A Little More of This Than That

The days fly by and I keep thinking that I need to post, I need to post. But somehow, I get sucked into things or am out and about and I never get to it. It's a gloomy day today. It's grey and dark and rather depressing. In fact, the rain and wind has just kicked in and it looks like we're in for one heck of a storm! But it doesn't matter because I have a tonne of stuff to do in the apartment today. My SIL and her boyfriend are coming over for a visit and then when Ryan gets home, we are meeting their Great Aunt for dinner. Looking forward to the company but it means I have a helluva lot of cleaning to do. We meant to do some this weekend but it never happened. Oh well.

I have to do beyond a basic clean and really try to tidy up things on the floor. Because, soon, sooner than I'd like, Bean is going to be crawling. She can get up onto her hands and get her knees under her, but then falls over to her side. She's mastered rolling in both directions. Our little girl is on the move! And mama is both proud and terrified! Joking aside, it's been wonderful watching her development lately. She learns so much and it's fascinating to watch her problem solve. She's also so wonderfully smiley and giggly. It frequently makes my day.

I've also got sucked into the ultimately sign of geekiness: an online Star Trek RPG. Go ahead laugh if you will but it has done amazing things for my writing. Not to mention I get the opportunity to create and explore characters. It's collaborative and endlessly entertaining. But while I could easily spend all day doing that, I'm trying to make sure I remember my other prioities... like this blog. :)

On the exercise front, I've lost a little weight again. The Wii Fit is fun, although I don't think I'll be trying the plank ont he balance board again. It killed my elbow! I'd rather just do it on my own on the floor.

So that's the latest from me. I have several things to do this week; all of them very important. I was hoping to resuurect my Photo Challenge this week but I'll be gone this weekend, so it will have to week one more week. However, I will re-post the upcoming Challenge Theme later this week and you'll have plenty of time to hop to it!

Cheers!

Coming Home

There are certain moments as a parent I'm certain I'll hold on to forever. Returning from my weekend away on Sunday, one of those moments was scooping my waking daughter into my arms. I held her tightly, feeling all of her almost 16 pounds. My face against her head, I breathed in her scent, better than any aromatherapy. It was only two and half days that I was away and I had no idea I could miss someone so much!

My weekend was, in a word, fabulous. My Mom and I had a grand ole time puttering around. I drove for the first time in about two years. My parents got a new car- an SUV. I was a dream to drive. And aside from the moment when some idiot lady careening around me while I was turning left in a parking lot, it was a lot of fun to be on the road again. I still feel shaky when I think about how close we were to being crumpled metal. [grumble, grumble, grumble]

Saturday night was something else as well. I went out to an irish pub downtown and met up with a bunch of friends. My brother came down as well. It was a riot. M and I are really close, so it was nice to spend that kind of time with him, just letting loose. I drank ale, danced and enjoyed the company of good people. And for the first time in about four or five years, I stumbled home just after 1am!

Extra strong coffee was needed the next morning when I met up with my friend C and her boyfriend. I spent a lovely couple of hours with them before heading for the ferry. I was so tired that I actually had a short nap, which I am normally unable to do. Feeling refreshed, I listened to my iPod and enjoyed the beautiful scenery.

There's something majestic about the south coast of BC. I took an Oceans course in university (my first stint) and now when I'm out on the water, I observe with a different perspective. Where some will see the waves and the birds, I'll see the currents fighting against the incoming tide, which push the schools of fish into small areas where the gulls and cormorants gather to feed. This place is one that will always call me home.

Yesterday was my chill day. I had actually intended to do a bunch of things, but seeing as how the weekend was busy, I gave myself a day to relax. I did come home with a Wii Fit care of my Mom (thanks Mom!!) and so I spent awhile exercising. I hve been able to fit into my size 12 pants as of late (down 2 sizes from November) and it was nice to see where my weight and BMI sits currently. I'm proud to say that I'm no longer considered obese, just overweight!

Today I'm off to meet up with my fellow local October moms for lunch. We haven't all been together in awhile and I'm excited to see how much the babies have all grown. And so I will leave you with a five month pic of Bean,who we recently reunited with her friend Bear now that she's big enough to have something in the crib with her.

