Second wedding

N was best man in his good friend's wedding today. Fun was had by all.

Glasses

We finally got the Miraflex glasses after almost a month of trying to get the correct size for her head. She doesn't keep them on just yet but I'm hoping with time she'll get better.

Hi Ho Hi Ho its off to work we go

Today I have spent a great deal of time researching different activities and events we can participate in. I live in a very small area and we don't have much in the way of variety. So I have to broaden my search at least two hours away from home.  By broadening the search I was able to find two children's museums, a botanical garden, two zoos and lots of baby friendly activities.

My calendar at work is full of festivals, free kid days, sign language classes and a family movie nights through December. What I really want is to start participating in pageants however I work on Saturdays and its more difficult to attend what is generally an all day affair.

Year 2

N and I celebrated our two year anniversary yesterday. We boogied over to Savannah to have dinner at Ruth's Chris Steak House (which was OK). It was our first time eating at Ruth's Chris and while the dining experience was pleasurable, the food was only so-so and I would not return. While there celebrating we met another couple who decided to celebrate their 36th anniversary, they called our two years baby years. They were great to talk to and gave us good sound advice on how to keep going for another 34 years (minus the four children of course). Their biggest suggestion of course was communication and always considering how your actions affect your spouse and your family unit. They still seemed so excited to be in each others company even though they have spent over three decades together. I love seeing obviously happy couples, it makes my cold heart melt.

Last year for our anniversary, we spent the day in the NICU with Natty and then had a quick bite at Outback just to say we "celebrated" but our celebration was not in good spirits. I was depressed and wanted my baby to be home and healthy not hooked up to machines and sick. It felt great this year for my prayer to be true. I was able to go out and enjoy a few hours with N while Natty stayed with her Aunty T and apparently munched on chicken, bread and a nutragrain bar AND drank out of a straw. She is learning so quickly and surprises me every day.

Stuffing last year at MUSC

Yesterday was also Natalia's Name Day which we celebrate as something special just for her especially since it fell on our anniversary (dumb luck) and with her being a preemie I like to do special little things for her. Last summer I worked with an intern from Poland who started shortly after Natty was born and her name was Natalia as well. She explained the importance of Name Days in her native Poland and I thought it would be something neat to do especially for Natty being in hospital at the time. I have continued the tradition this year and purchased her first doll, Lucy.  I found Lucy on Pottery Barn Kids and fell in love with her instantly. She is just the perfect size (fits in the palm of my hand) and small enough for Natty to handle on her own. She did not like Lucy yesterday when I presented her but this morning she did play with her, she figured out that Lucy's leg fit in her mouth and is a perfect chew toy for the 4 teeth she has coming in on top.

First Birthday

Stuffing turned one on June 16th and had her first cupcake, she was in heaven!

She had a small party at daycare, then dinner at Outback and her birthday party the following Sunday. Fun times

Some pictures from Nassau, The Bahamas

Mostly of Stuffing

Girls just wanna have fun

I love nail polish, manicures, pedicures, facials, hair, make up and well all things girly. This of course had taken a back seat to all things mommy through neglect on my part. First it was the stress of the NICU, then being home with a premature infant as well as being a first time parent and guilt I felt over my daughter's start in life.

It's not something that every preemie parent goes through but it is something that I went through and still am dealing with today. Looking through pictures of myself on Facebook and even just through the house I realized how much I'd flat out given up on. My hair was a mess, tangles, knots, split ends on top of my spilt ends, breakage etc. My face was abysmal, my feet look like I make a profession of walking in powder. I really am not perturbed by my weight just yet so i'll give that a miss.

My husband has never said a word except when I wear a bun but he despises buns on general principle. My mother on the other hand made it her life's mission to inquire what was wrong, why was I not doing XYZ anymore. She never failed to mention that I used to take such good care of myself and now I did the bare minimum (brush my teeth and use deoderent). I now realize she wasn't being malicious she was being honest. I did take care of and pampered myself rotten. My outward appearance was a reflection of how much I loved myself. If my husband wanted to make my day just bring home a bottle of new nail polish and my eyes would glaze over. Now I can't even be bothered.

Have my priorities shifted? Absolutely. Does that mean I can't continue my girly pampering? Absolutely not! I just have to take the time out to remember to focus on me. My beauty rituals were never long but they aided in my relaxation down time. It's time to love me again, one nail at a time.

Currently Reading

Head Over Heels by Jill Mansell

"Welcome to being a Mommy"

I had plans to head to Atlanta for the long holiday weekend but on Friday daycare called my husband to let him know that Stuffing had diarrhea and needed to be picked up right away. So there went out weekend of cooking out, the Aquarium and the park. I was in no way comfortable taking a 5 hour drive with her in the back seat and diarrhea. So we've been home all weekend so she can recuperate. Of course I call my BFF bka my mummy and her sage words were "Well kids, welcome to being a mommy, you do what's best for your baby and nothing less. I'm so proud of the woman and mother you're becoming"

I love mummy a thousand times over, but my reasons for not going were no where near so altruistic. The thought of having to scrub her and the car seat down with a couple bottles of Deer Park water was not appealing. So I'll try for another trip later in the summer. I really do want to eventually make it to the Aquarium because I've never been and I hear rave reviews.

Being Natalia's mother is great and I can roll with the sacrifices for her because I generally don't see it as a sacrifice. Any excuse to spend 3 days in bed or the sofa being bums together is actually a high lite in my life. Dropping her off at day care 5 mornings week is the bigger sacrifice. Vacations come and go.