and get started with part one of our newest Halloween decoration.

After Gracie gets a little foot/leg bath in the sink and I finish cleaning up. She is now pretty fussy so I nurse her and then get her dressed again. We go outside and get the mail and take a small walk around the yard, but its too sunny and bright out to spend to much time with out a hat. We just started using the exersaucer yesterday. I put her in it and go grab her laundry out of the dryer. This gives me just enough time to get her laundry folded and put away before she is over it.

2:30 She starts rubbing her eyes so I give her a pacifier and put her in her swing. I put away the quilt and her toys and wash her one bottle and my pump supplies. I call a friend of mine and chat for a bit about poop. (Her kid's poop, not mine)
3:00 This was a quick nap because she is awake and no one is changing her mind about that. She nurses again and then we head into her room and play in there until Craig gets home from work.
4:05 Craig walks in the door. He's later than usual. I like to go to Zumba on Mondays and Wednesdays but unfortunately I won't have time today. Boo. He take Gracie so I can go run a couple errands. (I have been using Vinted to clean out my closet and I sold another piece so I am off to the post office. Plus we need milk and a few other things from the grocery store.)

When I get back Grace is ready for another snack.
5:00 she goes into her swing for another nap and I make an easy dinner and we are able to both eat at the same time (pasta and bread sticks.)
6:00 She's awake again. Craig feeds her a bottle of pumped milk that we had defrosted for our vacation and didn't use. I go and pump, because momma can't miss a feeding. When she's done, Craig gives her back to me and we hang out until its time to start our bedtime routine.
7:15 We head to Grace's room where she gets a diaper change and into her night gown. We read a couple of good night books, she nurses one last time and then I swaddle her legs (girlfriend loves to have her arms by her head when she sleeps), she gets her paci and I turn on her sound machine. (Ocean noises it what is currently playing.)

For the rest of the night Craig and I hang out. It's Monday so I watch The Voice and eventually do my nightly pumping session before I turn off the lights around 10 ish.

If you made it through that whole thing congrats! If you just looked at the cute baby pictures, I don't blame you! What does your typical day look like? Have you ever done one of these posts?

Stuff and things

Maternity leave+napping = too much time online shopping. So far I have done really well at just leaving things in my cart and not checking out.

Except for the three pairs of TOMS I ordered.

And some baby stuff from zulily. Like these pants.

I cannot stop eating sweet stuff. Lemon flavored things (cake, bars, oreos) and smores have been a particular weakness. But I guess those are "summer" flavors so now I need to eat all the pumpkin.

I haven't been reading much...or like at all. Boo on me.

Have you seen the trailers for the Gone Girl movie? If I play my cards right, I may get to go see this. But who am I kidding, I'll get it from red box.

I've missed blogging. I've been reading blogs on my phone (usually in the middle of the night) but actually getting on my laptop is tough. I'd like to get back on it, but my life is pretty consumed by one thing right now (it's a cute thing though)

Have a good one!

Grace's Birth Story: Part 3 AKA Not in anyone's birth plan

People tell me I had a quick labor. I suppose I did. After we were admitted into our mother baby room, Craig and I did what most people do, we stared a lot at our pretty little girl.

Besides for staring, Craig and I had to figure out how to do parent stuff. Grace got her first bath, her feet printed, and had some other tests ran all the normal stuff they do. Grace also had to figure out how to do baby stuff. We all had a very big day.

The next morning Craig decided to run home to get a couple things (he did not have a well packed hospital bag!) and a nurse practitioner came around to give Grace her first real check up. She started looking over our perfect little bug. She looked at me and said, "It sounds like she is having some congestion. I think I am going to have one of our NICU doctors come up and take a listen just in case." I had heard that same noise and the nurses said it was just fluid from birth. I figured she was just being cautious.

