Crazy In Love

Two weeks ago Noah and I celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary.  We didn’t do anything fancy, just went to lunch at Olive Garden and took Johnny to Toys R Us to get him some new toys.  It was a really nice & pleasant day.

It got me thinking… SIX YEARS?  Seems like a lot but at the same time it feels like we’ve been married much longer than that.  When you figure… we spent the first 10 months doing a long distance/commuting relationship from 850 miles apart, a whole year apart due to the deployment, lived in 3 houses together, moved 4 times… but I guess that was really all in the first three years of our marriage.  It has definitely been nice being in one place for the last three years; it has been great being TOGETHER for the last three years.  It just feels like we’ve lived a lifetime together already, and maybe we have.  Together we have accomplished so much — from our multiple and on-going home improvements, to the easy way we go through the day-to-day joys and hiccups of life, and lest we not leave out our greatest accomplishment of all: our amazing son.

Life together hasn’t gotten boring… it feels like we’re always readjusting to new things.  At first it was the “honeymoon phase” and adjusting to life together but apart; there was then the adjustment to being together at last but so far from family and friends; we adjusted to life on separate continents; we embraced our move to our very own home but had to learn how to live together again after being a year and worlds apart; life settled down for once into the mundane stresses of work, school, and wanting to start a family; we loved the pregnancy and Noah seemed happy to make daily trips to the next town over to bring me whatever I was craving at work; and for the last 7 months we’ve had the best and most challenging adjustment of all which is obviously life with our baby and learning to do the parenting dance.  It’s been a long and sometimes bumpy road but generally we’ve had good weather and few stops for repairs along the way.

There is a song that I came to love years ago, it’s called “Life’s A Dance.” I didn’t know it until years after first enjoying the song that the lyrics are so true: “Life’s a dance, you learn as you go.  Sometimes you lead and sometimes you follow. …”  Life really is like a dance… grab your partner and go, trying not to trip the other or fall over yourself, and all the while holding onto one another.  It’s nice.
I am blessed to have found my perfect partner so early in life.  How many people meet their soul mate when they’re 13?  There is no one I would rather snuggle up with, parent with, or be in love with.

Life’s a dance you learn as you go / Sometimes you lead, sometimes you follow
Don’t worry about what you don’t know / Life’s a dance you learn as you go

The longer I live the more I believe / You do have to give if you wanna recieve
There’s a time to listen, a time to talk / And you might have to crawl even after you walk
Had sure things blow up in my face / Seen the longshot, win the race
Been knocked down by the slamming door / Picked myself up and came back for more

My sister-in-law, Kim, posted her “I write like…” so I thought I might as well too since I have about a minute to blog which isn’t enough time for a proper update:

I write like
Cory Doctorow

I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!

Who is Corey Doctorow?

Two weeks ago we took Johnny to have his 6-month photos taken.  I bought the whole disc of images along with a ton of prints to share with family.  Here is an unedited head shot of my sweet boy, for your enjoyment.  I can’t believe how big he’s gotten already.

I just polished off a bag of Trader Joe’s Dark Chocolate Covered Mini Pretzels, a bag I opened only two days ago.  I often lament that there is no Trader Joe’s nearby but I am also aware that the distance between TJ’s and I keeps me from eating a bag of these scrumptious treats daily.  When I go there, I allow myself to buy one bag and ONE BAG ONLY, no matter how long it will be between visits.

My most recent trip to Trader Joe’s was a great one, as they all are.  I purchased some frozen food stuffs for me to take with to work for lunches, delicious juices, and some burritos for Noah.  (Noah loves burritos.)  I have already enjoyed some tofu pad thai and dinner seasoned with soyaki sauce.  Yum.

We are having a fantastic weekend full of fun, family, and lots of good food!

Friday we had some car troubles before leaving town, so we were a bit behind schedule and didn’t get to see some friends I had wanted to see that night when we got into my hometown.  “The best laid plans,” and all.  Saturday we spent the whole day with Noah’s side of the family which was awesome in and of itself but really extra great because we got to chill out and see lots of family we rarely see.  They were all congregating up near Madison, WI which was a pleasant 110 minutes or so drive and we were in the great company of Noah’s dad, Andy, during the drive so it was just that much better.  We took a walk; visited with family from Georgia, Maine, Massachusetts, and New York; ate yummy food; and just relaxed.  Much needed and looking forward to next year’s gathering in Maine!

I’m taking a break out from my day today to tinker on the computer but I’ve already gone shopping with my mom — I love Trader Joes and Babies R Us! — had lots of play time with Johnny, and went swimming.  A great 4th of July weekend!

