Thankful

We are just 2 days away from Thanksgiving, one of my three most favorite holidays, and I'm torn with how I feel. While I'm excited that we are so close to a favorite holiday, I'm saddened by the fact that Thanksgiving seems to have been forgotten in all of the hustle and bustle of the Christmas holiday, including but not limited to whether or not stores will be turning a profit this year with our current economic situation. Christmas decorations were hung and placed on the store shelves the day after Halloween. And folks have been blogging about getting out their own Christmas decor, if they haven't put it up already. Don't get me wrong, I'm just as excited as the next person is about celebrating Christmas, but I want to take a few extra minutes to enjoy Thanksgiving first.

On Sunday, I was reminded that Thanksgiving is a day when we should turn our focus from Black Friday shopping, football, and special foods that we only get to enjoy once a year towards God, thanking Him for His mighty provision.

I found out about Ten Things Tuesday, hosted by Mrs. Brownstone at XBOX Wife, thanks to a bloggy friend who is a faithful participant. I thought it would be a wonderful opportunity to to share what I'm most THANKFUL for, in an effort to turn my focus.

1. I am thankful for my hard-working and loving husband with whose help, I have....

2. TWO beautiful (and healthy) children.

3. I am thankful for Randy's successful completion of Medical School so that....

4. I can stay home to raise our two little blessings.

5. I am thankful for my parents and their love for us that they are driving 26 hours (one-way) for a 3 day visit.

6. I am thankful that the Lord provided me with 4-5 ways in which to GIVE during this season of Thanks.

7. I am thankful for wonderful friends who know when I need to be listened to, encouraged, loved, or given a good ol' kick in the butt.

8. I am thankful our move/transition back to TX went smoothly, and that I've started forming a couple of true friendships.

9. I am thankful for my change in attitude regarding homekeeping duties, keeping in mind Joshua 24:15.

10. I am thankful that in just a few short weeks we will be spending another favorite holiday with my very loving extended family, something we haven't done in 2 years.

What's in a Name?

I saw this done on another blog and thought it looked too fun to pass up.

What Jessica Means

You are fair, honest, and logical. You are a natural leader, and people respect you. You never give up, and you will succeed... even if it takes you a hundred tries. You are rational enough to see every part of a problem. You are great at giving other people advice. You are friendly, charming, and warm. You get along with almost everyone. You work hard not to rock the boat. Your easy going attitude brings people together. At times, you can be a little flaky and irresponsible. But for the important things, you pull it together. You are the total package - suave, sexy, smart, and strong. You have the whole world under your spell, and you can influence almost everyone you know. You don't always resist your urges to crush the weak. Just remember, they don't have as much going for them as you do. You tend to be pretty tightly wound. It's easy to get you excited... which can be a good or bad thing. You have a lot of enthusiasm, but it fades rather quickly. You don't stick with any one thing for very long. You have the drive to accomplish a lot in a short amount of time. Your biggest problem is making sure you finish the projects you start. You are very open. You communicate well, and you connect with other people easily. You are a naturally creative person. Ideas just flow from your mind. A true chameleon, you are many things at different points in your life. You are very adaptable. You are usually the best at everything ... you strive for perfection. You are confident, authoritative, and aggressive. You have the classic “Type A” personality.

What's Your Name's Hidden Meaning?

I have to admit that this descriptive is pretty close. I would agree with most of it except the parts about being creative and adaptable. :-(

Small Fryday Contest

It's no secret that I, in addition to 1000's of others in the blogosphere, am addicted to enjoy reading MckMama's blog, My Charming Kids. She tells the most miraculous story of how our Mighty Creator healed her unborn son, Stellan, from a fatal heart condition. Stellan is now a 3 week old perfectly healthy little man.

Stellan joins 2 older brothers, Big Mac (K) and MckNugget (C), and an older sister, Small Fry (M)...hence the name of this contest. MckMama is offering a customized blog header and some photography goodies. The only requirement for entry is to mention her contest on your blog....hence this post.

Oh, how I would LOVE a customized blog header....I've really been struggling with this one but I'm too frugal to spend the dinero to have one "done" for me. And photography goodies....ooh, la, la. I'm secretly hoping my husband blesses me with a digital SLR camera for Christmas so some photography goodies would be awesome!

Again, if you haven't checked out MckMama and her MSC (many small children) yet, you're missing out....on one Charming addiction.

