Days (well, more like weeks) of Our Lives

Happy Spring!

2009-05-05T10:32:00.000-07:00

April was a fast month... I guess that with the warmer weather and new-found ability to go out more, I neglected the blog. We have been busy just with our daily routines around here, which now include the exciting additions of:

Samantha is rolling over =) She got this trick last week. Now changing her diaper is even harder. She wakes up on her belly many mornings. I should set up a camera to see how much time she dedicates to practicing in her sleep.

Samantha is teething, which equals soaking wet shirts, on both of us, and

Samantha has discovered that she can suck just her thumb, and not her whole hand, to help with the teething process.

We took her to Maryland for the first time to stay over night at my sister's house for my nephew's baptism, and she was sooooo good. She slept the best of all of us in her Porta-crib, which I had worried about because it was the first time that we even tried it. She also slept the whole way there, or at least she was quiet in the backseat of the car, again hard to tell what she does when we can't see her. She probably tried to roll out and gave up =)

It's no secret: We should change our post from "weeks" to "months" of our lives

2009-03-26T10:05:00.000-07:00

Samantha loves her bumper!!! She starts out in the middle of the crib and always ends up waking up on her side in some new position. Yes. Her face is implanted on the bumper, and she is licking it. She thinks that it's my body. Completely pressed against it, she often awakens parallel to the bumper. Somebody is hungry...

I suck at blogging... BUT just in case you didn't give up on me here is what we have been up to. Now that Samantha is 11 weeks old, we are 1) starting to get out more and to recover from being very stir crazy 2) sleeping better, as Samantha is sleeping 8 hours most nights without needing to be fed 3) getting things back in order, including this blog, as a result of #2.

I never thought that I could spend so much time at home and get so little done in terms of housework. I could not imagine myself in any other position right now, but wow taking care of a baby is so demanding.

What gets me through the day ruled by the needs of a newborn?? Smiles, lots and lots of smiles. That's not to mention her favorite forms of entertainment: the ceiling fan in our room, mirrors, the treadmill, the various bookcases and closets full of patterned clothes in our house.

Welcome Home!

2009-01-19T18:10:00.001-08:00

Samantha Elaine Cabot decided to join us on January 8, 2009, at 5:32 p.m. at Paoli Hospital. She was due on the 11th, but I knew based on what my body was doing that week that she would be here a few days before her due date. I was pretty sure that she was coming when I started having regular contractions at about 2:00 in the morning. I honestly wasn't sure what to expect, and I kept wondering if what I was feeling was the real deal, until about 2:00 when they started to come every five minutes. I waited to wake up Alex until 3:00- I wanted to let him get some sleep in case it was a false alarm and he would have to go into the office. We called the doctor and they told us to come in.

I was only 1 cm. dilated but 80% effaced with contractions every 2 minutes. Then they made me walk around for an hour and forty minutes to see if my cervix would change. We felt like we were homeless because they were cleaning rooms during that time- it was a busy night at Paoli- and figuring out where they would put us. When they checked me again I had almost no cervix left. My contractions were wicked while I walked but slowed down while I was being checked, due to the relief off my pelvis. I thought if I get sent home I will scream because I know that I will be back before I even make it to the car in the parking deck. They made me walk again for an hour. Those contractions came back and stayed strong when they were checking me again. I was so relieved that my cervix had dilated to a 3. After that, they broke my water, which gave me hard contractions. They told me to hold off for a while on the epidural, as it can cause contractions to slow a bit and lengthen labor. I watched some T.V. until I couldn't take it, and then rang for my drugs. What a marvelous invention! With the epidural and petosin, I relaxed, took a nap, and then just waited while they came to check me very so often. Alex watched the little wave machine that shows contractions and would ask me if I knew that I just had a monster contraction, and of course, I said that I had no idea. Praise the brilliant women from Philadelphia who invented the epidural!

I did get anxious when I realized it would be time to push. Fortunately, she was so low that I only pushed for 20-25 minutes!! I was completely at a loss for words when I met Samantha. I was not at a loss for words, however, about the recovery pain... I will spare you those thoughts. Enjoy some pictures instead!

