I had a whole blog post planned...

But then forgot it. I need to get one of those mini tape recorders so I never forget my posting ideas. That presumes that my musings are blog worthy, and if you've read this journal then you know that not all of them are.

Anyway, last week I whipped out a 5 page paper in 4 hours. Not bad. Got a B. Not great. Oh well, I only need a 3.0 GPA to get my credential.

I have a paper due Saturday that's 7 pages... *faceplantintokeyboard*

Luckily my Aunt Diana has the day off from work tomorrow so I'm going to drop Penny off at her house for a couple of hours while I write. I only need to get a C on the paper to get a B in the class, so I'll probably put minimal effort into writing. That's totally a lie, I'm such a perfectionist.

In totally awesome news, boy-child got an A- on his last English paper, hooray! If he wasn't 14 & smelly I'd totally give him a big giant hug. As it is, I think ice cream is in order next week (when it warms up a little).

A mini-rant... and 8 Things

I am absolutely disgusted by a good portion of my classmates in my credentialing/Masters program. These people are training to teach children and they cannot spell, properly use commas & capitalization, and are (in general) really shallow thinkers. I have a hard time making positive comments on their posts because I want to fix all the spelling and grammatical errors... and don't get me started on content. When did people get so stupid??? I mean, the occasional misspelled word or incorrectly placed semi-colon is no big deal, but the habitual errors these people make makes me want to pull out my hair. Bad grammar makes me [sic].

Anyway, my friend Laura tagged me in this meme. It sounded like fun so here you go (and I tag Robin, Annie, and Ra).

8 Things I Look Forward To:

-my own classroom
-Penelope's first word
-getting my iPhone in September
-the opening of X-Men Origins & Star Trek
-the next Harry Potter movie
-finishing Grad school
-my after lunch cookie
-coming home to my husband and baby after work

8 Things I Did Yesterday:

-spent time with one of my best friends
-went to playgroup with Penelope
-wrote two papers
-made dinner
-teased Bryan
-watched Big Bang Theory
-spent too much time on Facebook
-bought pre-fold diapers

8 Things I Wish I Could Do:

-lose my baby weight
-buy a larger car that didn't pollute
-eat Togos every day
-learn by simply placing my hand on a book (it would make things go so much faster)
-move to France
-fall asleep whenever I wanted (and not spend 45 minutes trying to get to sleep at night)
-adopt a baby
-get a pedicure every 3 weeks

8 Shows I Watch:

-The Office
-30 Rock
-Big Bang Theory
-How I Met Your Mother
-2 1/2 Men
-The Daily Show
-NCIS
-Family Guy

Bryan...

is currently off to the Med 7 clinic to get tested for Swine Flu.


Update - No swine flu!

This pretty much sums up my Monday

My word processing program is taunting me... blank page with the blinking cursor. Oh how I disdain you blinking cursor.

Mondays

Penelope is currently asleep, which means I should really be working on a paper I have to write... but I'm not because I'm annoyed with school and am "punishing" it (school) by ignoring it. I know, silly.

Anyway, Penny woke up this morning and decided that she was going to start grabbing everything within her reach. I used to be able to have her sit at the table with me and eat breakfast or drink my coffee without having to worry about it - no longer. Apparently anything within arms reach is hers. This makes getting things done that much more complicated... and while I'm happy that she's developing right on track, I'm annoyed that I have to gulp down my coffee before she steals it. The joys of parenthood, right?

This is my last week of my first two classes and I will be glad when it's over. I have A LOT due this week and I'm not really looking forward to it. I wish I could just skip to the weekend and have all of my work magically finished. Unfortunately that's about as likely as Rainbow Brite showing up at my door and asking me to join her team to fight against Murky Dismal & Lurky.

Ok, I'm going to go sabotage my diet by making shells & white cheddar for lunch. I'm really awful at this weight loss thing. I used to know how to do it, but not anymore... joining a gym would help, but we can't afford that. It's hard to stay motivated when you're stressed tho, so I'm going to blame it all on school.

It's like trying to photograph Bigfoot or Nessie

I'm still trying to get a picture of Penelope's teeth... she'll grin at me until I pull out a camera (usually Bryan's iPhone) and as soon as she sees it she's as tight-lipped as Dick Cheney during the Bush Administration (haha! I made a funny!)

Anyway, here's a "photo essay" of my attempts to provide photographic evidence that Penelope does in fact have teeth.









Can you see them? They're fuzzy, top left corner...

