The ICE Exhibit: Orlando

Well, here I am again. It might appear as though I am falling off the bandwagon but I assure you I am not. Yesterday was kind of hectic. I’m still trying to unpack my house but I am finding that nothing is ever easy to do with two kids. I’ve been feeling a little dizzy with fatigue but I haven’t been able to take a nap because as soon as I get one of the kids down, the other one wakes up!
Jake got home from work two hours late yesterday. He had a load of fun stories to tell us. He got to participate in his first arrest yesterday. A man drove his car UNDER a semi! Can you believe it? I’m not sure what the detail sharing protocol is so I’ll err on the side of caution and not say more than that. I’m so proud of Jake for getting this job. We have spent so many hours talking about where we are going and what our goals are. It feels so good to finally have our foot in the door.
So after my last two posts I realized that I need to make a real attempt to document something of value over the next year. Writing something every day just to meet my quota isn’t going to be valuable in 20 years outside of simply knowing what went on day to day. I would prefer to leave something on this blog that will help my children have a better idea of who I was as a young woman. Do any of you moms ever think about that? We know our children so well. They will learn who we are on a deeper level eventually but that will be after years and years of motherhood and 20 or so years of marriage. We won’t even be remotely close to the same people that we are today!
That is my goal for this blog; to give my children a snapshot of who I am today when my children are 2/3 and less than 1.

I’ve been saying one thing that makes me lucky or blessed every day. I have to say that today’s blessing is a little silly.

I am so blessed to live in a city with warm temps and high humidity because I can never get my act together and put the top back on Jane’s stamps when she is done using them on the porch. Lately we have been starting our day with a healthy dose of “Super Why”, “Clifford”, and “Curious George”. After our shows we turn the T.V. off for the day and play on the porch and in the living room and bedroom for the rest of the morning. Well, for the last few days Jane and I have been making buggies with stickers and markers and using our stamp pads a LOT! The only problem is that I get busy and leave Jane to her art in the middle of the project and forget to go back to help her pick it up. That means that it stays out over night! Well, because the humidity is high, the stamp pads don’t dry up! Isn’t that great?!
Some differences Jake and I have noticed about Jane and Sawyer:
1) Sawyer has WAY more hair than Jane had at this age. He still doesn’t have a lot by most standards but he does have this cute little swirl of hair at the top of his head. It reminds me of the top of a dairy queen ice cream cone.

2) Jane spent a lot of time looking around and a decent amount of time looking into my eyes. Sawyer spendsa lot more time looking into my eyes or studying my face than Jane did. Isn’t that an interesting difference?

On another topic,
We talked about food storage at church on Sunday. This lesson kind of inspired me to get a better idea of where I stand with my food storage and to learn how to use what I do have better. We have a little less than three months of the basic food storage the the church advises us to have. That said, I make all my own bread, we eat a lot of rice and if necessary we could drink powdered milk until the situation allowed us to drink regular milk again. In my studies I found this great blog with a ton of recipes for food storage. You guys need to check it out.

Foodstorage911.blogspot.com

Since I stumbled across this site, I have made wheat berries, rice pudding, an awesome rice ad beans salad and I still plan on making a pasta chicken salad, chili, and potato soup. All of the ingredients for these six meals cost me only $38! I have almost everything I need stocked in my pantry or included in my food storage.

Well, that is enough from me for the morning. My kids are antsy and Jane needs a new diaper!
Later.

Happy Birthday to me!

Hi All,
It's my birthday! I'm 24. Wee haw.
Today was such a blissfully quiet day. Jane was a little upset when she woke up and Jake was already at work but she was quickly consoled when I told her that Daddy would be home after her nap. After that, we ate breakfast, made art and played together. It was pretty fun.
Jane kept telling me that it was HER happy birthday.
Today, I'm really lucky that Jake chose an unconventional white cake with rasberry filling instead of my usual choice of chocolate. That cake was DANG good. In fact, I'm going to have another piece right now...

A post a day...

Hello again, to all my friends.

