10th Anniversary
All Dressed Up
Always a Lady
Bathtime Bunny
My Family
Hangin' Out, Watching Some TV
Playing
Hungry Kitty
MMMM . . .Love That Baby Smell!
Enjoying Some Pumpkin Roll With Aunt Jess
Peaceful
Two week recap November 25, 2009
Well, it has certainly been a crazy couple of weeks.
MAGGIE’S HEAD
First of all, let’s talk about Maggie’s head. Two weeks ago at her 2 month well baby appointment, the pediatrician noted that the soft spot on the top of Maggie’s head felt smaller than it should. Her exact words were “Do not panic. I will tell you if/when you need to panic”, but to be on the safe side, she sent us for an ultrasound to get a better idea of what was going on since the ultrasound would be a lot more exact than just her touch. So I didn’t think much of it, and we scheduled an appointment the next day at Children’s Hospital to get it done. Needless to say, Maggie did not like having the lady squeeze gel onto her head and roll the wand around on it.
The next day, we got a call from the pediatrician’s office confirming that, yes, her soft spot is extremely narrow, but it’s still open. They were also worried about the possibility of it closing way way sooner than it should, so they told us to take her to get her head X-rayed so that they could see the bone structure of her skull. The nurse that I spoke to was very matter-of-fact and very calm and very helpful with answering my questions about where we needed to go. I called Children’s, found out that we didn’t need an appointment for X-rays, and thought that we’d just go the next day.
THEN I got off the phone and googled “soft spot closing early” and FREAKED THE EFF OUT. Terms like “severe mental retardation” and “surgery in the first year of life to relieve the pressure” were mentioned, among other equally scary things. Fifteen minutes later, Mike was pulling in the driveway from work and I was on my way down the steps to meet him with Maggie in tow. We made the drive in record time, did the whole fill-out-the-paperwork dance, and waited our turn.
Maggie liked the X-ray even less than the ultrasound. And it broke my heart to see her thrashing around on a big slab of metal with the protective pad over the rest of her body while three people tried to keep her calm and get all of the pictures they needed. It turns out that, for now, everything is OK. They’ll just have to keep an eye on her head measurements to make sure it’s growing the way it should and that the soft spot isn’t closing prematurely. So although it could be worse, I get that nervous fluttery feeling inside when I think about it and start to imagine what will happen at her next appointment if her head hasn’t grown.
DATE NIGHT
At the end of that week was our 10 year anniversary. Mike and I went out alone for the first time for a few hours while Mike’s sister watched Maggie. It was such a weird feeling for both of us to be out without the baby, and we spent a lot of the time talking about her and missing her, but it was nice to have some alone time with Mike outside of the house.
DAYCARE
Last Monday was my last day of maternity leave. We had decided to start Maggie in daycare that day and Mike took off work so that we could both take her, get her settled, and get our crying out of the way without having to rush off to work. We had a ton of errands to run for the American Cancer Society benefit that we do, so it worked out well that we kept busy while she was there so that we weren’t tempted to just sit in the parking lot and talk ourselves out of going back in to get her.
Daycare has worked out pretty well. We really like the staff and the facility. It’s very clean and they’re very organized and, most importantly, we’re comfortable with the care that she’s getting. The infant room is segregated from the other kids and the adults either have to take their shoes off prior to entering or wear booties over their shoes to keep the carpet as clean as possible for the kids that are crawling. Maggie’s in with 5 other kids, roughly 4-10 months old, so she’s the youngest.
Last Wednesday when I got there to pick her up in the afternoon, I saw that her crib had been moved from one side of the room to another. I asked about it and was told that she and the girl in the crib next to her were “talking” and waking each other up during naptime so they separated them. Yes, my 2 month old daughter got in trouble on her third day of daycare. For talking. I can only imagine what the teenage years will bring!
MAKING IT ALL WORK
We seem to have a pretty good schedule figured out for the mornings, and Maggie was very cooperative last week by staying asleep until WE were ready for her to get up. I get up and get showered, dressed, and dry my hair. Mike gets up and gets in the shower while I finish getting ready. I get Maggie up, change her diaper, and get her dressed. Mike starts to feed her while I get my lunch packed, and then I sit with them for a few minutes until it’s time for me to leave. Mike drops her off at daycare since he typically doesn’t leave the house until an hour after I do, so that’s one less hour she has to be there and can be with one of us instead.
