Weekend Warrior

I entered the battlefield I call my house this weekend....and was somewhat successful. I put away all of the holiday decorations (as much as I hated to take down the lights, I was determined to get the house in order), organized and stored all of the baby clothes, sorted through all of my clothes (sock and underwear drawers included) and filled an entire 36 gallon tote of nothing but items for our spring yard sale, stored all baby gear and toys that won't be needed until after we move, and sorted through all misc office "stuff". I'm just SHOCKED at how much stuff (aka "junk") we've accrued during the last almost 4 years. I refuse to move with it (and some of it, for a second time)!

In addition to all of the hard work, we also had a lot of fun this weekend....we took Josiah to Chuck E. Cheese for the first time. He LOVED it. While living in Fort Worth, we would occassionally take our good friend's three boys to Chuck E. Cheese for fun. Since then, Randy's been wanting to bring Josiah, but we've had to wait until he was old enough (some of the bigger kids just don't pay much attention to the smaller ones and they get run over). Josiah enjoyed playing on the "toddler" rides and playing the "toddler" games...and watching Chuck E.'s band sing Christmas carols (he also tried to sing along--it was so cute). Like most of the young kids there, when Chuck E. would come out in person and interact with the kids, it was fun and games--from a distance. Randy said that he thought Josiah was going to climb a wall whenever we asked to take a picture with Chuck E. Cheese. Towards the end of our evening, though, we were able to get him to loosen up and give Chuck E. "five". :-)

This past year has just flown by...and I can't believe it's the last day of 2007 already! I hope you enjoy your day today. May you reflect on all that the Lord has blessed you with and get excited about all that He will bless you with in the coming year.

Holiday Travels

We're back home after a long weekend in IL visiting my family. We left Friday afternoon and raced to Columbus, OH where we spent some time with our good friends, Carrie and Josh. For the past 3 years, we have enjoyed the lights, sounds and smells of "Dickens of a Christmas" in Roanoke; but since we were unable to participate in this year's local activities, we opted for the "Wildlights" of the Columbus Zoo. Josh and Carrie joined us....it was a lot of fun. The entire zoo was decorated and lights hung from what seemed to be EVERY tree. Carrie and I tried Wassail for the first time. It was delicious. I'll have to look for a recipe.

We finally made it to my parents house on Saturday. Papa and Grandma were so excited to see Josiah...it took them no time at all to swipe him from our arms. :-) After we unloaded the car, Mom and I went straight to work on making cookies and the family favorite--date nut bread.

We did our usual thing on Sunday---napping and watching TV. Additionally, Josiah played with Aunt Leslie's dog, Moby; Randy helped Dad clean out the car (Dad said that he's never had to use so many rags to clean the inside of a car out before); and Mom and I continued our baking marathon. If I eat one more cookie, I swear that I'll turn into one.

Monday was also a pretty slow day, just hanging around the house---Josiah took a 3 hour nap, which is a very rare occurrence. I got to read from my recent library selection, "PS I Love You" (I really wanted to read the book before seeing the movie) AND take a nap, both of which are rarities for me. Then we got ready for Christmas Eve church service. We all clean up so nicely. :-) Church service was nice, at least what I got to see of it. It was a packed house and Josiah wanted nothing to do with sitting still. So Randy and I spent all but 5 minutes of the service in one of the back study rooms so that Josiah could expend some energy and talk as loudly as he wished. Then we drove over to Pastor's house to enjoy their Annual "inbetween church services" soup dinner. Everything was going as well it could (Josiah wanted nothing to do with the soup and only wanted crackers off of Aunt Kara's plate) when Josiah decided to help himself to a glass of RED punch. But before I could stop him, RED punch drenched his sweater and pants as well as the beige carpet and a decorative Christmas pillow. I was SO embarrassed. Randy and I have managed to keep him from destroying anything belonging to someone else (it's okay if it happens at our house)....but that all ended on Christmas Eve. Needless to say, after I helped to blot up the punch from both the carpet and the pillow, we headed straight out the door (I didn't even get to finish my soup I was so upset). Now, in hindsight, I may have reacted a little irrationally (my parents definitely agree), but I think Josiah should have known NOT to pick up the glass of punch (as many times as we say "no"). I am in constant battle with myself for trying to figure out what he's supposed to know vs. what he is still learning. Unfortunately, there is no defined line.

After going to bed early, I felt much better on Christmas morning. We sat down at 8:30 to begin the process of opening gifts. Our family has a tradition of going around in a circle and opening one gift at a time so that we can see what was given to each person. Josiah was so overwhelmed that we pretty much lost his attention after he opened a tractor. :-) A lot of wonderful gifts were given and received. A few of my favorite gifts I received this year were a pair of Dansko clogs (I've heard from a number of nurses how wonderful they are in supporting their backs--and since that's a problem area for me during pregnancy, I asked for a pair), a couple of maternity tops, gift cards (I don't plan on using them until after we move and can see what we'll need then), new tires for the car, and lastly, my gift from Randy. He used my New Year's Resolutions to construct a gift for me. I received a digital photo storage album, a beginners crochet kit and some yarn, Women's study bible and case, a couple of heavy-duty storage bins, and a book of Sudoku puzzles (beginners level, too).

We left for VA shortly after Josiah helped Papa drive the tractor and we enjoyed Christmas lunch: ham, hashbrown casserole, green bean casserole, corn, cranberry salad, lime pineapple jello, lemon blueberry trifle, and pumpkin pie. Yum! We spent Christmas night in Shelbyville, KY where our good friends, Sara and Chris, were visiting his parents. They have a little guy, Grant, who is only 7 weeks older than Josiah. He and Josiah have so much fun playing together....and teaching the other something new....it's histerical! We took our time getting back to VA since it's a 11 hour trip. We stopped outside of Lexington, KY at a playgroud so that Josiah (and Mommy) could stretch legs. We had so much fun helping Josiah climb and slide. We pulled into our driveway around 9PM (we left Shelbyville at 11AM and it only should have taken 6 hours--driving straight through). We all were excited to finally be out of the car.