I'm still feeling quite chipper and enthusiastic about the new year. In large part because Jake was blessed with an EXTRA day off before he starts work. He went to a meeting the day after Christmas last week and we thought it was going to just be extra vacation time to use later. Well, as it turns out, his training officer is on vacation until Monday so Jake CAN"T start until Monday so we get an extra day off PLUS we are being paid for it (on top of the last two weeks he has been home with out working AND with pay).

So anyways, the year is going well.

(note to reader: I wrote the opening of this post two days ago.)

I've never been one for new year resolutions but this year, in order to stave off insanity, I've decided to set a couple of goals for myself.

1. Keep a clean house. I want to be able to have people over and not worry if they wander towards my room or need to use the bathroom in my room because the kiddos are napping in the other rooms. I want people to be able to drop by without me worrying that they'll judge my by the state of my house (I would judge me...).

2. Be presentable. This could mean a number of things. For me, this means making the effort to shower every day ( I know that it sounds gross for all of you empty Nester's but when you have kids you'll understand), blow-dry my hair and put on a little bit of make-up. No Sweats!

3. Potty train Jane.

4. Rebuild our savings account

5. Train for a triathlon. I've already started running. When it warms up I'll start swimming and when we start making a LITTLE bit more money, I'll buy a bike. I should point out though that it is completely ridiculous that I think it is too cold to swim right now in Florida. If I lived in any other part of the country I would be dying for a dip in the pool at the temperatures we've been having lately. In my defence, I've lived in south Georgia/north Florida for going on six years now. I'm officially acclimated to the climate (even though it is hotter than hell here in the summer) and that means that 77 degrees with no humidity just isn't hot enough to justify a dip in the pool.

6. Post an entry a day on my blog. I'm laughing at myself a little bit too. I've been horrible about posting to this blog but I really want to make an effort to post a little something every day. In every post I'm going to try to note one way that I have been blessed. Since I've already missed two days I'm going to post three ways that I a lucky today.

Jan 2: I was lucky to have Jake home for one extra day.
Jan 3: We had a great day with Jake's parents, Manga and PopPop, at the Natural History Museum here in Gainesville. I'm lucky to have in-laws that I like and to live in a city that has cool museums.
Jan 4: I'm blessed (hallelujah) with 9:00am church.

SO anyways, tomorrow is my birthday. I'll be 24. I can't believe it.
Until then, keep on truckin'.

Off to a great start.

Welcome, welcome 2009!
Our new year has started off nicely.
Our day yesterday consisted of hanging out around the house. Talking to a great friend on the phone and having some new friends over for a movie and conversation. The new year is looking like it is going to be our (my and Jake's) best year ever. We've got a decent job, two great kids, a nice place to live, we're making new friends and keeping in touch with old friends, and the vacations that we are talking about today aren't just a dream hanging up high on the ladder of "someday".
I hope everyone's new year is as great as ours is going to be! To all our family and friends, we love you dearly and hope that this new year brings you all the happiness and joy you deserve.

A bientot 2008!

Hello friends,
Another year has managed to slip by and it has certainly been a big one! I don't think I;ve ever felt so completely blessed and cursed at the same time before. Most of you know what we have been up to this year but for the sake of posterity I'll give a recap.

January: Jake and I had a feeling the economy was about to take a down-turn and started the hiring process with the Florida Highway Patrol. I should note that we had begun the walk down this road two times before it never ended up being the right road for us... until now.

February: I found out that I was pregnant on Valentines Day which also happens to be the anniversary of our meeting.

March, April, May: Work and school consumed our time. We also said good-bye to some really great friends that made their way to our nations capital.

June: Jake started the academy for the Florida Highway Patrol. Jane and I got to spend a LOT of quality time together from Sunday nights to Friday afternoon. Jane and I took a vacation and hosted some visitors.

July: Jane turned 2! We had a princess party and invited one of Jane's very best friends.

August: We got health insurance. This may not sound like a great big deal to most of you but... Jake and I had been living on the edge for nearly four years without health insurance. We have dental too!

