Home on the Range

A Competitive Streak

noreply@blogger.com (Cat) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 17:35:00 +0000

I've been running quite a lot lately. It helps me to clear my mind and have some unadulterated "Me Time" away from Truman, Craig, The Cancer, work, and the daily grind, in general.

I ran my first 5K four years ago this weekend- the Jingle Bell 5K in Milwaukee. That was the first time that I RAN a whole race, without stopping to walk. That first year included quite a few milestones: my first duathlon- the Coulee Duathlon, my first 10K- Revols 10K in Cleveland (where I set a PR pace of 9:31/mi), and my first triathlon- the Danskin. I kept running through 2007, although my times got progressively worse leading up to the Madison Half Marathon in May 2007 (which I ran at a 12:11/mile pace).

Then, I don't know what happened. Life, I guess. I ran, but it was much more recreationally than for speed or fitness. When I got pregnant last year, I got it in my head that I would do a triathlon this fall and that goal would help me to lose the baby weight from my pregnancy. Well, The Cancer came instead and suddenly I couldn't see how I would find time to bike and swim, let alone run. But I DID find time to run. And do a boot camp this summer. And, what do you know, I lost that baby weight. Suddenly, the thought of training for a race didn't seem so far fetched.

Around this time, a girlfriend of mine who's a personal trainer (Hi, Julie!) mentioned that she was going to run the White Rock Lake Half Marathon. "Hmmmm....," I thought, "I've run a half marathon before. I bet I could do it again if I put my mind to it." A dream was born.

I've been gradually building up my distance and ran a 7 miler one morning during the first week of Craig's treatment. It was pretty much by accident. Truman woke me up at 4am. He went back to sleep but I couldn't. So, I figured, "Why not get up and go for a run? And since I'm hitting the pavement early, I've got time to go a little bit further than I usually do." And it felt great.

This morning, I did a 10K (6.2 miles) race with the goal of just getting my time back under a 12:00/mile pace. Mile 1- I ran about 10:45. I thought, "Maybe I should slow down a little so I don't wear myself out. But I feel pretty good, maybe I can keep this up." Each mile marker after that, I realized that not only was I NOT running 12 minute miles, but I was running 11 minute miles. And I kept that pace pretty steady through the whole race, finishing in 1:07:14.83. For those keeping track, that is a 10:59/mile pace!

I am ELATED!

I didn't just meet my goal, I kicked it's ass to the curb.

It feels so good to challenge myself again. To have something to look forward to and TRAIN for. It's so much different that just going out for a run because I know I need the exercise. I'm going out for a run because I need to build up my strength and endurance for the next race.

And, speaking of the next race, the "big" one is ony 5 weeks away:
Thanksgiving Day, 11/26: Turkey Trot (8 miler)
12/5: White Rock Lake Half Marathon (13.1 miles)

I guess this means that I'll have to find something else to train for after that, too. For now, I think I'll have to stick to running, since it's the easiest thing for me to fit in to my life at the moment. Maybe I'll try to keep improving my pace and endurance and do a full marathon next year. Wow. Never thought that would ever even be a POSSIBILITY.

It feels so good to dream.

Recap of Day 1 of Cancer Treatment

noreply@blogger.com (Cat) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 14:43:00 +0000

Thank you to everyone who has been praying for Craig. Yesterday, he started Interferon treatment for his skin cancer. While he did well in the clinic, he got VERY sick once we got home...terrible chills, throwing up, etc. I was worried. But then we got some of his prescription meds in him, put him to bed and let him rest. When he woke up around 9pm last night, he looked MUCH better. This morning, he was pretty much back to his normal self, aside from a nasty headache.

Today is Day Two of treatment. We've learned to bring food that he can snack on and keep his strength up during the 2.5 hours it takes to get his full treatment. He'll be here every day for 2.5 hours from Monday-Friday for 4 weeks. Then, he'll be able to take injectable meds at home 3 times a week for 11 months after that.