Yesterday was the first time in 6 months and 1 week that I sat down and stood back up WITHOUT ANY PAIN.

Shortly after John’s birth – while I was still in the hospital – I noticed that my butt hurt.  Yes, I had just birthed a 10 ½ pound bundle of joy so I was expecting there to be some discomfort in that region, just hadn’t expected quite so much in the tailbone region.  Initially I assumed that it was the odd angle of the hospital bed and the fact that I’d been pretty much sitting down for 24 hours, so of course my tailbone would be a little uncomfortable what with all that sitting.  And, perhaps the initial discomfort was from all that sitting, because I know I’m not the only person that gets a little uncomfortable during even just a long movie and those 3 hour movies had nothing on all the sitting I was doing.

As my time on maternity leave ticked by the pain continued to grow.  I continued to assume this was still due to all the sitting I was doing.  It was winter; I was home all day with an infant that did little besides eat and sleep; and I was doing little other than feeding said infant and watching copious amounts of television.  Ninety-five percent or more of my day was spent ON MY A**.  This is a good explanation for not only why I gained more lasting weight during my maternity leave than I did during my entire pregnancy – for real, after giving birth I was only up 2-3 pounds from my pre-pregnancy weight and by the time I was back to work I was up 10-12 – but this also explained why my tailbone was hurting. Right?  I was sure that when I went back to work, to a place where I generally can count on spending a good deal of my shift NOT SITTING… I was sure my pain would lessen and eventually go away.  This did not happen.

In fact, when I went back to work my pain only increased.  I later came to learn that it was because instead of sitting on the comfy couch all day I was sitting on hard office chairs.  I also developed a new pain, my lower back was KILLING ME.  I later learned that this was because I had begun sitting in a very unhealthy position, though one that put minimal pressure on my tailbone.  I was trying to cope with the tailbone pain and in turn began messing with the muscles of my hip and back.  One day in mid-April I was in so much pain I couldn’t stand it.  I finally began making calls to my OBGYN — because I googled my pains and found that they could be linked to a tailbone injury during childbirth and wanted to find out whether I needed to go see the OBGYN or if I should be seeing my Family Practice physician – which led to more calls and more calls and unanswered calls and promises of returned calls and messages, all of which led to not a single person helping me and I remained so frustrated and in so much pain that all I could do was cry.  Had my co-pay for ER visits not been ridiculously high I would have gone there, and I haven’t been there since 1997 when I was 14 and my mom thought I might have Meningitis.  I was in THAT MUCH PAIN.

After a long weekend of pain and cursing the nurses and receptionists at my OB’s office, I called on Monday and, through my sobs, told them how they had let me down and failed to do their job properly.  I then placed a call to my regular doctor who was able to see me that afternoon.  By dinner that day I had a filled prescription for a muscle relaxer in my hand, first dose down my throat, and an appointment set up for a few days later with a physical therapist.  Having the need for this muscle relaxer was the first time I had anything but negative feelings that the “breastfeeding thing” hadn’t gone as planned because I don’t know how I would have survived that week without the relief they offered and the ability to stand erect they provided for me.  Thankfully after my first physical therapy session I was scheduled for 8 more in the following 4 weeks.  I had never needed physical therapy in the past and had been old by a lot of people that it wouldn’t help.  It didn’t touch the tailbone pain, despite the best efforts of my PT, but completely eliminated the back and hip pains that I had really brought upon myself for sitting on my hip instead of on my tush.

Back in April when I saw my doctor, she also referred me to the Spine Clinic to be evaluated to see whether I would be a candidate for a steroid injection in the tailbone area to relieve my pain.  Unfortunately the earliest appointment we could get set up was for mid-June and being on the wait list for an earlier appointment didn’t prove fruitful for obtaining an earlier appointment.  In mid-June I had my appointment with a doctor whose name I can neither pronounce nor spell, and he was very friendly and appeared knowledgeable in his area of medicine.  He diagnosed me with a tailbone sprain that likely occurred during childbirth and, after a long discussion about all the pros. cons, side-effects, and the like, he scheduled me for a steroid injection the following week.

And that is how I came to find myself face-down on an exam table with my bare butt exposed to a room full of strangers with a doctor whose name I can neither pronounce nor spell, though whom I have all the faith in the world in, poking around my crack with a needle.  Oh, the sweet relief that needle loaded with cortisone had brought to my life.  Thank you Dr. with the long last name and the magical syringe; I love you both.

Me: “What do you think we should do with John’s infant seat when we move him into the new car seat?  I was considering giving it away or selling it because it’s in perfect condition since it’s had a cover on it and car seats have an expiration* of, like, 4-5 years or something, and it might not be worth it to take up the storage space for the seat and risk it being expired by the time we have another baby.”

