Finally our house permit is CLOSED!!

Final inspection conducted today and if you have ever had a building inspector come by you know there is a 50/50 chance he is in a good mood. We got the same guy who did our mid renovation inspection and he was brief and quick. Thank goodness! He saw the outer work and commented on trim and made sure we had carbon monoxide detectors in the house. Oh happy day!! Check that off the list as a job well done husband!

Mommy classes

Finally made it to my first mommy class. It was ironically about sleep training, a topic that Brent and I talk a lot about lately. We moved Evy to her big crib from the cosleeper at 3 months and the first few nights she slept 6-7 hours straight. Then she started fluctuating between 3, 4, and 5 hours. Every time she awakens I get up and nurse her, change her, and nurse her back to sleep. I let her chat for a little bit before picking her up but I don't let her cry. I learned today that maybe I should let her cry for awhile because she is learning that I will pick her up and nurse or rock her to sleep every time and she won't be able to fall asleep on her own. Eye opener! Brent has been wanting to let her cry it out before me but I don't have the iron stomach he does to hear baby wail. Kim- the instructor- said combo Ferber method with some crying it out is good for babies. Maybe just sit in room with them and let them fuss and gradually move the chair farther and farther away. At first they can smell you and see you so that helps them not feel abandoned. A gal was there who had a 7 month old who goes to bed at 630p! Evy goes down around 9p. I guess we should move it up- we tried around 8 last night to put her down and she was wide awake and talking to me as well as fussy. She has been sleeping between 10-14 hours a night and her naps are super inconsistent during the day. 

Let the sleep training commence!

Questions for better relationships

This is a great article for asking thought provoking questions to your loved ones to let them know you listen, know them, and that you care. That way you get thoughtful answers. 

http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/4618254

One of my favorite things

One of my favorite things is watching Brent with Evy. He took a nap with her today and I was able to go thru my scrapbook paper pads so I could purge them. I cleared 1/3 of the paper I own as something to give away or sell. When she woke up he played with her on his lap. This picture is from that encounter. She was smiling at him almost the whole time.

We went on a hike with Maggie and Ashley and her dogs today at Shell Ridge Open Space. It was a tough 3.2 mile hike especially with the 40 lbs of stroller and baby, but we all did great and Maggie got her wiggles out. This baby weight isn't going to come off by itself so I have to out in the time and hustle. Speaking of; I'm signing up for a trail run 5k tonight for March. That should give me enough time to train a little. 

Mellow evening tonight. Last night we did a mini date night since I put the baby to bed by 10p and we watched Pacific Rim movie. Eventually we will get her in bed by 7 or 8p and be able to hang out more. One of the bad things about living in a house built in the 1950s is that the hardwood that is original upstairs creaks to no end. So when we go to bed it's a crapshoot if we will wake her up or not. So far so good though. 

Started it and I'm feeling better already

Even as I put the first few photos into the sleeves I feel like I am accomplishing something. I relieve moments of my firstborn's birth seeing those images and wonder what I want to journal about those first few days meeting her and the journey just to get her. 

I can't wait for Brent to include his thoughts from those days and someday when she is older, for us to show the album to her. 

For now she lies sleeping in the crib in the other upstairs room...  We had dinner at our neighbors' home she fussed almost the entire time. We decided to try winding her down for bed earlier than the normal 10p. She fussed during one whole feeding while daddy read to her from Shel Silversteins "Where the Sidewalk Ends."  

It's 1130p and I keep thinking she'll awaken and need me. My "me" time is now though and after my few moments of putting her Project Life album together (which for now is more for me than her) and blogging this post, I'll continue reading The Book Thief on my kindle and sign off. 

Nap time is so productive some days

I was able to clean countertops, sanitize pump parts, bottles and teethers, do laundry, clean countertops, do dishes, make breakfast, and clean the stove today. I even made more of my vanilla extract to give away. The final one I ran out of vodka so I used Jack Daniels - that will be a fun edition to baking :). 

Relief

We were dog sitting this weekend and frankly I'm relieved the weekend is over. Our house seems too small for two 75 lb dogs and a baby with all her gear. Plus I did not set up the dual kennels so I didn't leave the house for three days. Literally only walked outside to fill the dog dish with water and get the Sunday paper. Sad. 