September: Passed without consequence.

October: We found out that we were going to be stationed in Gainesville, Fl and welcomed Sawyer Rutger Smith into the world on 10/25/2008. He weighed 8lbs. 1 oz. and was about 21 inches long.

November: Gramma (my mom) came to visit, Jake turned 26 and we packed like mad.

December: Moved to Gainesville, Jake graduated from the academy, Gramma came to visit, and finally, the year is over.

On paper it doesn't look like such a hard year. In reality it was as hard to go through it as it feels to look back on it. After Jake's graduation I practically cried for an hour and a half because it was over and I didn't know how to process it. This whole year had been about surviving and I have done it well, with a relatively convincing smile on my face. The Lord lifted me up and bore the brunt of my burdens throughout the last year. I should have struggled way more than I did but the Spirit was so strong and so constant in my life; it was almost as though I was walking around wrapped in bubble wrap. I am so grateful for that bubble wrap.

So we are on to a new year. I'll post pictures from our Christmas season in a little bit. I've decided that this new year is going to be devoted to completing projects that will help me really get into the Christmas spirit next year. I'm also training for a triathlon and struggling like crazy to get my pre-pregnancy body back.

I have to apologize if this post seems less than optimistic about 2008. I've done my best to take everything as it comes but, as of right now, I've never been more glad to see a new year come. Cheers to you all! I hope that your new year allows you to walk comfortably through your lives without the help of spiritual bubble wrap!

I'm Back!

Hello All!

It's been a little while since I last posted and as most of you know, a lot has changed!

Sawyer Rutger Smith was born on October 25, 2008 at 1:47a.m.

I had been grumpy all day to the point of Jake literally kicking me out of the house and telling me to go get a facial. It was blissful. I felt so at peace; and then about an hour later I remembered that I was pregnant still and got grumpy again!

Anyways, the contractions started at about 8:30pm Friday night. We got to triage between 9:30pm and 10:00pm and I was in pain! I was already six cm so they admitted me right away (according to hospital standards anyways).

One shot of stadol and an epidural later and I had the baby.

Everything went SO FAST! I told my nurse I didn't want to push very much so she wasn't even going to check me for a little while. I asked her to anyways, just so we knew what the status was, and while she told me I was 9 cm she started pulling out all the tools and scrubs for the doctor. My Dr. came in half an hour later, broke my water, and five minutes after that Sawyer was here.

For the past week we have been hanging out around the house, watching movies, not doing dishes or picking up after ourselves. Jane has been passed around to friends, neighbors and family. She is starting to refuse to leave. Sawyer sleeps really well so far; I've been getting up to 6 hours of sleep at night (not at one time but compared to the sleep that I got with Jane I'm resting well).

The best news is...I haven't needed to medicate myself for PPD yet! My doctor and I talked about and we're waiting to see if I backslide at all. I feel awesome though! All the anxieties that I had with Jane are non-existent. I won't go into dirty specifics of what I went through with Jane but things are MUCH better this time.

So now, I feel good. My body is bouncing back. I'm officially sick of the television. The weather is great and we'll be moving in about a month. I've got my time and my hands full until then! If anyone wants to come over and hang out, help me pack, play with my kids, all of the above you are move than welcome! Just call first!!

Update!!

I wish I could write to tell you that I have had the baby and he is big and healthy and handsome...but I can't. I'm still pregnant and pretty huge (have I mentioned that yet?).

Anyways, I am writing to tell you all that Jake and I finally, FINALLY, got his assignment for the Florida Highway Patrol. We're going to Gainesville, FL. Which is amazing and perfect because it is exactly where we said we wanted to go when we started the whole application, interview, training process about a year ago. We have about 5-6 weeks left in Tallahassee and then we'll be in the swamp!

Also, I must mention that the little floating baby is pretty cute on the side of my blog but I never noticed the little umbilical cord until about a day ago. It kind of creeps me out...

Fabulous Fall

Okay, ladies, here's a post for you that doesn't have to do with pregnancy and toddlers.

