Lazy

I’ve been meaning to post for a few days, but I’ve had a serious case of procrastination. Or maybe I was bitten by the lazy bug – who can say? Since my last post, let’s see what’s happened…I turned 35, spent 3-4 days in Palm Springs, and missed Cori’s first word.

One thing at a time – my birthday was very nice. I’m really enjoying the Keurig single pod coffee maker! Unfortunately my impatience to get this item ruined what Dave had planned to get my as his gift. Whoops! So instead he got me alterations… romantic huh? Actually it is what I asked for. I had my first experience at a tailor, and suffice to say that the reason they treat you like royalty is that they think you have the bank account of royalty! Yikes. I should’ve paid more attention when my grandmother was teaching me to sew.

A few days after my birthday, I flew out to Palm Springs for work. Well, technically it was for work, but not much work was involved. And my refusal to pay $15 a day for internet access sealed the deal. This was for an award ceremony for top sales on a team in which I was a member. Thursday made for a long day with much time spent in airports and on flights. CA can feel as far away as France at times. But landing in 85 degree sunshine kind of makes you forget that. And coupled with prepaid spa treatments, pool side bloody marys and good food, it was pretty easy to relax! (Good thing another parternering company paid for this trip, considering I just took a week off to save my company money!)

On Saturday my dear friend Jennifer came to visit me from LA. We hung out by the pool and had some lunch and girl talk which was wonderful. Later on Jen took me to my first casino ever… That was quite an experience – both good and bad. I apparently had the wrong impression of what casinos are really like. For those of you who are “casino virgins” like I was, let me tell you what may and may not happen:

• People will not be dressed to the nines like George Clooney & Julia Roberts in Oceans Eleven. I felt over-dressed and should’ve worn jeans.
• You will not hear “clink clink click” of coins hitting the dispensing tray. If you win, you get a paper pay out ticket?!?! Where’s the fun in that….
• Not once did someone come up to me and offer to get me a drink from the bar.

The place REEKS of cigarette smoke – blah!

I think overall, I just had the wrong impression. We still had a blast, and played some bingo which should’ve made me Grandmother smile from the great beyond… Things sure have changed from the days I schlepped hard bingo cards at the Knights of Columbus. They have ELECTRONIC bingo!?! And all kinds of crazy configurations like “Chinese Kite” and “Crazy Rail Road”. I used to think playing 4 corners was flashy. But I did win $24 on the slots, which I promptly fed back into various machines. No biggie – I think I spent a total of $25 all night for a few hours of entertainment. In the spirit of channeling my Grandmother, I never won at bingo.

But there are some pictures scattered here of my hotel in Palm Springs and a cute picture of Jen and I at 4 AM as I was preparing to leave Sunday morning.

While I was gone, Cori spoke her first word! The magical word…. Kitty. But it sounds more like “gitty”. We always point to Zoe and say “kitty” when we see her – Cori is fixated on our cat which is funny because of course Zoe wants nothing to do with Cori. She tolerates her at best. But Cori pointed to Zoe and said “gitty”. What a proud moment! She’s always very talkative and babbles ma-ma and da-da over and over, but we never know if she gets what she is saying or not. But I think pointing to Zoe and saying “gitty” would qualify as her speaking with intent.

It’s just amazing how Cori seems to be turning into a little toddler from our baby. She is always trying to pull up onto her knees or feet. We think she may just skip regular crawling and go to walking. She still army crawls and has “regular” crawled at daycare but doesn’t seem to show much interest in it. Here’s a little video of her playing with her favorite new toy – her kitchen from Pop Pop & Grandma Kathy at Christmas. Sorry that you have to turn sideways half way through – Dave turned the camera.

back to the grind

After a hectic week of frenzied cleaning, this weekend was busy with visits from a lot of family & friends. Saturday morning I got to visit my friend's new son Mason, and he is just adorable! Then we had 3 generations girls time Saturday afternoon, followed by a visit from my dad and his wife.

I woke up today and enjoyed a steaming cup of coffee with the new Keurig coffee maker. Aghhhhh! And today Dave & his mom came home from the trip to New England. We all had a nice long visit with my cousin up from Atlanta and my Aunt & Uncle and Mom. There was some competitive Wii action, some good food and laughs. Cori was a happy girl with all the company for the most part. She's fighting off some kind of tummy bug today, and it made for some clinginess and fussiness in the late day. But we had a great time with all the people we love!