She’s exhausted by the time she gets home. There’s a lot more for her to look at during the day now than there is at home and a lot more activity and it really wears her out. She’s been napping a little better at daycare than she was at home, and her caretakers are amazed that they can just lay her down in the crib and she’ll fall asleep since there are other, older, kids there that are so resistant to sleeping in a crib and have to be in a swing to fall asleep. I think I can honestly say that she gets her ability to sleep anywhere from me!
Mike and I don’t eat dinner until we put Maggie to bed at night. She’s been ready for her last bottle and to fall asleep by 7:00 each night, so we only have an hour and a half to spend with her before she conks out and I don’t want to waste that time eating dinner. While I was off, I spent a few Saturdays cooking in bulk and freezing meals, and that has worked out incredibly well. It seemed to cost an arm and a leg at the grocery store at the time, even though I would buy meat and the more expensive things when they were on sale. But the extra expense upfront has been well worth the time saved each night now. We’re eating a home-cooked meal and not wasting a ton of time cooking and cleaning up. And it should save some time at the grocery store now each week. Once we near the end of these meals—I made enough to last us through January—I’ll have to devote some time once or twice a month to stocking up, but it’s so worth it.
I’m also trying to get in the habit of laying out Maggie’s clothes for the week, and also my own, on Sunday nights, so that there are a few less things to think about in the morning during the week.
RETURNING TO WORK
Not as bad as I expected, but still tough leaving Maggie each day. I was overwhelmed at first, forgetting passwords and where to find certain files that I needed. But within a few hours I had gotten back into the swing of things and it was like I had never left. And even though I’m busy all day, the time seems to drag, which it never did before. Now I’m counting the hours until I can see Maggie again.
THE BENEFIT
Most of you know that Mike and I run a benefit each year for the American Cancer Society. It was this past Saturday, so we had all of the preparations for that combined with me returning to work falling in the same week—needless to say, it was a crazy week! This year’s event was fantastic. We had over 200 people, which is more than we had ever had before. We ended up getting some great silent auction items which brought in a lot of money. Donations are still coming in from people that couldn’t attend but want to contribute. We’ll be over $8000 this year once it’s all said and done, and that amazes me. With as tough as things are financially for so many, it’s great that people are able to open their wallets and contribute to such a good cause. Thank you to everyone that came to the benefit or donated online—we really appreciate it. And if you haven’t donated but have a few extra bucks that you’d be willing to part with, please visit our website.
The benefit has gotten a little bigger each year, and I’ve slowly been letting go of my need to be a control freak about how things happen that night. And, this year, with Maggie added into the mix, I think I realized that I can’t do it all. I tried to sell raffle tickets along with one of our friends that we recruited for the job, but my mind wasn’t on it. Maggie hung out in the Baby Bjorn for awhile, but she got really hot in it which made her fussy. And since she was awake later than usual, she needed an extra bottle. So I had to give up on the tickets, grab my sister-in-law to fill in for me, and take Maggie into a side room to settle her down and feed her. Mike was concerned about her being OK, so he was leaving his post by the door and having his sister’s friends fill in for him. Without the help of Mike’s sister, her friends, and our friend Jen, the night would have been chaos. Maggie was really good the whole night, smiling at everyone and wide awake early on, and then falling asleep in her chair for about an hour. But she woke up cranky at 11:30 and I knew she had had enough. We had gotten a room at the hotel a block away to make it easier at the end of the night, and it was definitely worth it. Mike and I took her back to the room and I stayed with her while he went back to clean up.
MAGGIE’S FIRST COLD
So many people have told me that daycares are cesspools of germs and illness, but this one gets blamed on me. I woke up with a cold last Monday. Bad timing with all we had going on last week, but I don’t have room to complain since I went all of last winter cold-free and flu-free. It got worse as the week progressed, and I started to lose my voice on Thursday. Saturday night at the hotel, I noticed that Maggie seemed to be a little congested, and by Sunday night it was definitely a cold. On Monday Mike decided to work from home and keep Maggie home from daycare so that he could keep an eye on her to make sure she didn’t get worse. Technically, she could have gone since she didn’t have a fever, but he felt better knowing that she was being closely monitored. Other than the congestion, she was fine all day.