Fat Ticker Friday (HFH)~Week 9

Wow, what a week! Since making the decision to bump up the date of my race (February instead of April), I had to bump up the intensity of my work outs, starting this week (ie. a lot of interval training).

And since a bloggy friend and I decided to become training progress buddies (she is training for her first Half at the end of Feb), I'm using this post to outline what I did each week...as a way to stay accountable (to both myself and my bloggy friend).

So, the nitty gritty of my week looked like this:

Friday--off
Saturday--5 miles (average 10:45 pace)
Sunday--6 miles (average 10:58 pace)
Monday--3 miles (average 10:30 pace)
Tuesday--3 mile tempo run (average 10:04 pace)
Wednesday--off (I was so tired at the end of my day that I decided to take a 2 hour nap instead)
Thursday--3 miles (6 x 400 intervals, average 10:08 pace)

I'm definitely starting to notice an improvement in my cardiovascular endurance/strength, which is such an encouragement for me. I started out barely able to keep up with 12:00 m/m pace, and now that seems like a slightly-faster-than-walking pace. I LOVE seeing that my average pace during my long runs is below 11:00 m/m and 10:15 m/m during my interval runs.

But that is not even the best news.....my scale told me this morning that I'm 3 pounds lighter since last week. Woohoo!!!!! This weight loss is quite monumental.....

• 3 more pounds means that my overall weight loss has now hit the double digits.
• 3 more pounds means that I'm saying "HELLO" to another decade of numbers.
• 3 more pounds means that I'm only 3 pounds away from my pre-Josiah weight (unfortunately, I'm still another 13 pounds away from my pre-Alayna weight).
• And 3 more pounds means that I have reached a weight where I can finally wear my engagement ring again.

Our "Hot for the Holidays" host, Christie, asked us what our "Aha!" moment was that influenced our decision to get up off the couch and do something about the way we looked. I think mine was the day that I decided to graduate from maternity clothes to "real" clothes (about 3 months after Josiah was born)....when I had to buy a size 18 pant and an XL shirt. It took me another couple of months after this day to buy a new pair of running shoes and find my way to the Huckleberry Trail (I wanted to wait until I was done nursing Josiah), but I REFUSED to stay that size. I also REFUSED to lose all but 10 pounds of the baby weight (I had read once to expect to keep 10 pounds from each pregnancy--sorry, that's not going to be me). Fortunately for me, my sister was running half and full marathons during this time. She was my inspiration for setting a goal to complete a half marathon. So there begins my running journey/obsession....until I stepped foot onto the "Huck", I wouldn't have considered myself of a runner. Yes, I ran track in HS (I was 400 and Hurdles gal), but I always died when it came time to do the 1 Mile Run. I never thought I'd be able to "kick out" 12-13 miles in a single run....and now I have and am more than ANXIOUS to try it again. Not only am I excited to see what my body can do but to lose ALL of the baby fat that came along with my latest pregnancy). :-)

Wordless Wednesday--Power of Reading

Oh, Brother

My conversation with my 2 year old son this morning while he rolled around in his blanket on the kitchen floor and I made a breakfast casserole and cinnamon rolls for Bible study....

"Mommy, I wanna brother."

"You do? How come?"

"So that I would have someone to play with me."

"Oh, Son, but you have Laney. Not too much longer, and she'll be able to play with you."

"But that's different."

"I'm sorry, but you won't have a brother to play with for another couple of years....Laney will just have to do."

Seriously??? Did I just have that conversation with my 2 year old???

All By Himself

Randy took the weekend off from the ER so that we could spend a little bit of family time together...something we definitely don't do enough of due to one thing or another (ie. Randy's work schedule). We were out and about Saturday night and discovered that a small carnival had set up just outside of town. Of course, it didn't take long for Josiah to start with his "pleeeese", "pleeeeese, daddy", "pleeeese, mommy", "I wanna go" once he saw all of the lights. It was late and past Laney's bedtime when we drove by so we promised that if it was still going on on tomorrow (Sunday afternoon/evening) that we would take him. Well, it was...so we were off.

Funny thing was that before we could go, we had to make sure that everyone was dressed warm, ready to handle the 55 degree weather. Boy, did my blood thin quickly or what!? 55 degrees and I'm needing a sweatshirt and gloves. Unfortunately, we had packed most of our winter gear away....but fortunately, I knew where the stuff was. I pulled out a fleece pullover and hat for Josiah that when it had been gifted to us it had been too big. I dressed Laney in a warm sleeper and pulled out Josiah's winter hat from last year for her (I planned on wearing her in the Baby Bjorn zipped up in one of Randy's sweatshirts so that she would be extra warm). And Randy and I pulled out our heavy sweatshirts and jeans. Okay, now we're ready.