This is a long journey we're on. Please continue praying for him. Pray that:
*He doesn't get sick every day and stays relatively healthy.
*He is able to continue his MBA course on Tuesday nights.
*He is able to continue working.
*His spirits stay high.
*We all stay strong together as a family unit.

We'll continue to keep you up-to-date!

Truman 9 Month Update

noreply@blogger.com (Cat) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 13:28:00 +0000

Somehow in the craziness of life the last couple of months, I forgot to post a 9-month Truman update. Oops. I'm a terrible parent. So sue me.

He's now 21 pounds and 29 inches long. That puts him at the 75 percentile for both height and weight and he's at the 90th percentile for his head circumfrence. I think this bodes well for him being a highly intelligent and well-functioning boy.

He's getting FAST. Truman has successfully climbed both flights of stairs to the second story multiple times (supervised, of course). He flies around the house in his walker. We have to be careful to keep the bathroom doors closed or else we'll walk in on him playing with his favorite toy: toilet paper, strewn all about the bathroom.

He's an expert crawler and really would like to walk. I think that's coming soon.

He LOVES music, especially the piano and drums. Every Tuesday, he takes a Kindermusik class with our nanny and just loves the interaction and the music. I'm thinking that some good fun drums are in his future for Christmas.

He's becoming vocal, but has yet to say his first discernable word. Once he starts talking, though, LOOK OUT! This one has got things to say!

Fortunately, he seems relatively unphased by all that's been going on in the house with the stress and anxiety about Craig's cancer. If anything, he's been especially SPOILED with all of the visitors we've had.

While it's been nice to have so many visitors, it will also be nice once Craig starts treatment on Monday to have an excuse to just shut the rest of the world out and hibernate for a bit. To be a family unit and spend some time together, just the three of us.

Mystery Revealed

noreply@blogger.com (Cat) — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 03:22:00 +0000

There’s no delicate way to say this, so let’s just be out with it already, shall we?

Craig just posted on his blog.

I’ve been pretty evasive on Facebook. Asking for prayers (and fervent prayers, at that), but not quite spelling out what those prayer are for.

Well, let me tell you what they’re for: For life. For a good life. For a long life. For a healthy life. For my husband.

Because about a month ago, Craig was diagnosed with skin cancer: malignant melanoma . When you first look it up, the first thing you’ll read is that it’s the least common of the skin cancers but also the most deadly. Scary, for sure. In the last month, we’ve learned a bit more than that. We now know that it is Stage IIIa- which is both a blessing and even more terrifying at the same time.

Let’s back up a bit, shall we?

In August, Craig was scheduled to go in for his annual physical. While there, he asked about a mole on the back of his left calf. He’d had it checked out by a dermatologist when we were in Florida a couple of years ago, but she said that it was nothing. A friend of ours, who is an OB/GYN at Baylor here in Dallas, mentioned during a golf game this summer that he really should have it removed. So when the doctor said that it was nothing but wanted to remove a DIFFERENT mole, Craig insisted that he also biopsy the one he was worried about.
Less than a week later, the results of the biopsy showed that the tumor the doctor was worried about was benign (nothing to worry about). But the one that Craig insisted he biopsy was, indeed, skin cancer.

Lesson #1: Always trust your gut.

The next day, we both used our frienemy, The Internet, to learn more about “Malignant Melanomas” and promptly scared ourselves. Craig coped (and continues to cope) by telling inappropriate jokes. I coped by drinking copious amounts of alcohol (and am working on coping by running). Life goes on.

Lesson #2: The Internet is not always your friend.

Once it was confirmed as skin cancer, he was referred to a plastic surgeon (to remove the tumor) and a general surgeon (to remove the sentinel lymph node in his groin to see if the cancer had spread). After some headaches around scheduling around vacations, two separate surgeons and Labor Day weekend, Craig finally had his first surgery on Wednesday, September 16th.

He had to learn how to use crutches because of the chunk that they took out of his leg and he was on some nice narcotic pain meds for a few days, but he did fairly well with the surgery.

At this point, we were really hoping that we were mostly done with this ordeal. We had caught the cancer early enough that it hadn’t spread and could just deal with Stage II.