Proud Daddy with Sam

She loves to smile after I nurse her in the morning.

Here are some nursery shots. One day there will actually be pictures in those frames.

Trying to sleep, I spend a lot of time in this chair. This was a great investment.

Vampire in My Home, Continued...

2008-12-04T08:54:00.000-08:00

Okay. Now I am really spooked.
Disclaimer: This blog contains SPOILERS! If you have not finished the third book Eclipse and plan on reading it, you may not want to read my post. I just started reading the last book Breaking Dawn. I have only read the first chapter, so if you have read the fourth book, do NOT tell me anything!!!!

********************************
So I am in bed reading and I discover yet more similarities:

Cullen
*buys Bella a car upon their engagement (She used to drive an old truck.)
*gives her a new credit card once engaged
*plans a wedding for August 13th

Cabot
*buys me a car upon our engagement (this was the first car that I ever owned. I used to drive my parents' old cars)
*gives me a new American Express card shortly after we are married
*GETS MARRIED ON AUGUST 13TH!

Let's see if the list goes on...

Vampire Boys

2008-11-30T17:24:00.000-08:00

While reading the Twilight series, I have noticed several similarities between my husband and the main vampire in the story, Edward Cullen. After my seeing the movie, the thought that maybe Alex could be a vampire in disguise has come to occupy my mind even more. Here is a list of the similarities:

Cullen

* pale skin

*super speed reader

*knows a lot about MANY of subjects

*uses old expressions such as, "Shall we."

*drives fast cars, a silver Volvo

*never tries, yet excels at school

*gives Bella a family ring

Cabot

*fair skin

*incredibly fast reader

*knows a lot about MANY subjects

*dismisses us from dinner by saying, "Shall we." Trys to bring back old expressions.

*talks about fast cars and likes his wife's silver volvo and likes the model that Edward drives

*never studied yet always did well

*gives his wife a family engagement ring

Granted, my husband does sleep and eat, but this could all be part of a clever cover-up...

Great Place

2008-11-16T14:13:00.000-08:00

I realized before going shopping for nursery furniture that the baby will have no idea nor will she care how her room looks for quite some time. Keeping in mind that the room is for mommy for the the time being, I ventured off to put together her room.

I had no idea how involved furniture can be for children and babies. Fortunately, we went to this great store in Delaware called Closic's. Even if you are not in the market for furniture, they carry a lot of neat toys, gifts and accessories for babies. If you are in that area or are up for a drive, it is a neat place. Since I am new to this territory, as I mentioned before, the sales staff were very helpful. It was worth the drive. We won't be able to show any finished shots of the nursery for a while. Apparently, it takes a while to order and to receive- also new knowledge to me. We should get it shortly before or after Christmas time before the baby comes. I will have to work on finding a good image of the furniture that we selected to post.

For now, check out the website if you are interested:

http://www.closicsfurniture.com/gifts.html

Enjoy!

Happenings

2008-11-08T17:01:00.000-08:00

I totally missed blogging during the entire month of October. Hmmm... I am not exactly sure how that happened, since I only work part-time right now.

Well, when I changed that calendar to November- crossing off weeks and even days has become a favorite of mine- I realized that we might actually have to finish cleaning out our old office upstairs to make room for a nursery. With 9 weeks to go as of tomorrow, that room is just about empty, with the exception of a pile of random pictures, an old shredder and an old plant pot. We are picking out furniture hopefully next weekend, but I at least already bought the bedding. I am going to be mixing different patterns in shades of pink and green. The lamps, storage bins and a few other things are polka dots. The curtains and bed skirt are gingham. I will have to post pictures once I get that project in order. Don't worry. Unlike blogging, organizing is something that I don't put off, so if you don't see a photo until after the baby is born, that doesn't mean that she didn't have a nursery. Here is a shot of the bedding:
The reason we put off cleaning out the office, besides laziness, is that I spend more time worrying about Halloween costumes. Alex had on a pair of white, suspender-like pants one day for fencing, and I said that he looked like an Umpa-Lumpa, from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Since I had a Willy Wonka Costume, he became, my side-kick.