Josiah was itching to get released from his car seat the minute we parked the car....just a few feet from the rides. He did really well and held Randy's hand whenever we were walking between rides. We bought Josiah the "ride all you want" bracelet (it was the same price as buying 20 tickets)....and in retrospect, it was a good purchase....he had so much fun!

Not only did Josiah have a blast, but the first ride of the evening (riding on a motorcycle, of course) was the first time that he's ridden ALL BY HIMSELF. Randy and I were very nervous since he'd never been on a ride without one of us by his side. We thought he would be scared and start crying as soon as the ride started....well, we should have given him more credit. He wore a smile, ear to ear, the moment his motorcycle jumped forward.

Now for pictures.....

He started off releasing just one hand, but a few minutes into the ride he was comfortable with doing the "rollercoaster wave". It was so funny to watch because after watching him do it a few times, a couple of other kiddos found their courage and copied him.

Josiah was very interested in riding on the ferris wheel..."I wanna go way up in the sky". And because I am fearful of heights I was wearing Laney, Randy was the blessed one to accompany Josiah on his very first ferris wheel ride.

There was also a band playing Mexican Cumbia music. Josiah loved watching the musicians playing their instruments, particularly the guitar, drums and piano. Excuse the slight bouncing...it's hard for me not to dance along. This is just a small glimpse into what we hear around town when we drive with our windows down. :-)

We had a fun night, a little cold, but a lot of fun! Even Laney enjoyed looking around at all of the muchas personas (many people) and luces bonitas (pretty lights).

Menu Plan Monday~November 17

Before I get into what we're having for dinner this week, I thought I would comment on our menu from a couple of weeks ago. I tried 3 new recipes, all of which were quite yummy. I especially enjoyed trying quinoa, and the layered Mexican casserole was delicious. I enjoyed quinoa so much that I've included it in this week's plan.

A couple of weeks ago, I went to a Southern Living at Home party and bought a new cookbook. I finally got my hands on it on Friday, and I'm so excited to try out a couple of its recipes this week.

Monday--leftover Honey Mustard Chicken
Tuesday--Quinoa Stuffed Bell Peppers
Wednesday--leftover peppers
Thursday--Crunchy Chicken Fingers
Friday--leftover chicken fingers
Saturday--Sloppy Joe Squares
Sunday--leftover sloppy joes


For more menu inspiration, visit Laura @ I'm an Organizing Junkie.

Fat Ticker Friday (HFH)~Week 8

Another week has come and gone...and if I may brag, so has 1 MORE POUND! I really wanted to lose 2 lbs this week so that I hit the 10 pound mark, but who am I to complain? A loss is a loss, right?

This week was pretty low-key thereby allowing me to get in 4 runs.

Friday--off
Saturday--off
Sunday--off
Monday--5 miles
Tuesday--off
Wednesday--3 miles AND 3.25 miles (I had to make up for not getting a run in on Tuesday night because Randy got home so late, so I decided to do a "twice-a-day" workout).
Thursday--4 miles

I also scratched my initial plan of running in the Dallas Half Marathon in April because of Randy's work schedule that month. It will be nearly impossible for us to travel, as a family, up to Dallas (12 hour drive) the weekend of the race. Soooo, I decided to find something closer to home, the Austin Half Marathon, which is in February. I'm pretty excited about it. Now if I could just find enough courage to actually register. ;-) My goal for this race is to complete it in 2 hours....so my training from here on out will be focused on strength and faster runs. I'm so excited to see what my body can actually do.

We only have 96.9 pounds left to lose as a group until we reach 500 pounds lost. The Hot for the Holidays gals have been losing an average of 24-25 pounds each week....and we need to keep up that average loss for the 3 weeks in order to reach our goal. So, Christie's assignment for this week was to answer: "What will you do for yourself and the group? What are your vows?"

Here is what I promise to do over the next 3 weeks:

• I will run four days/week, introducing interval training to increase my speed.
• I will introduce strength training to my routine 2 days/week.
• I will make healthy meals and surround myself with healthy choices, including Thanksgiving.
• Above all, I will not comfort and/or reward myself in food. (No saying things like, "I deserve this." Because what I deserve is a healthythinnerhappier me. That stuff can wait.) We never did make it to Mimi's Cafe last week because I just couldn't sabotage my weight loss thus far--9 pounds. Maybe once we get closer to Christmas...I'm just doing too well.