Six days later, we got the results of the biopsy of the sentinel lymph node. The cancer had spread.

This is where I break in the story to tell you how amazing our support network of friends surrounded us with love and prayer. I was beside myself. I know Craig was taking the news pretty rough as well. But in the midst of it all, we had friends praying over us for strength, for recovery, for healing. And you know what?

Lesson #3: Prayer works!

Back in to surgery on Wednesday, September 23rd to remove the rest of the lymph nodes. Alfredo flew in from Milwaukee (after a summer-long world tour) to support us post-surgery and a former neighbor and friend stayed with me until Craig got out of surgery. The recovery from this surgery was a bit rougher, but Craig still did incredibly well.

On Tuesday of this week, we got the results of the second surgery: The cancer hadn’t spread beyond the sentinel lymph node.

Today, we met with the oncologist and discussed treatment. Craig will be on a month-long 5-day a week intensive in-clinic Interferon treatment followed by 11 months of 3 times a week in-home Interferon treatments. We have at least another year before life starts resembling ‘normal’ again.

We have referrals to a dermatologist to get a baseline ‘normal’ for his existing skin conditions and a urologist to discuss fertility issues.

Everyone we have told keeps asking if there is something they can do to help and I keep telling them the same thing: KEEP PRAYING! Pray that:
1) Craig responds well to Interferon and doesn’t get sick from it.
2) The cancer doesn’t spread or reoccur.
3) Craig is able to continue working.
4) Craig is able to finish his MBA program.
5) Our family stays strong through the trials of this ordeal.

We are so incredibly thankful for everyone’s general prayers so far and know that you will pray more specifically for us moving forward. We are facing a challenging year ahead but know that with God, ALL things are possible!

And Then Some

noreply@blogger.com (Cat) — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 16:17:00 +0000

I forgot to mention...the boot camp was AWESOME. Totally kicked my butt and, better yet, kicked the baby weight to the curb. I am offically back to my pre-pregnancy weight (less a couple pounds even).

Now that the heat has broken*, I'll be back to taking evening walks too. This is in addition to running 3 times a week in the morning. Which I need to be more diligent about doing, but STILL.

Oh, and have I mentioned that T-man's now 20 (yes, TWENTY) pounds? I'm getting quite an arm workout. A few games of Wii boxing per week and I'll have some pipes on me in no time.

And with Craig back to school, there is less temptation to just sit like a bump on a log at home because there's no one here.

*We're down to highs around 85-90, which makes a HUGE difference when it has been 100 or higher for the last 3 months. I couldn't even attempt an afternoon walk in that heat for fear of melting my son.

Doomed

noreply@blogger.com (Cat) — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 16:21:00 +0000

Not only is he crawling on his own and pulling himself up on to any object he can gets his hands on (sofas, chairs, PEOPLE), but I saw him do THIS yesterday:

I'm So Grown Up

noreply@blogger.com (Cat) — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 17:08:00 +0000

Truman's First Food 6.7.09 002
Originally uploaded by CatrinaD

We're nearing the 6 month mark, so I thought I'd post another update about the little guy.

Truman is somewhere between 17.5 and 18 pounds...he's getting heavy! He's outgrown all of his 3-6 month outfits and is now wearing clothes with 9 month labels. I'm not emotionally ready for him to be growing up so quickly.

This picture? Totally freaks me out. While he's cute and adorable, he also looks about 6 months older than he really is. We took it right before giving him his first taste of solid foods.

Man, does he LOVE his food! He's eating rice cereal and oatmeal. He squeals with delight, kicking his legs and making mmmm noises the whole time. Unless, of course, you decide to STOP feeding him...in which case the temper tantrum begins.

Overall, he's still a very well tempered child. He's beginning to be a bit more fussy, but we think it's because he's more hungry and (OH MY GOODNESS I CAN'T BELIEVE I'M ADMITTING IT) beginning to teethe.

He's rolling over a lot now, although he's not crawling. He's started getting his butt up and on all four limbs, so it's coming soon. For now, I'm just holding tight to him and reminding him to SLOOOOOOOOW DOOOOOOOWN!

