Today seems to be a bad day for me... I am still trying to catch up on sleep that was apparently sorely missed from this past weekend, I was up later then intended last night (my fault entirely for getting into the book I was reading and loosing track of time, AFTER getting home late from a birthday party and trying to bathe a half asleep/fussy baby well after her normal bed time AND knowing I needed to prepare lunches for the next day so I could get up this morning and go to the gym) and customers at work today just seem determined to pluck my last nerve! *Side note before I continue: I have no doubt that stay at home mom's have it rough at times - and I can appreciate and admire the tenacity it takes to be a stay at home mom because I know that I never could do it (I'd go crazy!) :)
It's rough sometimes, working 40 hours a week at a job that is over an hour's drive away (but a job that I love), and still trying to fit in quality time with the family and quality alone time - which is mostly my early morning jaunts to the gym. Then there is house work and making sure everyone has lunches and food ready for the next day. Pile on top of that less sleep then normal and evening weekday social engagements, and *POOF* - you've got a recipe for a very sleepy and short tempered Graphic Designer/Mommy/Wife/Commuter/etc!
I am not complaining - at least not a lot! I have great friends that I just don't get to see enough!!! But my shoulders can only bare so much weight and I'm close to maxed out just on a normal basis... anything extra seems to just crush me now-a-days! God, I remember what it was like back in high school and college. Studying half the night and still making it through a full day of school and work without really being that much worse-for-wear! I want that youth and energy back!!! I can now truly understand and agree with the statement that youth is wasted on the young! They just don't now how much ~ I didn't know when I was young (and, trust me, I knew EVERYTHING back then!).
But, really, what choice do I have? I can't quite... I can't walk away... And I really don't see any major changes coming down the line. So, I'll trudge on. I'll make it through.... I'll survive :)
Sami and Mommy
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Monday, June 27, 2011
What I've learned from camping with an 18 month old...
We went tent camping this past weekend; the first time in a year. Last year when we went, Samantha was only 6 month's old and couldn't even crawl, so it was a different kind of "trying"... This camp was basically me never getting to relax because I was watching over my toddler every possible second. I didn't sleep well, partly because I never get the same kind of sleep camping that I do at home, and partly because every time I'd wake up I was actually getting up to recover Samantha who had kicked off her blankets! I normally wouldn't have bothered, except for the fact that it got down in the high 50's at night and the last thing I wanted was her to get a cold!
We were worried that she wasn't going to do well and that we weren't going to be able to get her to sleep in the play-pen/make-shift crib (this thought was based on our 2 night Easter stay-over at Frank's parents). And I was fully prepared to be driving the 45 minutes home late Friday night with an exhausted baby.... but, she proved us wrong!
So here is what I've learned:
1.) Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst! (This was more of a reaffirmation than a new thing.) Sami totally did better then we thought she would. She LOVED being outside and didn't freak-out at going in the tent and sleeping in the play-pen!
2.) 18 month olds NEVER sit still! (Again, more of an reaffirmation...) She was constantly go-go-going ALL weekend... except when she was sleeping.
3.) Having a child makes you over pack and over think WAY more then B.C. (before children!)
4.) When not watched closely enough, toddlers will try to eat dirt! :-/
5.) AND, at the end of the day (or weekend, in this case), even though I am tired and sore (mainly form hiking with a 22 lb. toddler in a carrier), everything worked out great!
I still am undecided if I will be happy to take another camp this year, or if I am dreading the thought of it... It was a lot of work and I am still just so tired... I guess it's more of a combination of the two opposing feeling, waring inside of me and your guess is as good as mine as to which one will win out!
We were worried that she wasn't going to do well and that we weren't going to be able to get her to sleep in the play-pen/make-shift crib (this thought was based on our 2 night Easter stay-over at Frank's parents). And I was fully prepared to be driving the 45 minutes home late Friday night with an exhausted baby.... but, she proved us wrong!
So here is what I've learned:
1.) Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst! (This was more of a reaffirmation than a new thing.) Sami totally did better then we thought she would. She LOVED being outside and didn't freak-out at going in the tent and sleeping in the play-pen!
2.) 18 month olds NEVER sit still! (Again, more of an reaffirmation...) She was constantly go-go-going ALL weekend... except when she was sleeping.
3.) Having a child makes you over pack and over think WAY more then B.C. (before children!)