I'm dying to go to Michael's and Jo-ann to pick up some things for the mobile I'm making for Evelyn and for a new type of scrapbooking I plan on trying.  Tomorrow I should be able to run errands with my little lady. 

I'm also being asked by my work to do small project financial updates here and there. I would feel better about it if I was getting paid vs being on maternity leave.  

I feel busy enough that I haven't been able to get my Tiny Prints planner updated/transferred from the old planner with special events and appointments and info yet. A task for tomorrow. 

Re-Inspired

I'm finding myself re-inspired by scrapbookers I used to follow in 1998 when I was in college: Stacy Julian, Becky Higgins, Ali Edwards, Cathy Zielske, Heidi Swapp, etc. maybe two years ago I found out via Instagram that Ali is big sister to a classmate I had in high school. I am astounded that it's been so long that their kids are going to college or just seems so grown. 

I remember scrapbooking Morgan's birth in 1999 and I remember being there on her first birthday- now she's in high school. I remember going to Chalce's sixth birthday party and having her be my flower girl at age six. She is 13 now; or is it 14? It will be something that blows my mind when Evelyn goes through those same changes. 

I am hoping to be able to scrapbook Evelyn's first years without getting too far behind. I will try using Project Life products that should make it easy to quickly scrap and journal for me and Evy to flip thru memories when she gets bigger- no adhesives required. It is going to take a while for me to purchase all the products because I refuse to pay full price. I'm getting items at Michael's and maybe Amazon.  

I spent some time today backing up all my iPhone pictures of Evelyn and everything else. I also ordered a ton of prints for the scrapbook mentioned above. I realized that Shutterfly is robbing people on shipping charges! Regardless I'm excited to get moving on this task while I still have 5 weeks of maternity leave left. 

3 months!

Time is flying. She is learning more hand eye coordination, babbling a lot and being quite loud like her mom, and learning to sleep thru

the night in her big crib. 

Stuff I use a lot right now: diapers, wipes, stroller toys and a couple soft blocks/balls, her Fisher Price Rock-n-play sleeper, activity mat, strollers for day walks, boppy, swaddle blankets, and I love putting pajamas on her and socks on her feet. We love her Munchkin projector and noise machine. I have barely used diaper cream and don't use lanolin anymore; too bad I bought loads of both. We have a bottle warmer we never use. We have tons of bottles and formula we haven't used -some were freebies from the dr and others we bought. She doesn't use pacifiers so we have several unused ones. 

Lunch in SF

Evy and I ventured into the city to have lunch with Matt and Nicole at Cafe Bastille. We met at Brent's office and everyone got to see Evy for the first time so there was a lot of oohs and ahs. 

Ask and you shall receive

Well it doesn't hurt to ask right? My boss is luckily very understanding being as she is a working mother herself and it was a positive lunch meeting. Now I just have to decide how much more time I want to take. I won't get this time with Evy back right so I need to take advantage of a business that will allow me to cherish her first months of life. Can't wait to see how she changes next. 

Hunger Games March 23

I was just chatting with a friend who knew all the cast members and what movies they had already been in. So I decided to educate myself on the www.hungergamesmovie.com to work it all out. I can't wait for this movie to come out.

February 24-26, 2012 - Cabin

Nice quiet weekend away at the cabin. Finished one Kindle Single book: The Longest Run and started the Underland Chronicles by Suzanne Collins. Ate some deliciious ribs, bacon and drinks. Had a blast with the Appel's and Koch's.

We need a cabin.

February 10 - Midnight Release

I did it. I went to Target and picked up my copy of Twilight Breaking Dawn Part 1 with all the other moms and tweenies. And I AM SO HAPPY I DID! I had the blast the next day watching a Twilight 4-movie marathon with Brian's gf Ashley. I can't wait to do it all over again when Part 2 comes out. CAN'T WAIT.

do you guys know how to post videos to...

I did it. I deactivated my facebook account. Tired of having someone say I shouldn't post this or that.

January 27-29, Arnold, Ca

Went to Arnold, Ca today - it's about 2.5 hours west and north of where I live. We went to my friend's cabin. I want a cabin. It was nice being away from our house. Quiet mountain air, good food, and a puzzle that beguiled me at every turn. I love puzzles. That puzzle derailed all the other brain activities I had planned on doing: reading a book, studying for the PMP exam. Didn't do either one. Didn't want to come back to civilization.