I didn't make him do this dance, as they do in the factory in the original movie, in public.

I assure you that he does his share around the house. He is a good worker. Compensation is excellent.

We had a lot of trick-or-treaters this year. I think that our favorite costume had to be....

A TEN-YEAR-OLD BOY WEARING

- JEANS

-A SWEATSHIRT

-A HILLARY CLINTON MASK

AND CARRYING
- A KNIFE

We didn't quite get it, which is what made it great. We also had a few parents who stood close behind their children and watched them at each doorstep. When Alex tried to give them more than 1 piece of candy, they repeated as if they were robots, "Just one, please." I shouldn't judge, and I don't know the reasons behind the parents' insistence upon this rule, but I don't buy that one day of candy overload is causing the childhood obesity epidemic. Not sure what to make of that one...

I am almost forgot: Fall Fun

2008-09-30T07:11:00.000-07:00

I know that a lot of you have kids, or in my case, you and your husband enjoy acting like kids, so I thought to mention this information. I went on a school field trip last autumn to a very nice farm, Cherry Crest Farms. They have a lot of seasonal activities, and it is well-run. Check it out:

http://www.cherrycrestfarm.com/index.asp

I just have to convince Alex to go now because I LOVE the fall!

Another belated, well, in this case VERY belated, update

2008-09-30T05:50:00.000-07:00

I read and comment on other people's blogs more often than I update my own, as you can tell. My blog would not look so bad normally. During the year, I would normally have posts about our vacations. The last big trip that we took was over the 2007 Christmas holiday to France. That's right. We took our little family of two out of the world of Santa Claus and cookies and into the world of Pere Noel and pastries, which we ate during the day and in bed at night while watching T.V. at the hotel. It's a good thing we had no upcoming medical tests...

We are SO grateful that we decided to take that trip! This year our travels have been a little different for a couple of reasons:

1) Alex is in a new position that he loves and that has required a lot of time.

2) I have been riding that lovely wave called pregnancy which has pulled me into its sea of utter lack of motivation and energy.

Now I just dream of those chocolate almond croissants from a several century-old pastry shop. I will pay anyone who can make it happen handsomely.

I decided that I had better post at least 1 blog acknowledging that we are having a baby given that it's been the case since mmmmm April, and I am now 25 weeks. I can't promise tons of photos and details, but in case you are worried that I am not keeping track of this time in my life, don't. I have been keeping a written journal specific to pregnancy that a friend gave to me as a gift.

If I haven't told you yet, which if I did was probably only within the last week, we are having a baby girl!! I had a strong feeling from the start that we would have a daughter first. We are going to name her Samantha. Thank goodness deciding on a name was not that difficult. I needed something easy.

Naturally, I was looking at girl clothes online, specifically for something to keep a January baby warm, and I searched for bunting and this came up:

I COMPLETELY forgot that Halloween is approaching, and I had visions of how I would react to a baby dressed in this on an ordinary day.

Football and John Madden

2008-09-03T06:22:00.000-07:00

I love NFL Football season!! It is my favorite spectator sport, and every February, Alex and I wonder what we will do with ourselves in its 7 month absence. With that first kick-off of the year, we are already eagerly anticipating the games announced by John Madden.

John Madden is hilarious. Why? Well, if you have watched him as an avid football fan often or just tuned in for a while as a part-time fan, you will notice that he for the most part simply points out the obvious. Example:

He actually said about the quarterback, "Here's a guy when he puts his contact lens in he can see better." Or about the quarterback looking at his arm with the written plays, "You gotta have good eye-sight to read the small print." And about the game of football in general he says, "The goal of football is to score more points than your opponent."

