Back in business

Damn, it feels good to be a gangsta. No, not really. But I was going to put “Ahh, it feels good to be back” to start this post, and then the Geto Boys lyrics popped into my head instead. 🙂

It does feel good, though, to have my new theme all sorted out. Kind of like being *home*. My old one just felt too sparse and blah, so I love the splashes of color and little extras I can do with this one. I am pretty proud of myself for figuring out how to manipulate the website code to change things, too. Last night when I was showing R the header I created and how I’d taught myself to change icons and stuff, he kept saying, “Oh that’s easy.” Well, yeah, duh, when you’re a web/computer genius, but to us laypeople looking at code is like looking at Mandarin Chinese – a whole bunch of random letters and symbols that don’t make any sense whatsoever. So I’ll just continue to pat myself on the back thankyouverymuch. 🙂

So this post is just gonna be about a whole bunch of random things, because all the stuff I have floating around in my head this morning doesn’t really have much connection. (see, that sentence right there didn’t even make a whole lot of sense) For starters, I feel like I look like a total frump. Since Winter has decided to come back, I have on a gray sweater, black pants (which would be great if they were a little truer black. they’re more like a black khaki, so i keep worrying that people are thinking they look too much like faded black jeans, which are disgusting), and a pair of hiking sneakers. Blech. These pants are new, and are the exact same style as a couple other pairs I have for work and absolutely love, but like I said the color is just a little meh. And since I’ve never worn them before, I realized this morning that I don’t really have any shoes to go with them. They’re not dressy enough to wear my cute black faux-patent leather flats, and I apparently have no other casual black shoes. So sneakers it was. Gross. *I’m open to all suggestions for good casual black shoes. The comfier and cuter the better.*

And since we’re back in the 40s today from the gorgeous sun and 60s yesterday, I had to get another jog in last night to take advantage. I decided my new rule is I’m not running unless it’s at least 50 degrees outside, because I hate running in cold weather. And I don’t see 50s in the forecast again until next week, so I made my butt get in gear last night. I changed up my route again – went 2.11 miles in 18:56, which is 8:57 pace. Woo wee! I’m very surprised I broke the 9:00 pace, because it certainly felt like my slowest run yet. I was expecting to get slower from when I started before I get faster though, seeing as my body has to get back into shape after the weirdest, probably most traumatic thing it’s ever been through. So that’s pretty encouraging. I could feel it in my left knee and ankle by the time I got done, though, so a couple days off may be a good thing right now.

D has decided to be a little stinker lately and not take her afternoon naps at daycare. Hence, she’s tired and cranky when we get home and has to take an evening nap, which I was hoping she was starting to drop. Tuesday we were supposed to go to swimming, but she was so tired she fell asleep when I fed her when we got home and I didn’t have the heart to wake her – she ended up sleeping for an hour and a half. I figured she needed that more than being dunked by Mommy. 😉 When she doesn’t nap well she doesn’t sleep as well at night either. She’s awoken a couple nights this week, with last night’s wake up coming at 4:00. Fabulous. And since she ate then, I had a sneaking suspicion she wasn’t going to be hungry when she woke up for good this morning. I was right. I tried to feed her anyway, and paid the price. She bit me! Numerous times in a row! I know she obviously doesn’t do it on purpose – she’s not hungry but has something in her mouth, so it becomes a chew toy instead – but goddamn, does that hurt! And I’m afraid I scared her this morning too, because when she did it for like the 4th time in a row I pulled back and said, “Stop biting!” She looked up at me with these huge eyes and a tiny little frowny face and almost instantly started crying, big tears and all. I felt so terrible. I should have learned from the first nibble that she wasn’t hungry, but I kept trying. Poor little thing. Why is Mommy shouting at me? I’m just lying here looking up at her with my gorgeous gray eyes. 🙁 Oh man, I felt so mean. That beautiful little face was so sad; I don’t think I’ve seen her cry from fear before. Needless to say, she got lots more hugs before we left for daycare. Unfortunately, her lack of eating leaves me in the ever-so-lovely lopsided state. Bleh.

She loves playing in her playpen now too. How adorable is this??

 

Our little zoo animal

 

Was it Summer yesterday?

Because it sure felt like it. 80+ degrees, sunny skies, hot breeze blowing, it was great! It was actually almost a little too hot for this early in the season, but I am certainly not complaining. I started off the day in jeans and a 3/4-sleeved shirt, then quickly changed into shorts, then again into a tank top. R grilled up some delicious homemade green pepper and Colby Jack burgers for lunch, then D and I sat outside for a good hour yesterday afternoon enjoying the fresh air and listening to the Brewers on the radio. Talk about the perfect way to spend a Sunday.

