10 Day you challenge - day 8

 

Whoops!  Yesterday was my mom's birthday celebration, which was held at our house.  Here is day eight of the challenge, a day late. 

eight fears

1. Mr. O dying before me.  Seriously, this disturbs me to the core.  Hopefully, we both have long lives in front of us.
2. Clowns.  I never liked them and then I read Stephen King's IT when I was in the fifth grade.  I remember thinking, "I knew I was right about them!" 
3. Roller Coasters.  I would love to ride them, but my body goes straight into panic attack.  Shaking so violent that I can't control it.  In fact, I have no control over myself when I try to ride them.  My hands grip the bar and I can't make them let go until we stop. 
4. Something happening to Nola.  Good grief, no one tells you how much you'll worry about them.  I'm not obsessive, but so many things could happen.  She slept for eight hours on Friday night and I sat straight up and immediately checked if she was breathing.
5. Someone breaking into our house, while we're sleeping. Thank you, Cold Case Files. 
6. Going bald when I'm older.  Seriously, bald is never cute unless you're a dude.
7. Getting Alzheimer's.  I see it all the time at work.  No one should get it. It's horrible.
8. Some of the psych patients at work.  I am notorious for getting psych patients.  Every one at works knows it and there have been a few that have absolutely scared the bejesus out of me.  You can't control or predict crazy. I've seen some crazy things.

This & That

Here's a whole bunch of random things for you.  I started this post last night when I couldn't go to sleep, but I did it on my blog ap, but I didn't post it, so I lost it all.  Thank you for that, iPhone.  You are so awesome sometimes.

Debbie Downer alert!  I found out last night that one of the girls that I graduated with died this past spring.  I didn't really know her, but she seemed nice.  Nothing makes you think of your mortality like hearing about someone your age that died.  She had melanoma, which reminds me that I've had a questionable mole for ever and keep putting off going to have it checked out.  I think it's time to make that appointment now.  On a side note, tanning beds are horrible.  Think of how often high school students go to them.  It's melanoma waiting to happen.  Plus, I'm not sure if I've mentioned it before, but when starting an iv on a high schooler with really tough skin, I ask them if tan a lot because I can tell from how tough their skin is when I try to stick them.

Speaking of high school, I watched part of an episode of My So Called Life the other day.  I used to love that show. I mean, do-multiple-skits-for-speech-and-drama-watch-every-episode-a-million-times-from-my-own-personal-copy-that-I-recorded-off-of-tv loved it.  I watched it when it was ABC and not MTV.  Yes, I was an original lover of the show.  Well, let's say that you know you have grown up a lot, when you watch a show that you absolutely used to love, only to realize it's not that good at all.  It was boring slow, dark, and just kind of depressing.  If it hadn't been for Jared Leto, I might have changed the channel after a few minutes.  He bought my watching the show about 15 more minutes.  Who doesn't love a little Jordan Catalano eye candy?  For those who want their fix, it's on the Sundance channel on Comcast.  That's for you, B whoever wants to watch it.

I now have to work every other weekend again.  I'm so bummed about it.  I guess you can't ask to have two days a week off because your husband is in school without having some consequence.  I love my job, but the thought of every other weekend and 10a-10p shifts makes me sick.  I'm sending some positive energy out to have a fix for this situation. Time will tell if it happens or not.

Yesterday morning, my ipod player started playing on it's own in Nola's room.  Talk about being freaked out.  Luckily, Aaron was still here, so he walked around the house with a baseball bat looking for an intruder.  It was probably pretty funny from the outside, not from the inside. 

Every time something out of the ordinary happens, I think maybe my dad is behind it.  If you knew him, he was a major prankster.  I find myself saying in my head, "Very funny, dad."  Aaron has even said, "That's enough, Billy," before on an occasion where weird things happened all day.

Speaking of ghosts, they say kids can see them.  Well, I kind of believe that they see something because Nola will be looking up at nothing at all and start smiling and kicking her legs like something is there.  It kind of freaks me out.  Very funny, dad.