Noah: “I was thinking we’d probably have another baby around the time I graduate.”

Me: “You mean your graduation the end of next summer?”

Noah: “Yeah.”

Me: “… … … [insert chuckle] … no.”

I guess we’ll just have to see what happens.  At this moment in time, I’m really not even thinking about another child.  I know I want more and we plan to have more, if the good Lord will allow.  Right now… right now I’m just focused on Johnny and savoring every moment that he lets me snuggle him and every moment he snoozes in my arms and the looks on his face when we introduce new toys, books, games, and songs.  Let’s just put me in the “not ready to start over again” group because I’m having too much fun with this baby right now.

*P.S. I know that the expiration date doesn’t mean a ton but I’m a freak.  The end.

After months of pouring over websites and literature on convertible car seats, I finally chose and purchased what I hope will be the perfect seat for us and for John.  One might say I was slightly obsessed with this decision, but then can one be too choosy when it comes to child passenger safety?  I chose the Radian XT SL from Sunshine Kids.  It has everything I wanted — except a cup holder but I can buy one later when John moves on to needing one of those — and so much more.  I can hardly wait for it to get here so we can try it out.

The NEW Sunshine Kids Radian XTSL car seats offer the first NCAP tested, high capacity LATCH system up to 80 pounds without the use of a seat belt!

The Sunshine Kids Radian XTSL car seats are convertible for rear-facing children 5 - 45 lbs and forward-facing children 20 - 80 lbs in a 5-point harness. With height-adjustable and aluminum-reinforced head support, steel alloy frame and protective EPS foam, the Radian XTSL car seat provides complete side impact protection. The Radian XTSL’s low profile offers amazingly easy child boarding. In addition, with its unique patented design, the Radian XTSL car seat fits three-across in a mid-size car while providing more shoulder room for the child occupant. Memory foam padding and infant support pillows provide additional comfort. All this, and the Radian XTSL car seat folds flat for convenient travel and storage.

• Rear-facing: 5 - 45 lbs
• Forward-facing: 20 - 80 lbs (and up to 53″) in a 5-point harness
• Steel alloy frame and aluminum reinforced sides
• SuperLATCH™ installation up to 80 lbs - no seat belt required
• Easy-Tite™ adjuster for quick and easy tightening, installs in 1 minute
• Adjustable head support, reinforced for complete side-impact safety
• Energy-absorbing EPS foam panels on all sides
• Safestop® energy-absorbing harness system
• Rubber bottom grips for no-slip installation
• 5 shoulder and 3 buckle positions for proper harness fit
• Fits 3-across in a mid-size vehicle and offers more shoulder space
• 3-in-1 infant/toddler full body support cushions
• Memory foam padding for superior comfort
• Folds flat for travel and storage, includes convenient carry strap
• Sits low on vehicle seat for easy child boarding
• Forward and rear facing tether system
• 2 recline positions in forward-facing mode

How did John get to be a half a year old already?  Time is flying!

At his check-up yesterday we found out that he’s as healthy as can be.  He’s 28.5″ tall (97th percentile, still), 44″ head (95th? I think), and only 18 lbs, 2 oz.  I was surprised that he didn’t weigh more because (1) he feels heavier, and (2) he’s wearing mostly 12 month clothes and 18 month rompers but not really shocking because if pressed, he could still squeeze into a 3-6 month t-shirt because he’s long and slim.  As the doctor said, “not a bad body type to have.”  I’m glad that he’s starting to level out and I  know all his enthusiastic jumping and activity in the Exersaucer, Johnny Jump-Up, and on the floor are helping him burn up those calories.

He loves eating his solid foods!  His favorites are apples and bananas but he hasn’t refused to eat anything, even ate broccoli (begrudgingly as it may have been).  For now we are still just doing one meal of solids, occasionally a 2nd, but plan to integrate the 2nd as a regular occurrence any day now.

The monster is waking from his slumber so I had better get to his room before he starts calling for me.  :o)

Last week we took a time out from real life and headed to the north woods:  Eagle River, Wisconsin!

We (my parents, siblings, Noah, John, and I) had a really fantastic time chilling out and enjoying some family time.  There were a few trips into town to mill about the cute downtown shopping area, horseback riding, cook-outs, plenty of rest and relaxation, a trip to a flea market, an evening at the resort’s lodge to watch the Hawks win the Stanley Cup, and a day trip up to Paulding, Michigan (home of the Paulding Light) to hike around Bond Falls (the best waterfall in the western UP of Michigan and the 2nd best in the whole state of Michigan).  It was a much needed and wonderful vacation.