New Blog!

You can now find me at Bourbon and the BVM.  Grab a cocktail and/or a rosary and come on over.

Maundy Thursday

I was going to post Joos van Wassenhove's Communion of the Apostles in honor of the day, and then I realized I already had. Find it in my post from 2009:
http://ndlawwife.blogspot.com/2009/04/maundy-thursday.html

Have a blessed Triduum!

Pretty, Happy, Funny, Real

{Pretty, Happy, Funny, Real} is a collaborative endeavor begun by the lovely ladies at Like Mother, Like Daughter to "capture the context of contentment in everyday life."


Here are mine for the week:

Pretty:My irises (the ones the previous owners of our house were supposed to dig up and take with them) are beginning to come up.

Happy:

Rita Mae is officially an independent sitter. She can hold her self steady--sometimes even without putting her hand on the floor--for minutes at a time before toppling. As you can see, she's awfully pleased with herself.

Funny:
Kid constantly has her tongue hanging out of her mouth these days. She cracks me up.

Real:

I recently resolved to learn to fold fitted sheets so they weren't just wadded up in the back of the linen closet. After reading/watching every tutorial on the subject I could find, this was the back side of my best attempt. Sigh.

Catching up

The major highlights since the last time I posted:

A. We moved into our house in mid-October.
B. I had a baby on November 8.
C. I went back to work at PNM when said baby was 9 weeks old.
D. I stopped working for PNM and became a stay-at-home-mom when said baby was 12 weeks old.
E. Now I spend my time feeding/diapering/holding/basking in the general awesomeness of said baby, who is currently 5 months old, and occasionally trying to keep house.

Some elaboration:

A. Our neighborhood is awesome. So many friends here, and close enough to stores, etc. to be convenient without anything in sight being commercial. Love. We're slowly-but-surely working on getting the house spruced up. Major projects right now are primarily yard/garden related, as the weather has recently taken a turn for the fantastic.

B. I was in labor for 30 hours, but a lot of that time included puttering around the house, going to Mass, and attending a baby shower for a friend. Once we got to the hospital (early evening on 11/7), I was at a 5, and things progressed fairly quickly and easily until I stalled out at 9 cm. They put me on pitocin, which made the contractions more painful but not more productive. After an unpleasant encounter with the grouchy on-call doc who threatened me with a C-section because the baby "wasn't going to come," I got an epidural, took a nap, and pushed her right on out. Rita Mae Krog, born 7:37 am on November 8, 2010. 8 lbs, 6.5 oz; 20.5 inches. Lots of dark hair and way cuter than any brand-new newborn has a right to be.

C. Going back to work was the worst thing ever. I was constantly exhausted and felt like I wasn't really living my life, I was just getting ready for the next day. Being a working mom was just not for me.

D. The firm found a replacement for me with Providential speed. After having her awkwardly shadow me at the front desk for a couple of days, I left, and I've never been happier. I have so many fond memories of all the time I spent at PNM, and I'm forever grateful for everything they've done for me over the years. But seriously, the day they told me they'd found a replacement, I felt like I could have flown to the moon. Having me at home works so, SO much better for our family.

E. (1) Feeding: RM is a champion nurser. We have been blessed not to have any issues on that front. She doesn't want anything to do with a bottle, but that hasn't posed any real problems for us (she took one just fine while I was working).
(2) Diapering: We use cloth. I have one Fuzzibuns and a few Happy Heinys, which I like ok, but I really love the bulk of my stash, which are Smartipants (these names. I know.). Laundry hasn't been much of a problem. I kind of enjoy stuffing them when they come out of the dryer, actually. And they're just so darn cute!
(3) Holding: Rita Mae is not much for independent napping. Some days I can put her down and she sleeps just fine, but many days, she falls asleep in my arms and wakes up crying every time I try to put her down. I spend a lot of time with her asleep in my lap. It doesn't make for productive days, but I know this time is fleeting, and I'm soaking up every minute of cuddling I have.
(4) General-awesomeness Basking: Seriously. She's so neat. She learns and explores so much every day, and it's all just a joy to see. And she's hilarious--so many funny little noises and faces. And she is just so pretty. For real:

(5) Occasionally trying to keep house: See above, re: having to hold the baby all the time. I do have a schedule that I follow for getting to each room at least once a week, but the overarching chores (like non-diaper laundry or dishes that don't go in the dishwasher) that can get pushed back, pretty much always do. Blergh. I'm working on it.


Ok, there. All caught up. Maybe I'll blog again before another 6 months go by. Maybe. No promises.

Oh, hi there

I have a blog, don't I. Maybe I should update it, since it's been 4 months...

Now that October is here, everything that has been looming all summer/early fall is about to happen. The thought of blogging in any depth about it all is a little overwhelming, so I think I'll take advantage of the Seven Quick Takes format:

1. We close on our house on Monday (10/4)! The home buying adventure has been in equal turns horrible and wonderful, but I think we're ending up with a great place. It's certainly in the most perfect-for-us neighborhood imaginable (the nickname gives away why: Vatican Valley). A friend from church recommended we look there, and everything has fallen together so nicely.

2. The house is in a great place, and I think it will suit our needs well for years and years, but it isn't beautiful by any stretch of the imagination. I'm hoping (but not promising, since we all know I'm the worst blogger ever) to post lots of pictures of our progress toward really making it our own.

3. The next big thing after the closing is on the 8th -- Paul gets his bar results back. There's no worry that he didn't pass, but the confirmation will be a nice milestone to have behind us.

4. The office threw a baby shower for me earlier this week with an Asian food theme. I've been mowing through the big container of wasabi peas that was left over. So good.

5. In addition to the office shower, Paul's sisters threw a shower in Memphis a couple of months ago, and I have two more coming up (my high school girlfriends and my family). This kid is already so spoiled.

6. Everything seems to be on track for Baby to arrive very close to her estimated due date. I certainly hope she does, since coming early means the house may not be ready for her and coming late means her baptism will be difficult to schedule before Advent. I know she'll get here on God's/her own schedule and not mine, but it would be awfully nice if those would line up!

7. I should almost certainly have enough material for a seventh item, but I can't seem to come up with anything good. Like I said at the beginning, there's just too much!