We're leaving for Florida next week.  I still need to call customer service to find out about baby things, like strollers, bringing her car seat, etc.  I am clueless.  I know we have to take tons of stuff for such a little person. I've made a list and it's hella long.  What a little diva! 

Also, we're boarding the dogs.  It's going to be like $300.  Anyone want two dogs?  One is playful and disobedient marches to the beat of her own drummer.  The other one is old and crotchety wise and full of personality.  I'll be honest on Molly.  She's the weirdest and most frustrating dog that I have ever owned and I had many a dog growing up.  Going once, going twice....

That's it and that's all for now.

 

10 day you challenge - Day 9

nine loves

1. Mr. O & Nola.  Duh.  Package deal with those two.
2. All things cooking.  Shows, recipes, cookbooks, etc.
3. Fashion.
4. Flea Markets.
5. Beach vacations.
6. Coffee.
7. More than 4 hour stretches of sleep.
8. Horror films.  I'm becoming more of a wimp the older I get though.
9. Finding a good deal.

Sneak preview

We did a little more in Nola's nursery.  Here's a little preview.  Hopefully, we'll have it done before I go back to work.  That's our goal. 

*  We hung the lanterns and poofs this weekend.  Ignore the bin where I'm packing away things already  *

* Craptastic photo alert!  If you can see anything, this is the curtain Aaron's mom made.  It's really pretty in person  *

*  dresser and changing area  *

*  Up close of the bedding that Mr. O's mom made for Nola  *

*  Crazy hair enjoying her new mobile.  Plus, up close of the inside fabric of the bedding  *

*  Bonus photo:  Our little hoarder this morning  *

10 Day you challenge

I saw this on a couple of other blogs and usually I don't really like posts like this or regular weekly posts because I like to mix it up, but I think this will keep me accountable to blogging for at least the next 10 days.  So enjoy!

ten secrets

1. Every time I hear this song, I think of the day I had Nola and of Mr. O.  It was one of the songs on my labor playlist, but the lyrics are so perfect both.  Nola lyrics:  Yours is the first face that I saw.  I think I was blind before I met you.  I don't know where I am.  I don't know where I've been, but I know where I want to go.  Mr. O lyrics:  This is the first day of my life, I'm glad I didn't die before I met you.  But now I don't care I could go anywhere with you.  And I'd probably be happy...and.....But I realized that I need you. And I wondered if I could come home.
2. I would like to just once take a shower without hearing crying through all or most of it.  The shower used to be my thinking place and I miss it.
3. If I could do anything without the fear of going bankrupt, I would quit my job and open up a cafe/coffee house.  It would be in an old house with different rooms and the food would be fantastic. 
4. I applied for a Cancer Research Nurse position at Vanderbilt.  I haven't heard anything, in like a month, so I'm not sure if I should just give up on it.  I have a friend that told me it took about 3 months for her to get hired on though.  I'm keeping hope alive! For those that know me, this is my dream job.
5. For about a week, I thought I was pregnant again.  Seriously.  I gained two pounds and my stomach is no longer as flat as it was a month ago.  I also kept getting dizzy spells, which was exactly what I did in the beginning with Nola.  I also spotted for a day.  No, I didn't take a test.  I'm just assuming I was wrong and paranoid about getting pregnant again.  The weight gain is from the large quantities of ice cream and sugar that I've been eating.  Case in point, on Monday, I had a two Reese's peanut butter cups, a nutty buddy, and a gelati from Rita's.  I'm craving Dr. Pepper again.  It's in my head, it's in my head, it's in my head...
6. Sometimes, I'm with my family and I think, how did I come from them?  Wrong, yes, but if you know my family, you know there are about a million differences between us.  I love them dearly, but how I became me is baffling when you compare us.
7. Once in high school, I was humming a song and tapping my foot in class, only to realize that it was Sally the Camel from Barney.  In my defense, I used to babysit my cousins a lot.
8. I may have just taken a break from writing this to do a little dance to Yo Gabba Gabba for Nola.
9. Aaron and I want to go to Hawaii for our 10 year anniversary, which is next year.  Hopefully, it really happens!
10. I'm in desperate need for a girl's night or lunch or just some grown up girl chatting.  Feel sorry for me and ask me out.