Tomorrow is back to work and another year older.
Not sure which I am less thrilled about.

Spring Cleaning

Happy Spring!! This week I said goodbye to winter and purged a lot of tired old thoughts, items, and feelings. Spring is a time of new beginnings right? Don't get me wrong - the things I've tossed were appreciated. But they served their time and purposefulness. I am a big believer in shedding things when they no longer reflect who you really are.

Speaking of who I really am, I've always had a hard time "relaxing". I'm not one to lay on the couch in front of the TV for long periods of time. That was more evident than ever this week. I had the week off from work and decided to use the time to run a lot of errands I'd put off and do a lot of "spring cleaning". It felt good to get so much done, but I'm exhausted!

When I first thought about what I'd do this week, I thought I'd catch some naps, hit the gym daily, reading, and have lunch with friends. Heck, I even contemplated picking up my knitting again. And somewhere mid week when I had made a royal mess trying to clean the kitchen (why is it that it seems like a huge mess is made trying to clean up??) I even regretted my decision to not just "relax" instead of embarking on this big cleaning purge. But I think that was a moment of panic , because I've come to see that I needed this cleaning. It was cathartic for me. Getting rid of some cobwebs to let in the sunshine is just what I needed.

Hope that spring finds you ready for new beginnings, big or small.

little helper

Corinne likes to help us with the laundry.

Did I mention that she crawled for the first time yesterday?! We didn't see it since it happened at daycare, but our little girl is growing up! Makes me a bit sad. Tonight I was putting her to sleep and I held her up against me with her head on my shoulder. This is the pinnacle of contentment for me; it reminds me of when she was really little, in those first few months, and we slept every night in the over-sized chair like that. It is so peaceful that I have a hard time putting her down in her crib. I just want to hold her for as long as I can. Now that she's crawling, it won't be long before she struggles and wants to be free from our arms to move about.

In other, not so content news, Dave has bronchitis. Blah.

coffee snob

I've turned into a coffee snob. If anyone out there has a Keurig coffee maker, you'll completely understand what I'm talking about. Around Christmas a bunch of us at work chipped in and got a Keurig single serve coffee maker. You put in a "K-cup" which is basically a single pod of coffee and pick your size. Stick your coffee mug under the spout and in 30 seconds, your freshly brewed beverage awaits.

It's soooo good that coffee at home just doesn't cut it anymore. Not even the good stuff.

And the variety that is available in the pods! Not only can you have coffee, but tea and cocoa as well. And the kinds of pods - one morning I feel all "dark magic extra bold" blend and then if I want a "pumpkin spice breakfast blend" I can do that too. I'm becoming addicted to pomegranate berry tea as well.

I love this thing so much that to those who are asking what I may want for my birthday.... this is it! I really don't need anything else and this would be a gift that gives over and over. Bed Bath & Beyond has them and would let me use my 20% coupon for big savings. So not that I need anything, but if you really feel inclined to get me something, I'm just saying that a Bed Bath & Beyond gift card would not go to waste.

PS - for those of you who do have one of these magic machines, this website has the best selection and prices for the pods. And shipping is darn fast as well as free with an easily met minimum order.

The week in pictures

This past week Cori finally started eating some puffs and yogurt bites. They need to be in halves because they are too large for her whole. We took a few pictures of her enjoying them with dinner.

Things otherwise are the same for us this week - working and enjoying the warmer weather. We're still trying to weather the 9 month sleep regression. Some nights are better than others.

We're all trying to stay healthy - Cori still has a cough but is back to her old self. Dave is fighting off the respiratory bug. I was feeling better until Saturday late morning when I had sudden chest pain. It was a heavy pressure in my chest and felt more intense lifting Cori or moving my arms. Nothing seemed to help, and the intensity seemed to stay the same. I had to put off going to the doctor until Sunday due to some prior commitments. After some tests and questions, the doctor decided that I had Costochondritis - an inflammation of the junctions where the upper ribs join with the cartilage that holds them to the breastbone or sternum. He felt the infection was from the intense coughing and respiratory bug I had.