Today, I ate dinner in heaven.
I'm not kidding. I sat down at a cumulus table and dined with angels today. This kind of dinner only happens in one season every year... Fall.
For dinner we had butternut squash and apple soup. It is the most amazing soup that I have ever had/made and you can only make it in the fall.
It's creamy (though not made with cream) and sweet and spicy and it has the most amazing melt-in-your-mouth flavor that is the.... I don't know what it is.
Anyways, if you want toe recipe go to foodnetwork.com and type butternut squash and apple soup in the recipe finder section at the top of the page. The recipe I use is from the Barefoot Contessa.

Alright. After that wonderful dinner I started thinking about my ideal menu for the different holidays that are coming up.
Here is what I was thinking:
Thanksgiving would consist of the aforementioned butternut squash and apple soup as a starter. Turkey (made using a recipe by Bobby Flay--I can't think of what it is called but it uses apples as well) with cranberry orange relish, fresh green beans sauteed with olive oil and fresh cracked pepper, mashed potatoes and home-made dinner roles would be the main course and dessert would be choice between apple-cranberry crist or pineapple-coconut tart.

If you can't tell, I'm a big fan of apples in the fall...I think it is because I'm from Washington State.

Christmas hasn't been decided as specifically as Thanksgiving has but Jake and I want to do a big Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve instead of Christmas Day. In the morning on Christmas Day I'm making this great Breakfast Sausage Casserole recipe that I got from the Cooking Light website. It is AMAZING!! It is so rich you couldn't eat it even once a month but it would be perfect for a Christmas tradition. The best part is that it is made with ingredients that keep it pretty healthy.
Christmas Eve Dinner would for SURE include a Honey-Glazed Ham and fresh green beans. I'm not sure what else. Dessert would probably consist of chocolate mousse with cherries.

What are your family traditions? I'm trying to figure out what we can do to create our OWN family traditions. Fill me in!!

I just CAN"T decide...

So, I've gone back again to the idea of going into labor on my own.
The longer I am pregnant (really, the closer I get to my due date) the more I realize that I would rather be pregnant and spend more time with Jane than throw myself into the frying pan with two kids and a husband that is gone 5 days a week.
Plus, I'm pretty scared about having two kids...
This is where I need all my veteren mom friends to swoop in to the rescue to remind me that it isn't going to be as hard as it sounds and I'll love the little baby as much as I love Jane because there seems to be a disconnect with me and those topics right now...
I hate to admit it but I really DON"T know what to do with a boy. I'm a little terrified by the thought of it. I'm not a huge fan of change that I can't control though...
What do you think??

I'm also a little nervous about the whole "going into labor" thing. In that respect I feel like a first time mom because I didn't go naturally with Jane. I don't know what to expect other than contractions that don't go away. I thought for sure that I would have the baby by now because of nesting and pressure and contractions...but, my doctor says he is still pretty high. Who knew?
So anyways, I'm still pregnant and I'm pretty happy about it.

This one's for you...

So I just had my baby shower for Sawyer this weekend and it was a LOT of fun! Jake's mom and sister really outdid themselves by throwing this shower for me and it was extremely appreciated. More so than they will probably ever know.
So anyways, I've been thinking about the parallels between this pregnancy and the last. How life is going to change. What I know now that I didn't know then and blah blah blah...
I've also been talking to a lot of soon-to-be first time mothers about different things they'll need or what would be helpful. So that is what this post is about. All the veteran mom readers, let's pool our resources and experiences and make a BIG list of things that we wish we would have known or had or registered for with our first babies...
I'll start us off.

1. You're baby isn't going to die or be permanently neurologically damaged if it gets jaundice.
-let the baby sleep in front of a window that gets lots of sunlight and if you get really desperate and you are nursing, supplement with a formula bottle once or twice a day.

2. Don't try to breastfeed until you have a lactation consultant in the room helping you.
-It will feel very awkward to have a strange woman feeling you up and shoving your baby's
head onto your bosom but you will thank me for this when you don't have bleeding and
cracked nipples. Lansinoh is your friend.

