Some people have too much time on their hands...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081219/ap_on_fe_st/rudolph_s_gender

A Year Ago...

Today is the Thursday of finals week. Things seem so much different now! I had to enter grades and complete all of our end of term paperwork with AJU5 in tow. I am no longer a full time faculty member, so I don't have an office on campus (which makes keeping AJU5 entertained slightly harder). But, I would definitely say that I love my current life!

At her doctor's appointment on Tuesday, we found out AJU5 weighed 18 lbs 3.5 oz (10th percentile), was 28 inches tall (25th percentile), and had a head circumference of 48 cm (95th percentile). That makes for one very skinny, somewhat short, and very large headed one year old! This might be why she doesn't want to walk - she isn't proportioned correctly (have you every tried to walk with weights attached to your head?).

We have also started sleep training AGAIN. Getting up every 2 hours was killing me, so I started making her go three hours on Monday. Tuesday night she refused the three hours once (screamed for 20 minutes before I gave up), but did the 3 hours every other time on her own. Last night she went down close to 9 (we were at church late, but she was happy because she was playing with the other kids). She woke up a little past midnight. Then she cried a little around 1, but she put herself down before I even considered getting her. I didn't hear her again until almost 7! It was amazing to get that kind of sleep! Now, if only I hadn't had to hear my husband's alarm at 4:45...

Here are a few cute, somewhat recent, pictures. One is of one of her melt downs (for an unknown reason - we were right there!). Then there is her winter sweater, hat, and mittens from her grandma. And finally, there is a picture of spiked hair!

Birthday Party Pictures!

The cupcakes

Eating her cupcake (well, the frosting at least)

Opening a present

Crayons - I love crayons!

Here party was fun. It was supposed to be 4-5:15, but as usual, people were late. So, we didn't really start anything until 4:30ish. The kids played with the inflatable duck balls (as well as the guys). Then we had snacks (sorry Jen, didn't have time to try to make the cheese ball because, well, we were running late as it was!). Then came cake and presents. It was nothing fancy, but everyone had a great time. AJU5 had only napped for about 30 minutes all day, so she was a little sleepy. But, she didn't have any melt downs (probably due to having kids to play with). Only one present was wrapped (the others were in bags), so she was good at helping get her presents out. I wonder how she will do with wrapping paper at Christmas?

365 Days Later...

AJU5 was born 365 days ago. When I think back to this time of year last year, I find so much has changed. Her birth wasn't easy, but when it is time for another kid, I am not afraid. Here is a short synopsis of her birth:

• Doctors appointment at 11 - 3 cm dialted, 90% efaced
• Go to work/school. Give last "final" (presentations) and turnin grades.
• Pick up two lost exams from testing center.
• Go home and grade exams and email boss new grades so he can change them (I didn't want to have to go in the next day to fix them in person).
• Take a nap
• Cook dinner
• Feel first contractions between 7 and 8 pm while watching movie
• Take showers and try to go to sleep
• Around 10:30 realize they are coming quickly and not letting up so call the on-call doctor.
• She says come in but we may send you home.
• Get to hospital around 11:30 - 8cm dilated!
• Around 1 am feel the need to push. Water still isn't broken (but bulging) so she breaks it - realizes I am only about 9 cm dilated (inner ring not "visible" due to water)
• Get epidural and oxygen because baby is having some distress
• Try to sleep until about 6 am
• Infection at some point - on antibiotics now as well
  
• Midwife comes in (new shift at 7) and try pushing - more distress
• Around 9 realize the baby isn't going to come out (she was not positioned right, may have been to big) so agree to c-section.
• Tell us baby will go to NICU after birth due to infection I have
• Baby born at 10:04 am
• Get to hold baby around 1pm

AHHHHHH!!!!!

This is a bout work. Since I know I have at least a few readers who are also college instructors/professors, I thought I would rant here!

I am teaching a course for the first time this semester. I somehow miscalculated points to make them add up to the numbers on the syllabus. So, back before Thanksgiving when one student pointed this out, I told them I would adjust the grades based on percentage by dividing by the possible points and then multiplying by the point values on the syllabus. Sounds simple enough - right? Well, I have had to explain it three times today so far! And it is a math class!

How hard is it to get - add them up, divide by x and multiply by y? They keep telling me my points don't add up to what you posted online. Yeah, that would be right! Why can't they get it?

Okay, now off to get more work done. Rant over...

