Important Lessons

Having a baby teaches you really important lessons about life and what really matters.

Last night I learned that you should not be lulled into a sense of safety because you get away with something repeatedly.

You may be able to carry the baby without a diaper from the changing table to the bathtub once. You might even be able to do it twice, but eventually if you keep it up you will be covered in pee.

Guess who slept until 5am last night.

ME!!!!

And Norie too, but mostly I'm excited about me.

My daughter is becoming diurnal. I'm so proud.

I'm not, but thank you so much for asking.

This morning I was asked if I was a freshman.

I was a college freshman in 2001.

I'm sure it was more the fact that I was wearing sunglasses and the asker was nervously seeking something anything in common with a fellow pedestrian than my youthful appearance, but I'm going to  feel good about it anyway.

Itch to Build Something

I've got one.

A strong one.

Like an "it's a really good thing I don't have a vehicle because I might be tempted to hit the lumber store over lunch" one and it's all Ana White's fault. Not that i mind. I love creative motivation. It's just hard when I have a job I need to stay at for the next four hours.

I'm Going to be a Mentor

I know, right?

They didn't exactly have a thorough screening process. I mean I'm a woman with a Ph.D, who is eating instant oatmeal out of a communal office coffee mug.

I can't wait though. I just hope these ladies are satisfied with their mentor match.

I'm not counting my chickens yet, but....

Norie only woke up once last night.

That's the second night in a row.

I'm not fooling myself that this will become the new standard (it's happened before). She might wake up two or three or seven times tonight, but I do feel REALLY good this morning.

The unfortunate consequence is that she was ravenous and ate a little more than her stomach could handle this morning and we both ended up with a fair amount of freshly expressed and regurgitated milk on us. Still, six hours of continuous sleep is an amazing thing.

It clearly wasn't enough to compensate for the last couple of months though.

There is nothing like feeling better than you have in 12 weeks and having people ask if you're feeling okay because you got puked on and chose clean clothes and coffee over makeup. You would be amazed what can be accomplished with the right concealer and some white eyeshadow.

And now for some gratuitous cuteness:

Norie during "nap time" over at my friend Lindsey's

 

Shots of her watching Stan Lee and looking at herself on my husband's phone.

 

You Have No Idea How Important You Are

I was in the car with my friend, Christa, yesterday and I had one of those epiphany moments about the importance of the little actions we take in life that we don't think too much about.

Our now mutual friend, Julie, told my husband a year and a half ago that he needed to meet Christa's husband, Justin. They're both home brewers and she thought they should talk.

As a result, I met Christa and knew immediately she was my spirit friend (we had the same old issue of a magazine on our coffee tables). A couple of months later, Christa convinced me to apply for my job.

I got that job. It came with health insurance and a reasonable income. For the first time in my life I felt like having a kid wouldn't be completely insane.

Norie rocks my face off.

So thanks Julie. You get a a whole lot of credit for this uber cute little bug.

My 10k Training: Brew 2 Shoe

It didn't go well.

And by "didn't go well" I mean it didn't happen. I completed a total of four workouts (8 if you include rest days) before I succumbed to an injury resulting from my own stupidity.

For the record, you cannot go a year without running and expect to bust out a couple miles in your barefoot running shoes without forming what feels like a deep tissue bruise on your heel. Well, maybe you can, but I can't. A lack of running will not prevent you from going back to poor running form. 

After that the 100 degree heat gave me an excuse and I gave up on the idea. No Brew 2 Shoe for me this year. That's three years in a row I planned to and didn't train for it. I'll be there though.

I started doing Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred instead. I was planning to do everyday from when Norie was two months old until she was three months, but I fall prey to the couch some evenings and I've completed five workouts so far. I think my body is getting with the program though. I wore pants with a button twice this week. Woot!

Embrace the Camera: Norie Meets Her Great Grandpa

In case you're new here, Thursday is Embrace the Camera day. I was planning to post these pictures of Norie and me with my grandpa last week, but I attended his funeral instead. I'm really glad we went up to visit when we did and they got to meet each other. I know she won't remember it, but I will.

My mom took that picture. Well sort of. We were distracted and difficult to photograph. When I went through them someone was looking at Norie instead of the camera in almost every shot.

It reminded me of this commercial

I did a little internet research and figured out that she was using the Photo Fuse feature in Windows Live Photo Gallery. I'm usually a Picasa girl, Photo Fuse rocks my world.


Reality was a little more like this.

I even got my dad to join us for a picture.

We actually got this in a single shot.:)

Infographic Wednesday: Free Birth Control!!

It doesn't have the ring of Infographic Friday, does it?

I could have waited until Friday, but then you could miss out on two whole days of knowledge for no good reason. This is really important stuff. In addition to fully covering birth control, a whole bunch of other important things are now covered too, like pap smears. You shouldn't have to get a pap smear AND pay a co-pay for it too. Now you don't. I have a related story, but that's way TMI.

I'm also pretty excited about the changes to the Fair Labor Standards Act. Did you know that your employer is required to provide you with space and time to pump at work if they have more than 50 employees? They do.And it can't be in a bathroom. Here's to not having to pump while listening to other people pee. I wonder if that has anything to do with the decision to post this story in K-State Today. It's about the new lactation stations on K-State's campus. In case you're curious, they are really, really close to being, but I guess not technically "in" bathrooms. At least they have outlets and chairs (a new development in some locations).

Tell your friends.