Le Sigh

We unsnapped the last snap on Penelope's BumGenius diapers today.

I have no idea what we're going to do when she outgrows the BGs...

Old friends, new friends

Today Penelope and I had lunch with one of my oldest friends, and one of P's newest!

Brian & I have known each other since the 7th grade - that's a Looooooong time. We have a lot of history together, and I'm glad we're still friends.

Now doubly more so because he has a little girl too, and get this - her birthday is the day before Penny's.

How crazy is that?


Brian & Addison


Brian & Penelope

Next time we'll get pictures of the babies together...

And then there were two

We now have TWO teeth.

Guess who likes to hold her bottle?

Penelope!

She only does it for a minute or so, but that's ok :)

No more Gonzo!

Penelope is sleeping and while I should be doing homework I don't really feel like it... so I'll blog instead!

Anyway, a week ago we had Penny's 4 month check-up. I already posted her stats, but I didn't post the best part about the visit - a "new" doctor! No more Dr. Gonzo!!

It turns out that the Pediatrician we had been seeing was not Dr. Wolfrey after all. He wasn't a terrible doctor, but we just didn't click. We finally met Dr. Wolfrey and we like him MUCH better.

You know, in my head this post was going to be much longer.

So next topic...

And now I've forgotten what else I was going to say.

We like monkeys!

WE HAVE A TOOTH!

And soon it will have a friend - one has broken through and another is on the way!

Peek-tures

These are from today at Bryan's softball game!

Her teeth are almost broken through, I'm pretty sure they'll be in sometime this week. I tried to take pictures, but she was having none of it.

I owe you...

*A full post about the Pediatrician appointment (teaser: "new" doctor, he's much better and doesn't sound like Gonzo)

*Grad school thus far: why people are stupid, especially professors

*Teacher observations (I have totally chosen the right profession, now here's hoping I can find a teaching job when I'm all done with school)

*Vacations

I miss my baby!

So this morning Penelope and I woke up at 6am, I fed & changed her and then put her back to bed while I got ready for a very full day of classroom oberservations.

I did my required observation at my old Alma Mater, which was fun but a little strange. The hallways smelled the same, and I know that makes me sound odd (but y'all know I'm a little odd anyway). It was weird to be on the other side of the classroom, even though I wasn't teaching there was still a "vibe" - I really don't know how to accurately describe it.

Anyway, I did my hours (which I may blog about in length later, but probably not) and then called home. I could have gone home and spent an hour or so there before having to go to work, but Bryan and Penny were doing just fine without me so I went to a coffee shop to type up my notes for my written assessment of the observation time.

So I haven't seen my baby since 6am. It's currently almost 5pm - and it's likely that I won't be home until after 6 (and probably closer to 7) so it will have been just over 12 hours without my Missy Moo (which is her new nickname).

I miss her SO MUCH. It hurts.

But I know she's doing just fine with Daddy - and I think it's great that they're able to have a whole day together.

I just wish I was there too :(

Teacher Observations...

Tomorrow I go to my high school Alma Mater and observe a classroom for the day. I'm excited!

Up, up, and away!

So just for fun I thought I'd post Penelope's growth chart:


Bryan's going to go shopping for basketball hoops this weekend.

Her rather swift growth (putting it mildly), has cause a bit of a carseat issues. She's too long for her infant carseat (still within the weight requirement) but she's not heavy or old enough for her "big girl" carseat. So we had to go out today and buy another carseat (well, two since we need one for Bryan's car). Luckily we were able to find ones that she will fit into, rear facing, for another 17 pounds. They were also on sale... probably because they are UGLY. Oh well.

I should really be finishing my paper for class... it's on racism. Maybe I'll post it later.

Stats now, update later

At 4 months, one week Penelope is 28.5 inches and 17.13 pounds.

Yes, you read that right.

Jolly Green Giant.

Lonely Mama

Bryan and Penelope went to the Rivercats game with our friends Keith & Grace, so poor mama is all alone at home (well, the dog & cat are here but they're not much company). I'm so lonely! :(

But this gives me a chance to get homework done, which is great because I'm going to have a busy week and I don't know when I'll have time later.

Teeth! Off the starboard bow!

Ok, so that's a lame title but you get the drift (bad pun intended).

I can feel teeth in Penny's mouth! I can even see some little teeth buds! It looks like she has two on the bottom... I hope they come all the way in soon and don't just hang out there for awhile. Or go back down & then come back up. That would suck.

