Short Week

Now that I have Emory, the concept of a "short week" just doesn't have the same meaning as it used to. Not to mention we are hosting my family for Thanksgiving tomorrow. All was going on as planned until... Sunday night. N ow I am not sure how other working mamas feel but I personally despise Sunday nights. The day starts off so well with church or pajama time and end with the realization that tomorrow I have to wake up and head to work. This week was not bad, we had a particularly nice Sunday with a visit from friends although it was off because E didn't nap as scheduled. Anyway, I was determined to take a different approach this week. You know, try to be more organized and be grateful for my job, etc. But then around 10pm Sunday night, I realized I had this burning fire in my throat!! Seriously?!?! I have way too much to do this week to be sick, as ridiculous as that sounds. My body laughed at this thought and the illness dredged on. I went to my homeopathic staples and mainstream medicine but by Tuesday morning my throat was so swollen and sore that I cringed every time I had to swallow. Well after two night of Nyquil and a long nap yesterday afternoon (E was with my mom) I woke up this morning feeling somewhat better.

So today I am thankful for ....

MY HEALTH!!

Thankfulness Thursday

Maybe daily is asking a little too much of myself but every few days is good enough. Here is my list for today:

1) Fun Red Tights
2) Morning Sunrise over DC
3) Our Woodstove (Especially since our heat is currently not working)
4) Staying in touch with a friend that I have known since 6th grade
5) Nice drives on country roads
6) A husband who will get up in the night to soothe our baby
7) Pot Luck Family dinners
8) Being called "mama"
9) Exploring our yard with my little one
10) A hot cup of coffee

Fabulous Fall Days

I have skipped a few days since I have been busy enjoying my long weekend! I had off Thursday for the federal holiday and yesterday was my normally scheduled day off. Yesterday was a particularly awesome day, most of which was spent here at home. We got up as family and spent the morning playing an watching TV(The parents not E) while the wood stove was burning. Ahhh...E took a really long nap and then we ran a few short errands before coming back home to enjoy Pizza night. E is such a cutie pie, I spent part of the evening with him chasing me around the house! I would tell him "bye" and then run away and he haul right after me. It was adorable !! While sometimes I miss those newborn days, I am really enjoying this stage! Of course he much more opinionated but he is so much fun!

Today is going to be a great day as well! As soon as E gets up (Don't be jealous, he was up at 3 and 6:50am already) we are going to head over to Kohls since they are about the only place open early and I am sure they are having "the biggest sale of the year." LOL! This afternoon E and Daddy are spending together while I head to a bridal shower for my SIL. The shower is about 1.5 away so I will get some nice alone time with just me and my music. My SIL is getting married to her soul mate on New Year's day. I could go on and on about these two and how special they are to me. I have known my SIL since she was a pre-teen and we have a very special relationship. We have been through a lot together and I can honestly say I think of her as just another one of my sisters. Ever since I did her hair for homecoming all those years ago, I have dreamed about her wedding day. When Nick told me she and MF were getting engaged, I was overwhelmed with images of her in wedding gown and thinking of what a beautiful bride she would be. Luckily for me, I get a front row seat at the event since I am the matron of honor. I know this is stretching a bit but I am also looking forward to the day when she calls to tell me she is pregnant with her first child. She was here for later part of my pregnancy and even attended my last doctor's apt where she was able to hear the heartbeat. Sharing life together has been and will continue to be amazing. How lucky for us both that God not only gave me NK but also my sweet sister, JRH.

Today's Thankfulness:

1) Emory going back to sleep again this morning so I could shower and ease into the day
2) A night spent by the fire, talking with my husband
3) My sisters, every last one of them
4) Cold frosty Fall Mornings
5) My mom and her relationship with E
6) My amazing grandparents who love the Kiernans so much
7) My good friend who currently lives in Hawaii and just sent us 4 new knitted hats for baby boy
8) Yoga Pants
9) Cloth diapers
10) Football

That is all for today! I hope the day is amazing for all of you too.

Attitude of Gratitude

I find that it is most difficult to count your blessing when things aren't going as you want. I had that kind of afternoon. The details are unimportant but I am determined to keep my focus. Here is my list for today:

1) Health Insurance
2) Teleworking
3) A stable job
4) Hand me down clothes for my boy
5) My family
6) Fall leaves coating my yard
7) Waking up to see the sunrise
8) Pumpkin Spice Coffee Creamer
9) Nap time
10) A network of postive and encouraging mamas
and
11) Grace. Knowing no matter how much I screw up, He will always be willing to take me back.

Random thoughts for the day

Life is way to short to spend around people who don't make you feel good about who you are, where you are going, and how you are getting there.

There are blessings all around us if you take the time to notice.

I constantly have to remind myself that I am not living my life for approval of the world but for approval of the Lord.

Every moment spent allowing others negativity (whether it is percevied or intentional) to impact my thoughts prevents me from being the best I can be.

I am blessed to share my life with my soulmate and raise our child together.