Oh, and a note. You will notice that I've added word verification to commenting. I'm tired of wasting my time deleting comment spam, so hopefully this will help.

To Much To Do, So Little Time

I swear it was just Monday and I was b*tching about my body! I hve a couple posts in the works but haven't had the time to finish them. I'm actually going away this weekend to visit my Mom... alone. Yep, you heard me, I'm leaving Bean with R and heading off on my own. I just really need a break at the moment. A couple days away will do me good.

I know I haven't been a very good blogging friend lately but promise I'll be back in the swing of things next week. Off to go finish packing as I'm leavin gin the morning.

Have a great weekend everyone. When I get back I'll tell you about the flyer I got today that ade me what to call someone and complain. Till then, I shall leave with a photo. It's taken back in 2003 (I think) at Cathedral Grove Park on Vancouver Island. Some of the biggest cedar trees are there.

Just for fun...

...let's take a moment to b*tch about my body, shall we? (if you don't want to listen to the musings about a women's inner wokings, you may want to leave now)

When my cycles returned after Bean was born, they went right back to their normal shorter length, shorter LP crap.

I started a new cycle on Friday, which I should note these last couple of cycles have brought a new symptom I have never been prone to: cramps. Now you're probably going, shut up and quit yer complaining woman, but honestly, their sudden appearance confused and irritated me.

Anyway, want to take a guess at how long my last cycle was? Come on, give it a try...

21? Nope

28? Never!!!

And the winner is 17!!!

Yep, you heard me right, 17. And to top it off, I'm pretty sure I O'd around day 13. How's that for messed up, huh? I thought so.

The problem with this, besides the fact that someone is unlikely to get pregnant on a 17 day cycle, is that the shorter my cycles, the more I have in a year. And the more I have in a year, the more I ovulate, which means my egg supply disappears faster.

Now, I'm not planning to get pregnant anytime soon, but R and I both agree that it would be a good idea to try for a second child sooner rather than later. Given our miscarriage history and the likelyhood I will have PPD again, I'd like to get that part over and done with so I can enjoy my life with my family.

Why at 26 should I suddenly be worried about early menopause? Because my body has shown the wonderful ability to screw me over on a consistent basis.

Yay me!

Sorry about the sarcasm, just feeling irritated and sorry for myself. All I can say is that if this cycle is as short as the last, I'll be going to see my OB/GYN asap to make sure there's nothing wierd going on with my body. Now, I'm going to go crawl under a rock somewhere for a short while and hide from this gloomy rainy day, I'll pop out later and get back to catching up on where everone is at.

Friday Photo Challenge Postponed

Sorry about this everyone. I've got technical difficulties with the auto-link form still. Our challenge doesn't work as well if I don't use something similar so I'm trying to come up with another option. So we'll have to re-convene the Challenge once I have a new way to set it up.  I'm open to suggestions if anyone has them...

Regarding my snow pic yesterday: It should be noted that the temperature warmed up and it began raining. The snow was gone by 2 pm.

Photo of the Day: In Like a Lion

Look what spring brought me this morning! I know it's not anything compared to what others have, but it's pretty funny nonetheless.

Where I Fall Off My Seat In Shock

So I went to fill the prescription for my medication, having been using samples from my Dr. It turns out that it's horrifically expensive. As in $250 a month! I know it's nothing compared to what some people pay for IF meds but I've never paid so much for a prescription in my life! I am so lucky that my benefits cover 100% of my prescriptions. Otherwise, I'd be hooped.

Bean's earache it seems has gotten worse after seeming to be better. So I also had to start her on the antibiotics. She's been eating and sleeping wierd but is still a pretty happy baby.

Sorry I've been a little quiet lately. I've just been finding my stride again after being sick. I'm almost there. Now if Bean would go back to sleeping through the night, everyone in our household would be much happier.

What Is It? Revealed

A few weeks back during show and tell I posted a What Is It? photo and never got around to revealing it's true nature. Here we go...

I was uploading some photos from one of my back-up DVDs when I noticed this reflection on the back of it. It was so neat I just had to take a photo. So there you have it...

