I'm still here...

So much has happened in the past month, I don't know where to begin.
Here's a minor snippet:

1. Moved into the new house & started renovating. Pulling up carpet, scraping 90-year-old wallpaper and *trying* to settle in. What an ordeal moving was. We ran out of boxes, we broke our boxspring and I STILL can't find the stereo remote.

2. Started the new job which means Sydney started daycare. I cried that first day, but each day gets better. *Not* easier - just better. It helps that her teachers are really nice & seem very loving.

3. Sydney's hearing scare. She's fine - her hearing is okay, but it was scary there for a while. Every day she does something new. Her latest thing is saying "Boooooo." When we get home at night she sits and tells us 'stories' which are basically a long string of boos and goos. It's the cutest.

4. The Virginia Tech shooting. A sad day in the Hall household. My heart broke for Corey on Monday. Say a prayer for the Hokies.

5. Sydney has bronchitis. Took her to the pediatrician on Wednesday night and he sent her home with a nebulizer and prednisone. She seems to be doing better. Of course, I got to call in sick to my new job. Yay!

So anyway - things are coming along - the house, the job, the family life. I'm finally starting to relax.

Happy thoughts

When I woke up this morning, it was a rainy, dreary day. Now, the sun is out.
Since the first day of March was less than thrilling for me, I've tried to come up things that make me happy in order to overshadow the bad.

-Sydney only got up ONCE last night & I got to sleep until 7-ish.
-I have ALL our CD's & DVD's packed - FIVE boxes worth.



-The yummy shrimp & spinach pasta Corey brought home last night
-The new knitting project I've started
-The weekend is here. :)

In like a lion...

Happy March...

I can't believe it's March 1st. Time is flying by.

22 days until the new house. So much packing to do.

Sydney's over 8 lbs now and smiling!

So, to ring in Spring, I joined Jaime's newest venture: a Celebration Journal.

As this progresses, I will be posting my work here on my blog. I'm hoping this will help me relax and inspire me as well as provide a much needed creative outlet that I can do during this hectic time.

To start things off, here is the cover of my journal as well as the first two pages:

The cover is very simple - MAMBI patterned paper that reminds me of spring. It's one of my favorite patterned papers. I just love the colors. Wordsworth letter stickers and a silk flower. I have it bound together with twine at the moment. Until I can get to Staples to get binder rings, it will remain that way.

For the second page, I just washed it with ink and decided to write down the definitions to the three words that form the heart of this journal: inspiration, celebration & life.

Page three is actually the 'first' page of the journal. It explains my reason for keeping this journal. I simply tabbed the beginning of March with some cardstock and stamped on a flower border.

Finally, I found these great Ziploc storage bags hiding under my sink and I thought it would be perfect to hold my wee album & the bits of inspiration I may come across.

RIP Bun

Bun-Bun, my little dwarf rabbit, passed away Tuesday night.
He was 10 years old.
Blind in one eye, Bun spent his days chewing on stuff & flinging poo from his cage.
He will be missed.

Belief-O-Matic

Here's this neat quiz that questions you about your beliefs & matches your results to world religions.

My results:
1. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) (100%)
2. Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (95%)
3. Liberal Quakers (92%)
4. Bahá'í Faith (91%)
5. Sikhism (90%)
6. Jehovah's Witness (88%)
7. Reform Judaism (86%)
8. Orthodox Judaism (80%)
9. Unitarian Universalism (79%)
10. Mainline to Conservative Christian/Protestant (74%)
11. Mahayana Buddhism (71%)
12. Neo-Pagan (71%)
13. Jainism (71%)
14. Theravada Buddhism (70%)
15. Islam (69%)
16. Orthodox Quaker (69%)
17. Seventh Day Adventist (67%)
18. Eastern Orthodox (62%)
19. Roman Catholic (62%)
20. Hinduism (61%)
21. New Age (57%)
22. Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist) (53%)
23. Secular Humanism (50%)
24. Scientology (45%)
25. Taoism (43%)
26. New Thought (42%)
27. Nontheist (25%)

Interesting how my beleifs are more Islamic than they are Roman Catholic (only by 5%).
100% Mormon, though? Really?

