Carseat Kiddo

Another "story" I created on photobucket documenting the lifespan of her infant seat.  We switched her into a convertible carseat around the holidays when she was really outgrowing this one.  This was actually my nephew Zidane's carseat when he was a baby, and providing they get pregnant soon (before the carseat's expiration date), Aaron and Terri will likely use it again for their next baby.

I could never resist snapping a pic of my sweet Sky in her little seat before we'd take off on an outing.  As she got older and bigger, and the garments of the season got more awkward and cumbersome, Skylar got really feisty about getting in and out of the infant seat.  She would nearly always cry for me but be fine once we got in the car.  I don't miss the seat at all since it was a pain to lug around.  I actually opted to start leaving it in the car when we were out and about for things when she was pretty young (like still bobble-heading).  I just miss how small she was in it and how cute she looked all ready to go!

Skylar's First Year

This is a link to a "Story" I've created on Photobucket using the photos I posted last night as well as a few in-betweeners.

Blue Sky's smiling at me!

I just finished some template changes here on ma blog...thanks blogger for making it easier than I remember to make it work!  I was realizing the other night as I read back over past posts how difficult it  was to read my blog with my drawing in the background.  I was not willing to lose it as my blog wallpaper but now it should be much easier on the eyes.

Anywhooo, I suppose I should get back to the updating since I've been off the blogger grid for so long...k, so I hate to say I'm one of those moms, but I'm definitely one of those moms who just can't stop talking about her kid.  She's the best, for serious...but before talking about how awesome she is, I'll give y'all a recap of her life in utero...

First Pic Inside

My pregnancy with her was probably the kind of pregnancy that every mom dreams of:  The most morning sickness I ever had was just a little nausea; although I had a tendency to gag on my toothbrush and dry-heave a bit first thing in the morn.  I only gained about 28 lbs total and lost it post-delivery within 4 weeks.  Every prenatal checkup measured normal and healthy for her and for me.
I didn't really have much for maternity clothing since I pretty much just gained baby weight; I wore a lot of long tops with leggings, and jeans 3 sizes bigger than my usual size for work at JJs (even did delivery driving up till about 7 1/2 months!).  If I'd had a full-time job at the time, I would have worked full-time all the way through.  However, I did work my 2 part-timers up until the day I went into labor...and she was born 8 days late!  I only encountered swollen feet once or twice after some pretty long work days.  My biggest complaint from my whole pregnancy was the nightly heartburn...I propped my pillows waaaay up, had a body pillow behind me and a throw pillow between my knees every single night at yet still most nights I had to take more Tums when I'd get up to pee.
My favorite part of my pregnancy was feeling her move.  The first time was pretty magical...it felt like popcorn popping in my belly when I leaned forward one night at around 18 weeks.  From then on she was almost constantly on the move.  So much so that when I started showing more, people could see her movements even through my shirt from across the room.
Her official due date was March 30, 2012 but I like to say she decided to get a little payback for Grandma Nancy for the hell I put her through.  I was nearly 18 days late, so it's only natural that she should be late too, right?  I didn't have even one contraction (not even braxton hicks!) through my entire pregnancy.  I started having labor contractions at work at 41 weeks; she finally decided to make her debut (on her own!).  My whole labor and delivery story is better suited for another post, another night, so I'll just leave it at, I did it au naturale (with minimal iv pain meds).  After nearly 19 hours of labor, Skylar Helen was born at 5:23 on Saturday morning April 7th, the day before Easter.  I was told amid all the pushing that she was a red-head...sure enough I've got the most beautiful little ginger girl ever.  She tipped the scales at 9 lbs 2 oz, and measured 20 inches long.  She wasn't as big as either myself or her dad (who was there with me the whole time; not super helpful in terms of pain management though definitely a necessary support at the time).

