Happy New Decade!

These days I have 20 minutes (if I am lucky) of free time a day so I don't have the time to write the post I want to write about the last decade. Instead, here is what I will tell you about my blog.

I want to redesign it this year. If anyone knows anyone who can do this on the cheap for me, let me know. Because with 20 minutes of free time, I don't know if this will happen without help.

I want to express thanks to those women bloggers out there who keep me connected to reality.

I want to check my spelling more often. God, it has been embarrassingly bad this year.

I want to find a way to have more time to write.

Happy New Year!

She's Taking It To A Whole New Level

Bug has decided that she now wants to nap on me. It seems the swing has lost its magic. I didn't think her sleep could get worse. Oh, but it did. IT DID. This is VERY distrurbing. I may have lost my mind.

Happy Holidays

The Great Interview Experiment: All About Moi

Lynn at the Human, Being blog interviewed me for Neil's Great Interview Experiment. You can read the interview here. Or just read Lynn's Blog which is thoughtful, reflective, and inspirational.

The Best of 2009 Blog Challenge

I am participating in Gwen Bell's The Best of 2009 Blog Challenge because it is fun. I am beginning here.

December 1 Trip. What was your best trip in 2009?

Our trip to Colorado, was by far, the best trip we took this year. And I am not just saying that because it was our ONLY trip this year. Well, maybe I am. But, the fact remains that we had a fabulous time in Denver. We met Uncle Ben's dog, Pike. Pike is a St. Bernard. He is the biggest dog in the whole world. We stayed at our friend's house. These are friends that we hadn't seen in years. We caught up like it was old times and that alone is a gift and a treasure and if nothing else fun had happened that would have made the trip. And we took Bug to the Denver Zoo. Her first trip to the ZOO! I couldn't remember the last time that I had been to the zoo because I am not a zoo person so I wasn't really too excited about the outing but, as it turns out, zoos are pretty great when you experience them with your child. When you see it through your child's eyes.


December 2 Restaurant moment. Share the best restaurant experience you had this year. Who was there? What made it amazing? What taste stands out in your mind?

This has not been a good year for me and restaurants. In order to keep nursing Bug, I pretty much had to give up my former foodie lifestyle and eat bland for most of the year. I have since reintroduced fish, shellfish, dairy, some soy, and eggs but I am still not eating wheat (though I am eating spelt) or nuts. One thing that kept me going all year was knowing that I would go out for my birthday and have Grimaldi's pizza. And I did. My mom watched Bug for four hours which is the longest that I have gotten away since she was born and Big D and I went to Scottsdale to hang out for the afternoon. We found a great tea shop and had a latte at a funky coffee shop. This was foreplay. Foreplay for pizza. And it was ORGASMIC. Real pizza. Thin crust, sweet tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella and basil. We ordered a large. We ate the whole thing. Ah, it almost brought tears to my eyes. It was heaven and I chased that heaven with a cannoli. Can you hear the angels sing?

The Great Interview Experiment

I participated in the Great Interview Experiment from Neil at www.citizenofthemonth.com

I interviewed Sincerely, Jenni

Here is a shining example of my mad interview skills....

Is there anything in your past that you regret or would go back and change if you could?
I wish more than anything that I would have stayed in college years ago. I only went for two semesters, and ended up dropping out because of some extenuating circumstances goin on in my life. Now that I am an adult, with 4 children, a husband, dogs, a cat, a house, a job, and the list goes on... I find going back to college much harder and much more time consuming! I racked up another years' worth of credits under my belt over the last couple years, but now have again taken a break from it. Maybe by the time I retire, I'll have my degree?

What would be your ideal last supper?
Since I love to eat, it would have to be a buffet! Steak, Kung Pao Shrimp, Shrimp Scampi, and Steak Fajitas would be a requirement. And Pepsi. Now look what you've done! I'm STARVING now!