I did a garden survey too, and am happy to report that all plants appear to have survived the harsh winter again and are coming up nicely. I’m especially excited for one garden in particular this year – I created a new one in our backyard last fall and wasn’t sure how well it was going to fare. I dug up and tilled a row along our neighbors’ garage and planted 6 peony plants that one of my grandmas sent for D, then covered the whole thing with mulch. This was in October and the peonies were just roots, so I was afraid they were going to be destroyed over the winter. Fortunately I saw a couple of them starting to peek through yesterday, so I’m very hopeful that they’ve all made it and will be a beautiful addition to the scene. Peonies are one of my absolute favorites, and I planted these right next to one mature white peony bush that we already have in the back corner of our yard. I can’t wait to see these all in bloom together.

Oh, and the anniversary present turned out splendidly! I rented a limo to take us to dinner Saturday night and then out on the town afterwards, and R was completely surprised. He was so excited and we had a blast. I still have to get the pictures uploaded, so I’ll share those tomorrow.

Until then, here are a couple from our lazy, almost-summer afternoon yesterday. I can’t wait until the real thing is here to stay!

Pure deliciousness

 

D playing in the shade while Mommy soaks up some rays. I need a pedicure!

 

All worn out from playing outside

 

D and Daddy hard at work 🙂

 

Take 2

All right, Brewers. The season-opening series, well… sucked. Getting swept to begin the season with a 0-3 record isn’t the most wonderful thing, but we’ll give you another shot. Today is the HOME opener against the Atlanta Braves, so let’s do this!

Unfortunately the weather is crap today (wow, go figure) so the roof will be closed, but that won’t stop the Brewers faithful from getting out there in about 2 hours when the gates open and firing up the tailgating grills. R is going this afternoon, as are some of our friends, but I will be stuck at work again this year, unable to enjoy all the festivities. So to all of you at Miller Park today, raise a couple Shandys for me – I’ll be listening along on the radio.

And to you, Milwaukee Brewers, PLAY BALL!!

D is in the spirit again today with her new home opener outfit on.

Let's Go Brewers!

 

I snapped that one mid-“sentence”, hence the open mouth. 🙂

I did it! (& a couple other things)

I just have to toot my own horn here for a second. I went out and jogged after work yesterday! Toot toot! I’ve mentioned how I have completely slacked off from exercising all winter and basically for the better part of a year now, and it’s finally gotten to me. I have to get back into some sort of shape! The other night I had 2 pieces of Ian’s pizza for dinner (holy yum, btw), which usually I’m all about, but when I got done eating this time I thought man, that made me feel like total junk. I need to change something here. So yesterday I got home early, the sun was out, it was above freezing (turns out not by much, though), and I actually was motivated to lace up the kicks and get out there.

Now please notice that I did not say I went for a *run*. I know better. 😉 This was definitely 100% a jog. I knew it would be though – I can’t head out just sprinting along like some people. I’m the type of runner who, if I’m really going to get into running shape and stick with it without injuring myself, needs to start out very very slowly and ease into things. Especially right now since I’m totally out of shape. I planned on simply going for 1 mile with no walking allowed, see how that felt, and add on if I could manage that far. I also told R to take a guess at what my 1 mile time would be – I said 11:22. Well, I just plugged my stats and route into my MapMyRun account and whaddya know? A 9:05 mile pace! Holla!! I went 1.44 miles in 13:06. Sweetness, much better than I was expecting. However, that was only for 1.44 miles. I’m sure as soon as I start to add distance that pace will slow exponentially. 😉 I need to keep at it, though. It’s sunny again today and supposed to be mid-40s, so maybe I’ll give it another shot tonight. I do need to make sure not to do too much too fast though, because I often end up with shin splints when I go that route. At least 1 day off in between runs is usually my preferred routine, but I know I won’t feel like it tomorrow afternoon.

I was pretty annoyed during my jog, though, because it seemed no matter which direction I went – north, south, east, or west – I was constantly running INTO the wind. I must’ve been in a vortex, lucky me. 😉 And it was cold, too! Man, I can’t wait for this crap cold weather to end.

I can’t run without music either. I used to hate running with headphones on, but now I can’t stand to not have them. I can too easily talk myself out of the run when all I can think about is how badly my legs and lungs hurt. So music provides a nice distraction. Plus, when the pump-up songs come on it seems like each step gets just a little bit lighter and easier. Yesterday Perfect Gentleman by Wyclef came on toward the end of my run, and dude, that is my JAM! For my Madison peeps out there, you know the relationship that song and I have – it would come on, usually at Brother’s, and I would instantly be on top of a table dancing. Kind of like a Pavlovian dog. Ahh, the good ol’ days….

Ok, onto the couple other things… Today is the Brewers season opener. Oh yeah, Go Brew Crew!! D’s all into it too:

My first Brewers outfit!