Nothing says I love you like 4 hours of Zeppelin

I love my hubby & the Led Zeppelin box set he gave me for Valentine's day along with these pretty flowers. :)

Happy Valentine's Day!

and what a Valentine's Day it is.

This is the view from my balcony:




Yay! Freezing rain!! No signs of it stopping either:





So, I'm stuck inside. Not that staying in is any different from my usual day lately.

Figured I'd TRY and scrapbook a little (as long as bebeh cooperates). It seems like a good scrapbookin' day. Plus, my mind is swimming with ideas.


Of course, I had to dress Syd in her special 1st Valentine's Day outfit from her Aunt Kelly:



She looks much happier there than when I dressed her as a love bug for our Valentine e-card:







Ha!


I have a fabulous (I hope) menu planned for tonight's dinner: bleu cheese crusted filet mignon, spinach, mashed potatoes & chocolate fondue for dessert.

So, inspired by THIS BLOG I decided to make a special (small) Valentine's list of things I love today:

I LOVE:

*frosted sugar cookies
*when my mind is swimming with ideas I can't wait to get started
*when Corey does the 6 am feeding
*THIS POST & how so much has changed in 2 years (I hope).

Happy Valentine's Day Everyone!!

what I want for Valentine's day...

8 consecutive hours of sleep

Frustrated...

Sydney's first trip to West Virginia is this weekend. We leave on Friday.
Of course, I decided that our little needed something cute to wear for when she meets the rest of her family. So last night I headed over to Gymboree.
When I got there, a very polite sales girl asked me if I was looking for anything in particular - I told her "Yes. Preemie sizes." She said: "Sure - I was just helping them (pointing to two 10-year-old girls) find preemie sizes, too."
I didn't think anything of it & picked out a cute outfit.
I tell the sales woman that I'm impressed at the preemie selection they had - much more than what I've seen in the past or in other stores. She goes on to tell me that they tend to sell out quickly because little girls buy them FOR THEIR DOLLS.
WTF? THAT'S the reason I can dress my daughter? Because some kid needs Gymboree clothes for her friggin' Baby Alive?
I was PISSED and voiced my opinion loud enough so the little girls & their mom could hear me.
So, in my rage, I posted about this on the NSBR board at Two Peas. I had a few Peas actually offer to mail me preemie clothes are to check their local Gymboree for preemie sizes. Peas look out for Peas. Thanks ladies!

Anger aside, I decided that I think I'll get THIS for Corey for Valentine's day. Perfect, huh?

Before I was a mom

Thanks to Sheila for this:

Before I was a Mom I never tripped over toys or forgot words to a lullaby.
I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous.
I never thought about immunizations.
Before I was a Mom - I had never been puked on.
Pooped on.
Chewed on.
Peed on. (**let me add in my line of work, that's not necessarily true!)
I had complete control of my mind and my thoughts.
I slept all night.
Before I was a Mom I never held down a screaming child so doctors could do tests.
Or give shots.
I never looked into teary eyes and cried.
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.
I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.
Before I was a Mom I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put them down.
I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn't stop the hurt.
I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much.
I never knew that I could love someone so much.
I never knew I would love being a Mom.
Before I was a Mom - I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outsidemy body.
I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby.
I didn't know that bond between a mother and her child.
I didn't know that something so small could make me feel so important and happy.
Before I was a Mom - I had never gotten up in the middle of the nightevery 10 minutes to make sure all was okay.
I had never known the warmth, the joy, the love, the heartache, the wonderment or the satisfaction of being a Mom.
I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much before I was a Mom.