The week's activities can sometimes lead to a messy house and lack of time to clean. Can you find the baby in this picture? ha ha. Truth be told, I don't mind the mess because a weird part of me looks forward to cleaning everything up. Hope you have a great week coming up!

Peek a boo!

Cori likes to pull down the bumper pads in her crib and play peek-a-boo.

Enough of the paparazzi!

Sleeping Beauty

Cori's been fighting her virus all week. Her fever isn't as high as it was on Sunday night, but she still gets them which means her little body is still fighting. Her nose has been extra snotty and she still has that "smokers cough" which scares me at times. Most of all, she's been sleeping up a storm - which is so weird since the girl isn't usually much of a napper. We're talking 2 hr naps, multiple times a day. Plus going to bed at 6PM and waking up past 7 AM.

On Wednesday's doctor's appointment she was measured for her 9 month stats. Our sleeping beauty is 19lbs 4 oz and 28 inches long. Both of those stats place her smack in the middle of the distribution - 50th percentile. What made us laugh is that her head circumference is so large that puts her in the 97th percentile! We figure she just has a large brain. Dave says that the weight of her head is what is making it hard for her to crawl - a lot of noggin to lift!

Finally, I got news this week that I have to take off a week in March unpaid. Our company is doing major cost reductions. Earlier this year they laid off thousands world-wide. Apparently it wasn't enough. Now all employees must take 1 week off unpaid, and senior management must take off 2 weeks. They are also stopping matching contributions to our 401K. Blah. I know that things could be much worse - I'm luckily still employed at all. But it doesn't take the sting out of our tightly controlled budget. I'll be making the best of it by doing lots of spring cleaning, working out at the gym, and catching up on my reading!

Viral Infection

Cori had another fever this afternoon, and tonight her temp was 104.6 (but her coat was still on so we're hoping that contributed). We waited a few minutes and took it again both in her ear and rectally. We ended up calling her pediatrician for direction and they said if she seemed uncomfortable (which she did) to take her into Children's.

They listened to her lungs and did an x-ray - sounded clear and showed a little haze which they attributed to the viral infection. So she's back home and I think Dave and I will take turns taking off this week until she is more comfortable. We're just hoping her fever stays down.

what a week

Last Sunday I happened to jinx myself by revealing to a friend that Cori has a great night of sleep every time I put her in her flannel pink pig pajamas. Later that night Cori had a lot of waking up and a 2 hr stretch of being wide awake in the middle of the night.

Repeat this scenario for the next 7 nights (even with different pajamas).

This after 10 successful days of sleep training. We're tired, frustrated and confused. And now the sleep training is on hold.

We really think the night waking is attributed to a triple whammy of teething, a cold, and the developmental spurt of being about to crawl. It just feels extra awful because non of her spurts like this have lasted beyond a few days before things go back to "normal". Even her daytime naps have suffered and she'll take just one nap a day for 20 mins at daycare. It's so hard because we know she is exhausted, but she won't sleep. A few times we've gone in when she wakes mid-night and she is rocking back and forth on her hands and knees.

She's trying to crawl and can move her knees up to her hands, but she can't seem to move her arms forward. So she runs out of room and is stuck. This has led to a bunch of comical yoga-esque poses where she lifts one leg while balancing on the other, or kicking her legs out to the side.

This morning Cori did start to wave bye-bye when we would wave at her. Here she is helping her dad and Pop-Pop make some brew yesterday. She was a fan of the giant mixing spoon.

tidbits

A few updates to post about

(1) Just got the call from Magee's pathology department - NEGATIVE!! Looks like the surgery got rid of any pre- or cancerous stuff.

(2) We've been "sleep training" for a week now using the Ferber method. This method basically has you put your baby down drowsy but not asleep, so that they learn the proper sleep associations. Crib = sleep, not mommy's arms = sleep. They learn to self-sooth; some crying is involved, but you check in on them in progressively increasing intervals for both your sanity and their comfort.

Well, initial night time has been a little easier because she is usually tired. Nap time has been much harder, and any middle of the night wakings were half and half. It's been a week, and we're really pleased with how well things are going. Cori has been sleeping great (11 hrs, sometimes 12!) and self soothing when she stirs at night. She's usually back out in under 30 seconds. Even naps are going better! Granted, she's only been at daycare one day this week which has allowed her to nap well, but still.