Scare Tactics

noreply@blogger.com (Cat) — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 02:28:00 +0000

During Craig's orientation for his MBA program, they hosted a Q&A and reception for the spouses/partners. The spouses attended the Q&A separately from the 'students'. In the session, there was a woman who recalled how she went from having home responsibilities split 50-50 to doing everything pretty much on her own. She talked about how she spent so many nights alone because her husband would be in class, studying or meeting with his group on a project. Pretty much everyone in that room was scared shitless. I know I was. At the time, I was 8.5 months pregnant. When I met up with Craig afterwards at the reception, I was VERY tempted to tell him to withdraw from the program.

As it turned out, his first class was less than 24 hours after Truman was born. I was still in the hospital and he drove downtown to attend class. I'm sure he got major points from the professor for that one. I will never have to wonder how far along he is in his program because it will always be the same age as Truman. Right now, we're about 5 months in to a 2 year program.

And things haven't been nearly as bad as the woman had warned...well, not until recently. This past week, I've started to feel somewhat like a single mother.

Craig leaves for work at 6:45am and hasn't been getting home until after Truman and I are tucked in to bed (some time after 10:00pm). Because I've been getting up early to work out, we haven't even been sleeping in the same bedroom so he doesn't wake me when he gets home late and I don't wake him when I get up early. If he sees Truman at all, it's for less than an hour in the morning while he's getting ready for work.

I knew that it was going to be tough. And I still stand by his decision to do his MBA now rather than when Truman is older and can remember him not being around OR when we have more than one child to consider. But I still find myself actively having to have my head talk to my heart. Because I really like my husband. I enjoy his company. And he's an AWESOME Daddy.

I know that as hard as this feels for me to be responsible for Truman all the time, it has to be even harder for him to be away so often.

Maybe this all seems so acute right now because this is finals week. Last week he was busy with preparing for finals and this week he's busy studying and taking them. But maybe it's just the way things are going to have to be for a while. He doesn't get any break in between classes. A new slate of courses start next week and he already has homework and reading assigned.

Even with his homework, though, I'm hoping to spend a bit of time together as a family this weekend: Shakespeare Dallas on Friday, a golf tournament together on Saturday, and a nice family dinner on Sunday for Father's Day. All this to say that I love my husband. I'm so proud of him for going back to school. And I miss him terribly.

Something in the Air

noreply@blogger.com (Cat) — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 14:15:00 +0000

There's something about June. Maybe it's that official start of summer panic that swimsuits are soon to be revealed. Maybe it's that it's finally nice enough to get out and start playing again. Maybe it's all of the sunshine and seratonin.

Whatever the reason, I seem to have a pattern of getting back in to a groove of working out every June. Forget January and New Year's Resolutions.

Craig has joined me on a quest to eat healthier by tracking what we eat using myfooddiary.com. I used this site effectively a few years ago and lost a bunch of weight. I'm hoping it will work for me again.

Now that my back has healed from my little spill, I'm back to working out, too. On Monday, I started a Boot Camp that meets 3 days a week for 4 weeks. I'm sore today, but know that it's the 'good' kind of sore. The sore where I find muscles that I had forgotten existed in my netherregions.

I had stagnated in my post-baby weight loss about 2-3 months ago.
Aside: Yes, Truman is now 5 months old...how did THAT happen?!
This week, I discovered that I'm down 5 pounds and only have 10 more to lose to reach my pre-baby weight. The ultimate goal is to lose 40 more pounds after that, but having another baby may interfere with achieving that goal in the short term.

All this to say that June is generally a good month for me and my motivation. Let's see if we can make it stick through the summer and beyond!

So Big!

noreply@blogger.com (Cat) — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 15:37:00 +0000

We haven't had a pediatrician's visit in a while to give you Truman's exact weight, according to our scale here at home, he's about 16 pounds. Yes, SIXTEEN!

On May 7th, he'll be four months old.

He's still sleeping through the night (has been since about 8 weeks) and still breastfeeding exclusively.