3. Register for Infant Motrin, Infant Tylenol, Gas Drops, Teething Gel and Lansinoh.
- These are expensive necessities (almost as important as diapers) and you will be grateful
to your friends for helping you stock up.

4. Buy an eye mask (for sleeping).
-Everyone tells you to sleep when the baby sleeps. DO THIS!! However, if you have a hard time sleeping during the day, you'll definitely get your three dollars worth.

5. Don't feel pressure to let people help you but ALSO, don't be afraid to ask for help.
-I'm really not the best person to give advice on the whole family help issue. I have independence problems and I am hard headed. I can tell you though that you should never feel pressured to do something you are not comfortable with. If that means saying no to a well-intentioned offer for babysitting or calling someone up and begging them to give you a break: Do what works for you and DON"T let anyone make you feel inadequate for not doing it their way.

6. Three days of meals from the ward is WONDERFUL... but it isn't enough.
-Stock up on freezer meals or canned soup or microwave dinners. Horde as much of whatever makes you feel good when you eat it and doesn't leave you feeling guilty for not making it yourself. Lately, I have been making casseroles in 9x13 in. pans and packing half of it up and freezing it for later. I have between one and two weeks worth of food in the freezer for when the baby comes plus some frozen bread, homemade freezer burritos and pancakes.

7. Chances are your baby won't die of SIDS.
- Again, I'm not the best person to talk to about this. I had post-partum depression and was certifiably crazy for about 10 months. BUT, if you find yourself consumed with the fear of your babies death, if movies of the worst-case scenario keep playing behind your eye-lids, you should probably talk to your doctor and make sure that you don't have PPD also. No woman should have to suffer the way I did... Get yourself checked out if you just don't feel like yourself.

Okay, This is what I can think of at the moment. If I come up with something else, I'll write another post. Ladies, help out. Let's educate the new moms in ways that we weren't. Welcome to the club. It is an exciting, scary, AMAZING ride. You'll love most minutes of it, hate some of them but you'll never regret any of them.

A mighty change of heart...

So it would appear as though I have a tendency of going into "labor" a couple of weeks early while I am pregnant. When I was pregnant with Jane I labored hard enough to get admitted to labor and delivery and then sent home when the contractions stopped. With this pregnancy I only had to endure two hours in the triage area before I convinced them that the contractions would go away as soon as I was able to rest and relax at home.
I kept telling myself after I actually had Jane that I wanted to know what it was like to go into labor naturally. Well... I change my mind. Going to labor and delivery with close contractions, hip pain, no husband and being only 35 weeks pregnant was so stressful! My dear mother-in-law was nice enough to go with me and walk the halls and offer to sing to me when I was on the verge of tears. I don't want to go into labor naturally. That is crazy! I want to be able to check my schedule, pick a day, get a good nights rest and have a baby the next day.
I mother Jane using a method that I learned to use on myself to help curb my anxiety. We talk about events that will be coming up, I explain what is going to happen and what it is going to be like and then I tell her that it is going to be okay. Going into labor naturally completely disregards the method that I use to keep MYSELF calm! I can't go into labor naturally.

Change of Subject:
I've been doing a lot of preparing and planning for this baby because of the circumstance of our life right now. I've got about two weeks worth of freezer meals already prepared and in the freezer. I'm planning on renting a steam cleaner and cleaning the carpets and couch. I am having a hard time thinking of all the spring cleaning type tasks that need to be completed before the baby comes. Not just because I'm crazy for thinking about cleaning the house from top to bottom before the baby comes but also so I don't have to do it before we move with a toddler AND a baby in the house.
Do you guys have any suggestions??
Do you have any great, easy freezer meal recipes? I'd like to have 30 days worth of freezer meals when I deliver so I can focus on resting, finding a new place to live and packing.

The newest maroon house on the block.

The countdown begins...