Monday night she went to bed at her usual time, but woke up 2 hours later because she was so congested. We put her in her chair and she fell asleep—I think the little bit of incline helped everything drain and made it easier for her to breathe. She slept in our room last night because we expected to be up a lot, but she slept pretty soundly until 5:00 this morning. We suctioned her, fed her, and she fell asleep in her crib. When I left the house a little before 7:00, Mike wasn’t sure how the day would play out, but she ended up sleeping until 8:00 and then he took her in to daycare—she was smiling and giggling and fine except for a little congestion. Same for today, so hopefully she’ll be back to normal in a day or so.
Well, that sums up my life for the past 2 weeks or so. Now I’m excited to have 4 days off work to spend with Maggie (and Mike too, of course)!
Going Home October 25, 2009
On Friday Mike and I made a whirlwind trip to see my family.
We got up at 6:30, fed Maggie, showered, and packed an insane amount of stuff in the car for a day trip. We hit the road at 8:00, drove 175 miles, stopped at my grandparents, hopped back in the car to go to my Dad’s, and then went to see my Aunt Sue and Uncle Mike before getting back in the car and coming back to Pittsburgh. We even had a few more possible stops, but the timing just didn’t work out.
The drive there was uneventful, but coming back it poured down rain so hard that the wipers were useless. The fog over the mountains was so thick that we drove at 15-20 mph in some spots. There were fallen leaves all over the roads . . .in some spots you couldn’t even tell where the road was because it was so dark and foggy and rainy and the leaves covered up the reflective strips that had been guiding us. It took us 4 hours to get back to Pittsburgh, about an hour and 15 minutes more than usual. We got home at almost midnight, exhausted.
Was it worth it?
ABSOLUTELY!
Maggie with her great-grandparents
sticking her tongue out at her Pap
Maggie with Aunt Sue
The Story of Maggie’s Name (the long version) October 7, 2009
I had always thought that when it came to picking names for our children that Mike and I would always tend towards a more “traditional” name for a boy and something “different” for a girl. I’m not sure why I had thought that. Maybe it’s because I subconsciously thought that a boy with a more traditional name would be taken more seriously later on in life, and that that kind of thing didn’t really matter for a girl (not the most progressive thinking on my part, I know). Or maybe it was because Mike has a more traditional name and mine was different. My name is odd enough that I was in college before I met someone with the same name as me. Since then, I’ve run into a few people that share the same name as me, but it’s still not very common. When we’re out in a crowd and someone yells “Mike”, you can look around and see 5 guys named Mike looking around to see if someone’s calling them. I’ve never had that experience with my name–if someone yells it, they’re calling out for, well, me.
When I got pregnant this time, it took Mike and I awhile before we had The Name Discussion. The time before that, we had been discussing names and then we lost the baby, so I think we were a little hesitant to give a name to a child we might never meet. Although that’s how our cat got his name–Mike’s favorite boy name was Forrest, which I couldn’t stand. When we got a kitten 2 months after I miscarried, I immediately suggested Forrest, knowing that if we used that name for the cat, it would be out of the running should I ever become pregnant again. For awhile we even referred to him as Forrest the Cat, Not the Kid. Certainly nothing to joke about, but it helped me to deal with everything that had transpired–I always turn to humor, it’s just that sometimes it’s a rather dark humor. Now we just call him Forrest, or Forrest the Cat, or F the C. As a side note, he’s adjusted rather well to Maggie’s presence in the house. He’s calmed down considerably, although he’s still really playful.
Once we did start talking about names, there wasn’t a girl’s name that we could agree upon without any reservations. Out of all of the names we had discussed in the past, none was perfect.
