Crazy Eighth

July was an extremely packed month. With a vacation, summer semester midterms and finals, a couple of weekends of housesitting, the second half of the World Cup, and a sprinkling of weddings, I didn't have too much time to take pics of the Lady. This is the best I could do:

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Waiting to Wind-down,

D

First Fourth

I did it. I took a vacation.

Mid-semester I packed for what seemed like a four-month trip for eight and ventured off to Sacramento. It was well worth it. It was a beautiful change of scenery and we enjoyed great company with my aunt, uncle, and cousins. Auntie Cussy and Uncle Andy came up too.

The trip was packed with outings, sunshine, and delicious food (as always when we go to Aunt Shirlee's house!). Our Fourth of July eve was spent in El Dorado Hills where they had a gorgeous fireworks show that was right above our heads! It was a little loud for the Lady, but Auntie Cussy provided her hands as earmuffs for the show.

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Our actual Fourth of July started out going to church and then visiting our Uncle Byron's family for swimming and a barbeque. It was Little Lady's first time in a pool! I bought her first swimsuit and swim diapers to prepare for the adventure. (Those picture will come in a later segment about the remainder of the trip.) Afterward, we headed back to watch the neighborhood fireworks. We all gathered in a cul-de-sac and watched as they fired-off over $700-worth of fireworks!! It took about 45 minutes to get through them all (after taking about 45 minutes to unwrap them all). Little Lady loved to watch, but they were pretty loud considering how close we were and the echo in our little nook.

There was much more than we did after the Fourth of July, but I will post that in the next few days. It was so fun to get away for a little while, even if I had to do homework every night. Stay tuned for more of our adventures in Sacramento!

Loved the Get-Away from the Bay,

D

Behind the Times

Yet again, I am almost a month behind on Little Lady's updates. I was doing so well too! Things have been pretty hectic over the last few weeks. I have been wrapping up my last semester of my AA degree in transfer studies, preparing for my next semester (which starts in two weeks) in upper division work, housesitting for a week, and changing wards. But without further ado, here is The Lady's last month.

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At her last visit with Dr. W, she weighed in at 12 pounds and 15 oz and was 24.5 inches long. And here I thought she was a chunker all this time! Nope. A lot of changes have taken place this last month. She has rolled over more and started to say "die" and "guy" and "tata". She has finally changed her mind about baths and LOVES them. She is holding herself up with her arms every once in a while when on her tummy. And she has staring contests with Dexter Dog.

She also outgrew her swaddling blankets which made me really nervous because that was originally the key to getting her to sleep through the night! After one rough night, she was down and out for the count at 8:30 and not a peep until eight the next morning. Whew! That was a close one.

She is such a fun kid. She goes wherever I go and never complains. What a trooper! I truly enjoy being her mom and can't find a real complaint, myself. (Not to say I don't complain, let's be honest...) I really can't believe how quickly time goes by!

Relieved the Sleeping Fairy isn't Swaddle-Exclusive,

D

The Present of the Present

Sometimes I feel like I am running out of time. I'm notorious for planning excessively and anticipating too much. When I was doing theatrical improvisation for a few years in high school we trained and trained on how to stay "present": how to block out past and future and just thrive in the moment. I've lost sight of a lot of that training. I am sure it has a lot to do with how much of a control freak I can be (not that I get that from either of my parents or anything...).

I am so used to rushing things, not necessarily because I want to move on, but simply because it usually meant I was functioning at optimum efficiency. That's not the case with motherhood. I've been trying to re-train myself to be present. To "stop and smell the roses", for want of a better phrase. 

Most of the time when I am doing homework, Little Lady is right there in my lap; sometimes awake, sometimes asleep. I have to constantly remind myself to take breaks for more than just her crying or feeding. I am doing better. When she "talks", I talk back (I know it's just a matter of years until that switches). When she sleeps, I pause to just watch her little belly when she breathes. I love to watch her when she focuses her gaze at different things, even if I can't figure out what it is, I take a few seconds to try.

I guess that's what being a mother is all about, not that I have it down or anything... I have realized though, that it's about trying. It's about being there for my Little Lady even if she doesn't need me at that moment. It's being present. I've tried to take the phrase, "I can't wait until..." out of my vocabulary, because, you know what? I can wait. I waited 22 years to meet the first little spirit that Heavenly Father wanted to bless me with. I can wait any number of months or years to hear her first vocalize her thoughts, or fit into those shoes, or take her first steps or go on school field trips together. 

When I was still in the hospital after Little Lady was about two or three days old, the nurse came in around 2:00 am to take her for some routine tests. I don't know if it was exhaustion, or the feeling of being overwhelmed, or brief onset of postpartum depression, or a combination of them all, but I broke down. It was the first time since she had been born that she was being taken from me and I couldn't go. I had to stay in bed. It hurt my heart. I thought about what it would be like when she grew up and took off. How it must have felt for my parents and their parents... I think the 18 years it takes to prepare a child to become a self-sufficient adult simultaneously prepares a parent to let their child go off into the world.

If I could have it my way, I don't know if I would choose to keep her a tiny baby for any longer than she probably will be. I guess it is best that it is not my way, but His way. I'm glad their is someone who can see the big picture, so I don't have to everyday. I am forever grateful to have a Heavenly Father who has offered us an eternal perspective, but only expects us to work towards it one day at a time- even one decision at a time. I am thankful for the roses He has put on the Earth and the time He has given me with my daughter to smell them.

So tomorrow, I'm taking Little Lady to smell some roses. Lead by example, right?