Being pregnant is the one of the most maddening things you can do to yourself. At the end you are big and uncomfortable and ready to have your body back. I swear to you, I have dreamt about my pre-pregnancy body every night so far this week. You know what I do in all my dreams? I squish my hard (flat) runners stomach and feel the blissful sensation of NOTHING pushing back! It's crazy, I know, but I can't wait to stretch my legs again and feel the wind of a 12 minute mile in my hair... :) I can't wait to lay down on my side and not feel my muscles stretch and ache to accomodate the weight of my huge baby unsupported... I can't wait to go get that carribean salt or seaweed wrap that I read about from a local spa as a reward for making it through one more pregnancy without tearing my hair out or ripping my clothes in half with my teeth.
Okay, okay, so maybe I'm being a little dramatic. This pregnancy has actually be very good. I haven't had ANY of the problems that I had with Jane. I've been perfect physically throughout. I'm actually starting to wonder if people are right when they say that girls are easier...
Anyways, foward I march. The most maddening thing about this pregnancy to me is the end. Only in the sense that I am desperate to not be pregnant anymore (as previously mentioned) but, at the same time, I don't want the baby to come until I"M ready (which isn't until Jake is ready...). So what do you do when you are ready for something to happen, but not just yet, while at the same time, you don't want to wait too long...?
You just keep living life and try as hard as you can to not think about the when's, how's and where's of the matter. As an update for all you rabid readers (yes, for both of you) I'm going to try to post some pictures so you can see how big I actually am. On a personal note, Jane and I are doing great. We are past the half-way mark with the academy and once we have the baby things will be over and done before we know it.

Call me crazy...

Okay,
First of all, I have to say that I think I may be the only person in the state of Florida who enjoyed Tropical Storm Fay. In fact, I enjoyed it so much that I would be willing to say that tropical storms are the BEST things that Florida summers have to offer. It did rain for about three days but it was also 20 degrees cooler than normal...with a nice breeze.
Plus, it is nice to turn on the news and not hear the weather man going on and on about our water deficit anymore. We officially have a surplus now. Yee Haw!

Second, I really think that the weather hates me sometimes. My car stinks like must from all of the moisture so I made plans today to steam clean it at my in-laws. Well...my plans are no more because of the huge lines of thunderstorms that are coming through right now. We are under a tornado watch so instead of cleaning my car and getting rid of the smell, the smell will probably just get thicker. Ew.

Other than that life is swimming along. Time is ticking away and even though it seems like it is going slow presently I keep waking up on Friday wondering where the week went.

It's my obsession...

I'm obessessed with the new Neutrogena Wave.

This cute little product is more than a great accessory for your bathroom. It is an AMAZING tool to use on your face! Usually I am more than skeptical about these little fad face washing gadgets that come out but I decided to take the leap and try it out this time. I was not dissapointed. My skin is so much smoother. The amount of small little blackheads that were on my chin has been cut in half. If I do break out, the whole rising, popping and healing process is so much faster than with a regular cleanser.

Seriously, get this product. Even if you don't think you have a problem with your skin it feels amazing to use. Your face gets tingly and fresh. The feeling is comparable to your mouth after a good tooth-brushing.

I love it!

Blogger Loser...

Hi All,
I'm a blogger loser.
I keep making mental notes in my brain of things I want to blog about and I keep not making time to blog about them. Here is a basic recap of the last couple of weeks.

1. I'm addicted to baking soda and vinegar as a household cleaner. I scrubbed both of the rings around Jane's tub (the ring from where I fill the water and the ring from where Jake fills the water) off in THREE minutes. It may not have even taking that long.

2. I'm dying to get my hands on a kitchen aid stand mixer. I would almost consider donating a spare kidney for one of the professional grade machines (I'm sure I use the kidney less than I would use the mixer... right?!).

3. The cost of "Positive Discipline: Birth to Three Years" should be written into the cost of every woman's hospital stay. We should also be tested on it periodically to make sure that the book is being read. If every parent would read this book I think we would see a DRASTIC change in our society 20 years from now. I love this book so much I want to invite the authors to Tallahassee so I can kiss their feet.

