Cabin Fever

I am not one to complain about the cold. I would much rather be cold than hot. It is so much easier to wrap up in a blanket, than it is to shake a heat headache and be all sweaty, without exercising.

I am not one to complain about the snow. I still get snow days, as an adult! It is so beautiful (until it gets all dirty along the side of the roads). And, for the holiday season, it is a must!

However, this year I am kind of getting sick of it - for the first time.....I think ever. I am not even sure why. I thought originally that it must be because we keep getting tastes of good weather and then it's cold again.  No....that isn't right....this is the Midwest; I should be used to that by now! Perhaps it is because I never leave the house. No...that isn't it either; I leave the house every single day and am hardly there sometimes! Hmmm, what is it?

It must be Lucy. I just keep thinking of all the fun things that I want to do with Lucy and you know what? Most of that is not inside the house.  There is only so much you can do in the house before you just want to bust out.

So, I decided to indulge my yearnings for spring, believe the groundhog, and wish for spring to be right around the corner.  Here are ten things that I can't wait to do this spring, in no particular order:

1) Plant flowers
The snow piled up so high on my mums that they died. :( So, I'm going to give winter a glare and a fist shake, tell him that he can't keep me down, and plant some more.  How do you like me now?  Side note: I thought long and hard, way harder than I should have, about if winter was a he or she just now. Mother nature? Jack Frost? Hmmmm....as you can see I settled on Jack. Anyway...

2) Hang up Lucy's Swing

She got a swing for her birthday (thanks Grandma!) and I can't wait to push her in it. She loves the one at daycare; so, I'm excited to spend evenings in the backyard pushing her.

3) Cook-Out

Heath and I enjoy cooking out, even sometimes the healthy stuff!  Yes - there is such thing, like grilled chicken. I'm sure Lucy will enjoy it too.

4) Open-Up the House

I know I just mentioned getting out of the house.  But, sometimes you just have chores to do! So, if I have to be in the house, at least I can open up the window, enjoy the fresh air, and watch the curtains blowing in the breeze.

5) Go for Walks/Runs

As I mentioned yesterday, I am starting to really enjoy running. I am looking forward to running outside several times a week and not depending on mother nature to set my warm or cold schedule.  Also, Lucy got a wagon for her birthday (thanks Abuelo!). We were able to take her out once this year already and she loved it. I can't wait to take her out again. I think we will be making lots of trips around town in it.

6) Spring Clean

I know what you are thinking, "Who wants to clean?" Alright, so it's less about the cleaning and more about the organizing. I thoroughly enjoy organizing things. I'm a freak. I envy those people on HGTV that come into people's homes and organize all of their stuff!  I do not envy, however, the organizers on Hoarders. Yuck.  I am looking forward to 'remodeling' our basement into a playroom, organizing everything, and putting it all back! Yay!  That includes cleaning out the closets and medicine cabinets. :)

7) Go Fly a Kite
No, not get out of town; but, actually fly a kite. Lucy got a kite for her birthday. I used to fly a kite every Easter with my family, when I was little. I am excited to do it again, and especially with Lucy. I imagine she'll be mesmerized.

8) Introduce Lucy to New Animals

Now that Lucy is older, she can appreciate things more. She will enjoy going to my mom's house to see the animals (cows, horses, chickens, cats). My grandparents even have a rabbit on their farm for her to meet. And, of course, she can see that not all dogs (or 'Chicos' as she calls them, because of our chihuahua named Chico) are chihuahuas and rat terriers. There are such things as big 'Chicos' too. Also, before it gets too hot, I want to take her to the zoo. She would just love that.

9) Get Jazzed up about Rain & Tornadoes
I, like many others, am petrified of the horrific capabilities of a tornado. I can't imagine the destruction. And, the only real tornado I've seen was like an EF1, or something pathetic.  So, I really am incapable of imagining it. However, I love a good storm. I've loved thunder, lightning, and rain for as long as I can remember. I think it's calming and I love sleeping while it rains. I also love the adrenaline rush of a good tornadic storm. And, you are right; "tornadic" doesn't sound like a word; but, it is one because the weather people drive me nuts with it! That and football announcers saying 'trickeration'. WTH?   

10) Easter!
This is kind of the kick-off to spring, in like a lion! It will be a lot of fun to dye eggs with Lucy and have her be able to somewhat collect them. Perhaps she will have more fun throwing plastic eggs and eating the real ones! Either way, anytime we get together with family is a good time!

By the way...at work today I saw a high schooler visiting, because of a special event. She must be yearning for spring as much as I!  She had shorts on today - not gym shorts like..."I just got done working out or I'm too cool to wear real pants because I'm so athletic."  They were like kahki Daisy Duke's!  Someone needs to calm down their excitment. It is still 32 degrees out and their is still snow on the ground, honey!

Anyway, happy 'winter to spring transition' everyone! What are you excited to do this spring?

Happy Birthday Lucy!

A year ago, today, at 1:12 pm, I welcomed my little, beautiful girl into the world. I can hardly say that I really 'welcomed' her. I think the first thing I said to her, or rather at her, was, 'Oh my god!' But, nonetheless, that was when I saw her sweet face for the first time. My heart melted...