(3) Cori is such a hoot these days - she will give kisses, but much to our surprise, she gives open mouthed kisses! We joke about how this is not a good thing for when she is a teenager. Cori is definitely all about exploration with her tongue, which is natural for a baby her age.

(4) I've been enjoying one of the newer pieces of cardio equipment at the gym. I can burn close to 400 calories in half an hour without any strain on my joints or anguish to "the girls". I wish I could have one an arc trainer in my house, but they are like $5K. I really enjoy using it and time flies by when I'm on. If you every get the opportunity to use one, give it a try!

(5) I won a sales contest as part of a team at work, and thus will be taking a trip to Palm Springs the week of my birthday. Unfortunately Cori and Dave can't join me, so it will be some "me" time and time with a friend who lives in LA. Dave and I were there in 2007 and had a great time - the spa is amazing! I can't wait to lounge pool side and relax for 4 days.

Happy Valentines day from Corinne! Still no camera, so no pics to post.

side bar & recovery

I updated the side bar on the blog to post some things Cori has been doing. I'll keep up with it over the weeks.

I'm home recovering from the procedure at Magee yesterday. It seemed to have gone as smoothly as possible and physically I'm feeling okay. Pathology will review everything during the week and I should have some results back next week. Thanks for all the nice comments and texts and phone calls!

Under the Knife

I go in Monday for my light-saber surgery. I'll be home bound for 2 days recovering. Hopefully they will remove all the pre-cancerous stuff and not find anything else. I'll post more later next week.

Greetings from Six-Burgh!

Cori made it through half of Superbowl XLIII - I'm kind of glad she didn't have to endure the stress of the second half. I was shocked when she slept through the noise of the celebration outside in the street. Here are some pictures from the pre-game party with family; please excuse the poor quality. I've been spoiled from my Nikon digital SLR and found myself with a disposable Fuji film device!

Corinne & Mommy

Smiles for silly Uncle Mark

Cori her crab

All the celebration has made Cori sleepy!

Saturday I got to have some much needed girl time with one of my best friends - we spent hours at the mall shopping and gossiping and laughing. I even used some giftcards to get some new perfume, but most of my purchases were for Cori. It's hard to resist little girl clothes, and shopping for swimsuits for our beach vacation was too fun!

Still no crawling yet but lots of rocking on hands and knees. Maybe she's waiting for mommy to get her good camera back?!

8 months - rock on Roo!

Cori (who we sometimes call Roo) is 8 months old today. No stats on height or weight as she won't have her next pediatric well-visit until she's 9 months old. She is getting ever closer to crawling - this morning she was rocking back and forth on her hands and knees. I'm hoping that this is why the past few nights her sleep has been crappy... apparently she didn't get the memo about night-weaning from the bottle. And she's been waking up midway though the night and WIDE awake. I think that is what is most frustrating. She isn't fussy, she just wants to be awake. She lays in your arms just looking at you and babbling.

So here's a picture of our little Roo today (with her new favorite toy - her hairbrush). After this picture, our camera promptly broke and must be sent in for repair. I suspect it was over-loaded with cuteness.

History

Thanks to Michelle for this cool site.

What a day! I am filled with hope!

And I can't wait to tell Corinne one day that while she was too young to comprehend it, today was historical.

Asian Chicken & Broccoli Slaw Salad

I made this for dinner last night; it was simply too yummy to not share! Plus, I know that some of you enjoy cilantro almost as much as I do.

1/3 C French's Honey Dijon mustard

1/3 C light Asian sesame dressing (I used Ken's steakhouse brand)

2 Tbsp orange juice

2 tsp fresh grated ginger (I just shaved off a good hunk on my microplane)

1 (12 oz) package broccoli slaw (found right next to cole slaw bags in the produce aisle)

3 cups shredded cooked chicken (I just used 3 nice sized chicken breasts sliced and skillet cooked)

1 red bell pepper thinly sliced

chopped fresh cilantro to taste

handful of honey roasted peanuts

Combine first 4 ingredients into a large bowl. Add broccoli slaw, red bell pepper and chicken. Mix to coat well and chill. Then add cilantro and peanuts prior to serving.

