Oatmeal

Babywearing.
Co-Sleeping.
Attachment Parenting.
Love and Logic.

And now...
Cloth Diapers.

I am well on my way to becoming a "hippie-freak."
I never thought (I mean never) that I would even be considering cloth diapers.

After being referred to Traci's blog by Emily, I've not only considered, I've basically decided.
All I need to do is talk it over with my husband.
(He hates surprises being sprung on him. He also loves being an active decision-maker when it comes to choices concerning his precious girl. Yay me for marrying a winner!)

I'm so excited to tell him what I've learned that I am waiting-up for him, so to speak. He gets up for work in two hours and since I indulged in a diet pepsi with dinner last night, Kellie has had no interest in sleeping the past three or so hours. She has wanted nothing more than to stare into my eyes and give me half smiles while she puzzles out what it is I'm trying to convey to her through my raspberry-blowing and kissy-faces.

To be frank, I'm not quite sure that I know what it is I'm trying to say...

On an un-related topic, braces are a no-go.
Those of you who know me know that this is the way I work.
I jump headfirst into big decisions.
Once I find myself alone with my thoughts, I actually think about what it is I am committing to.
I want braces. I really really do!
But I want other things more than I want braces. And until they've reached the top of my priority list, I'm holding off.

Also, they are about 4,000 smackers less in the lower 48.

Our tour is up in two years.
Can I wait? Yes. Should I wait? Yes. Do I want to wait? No.
But I will so I can have/do the following:

Go hog-wild at Honk's One Dollar during my visit to the lower 48. (There are no dollar stores in the great state of Alaska.)
Buy a BIG gift for Baby Gudgel.
Start a savings account for Kellie's college tuition.
A television set that doesn't buzz.
A shiny new motherboard for my sweet man.
Three hours of beauty pampering minus the guilt.

I want all of those things. And I want them without going into debt.
I can do that, if I don't go into debt for braces.

The minimum payment on braces would eat up all of the remaining money on our budget plan. Which means anything we want to do/buy above and beyond what I budget for (And that's not much in the way of fun stuff) would be on a credit card.
It seems silly to have credit card debt so quickly after paying it off.

If I have any control over it, I'd like to remain credit card debt-free until I die.

Week 2

I think I'm getting lucky.
Because I'm still only loosely following any kind of plan.
But it feels great to see lower numbers!

Week's Loss: -1.4
Total Loss: -2.4

Pounds To Go: 39.4

BraceFace

I'm having braces put on...again.
The year before I got married,
I had braces on my top teeth only.
(I had a snaggle tooth)
Now I'm going all-in.
It's expensive to get braces!
Wednesday is the day!
(Not tomorrow, next week.)

Latch On, Latch Off

Kellie and I had breastfeeding down. We really did.
Then we introduced the binky, pacifier, passy, nuk...
Our downfall.
After multiple sessions of trial and error and a few days of frustration and pain, I looked up "nipple confusion" on the La Leche League website.
Using their techniques for a perfect latch, we got it!
Turns out, we didn't have it down the first time around.
We had it well enough for Kellie to get milk.
But not well enough for her to feel full for more than an hour.
After our first successful latch, she happily slept for over three hours!
Since then, we've enjoyed several successful feedings and several hours in-between each session.
Yay for progress!

Week 1

I don't deserve it.
I followed "Laura's Plan" more than the Core plan this week.
But I'll take it!

Week's Loss: -1.0
Pounds To Go: 40.8

Three Things I Love About 2007

We have a beautiful baby girl.

Our credit card debt is paid off (Finally!).

I'm going home to Utah for a much-needed visit.

Breastfeeding

No counting.

Feeling Full.

Flexibility.

Three things I love about the Weight Watchers Core Plan.

Call me crazy, but I don't think I look big either. I weigh the most I have ever weighed in my lifetime...but I don't feel it. I feel like a normal-sized me. We all know that's not true since the numbers don't lie. I mean, come on! My right thigh is as big around as my waist used to be! (28 inches, in case you were wondering.)

So I thought about it. In my pictures, no one sees my rump. And I don't have any mirrors set up low enough for me to see it. I am wearing my old shirts (breastfeeding permitting) but I had to buy new pants. Can you believe I wear a size 16?? That's a women's size 16. Not a juniors, like I used to wear. I can't even squeeze my trunk into a junior's size. (Too much junk)

Because I have the big boobs that go hand in hand with breastfeeding, I merely look balanced and proportionate. In the past, I've never had the boobs to balance out the butt. So I say yay! for breastfeeding. May it be long-lived and as full of perks (pun intended) tomorrow as it is today!