Truman is not only smiling, but also laughing and giggling. The best part is that he's ticklish, so you can really get him wound up by getting him under his armpits or on his shoulder blades.

He's drooling like crazy which has earned him his nickname "Goober." Although I know it's normal, it's a little irritating to not be able to show off all of his cute clothes because they're always covered up by a bib!

Along with drooling all over the place, everything must go in his mouth. Blankets especially. But toys, the dog's beard and anything else in reach is fair game, too.

His favorite time of day is cuddling with Craig after he has his first meal of the morning. On the weekends, they'll curl up and cuddle in bed together. On weekdays, he hangs out in the bathroom while Craig showers and gets ready for the day.

His lease favorite time of day is TUMMY TIME. Something about laying down on his stomach causes him to start screaming bloody murder within 5 minutes of being set down. I've seen him roll over once (for the first time this week), so we're keeping at it even though he hates it.

I love that Truman has started to find his voice. So, he'll be happy and giggling or just gibbering away, telling stories.

Truman has really been a spectacular baby. The next question is: "When we'll start trying to have another?"

Nerdy Nerd

noreply@blogger.com (Cat) — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 22:35:00 +0000

John Micklethwait
Originally uploaded by CatrinaD

We went last night to see the Editor-in-Chief of The Economist speak here in Dallas.

When we got the invitation last week, I immediately asked Craig if he was interested in going. Within the hour, we had the babysitter lined up and tickets purchased.

The conversation was interesting, witty and balanced. Just like The Economist.

Wow. The things that get me excited these days...

Torn

noreply@blogger.com (Cat) — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 19:06:00 +0000

I'm sitting on a plane, waiting to take off for Florida. This is my first work-related trip in close to 6 months. I'm truly so excited to see everyone at the office.

On the other hand, this is the first time I've been apart from Truman for more than a couple of hours. Even though I'm only going to be gone about 36 hours, it still stings.

How is it possible to be so excited and yet be fighting the urge to just sob uncontrollably?

For All the Salespeople...and Those Dependent on Them

noreply@blogger.com (Cat) — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 19:42:00 +0000

I got this from my boss. Happy Friday!

The Name Game

noreply@blogger.com (Cat) — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 21:52:00 +0000

The birth announcements were sent out to family and friends a couple of weeks ago and now the recurring question is: What are you calling him?

He was Peanut when he was still in utero.

His OFFICIAL name is John Truman Dawson.

We are calling him Truman, formally (J.T. just didn't stick).

But, most recently, I've taken to calling him Goober. The kid drools like none other! So, I've got my little Goober, Goobs (yes, rhymes with boobs). I have a feeling he's not going to like it if this one sticks.

Optimism

noreply@blogger.com (Cat) — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 13:29:00 +0000

Last week was rough on the 9 Week Challenge:
Monday we were still in New York and headed to the airport. Tuesday-Friday in rained here in Dallas. Blah. We got out over the weekend for a short bike ride and I was back into the swing of things with a run on Monday morning (5am, baby)!

Today I woke up really ready to tackle this work day. I have a few challenging but exciting projects on the horizon and know that I'm incredibly blessed to enjoy my job as much as I do.

Truman also woke up in a good mood, so I didn't feel the usual pangs of sadness leaving him with the nanny.

We're off to a great start AND we're wearing green- Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

Then, I saw this article and I thought, maybe I just have "cuddle hangover" this morning :)

"Loving touches — and the resulting gush of good feelings — can cut the
level of stress hormones coursing through your body by 7 percent, according to a
recent study in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine."

What Was I Thinking?

noreply@blogger.com (Cat) — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 18:50:00 +0000

We're headed off to NYC this weekend to visit some friends. It will be the first vacation that Craig and I have taken in what seems like forever that wasn't some sort of add on or afterthought to visiting family, attending a wedding, or some other such function. It will also be Truman's first time on a plane.

Since I travel quite a bit for work, I'm the one that handles all of the travel logistics for our family...including packing.

Which leads me to my current spaz. I need to pack. For 2 adults. And and INFANT. For 3 days. In New York. Where it's COLD.

