So long...

Well, this is the swan song for my blog. I have prayed for a lot of things - things that I never imagined would actually come into fruition. But, they have.

I know I haven't been giving this blog the attention that it deserves and I don't expect that to change soon.

My business has taken off and is on the crux of going global (well, global-er...I already have one international distributor).

I'm staying home with my baby, but being a very active mom. We have playdates and I'm meeting other mommies in the area. Also, she's having some sleep issues and I've completely devoted my evenings to that (which is when I usually blog).

And I'm running the shit out of this household - if I must say so myself.

I have surprised myself with my capacity to multitask and excel in so many areas of my life at one time. I am honored that I can get everything done in one day - and that includes having dinner ready for hubby when he comes home.

So, I will use the 6 or 7 extra minutes I have in the day to read all of your lovely blogs instead of maintaining my own.

Thanks for your attention and support these last couple of years.

Peace out!

Jersey City, Week 2

Jersey City has a feral cat problem. Cats are everywhere. The alleyways all smell like cat piss - which makes for an unpleasant walking environment. And if its a muggy evening and you have your alley-facing windows open, guess what your house smells like? Did I mention how much I hate cats?

Ladybug and I met up with a group of other stay-at-home and work-at-home moms. Consider it attempt #1 at making new friends. We had a good time and enjoyed the company. I am now officially a member of this group. Let's call them the Stepford Wives. Noone was pretentious or flighty. Everyone has a college degree and most of us are just taking brief vacations from the working world to cater to our bambinos, or working from home offices.

I'm still trying to get adjusted to things, but I finally had a normal day. Got up (a little later than normal because ladybug slept in), spent some time with ladybug, worked for a couple of hours, then capped it off with a nice long nap-inducing walk.

I spend most of my days grumbling about how noisy it is on the block. Why, oh why must they cram so many houses on one block on the East Coast. I miss my southern sprawl.

I stepped on the scale yesterday to weigh the baby (I weigh myself, then weigh myself holding the baby and do the math). Was very pleasantly surprised to find myself back down to my ideal weight!!! Yay! I guess the magic formula for post-natal weight loss is:

(b)(dw)
--------- = weight loss
x

(where b=breastfeeding, dw= daily walks and x=living w/o a fridge b/c the store botched the delivery date)

Jeez, I must miss the classroom because I just derived a formula...for fun.

Superhubby is off to Vegas for work all next week so I'll be single-momming it. Because moving across the country and still unpacking boxes and living in a new place is not stressful enough.

Well, I'm off to Google Reader to mark all as read and start fresh tomorrow catch up on some blogs I follow.

I'm baaaack!

Since I last posted, I've quit my job, cut off (almost) all of my hair, and moved to New Jersey for a fabulous new career move for my hubby. I'm trying my hand at being a work-at-home mom which has its own unique set of challenges. It's only been a week and a half and I'm still not sure if I know what I'm doing. For instance, it has occured to me that I don't know what to do to get my daughter to take a nap. She's a nosy little booger and doesn't just fall asleep like other babies I know. It takes work. I find myself emailing her day care teachers once or twice a day for advice. Somehow, staying home all day gives me less time than ever to do anything. I just recently joined a mommy group so I'm hoping these ladies can give me some pointer. Has someone written a "How to be a full-time mother for dummies" book yet? Let me go check amazon.com.

Anyhoo - welcome to Chapter 5 of my life

I'm still alive!

I'm enjoying a quite unplugged vacay. I promise to post next week when we get to Jersey.

Part 2: Hope

Sorry, I didn't intend for it to be so long between posts but life happens.

Hope is defined as someone (or something) on which expectations are centered.

Hope is underrated. We hope for things all the time and don't take it seriously. Hoping I get a spa day for my birthday is not as serious as wishing for a spa day for my birthday. I don't think we ever really notice how important "hopes" are until they are dashed.

I had hoped to be finished with my PhD in 5 years. No pressure, just a hope. Imagine my disappointment when the 5th year came and went... I had a life planned for that 6th year after undergrad, but I had to put it on hold to finish my education.

Anthony and I had hoped to make Seattle our home, at least for the next 5-10 years or so. Life happened and now we're moving across the country to New Jersey. We're sad to leave this beautiful place that we're finally starting to feel completely comfortable in - but we are looking forward to this new chapter in our lives.

But, if I have to place my expectations on anything, its that we can make a good life for ourselves in NJ. That my baby will be happy and culturally-aware. That I can find a yoga class that I like. That there's a good Indian restaurant within walking distance from the house. That we can finally be in a position to be still. But, if not, then we will adjust. We'll roll with it. Our hopes might be dashed, but we will create new ones.

Faith, Hope and Love

A friend of mine was out-of-sorts. Her well-planned, perfectly-orchestrated life was falling down around her. Her personal life was in shambles, her job was in jeopardy and she was on the verge of a mental collapse. I prayed with her and talked to her about faith. Ironically, my meditation for this morning was from I Corinthians 3, which talks about faith hope and love. In thinking about these three, I realized what a strong role each plays in my life.

I’m feeling quite introspective lately, so I’m dragging you – friends of this blog – through it with me.

Part I – Love

This weekend was H-O-T in Seattle. Like 80s and 90s hot. That may not sound bad to my Texan and Oklahoman friends, but in a place where central A/C is not standard that is hawt!

Normally, on hot days like this, I will turn on the window fan in Baby K’s room at about 4pm and let the breeze from the lake work on cooling her room down. That way, by the time she’s ready for bed at 8pm or so, we can be in there comfortably and she can be swaddled without sweating to death.

Yesterday, we were at the zoo all day and didn’t get home until near 7. I turned on the fan right away, but knew it would be hours before the room cooled down. So, we started our bedtime ritual and when she was ready for the crib, I stripped her down and lay her in there. She slept in fits and starts (because she wasn’t swaddled) but I stayed in the room with her so that I could shhhh her back to sleep whenever she woke up.

Finally, near 9, the sun started its decent behind the ridge and the lake breeze was able to replace the hot stuffiness in her room with coolness. I swaddled the baby and put her to sleep. Then for the next 30 minutes, I was sticking my nose in her room to make sure it didn’t get too cool in there.

To make an already too long story short, I slept on the floor in front of my baby’s crib because I wanted to make sure it wasn’t too cold or too hot for her. I woke up as needed through the night adjusting the fan level, cracking and closing the blinds and gently touching her ears and shoulders to make sure she wasn’t cold or hot.

What little sleep I got was restful and I woke up at 5 feeling ready for the day. Not because a one-blanket pallet on the floor was particularly comfortable, but because I knew Baby K was safe and sleeping well.

That, my friends, is what love looks like. If you would have asked me 5 years ago if I loved someone enough to sleep on the floor at their feet just because I would have looked at you like crazy.

Up next… Part II - Hope

Just checkin in!

Geez Louise! It's been month since I've written. I would like to say its because I'm very busy with motherhood, work, business and married life.

The truth is, the weather has been gorgeous and Seattleites can't bear to waste any daylight hours inside (the sun actually doesn't set here until after 9PM).

Anyhoo! Don't worry, there's something a-brewing in the Fuller camp (and its not another baby...yet). Details to follow.

Happy Birthday, DaVida!