So some people were close to guessing my chalenge photo from a couple weeks back. It is a glass object of a marine theme, but not quite what you thought:

This a wine bottle that I think was my Aunt's. It's one of things that you could probably get rid of and not really miss it, but there's something about it that makes me hold on to it. I think it's a tangible connection to the ocean. No matter where I am, or where I go, I'll always be a west coast girl at heart.

Friday Photo Challenge: The Colours of Life

The Photo Challenge aims to allow creative ways to explore a weekly theme through photography.

Follow these steps and join the fun:

1. Post your photo on your site. You are free to leave an explanation or none at all.

2. Leave your name and the link on this Challenge Post. Please use the PERMA-LINK (the link to your actual post, not the main link to your blog).

3. Share your thoughts about my photo and others on the list by leaving a comment. This is our chance to discuss the theme and how each of us thought to document it. Hopefully, this will be more than just "Nice photo".

While I would LOVE everyone to take a moment to take a photo, I realize that it may not always be possible. So, it is perfectly fine to post a photo you have taken previously, as long as it is representative of the theme and how you want to define it.

Oh, and don’t forget one very important thing… HAVE FUN!
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First off, regarding the What Is It Challenge, I'm going to post a photo of my item seperately.

This week's theme: THE COLOURS OF LIFE

In my darker moments, she has brought colour to my world. It's like a black and white movie that has been restored and colourized. Things seem sharper and clearer. That, and her toy is as bright as it gets! R started calling the elephant Heffalump and the name stuck. At least she'll be well aquainted with the world of Pooh. :)

Since the Mister Linky site is constantly not working for me, I think I'm going to have to find another source. For now, just leave your link in the comments section- a pain, I know, but hopefully I'll have a better solution for next week.
Next Week's Theme:  Dropped Threads

Sometimes in life, we get the chance to pick up something we left behind, to re-write a part of our story. Often there is tanglible evidence of this. What piece of your puzzle have you re-discovered? A pastime you picked up again, people who've come back into your life, places you've connected with again, the possibilities are endless.

Ok, So Where Were We?

Say Where Were We three times fast... it's reminiscent of just stepping out of the dentist's office.

I am feeling MUCH better, although I have a headache right now. Bean is still congested and coughing a little but is far better than last week. She also had a minor ear ache from whatever bug she had but it's now gone without the intervention of antibiotics, which I am very glad for. I really didn't want to have to medicate her at this age if I could help it.

Taking her into the walk-in clinic was fun. I didn't want to go all the way downtown on the day all the Olympic althletes, visitors and official were heading out of town. So I went to the clinic a couple blocks down. We had to wait about an hour. Luckily Bean had a nap in my arms. She was getting pretty cranky, so I was glad when she finally nodded off for a bit. Monday was the first day I really felt like I rejoined the land of the living. We might have just had colds but whatever bug it was was nasty!

Yesterday, I had an appointment with my psychiatrist. She was surprised and happy with how well I've been doing. So am I actually. It felt so wonderful to tell her that Bean and I are actually having fun together. Some days are still hard, but I don't fall to pieces when they happen. Like today for instance. Baby Girl is having an off day, to see the least. I'm waiting for her to wake up from her nap so I can get out and enjoy the semi-sunny day- I really need the exercise.

It is very much spring around here. The trees are blooming, people are cutting their grass, and don't forget the showers that come and go. It's the standard Vancouver spring weather. Carry sunglasses and an umbrella, because the weather changes every few minutes. We always joke around here that if you don't like the weather, wait five minutes. And if that doesn't work, wait five more.

I'm slowly getting back into the groove. Last week took a lot out of me. It's hard caring for a sick infant when you're sick yourself. She had a hard time sleeping because of her congestion, so I didn't get to nap the way I so desperately wanted to. It seems I'm still feeling the effects of being ill, since I don't have a tonne of energy. I'm getting there though. Meanwhile, it's going to take me awhile to reaquaint myself with what happening with everyone, so bear with me.

For those participating in the Friday Photo Challenge, it should be on this week as long as I can get the auto-link form to cooperate.