First Pic Outside

We picked Skylar for her first name after realizing the only names that we liked and could agree on were Skylar and Devon.  DJ decided last minute at the hospital that he didn't like Devon anymore so our alternate became Fiona but when we met her we knew she was Skylar.  I decided a long time ago that my first daughter's middle name would be Helen after my dad's mother Helen Louise.  I found out at my baby shower actually that DJ's maternal grandmother was also named Helen.  So it fits perfectly.
We took her home to our new apartment the following Monday; we had moved March 1st (that's right folks, I was 8 months prego) from Justin's house, where I'd been living when I was last posting.  I had already decided to breast feed her, which was incredibly difficult at first.  Despite all our issues, I loved our special nursing bond and I wish we could have shared it longer.  I'm sure I'll end up posting all about our nursing woes at some point.
Skylar has been the sweetest, most amazing baby; I couldn't have dreamed of having a better child.  I took her in for her 10 month checkup last week.  The doctor asked me how she sleeps at night; when I told her 'all through the night, every night since she was 6 weeks old' she told me not to tell other moms that!  I just laughed...she's just that awesome.  Currently she's tipping those scales again at a crazy 24 lbs 5 oz...98th percentile.  She's also in the 95th percentile for height at just under 30 inches.  Her daily accomplishments never cease to amaze me and I still can't believe how adorable she is.  I'll get more into her development in later posts since I'm losing steam and it's nearly bedtime for me.  So for now I'll leave you with this, my newest favorite pic of my "lil punkinhead" taken last week...

The Prodigal Blogger Returns

The other night I was thinking: I wonder why the hell I ever stopped blogging.....then I snapped back to reality where I'm a mom now!  The last time I posted was waaaaay back when I first found out I was preggers with my sweet baby love Skylar Helen.  Um, she's 10 months old now...it's time to get back to it.  Obviously my life has changed dramastically (to quote a new fav TV show, see below) and it's gonna take more than just one post to update.  However, I've been reading back over some of my previous posts from 2009-2011 and just happened upon this gem from November 19, 2010.  I figured I'd just re-answer the questions as a mini recap of my last 20 months...

Here goes:
1. What time did you get up this morning?
- 7 am (work at 9...and I actually had to wake Skylar up right before I took her to daycare; strange since she's usually up before me)
2. How do you like your steak?
- medium to medium rare
3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema?
- Ted, when it first came out I saw it with DJ...it was one of our first times together away from baby Sky and she was almost 3 months at the time
4. What is your favorite TV show?
- it changes frequently but right now it's Raising Hope
5. If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be?
-I said Florence or Amsterdam last time I did this, which is still true but I've also got a yearning to live closer to my bestie Holly and she's back in the City of Angels with Kelly (her hubby!!! more on that later...)
6. What did you have for breakfast?
- coffee (naughty that I've fallen off the breakfast train...I gotta get back into that)
7. What is your favorite cuisine?
-still true: the all-inclusive and vague, Asian...especially sushi, Mongolian beef, crab rangoon, etc
8. What foods do you dislike?
-broccoli.  oh yea and those wafer cookies that come in vanilla, strawberry and chocolate: BARF
9. Favorite Place to Eat?
-I said Zoni Kitchen last time, which would still be true except that they closed down last summer :(  So now I would say definitely Buffalo Wild Wings as far as frequency but I LOVE LOVE LOVE me some Granite City or Braccos
10. Favorite dressing?
-balsamic vinaigrette, still
11.What kind of vehicle do you drive?
-a blue 1995 Chevy Corsica...I call it Dimples the Chevy Storm due to the hail damaged hood.  She's not pretty but she still gets me where I need to go
12. What are your favorite clothes?
-my maternity tank tops...the ruche side seams and extra length make these "wife-beaters" hella comfy
13. Where would you visit if you had the chance?
-as aforementioned, my Holly is in Cali, so to Cali I would go
14. Cup 1/2 empty or 1/2 full?
-full most of the time
15. Where would you want to retire?
-the beach
16. Favorite time of day?
-morning 
17. What is your favorite sport to watch?
-I don't like to watch sports.  And you can't make me...  The Super Bowl was last Sunday and I didn't even watch the commercials.
18-20. totally irrelevant: SKIP!
21. Bird watcher?
-sure, if I see one I like
22. Do you consider yourself attractive?
-most of the time
23. Pets?
-I'm still an avid fish owner only now I'm down to just 1 of my Chicago fish my standard koi, Nathan, who is waaaay too large for his 55 gallon home at a whopping 15 inches long.  I also have 1 betta right now named Fletcher I got last fall(I got one named Stanley at the same time but he died after just a few days)
24. Any new and exciting news that you'd like to share?
- I will be moving out of my apartment in less than 3 weeks which will mark the official "callin-it-quits" date for DJ and I...more on that subject to come
25. What did you want to be when you were little?
-an astronaut, a veterinarian, and a cake decorator...simultaneously
26. What is your best childhood memory?

