Here we go!

It's been awhile! How are ya? This is our almost 4 month old daughter, Violet. We went out for dinner last night at Pizzeria Otto after running a few errands. We enjoyed the white pizza with mushrooms and a meat & cheese board, along with some really old trivial pursuit questions.  She didn't have the best experience on the way home, as she's been battling a cold for a few days. Luckily, a little nursing and infant Tylenol calmed her down. It's really tough to see your child in pain and not be able to cure what ails them entirely. I've been needing a creative outlet since returning to work, and I've been meaning to write here for awhile. This will be a good place to keep a to do list as well.

- start filling out the baby book

- order photos from snapfish

- send photos to sister

- look into Clark's baking program

- figure out budget with Andy to see if  going to school and quitting work is feasible

- crochet hat for Violet

One more for the road. Isn't she the cutest?! 

Maternity Leave

I have this slew of posts that I'd written, saved, and never published. Here's a recent post from my first day of maternity leave, back on May 18, 2015. I would only be pregnant for another 8 days as Miss Violet entered the world on May 27! Now that will be a fun post to share; her birth story!

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It's officially my first day of maternity leave. I slept in (if you can call it that) until almost 11am after a very typical as-of-late broken night of sleep which generally includes using all my energy to roll over, get out of bed, and use the toilet several times a night. I also got up for about 45 minutes to eat and drink some water, as I was super dehydrated after losing my dinner last night. Baby was kicking my stomach after dinner which led to quite a bit of nausea. I thought dinner was great, but I guess she didn't care for the pulled pork, slaw, and bean salad. After relaxing in a recliner for bit, I felt the urge to start briskly walking around my in-laws' neighborhood. The contractions had started before the walk, continued as we walked, and then continued through the evening. And for the most part, settled down and stopped by the time we got home. Thanks, prodromal labor!

I've been having labor symptoms since last Wednesday. Although I had planned to work until labor began, the overall exhaustion was hindering my productivity levels. Thankfully, I've saved quite a bit of sick and vacation time to cover my leave, and my short-term disability check will help as well. Thanks, Obama! Now if only all parents could have paid FMLA and not  exhaust all other benefits to make ends meet while caring for their child! That's a rant for another day.