You see, this not only involves things like strollers and baby carriers and pack & plays and breast pumps but also mittens and extra hoodies and fleece pajamas and sweaters. I live in TEXAS, people. Truman only has one set of fleece pajamas. And because I'm still working on losing my baby weight, I have one (maybe 2) sweaters that fit and are decent enough to wear in public (add this to the list of joys of working from home).

So this afternoon I'm off to Kohl's and Target to see if I can't find some winter weather attire on clearance for the two of us. Then tomorrow I get to try and shove all of this stuff into suitcases.

STAY FOCUSED...this means that we're going to NYC!!! And we get to see friends!!! And I'll be going through an airport with Truman for the first time WITH CRAIG instead of alone!!!

I Concur

noreply@blogger.com (Cat) — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 03:40:00 +0000

On Saturday night, Craig and I attneded the University of Wisconsin Founders' Day dinner here in Dallas. Along with meeting some cool alumni from the area, we had the pleasure of hearing a keynote from the Dean of the Business School, Michael Knetter. His presentation was on the economy (big surprise). But I found the most interesting tidbit came from his Q+A:

"We need to tax more on the things we need less of and less on the things we need more of." This was said specifically in reference to taxation on carbon fuels VS finance and income generation.
So simple and yet...

9 Week Challenge

noreply@blogger.com (Cat) — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 14:39:00 +0000

In 9 weeks, I will be attending a conference for work. My first official event since being 'grounded' last October. Today, I'm still 15 pounds more than my pre-pregnancy weight.

My goal is to lose that weight by the time this event rolls around. Otherwise? I'm not sure what the hayday I'm going to wear.

I'll be signing up for a 4 week fitness boot camp through the Plano Park & Rec. Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays: 5-6am. But that doesn't start until the end of March, so I need to get started now.

This, along with the goal of running a 5K yet this spring should get my butt moving. Truman's been sleeping a bit more consistently, only getting up once at night. If I can just push myself through the initial sleepiness in the morning, I'm hoping to be able to re-establish my early morning (5am) workout routine.

Stay Tuned...

Second Chances

noreply@blogger.com (Cat) — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 21:39:00 +0000

Along with the natural joys of having a child (like seeing them smile or walk for the first time), I'm really excited to be able to PLAY. It's like reliving my childhood except this time the toys are WAY cooler.

Thanks to Rachael Ray's Fave's feature in her magazine, I discovered the Perpetal Kid website. although most of the toys are relatively adult in nature, I'm thinking I can pretend that it's for Truman, right?

I mean, isn't this totally something a baby would want to play with?

Born in Texas

noreply@blogger.com (Cat) — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 01:39:00 +0000

Truman Laughing 2.17.09
Originally uploaded by CatrinaD

Everyone says babies don't smile til they're 8 weeks old. "They" say that anything before then is just gas. I don't believe them. Truman's only 6 weeks old tomorrow but Craig got talking about the good steak he was going to grill up this weekend for Alf's visit and the kid just went nuts.

Seriously.

I had enough time to grab the camera and as soon as Craig started talking about steaks again, his whole face just lit up. He's TOTALLY a Dawson Boy.

Don't Believe Everything You Read

noreply@blogger.com (Cat) — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 21:49:00 +0000

The last week or so, Truman's been going longer and longer in between when he nurses. I was getting worried that by not eating as frequently, he wasn't eating enough and wasn't growing as quickly as he should.

Today, we had our one month visit at the pediatrician (which was actually at 5 weeks, not 4). I nearly fell over when I saw the weight on the scale: 11 lbs, 1 oz. That means that he's gained OVEr 2 pounds in 3 weeks. The pediatrician said that OF COURSE he's eating well! I must be a good producer and he must be an efficient eater.

Hmph.

And here I had been freaking out because everything I had been reading said that babies at this age shouldn't be going more than 2-3 hours between feeding. He's been eating every 3-4 hours during the day, but sometimes up to 5 and longer at night. Truman's in the 75 percentile for his height, weight and head circumfrence, so he's perfectly healthy and perfectly proportional.

YAY! A healthy baby!