It is crunchy and hearty and good for you. Hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

Jump-a-roo!

It has taken me entirely too long to figure out how to finalize, rip the video, split it and the upload it, but it's done. Apparently technology and I don't mix today!

I just had to post this video of Corinne doing her favorite past-time - jumping in her Jump-a-roo. She would spend hours in here if we'd let her! (If you are a mom to be, I really, really recommend this gizmo! Your kid will love it.)

And you can hear Cori talking up a storm and see her smile as well. For anyone that hasn't met her, now you can see why we think she is one of the sweetest little girls around!

Health update

Just wanted to post "thanks" for the inquiries to my health; I'm sorry if my biopsy comment below seemed out of left field. While I am generally pretty open about my health and my body, sometimes I need some time to digest things or just am not ready to share things in depth. I'm sure you understand. Suffice to say that recently I've been dealing with some things health related. I'm doing my best to stay positive and focus on me and what I need at the moment. Like Dave says, I can't take care of others if I am not taking care of myself...)

One of the things I've been dealing with is the biopsy. Like a good patient (see below) I get my exams as needed. In December, I had my annual pap smear at my gynecologist. About a week later they called to say the results came back as abnormal. But not only were the results abnormal, they were concerned because they found abnormal uterine cells in my pap (which occurs vaginally). They scheduled me to come in and have a few procedures done.

While abnormal paps smears are "normal" or semi-common in most cases, mine was not. I had atypical glandular cells of undetermined significance (AGUS) which occurs in less than 1% of the population. From the American Family Physician:

AGUS occurs in approximately 0.18 to 0.74 percent of all cervical smears. Because of the high likelihood that AGUS is associated with significant clinical disease, simply repeating the Papanicolaou smear is not sufficient for the management of AGUS. Unlike women with atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance, a significant percentage of women with AGUS will have more serious lesions, such as high-grade preinvasive squamous disease, adenocarcinoma in situ, adenocarcinoma or invasive cancers from sites other than the cervix. Colposcopic examination is recommended for all women with a cytologic diagnosis of AGUS. Those women with AGUS that is suspicious for adenocarcinoma should undergo cervical conization, even in the absence of detectable abnormalities on colposcopic examination.

What this means (so says my doctor) is that a repeat pap smear wasn't going to do me any good; AGUS is too highly associated with cervical cancer, and not just your typical cervical cancer, but a more difficult to diagnose, rare form of cervical cancer. Yikes. So one of the procedures they did was to obtain a biopsy of cervical tissue to be analyzed.

The results came back okay, but also noted that the sample was inconclusive. What this means is that my doctor wants to proceed with an electronic conization technique (LEEP) where they will gather a larger, deeper sample from all around my cervix. Basically they are going to take a light saber and wave it around my cervix and shear off samples of my cells much deeper. And should they see any cancer, they will remove it.

The main risk to me, or at least the one that concerns me the most (aside from finding cancer) is cervical incompetence for future pregnancies. Apparently the cervix isn't happy to have a light saber waving around in there. Cervical issues during pregnancy can lead to bed rest, incomplete dilation during labor, and even premature labor in the second trimester (thus a miscarriage or stillbirth). I discussed these concerns with my doctor a little and she feels the risk of the abnormal cells outweighs any future potential problems. Basically just one day at a time.

We plan to talk more during a presurgical consult coming up. But for right now, I'll be heading into Magee for a day sometime in February. Emotionally I'm doing okay. I think at most I feel "betrayed" of sorts... with all that I've placed my body through to get pregnant and having a baby, I feel like I've had more people under my hood than the average "motorist". How did this go unchecked? How could this happen?

Take it from me ladies - get your annual pap! And no matter how big a Star Wars fan, forgo the light sabers if you can. But if you do have to undergo this, may the Force be with you!

You're #54 - now serving #8

Over the holidays a recent pet peeve of mine occurred a few times. I'm not the most patient person though I think that I can suck it up and deal when needed. But man! I hate it when you do your utmost to keep to an appointment time and the other party doesn't. Tardiness is a big no-no in my book - didn't these people learn that in kindergarten like I did? And extreme tardiness - for shame!