Because I started the challenge two weeks behind the rest of the group, I still have another 5 weeks (til Christmas) to lose another 6 pounds. Not sure if I'll make it, especially if I'm only losing 1 pound/week, but I'm going to really strive for it. I'm more than ready to be back in my pre-preggo body...well, weight-wise anyway...the body is never the same after birthin' babies. :-)

Happy Friday!

Wordless Wednesday--Playing Together

(Oh, how I've waited for the day when these two would play together--I love it!)

For more Wordless Wednesday, check out 5 Minutes for Mom.

Fat Ticker Friday~Week 7

This week was pretty quiet and uneventful (if you don't count the election). So I'll "cut to the chase"....

I LOST 2 lbs. this week!! WooHoo! I'm now just 2 pounds shy of losing 10 pounds and saying "hello" to another decade of numbers. Just 6 more pounds till I reach my 15 pound Christmas weight loss goal and 17 more pounds before reaching my pre-preggo weight.

My week looked like this:

Friday--off
Saturday--walked around outlet mall for 4 hrs
Sunday--off
Monday--4.75 M run
Tuesday--off
Wednesday--4 M run
Thursday--4 M run with BOB

I'm not entirely sure why I lost as much as I did when I'm hardly impressed by my work outs for the week. However, I'm really watching what I'm eating....including NO Halloween candy! Randy told me that if I lost 2 pounds this week that he'd treat me to Mimi's Cafe. I *heart* their pumpkin spice muffins, which they only make during this time of year (unless they've changed the menu). YUM! Oh, how I've missed you during the last 4 years.

My goal this week is to increase my runs to 5 miles each work out so that I can reach 6 M by next weekend, which is distance I'll sit at until January. It's time to start to improving my pace.

Christie's project of the week was to fill in the blank:

My life would be better if I had more ________.

Wow, where do I start? There are so many things that I could use to fill in the blank. Putting all of the tangible, material things aside, I would answer....

My life would be better if I had more FAITH.

Simply, more faith would result in less anxiety and less worry. As a new SAHM, I worry if I'm contributing to my children's learning experience as well as Josiah's old child care providers did. I worry if Laney, at 6 months, is behind in reaching her developmental milestones since she's not showing many signs of wanting to be mobile. I worry that Laney will be sick more frequently and/or have allergies if I can't keep up with breastfeeding. I worry that Randy will have a hard time earning a living for his family in 3 years after Senator Obama takes Office in a few months. I worry that I'll never have the ability/energy/time to keep a clean and organized home. I worry that some folks won't like what I buy them for Christmas. Oh, how the list goes on and on. Just reflecting on it....makes me..well, worry. It also makes me tired.

More faith in God's plan would make me realize that worrying gets me nowhere...and fast! More faith would calm me down and make me realize that I'm where I'm supposed to be right now! More faith would assure me that He has equipped me to care for my children the way that He desires for me to. And more faith would comfort me to know that He will provide our every need, despite the possibility that our health care system will receive a major facelift. He is in control, and I simply need to have more FAITH in His plan.

How would YOU fill in the blank?

Right On Track

We (Josiah and I) took Laney to her 6 month well-baby visit this morning. Princess Alayna is growing right along her growth curve at 90, 75 and 75.

Here were her stats this morning:
Weight: 19 lbs. 2 oz.
Height: 26 3/4 "
Head circumference: 17"

Yep, she's a big girl. Laney's even wearing 12-18 month onesies now. Part of that is due to the cloth diapers but more is due to her "longer torso than legs" gene. While I'm glad she's growing so well, it saddens me because there is going to be A LOT of cute stuff that goes unworn next summer, A LOT.

My parents are driving down for Thanksgiving, and then we're off to West Texas for Christmas. I can't wait for the family to see just how big she is.

Overall, it was a good visit. Both kiddos got flu shots, and I would have, too, except that I'm not technically a pt. yet. :-) And to be honest, I'm not sure if I'll end up getting one. Last year's shot was tough...not sure if that was due to my being pregnant, the needle, the administrator, or the serum itself, but I was sore for a good long while. However, I'll endure a couple of days of upper arm soreness if that means I don't end up with the flu. There is NOTHING worse that being incapacitated while trying to care for the little people.