A few months before Maggie was born, Mike and I were talking about names one day and one of us suggested using one or both of our mothers’ names as a way to honor them. Mike’s mother was named Margaret, but went by Peg or Peggy. My mother’s name was Cynthia, and always went by Cindy. Since we had always discussed more “non-traditional” girl names, it had not even occurred to us up to that point to use their names. I immediately vetoed Cynthia/Cindy. I felt that I would have trouble with calling our little girl by my mother’s name–it just didn’t seem right to me. I also didn’t want to put my grandparents or father in that position either. Using the name Margaret was a different situation. No one ever called Mike’s mother Margaret; it was always Peg. So even though we had agreed on Margaret as a first name, it was still a little too stuffy for us to use all the time, so we decided on Maggie as a nickname. One of my mother’s very good friends was named Maggie, so by calling our little girl that, I still felt that we were honoring my mother, just in a different way.
Today, I found out that the Margaret connection goes a little deeper, this time on my father’s side of the family. My great-aunt Margie (whose given name is Margaret, but I had totally forgotten that until I was writing out her name to send her a birth announcement; she was always “Aunt Margie” to me) sent me a card that arrived in the mail today. She wrote a letter to us and mentioned that she loves the name Margaret (after all, it’s her name too!) and also included some details on that side of the family that I had never known, or maybe never paid attention to in the past. It turns out that my great-great-grandmother’s name was Margaret Ann and my great-great-great-grandmother’s name was Margaret Elizabeth.
I’m thinking that we definitely made the right choice by choosing a name that’s more traditional, and more rooted in family. Margaret is the perfect name for our perfect little girl.
Irony October 1, 2009
This morning my aunt went in for surgery to remove her left breast. She found out a week ago that she has a large, quickly growing tumor. Today would have been my grandmother’s (her mother’s) 82nd birthday. Grandma passed away last year. She had also been a victim of cancer.
So we start off Breast Cancer awareness month . . .with breast cancer surgery.
Please keep my Aunt Sue in your thoughts and prayers for a successful surgery and a quick, cancer-free recovery.
A visit from the great-grandparents September 16, 2009
My grandparents came to visit for a few days and to help us out while we’re adjusting to the newest addition to our family. They’ve been such a big help with meals and housework, and of course, showering little Maggie with tons of love! My grandmother has some kind of magic touch–every time Maggie cries, she’s instantly quieted when Grandma picks her up. They leave tomorrow, and I know Maggie will miss them as much as they’ll miss her!
Quick catch-up May 19, 2009
know, I know. I’m a horrible blogger. I know with some people, the more that happens in their life, the more they blog. Me, well, not so much.
My father-in-law is doing extremely well. He went back to work part-time, which I consider an amazing feat, since his work is a few hours from here and he has an apartment there where he stays during the week. He does have to go back in a few weeks for more surgery—to have his other thyroid removed. He’ll only be in the hospital overnight this time, and in comparison to everything else he’s had done, this one should be a piece of cake.
Mike and I have spent the last few weekends concentrating on getting stuff done around the house. We got all of the blinds dusted (and we have a million windows, so that was quite a chore), washed all of the windows (a million of them, remember?), put the deck furniture together that had been sitting in cardboard boxes in the never-ending rain for 3 weeks, cleaned out the room that is going to be the nursery, put the crib together, and all kinds of other things. I was really pushing to get some of the bigger projects done now since we have stuff going on every weekend between Memorial Day and the Fourth of July. The upcoming weeks include a long weekend in Vegas (yay!), all kinds of running around for my sister-in-law’s bridal shower, the shower and bachelorette party, two baby showers for me—one hosted by my wonderful sisters-in-law here in Pittsburgh and one in the middle of the state that two of my good friends are organizing, Bob’s surgery, my nephew’s birthday, our hospital visit and baby care class, plus the normal work weeks and regular errands and doctors appointments. Oh, and all of the bigger home projects that we haven’t gotten to yet—our garage and basement are a DISASTER!. And somewhere in the midst of all of this, I agreed to host our neighborhood bunco league at our house this month. I’m thinking that I’ll be ready to pass out by the time the Fourth of July weekend gets here.
But I love being busy—I feel so much more organized when I have my to-do list all mapped out and I feel a really dorky sense of accomplishment when I can cross something off and move on to the next thing. Mike has been such a trooper throughout my never-ending demands. I’ve constantly had him lifting, moving, helping, cleaning, and putting stuff together. He’s been great with cooking and planning meals, helping with the laundry, and even giving up his body pillow so that I can sleep more comfortably at night. I know there have been times where I’ve been irritable and snapped at him, and he just goes with the flow. Pregnancy is a powerful, powerful thing!
