Post-Christmas news.

Last I posted was December 6th, so I've got some updating to do.  First off, I had my 26-week appointment on the 12th, which went well.  The scale did not cooperate, but the doctor is not worried, so I figured I'd just kick the gym-going into better gear, watch a little better what I eat, then just do what I do.  Except that the next day I got a call saying that I needed to go in for further testing to rule out gestational diabetes (based on a preliminary blood test that day).  So I did that, and thankfully everything came out okay.  Since my weight gain has been okay and I eat well, I asked the nurse what could have set off my elevated blood sugar at the first test, and she said it could have been a number of factors, so not to worry.  So I won't!  The baby is moving like CRAZY these days, so I know all is well inside there!

On the 17th, I once again coordinated and participated in TubaChristmas Milwaukee, our 5th year up at Bayshore.  Everything went really well, and we had an awesome turnout of over 30 players and probably 200 spectators.  It was pretty cool.  Boy was I sore after all the walking and tuba-carrying I had done that day, though!  We went to a Christmas party that night hosted by my old Bioethics mentor and now-neighbor Kris and her husband Tim, which was a really nice time.  Skip was particularly impressed by Tim's beer fridge, which he (Skip) strives to attain one day!  Sunday we went down to Racine for the annual Breakfast with Santa at the RYC.  Good times with Santa, crafts, and face-painting!
 






We visited with our good friends Adriane, Lawrence and Joe (5 days older than Preston) for a few hours on Wednesday night, as they were in town for a little while before the holiday.  It was great to see them - we miss them since they moved to Ohio!




As for Christmas weekend, I had my office lunch on Thursday, then we headed north to Algoma for a couple days.  It was really nice to get up there now that the crazy tourist season is over, even though not much is open.  We had a nice time, and throroughly completed our Christmas shopping at a variety of stores in the area, as well as just enjoyed the cool weather and relaxing, while looking over Lake Michigan.




We came down to CL from Algoma, and spent Christmas Eve at Harrisons - the first Christmas Eve away from Grandma Preston's house in about 30 years... It went really well, and I think everyone had a great time.  Christmas morning was at my mom and dad's, and then we came home for a leisurely evening just the 3 of us.  We vegged and cleaned house on Monday, and that was about it!





Preston and his new OBSESSIONS - Cars characters. 















Cheese face for a cheesy little girl!



You lose. :)



Things that have changed since becoming a Mom.

Okay, I admit I'm copying this a little from another blog I just read, but I have some things that I can add to the mix.  For the better, for the worse, either way, I wouldn't trade any of these things back.

1.)  I'm busier.  No kidding!  But it's a different type of busy.  It may not be that I have plans every day of the week outside of the home, but I'm always doing something.  You've got to be "on" 100% of the time with a little one.  I am constantly preparing a meal, an activity, a bath, a diaper, a song, a dance... all the while fitting in laundry, cooking, cleaning, errands... all the while trying to find time to see loved ones!  It's a little crazy, and I know it will even get crazier when two are in the mix.

2.) I'm fatter. Yep, I said it.  I may weigh less now than I did when I was pregnant with Preston at this stage (approaching 24 weeks), but boy is my body different.  Pregnancy changes you both emotionally and physically.  The workouts I was doing between having Preston and getting PG with this little one would have made me the most in-shape girl when I was pre-baby.  Instead, my body reacted more like it being "maintenance."  I HAD to work out, just to keep from having my body parts keep repositioning themselves anymore than they already had during pregnancy!

3.) I have more fun, and I'm funnier.  Some people may argue this, since I don't go out as often as I did before, but I beg to differ if they say I don't have any fun.  I have so much fun every day I am with Preston.  God is he a character!  Some of the things he does make me laugh so hard, and I've learned all kinds of new ways to make HIM laugh.  Keeping a two-year-old entertained forces you to dig deep down into your "fun stash" and come up with some pretty creative ideas.  I've learned to see the pure joy in simply running through the living room or through the grass at the park.  I have the ability just to make a silly face and get an equally silly, smaller version of that face looking right back at me.  I've never made anyone else laugh as hard as I can make Preston laugh.  I've learned how exciting it can be just walking down the sidewalk picking up sticks and rocks, looking out the window of a train as the world goes rushing by, or just looking up at the sky.

4.) I'm more emotional.  If you know me, I was never one to wear my emotions on my sleeve, and I'm still not fully there (nor do I think I ever will be).  But wow... do I ever feel things more than I did before.  I watched an episode of Law & Order: SVU the other night, and started absolutely bawling when there was a baby who had died.  I never was a big "hugger," but now, I know how much better your day can be if you just hug someone who loves you.  I can look at something that I would have looked at before kids without a second glance, and now feel total sympathy, anger, frustration, happiness and a whole slew of other emotions that I would have never felt before looking at the same thing (like a TV commercial, or a person, or a news story, or a political figure). 

5.) I'm scared.  Sure I had things that I feared before: tornadoes, death, feet... But now I'm really scared.  I'm scared that I may screw something up in raising kids now that will scar them for life.  I'm scared that I'm going to die and leave Skip and Preston alone.  I'm scared that Skip's going to die and leave ME and Preston - and a new baby - alone.  I'm scared that I'll lose my job and my insurance, and not be able to support my family.  I'm scared that I'll lose contact with some of my very dear friends from H.S. and college because of #1 on this list.  I'm scared of losing Preston, and this new little one. 

6.) I'm a stronger wife.  I may not say I'm a better wife, because only Skip can judge that.  Sure, some of the things he and I argue about (heck, MOST of the things we argue about) these days have to do with kids and child-rearing, but it's made us a stronger PAIR.  We were raised a little differently, which means that how we want to raise Preston is sometimes different, but we've learned to work together so that we can use our experiences and apply them to our situation now.  Each of us are learning when to stand up for what we want to see in our children, but also when to back down a little from what we knew as kids.  Hell - we made a PERSON.  That kind of thing is something that I can't say I share with anyone else. 

7.) I'm happy.  Not that I wasn't happy before I had a child, but the type of happiness and "completeness" - at least for me - that came with having a baby was something I never foresaw.  I always have someone who needs me, and someone who can make me smile like no other.  There's literally a part of "me" walking around on his own, and he's a pretty darn good kid, which makes me happy.  I had someone this weekend tell me that Preston being as good as he is is a reflection of his parents, which makes me and Skip feel pretty darn good.  We're doing something right! 

8.) Something I WOULD like back: My belly button.  It's never going to be the same... wah wah wah :....(