It all started about 36 hours before, in the early, early morning hours of February 6, 2010. I woke up from the recliner to make another trip to the restroom. I felt a little odd. It didn't feel like Braxton-Hicks at all. It stung a little. It was a sharp pain...kind of like (forgive me) painful gas; but, this was deep in my pelvis. It was kind of like a menstrual pain or cramp (the triple 'P' for those of you close to me... ;D). I decided to bust out my pregnancy app. on my iPod and time the pains. Yep, about every 9 or 10 minutes I would have them. So, I woke Heath up at around 1:30 am and told him that I thought I just might be having contractions. What did I know, though? I hadn't ever felt a contraction before!

We had learned from our Birthing Classes, 'What to Expect when Expecting,' and BabyCenter.com that first time mothers can be in labor for hours. And, they should go about a pretty usual routine until the contractions are closer. So, I went back to sleep. It surprisingly wasn't that hard to do.

I woke up again at about 7 am. They were getting more prominent - not that they hurt more, I was just able to feel it better. I again woke Heath up and he started to time them. It was about every 7 to 8 minutes. I was just still not convinced that I was having contractions. I waited about an hour and called my mom.

"What do contractions feel like? This is a sharp pain. I don't know what I was expecting; but, they are sharper than what I imagined."

"Yeah, they are. You are probably right; they are contractions," she said calmly.

I decided to prepare then. I got around, ate cereal (Kix to be exact), took a shower, the usual. I even had plenty of pain-free time to fix my hair. The hospital was surprised when I came in with makeup on and my hair done. But anyway, it wasn't too long after noon that my mom and sister came over to hang out with me.

I spent the entire day laying around, walking our stairs, timing contractions, bouncing on our exercise ball, getting my back rubbed, and being anxious. Would she ever come?!

Finally at 9 pm that night, when my contractions were still more than 5 minutes apart, we called and asked if we could come in. The hospital warned me that I may have to come back home; but, that was alright. We knew we wouldn't be able to sleep anyway and I didn't want to have to rush to the hospital. So, we headed out. It even started to snow flurry on us on the way there.

About 10 minutes out from the hospital, my contractions started to move from semi-uncomfortable to painful.

After arriving, checking in, changing, and walking a ton of stairs, I was still only about 2 cm dilated; but, they allowed me to stay. Yay! :) That stair walking had done it though. By midnight I was having very painful contractions.

Overnight was a blur...I mentioned it in another blog post.

After some pain meds, the epidural, my doctor breaking my water, and an ultrasound to make sure Lucy wasn't breach, it was finally time to push. This part was not at all what I expected. I pushed for an hour and a half! It was not like the movies where it is 1, 2, 3, there she is! It was like push....okay lets wait for the next contraction....hmm, so what did you miss doing while you were pregnant? We seriously had lots of conversations in between pushes. My doctor cringed at hearing how excited I was to be able to tan again. :{ But, we bonded over dyeing our hair. :)

Finally, finally, she said, "One more contraction and we will have a baby."

I regret it now; but, when I pushed, I squeezed my eyes closed, real tight. Next thing I knew, Lucy was on my chest. Note to self: keep your eyes open with your next child.

We wiped her off and cried, and cried. It took about 10 minutes before anyone checked to see if she was actually a little girl! haha. I just squeezed her and held her so tight.

Once you have a child, you will never be the same. That is the absolute truth. She has turned my world upside down. And, although parenting is hard; I wouldn't change a thing!

I can't believe how wonderful she is.

I can't believe she is mine.

I can't believe it has been a year.

Happy Birthday Lucy Jean! I love you more than words!

Snow Day!

Today we have another snow day off of work! Heath and I are lucky enough to work at an educational institution that closes when the weather is bad. :) So, needless to say, I still get to have the thrill of a snow day! It is one of the best perks of my job!

The three of us, Heath, Lucy, and I, get to hang around the house in our pajamas all day. We eat ourselves into oblivion and catch up on DVR events. Occasionally, we even venture outside - like on our last snow day.

First, Lucy watched the snow fall all day. She loved watching the large, fluffy flakes.


Do you like her Minnie Mouse pjs?

Heath and Lucy rolled around on the floor playing for most of the day.

Since I wanted to get in a workout and didn't want to run on the treadmill, I volunteered to scoop the driveway. Yes, I know, we need a snow blower...

And yes, I know I had a very sexy outfit on. :)

After I scooped, we decided to go sledding! Well, we decided to pull Lucy around in her new sled she got from Christmas.

She really enjoyed being pulled around, but wasn't too impressed with the snow itself. She had no desire to touch it at all. Her arms, however, were a little stiff. Her jacket is so fluffy that she was a little bit like 'Randy' on 'A Christmas Story'.

We did circles until mommy got dizzy and then headed inside. It was a great, lazy day - just like today. But, today we have blizzard conditions with lots of blowing snow; so, I doubt we'll venture out. It doesn't stop Lucy from staring out the window though.

I love snow days!! :)