The doctor came up to our room a couple hours later. He looked and listened and decided to send neonatal respiratory therapist to our room to do some suctioning. He said she had a small nose and it was probably just congestion that the bulb syringe couldn't get. The RT came up and after making Grace cry tried suctioning out her nose, but not much came up. After he conferred with the doctor, the decision was made to admit Grace into the NICU to monitor her breathing and oxygen levels. 

See her small nose?

Grace was taken down to the 3rd floor NICU and hooked up to monitors for observation. Her space included a couch and a recliner chair so Craig and I could be with her. At this point we could hear and see her struggling to breath. We could also see her oxygen levels were between 60-80, and should have been above 90. The nurse practicioner switched out the regular hospital bassinet for an infant hospital bed and put her on forced air. They explained to us that newborns have to breath out of their nose. Her lungs were fine, but because she had such a small nose and there was probably some swelling she wasn't getting enough oxygen when she breathed. 

Because I was still a patient, I had to go back to the mother baby floor every few hours for my post partum checks and to get medication. Just before 9:00 pm, the nurses and Craig convinced me to go back to my room and try to get some sleep. I was going to come back down to Grace's room at midnight to nurse her and to let Craig take a nap. I went to my room and told my nurse about the plan. She took my vitals, gave me my medication and I tried to get some sleep. Sometime around 11:15, the charge nurse came into my room and woke me up. She explained that there were"a lot of deliveries" and they were out of mother baby rooms. Because I "didn't have a baby" I was one of the few women they could move to a room in the neighboring pediatric unit. I tried to explain that I was going back down at midnight and asked if it could wait that long. She said that was fine and left. Of course, in my hormonal state, that sent me into a fit of crying and tears. I finally rang my nurses button and said something like "how do I move rooms. What do you want me to do?" After all of that got figured out, my stuff was taken into a pediatric room, and I headed back down to the NICU to see Grace.

The next day (Wednesday) I was discharged as a patient and Grace was taken off the forced air. The NICU nurses got us moved into one of the two family rooms in the unit, so we could have a private bathroom/shower, and a little more space. Unfortunately the room that was open was the one without windows, so we were basically in a closet. From there we just waited. Plenty of Craig's family came and met our new bundle of joy. On Friday morning we got moved to the room with windows. (That is room #6 if you are keeping track.) The NICU doctors ordered a few more tests including two ultrasounds, but thankfully all came back normal. They also talked with the doctors at the children's hospital in Portland and got Grace started on some nose drops to help shrink the swelling in her nose, but mostly we were just waiting and wanting to go home.

Eventually on Sunday June 15, Father's Day, we got the good news that we were going home. The doctors were pleased with how the drops were helping, and were pretty sure that as she got bigger, she would grow out of this issue. We were to make some follow up appointments with a pediatric ear nose and throat specialist once we met with our pediatrician. I am so happy to say that Grace is doing so much better now. She breaths normally through her nose now and has no trouble nursing or with a pacifier. 

While we were in the hospital, I tried to look at the positives. We had a team of professionals that we could ask any question we wanted. At one point (after her ultrasounds) we wanted to give her a bath. A nurse helped us bathe her and gave us some tips as we did it. I had at least one visit a day with a lactation consultant (I truly believe this is why we have done so well nursing.) Nurses would bring us ice water whenever we needed/wanted it. Even though I was no longer a patient, the nurses also made sure I was comfortable, and even brought me ice diapers to help with the soreness from delivery. They also helped Grace make her first craft:

Grace's birth story, Part 2

Continued from Part 1

Craig jumps out of bed and frantically starts asking what I need and what to do. I asked him to give me a minute... and a towel. I waddled into the bathroom and did what anybody would do in this situation- I looked up what to do in my What to Expect book, because really I had no idea. Our birthing class had said most women don't have their water break spontaneously and just focused on timing contractions. The book pretty much said the same thing, but added a line that said your doctor will have provided you a set of instructions on what to do if your water breaks. Apparently my doctor didn't see that line in the book because he had not given me those instructions. I had Craig bring me my phone and my insurance card (I was still in the bathroom) and I called Kaiser. The on call nurse said, "Congratulations, you're having a baby today! We'll see you at the hospital pretty soon! You probably have time to take a shower if you want to."