4. I've been keeping track of all the fun words that Jane pronounces incorrectly. Here is a list:
-"Eleflu" or Elephant
-"copcorn" or popcorn
-"manga" or gramma
-"monka" is monkey
-"tire" is tiger
-"night" is snow white
-"a roar" is aurora
-"la" is cinderella
-"daiyu" is Jasmin
and a bunch more.

5. I am so far into my pregnancy that I am going MORE than once a month. I can't believe it has all gone by so quickly. I'm at the point now where I can push my stomach and actually feel body parts. That is such a fun stage because when the baby sleeps close to the skin (as opposed to the spine) I can push little legs and arms around while he sleeps. I used to do this with Jane all the time. It wakes the baby up pretty much every time you do it.

6. Jane turned TWO!! I can't believe it! We had such a fun birthday party. She asked for a Princess party so that is what she got. One of her friends came over and they fingerpainted together. Then she ate cake and opened presents with the family. Almost everything she got had Disney Princesses on it.

7. AND FINALLY, I've been thinking about getting my kids a standard investment gift every year but I don't know which would be better: stocks, bonds, mutual funds or a deposit into a high yield savings account.

What do you guys think???

Recall...

I'm starting the food diary again.
'Nuf said...

Yay for weekends!

1. Two logs have been discontinued... I can't possibly keep a realistic track of my time and I refuse to keep track of my diet. I'll just work out more.

2. Jake is home for a LONG three day weekend. Yay! Tonight, instead of fireworks and throngs of people, we put Jane to bed at her normal bedtime and we are making bread, balancing our checkbook (this log is so nice, being accountable for the money on paper makes me spend less in general... who would have thought?!) and picking out different recipes to try on his weekends at home. I love my husband.

I was sitting in a restaurant last night, watching Jane and Jake walk away to the bathroom (she had a DIIIIRRRRTTTTYYY diaper) and I couldn't help but just smile. I have the best little family. Jane sat by Jake at dinner and kept reaching over and hugging and kissing him. I kept cathing the woman behind us staring at Jane and smiling. She is such a sweet little girl. I knew Jake was the right man for me when I married him and I have never second guessed my decision but going through the weeks by myself and having him home on the weekend just reaffirms my feelings and lets me KNOW that I NEVER want to be a single mother. It not as hard to do everything with a child on your own as it is lonely. I want to badly to put Jane into bed every night and feel relieved that she is down but most of the time I want to just get her back up so I have someone to sit with me and talk to me (she can actually TALK now and tell me what she likes and dislikes...it is amazing!)

Anyways, I'm not going to be a downer.

I love my family so much!

Electric Knives...

I got an electric knife!
I use it to cut the two loaves of freshbaked, whole wheat bread I have made in the last week. I also used it to cut Jane's frenchbread pizza last night. It was great! I'm pretty much addicted to it.

Usually when I try something new, I try other new things at the same time. Here is a brief recap of the new routines I am trying to establish:

1. A food Diary. Normally I am AGAINST these with a passion that is unrivaled but... I keep gaining weight with this pregnancy and I can't figure out where I am eating enough to gain eight pounds in one month and 6 pounds in the next. I'm thinking it might have something to do with the miniature chocolates I buy on the weekend when Jake is home...

2. An activity log. Again, this is something that I am normally very much opposed to but if I'm going to monitor my physical weight I should probably monitor all the junk time activities I have been filling my days with lately. So far I have half a page worth of entries and nothing really substantial to report... I've done the dishes, run to the bank, checked the mail, paid the rent...

3. and finally, a spending log! This is nothing more than a sheet of lined paper that tracks every single penny that I spend but this is big!! I hate keeping the balance of my bank on paper but with all the new money coming in and all of my lofty saving goals, I've got to figure out where I can "trim the fat."

It's interesting though, all of my new activities revolve around losing some kind of weight or another. I blame my friend, you know who you are, for filling my mind with 3 years worth of a minimalists perspective. Maybe I'll finally get it right this time...
Until then, I'm drinking a lot of water, hanging out with Jane and working while she naps. We're bored!! Call us for playdates!!!