August 25, 2009

Weekend Family Time

Chris suprised Audia and me by staying in MN an extra day, and leaving for IL Monday instead of Sunday. It was so nice to have a whole weekend with him! My parents were on vacation in Grand Marais, so we got to spend a quiet weekend just the three of us, which was much needed and very appreciated.

We ran errands, went for walks, hung out in the back yard, and had a picnic at Arneson Acres, which I haven't been to since probably 2002....I used to hang out there all the time with my friends in High School (and the summers I came home from college), and it's just as pristine and picture-perfect (and quiet!) as I remember it. It is so funny to me (funny interesting, not funny haha) that such a gorgeous park exists and yet no one ever seems to be there when I go. When I was in HS, I always said that if I got married in MN, it's where I'd want to get married. (and our friends, J and A, did get married there last year!) It's an amazing spot for photos!





August 21, 2009

Musings

Random blog thoughts today. Bullet points are the only way to go, really....

  • There's enough work at JB Metalworks that Chris will be returning to IL again Sunday evening for a third week of work. This is great for our bank account, but not so great for my heart. I miss my Uber. :-( At least he'll be here this weekend. On the plus side, he'll be in IL for his dad's birthday next week, which will be nice.
  • I have become addicted to the TV show 'True Blood'. Anna Paquin is the show's only downfall. I really like her character, Sookie, but I feel like I am watching Anna act like Sookie, rather than watching her BE Sookie. All of the other actors on the show, though, make up for Anna's crappy acting. And I do love me some vampires. A Bonus is that one of the vampires is Swedish, and he even speaks Swedish on the show (most of which I actually understand, thank you very much!). Swedish vampires are even more fun than English vampires :-)
  • I really wish I could pull off the 1950's look. You know, thick bangs, dark, wavy hair, ruby red lipstick and some great polka dotted dresses. Either I'm too chicken or too smart to go that route....perhaps a little of both.
  • My TMJ finally seems to be under control; for the first time in about 3 and a half weeks, I can actually close the right side of my mouth all the way. Funny thing is, I got so used to not being able to close it that I stopped trying, and I haven't had any pain for over a week. Shows you how quickly you can adapt and compensate for something.
  • Audia's 1st birthday is only 18 days away and I haven't a clue what to get her. I mean, of course we'll get her a new toy, but I really want to get her a keepsake-type gift, maybe something that I can add to or get her every year for her birthday, which she'll appreciate when she's older. But, of course, nothing too expensive because we are pinching pennies. Any ideas?

August 13, 2009

What a difference a year makes...

It is incredible to me how much can change in a year. Becoming a parent has been one of best things that's happened to me in my life thus far. It changes you in ways you never thought of, in ways you don't even necessarily notice until you really take a good look back at who you were pre-child. You are forced to let go of things that you come to realize are unnecessary, and start caring about things you never cared about before.

The hardest changes, for me, have been the changes in relationships with friends. I am so so thankful to have friends who understand and love me despite the ways in which I've changed; the friends who understand that it might take me a week to return a phone call or that I email instead of calling back; the friends who get that I'm now totally out of the loop on celebrity gossip, and genuinely seem to want to know what Audia is up to these days and care about what's important to me in my life now.
But it has been hard to see the distance increase between myself and some friends; friends who don't get why I can't meet up for drinks at night or take it personally if I don't return their phone calls the same day. I do my best to explain that it isn't because I don't want to. But some of them kind of force you to weed them out of your life. For example, one friend went as far as to send me a nasty email saying how angry (their word) they were that not only did I not call back within a day, but they were angry that I texted them saying that conversing via email would be easier at the moment. (would they rather I not respond to their voicemail at all??) This person did not even give me the benefit of the doubt that perhaps my life was really that busy at the moment. I get that it is hard for a non-parent to fully grasp how time consuming parenting (not to mention, attachment parenting, specifically) a baby who, at the time, was simultaneously teething AND going through a growth spurt AND experiencing a sleep regression can be. Not to mention that it was the week we were MOVING! (which this friend knew) But to be angry without even asking what's going on? And then to say that their friendship obviously isn't a priority?? Sorry, you're right. It's not a priority over my daughter. Nor will it ever be.

I know I'm not the first parent to feel somewhat isolated. Or to be simultaneously hurt by the changes in relationships, and glad to see who my real friends are. There truly is no better way to test a friendship than to become a parent. Maybe some of those friends who are drifting will come around once they have kids of their own. Maybe not. Maybe things'll get "back to normal" once Audia's a little older. Maybe not. Not all of my friends who are parents "get" my choice of parenting style, and thus not all of them "get" why I can't call them up while Audia's sleeping. But most of them are more understanding than most of my non-parent friends.

Regardless of these growing pains, though, it goes without saying that I wouldn't change any of it. I truly believe that Audia is the sweet, loving, cuddly, smart, happy little girl that she is because we've taken the road that we have. She is the most important thing in my life, and if I have to watch a few friends walk away because of that, so be it.

August 9, 2009

11 Months

Yesterday was Audia's 11 Month birthday!
According to my parents' scale, she's still 21 lbs (again, it doesn't show oz unfortunately). She's measuring at 30 and 3/4 inches tall. That puts her at the 75th percentile for weight and the 97th percentile for height.

Chris left today for Chicago. He'll be there all week, helping his dad at the shop with a larger job. He'll be driving back to MN Friday after work, then heading out there for another week on Sunday. It's good in that he's getting paid to do it, and he'll be able to spend some time with his parents and grandmothers, but it goes without saying that Audia and I will miss him terribly. We've gotten very used to having him around, even if some of the time he is working, it's been so nice to share all 3 meals and go for a walk with him every day.