4.) When not watched closely enough, toddlers will try to eat dirt! :-/
5.) AND, at the end of the day (or weekend, in this case), even though I am tired and sore (mainly form hiking with a 22 lb. toddler in a carrier), everything worked out great!
I still am undecided if I will be happy to take another camp this year, or if I am dreading the thought of it... It was a lot of work and I am still just so tired... I guess it's more of a combination of the two opposing feeling, waring inside of me and your guess is as good as mine as to which one will win out!
Thursday, June 23, 2011
The First Post, EVER! :)
Okay, so being new to this whole blog thing, I think that maybe I'll just tell you all about me and Samantha (and Frank, too) and what we've all been up to for the past several years!!! ~ How long and boring could this be?!?!?~
Not long after Easter of 2009 (maybe about a week) I found out I was pregnant with our first child. We were ecstatic because we'd been trying to conceive. At 18 weeks pregnant we went for what was suppose to be a routine Level II sonogram. Here was when we found out about Samantha's condition. Needless to say we were in complete shock and the following 48 hours are mostly a blur... But that very same day we were sent to Children's National Medical Center where they set forth her treatment plan (including three open heart surgeries) and to date she has had two of the three.
I never thought that I would ever be going through something like this... It never occurred to me that this was even a possibility! I thought - how could this be happening to me, to ME? Frank and I decided that very same day, through the shock and blur of the situation and information, that as long as they can operate and she'd have a mostly normal life, then we'd make it through and it would all be okay. And so far we have and it has been.
Between all the doctor's appointments I had while pregnant, and all the ones for Samantha since birth, I'd like to think that I've become extremely apt at getting answers and information out of these seemingly squirrely doctors! AND Frank and I both should totally have honorary Ph.D.'s in cardiology (or at least it feels that way)!
I am a Graphic Designer and have been very lucky to have a job through all of this that sympathizes with my daughter's situation and understands when I have to be late, leave early, or take the day off for doctor appointments! My boss (the owner of the company) spent some time in nursing school and has raised three boys of her own! I couldn't have hoped or wished for a better work situation!
Samantha is one of the most laid back 18 month olds I know (for the most part - because she does seem to be developing a bit of a temper). She is a happy, fairly well adjusted, and typical toddler! We are starting to "rev-up" towards her last OHS (open heart surgery) where they will complete whats called a Fontan (more info here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fontan_procedure). We are hopeful that this surgery will be able to take place around her 2nd birthday - so in about 6 months.
So, now that we are all caught up, stay tuned for more posts! :)
Not long after Easter of 2009 (maybe about a week) I found out I was pregnant with our first child. We were ecstatic because we'd been trying to conceive. At 18 weeks pregnant we went for what was suppose to be a routine Level II sonogram. Here was when we found out about Samantha's condition. Needless to say we were in complete shock and the following 48 hours are mostly a blur... But that very same day we were sent to Children's National Medical Center where they set forth her treatment plan (including three open heart surgeries) and to date she has had two of the three.
I never thought that I would ever be going through something like this... It never occurred to me that this was even a possibility! I thought - how could this be happening to me, to ME? Frank and I decided that very same day, through the shock and blur of the situation and information, that as long as they can operate and she'd have a mostly normal life, then we'd make it through and it would all be okay. And so far we have and it has been.
Between all the doctor's appointments I had while pregnant, and all the ones for Samantha since birth, I'd like to think that I've become extremely apt at getting answers and information out of these seemingly squirrely doctors! AND Frank and I both should totally have honorary Ph.D.'s in cardiology (or at least it feels that way)!
I am a Graphic Designer and have been very lucky to have a job through all of this that sympathizes with my daughter's situation and understands when I have to be late, leave early, or take the day off for doctor appointments! My boss (the owner of the company) spent some time in nursing school and has raised three boys of her own! I couldn't have hoped or wished for a better work situation!
Samantha is one of the most laid back 18 month olds I know (for the most part - because she does seem to be developing a bit of a temper). She is a happy, fairly well adjusted, and typical toddler! We are starting to "rev-up" towards her last OHS (open heart surgery) where they will complete whats called a Fontan (more info here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fontan_procedure). We are hopeful that this surgery will be able to take place around her 2nd birthday - so in about 6 months.
So, now that we are all caught up, stay tuned for more posts! :)
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