The Big “C”. Again. April 13, 2009
My father-in-law had surgery on Friday to have his voicebox and part of his thyroid removed. We found out just a few weeks ago that he had cancer, and although the prognosis is good and it seemed to be concentrated around his voicebox, it still rocked our world.
Mike and I have heard the “C” word more times than we ever imagined. It took our mothers, our grandfathers, was instrumental in my grandmother’s death, whisked away my best friend’s father, and just last year stole my aunt. I could go on and on. As stupid as it sounds, this is our most positive experience with cancer yet.
Two Fridays ago, Bob underwent about 3 hours of surgery. Because of an infection in his throat, they were unable to do the total laryngectomy, and instead they did some further biopsies and installed a trach tube. He went back in this past Friday and had the full laryngectomy. Eight hours of surgery later, he was taken to his room for the night. When we went to see him on Saturday, he was able to walk around—not just a few steps. A trek down the hall to the end of his unit and back, and then on into the main part of the hospital. I was stunned. For the five or so hours I was there on Saturday, he was sitting upright in a chair, watching TV, and didn’t even take a nap. He even was using his white board to communicate with us—not just when he needed something, but to crack jokes and make funny comments.
He’s cut in a U-shape from one ear, down to the base of his neck, and up to the other ear. There are 2 sets of drainage tubes on each side of his neck, an IV, a feeding tube, and a device over his trach tube to keep it moist. Despite all of the tubes and wires, the inches of staples holding the incision closed, and the fact that he’s stuck in the hospital for probably what will be the better part, if not all, of this week, his spirits are good and his color is the best I’ve seen in weeks.
I hesitate to write that he’s “out of the woods” for good. He’s underweight—my guess is maybe 140 or 145 lbs on a 6’2” frame. He needs to gain weight, get stronger. Although the surgeon seems to think that he got the entire tumor, Bob will probably have to undergo chemo and/or radiation later on, just to make sure. He’ll have to learn to talk again, to swallow, to eat. Things we take for granted and do without thinking. There will be hours of speech therapy and physical therapy ahead. But he’s headed in the right direction. And, wow, is that a good feeling.
2008 in review December 29, 2008
What a whirlwind year! As it comes to a close, I can’t help but think of all that happened this year. My first thought was “Whew! Glad it’s over. Let’s move on to the next.” Then I realized that that’s not fair. It’s not like 2008 was incredibly terrible. I have a lot to be thankful for, a lot of good things going on. But as always, the bad stuff sneaks right in there. So I’ll start with the bad, end with the good, and hope that the good stuff continues and multiplies in the upcoming year. So, in no particular order:
The bad:
4. Losing Giz
6. Sickness–mono, 2 bouts of stomach flu, The Great Cold of January thru February, various other colds, earaches, and ailments. I haven’t been this sick in one year since I was a wee little one. Mike also had a gout flare-up.
The good:
1. Going to Vegas over the Fourth of July with Mike
2. Vegas in August with the girls
3. Vegas over Thanksgiving with Mike (can anyone guess where my favorite vacation spot is?)
4. Forrest. There’s nothing like having a kitten in the house. He’s now healthy and growing, and YES! declawed. He’s a constant source of entertainment, amusement, and frustration.
5. Making headway on home improvement projects.
6. Our benefit for the American Cancer Society
7. Good times with friends and family–near and far. A spa trip with Michele and the girls in January in Phoenix; Becky’s bachelorette party in Pittsburgh and wedding in New York City; trips to The Sticks; visit from Lori and Paul and their kids; going to see Amy and Jeff and their baby; book club every month; 3 trips to Vegas (oh, I already mentioned those?); trip to Indianapolis for the Indy Mini; vists to and from Mike’s brother, our sister-in-law, and my adorable niece and nephew; and more that I can’t think of off the top of my head . . .
9. JLo’s and ACT’s engagement
10. Connecting with so many cool people on Goodreads and through blogging. I never thought that I would have so many friends that I never met.
11. My brother’s engagement to Abby
12. Making progress on the baby-making front. Support from our family and friends, a great doctor, and DRUGS–gimme the drugs!