She won't let me take pictures of her gums, but she will happily chew on my fingers all day. Good thing baby drool is good for you ;)

Sleep

I don't know what to do with myself this morning, Penelope is still asleep!

We've noticed that if we're out & about during the day she tends to sleep better (even with the teething). So I guess this means more day-time activities for us! This will make scheduling time for homework more difficult, but I'm sure I'll find a way to make it all work out.

Take Me Out to the Ballgame!

As previously mentioned, Bryan and I are heathens and don't celebrate Easter (or any religious holiday for that matter, I compromised on Christmas and we do a secular Santa thing).

Anyway, this means that while a good portion of the country is attending services, attempting to find colorful lost eggs (that symbolize fertility, which I always find amusing), or eating copious amounts of glazed ham, we are free to go out and do whatever. Only nothing is open.

Except the ballpark!

So we pack up today, and with the help of my parents (who are also heathens *lol*), we traveled to Oakland to see the A's play the Mariners. Bryan is a HUGE baseball fan, and has been following the career of Ken Griffey Jr. for well, all of Griffey's career. Since Junior signed with the Mariners this season (well, re-signed since he started with the M's as a rookie), we have become Mariner's fans for this season. Last year it was the Reds and White Sox.

This was a big day of firsts for Penny. First BART ride (Bay Area Rapid Transit - it's like a train). First Baseball game, first time in a high-chair. Yep! Eventful day!

She did great, the game got a little noisy in the bottom of the 9th when the A's had a chance to come back to win (but didn't - Go Mariners! It was a sweep!). She got a little fussy then, but I packed her in the Sungli and she was fine. (We're also experimenting with carriers since while I love our stroller, it's a bit bulky for traveling).

Anyway, here are some pictures. Enjoy!

Take Us Out to the Ballgame...


Buy Me Some Peanuts...(forgot to buy Crackerjacks!)


Hey, this highchair thing is kinda cool!


Hey Mom, stop taking pictures of me!


Oh! If I have time tomorrow I will complain about Grad School.

Fun with Hats

We don't celebrate Easter, but I do LOVE Easter hats. If it were fashionable, I would wear fancy hats EVERY DAY. Seriously. I love hats.

And so does Penny:


Best Easter Hat ever!


Eat your heart out Elton John!

Goodbye hair...

I chopped off all my hair today!

Before:


After:


Incidentally, I should really start wearing make-up, I look all blotchy.

Adventures in Teething

So after considerable debate and endless internet searches, Bryan and I have decided that Penelope must be teething. The only other alternate theory was that she was trying to kill us.

For the last three nights her sleep has gotten progressively worse, and naps have become a Herculean struggle. I'm so exhausted that I'm calling in reinforcements, in the form of my mom. We're going over to my parent's house today so I can get a break - Granny K will take over on the front lines.

Other teething signs: increased drooling, irritability (my normally happy-go-lucky baby is moody!), almost constant sucking of fingers & cloth toys (she's not a fan of had plastic), and a bit of diarrhea.

Her gums don't seem particularly swollen, which is what threw us off-track; but all the other signs point to teething. Hopefully it doesn't take weeks for her first tooth to break through, because I will turn into a zombie if it does. Seriously. I have insomnia anyway, and waking up 4 time at night isn't going to help.

Some "sleep experts" recommended that we try CIO (cry-it-out) to help her get back to her normal once-waking sleep pattern. And while I'm not anti-CIO, I don't think it's appropriate for this situation - she's uncomfortable, and since she's still working on self-soothing then she needs mommy or daddy to help her fall back asleep. She generally falls back to sleep pretty quickly after the night-wakings, the 5am one is more difficult since that's pretty close to her normal up-for-the-day time. If it took longer to get her back to sleep then we'd have to try something else, but we're pretty lucky that she's falling asleep quickly after she gets up.

Granted, we've been doing this for three days, so I may re-evaluate our position if this is still happening a month from now. But for the time being, Bryan and I will switch off shifts and get up with her every time she wakes up at night.

And I'll use the Moby for naps for as long as I need to... which is possibly harder on me than the night-wakings. When she was super-little (like she ever was), it was pretty easy to get things done with her in the Moby. Now that she's longer than my torso, being productive becomes much more complicated. Oh well, at least she's sleeping. I did figure out the best way to sit & type while she's in the Moby, so at least I can surf the internet - ha.

My back is not going to like me very much today.

Ok, time to fix another cup of coffee and hope she sleeps at least an hour.

Hormones

My midwives told me that it could be up to 3 months after Penelope's birth before I would feel "normal" again.