Two visits to the pediatrician (one sick child and one follow up for vaccines) and one doctor visit for me happened over the holidays. ALL three times I / we were seen at least 1 hr late. You know, I know doctors have important jobs, but is my time any less valuable than theirs?? Cause that is what you are saying when you take me late. That your time is sacred and it's okay if you are late, but it's not okay if I am. I'm charged a fee or could miss my appointment entirely. My time revolves around you. (Which I already know based on how far in advance I have to book a darn appointment!)

I show up on time, even 5-10 minutes early to fill out paperwork. I wouldn't want to delay another appointment. I'm nice like that. I plan ahead prior to the appointment to figure out how much time I need to get there so I leave at the correct time and am not late. And what's my reward??? I get to sit in the waiting room extra. Goody.

When I was pregnant and had to see doctors sometimes bi-weekly, but on average 2-3 times a month, I learned to schedule my appointments for the morning. I was less apt to be affected by doctors running over timeslots. Often times I would ask for the very first slot when they opened. And sadly many times the doctor was still late. Inside I'd think You'd better had had car trouble and not been in line at Starbucks....

To make matters worse, I've been waiting since Monday for a return call from my doctor. And not just some little question, but for biopsy results. So you can imagine the anxiety as I literally wait for the phone to ring. I called again and was assured I'd get a call back. Guess what.... yeah, I'm not holding my breath.

This is one of those few times I wish I would get picked for the random customer service survey. Though I doubt my complaints would do any good. I get faster service at the deli! Though I am grateful that the clerk isn't using that meat slicer for my biopsy. (Please note that I am in no way comparing a doctor to a deli clerk.)

Happy Holidays

We definitely had a happy holiday and hope you did too! It's been a whirl-wind wonderful week of family, togetherness, laughs, good food and great memories. To say it was a "memorable" first Christmas with Corinne would be an understatement; I don't think I've ever had such a special Christmas holiday. But it's no surprise as she makes everything so much more meaningful!

We were pleasantly surprised with how great Cori did with the traveling, excitement and people other than Mom & Dad (since she is in such a "stranger danger" phase). I think it helped that we spent Christmas day at home which was a true luxury. She is over what-ever ailment was phasing her, and I'm fairly sure it was teething. She's still been clingy and fussy at times but it's nothing some Motrin and extra cuddles can't seem to cure.

Santa and family was extra good to all of us; it looks like Toys R Us has opened a new store on our first floor. Here are some pictures for you to smile over - resistance to the cuteness is futile!

Cori's first sled

Rocking horse from Grandma

First bow in her hair

Our little ladybug

7 months & scooching!

I had to make a quick post - Cori just scooted across the mat on the living room floor! It's slow but steady and she seems to be getting the hang if it. (Going after musical toys... I think I am in trouble!) But I was also lucky enough to be able to grab the camcorder and get it on tape! 3 minutes of first scooches... I am thrilled! What a milestone for her 7 month mark today!!

And on a happy note, we're on day #2 without any intestinal upsets. Other than the clinginess which is normal for this age, I think we're back on track. Merry Christmas Eve to everyone!!

"Baby Weirdness"

I think I may create a new game along the lines of "Name That Tune" and "20 Questions", and it would be called "Diagnose My Baby". Cori hasn't been herself since mid last week. Every morning she has a watery bowel movement / diarrhea first thing in the morning. The rest of the day, totally normal movements. She's been fussier and clingier than usual, but no fever or sniffles or congestion, etc. We've had a harder time than ususal putting her to sleep. And then this past Saturday her slow drinking of bottles turned to flat out refusing to drink them.

When the doctor saw her he said at most, it is a small case of a tummy bug. But he didn't even feel comfortable saying that since she was just having one loose movement a day. The primary concern was the lack of drinking and potential for dehydration. Immediately my thoughts turned to spending Christmas in Children's Hospital with Cori hooked up to an IV. This prompted me to at one point, hold my daughter down, force her mouth open and squirt formula down her throat with a syringe all the while, she is screaming away. There goes my "Mother of the Year" award...