But if I win the lottery (cardinal problem here is that I don't buy a ticket ever, but regardless) I will buy a cabin in the woods; somewhere near a lake. And I will spend the majority of my days there. When I'm not there, I'm going to be at a beach - baking my skin and reading a book.

Day 18: I am not complaing and I want a gift.

Hopefully I addressed the questions in your last post. I think we should start a Black history month tradition of getting each other gifts. It only makes sense. We've been friends for over 10 years now. That means you are a part of my life thus through commonsensical deductive reasoning, you are part of Black history too. Let's do it. The catch is the gift has to be hand-made. The hand-made gift can be representative of the hard-work and laboring of my people (too much?).

I think now is a good time to segue.

Speaking of awkward, I had my first Corporate Finance class last night. I have no business being in this class. This stuff is so over my head. I need the class to graduate so I have to take it. To add fuel to my shame the class is beyond pretentious. It almost felt couture. Students were formally introducing themselves to the professor as they walked into the class. The woman sitting in front of me had a Hermes bag that I am sure cost more than what I pay in rent for the year. My professor lectured the enitire time with a fedora on. He looked like he was going to meet the president after class. At one point he said, "It is so German to me. You know, German, the one language I don't know." People actually laughed at that. WTF! I only speak two languages English and ebonics (and I still struggle with English and don't really know ebonics). The class also has state-of-art computer equipment but you would never know because they kept everything so quaint like Sam Adams built it yesterday. Whatever. I will make it but you should know that my thursday nights are about to get real.

WOW- first 2 posts and you're already complaining?

1. you don't need to think of blogging having rules; specifically this one doesn't.
2. it'd be nice if you posted something every day but it's not that feasible to remember.
3. marriage complicates things? you're crazy. all relationships complicate things.

So I had a crazy day that culminated in a meeting where my client was berated by her boss for a good 15 minutes in front of me and my coworkers. Can you say awkward? Luckily coworkers suggested going to happy hour afterward.

the distance between our two addresses is 3109 miles; not airport to airport. and by miles when you come to see me, you mean the one time you came to SF wth Dave? What happened to just you and me hanging out and doing a road trip sometime?? let's do that.

I just saw a commercial for a movie: Ghost Rider 2? Really? wasn't the first one enough of a bomb not to do a second one? Bleh.

on the note of getting you a black history gift, isn't my friendship enough? give it a couple days before you blurt out a response.

Day 17: Am I suppose to write that every time?

I am having a semi-ADHD moment (maybe more than semi) but you get me, right? Am I suppose to write Day 17 at the top of every post? There are so many rules. This is confining-like an itchy but obnoxiously cute merino jenna cardigan from jcrew-it kind of bothers you but you wear it because you know you look good in it (that was a subtle Black history month gift hint-you're getting me something, right? You know I got you something for Scottish Asian month).

I am in the midst of reading about recasting asset distortions for my Business Analysis and Valuation course so I am easily distracted. Every time I read the word "asset," I giggle. I know right? But my professor is taller than sequoia tree so he has scared me into studying.

This is my latest study distraction (and new favorite blog):

Hey Girl. I like the library too. http://librarianheygirl.tumblr.com/

Hey Girl. I like NPR http://nprheygirl.tumblr.com/

For V-Day, I am going to print them out and send them as valentines. Hopefully this will convey a blatant message that I am still OVERTLY single and my friends need to start HOOKING ME UP.

Day 17. (Do I have to end every blog like that? Rules. Rules. Rules.)

What's this 3,109 Miles?

Is that how many miles are between us because that is not how many miles I get on my credit card when I visit you on the other side of the world (and by that I mean California). I will be calling JetBlue first thing tomorrow. No one cuts me out.

So I know that I am lame and that I am late to blogging. I am going to pull out my CP card on this one. We are always late, right? I thought it would be fitting for my first 3,109 miles blog to be a visual testament to how insanely compatible we are as friends.

That's right, Brent. Your wife and I are compatible. Like sugar on rice. Wait...am I the only one that eats rice like that? It doesn't matter only a special person could put up with my antics-that is one Miss Heather Wollenburg (I just had to look on Facebook to see how to spell your last name, Kerr just works for me. It's easy to remember. This just goes to show you that marriage complicates things).