Sleep and Procrastinating...

First, AJU5 has NOT been sleeping well lately! On average, she is going about 1.5 hours between screaming episodes. She seems to only be willing to nurse back to sleep or scream forever. AJU1 is out of town tonight and tomorrow night, so I might let her cry it out more. I want to get back to the 4-5 hours at least! I need more sleep (she is screaming right now - about 1 hour and 15 minutes after going down...)!

On another notes - her birthday (and party) are on Sunday! I still need to ourder her cupcakes... hopefully I can get that done tomorrow. I have meant to do it before, but it was going to be our last stop each time and she wasn't up for the stop... luckily I only want white cupcakes with white frosting and some sprinkles on top... it shouldn't be that hard for them!

Now to go somewhere else (other than the room right next to hers) to let her cry...

*** after 30 minutes of hearing her scream (while I stained some wood), I finally gave in and got her out of bed. I forced her (gently) to take a few sips of milk from her cup (we started milk last week because she has been biting more lately). Once she had a good drink, I let her nurse to sleep... now she is back down 45 minutes later... This is NO fun!

MILESTONES!

First, we got AJU5 to take steps yesterday! Some times she would go 3-4 steps before getting to the other parent without leaning too much. She went back and forth between us for a good 15 minutes. She just laughed and laughed each time. There is hope she will actually be walking at one year!

Second, she has learned about inflatable balls. We have one of the duck balls for her birthday inflated for her to play with. Somehow she got the plug out last night. I found her sitting on the floor sucking in the air. This morning I blew it back up. She cried because I plugged it back up. She spent a good five minutes trying to get it out (much slobber on the ball). So, I unplugged it. Now she is sucking the air out again... At least she likes it.

Finally, I finally dug out one of our old cell phones (they were still in a box in our closet). Now I don't have to worry about her making calls... And fighting to get my phone back...

Preparing for a Birthday Party

AJU5's birthday party is next Sunday (on her birthday). We are having it at our church before evening service (since a good portion of the guests are church members). The theme is ducks. I bought 48 miniature rubber ducks and twelve inflatable balls with ducks inside. I have also bought yellow plates and napkins and clear glasses. I still need to buy silverware. I had thought about baking cupcakes, but after realizing I would need more pans and decorating material, I am going to go store bought (it will probably end up costing about the same). Now I have to figure out snacks. Here are my current ideas:
Chips and salsa
Baby Carrots and Ranch Dressing
Apple Slices
Something with protein yet to be decided (possible cheese and crackers)

I will only have 3 hours between morning service and the party to get ready. The day before is the church holiday party, so I won't have much time then to prep things either. So, I want to keep things easy.

Any other suggestions?

Trip in Review...

We left last Monday morning for our trip to the in-laws. We fly Southwest with one de-planing in the middle. With the reduced number of flights, we now have a two hour lay-over each direction in Las Vegas (not my favorite of airports to say the least). AJU5 flew WONDERFULLY! She slept on all four flights! On the way there, we would get in our seat, install her car seat (the flights weren't full so they let us take her seat), and then top her off. I would then put her in her seat and give her a pretzel. Within minutes of takeoff she would be asleep! Once we are done flying, we have a bout 2.5 hours to car travel to the in-laws. This time we stopped twice on the way there. The first stop was about 30 minutes in for a little shopping and delaying. Then we went to my husbands aunt and uncle's for dinner (about 1 hour farther). We were there until AJU5's bedtime, which worked well in that I was able to top her off and get her to sleep just before we hit the road. Unfortunately she woke up fairly close to the in-laws and didn't go to sleep for a while...

Sleep was the hardest part of the trip. She didn't want to fall asleep on her own. We had to rock her until she was cmpletely out and then transfer her to her bed (or let her sleep in our arms for a nap). With the exception of the last two nights, she didn't sleep for more than 2.5 hours at a time either! Needless to say we were exhausted! On top of AJU5 being a sleep hinderance for us, the bed and pillows weren't great, so the sleep we did get wasn't the most comfortable...

AJU5 did get her first YoBaby though. She loved the stuff! We will have to go tot he grocery store tomorrow to get some (we did Costco today for the basics). She also get corn flakes which she liked. But we don't think she liked what we had for lunch on Sunday. We went to a "Chinese" place. I gave her some chicken (fried but the batter peeled off), french fries, and rice. She ate well, but ended up with a very upset stomach! We went through 5 diapers in about 6 hours! She also did a little spit up/throw up action in there too. Luckily once she got it all out of her she slept for 6 hours straight!