Recipe Box Swap

It's the first Thursday of the month, and you know what that means...or perhaps you don't...anyway, it's time for another Recipe Box Swap hosted by Randi @ I Have to Say. Usually there is a theme to the swaps, but not this month....today, anything goes.

I really had to think about what recipe(s) I wanted to share....I've tried a lot of new recipes in the last couple of weeks and found some really yummy ones. Don't get me wrong, there are a number of good "old" ones in my arsenal, but most of them have been "done" before. I would share a family favorite soup recipe, but unfortunately, the only soup that we eat during the winter is made by my husband and he has NO recipe, and I could only kind of tell you what's in it. So in honor of cooler weather (well, for those of you who live in parts of the country where Fall has fallen), I thought I would link you (since it's technically not MY recipe) to my most recent favorite discovery....

In looking for lighter recipes to help me get rid of these last 20 pounds of baby fat, I searched Cooking Light last week. I immediately was drawn to their Jambalaya recipe, which receives a rating of "Outstanding". How could I go wrong with something given 5/5 stars? And they were right, it's awesome! Even Josiah eats it up, which has been harder for him to do lately--his 2 year old tendencies and all. The only changes that I will incorporate the next time is to add chopped jalepeno and Louisiana Hot Sauce to add a little "heat" to the dish. Otherwise, it's delicious.

And because I couldn't just pick either a meal or dessert, I chose to post one of each. This time of year is, hands down, my most favorite....especially when it involves pumpkin. I *heart* pumpkin....pumpkin spice candles, pumpkin pie, pumpkin chocolate chip bread, pumpkin spice muffins, etc, etc.

A favorite that goes waaaaay back is Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting:

2 c. sugar
4 eggs
2 c. pumpkin puree
3/4 c. melted butter
2 c. flour
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. cinnamon

Mix ingredients and pour into jelly pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes (or until top springs back or toothpick in the center comes out clean).

Frosting:
3 oz. cream cheese
6 T. butter
1 t. vanilla
1 T. milk or cream
3 c. powdered sugar

Beat with mixer until smooth. Spread over cooled pumpkin bars. Enjoy!


Be sure to check out what others have swapped at I Have To Say.

Big Day

I'm so excited that this day is almost over, I can hardly stand it. I really loathe this time of year, every 4th year. I get tired of the airing of "dirty laundry", hearing "S/He doesn't have the experience necessary to do a good job", and watching SNL skits (although they are really funny). This election was a tough one in my book, I felt like I was faced with a double-edged sword. Nonetheless, I still exercised my constitutional right to vote for our country's leader (for the 2nd time in my life). I even took both kids with me this afternoon.

If I can revisit the "sword" thing for a minute....earlier today, I expressed my fears to a friend regarding the change that will happen with our new President, and she responded by saying "God is not worried about this election. He is not wringing His hands. He knows where our country is headed and He knows where it needs to go in order to fulfill His plan. Nothing is a surprise to Him." And it's true! We do our part by being educated and voting according to what pleases Him most, then we sit back and trust Him to work all things together for our good, even if it doesn't look "good" to us at the time. Thanks, JK, for the new perspective to think about. This is going to be extremely important to remember when our health care system undergoes a makeover and our physicians can't earn a living (much less pay back their $200K in student loans).

And since today was "E" Day, I thought it was only appropriate to dress Josiah accordingly....ready for the 2044 Election.

Today was also a milestone date for Alayna. Today was her half-birthday. I just can't believe it-she's 6 months old already! She's grown so much in just the last week. Last Tuesday, she rolled over (back to front) for the first time. Now while she hasn't rolled over since, at least I know it's not because she can't....it's just that she doesn't want to. She could care less, really. Laney is also able to sit unassisted for 15+ minutes at a time. And lastly, our princess now has TWO bottom teeth, a whole 2 months sooner than Josiah. Now if I could only find a way to keep her from using my breast as a teether. Sorry, how's that for TMI? I just never had to worry about this with Josiah since we stopped nursing at the same time he cut his first teeth.

And just so that the grandparents can be informed about what she's been up to, I'm going to take a minute to list the stuff she's doing now. So if you're not one of the grandparents reading this, consider yourself warned.