Ha! Hahahahahahahahahahaha.

Normal my @$$.

I don't even know what normal is anymore, but I highly doubt that I will ever get back to pre-pregnancy levels. This means that I will continue to cry at 99% of commercials and become irritated at the drop of a hat.

Ugh

It's 11:57 and Penelope just fell asleep. She was up at 8 this morning (and up at 2 & 5am last night). This is quite unlike her, and I'm going to blame it on teething. She's also started drooling more, and has something in her mouth almost constantly; although she's not really a fan of the plastic teething toys, she prefers cloth.

Christina suggested that I wet a washcloth & put it in the freezer for awhile to get it pretty cold and let P gnaw on that. I tried it with cool water & she seemed to like it, so we'll try the frozen one too. I hope it helps!

I also gave her some homeopathic teething medicine. I'm not exactly a big believer in homeopathy (I think it's more of the placebo affect than anything else), but if they work for Penny then I'll have to reevaluate my stance. My midwives tried homeopathic meds when I was in labor and it didn't do anything for me, but I was also convinced that it wouldn't work - so there's that.

Ok, I'm going to try and get some homework done while she's asleep (she's in the Moby, which makes it slightly more difficult but not impossible).

Apparently Daddy is hilarious

This video is from a few weeks ago, but I just got around to uploading. Enjoy!

Nap issues

We are having serious nap issues today. I can't get anything done and I'm exhausted. This is not fun.

Grad school & other thoughts

So Monday was my first day in the Teacher Credentialing/Masters Program at National University.

The good thing is that all of my classes are online, so I don't have to go to campus. The bad thing is that all of my classes are online and I have to MAKE time to do the work. Oh well.

Right now I'm in two classes, TED 601 & 605. I can't remember what the actual names of the classes are, one is an orientation class so there's not as much work as the "regular" class. I do have to do teacher/classroom observations for each class though, which is going to be a royal pain. It's not like I can take Penelope with me (which is one of the major reasons I decided to do an online program in the first place!!!). We'll make it work, but I'm a little annoyed.

This should make for an interesting couple of months... I've been out of college for almost a year and you forget how much work it is! Even just keeping up on the reading is going to be difficult since I have to do whenever Penny naps, assignments are squeezed in there too. When Bryan comes home he can watch her, but he also has side websites to do, which is extra money - money that we really need.

So I've decided that I need to cut myself some slack. I'll give it my all, but my "all" this time around with a baby will be different from my "all" pre-baby. And if that means I get B's then I get B's. I'm not going to kill myself (or strain my family life) by trying to maintain a 4.0, it's just not realistic at this point. I mean, I would love to get A's and I'll still turn in my best work, but I won't be too hard on myself if I end up with less than a perfect score. I do have to maintain a 3.0 to continue in the program, so I can't slack off (not that I would anyway).

Bryan is also considering going back to school to get his BA. He got his AA right out of high school and has been working in his field (graphic design) ever since - he's been in this job for 15 years!

But he feels that it may be time to expand his educational foundation... and I fully support it. Although NOW may not be the right time, we'll see how things are in a couple of months. His program isn't exactly cheap either, although student loans are always an option, we don't want to be buried under more debt that we could ever repay. Although an education is very important, so if it's what he wants then we'll find a way to make it work. He's been so great with supporting my desires to further my education, it's only fair that I support him reach his educational goals.

And now for baby stuff!

Penelope is doing wonderfully! She started playing with her tongue, which is hilarious... she'll talk while sticking her tongue out and blow bubbles. She's become super chatty, and we have lengthy conversations every day! She has her next doctor's appointment a week from today so we'll find out length & weight then. I'm pretty sure she's over 16lbs and almost 27" long. We'll see if I'm right!

More later, time to start dinner!

4 months

Miss Penelope turns 4 months old today - Happy Birthday baby!!!

Time has passed in a weird combination of slow-slow-quick-slow-slow-quick. Some days and weeks seem to last forever and some pass by like seconds. I have a feeling things will start seriously speeding up, she gets stronger and more interactive every day (she's even started crying or fussing when I leave the room, which is both sweet and slightly frustrating).

We have a lot of fun, and I'm looking forward to even more fun to come!

I love you baby!

I'm too tired to update, so here's a picture!

4 months on Sunday!

Nap Time!

Penny has been napping this morning for almost 2 hours. I don't know what to do with myself!

Actually, I should be cleaning in preparation for the BBQ tonight but it's so much more fun to mess around online.