 

I took that picture on my phone this morning in dim light, so it’s not the clearest shot, but I love her little almost-smile in that one. She’s such a character, I love it. Monday is their home opener, and D has another special outfit for that one. 😉 Here’s a great Bob Uecker article to get you in the spirit too:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704399804576193151094758490.html

R made another wicked meal for dinner last night – pork tenderloin, cut into thirds, tenderized, grilled, made into a sandwich on amazing pretzel rolls with cheese and his delicious homemade mustard blend concoction on top. Let the drooling commence:

And best of all – it’s almost Friday!! Hell to the yeah!

F for Mommy

Ok, so I mentioned the other day how D’s cold got a lot worse this weekend with the bad cough that was making her gag and all that loveliness. Well, yesterday morning it was nearly impossible to wake her up to get ready for daycare at her usual 6:30 hour, and once I was able to roust her the coughing began again in earnest. The poor little thing was hacking and gagging all over the place, and I just felt terrible for her. Each time the coughs would come she’d cling onto my shoulder for dear life as I was holding her. So by the time I got her changed, fed (she could hardly nurse either since her nose was so stuffed up), and dressed, we decided that it would probably be best for her to stay home from daycare seeing how awful she looked. Fortunately it’s pretty easy for R to work from home if needed, so he stayed back with her. Sick day #1 of her life.

I called the doctor’s office and explained how she’s had this cold for months and it ebbs and flows, but now the cough is really bad with the gagging and all. So they wanted to see her this time and R took her in at noon. The prognosis? Sho’ nuf, ear infection in her right ear. Boo. A couple people had told me they thought she had one once they heard about the crying at bedtime we experienced a couple weeks ago, but I thought that couldn’t be it – she never pulled at her ear like it bothered her, she was never out of sorts any other time than bedtime, never had a fever or anything like that. Apparently I was wrong. So we got her going on some amoxicillin starting yesterday for 10 days. You know, the fun pink stuff you shake up and keep in the fridge. I used to love it when I was a kid (yeah i know – weird, duh. but it was pink, thick, and tasted good) and she does too. She happily sucks down the 3mL in the dropper we have to give her twice a day. When I told the lady at daycare this morning that it was an ear infection she said she wasn’t surprised seeing how contagious they are. They are? Dang, I didn’t know that either. Little daycare mongrels.

Oh yeah – I do trust doctors, and I LOVE D’s pediatrician. D gets her immunizations (as horrible it is hearing her cry during the shots) and if medicines are prescribed to make her better (or myself, for that matter), we will be giving them to her. Don’t flame me if you’re against modern medicine and all the evils you’ve heard it causes to the human body, I dig it. And if it will help my baby heal and end her suffering, then she can’t take it soon enough as far as I’m concerned. That said, however, I am not a proponent of just pumping meds in at the first sign of a sniffle; but if whatever’s wrong has been going on long enough with no relief in sight, then give me what I need to make it better.

I felt horrible when I heard that it was an ear infection, though. How long has it been festering in there? Has she really been in pain and we didn’t know it? Were there some signs that we just didn’t recognize and therefore accidentally ignored? R said the doctor couldn’t tell how long it had been in there, so hopefully it hasn’t been too long. Apparently there is a cough reflex in the ear, which is why the bad coughing that started the past couple of days was a sign. Good to know.

So I will chalk this one up as an F in the Mommy category (possibly one of many) – who lets their baby endure an ear infection without even knowing it? Gheesh. Ah well, live and learn!

Yum to the um!

So remember how I said R’s a great cook and loves to take pictures of what he makes? Well check out what we had for dinner last night. BLADDOW!

Mushroom ragout-stuffed rolled beef tenderloin. Um, yes please, I’ll have two. 🙂 He served it with a side of spaghetti, then made some extra spaghetti sauce to go on top of both the beef and pasta. What a man!! For a beverage, we enjoyed a bottle of this:

Pacific Peak Merlot

 

It paired nicely with the beef – a smooth, easy-drinking red with none of the harsh throat-burning that some merlots can cause (i’m sure there’s a technical *wine* term for that, like it’s caused by tannins, or whatever, but i like to dumb my descriptions down to my wine level – do i like it, or don’t i like it?).

‘Twas a great way to wind down the weekend. Saturday we spent the afternoon and evening at our friends T & S’s house watching some NCAA tourney bball action and letting D play with their little girl, which was a lot of fun. Yesterday morning I got some house cleaning and laundry done while R did all the preparations for dinner. D’s cold intensified infinitely yesterday, unfortunately, so she spent all day coughing and battling snot rivers out of her nose. Poor little thing. She’d cough so hard she’d gag, which would in turn cause her to throw up anything she had in her. 🙁 Fortunately she was only up once last night and seemed a little better this morning with much less coughing, so we have our fingers crossed that we don’t get a call from daycare asking us to come pick her up today. We both were amazed, though, at how happy and playful she still was through all of it – nose wiped a million times, jammies changed 3 times due to barf eruptions, coughs to the point where you could tell her throat was so raw and sore, and very little napping.

And now here we are back at Monday again. How does that always happen so quickly?? I hope you all had a great weekend!