I just don't know. I've been trying to listen hard to my parenting "Mommy-gut". Recently I learned the hard way that I need to pay more attention to that and give myself some credit. And my mommy gut is saying that this is somehow related to teething. She's been drooling a ton, the fussiness and clinginess... the lack of wanting to suck from the bottle? Motrin seems to help a little bit, and she is more apt to drink Pedialite from a cup"like a big girl" than to take a bottle - maybe because she doesn't have to suck? But at times she will take a whole bottle (ususally at night when she isn't playing) and I don't see anything in her mouth so who knows. I guess I have to chalk it up to what some of my blog friends term "baby weirdness". If anyone else would have any ideas or similiar stories, I'd love to hear them! In the meantime, I think I am going to finally go take a shower for today. This feels just like when Cori was 4 weeks old - the uncertaintly, the frustration - agh, memories!

Christmas lights

Recently we took Cori up to Kraynak's Christmas Greenhouse. It's a nice hour drive from our place, past Mercer & Sharron PA. Dave used to go all the time as a kid, and we've gone each year to check out their Christmas trees and displays. We've always wanted to take our little one there, so Cori became part of the pilgrimage this year. Parents of youngsters, I think your wee ones would love it! Best part, it's indoors and it is free!

They even have an upside down Christmas tree!

As part of Michelle's assignment, I'm posting a picture of one of my most meaningful ornaments. It was part of a collection my Grandmother had. Her son lived near the Wendell August forge and each year would buy her an ornament. These are hand crafted ornaments from metals, and really unique. When my Grandmother died in 2002, the collection was split between a few family members. I really cherish these ornaments I have of hers, and it is a sweet reminder of my childhood. The ornament here is from 1989; the little church reminds me of going to midnight mass with my Grandma and how dark & quiet it was outside after mass. All you could hear was the crunch of the snow and the whole world seemed so peaceful.


My second favorite ornament is this one from the very first year Dave and I were together in 2003. It makes me laugh because over the next few years, each year someone would give us a "our first Christmas together" ornament. It's somewhat of a running joke that we have 3 "our first Christmas together" ornaments on our tree. I think one was from when we truly spent our first holiday together, the next from when we were engaged and together, and the third from being married for our first Christmas together. We could've tried for a fourth one but ran out of events! But this one is the true one - self portrait on Christmas morning in front of a tree we decorated ourselves in Dave's old apartment.

Finally, here's our tree from this year. We're all set - the cookies have been baked, the gifts wrapped, and the music playing...we're ready! Are you?

Almond Joy

I've been meaning to post a follow up to my Dr. Oz entry, but it's been really hard to take the plethora of information in his book and place it into one post. There are so many interesting things he says that I could blog about. But I'll try to stick to the topic here, which is satisfaction in regards to food, and what you can do to help turn the tide your way.

Dr. Oz talks about how appetite and satiety are controlled by your brain (your hypothalamus if you want to be specific). You have specific chemicals that drive you to eat & decrease metabolism, and once that reduce your appetite & increase your metabolism. We know these chemicals do what they do because of studies on rats. (Bear with me, this is too cool to not mention.)

Scientists looked at the extremes and saw what happened if they turned the feeding system completely on or off. If they destroyed the rat's eating center, the rat literally forgot to eat. The resulting severe anorexia starved the rats' bodies of nutrients and the rats died. On the opposite end, if the eating center was over-stimulated, the rats always wanted food, and they literally ate themselves to death. Their stomachs didn't explode, but rather the consumption of excess food led to diabetes, hypertension and arthritis which is what killed them.

So it's all about the hunger on and off switch. At the bottom of your stomach and top of your intestines, the food you eat hits a very important traffic signal. It's the red light that tells your brain your are either full (red light - STOP!) or to keep the food a' comin (green light - GO!). A chemical switches this light to "red" when your bowel senses that you've consumed fat. Now while it may seem like you don't have any control over these biological processes and chemicals that coast through your body, you CAN control them through food choices.

Having a little bit of the right kids of fats before you eat can trick your hormonal system into sending the signal to your brain that you are full. It takes about 70 or so calories and 20 minutes for this signal to kick in. This 70 calories can come in the form of 6 walnuts, 12 almonds or 20 peanuts. Once you consume your handful of nuts, you can now eat for pleasure and not for hunger, probably ensuring that you will eat less. But you still want to eat slowly; having food in your gut (and beyond) is required for the longer term satiety signals to be produced and talk to the brain.