-basking in the dining room patches of sun with my dog Baxter as my pillow and a good book in hand 
27. Are you a cat or dog person?
-I'd say dogs, since I'm slightly allergic to cats (though I still like em) 
28. Are you married?
-no, and won't be for the foreseeable future
29. Always wear your seat belt?
-yep 
30. Been in a car accident?
-a few actually...nothing too serious though and all when I was in high school
31. Any pet peeves?
-Everything about my current living situation EXCEPT my darling Sky
32. Favorite pizza topping?
-I'm a big fan of variety these days...I love concocting my own delicious homemade pies anymore, but when I'm out-n-about I love a good buffalo chicken pizza
33. Favorite Flower?
-irises
34. Favorite ice cream?
-anything with heath bites or chocolate covered peanut butter in it
35. Favorite fast food?
-The BK Lounge...but I love me some Culvers cheese curds
36. How many times did you fail your driver's test?
-I passed on the first try
37. From whom did you get your last email?
-the last time I checked it would have been from google help since my endeavors last night to restart blogging was hindered by the red tape of account fraud protection (I started this blog using an email addy that doesn't exist anymore and couldn't remember my password.  Also I already have a google account with my yahoo addy so I couldn't change the primary addy in the old account...with a lil smarts I got it to work, though I'm stuck with 2 google accounts now and no way to link them)
38. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card?
-either Blick or Utrecht... and I know now I could definitely max out at Michaels
39. Do anything spontaneous lately?
-not especially (which sucks, I should change that!)
40. Like your job?
-definitely...though obviously retail can really suck too.  For the record, I am back with Michaels (since about the end of my 1st trimester).  I worked there and at Jimmy Johns, both part-time, thru the duration of my pregnancy.  After my ridiculously short maternity leave (12 days), I was able to go back to work at Michaels part-time for about a week before being promoted to full-time framer in early May last year.  Our department manager Linda finally made the move to Arizona as she'd been talking about for ages, opening up her position for Angela and Angela's position for me.  It's nice to finally have a full-time job with benefits (though I waited 6 months for them!)
41. What was your favorite vacation?
-still gonna be my road trip in May 2009 from LA to Chi with my Holly
42. How about who's your favorite actor/actress?
-Johnny Depp/Angelica Huston
43. Last person you went out to dinner with?
-no dinners lately but I had breakfast with my mom and baby on Saturday; oh and lunch with my sister, her kiddo and mine last Thursday
44. What are you listening to right now?
-the burbling water of the fishtank
45. What is your favorite color?
-yellow
46. How many tattoos do you have?
-still 5, but I've got idears wiggling around upstairs that will come to fruition with the onset of some extra cash
47. Coffee drinker?
-an avid one...but I have to limit myself to just a cup or 2 in the morning
48. How many children do you have?
-one, Skylar Helen is my heart.

It's about damn time, right?

So I've been thinking about posting for a really long time.  Life's been crazy busy and surprising.  I know it's been over 2 months since my last post and that's because of a few things.  I went back and read that I had updated about my 2 new jobs.  Well, I kept all 4 jobs until the end of August.  I even ended up working 22 days in a row without even 1 day off.  I ended up quitting the lowest paying job (Michaels) despite it being one of the more relevant ones to my field of study.  However, I was in a financial pickle after letting the situation at my brother's go on for so long.  So now, I work still at the Washington Pavilion from time to time and then part-time at JJs and part-time in direct sales for a local cable company.