The List That Just Won't End

noreply@blogger.com (Cat) — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 01:30:00 +0000

This is gearing up to be a busy week. I've got the big things under control: Truman's passport application has been filed so we can go back to Canada and show him off to the Canadian family and the nanny accepted our position on Monday, but there are a lot of little things that I'd wanted to wrap up before heading back to work:

Making all of my solicitation calls for the Junior League fundraiser
Tagging and tallying all of my items for the Junior League garage sale
Put pictures of Truman in his albums and some picture frames for Craig to take in to work,
Read the first half of a book a friend sent to me that her mom is writing
Read a book (The Story of Edgar Sawtelle)
Either get out for a walk, do some yoga or play some Wii every day
And the list goes on and on...

And with less than one week to go before I head back to work, it's beginning to look like something's going to fall by the wayside.

Argh. I'm just not mentally prepared to go back to work. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE what I do. I just can't grasp what my new routine will feel like (other than exhausting). Part of me really wishes that I could just stay home with Truman. And the other part of me knows that I'd be absolutely bored out of my noggin within a couple of weeks.

I have full confidence that everything will work out just fine. I need to stop thinking about the impending return and instead focus on all of the fun that I'm going to have this week.

Did I mention that Maria's coming to visit this weekend?! Talk about the PERFECT way to go out!

My Nomination for Man of the Year

noreply@blogger.com (Cat) — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 17:51:00 +0000

Enjoy Set
Originally uploaded by CatrinaD

Craig outdid himself last night.

Seriously. Every bit was a page right out of a "How to Win a Woman's Heart" playbook:

I got home from a walk with a girlfriend and he had dinner started and a beautiful blue box from Swarovski sitting on the kitchen counter. He uncorked a bottle of Asti champagne and poured two glasses into my favorite fancy flutes. We enjoyed the champagne and some delicious baked brie while he cooked dinner (rib eye steak, rice and broccoli) and I opened the box containing a gorgeous bracelet.

After dinner, as we were loading the dishwasher, he asked me to run upstairs and grab a bowl that was sitting by his bed (totally believable). When I got upstairs, though, our entire master suite was alight in candles…EVERYWHERE. And there was another blue box by my nightstand and one by the Jacuzzi. After a couple of quick manipulations to get Truman situated with entertainment, we took a lovely bath.

Then, I opened up the two blue boxes, which contained the matching necklace and earrings to the bracelet.

He capped off the evening with a lovely backrub.

I count my blessings every day for this man who does things like this for me and still finds time to climb up on the roof and fix a leak near the chimney, carry the garbage, prepare our taxes, go back to school and work 40+ hours a week.

I’m so lucky.

My Favorite Boys

noreply@blogger.com (Cat) — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 20:15:00 +0000

JT_Craig_1.9.09
Originally uploaded by CatrinaD

Need I say more?

Other than I look at this picture of Truman from a month ago and I can't believe how big he's gotten already!

That and "It's been a MONTH already?!"

Next I'll Be Talking About Poop and Boobs

noreply@blogger.com (Cat) — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 15:29:00 +0000

We can file this under things that I never knew I had to know until I became a parent:

Not all pacifiers are created equal.

We'd purchased a couple, recieved one from the hospital and one as a gift. The gifted one came from my dad, along with a Packers-themed outfit. Keep in mind that I may be from Wisconsin, but I am NOT a Packer fan. I'm not a fan of professional sports in general. So, this Packers outfit and pacifier are a bit rediculous to me. But it was a gift and it's cute. And we ARE from Wisconsin, living in Texas.

So, we finally try giving Truman a pacifier sometime last week or the week before. Up until that point, he'd really not shown much interest in them.

I'm sure you'll see where this is going. The kid REFUSES to take any of the 'normal' pacifiers we'd give him. The only one he likes is the damn Packers pacifier. So, whenever we're out in public, he's proclaiming his support for a team that neither me nor my husband could give two rips about.

*sigh*

I finally got to Target this week to try and track down similarly styled pacifiers with a less obnoxious design. I think we my have a winner. MAYBE.