Giving Thanks

I noticed not too long ago that one of my friends from Facebook started listing her gratitude list for each day in November until Thanks giving and I think it is a lovely idea! Much too often, I am caught up in the day to day goings on to stop to count my blessings. So here my gratitude list for the day in no particualr order:

1) Being able to get our of bed and have all my parts work
2) Soreness from yesterday's run
3) Having a warm body next to me each night
4) Getting my sleepy son up to feed him before heading off to work
5) A warm house with a fire burning in the wood stove
6) Having a hot meal to eat when I get home from work
7) My husband's sense of humor
8) My curly hair....yes that's right I said it...MY CURLY HAIR
9) My awesome heavy brown comforter
10) A bottle waiting on the ledge for me to give to E each morning
11) My "girls"who always greet me with there wagging tales
12) My early morning conversations with my Auntie B
13) My extra hot, skim milk Toffee Nut Latte from Starbucks
14) Having good friends who get me

I will try to keep this up until Thanksgiving or maybe even afterward.

Return to Me...

Prior to having my son, I was a runner. Now I don't mean a hard core marathon gal but I ran all the same. I started getting the feel of running for something other than a sport towards the end of my college days at MBC. After I graduated and began working in the city, I assimilated to the metro culture and began running during my lunch break. The height of my running career was in September 2007 when I ran the USMC half-marathon. It was an awesome experience and something I never dreamed I would accomplish. I continued to run after than and even into my pregnancy. I actually completed a 10K with my fellow MBC gals when I was 15 weeks pregnant and that was it until after E was born. I did find other ways to exercise that were a little more comfortable. Since I had E, I have ran less than a dozen times for whatever the reason (excuse). I remember going for a run last November while NK watched E and feeling so joyful I wanted to cry. It wasn't long but it meant everything to me.

After getting beyond those first euphoric months and returning to work, I have continued to have this little nagging feeling that something was off balance. Not matter what I have tried to do, it never seemed to fully go away and today I finally realized why. I am missing part of me. Running has been part of me for nearly 10 years. It has been a source of stress relief and mental therapy that is better than any money could buy. It is part of who I was/am without any strings attached, just me, my music, and the road. From time to time, I gain a partner but I can honestly say I am completely content to go by myself.

This thought process has also made me realize something else. For the past year, I have been putting off buying a jogging stroller. I blamed it the cost of even the lack of color selection but I now know that has nothing to do with it. Running was part of the 'old me', the me before I had a baby and forever became a mother. Part of me, through that little voice was struggling to keep just one thing to myself. When I run, I am not a mom or even a wife ...I am just me.

$$$Spend Free Weekend$$$

So I SERIOUSLY need to curtail my spending. I have been spending money on things here and there that have really been adding up. And the truth be told, I have been in a bit of funk lately and I guess I figured throwing money at the problem might help? Really? I am financial analyst for heaven's sake. I know better. Don't get me wrong, it isn't as I have been out there burning up my credit cards and ringing up thousands in debt but I have been pushing the limits for me. So I proposed to another mama friend that we go spend free just until Black Friday. Easy enough, right? I failed miserably this week. I was training this week and felt the need to buy lunches, etc although the facility provided beverages and morning snacks. We also had access to a fridge and microwave. ( I did bring lunch twice) To my friend, I apologize. I had no will power and I failed to follow through on our challenge. I promise to do better.

So what now? Well the first step is the put the past in the past and start over. I am going to start small with just the weekend and go from there. I do have a few household items and of course groceries I need to buy but I am keep it to the bare essentials. I think this will actually help me to enjoy my weekend more too which is an added bonus. I really despise the traffic and craziness that goes on in my area on the weekends. It is like people can't wait to spend their paycheck are racing out the door to give away their money. Not me, not this weekend. Instead I plan to organize my closet and put together some outfits for the week, read some of my library book, have meaningful interactions with my beloved, and most importantly spend time playing with my baby boy. This week has been exceptionally hard on me and I am hoping to recharge a little before heading back to work on Monday.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

DK

Cloth Wipes

I admit it. I am part "crunchy." I say only part because I am certainly not completely "green" by any stretch but I do flirt with the idea every now and then. My latest crunchy expedition has been using cloth wipes. A friend of mine (at the time a mama to be) who is a web surfing expert sent me a few blogs that discussed cloth wipes. Now, you might remember from a previous entry that I was attempting to cloth diaper but cloth wipes? No way! Or so I thought. One thing I continue to learn now that I am a mama is to never say never. It is kind of a long story that lead me to go down the cloth wipe path but let's keep it short. E had experienced some severe tummy issues which caused his tiny bum to be red, raw, and extremely painful after repeated changing. After a visit with our pediatrician, she recommended using warm water and cloths when changing E since even the sensitive wipes have alcohol in them. So Papa and I immediately make the switch. I filled a spray bottle with warm water and mild soap to use with our cloths. Well after a couple of weeks something hit me...we were using cloth wipes!! So I figured why not make it official? So I went back to those resources my( now mama) friend had sent to me and went about the process. It is super easy! I already had most of what I needed on hand which was a wipe warmer, clothes, water, baby wash and baby oil. I do also recommend tea tree oil as it helps with the smelly in your diaper pail. I started off using washcloths and cut up scraps of old burp cloths. Eventually I did order some cutie pie ones from a vendor on Etsy. Her shop is called TurtlesRUs and she does great work. I received 24 flannel wipes for 10.99 plus shipping. So there it is, my crunchy confession. If you are interested, there is a ton on info on the web that will guide you on how to make your own cloth wipes. Enjoy!!

Here is the link to the Etsy site:

http://www.etsy.com/listing/59028692/football-teddy-bears-puppiesflannel