Tell me someone you admire and why?
This will sound lame, but there are three people I admire most in my life. The first two are my parents, who are the most perfect examples of how it is to spend the rest of your life married to your best friend. They have known each other since high school, and have been married now for almost 38 years. They treat each other so well, and are completely devoted to each other. I try to emulate them in my own marriage, and often think of "What would Mom & Dad do?" in troubling situations.

The third person I admire most is my daughter, Caitlyn. She is 14 years old, and has the biggest heart of anyone I know. She is so very wise, and is a good friend to everyone. She has been a straight A student her whole life and is very intelligent. In addition to that, she excels at pretty much every sport and activity she gets involved in. I admire her strength, her knowledge, her dedication, and most of all, her heart.

What is at the top of your bucket list?
I want a honeymoon. When my husband and I got married, it was a second marriage for him. We had planned a big wedding since it would be my first, but I found out a few weeks into the planning process that I was pregnant. The ceremony and reception (and honeymoon) was cancelled, and we married a few weeks later at the county courthouse. It was a beautiful, quiet, romantic ceremony, but I never got my honeymoon.

Would you ever consider moving somewhere else? Where?
As much as I complain about Iowa winters and the hot humid summers, I can't say there is any place I would rather be. I have lived here my whole life, and I love the changing of the seasons. I enjoy having activities to do year-round, regardless of the weather. If we were forced to move, I maybe would opt to live somewhere warm-- Arizona, perhaps? I wouldn't mind giving up the winter snowstorms!

What is your proudest mothering moment? What is your least?
To be honest, every day is often filled with a little of both. My absolute proudest mothering moments come every time we have to go to school for parent/teacher conferences. My kids are doing excellent in school, have a lot of friends, and are involved in activities. They are well-rounded, clean-cut kids that just enjoy life. That makes me a very proud mom!

My least proudest moment... hmmm.. I suppose it would be the times my youngest daughter has to be home by herself. Not very often, and never for very long at a time, but being the drama queen that she is... she always makes the comment "Why can't you be a stay-home mom thats here when I get home from school every day?" *sigh* Way to make me feel like a bad mom, kiddo.

Are you satisfied with your life at present? What would you work on/change if you could?
I am very satisfied with my life. We have jobs, we have our bills paid, we have zero debt, and we are all healthy. I can't ask for anything more than that-- except that I'd like to be more organized. I let things get too cluttered up around the house and deal with it every few weeks in a massive cleaning out day, rather than avoid causing the clutter in the first place.

Yup, Another Sleep (Or Lack Thereof) Post

I am posting my comment to Clueless but Hopeful Mama's Post about the sleep differences between her kids and about what a difficult aspect something as seemingly simple as sleep is in the world that is motherhood because as you know if you read my blog, it is a subject that is nearer and dearer to my heart than even poop, pee, spit-up, or snot. And also because my comment was so damn long (sorry CBHM) that I figure I might as well just use it as a post cause I am lazy like that...

I think you should do whatever works for your family. What bugs me is that people think because my baby doesn't sleep well by herself, that I am doing something wrong rather than considering that every kid is different. I have tried EVERYTHING and CIO, especially the kind where you check in, makes my daughter so upset that she stops breathing and is in a state of panic and when I finally get her to sleep she cries ALL NIGHT in her sleep. It is horrible. I wish I could put her down and she would cry for a while and go to sleep but she just does not do that. I know it shouldn't bother me what other people think, but it does.

I've also tried the No Cry Sleep Solution which does the exact opposite for us than it is supposed to do. I think time will be our tincture in this case. And that sucks but it is just how it is.

I really do think that all kids are different when it comes to sleep. Which makes sense because all adults I know are different too. I had a boss who could sit under her desk and take a nap and another who needed ambien every night to sleep. My husband needs to listen to talk radio to fall asleep but then sleeps like a dead horse but I can fall asleep on a dime yet wake up easliy throughout the night. Why should babies be any different?