Ready

I'm committed.
I am ready to be back in my pre-pregnancy,
pre-Alaska,
post-BMT body.

Inspired by Heather's new blog -I can do it!-
I'll be posting my weekly weigh-in.

Start Weight: 176.8
Ten Percent Goal: -17.7

Goal Weight: 135
Pounds To Go: 41.8

My Baby Is Asleep. Am I?

It's 1:30 a.m. Do you know where your kid is?

Mine is sleeping...peacefully. At least, the baby monitor would have me believe so. Kellie and Brian are passed out in bed and I'm up and alert and ready to clean.

It's not that I particularly want to clean. I just find myself wired when Kellie is ready for some deep sleep.

I'm hoping this is a temporary trend that will pass. Until that time, I'm updating my blog!

A few things-
I really do intend to send out -Thank You- cards for the wonderful and thoughtful gifts we recieved for Christmas. I just hope I get them out before Christmas '07

I'm fascinated by every little thing my daughter does.

Terra and I joined Costco. We had this elaborate plan to pretend we were a lesbian couple if they refused to let us join while living in seperate houses. Thank goodness they didn't have a strict policy regarding household status. We were prepared to rattle off each others' addresses to prove we lived together!

Costco has an 800+ count pack of the wipes I use for Kellie. I've been obsessing over them. I've wanted to run back and buy them ever since we left. It's unhealthy. Kellie still has plenty of wipes. (No, I'm not using paper towels to wipe her bottom yet!)

I'm coming home to Utah in May! My Dad is turning the big 5-0 and he and Mutti (Ruthie) are using their miles to fly me out and helping us to pay for Brian's ticket. I'll be there for about 3-4 weeks. I'm super stoked!

Kellie has grown into her 3 month clothes... I'm not sure if I'm happy or sad about this. Sad that I remember her preemie clothes being too big for her. Happy that she has a whole new wardrobe to wear. And you know MaMa loves to play dress-up!

Finally, I am going to Costco tomorrow. I am getting those wipes. I'm having my hair colored/cut tomorrow. I may have to talk Brian into tagging along. I'm trying to figure out how I'm going to hold Kellie while I'm wearing a cape. Can't hold her outside of it...she might get hair or hair color in her eyes...

Something Pleasant

Kellie is sick so we have to run the shower on the hottest water and breastfeed in the humid bathroom. It helps to clear up her congestion.
She got so hot that she was sweating and I noticed that her hair was curling.
My baby's hair was curling!
I wished all my life for curls or waves or some semblance of body. I'm so glad my daughter got what I always wanted.
Now, I know it could still fall out and grow back as pin-straight as my hair. But she has a glimmer of hope for some body, baby!
She snuggled on her Daddy's chest after her sauna.

The crazy picture below is my best capture of her waves. She was such a good sport for all of this. Normally she puts up quite a fuss for clothing/diaper changes.

(The picture I have of her looking at the camera has red-eye and my photo editor doesn't recognize her red eye. Who knows...)

Fizzle Pop Pop

I'm an organization enthusiast.
I get things done.
I get them down on-time.
I plan ahead.
I count my eggs.

For Christmas, I did nothing for Brian. Nothing.

For New Year's Eve, I planned nothing.

Our anniversary was yesterday. What did we do? Nothing.

I could never have planned for the non-planning that being a parent brings. I've never felt so scattered. It's worth every minute of feeling like I'm grasping at air when trying to form a coherent thought.

Nothing could have prepared me for this state of mind. Nothing.

Missed a Flight

We missed the flight! Delta rescheduled for exactly 24 hours later at no extra charge (thank goodness!). As Terra put it, we got a bonus day. Still, saying goodbye for real was terribly difficult.

Having my Mom and PaPa here was wonderful to say the least. My blogging attention span has been severely compromised due to lack of sleep. I'd promise to put details up soon, but it may take a while. So don't hold your breath.

We used some of our bonus time to set up my Mom's blog. The link is on the right. It's titled "Life and It's Many Implications." I'm sure she'll add more when she gets home.