Ouch

Poor baby! Sydney got her first of MANY immunizations on Saturday. FOUR shots & one oral vaccine. At first, I wasn't sure how Corey & I were going to handle it, but the nurse was fantastic. She gave the shots - 1 in one thigh, 3 in the other - quicker than Sydney could realize what was happening. She cried a bit, but was quickly comforted.
She also gained quite a bit of weight, the little piggy! She now weighs 7 lbs 7 oz - she gained 2 lbs in the last month.

Move over Oedipus - There's a new childhood neurosis in town

and there's a party to celebrate it!
While the Electra Complex may not be entirely new, the idea of pledging your virginity to your father is. There's just something about the idea of my father owning my sexual purity that gives me the heebie-jeebies.
Don't get me wrong - I give kudos to those who save themselves for marraige. I think its pretty cool, actually. Mad props to the waiters.
Saving your first kiss for your wedding day, though? What?? Your first KISS??? I'm curious to see if these women actually find mates that go along with this or if the end up part of the majority.

Dance Dance Revolution

One of the funniest animal videos ever...
My favorite? The bird in the very beginning.


Thanks to the Ginster for sharing this one with me.

Say Cheese!

Sydney's first professional portraits came in.
LOVE teh squishiness.

Picture #1 - Shorty Magee (please not the Michelin Man folds on her wee ankles!)


Picture #2 - Squishers (she looks like an angel, but I know better)


Picture #3 - The "Anne Geddes" (I love this one because it shows just how small she really is.)



I know I said I'd never do the bow/headband combination but how could you NOT adorn that little punkin head with a purty pink bow?

Where can I get one?

Shopping Penguin

Signs my "Wildcat" days are over...

I have a Similac stain on my Porn Star t-shirt.

Getting back to "normal"

The past two weeks have been insane. Take normal holiday insane & multiply it by 8984372975634.


This past week alone has been crazy. Sydney came home on Thursday 12/28 and was greeted by her Grandpa Dave, Grandma Sharon & Aunt Allison.


Saturday it was off to the pediatrician - where she weighed in at 5 lbs!! Then up to Uncle Doug's to meet the rest of my family. It was great to have all three of my brothers & their families under one roof. Everyone got to love & hold Sydney & my mom made some awesome food.


Sunday, my world fell apart. I'm not going to go over the gory details on my blog, but I ended up in the ER twice - and then spent New Year's day in the hospital. I'm better now & happy to be back home with my little girl.


Sydney went back to the doctor yesterday & weighed in this time at 5 lbs 6 oz!! w00t! Then she got to visit Corey's office and meet all her Daddy's co-workers.


Thats about all I have for now. I'll leave you with some pictures:

Chilling in her car seat:

Staring down Elvis from her bouncy seat:

She's Here!!!

Sydney Boyce was born on Thursday, December 21st, 2006 at 5:04 am.

She weighed 4 lbs 11 oz and is 17 1/2 inches long.

Because she is quite wee, Miss Sydney has spent the last week in the intermediate care nursery, but she's eating well & gaining weight & we hope to bring her home tomorrow.

This past week has been a whirlwind of running back & forth to the hospital & home & my mom's - I've barely had time to breathe. I'm headed to the hospital now...I'll blog more later.

Oh! Before I forget - here she is:

Home c-section anyone?

Still no baby.
I'm frustrated. I can't sleep.
Contractions every 5 minutes or so for hours at a time and then *poof* - NOTHING for an hour.
It's called prodromal labor & it's from teh devil.
I see the doctor on Friday so they can look at me, smile and say: "Any day now!"
*bangs head repeatedly on desk*
GET IT OUTTA ME.

Any Day Now...

Saw the doctor today.
Had a non-stress test & bebeh looks good.
My contractions are about 5 minutes apart & I'm 3 cm dilated.
My doctor said: "Make an appointment to get checked on Friday - but I doubt you'll make it til then."
Wow.
I'm gonna have a bebeh.