Unwrapping the Gift of the Present,

D

Reading Resolution

It's officially 2010 (I know, Capt. Obvious here) and one of my goals is to be more consistent in my reading. I start school in just about three weeks, so scholastic reading is upon me inevitably. My scripture reading needs work, as does my recreational reading.

My reading resolutions are these:

1. Read my scriptures daily, even if it's just one verse.
2. Keep up on all required textbook reading, no matter how mundane and tedious it may get.
3. Always be reading a recreational book to entertain my love for reading and keep me from associating it with being a required chore.

My book list will be ever growing (I hope), but for starters, these are D's Reads to get me started in 2010 in no particular order:

• The Piano Teacher
• Man's Search for Meaning
• A Thousand Splendid Suns
• Muqtada
• The Brain that Changes Itself
• Sway
• Outliers
• The Lost Symbol
• Have a Little Faith
• Justice: what's the right thing to do
• What the Dog Saw
• Freakonomics
• Superfreakonomics
• Half the Sky
• My Sister's Keeper
• Eat, Love, Pray
• The Time Traveler's Wife
• Hearing the Voice of the Lord
• The Art of Racing in the Rain
• Living Life as a Thank You
• Drive
• 29 Gifts
• Sonata for Miriam
• The Hunger Games
• The Book of Mormon (all year long)

In my widgets section of the blog will be what book I'm currently reading if you click on it, you can see my review of the books I have completed as well as what book is up next! The blog is www.DustOffDBookshelf.BlogSpot.com.

Resolution Ready,

D

Studies and Parties and Pink, Oh My!

Life has been so hectic these last few weeks with preparing for Baby D and trying to cram finals and final projects in with three weeks less than everyone else in school. Some how, though, I was able to squeeze in a baby shower that was so graciously given by the women in my church; my extended family of sisters.

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That evening was so fun and quite delicious! I was truly blessed with great friends and wonderful memories. Not to mention, I went home with some awesome loot! I can't think of anything more that I could possibly need for when Baby D first arrives. And I think I am almost used to all of the PINK!!

With only 10 days left until Baby D's debut, I am looking forward to tomorrow being my last day of school this semester, Thanksgiving just a couple days away and few days in there to spare for nesting and relaxation.

A big congratulations to cousin Stacy, Aaron and little Jake welcoming baby Kaia into the world yesterday!

Ready to Wind Down and Eat Up,

D

Kungala!

Last Wednesday was my first choir concert since high school. And Baby D's first performance ever... I think she got nervous, because she had the hiccoughs the whole time! It was pretty fun. We sang an Australian Aboriginal song called Kungala (which means sing and shout!), a Mozart piece, a song called "In the Night" which was kind of creepy, and a Gospel song that was a lot of fun!

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After we sang, the Chamber Choir performed five other pieces and we got to watch them. It was an enjoyable hour. The choirs perform again at the end of the semester, but since I'll be finishing up my semester early (around Thanksgiving) this was the only concert I'll get to participate in.

Delighted to Duet,

D

Privilege to Pee

I took Baby D to hear her first musical on Friday. It was my school's Fall show called Urinetown. It's a really funny show about what happens when bathroom use is regulated due to a water shortage.

The drama department did a really good job of making it their own. They stayed true to the script, but did their own artistic interpretation that made it probably the funniest version of the show that I've seen.

At intermission, however, they thought it would be clever to enforce the "privilege to pee" by requiring a special ticket from one of the characters in order to use the bathroom... Not such a cute idea when you're 8 & 1/2 months pregnant and have a 4 pound baby sitting on your bladder! Luckily I got in without much delay. Whew! That could have been a disaster!

It turned out to be a really enjoyable night and on top of being entertaining, it counts as extra credit for all of my music classes! Talk about a sweet deal!

Relieved to Pee for Free,

D

Color-Coordinated Days

Boy is life busy these days! I started school back in mid-August, but only now with my first round of midterms behind me am I feeling the full-force of this semester. I have only one semester left to earn my Associates degree. I've been playing catch-up with my degree ever since I did the whole "military thing" right out of high school. My degree is an AA in Transfer Studies which gets all of my general education requirements out of the way so I'll only have upper-division coursework when I transfer.


This semester I am taking 14 units, which consist of:

• Music: Theory
• Music: Vocal Technique
• Music: Concert Choir
• Music: Piano
• American Cinema (Film)
• English: Research and Writing
• English: Critical Thinking and Writing

Having school six days every week gets a little overwhelming, but I've been blessed with impeccable organization skills which I have decided to implement. (I think the implementation is what makes the difference this semester... ha ha) For whatever reason, I don't think organization reaches it's fullest potential unless it is color coordinated. This, for example, is my weekly planner broken down by week, day, and hour, with color-coded to-do lists for each class and other miscellaneous things:

Yes, every week looks like that. At least until Thanksgiving which is when almost all of my professors have allowed to me to end my semester instead of mid-December. Otherwise, I would be due the week before finals and that's just no bueno.

Nothing else is really new or exciting, I've been too busy for new and exciting! I have another ultrasound next week, so that's something to look forward to. I actually have a few fun things this month that will be a nice break from school, first starting with General Conference this weekend. General Conference is when the leaders of the Church all gather and broadcast to the world a number of inspired messages in a series of meetings twice a year. I'm really looking forward to it.

Other than getting more "robust" (to say the least) and more learned (or so I hope!), everything is the same-ol' same-ol'.

Increasing in Belly and Brains,

D