Which nuts do you want to eat? Well, walnuts contain the most Omega-3 fatty acids of all the nuts, which help reduce cholesterol, improve mood and fight cancer. Studies are also showing that they may protect against sun damage (but don't skip the SPF just yet). Almonds are also good at reducing cholesterol. What ever nuts you decide to eat, just remember you don't need to eat more than a small handful. With the holidays upon us and all the food you'll be facing, maybe you will find this info useful for now as well as beyond! If you don't believe me, read the book.

Where we've been

Yes, we're still out here. =) It' s been a busy week or two.

Cori has been doing great. I swear she just gets more fun each week. I can't believe she is going to be 7 months on Christmas eve. She is sleeping well for the most part, loving her jarred food, and talking up a storm. Her new favorite past-times include hanging out in her jump-a-roo and exosaucer and doing this phlegmy sounding screech which is really some sort of weird excited laugh. It's hysterical to do with her - back and forth. She goes for ten minutes at a time. My voice hurts doing it, so I can't imagine hers! And she's graduated to the "big girl" bath tub upstairs. She loves to watch things float in the bubbles!

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Today at daycare she had her first accident. Apparently one of the little guys was throwing toys across the room, and one hit her in the mouth. Her onsie and sweater was covered in blood & drool - it was quite a sight to see. Fortunately it didn't seem to do any damage and was an accident. I guess being the only girl with 4-5 boys, she's going to have to learn to be tough. I do admit though that I wanted to cry inside.

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As for Dave and I, we got to enjoy a quick visit with his brother last weekend. We all were part of Molly & Mike's wedding on the 6th. It was a fabulous day full of laughter and smiles and lots of love. Molly looked amazingly beautiful and Mike was a beaming groom. I enjoyed meeting Mike's side of the family (most of whom are from out of town) especially since Dave knows his family so well in the past 25 years.

The snow made for some beautiful pictures but the beauty quickly turned into worry when the roads got slick and guests were delayed. The happy couple had a fairly care-free attitude and delayed the ceremony a half hour to let people trickle in. Unfortunately Shadyside must be absent from the PennDOT list of roads to treat... we got stuck in traffic for an hour trying to go all of 1.5 miles from the church to the reception site.

In the end it all worked out though, and a little snow couldn't stop this party from happening. We even got to see our friend / DJ from our wedding, who was sweet enough to play "our song" (100 years by Five for Fighting) and dedicate it to us. This was enough to cause Dave's family on the dance floor to "aghhhhhhhh" causing me to blush a bit. But hey, it's no secret how Dave's family can cause me to blush at weddings (esp my own!)

Just an entry

Hope you had a nice Thanksgiving! We enjoyed two dinners with family this year. Cori did very well with all the holiday travel and "new" faces of family, especially since she is in a "stranger danger" mode these days. Here's her Thanksgiving outfit which summed up the day for all of us.

We are starting to decorate for Christmas this weekend, and everything we put up for display we end up commenting how we probably won't be able to do this next year. Cori seems to be on the verge of being mobile. She is pushing all the way up off the ground from her belly, and I'm betting that by the end of the week she will be on all fours ready to crawl. Mobile or not, we're still enjoying the holiday spirit round here, and looking forward to Christmas a little bit more than previous since out little angel is in our lives. There is just something about Christmas and kids...
We also visited Phipps Conservatory the day after Thanksgiving and saw their winter flower show. Very pretty stuff, and Cori was loving the lights and flowers. If you have a chance, try to make it down to Phipps to enjoy the beauty they have displayed in really neat ways. For those of you who won't be able to make it, here are some photos for you to enjoy.

Can you find the penguin in this picture?

White Thanksgiving

The snow was so pretty this morning that I had to take some pictures of our backyard.

little Turkey

Cori had her 6 month check up today, and the doctor was happy with everything. Much to our surprise, our little turkey weighs 18 pounds!! Yikes!!! She is 26 inches long and got her flu shot along with a few others. The kid is a trooper I tell you.

We're looking forward to Thanksgiving with Dave's family this year. I don't cook which is probably to everyone's good fortune. Side dishes are the extent of my cooking at Thanksgiving. Maybe one year when Cori is bigger I'll venture into that realm.

I'll post some pictures of our turkey then. Until Thursday, enjoy the snow!