I'm still seeing Mr. Nice, much more seriously now.  For awhile I was attributing my prolonged fatigue to the fact that I was juggling 4 jobs and a boyfriend.  Come to find out (about 6 weeks ago) that I'm pregnant with his oopsy baby.  SURPRISE!  Now obviously that was pretty unexpected and definitely not planned.  However, our relationship is going really well as is the pregnancy.  By my calculations, I'm 12 weeks along which was confirmed by my doctor on Thursday at my first ultrasound.  The difference between this one and the one I had last year was night and day.  I got to see my baby moving around there, active and healthy and normal!  I wish my guy could have been there but he still lives an hour away and the scheduling just didn't work.  He is making plans to save money and move here whenever it works best.  Until then I still get to see him every weekend.  Actually I've been at his place this whole weekend.  He still does the night shift while I do the day so he's still sleeping now while I'm wide awake.  I don't usually have any problem staying asleep late with him but I did take a little nap last night while he was playing his video game.  Plus I was getting really hungry so I made some sticky buns.  He's gonna have to get up soon if he wants some...  :P  Side effects of this bun in my oven is the overwhelming urge to eat far more often than I've ever felt before.  I've had some nausea and dizzy spells.  Morning sickness hasn't affected me as much in the way of barfing all the time as just generally feeling crappy for days on end.  This week's had some crazy temperature and weather changes and I've been sick because of it all week.  I thought it started out as a sinus thing but now my symptoms are more like the bronchitis that Terri was sporting last week.  Or maybe it's just a 'faux sickness' like my friend Jessica said.  Whatever it is, I'm hoping it'll be gone very very soon.  I've gotta catch up on some work this week.  I think I'll at least have some more energy now that I'm almost out of the first trimester.  It's been terribly hard not to always give in to the incredible urge to sleep between jobs.  That's when I don't get nearly as much done in the day.

I've been wanting my artistic release back, wanting to do something for art's sake (to borrow a phrase).  So the title of this post is multipurpose then.  I received some unbelievably sad news last Sunday that my dear friend and neighbor from college Will passed away.  I wept for the world's loss of a beautiful soul and a talented individual who simply didn't understand his true worth in life.  The loss of someone so great makes me feel like time really is short and I have to make the most of what I've got.  I have to be able to find a balance between the busy of life and family and maintaining the art that is my true life-blood.  I decided to start organizing my collection of items and bits from college.  I found a lot of things that reminded me of Will and our group of friends and all the great times we had together.  And not just in the college partying friends way; also the way that we were fellow artists working side by side and together in this world to make a mark.  I don't want to lose what I've worked for so I've made a command decision to make art a part of every single day.  I ended up stopping by my aunt Jen's house on Tuesday this week.  She's always been one of my biggest creative inspirations.  I stopped by because I saw her outside and because I was RSVPing to a jewelry party invite for Thursday.  We talked for almost 2 hours and in that time she managed to inspire me yet again.  She showed me a wonderful little scrapbook she'd made completely by hand.  It, to me, was much more like an artist book than some scrapbook.  It was beautifully crafted with delicate details and features like pockets and inserts.  And the basic structure of the book was paper lunch sacks.  She is planning on helping me get started on a book of my own.  It seemed so perfectly synchronized that I should be organizing the items I want to put into a variety of artist's books the 2 nights prior to my aunt offering to help me get started on them.  I always curse myself for not taking that book-making class in college.  I should have realized that a lot of my art is better in book format.  At any rate, I got some supplies at Michaels the other night when I went in to show some of my old coworkers my ultrasound pictures.  I spent more than I should have but I got a couple of nice frames for Aaron and Terri.  I had promised birthday presents to them months ago when I was much more broke.  I finally got what I'd planned to awhile ago.  Now I just need to sew Z's little baby romper to a nice fitted piece of matboard and put it in the 12" x 16" black shadowbox I got for Terri and give Aaron the black shot glass collector case I got for him.  I've also been crocheting and knitting a little more here and there.   I want to get my baby hat inventory up for this winter.  So in the past week, my artistic spirit has been soooooooaring.  I hope the baby can feel the arty energy.

Speaking of arty energy, I think I may put something on the tv and crochet, but first...another sticky bun, and maybe a quick cleanup.  This man has a serious bachelor pad.  I actually really want to post again soon.  Maybe it'll be good for the arting to keep posting.  And so I shall.