I had taken a shower the night before so Craig jumped in the shower and he started throwing clothes in a bag. I then remembered the big bowl of fresh berries in the fridge. I knew they would go bad before we got home from the hospital, so I prepared and froze them all. I also packed a lunch bag with snacks in it for Craig. Then I went and requested a substitute for my classes, and sent my principal this email:
"I put in for my sub for today, but I don't think I will be back for the rest of the year. My water broke tonight!"

I grabbed my hospital bag (I had packed it after spending an evening being monitored for contractions a few weeks earlier) and we were off!

After checking in and being triaged in the labor and delivery unit, I was admitted. My contractions were fairly regular, although not really painful yet. My "plan" for labor was to go as long as possible with out an epidural.  During our birthing classes I also had grand ideas about what I would be doing during labor. I wanted to walk, use the ball and go in the tub. We did walk one lap around the floor and grabbed a ball but that was about it. When it came down to it, I had no interest in the tub or using the ball. I was most comfortable laying on my side. We tried to watch some TV. Craig did eat some of the snacks, including the worst smelling Cheeze-Its. Then I just got tired. I tried to nap, but the contractions kept waking me up.

At some point, while "watching" the Today show, I asked the nurse to get my epidural. I just really wanted a nap! The anesthesiologist came in shortly after and after making me get into the most uncomfortable position ever, it was in. All throughout my pregnancy women had told me that once they got the epidural put in, they couldn't feel anything and nurses would tell them when they were having a contraction. Let me tell you what, I didn't need any one telling me when the contractions were happening, I felt every single one. And they hurt. I have no idea what it would feel like without the epidural, but I was in pain for each one.

I labored for a bit longer until the nurses got the doctor and he said it was time to push. I have no idea how long it took. Craig has reminded me that I said "owie, owie, owie" and "I can't do this." But I did, and finally at 1:29 pm we got to meet our baby girl.

It was exhausting and energizing at the same time. Grace was a perfect 7 pounds 3 ounces and 19 inches long. Eventually we settled into our mother baby room and had a relatively uneventful first night, until the next morning.

Grace's Birth Story, Part 1

Before I left for work June 6, 2014. 37 weeks pregnant

Friday June 6. This date had been written on the board for weeks. I told my students that all work was due that day. They had another week of school, but just in case the baby chose an early birthday, all their work needed to be turned in by then in order to be graded. My due date wasn't until June 27, but I wanted to avoid getting a million assignments the day before school was out when I just wanted to be home. At the end of each class on Friday I said "Get your work to me by 3:00! Have a great weekend! See you Monday." I did have a few kids come in after school to finish their final projects and drop stuff off. I stayed until 4:30 grading and entering things.

Saturday morning (June 7) I went and walked through the neighborhood garage sale at the airpark with my friend and her family. I found no treasures but enjoyed a good hour+ long walk. After coming home, Craig and I headed over to his Uncle's strawberry fields to pick. Well, Craig picked berries and I drank some ice water watching the two buckets fill up. When we got home I was pretty worn out so the berries waited a day. Well, we ate a bunch of fresh berries and strawberry shortcake :)

Sunday (June 8) I made a ton of strawberry jam, and prepared and froze over 25 cups of berries for smoothies etc. I kept one big bowl of fresh ones for snacking. And more shortcake. I went to bed pretty early that night. As the activities coordinator, the last week of school is a big one and I needed all the sleep I could get.

However I woke up several times during the night. Each time I woke up I felt something, but I would go to the bathroom and everything was normal so I just went back to sleep. At 4:28 (I looked at the clock!) I was woken up with what felt like Grace giving me a big punch and then a gush. I grabbed Craig's arm. "I think my water just broke."