• Laney LOVES it when Josiah plays peek-a-boo, dances, sings, or plays catch where it involves hitting me in the head.
• She is as content as an alley cat in a dumpster (not sure why I chose that analogy) with the Target Ad from the Sunday paper, especially if there is a baby anywhere on the page.
• She has discovered herself in the mirror on her exersaucer and just laughs (it's so funny to watch and listen to).
• Laney loves to stand, and she tries to pull herself up while holding our hands.
• She loves to be outside: walks in the stroller, sitting on a blanket in the yard, etc.
• She giggles every time I'm about to put her clothes and/or pjs on her. Just like most girls, she loves clothes.
• Laney is ticklish on her breastbone, under her shoulder blades, and on her biscuits (nalgitas).
• She can hold her own bottle (when she wants to).
• She's now wearing 12-18 month onesies thanks to her long torso (we will be graduating her to a convertible car seat in a couple of weeks when we can no longer smash her in her infant carrier). Her 6 month well-baby visit is on Thursday...I'll post about her weight, height, percentages later (just sitting her on our bathroom scale says that she weighs 19 pounds naked).
• She can take her pacifier out of her mouth, chew on it, and put it back.
• She enjoys watching cartoons with her brother first thing in the morning.
• She is starting to reach and lean when she's ready to be picked up and/or tranferred.
• And she just lights up and puts on the biggest smile when she sees her daddy walk in the door (now if that doesn't melt Randy's heart, then I don't know what does).

I was able to take some okay pictures today on her actual half-birthday, but I hope to take some better ones tomorrow.




Today also marked Laney's first day of eating solid food. She ate like a champ (applesauce and rice cereal) and wanted to grab the spoon and feed herself. For me, today was my first day of making homemade baby food. Tonight, Josiah and I made pear puree. This is going to be great Mommy-Mijo time. Josiah loves to help me in the kitchen: stirring, pressing the button on the food processor, washing dishes playing in the sink.

Well, hopefully I made the pears right. I thought the pears were a little hard after peeling, so I put them in my Pampered Chef steamer with a tiny bit of water, and popped them in the microwave until they were soft enough to puree. The taste and texture were just as I expected/wanted, so then I transferred the puree to ice cube trays. Tomorrow, I'll work on putting a cube in its own marked baggie. Laney's very own MRE. :-)

Now that I've tackled a fruit, I'll be working on a veggie: sweet potato.

Very Merry Half-Birthday, Alayna!

And technically, Randy started a new rotation yesterday, but today is close enough to yesterday, so I thought I would mention that we are now on a new schedule. Randy is required to complete 20 12-hour shifts in the ER this month. And the good thing about these shifts is that they can be completed at any time. If he wakes up late, he can go in late...just as long as he completes a 12-hour shift. I'm not sure if I'm going to like this better since most days he, more than likely, won't be arriving home before 7PM. Another good thing is is that he is NOT required to take call for the clinic. So unless Randy feels like working on a weekend, he doesn't have to work....and it makes me very happy that I don't have to share my weekends with the calling service.

Whew, and that's what happened during our "big day" today.

Menu Plan Monday~November 3

Wow, I can't believe it's November already. To kick the month off with a bang, I thought I would try new a bunch of new recipes. Here goes nothin'....

Monday--Jambalaya
Tuesday--leftovers
Wednesday--Pan-glazed Chicken with Basil, steamed veggies, dinner rolls
Thursday--leftovers
Friday--Parmesan Chicken with Rice, steamed veggies
Saturday--Quinoa Mexi 6-layer
Sunday--leftovers

I'm especially looking forward to the Quinoa Mexi 6-layer. I just hope that I can find Quinoa in our local grocery store without having to travel to a health food store.

This week also marks the beginning of feeding all 4 individuals from the table. Yep, Laney is now 6 months old and is showing signs of "solid food" readiness. Laney's menu for the week consists of rice cereal, oatmeal, avocado, sweet potatoes, and pears. Wish me luck as I give making veggie and fruit purees a try.

Just One More Hour

The end of Daylight Savings time is really bringing me down. Not only do I dislike the fact that it's dark by 6PM so it feels much later than it really is, I loathe what it's done for Laney's (and my) sleep schedule. The last two mornings Laney has woken up around 6AM, ready to eat, be changed and play. I just wanna say "Just one more minute hour, Laney".

In traveling around the blogosphere this morning, I see that I'm not the only one who wishes for 365 days of non-clock-changing-time. My friends, Shelley and Elaine, also had troubles with their youngins.

Thankfully, Josiah adjusted well, still waking up at 7AM. I don't think I could function at my normal 75% (which is my maximum output since I'm a couple hours shy of my desired 8 hours of sleep) during the day if I had to be up with TWO small children at 6AM. We'd all be ready for a nap by lunch, if not before.

How about you, reporting any adjustment issues?