AJU5 also got a new word - CAT. The in-laws have an indoor cat named Kitty. AJU5 loved to watch her! She wasn't too interested in touching the cat, but whenever she saw her, she would smile (and stop crying if she had been upset). It Kitty was in my lap, she would come over and "ask" to sit in my lap too and just be near Kitty. It was fun to watch the two of them interact. Kitty would sit near AJU5 but not close enough to be touched. AJU5 would crawl over to Kitty, but normally wouldn't get close enough to touch her.

Teh in-laws bought this instead of a standard high chair. I think I prefer the regular high chair. Food kept falling between the table and the chair. Plus, it is a non-machine washable fabric that kept getting dirty. I washed it in the sink, but vinyl is a lot nicer...

ON the way home, we ended up being delayed in Las Vegas for over an hour. We ended up sitting at a gate other than the one we were to depart from because ours was packed with people on another flight that was delyed two hours (and took off just before ours). We ended up talking to a "couple" - high school seniors - one from Indiana and one from Austrailia. She (Indiana) had spent 5 months in Austrailia studying (friends of the family were there on sabbatical). She met him at school. So, when it was time for her to come back to the States, he came with her (it is summer there, so he was free to travel). They had been traveling for 40 hours so far and weren't to land in Indiana until 2 am local time after all of the delays. I felt sorry for them, but we did have a good time chatting with them while waiting!

Okay, I think that is it... Now that we are home I can be more diligent at reading blogs and posting comments!

MADE IT!

To day is the last day of November, and I have successfully posted on both of my blogs each day as part of NaBloPoMo.

I know the last week or so I have been struggling to write good posts. Sixty posts in a month is a lot! I don't know if I will do it again though. I think I prefer "quality" to quantity in my posts.

Did you do NaBloPoMo? What did you think of it? Would you do it (again)?

Z is for...

Zealous.

I am zealous about a lot of things, many of which I shouldn't be.

Things I should be zealous about:

• My faith
• My family

Things I shouldn't be so zealous about:

• Watching tv (most of which is pretty bad)
• Computers/internet

What are you zealous about?

Y is for...

Young.

I am the youngest in my family (3 older siblings). Around them, I am definitely young.

At church we are one of the youngest families (the youngest with kids - one couple younger than us). At evening services, we are definitely the youngest. So, I definitely feel young there.

AJU5 is the youngest on both sides of the family right now. She has no cousins on one side and 6 older cousins on the other side (11 months older - almost 8 years older). So, she is definitely young!

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On to other things... We are at the in-laws. They have a small farm, so when we come, AJU1 ends up spending a lot of time helping out around the place. So, what do I get to do? Help him mum... That normally means cleaning and some cooking. My husband loves coming out here, but I don't. I have a hard time explaining to him why it is so not fun for me. He has no sisters and only one sister-in-law. She lives close by, but works and doesn't get along with the MIL, so it is normally just the MIL and me - sometimes a grandmother as well. So, I am stuck trying to help them organize their house (and clean) while he gets to go play with big toys...

And on this trip AJU5 has been refusing to sleep well. So, I am trying to deal with a very cranky 11 month old. I really wish he were around more to play with her and get her happier. He did take her for about an hour this afternoon (I napped), but still...

I know he doesn't like being at my parents because my mom is a little annoying (we have a 3-4 day max around her - a "rule" set by my siblings and I that my dad completely understands). But, at least when we are there he has my BIL to hang out with... And there are other kids...

X is for...

Well, I can't think of an x word.

So, here is a post about something else...

Today was Thanksgiving. There is a lot to be thankful for:
A house
A job
Food
A wonderful husband
A beautiful daughter
Family
Friends

There are often times I forget about the little things - like clothes - that I should be thankful for. I hope you had a great Thanksgiving!

W is for...

Worn out!

Yesterday I was worn out. Today, I feel a little more rested. Monday night AJU5 refused to go to bed until one in the morning. She had slept a little bit in the car between 8 and 9, but then she woke up just before we got home. She was quite awake, so we let her play. Then we tried to go to bed around 10 or 11. She SCREAMED. Nothing w did helped calm her down. Finally my husband took her into another room and let her play for about an hour. She eventually crawled over to him and snuggled into his lap and fell sleep. He was then able to put her int he pack-n-play in the room we were in and she slept for about 2 hours at a time. I had to make sure she was completely asleep before putting her back. We have had to do the same thing all day yesterday and today - fall asleep in my arms and then put her down. At least it is working...