Kids don't know how lucky they are

Don't even get me started on school supplies.  Those lucky little ducks.  That's a whole other entry because I love me some school supplies, see here.  The main reason they are lucky are new school clothes.  What I wouldn't give to have a reason to get an entire new wardrobe.  Kids take their back to school clothes for granted.  After school is over and you're paying for your own things, don't expect to get a closet full of new clothes at the start of every late summer/early fall. 

Now, as I got older, I didn't take the school clothes for granted.  In fact, I bought most of my clothes myself, beginning in junior high.  I felt bad asking my parents to pay for my clothes, especially when they were expensive.  I remember trying to get the most for my money.  Maybe that's when my thrifty ways began.

I still look forward to the August and September issues of fashion magazines.  They are always the best.  I may have been sporting Jncos (which were hella expensive for a high school student on a crappy job income to buy), but I was still reading up on Vogue, Seventeen, and Elle come August and September. 

Maybe that's part of the reason that I love fall so much.  There is a newness in the air, not to mention that nice cool breeze that takes the horrendous summer heat away.  I can't wait for fall fashion season.  You better believe that I'll be propped up, probably while feeding the child, scanning those magazines for ideas and, of course, reading some fashion blogs. 

As part of the make-the-transition-back-to-work-go-smoothly, I've already told Aaron that I'm buying some new scrubs to wear and I ordered this lunch box.  That, my friends, comforts my heart a little bit.  See, old habits die hard, but I'm okay with that.

three.months.old

Nola Gray is three months old!  It's hard to believe that I've been home that long.  My return to work is looming around the corner, three weeks from yesterday to be exact.  That makes me sad.  I'm going to savor every moment until then. 

Here are some things that are going on in Nola's world right now.

• Until the last two nights for almost two weeks, she's been sleeping 5-7 hours at night, beginning somewhere between 10:00-11:30.  The last two nights have been rough. I think she must be going through a growth spurt because she wants to nurse more during the day too.
• She laughed out loud last week.  It was the most awesome thing ever!   Of course, it was Mr. O that got her to do it.  It was great because we were at my nephew's birthday party, so my family got to hear it too.  We scared her because we all screamed out in delight and she looked at us like we were crazy. 
• She's been napping about 2-3 hrs in the morning, except this morning *sigh* and then takes two shorter naps in the afternoon/evening.  I've been working hard to get a schedule down before I go back to work.
• She's holding toys now.  It's cute.  She doesn't want to let them go.  Her favorite is a toy cell phone that my mom got her. 
• She started pulling hair yesterday.  Luckily, it was her own.  She had a death grip on it though. I had to pry her hand away.  Can't wait until it's my own hair, which reminds me, I need to cut all my hair off and watch out when I wear earrings.
• Bath time is getting better.  She hated it at first.  I even got a few smiles from her in the last bath. 
• I've started packing away clothes.  How sad is that?  Newborns and some of her smaller 0-3 months are too small now. 
• I took her measurements this morning and got just shy of 24 inches in height, a little over 15 inches for head circumference, and 13.5 pounds in weight.  FYI, she's tall, average weight, and has a small head with an extremely large brain.  :)
• She no longer takes a paci.  Yep, she just wants me to pacifier her.  That is frustrating.  I guess I should be grateful that I won't have to break paci habits later.
• She is talking a lot.  Baby babble is adorable.  It's funny because she'll get louder and louder, like why can't you understand what I'm saying.  
• She's a momma's girl right now.  We'll see if that changes when I go back to work.  Right now, she's all about me, which is so great and exhausting at the same time.
• Her eyes are still blue.  We know they are going to be lighter because they lightened, but whether they'll be blue, green, hazel or light brown is still up in the air.  My mom said my eyes stayed blue until I was two and then went hazel.  I hope we don't have to wait that long to find out her true color.
• She finally likes her play gym/mat.  Thank you, Misty!  She'll talk her baby babble and kick her legs and arms for around 15 minutes or so before getting restless.  She also will grab one of the toys that hang down and just lay there holding it. 
• She's absolutely adorable.  See below.