(Josiah and Dad had on matching red and black flannel shirts)

Josiah had so much fun on the slide that I had to share......

Now I can't wait to really get started on my New Year's Resolutions, especially with the help of Randy's gifts. I told Randy this morning to "watch out" because I'm super eager to begin the organization and consolidation process. :-) I'll let you know how it goes.

It's a.......

A litter of kittens....Just kidding! Randy and I stuck to our "guns" and turned our heads when we were told to (we told the Ultrasound Tech that we didn't want to know and to tell us to turn our heads when she went looking "down there"). Even though we may not know this baby's gender, we know that it's a little stinker. It didn't want to cooperate at all....a 30 minute appointment turned quickly into a 1-hour appointment. The baby had no interest in letting us get a good look at its face or head (to get the needed measurements). Therefore, we didn't get very good pictures this time around....but, thankfully, the Tech was able to obtain all the measurements she needed for the OB...and everything is looking just as it should. It looks like we're due anytime between April 30 and May 3, according to the measurements. It weighs approximately 14 ounces right now. This growth process is so amazing to me, even the second time around. It takes forever to reach the first pound, but then after that the weight gain is exponential! I might not be "showing" too much now, but just give me another month. :-)

Okay, so here are some pictures of Baby M #2 at 21 weeks.

The baby turned its head so that we couldn't see its face...so you're looking at the ear and side profile in 3D.

Another side profile....and you can see the heart, too.

Just Another Week

Boy, the weeks seem to be flying by at lightning speed. There are only 11 days until Christmas. I am really excited that Randy has been granted the time off (the day before and after Christmas) so that we can travel to IL to spend Christmas with my family. There is a lot of significance to this year's Christmas: it will be my family's first Christmas with Josiah (we spent last year in Pecos with Mom and Dad Martinez), it will be our last Christmas as a family of 3, it's Josiah's first Christmas with his new Uncle Chris, and it will probably be the last Christmas we get to share it with extended family (Residency is well-known for working all holidays--especially as an Intern). :-)

Okay, so I've made some progress on my aforementioned Resolutions list. Last week, I attended a cookie exchange as part of a Women's Ministry activity at our church. It was a lot of fun, and I returned home with a couple of good recipes. I also attempted my first Suduko puzzle (easy level); however, "attempted" is the key word--I've still not finished it. Either these puzzles are more difficult than they look or I've really lost my "skills", which is more likely of the two explanations. I also purchased some generic diapers for Josiah this week, in hopes of being able to decrease the diaper budget--they are SO expensive. And since we'll have TWO in diapers soon, I need to save money now where ever I can. I'm very willing to try what has worked for others, so please feel free to share. :-)

I'll have much more exciting news to share next week. We have our 21 week ultrasound scheduled for Tuesday at 1:30PM. As curious as I am this go around to find out what we've been blessed with (after all, I did manage NOT to look with Josiah), Randy is making us stick to our "guns". I'll be sure to let you know how it goes.

Preparing for a New Year

For some reason, my recent thoughts have skipped right over the Christmas holiday (and I love this time of year) and focused on all the events that will take place in the new year. And with every new year, a new set of Resolutions emerges. Now some of the items are repeat customers (i.e. lose weight) and this just supports the fact that many Resolutions are unrealistic and just plain silly. Therefore, my "umbrella" Resolution for 2008 is to come up with an action plan to "resolve" each of my desired Resolutions. Let me show you what I mean by putting my list "on the table".

In no particular order of priority:
1. Learn something new
a. Find a new, difficult recipe to challenge a different baking skill
b. Learn the art of completing a Sudoku puzzle and earning mucho points with Scrabble
c. Pick up knitting or sewing (finish a baby blanket for a friend)

2. Get organized
a. Buy 10 (at least) plastic storage bins
b. Go through all closets, drawers, etc and eliminate all items that have not been used in the last year. I refuse to move extra junk.

3. Stay better connected with friends and family
a. Start/maintain a blog site---As you can see I've started a bit early on this one. The real challenge will be to maintain it. :-)

4. Pay down the debt
a. Revisit using the envelope system
b. Plan meals better
c. Try generic diapers for Josiah

5. Complete another 1/2 Marathon
a. I'm still trying to figure this one out, but I know that I will need a double jogging stroller

6. Get more involved at Church (both in C'burg and after the move)
a. Offer assistance with Nursery
b. Prepare meals for families with a new baby
c. Participate in Women's Ministry events

So this is my list and action plan thus far. I will post updates as I start on each item. Best wishes to you on putting together a list and plan of your own (if you participate in this annual activity like most of the world).

A new way for us to stay connected

2008 is right around the corner, and I've found myself thinking about all of the events that are going to happen: a new baby, Medical School graduation, moving, starting residency, etc.

As Randy, Josiah and I go through the many HUGE upcoming changes, I suspect that I'm going to fall really behind on keeping up with our friends. I've found that with each passing year it gets harder and harder to keep up with friends via email, but I really enjoy visiting my friends' and families' blog sites to find out what's going on. So, I've decided to start/maintain a blog site in order to keep everyone abreast on how life for the Randy Martinez family is progressing. Plus, starting now allows me to get an early start on my New Year's Resolution list, which I'll post later.

All I ask is that you bear with me as I try to get the hang of this.....