V is for...

Victorious.

I like to win. I hate losing. It is really bad when my husband and I play games - just the two of us - because we both hate losing. I want to be victorious. Luckily, we are both getting better at losing as we get older. But, it still isn't fun to loss.

In the future though, we are going to have to teach AJU5 that it is okay to lose. We aren't going to win all the time when we play games with her, but we also aren't going to let her win every time.

What V word describes you? How good of a loser are you?

U is for...

Unique.

I beat to my own drummer. AJU5 seems to be taking after me in this way as well.

Okay, I am tired. We just got to our destination. I didn't sleep too long last night. So, I can't think... hopefully tomorrow will be a better post.

On the positive, AJU5 traveled well. She slept on both flights and some in the car. She only had one melt down in the car, and that was less than 5 miles from a stop. It was definitely a blessing!

T is for...

TIRED!

Today, I am especially tired. AJU5 went to bed late, work up every hour for 4 hours, and then was up earlier than normal by about an hour. On top of that, we ended up spending the WHOLE DAY at church - 9 am to 7 pm. We normally get to church a little before 9. Then we leave around 12:30 and go back from 6 to 7. But, because it is Thanksgiving week, we moved the Tuesday night class to today (1-4). Then, our pastor is sick (little to no voice), so AJU1 had to bring the message tonight (he could have said no, but there aren't many options at our small church). So, instead of coming home for about 1.5 hours between class and evening service, we just stayed. And now I still need to pack because we leave tomorrow morning. Hopefully AJU5 will sleep well tonight or tomorrow while we travel...

S is for...

Successful.

If I set my eyes on something, I see it through the end. I make sure I am successful. If I don't think I can be successful, I normally won't try. AJU5 seems to be the same way. She won't stand alone because she "knows" she will fall down. She won't walk alone because, again, she is scared of failure. She is getting more courageous though. She let go twice today while playing standing up. They were only for a few seconds each, but it gives us hope that she will learn to walk before too long.

What S word best describes you or your child?

Q is for...

Quick.

Okay, I know I got off on the alphabet, doing R before Q. I blame it on Blogger. I have made a draft for each letter (and a possible adjective that I have changed in some of them already). Blogger then orders them based on when I first made the draft. So, when I took a day off, that one was above the drafts. And it confused me... So, now back to quick...

I tend to rush through things. I like to get them over with. Cleaning, eating, and general house chores are the biggest ones I rush through. AJU5 is also quick with the eating! She can down a cup of fruit faster than I think she can. She is also quick with getting to the bathroom via crawling and at emptying things out (cabinets, etc). I would also have to say she is a quick reader. Unfortunately, I don't think she is comprehending what she is reading. We will have to work on that when she gets bigger...

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Okay - I was a BAD mommy last night. But it wasn't purposeful. AJU5 woke up two hours after she went down. I let her nurse and put her back in bed. She cried, I tried it again after about 10 minutes of wailing. I had been getting ready for bed at this point and had accidentally gotten my sleeve wet. So, I didn't notice she was wet... Her diaper had come unhooked on one side. Her pj was wet. She was cold. There was a wet spot on her sheet. Luckily I realized it on try 3 and changed her. I then let her nurse AGAIN and put her to bed with only a few short cries. She then slept for 4 hours and another 4 hours! I can definitely deal with that kind of sleep!

R is for...

Rambling.

I tend to ramble. I am introverted by nature, so my social skills aren't always the greatest. I have a hard time determining when to shut up. This isn't a problem with people I don't know because then I just don't talk much at all. But with those I do know I tend to ramble on and on and on. I think I also ramble in the blog-o-sphere - both in my posts and in comments I leave. I just don't know when to stop!

AJU5 rambles in her own ways. She babbles nonstop some times. Other times she is very quiet. We plan on homeschooling (the public schools here are terrible!), so I am hoping I will be able to teach her not to ramble as much as I do.

Oh - when do I not ramble? I am very good at not rambling when it comes to writing papers. I hated page limits because I was normally done about a page too soon. So, then I HAD to ramble to meet the requirement (and it made the paper not flow as well). That might be where I picked the rambling up... Luckily since I will be teaching AJU5, she won't have to deal with page limits until college!