Madden does know the game of football, obviously, but his announcing is too funny. Frank Caliendo also seems to think so. He does a fabulous Madden impression

This video is worth watching- it's an actual interview between David Letterman and Frank Caliendo acting as John Madden.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBW7ysPcbT0

Frank Caliendo

John Madden

Food for Thought: Please partake if you like Olympic Sports

2008-08-13T10:28:00.000-07:00

I really enjoy watching the Olympics, especially the more popular spectator sports, including Gymnastics. I had to wonder this year, however, about the integrity of the gold-medal-winning Chinese Women's team. Granted, gymnasts often look younger than their age, but I have to say that even for gymnasts, their team looked a little young. While watching, Alex and I said, "Hey, look! One of them doesn't even have all adult teeth yet."

Apparently, we aren't the only ones who noticed their appearance. The rule is that you have to be sixteen. I am not sure that they are. The United States earned the Silver. I am fine with that because we made mistakes. At least, we can say that it's an honest silver. The Chinese must be really, really aggressive about winning if their government will assist in helping their athletes cheat.

You probably don't care as much as I do, but if you do, check out the following link. Be sure to click on the red link listed within this article to another article in the New York Times that provides evidence.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/olympics/2008/writers/selena_roberts/08/13/china.gymnasts/index.html?cnn=yes

Belated Update

2008-07-31T12:15:00.000-07:00

As I have failed to post in just under 1 month (it's not actually August yet), it is fitting that I post a trip that I took in June. I seem to be running about 1 month behind schedule here.

Since moving to this area five years ago, I have been a bit hesitant to go to the most local beaches in New Jersey. I cannot bring myself to use the local saying, "I'm going down the shore this weekend." I just can't do it. It's either "to the beach" or "to the shore." I also can't call a pizza, when referring to the whole thing, a pie. Pies are sweet.

Anyhow, my other problem, for which Alex blames himself, is that I have been spoiled in terms of beaches since we have known each other.

I have seen sand of all colors:

Green sand on South Point on the Big Island of Hawaii

Red Sand on the cliffs of the Greek Isles

And black sand in several locations. This one happens to be from the top of an ancient city in Greece. No, it's not a parking lot right against the water. It's sand proving the volcanic origins of the island.

And of course, let's not forget the islands in the Caribbean:

Now, this becomes a problem, only when we can't take long, exotic trips for our yearly vacation. So this year with only a few days and the need to drive somewhere, we decided on Cape May, New Jersey. I actually really enjoyed myself. The water may not be as warm, or the background as crazy, but we had a great time in this nice Victorian Town.

For those of you with kids looking just to go for a day or for couples looking to get away, the beaches are quieter and more family-oriented than many others in the area. We stayed at a bed and breakfast right in town- for those without kids.

It was adorable!

Our room was tucked away on the third floor of an old Victorian House, which had a beautiful wrap-around porch for breakfast and tea-time in the afternoon.

I would definitely go back! The town has nice shops and restaurants all within walking distance. The drive is only a couple of hours too.

If you are going to the shore, you may enjoy Cape May!

Trial Run

2008-07-01T12:04:00.000-07:00

I am not sure exactly how I will do at blogging. I have some free-time, at least for right now with summer vacation and only working part-time summer school, to try and get this running. I can't promise anything fancy right away, but with time I may actually add a song and links. If ever there were a time for me to learn, it would be now; with work, we won't be taking 3 weeks of vacation this year as we did last year!

Instead, we will be local, mostly at the pool that we just joined. I am also undergoing project organize my house. We have torn apart all of the closets in our house and majorly condensed. I feel as if we have discovered lost treasure in the items that we had forgotten that we own. Some great examples include:

credits for several rounds of paint to play paintball
restaurant gift cards
expensive calculators from college
a headset for my phone (I was going to buy one in the near future.)
gift bags and wrapping for most yearly occassions

Some things that I cannot believe that we were hanging onto:

birthday cards from as early as 1989
chargers for phones that have since broken and that we have already gotten rid of
over twenty-five empty shoe boxes

Let's just say that there were so many other things that we cannot throw away all of the trash in one week. We have a set limit of the amount that we can put out, and I would estimate that it will be 3 weeks before the garage is empty of our closet cleanings.

Alex said that this was as much work as moving and that we should just buy a new house!